Feuerfest

Yes, apparently we reached that level of neglect in the Amazon store where we now need a browser extension to filter out all those cheap knockoff-brands which sell you the same crap products, just under a different brand name.

Well, for the average Amazon-shopper this isn't something new. People have been complaining for years that Amazons product variety deteriorated constantly. Listing more of the same re-seller stuff not worth its price. More knockoff-brands outright copying successful products/brands. It seemed as Amazon sole working principle was: "Add any product manufactured on this planet".

Introducing: Knockoff - Amazon Brand Filter an extension for Firefox and Chrome-based browsers filtering out all the junk.

I was delighted to read about the extension in 404 Medias article "'Knockoff' Browser Extension Hides Sketchy Brands on Amazon". As just a few days prior I was so annoyed during my search for a new/bigger icecube tray that I abandoned the search in frustration. Just the same bad products again and again. The same product images over and over again. Even when the product image, brand name and description seemed genuine.. The reviews would paint a clear picture. The same defects, same health hazards. You don't want your ice cube tray to leave particles in your drinks or a mucus-like film on top of them. Absolute no-go.

This was the moment where I actually searched for anything to filter out bogus chinese and other cheap brands on Amazon and found nothing.

Only to read that article a few days later.

The working principle of the extension is simple and described in detail on GitHub: https://github.com/Shpigford/knockoff#how-it-works

First tests when searching for icecube trays looked promising so I'll keep it for now.