• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

I got an order for 50 computers...

A

Auryg

Platinum Member
I started up my own custom computer store online a while ago..No orders yet, until today.

I had gotten 2 phonecalls from Ohio before on the phone I listed (my cellphone..heh), but I never had a signal and I didn't know if I should call him back or not. Anyways, today during school he called again, and I found out he wanted 50 computers. He asked me if I could handle it, which I think I can (he said I'd have a 'few months'), and I have friends that can help...but I'm wondering how to avoid this if it's a scam, and other things...

How should he transfer me the money? Bank wire? I don't want him to be able to contest the charge..is there any other way?

Also, what computer parts stores online give out credit lines? I know newegg does. I have 25,000 dollars worth of credit, but that wont be enough.

Thanks.
 
Originally posted by: Auryg
I started up my own custom computer store online a while ago..No orders yet, until today.

I had gotten 2 phonecalls from Ohio before on the phone I listed (my cellphone..heh), but I never had a signal and I didn't know if I should call him back or not. Anyways, today during school he called again, and I found out he wanted 50 computers. He asked me if I could handle it, which I think I can (he said I'd have a 'few months'), and I have friends that can help...but I'm wondering how to avoid this if it's a scam, and other things...

How should he transfer me the money? Bank wire? I don't want him to be able to contest the charge..is there any other way?

Also, what computer parts stores online give out credit lines? I know newegg does. I have 25,000 dollars worth of credit, but that wont be enough.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Talk to your vendors... Explain the situation, and see if they can't help you with the sale. The big ones like Ingram and Tech Data are always willing to help move product, as it means they make sales...

I am of course assuming you're using distributors.
 
I work for a company which HAD an online store. For this type of order...I have found that it was almost always fraud. You need to require payment up front with a cashiers check/money order.

I can't tell you how many calls I took from someone wanting 50 laptop charged to their credit card or whatever and it was almost always fraud. I handled tons of the assisted TTy calls or whatever they are where the person on the other end is supposedly mute, has trouble speaking, etc. They were 100% fraud. They would always ask for high dollar items and want 50 of them or 25 of them or whatever....BE VERY CAREFUL.

We shut down our online store because of so much online CC fraud.
 
Originally posted by: OdiN
I work for a company which HAD an online store. For this type of order...I have found that it was almost always fraud. You need to require payment up front with a cashiers check/money order.

I can't tell you how many calls I took from someone wanting 50 laptop charged to their credit card or whatever and it was almost always fraud. I handled tons of the assisted TTy calls or whatever they are where the person on the other end is supposedly mute, has trouble speaking, etc. They were 100% fraud. They would always ask for high dollar items and want 50 of them or 25 of them or whatever....BE VERY CAREFUL.

We shut down our online store because of so much online CC fraud.
Click to expand...

fraud was the first thing i was going to warn about....
 
Originally posted by: Auryg
I started up my own custom computer store online a while ago..No orders yet, until today.

I had gotten 2 phonecalls from Ohio before on the phone I listed (my cellphone..heh), but I never had a signal and I didn't know if I should call him back or not. Anyways, today during school he called again, and I found out he wanted 50 computers. He asked me if I could handle it, which I think I can (he said I'd have a 'few months'), and I have friends that can help...but I'm wondering how to avoid this if it's a scam, and other things...

How should he transfer me the money? Bank wire? I don't want him to be able to contest the charge..is there any other way?

Also, what computer parts stores online give out credit lines? I know newegg does. I have 25,000 dollars worth of credit, but that wont be enough.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Please be careful.

I setup a business 2 years ago and someone found my info somewhere. They put an order through for 40 hard drives and somewhere around 20 toners for an HP laser printer. I quickly setup credit card processing and finally got their information - all of the Credit card numbers that they provided were rejected as invalid. They eventually stopped asking for the order once I asked for a check. The CC processing deal that I signed was for a year, so I was stuck paying fees for an entire year without using it. I recently cancelled.

On a 50 computer order, I would ask for a deposit of some sort.

They must understand that someone calling you out of the blue with such a big order would need to have some sort of credibility behind them.
 
ill i can suggest is new egg

and have no idea about how to handle it all

but congrats on the great sale

BTW-

can the computers all be the same?

order 50 of each part and get them put together like an essembly line
 
Originally posted by: hevnsnt
Is he a local guy? Do you have a website? Is there any price mistakes on your website?
Click to expand...

No, I'm in Minnesota. Price mistakes I'm going to double check tonight, but everything seems fine.

And I wont accept credit card for an order this big, I know it can easily be charged back.
 
