Amazon weirdness, money laundering or ???
 

I noticed this the other day. A lot of the cheap Chinese knock-off stuff has started getting listed with names that are a paragraph. (one of the item's names included the word "ludicrous" or something like that.

When I search for "2 step ladder" I get 2 pages of hits that make sense
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1672500855.jpg

and then on the third page, things go a little crazy.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1672500855.jpg

Are there folks that are trying to sell stuff that are morons, or is this some sort of tactic to make sure that other hits are several pages down so rivals don't sell anything, or is this some sort of money laundering scam?

Or are the Chinese just hoping for morons to buy some of this insanity? Or Smuggling maybe?

More than likely a way to influence Amazon's sorting algorithms. Essentially SEO - but amazon specific.

Amazon doesn't really have "seo", it's keyword stuffing. I wouldn't be surprised if half of those cheap chinesium products are literally the same item with different logos glued on.

absolutely

Brando, Steve: I don't think that's the question. Why are the page 3 products hundreds or thousands of dollars? Who would buy them when the same/similar no-name products are being sold for $40?

it happens on ebay too... I always wonder the same about laundering

That's my confusion. Very weird that there are cheap products and then a bunch that are the same for 10x the price. I'd never noticed that before. I started noticing that sort of thing in the past 2-3 months.

Makes some amount of sense, right. I've heard of that as a tactic. Advertise something for some ridiculous price that no one in their right mind would buy. Then your compatriots buy said item at crazy price and their money is then clean.