I almost got scammed

[Tenbatsuzen]

There's a new digital camera I want. The place I usually shop from has a decent price, but I went on to EBay to see if I could get a better deal.

Low and Behold, there was a deal on Ebay from a store that was a bundle package with two more lenses, a flash, a tripod, and a bag for only 100 bucks more than the store I was going to buy from!

The store had 13000 feedbacks at 99%, so I figured this was on the up and up.

But then I noticed -

They don't accept Paypal...

The feedbacks were REALLY weird - like people were giving positive feedback in future tense without receiving the goods they paid for. (i.e. - "Can't wait to get it!")

And then I realized - they want you to call in to their store and complete the order over the phone... so they can upsell you.

Now I was bothered.

So I did what I do whenever my spidey sense goes off and googled the name.

OOF.

Apparently, I almost did business with one of the biggest scammers on the internet, a scam I had read about a few years back but didn't remember it til tonight: PriceRitePhoto, aka BarclaysPhoto.

You can read about them:

The Original Blogger who really blew the whistle on them... (http://thomashawk.com/2005/11/priceritephoto-abusive-bait-and-switch.html)

Here at Slashdot... (http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=169842&threshold=-1&commentsort=1&tid=187&tid=17&mode=flat&cid=14155875)

I'm wondering though, if I should attempt to scam the scammer, applying Ron Bennington's Tao of "Fuck It".

[ralphbxny]

I say Fuck it...You won this one. Imagine how shitty it would be if you didnt!

[Ritalin]

Don't shy away from buying it online, Bats.

I've bought some serious camera equipment on ebay before, and you can find great stuff. You were right to check out the sellers though.

Caviat Emptor, though, just like you did.

What are you looking to buy?

[Tenbatsuzen]

Don't shy away from buying it online, Bats.

I've bought some serious camera equipment on ebay before, and you can find great stuff. You were right to check out the sellers though.

Caviat Emptor, though, just like you did.

What are you looking to buy?

Oh, I have no qualms about buying it online, but if something is too good to be true, I check it out, especially if I've never heard of the vendor before.

Brooklyn Camera Dealers are apparently scum of the earth from what I've read in several places.

I trust Abes of Maine, Beach Camera, etc. The only problem is, Abes and Beach are both in Jersey, so any savings you may get can be quickly negated on tax.

I'm looking for a midrange DSLR.

[jauble]

If it is not a real hassle I would scam the scammer. That said I would imagine it is difficult to fuck with them too much...but anything that you can do to fuck with the people who meant to rip you off will make you smile. If not you at least I will smile.

[badorties]

i'd say report them to ebay, or local BBB

otherwise fuck it and walk away ...

[Thebazile78]

Dude, doesn't eBay have rules against this?

Can't you get your evidence together and send it to eBay?

(And why you couldn't tell me this last night when I asked about it I will never know.)

[topless_mike]

this is nothing different than best buy vultures trying to sell you their "performance guarantee plan"
they can try to upsell all they want, but if you just keep saying no, then whats the problem?

[Tenbatsuzen]

Dude, doesn't eBay have rules against this?

Can't you get your evidence together and send it to eBay?

(And why you couldn't tell me this last night when I asked about it I will never know.)

Because...

1) I can't complain to Ebay about something I never bought.

2) I did tell you about this. When I first brought it up during dinner, this was before I had discovered the scamming, because I research stuff. I didn't find out about this until after you had fallen asleep. I told you after the Rutgers game, but you were still half-asleep.

[Tenbatsuzen]

i'd say report them to ebay, or local BBB

otherwise fuck it and walk away ...

Again, I can't report someone to the BBB of someone I've only observed from the outside and not actually started a transaction with.

[Tenbatsuzen]

this is nothing different than best buy vultures trying to sell you their "performance guarantee plan"
they can try to upsell all they want, but if you just keep saying no, then whats the problem?

Best Buy employees know to back off when you tell them no. Also, Best Buy won't deny you purchasing the original product you wanted if they can't upsell you.

These guys, on the other hand, fuck with orders that don't accept upselling.

[topless_mike]

Best Buy employees know to back off when you tell them no. Also, Best Buy won't deny you purchasing the original product you wanted if they can't upsell you.

These guys, on the other hand, fuck with orders that don't accept upselling.

best buy harrassed me for 45 min when i bought my home theatre back in '01.
i threw a fit, asked for the manager, and never saw him working there again.

they would fuck with your order? then tell 'em
http://www.printfection.com/images/7/1/1/3EKYhT.jpg
and move on.

[Jujubees2]

I bought a desktop from Best Buy yesterday and the salesman was a great help and he never even asked me if I wanted to buy the "extended warrenty" crap.

[Alice S. Fuzzybutt]

Ever since I put my resume with my e-mail addy on monster and career builder I have been flooded with e-mails from Nigerian scammers. I usually just delete them but when I'm having a really bad day I hit reply and just spew the foulest venom I can muster. I know it doesn't make a difference but it makes me feel better for the moment.

A while back I read somebody's blog about how they tagged a scammer along, giving them fake Western Union numbers while creating wild stories about why it was taking so long to get them the money they asked for. Funny stuff.

[Thebazile78]

Ever since I put my resume with my e-mail addy on monster and career builder I have been flooded with e-mails from Nigerian scammers. I usually just delete them but when I'm having a really bad day I hit reply and just spew the foulest venom I can muster. I know it doesn't make a difference but it makes me feel better for the moment.

A while back I read somebody's blog about how they tagged a scammer along, giving them fake Western Union numbers while creating wild stories about why it was taking so long to get them the money they asked for. Funny stuff.

My dad started to do that with one of the spammers he got hit with. . .he found the entire thing incredibly amusing.

The thing that pissed me off about updating my resume on job search sites is the fact that I've done it twice, keeping the "don't contact me because I'm not actively looking" boxes checked . . . and still got phone calls from recruiters for outbound sales jobs. It delighted me to no end telling them to fuck off.

[SeriouslySuprCJ]

Ever since I put my resume with my e-mail addy on monster and career builder I have been flooded with e-mails from Nigerian scammers. I usually just delete them but when I'm having a really bad day I hit reply and just spew the foulest venom I can muster. I know it doesn't make a difference but it makes me feel better for the moment.

A while back I read somebody's blog about how they tagged a scammer along, giving them fake Western Union numbers while creating wild stories about why it was taking so long to get them the money they asked for. Funny stuff.

This may be the site you read:

http://www.419eater.com/

It's great, they scam a bunch of scammers and get all kind of stuff out of it. Sometimes they even get carvings or paintings, and even once they got the scammer to send them money first (Then donated that to charity). I would never recommend doing it yourself, but it's really funny to read about.