These are two different arguments, though. Yes, everything you listed is true, and it's largely what led to brand cynicism in the first place. However, this new Amazon problem (at least within the ecosystem of Amazon) is markedly worse. There are 1000 brands, and most of them are terrible, and the reviews are worthless, and you can't even see or hold the product in your hand. In this situation, a trusted brand has more internal consistency (despite all the issues you correctly noted) than the very inconsistent fly-by-night brands you can find on Amazon.

Of course, my argument falls apart if we can't spot counterfeits on Amazon.