Originally posted by: jmgonzalez
Originally posted by: Auryg
I started up my own custom computer store online a while ago..No orders yet, until today.

I had gotten 2 phonecalls from Ohio before on the phone I listed (my cellphone..heh), but I never had a signal and I didn't know if I should call him back or not. Anyways, today during school he called again, and I found out he wanted 50 computers. He asked me if I could handle it, which I think I can (he said I'd have a 'few months'), and I have friends that can help...but I'm wondering how to avoid this if it's a scam, and other things...

How should he transfer me the money? Bank wire? I don't want him to be able to contest the charge..is there any other way?

Also, what computer parts stores online give out credit lines? I know newegg does. I have 25,000 dollars worth of credit, but that wont be enough.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Please be careful.

I setup a business 2 years ago and someone found my info somewhere. They put an order through for 40 hard drives and somewhere around 20 toners for an HP laser printer. I quickly setup credit card processing and finally got their information - all of the Credit card numbers that they provided were rejected as invalid. They eventually stopped asking for the order once I asked for a check. The CC processing deal that I signed was for a year, so I was stuck paying fees for an entire year without using it. I recently cancelled.

On a 50 computer order, I would ask for a deposit of some sort.

They must understand that someone calling you out of the blue with such a big order would need to have some sort of credibility behind them.
Click to expand...


Or the Credit Cards could be stolen... then you get the money, and you ship, they get the items and real owners dispute the charge and you loose.
 
Require at least a partial payment up front, do NOT build these computers without being able to pay for them or sell them. Let him use a credit card if he wants, but before you process it call the Ccard company, and ask them to call the owner of the card and verify that the purchase is legit. Get whatever documentation you can for this call, so if he contests it, you have proof that it was authorized. Ccard companies usually don't give two craps, if a customer contests a charge that you have no proof on, they'll just charge YOU for it not the customer.

If he wants to pay with a MO/Cashier's check, take them to your bank and ask that they be verified, cash them, and wait 14 days for them to clear. He said you have a few months, 14 days isn't that bad. You should be able to get the parts you need in a few days to a week, and slam out 50 computers in about 3 weeks with help from your friends. Take the time now to get payment and verification right, otherwise you'll be left holding a very large bag.

Edit:

As a few have pointed out, ccards CAN be easily charged back, if you don't do your footwork up front. Call the company, tell them to call the customer/card owner, they will do so. IF they tell you that the sale looks "okay" and to just go ahead, insist that they verify with the card owner. I had Amex try that to me once, when two different customers from across the continent both wanted to ship to the same location. I had Amex call the guy and he said he had no idea what it was about, and called me personally to thank me for alerting him to this problem, as somebody had his Amex info and was using it for fraud.

Verify his info, verify the ccard, make them verify it, and document the whole thing (rep's name, make them put a note in his account that you called, dates and times), and if he tries anything you have info to dispute his chargeback, and then he can go to jail for fraud while you get to keep your cash.
 
HELLO GREETNGS MY NAME IS MR OBUJINEWE AND I EM BERY INTRESTED IN YOUR COMPUTERS. I HAIL FROM NEW YORK BUT MY HOME IS IN LAGOS NIGERIA. PLESE SEND YOUR NAME PHONE, ADDRESS AND I WILL PAY NOW THE SUM OF 40,000$ US THRU WESTERN UNION AND SEND MY COURIOR TO RECIVE YOUR PACKAGES AT YOUR ADDRESS THANK YOU HAVE A WONDRFEL DAY
 
Originally posted by: blakeatwork
Originally posted by: Auryg
I started up my own custom computer store online a while ago..No orders yet, until today.

I had gotten 2 phonecalls from Ohio before on the phone I listed (my cellphone..heh), but I never had a signal and I didn't know if I should call him back or not. Anyways, today during school he called again, and I found out he wanted 50 computers. He asked me if I could handle it, which I think I can (he said I'd have a 'few months'), and I have friends that can help...but I'm wondering how to avoid this if it's a scam, and other things...

How should he transfer me the money? Bank wire? I don't want him to be able to contest the charge..is there any other way?

Also, what computer parts stores online give out credit lines? I know newegg does. I have 25,000 dollars worth of credit, but that wont be enough.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Talk to your vendors... Explain the situation, and see if they can't help you with the sale. The big ones like Ingram and Tech Data are always willing to help move product, as it means they make sales...

I am of course assuming you're using distributors.
Click to expand...

If he is just starting out - his pricing from distributors well be crazy...Newegg/ZipZoomFly, etc. will easily beat them.

