Posted February 2, 2019 I cannot find anything on what I am seeing, but curious if this is a "thing" or what, I do a google search for a particular electronics item (in this case a nice bluetooth speaker). Up pops a list of sellers, including the usual like the one named for a river and one for a bay Then a bunch of others, almost all with the exact same price. Then there is one for a significantly lower price. So I make the purchase with cc. Estimated arrival via free shipping was two weeks from day of purchase. Twelve days from day of purchase, full refund on cc. No offer to wait, substitute, "store" credit, etc. just a full refund. No harm no foul right? Except now someone I have no history with and know nothing about has my card info. I assumed (incorrectly??) that if a company popped up on google search amongst list of sellers, essentially suggested by google, and referred by shopify must be legit. But a google search for the seller turns up nada. And then I notice the same product search no longer turns that company up on a google list of sellers, but it does two new funky sounding sites with lower prices. Anyone run into this scam? Is it even a scam? Yes, I immediately froze card account and requested new card number, etc. Be careful out there. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 3, 2019 Also got to use your money for 2 weeks doesn't sound like much but get several accounts going at the same time and it could be an investment opportunity 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 3, 2019 I don’t know for sure, but it does sound suspicious 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 3, 2019 Probably more a newbie seller, trying ecom. They sell before they have it then try to buy it on Alibaba or Ebay and send it to you they probably couldn't get the product. Watch your card but it's probably ok. Also know that many cc companies now offer you a one time card number to use online so no big deal if it gets stolen. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 3, 2019 How much lower was the price? Often it's better to pay more just to have the peace of mind of going through an established seller. Especially when you consider the potential problems of dealing with after-sales support or refunds if you get sent a defective product. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 3, 2019 5 minutes ago, AsianLover said: How much lower was the price? Often it's better to pay more just to have the peace of mind of going through an established seller. Especially when you consider the potential problems of dealing with after-sales support or refunds if you get sent a defective product. About 25 percent lower. Enough to get attention but still be in the break even range if they were trying to stop selling an item and clear inventory. And just below a couple "like new" offerings on the bay. Not enough for automatic alarm bells. Main take away for me is do NOT assume legitimacy for the entire list of shopping sites selling your item of interest as suggested by google being "helpful" . The new one that popped up today is almost 45 percent lower, which does not pass straight face test. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 3, 2019 This is nothing new. Just remember that the internet made catalog shopping much easier and more cost efficient than printing an actual catalog. Google is just their to make revenue. As long as you have the money you can get placement. I remember how unethical adorama and bh photo use to be. It was known in that community they were using peoples money for capital to fund other investments. They did not make it easy to get your money back. Just like here do your homework but treat those to good to be true like bp. There are lots of ways to protect your self and while it may seem to be an inconvenience it generally best in the long run. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 3, 2019 realistically? drop shipper that probably couldn't fill the order - happens on amazon when a boutique shop can't get third party order filled - except amazon doesn't charge your card... conspiracy theory you ask? sure! they (the scammer) have tons of these bounce pages collecting revenue and earning interest for 2 weeks then placing the principle back on your card and keeping the interest... 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 4, 2019 (edited) As mentioned, watch the card. MIGHT sell the information on the dark web. Or as mentioned, might be a drop shipper or newb etailer that could not fullfill the order. Will ditto BH and Adorama and their rep. Luckily, been decades since bought from them and never had to try and get a refund. Last camera and lenses came off Amazon: maybe not as cheap as the NYC guys, but definitely much cheaper than brick and mortar shops in town. Something I have not seen in a while, and wish were offered more: single use credit card numbers. Your CC provider would generate a CC number that was only good for the transaction. Say it's $95, you'd punch in maybe $100 limit, just in case shipping is more, for example, that way can't milk the card dry is something odd going on. Got caught up in something like that about a decade ago. Scammer had a website selling some specialized electronics connectors. Wanted to get two to start. Was only $30, so no big loss if a scam. After a week, nothing re product shipped, communications. Could not reach anyone. After some searching, previous incarnations of the scam website had lots of negatives. Once word got out, this outfit would build a new website, new name, and start over. Since I had a one time use number, only on the hook, at worse, $35 (limit I put on the "card"). With chip credit cards, every transaction where inserted is in essence a single use number. Swipes and online is still old school and potential for hacks, stealing. Edited February 4, 2019 by NoCoGeezer 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
