This is salient: there are some items where I'm confident I could distinguish real from fake, but there are many more where I'm not. And returns/refunds or not, it's a hassle I can live without.

For anything outside of books/music/movies/video games I nowadays mostly use other retailers, and generally those that specialise in that kind of item.

I recently bought some shelves from Amazon that aren't as described and getting a return and refund has turned into a complete shitshow. Totally fed up of Amazon.