Hell...my company that I work for we use D&H and TechData and we have sales in the millions per year, but NewEgg's prices (who also buys from D&H) are usually $1-5 more expensive than my dealer price at D&H. The difference is these stores buy 100's or 1000's of product at a time and get large discounts. Probably the largest order that I have filled at one time was a 50 workstation/3 server network (DC, Fax, File) - so we got prices that were decent then but usually we are ordering CPU's 1-5 at a time as we do not stock a ton of stuff at the store because it just sits and depreciates so quickly.
 
sorry to break it to you but this wreaks of scam... Be very careful, protect yourself first, don't let greed guide you!
 
Best way is to request 50% as a down payment before you start building the machines, then 50% upon completion. The payment must be via cash, money order or wire.. Do not do a credit card transaction, American Express will dispute charges for 2 years.
 
Originally posted by: Auryg
I started up my own custom computer store online a while ago..No orders yet, until today.

I had gotten 2 phonecalls from Ohio before on the phone I listed (my cellphone..heh), but I never had a signal and I didn't know if I should call him back or not. Anyways, today during school he called again, and I found out he wanted 50 computers. He asked me if I could handle it, which I think I can (he said I'd have a 'few months'), and I have friends that can help...but I'm wondering how to avoid this if it's a scam, and other things...

How should he transfer me the money? Bank wire? I don't want him to be able to contest the charge..is there any other way?

Also, what computer parts stores online give out credit lines? I know newegg does. I have 25,000 dollars worth of credit, but that wont be enough.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Have him send you a check or a cashier's check for half up front. Don't buy anything until it clears. YOU make the terms, if he doesn't like it, he can find someone else to take that risk.
 
Originally posted by: Auryg
I started up my own custom computer store online a while ago..No orders yet, until today.

I had gotten 2 phonecalls from Ohio before on the phone I listed (my cellphone..heh), but I never had a signal and I didn't know if I should call him back or not. Anyways, today during school he called again, and I found out he wanted 50 computers. He asked me if I could handle it, which I think I can (he said I'd have a 'few months'), and I have friends that can help...but I'm wondering how to avoid this if it's a scam, and other things...

How should he transfer me the money? Bank wire? I don't want him to be able to contest the charge..is there any other way?

Also, what computer parts stores online give out credit lines? I know newegg does. I have 25,000 dollars worth of credit, but that wont be enough.

Thanks.
Click to expand...


I would put it at 97% probability that this is fraud.

Anyone buying 50 computers for something calls Dell. Aside from that big red flag, nobody trusts some business they cold call for 50 full systems.

I would steer clear if I were you. Think of it this way: How much profit would you be making? Let's say you're REALLY lucky and can pull in $100 per system. That's a nice $5,000 which sounds great... until you consider that if it IS fraud, you're out $50,000 plus. Is a possible payout of 5k worth going bankrupt and ruining your future? Most likely not 🙁
 
Originally posted by: TankGuys
Originally posted by: Auryg
I started up my own custom computer store online a while ago..No orders yet, until today.

I had gotten 2 phonecalls from Ohio before on the phone I listed (my cellphone..heh), but I never had a signal and I didn't know if I should call him back or not. Anyways, today during school he called again, and I found out he wanted 50 computers. He asked me if I could handle it, which I think I can (he said I'd have a 'few months'), and I have friends that can help...but I'm wondering how to avoid this if it's a scam, and other things...

How should he transfer me the money? Bank wire? I don't want him to be able to contest the charge..is there any other way?

Also, what computer parts stores online give out credit lines? I know newegg does. I have 25,000 dollars worth of credit, but that wont be enough.

Thanks.
Click to expand...


I would put it at 97% probability that this is fraud.

Anyone buying 50 computers for something calls Dell. Aside from that big red flag, nobody trusts some business they cold call for 50 full systems.

I would steer clear if I were you. Think of it this way: How much profit would you be making? Let's say you're REALLY lucky and can pull in $100 per system. That's a nice $5,000 which sounds great... until you consider that if it IS fraud, you're out $50,000 plus. Is a possible payout of 5k worth going bankrupt and ruining your future? Most likely not 🙁
Click to expand...


Speaking from experience in the IT industry, I'm willing to bet it's 99% probability it is fraud.. Most companies looking to purchase 50 computers will look towards CDW or Dell, they can get competitive pricing and support
 
Just have him pay you first. Tell him you don't keep that much in stock and have to order parts and because he's a first-time customer you require payment in advance af at least enough to order the parts.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top