Tools/Knowledge to protect against 'Shady' online resellers

[Namuna]

I consider the 'Hot Deals' Forum to be the right place to put this because it will help those not-so-street-hardened deal finders out there. If anyone wants to add insite they've discovered, please feel free.

* www.resellerratings.com
Check here first before buying from a 'questionable' reseller.
* Watch for the Bait-N-Switch
They advertise an item they don't have to get you in (The Bait), but try to talk you into buying something else, usually more expensive (The Switch). 1 of the first things I find out when visiting/calling a site is if they have the item I want in stock. If not, I don't even give them a chance to utter a word, I'm outta there.
* AMAZINGLY low price
See how hard they press you to buy 'accessories' or warranties. That's how they make their margin back, by WAY OVER charging on the accessories. Buy ONLY what you intended on, get the other items (for CHEAPER) elsewhere. Another compensation for low price is...
* Steep Shipping & Handling
That amazing price isn't so amazing anymore when you have to pay $40 or $50 for shipping. Anyplace that isn't forthcoming with their shipping policies and prices is AUTOMATICALLY suspect. I recently purachased a MiniDV Camcorder (about 5 pounds with the other items) with a final cost of $1,415 and my shipping cost was $15 (that's FedEx 2nd Day AND Insurance included). Don't be fooled by Salespeople telling you it costs that much because of 'Insurance'. The real reason is that's one of the ways they are able to advertise such low prices, they compensate in shipping cost.
* Is it in stock?
Ever been on the phone and asked if the item you want is in stock, and the person right off the bat says yes? EVERYTIME you get a quick answer like that, be wary! They're likely just telling you that to get the order, when in fact they really DON'T have it in. Some resellers will just spurt out the yes to get the order/money and then they themselves will order the item from their wholesaler. This saves them having to keep the item in inventory. This is a balancing act that the reseller plays but if the wholesaler doesn't have the item, you (the consumer) get shafted on having to wait (ESPECIALLY if you paid extra for quicker delivery)
* Use reliable Credit Cards
I've been a Citibank card member for 10 years now, and on more than several occasions have had to dispute charges, they've ALWAYS been on MY side and backed me up. having a reliable CC company when buying is THE BEST BACKUP WEAPON you have against getting screwed online. Another CC getting alot of merrit is the Amex Blue card.

Alright, that's what I've got to contribute.

Good luck and Good Hunting!

 

[CinderElmo]

Good post Nam.

I would like to add that it is a good idea to keep a folder with all your rebates with info such as photo-copies of all forms, the date you sent them out...and the dates they become overdue. That way you know when a company is late on paying you and that it is time to make a phone call to claim your money.

Almost every time I call in those situations they say something like "we will cut your check today and it will be there in 10 working days...". Sometimes I think that if I had never called they would have never sent it. If you work a lot of rebates there is no reason not to have accurate tracking of them.

Also, if your rebate is large (>US$75 usually for me) I always get USPS delivery verification on it. That way no one can screw me out of the large rebates simply because they threw them in the trash!

Peace.

 

[Bohemian]

Bump for a great post. Don't get abused!

 

[Namuna]

Just thought of another item...

* Cancelling an order, restocking fee
I work for a Securities Firm, we get and send alot of parcels. Both FedEx and UPS drop off and pick up packages about twice a day. Usually in mid-morning and mid-day. So if you place an order and call back like less than 30 minutes later to cancel, if they tell you it'll cost %15 restocking fee because they already shipped the package...just how likely is it that they REALLY shipped that package out already? Sure way to confirm shipment or not...Ask for a shipping code. No code? Then they haven't shipped it yet.

Having that reliable CC company is important in this instance as well, cause you'll want to call your CC IMMEDIATELY after and dispute the charge and explain the circumstances.

 

[zeppelin]

Another item ....
Are they B-goods, grey-market goods, refurbished, etc.? Does it have a US warranty?
Just recently, I saw posts regarding MP-Superstore and how they were sending international versions (European) of the Nikon 990, which does not have a US warranty. Be sure to ask the reseller that it is not B-goods or refurbished goods. This is another way these shady retailers can offer such cheap prices.
Bad=grey market goods, B-goods, "international" version and refurbished.
Be sure you know *exactly* what you're getting.

 

[Namuna]

Alright, I'm having a hell of a time checking status of an overdue package from Amazon (they took their phone number off their site) and it's been 3 days and I've ONLY gotten an autoresponse. So after a little hunting...

Amazon
1-800-201-7575
206-266-2992
orders@amazon.com
info@amazon.com
Hours of Operation(PST):
24 hours a day, 7 days a week

 

[cmv]

Why would they take their phone number off the site or even move it's location on the site during the holidays? Must be some penny pinchers pushing people around at Amazon.

 

[NightShadow]

How about MassMerchandise.com - does this apply to them? Has anyone ever received their order for the Rio MP3 players for $99 each? Mine has been holding for shipment pending since before Thanksgiving.

 

[Namuna]

NightShadow,

I wouldn't hold out much hope of getting one of those anytime soon, and I'd be SERIOUSLY suspicious of whether it was new/refurbed/opened if one did come.

Without some kind of promo or rebate from Manufacturer, $99 is too cheap for that player. You don't stay in business by selling your inventory at LESS than what you paid for it.

I wish you luck if you decide to stick with it though.

 

[poolshark]

If you think that a company has not shipped something and they won't cancel your order , then just refuse the package from UPS and that way they eat all the shipping charges . Plus too you need to post all bad experiences at resellerratings immediately. I personally had a lot to do with running Sircomputers out of business because they were shady.
Most important tool that we can use is the immediate threat of credit card dispute and I am glad this is being acknowledged. It costs these shady companies $25 for each dispute and they will react swiftly as soon as you tell them that you are disputing.I keep a dispute letter
ready and send it out quickly when necessary. If it is a shady company and they tell you that they will credit you within a week don't believe it and send the dispute letter that day. The shady companies have even lied to my CC bank but I always win and they pay the $25 fee.
Please everyone just keep resellerratings up tp date and we can eventually destroy these shady fly by night crooks..

 

[CinderElmo]

Hey Pool if you refuse shipment on something, how do you go about making sure they don't keep the charge on your CC? And also, do you have any recourse if UPS leaves it at your door or apartment office without getting a signature? Can you tell UPS to take it back as "refused"???

 

[Namuna]

SCSI vs. IDE/ATA...

Some info to help make sense of the differences
Info yanked from www.scsifaq.org

Pros of IDE/ATA:

• Inexpensive due to high volume of production and simplified testing requirements.
• Supported directly by system BIOS in most cases. (unless you want DMA support)
• Less overhead per command

Cons of IDE/ATA:

• Very limited device attachment (two drives (including CDROMs) per channel, and two channels per system max.) (Recent versions of Linux (and I hear Win NT) support four or more ATA adapters)
• Single threaded (commands do not overlap even with a second drive)
• CPU is tied up transferring all data (actually newer EIDE controllers can do DMA as well if special drivers are loaded)
• IDE/ATA and ATAPI evolved from the ancient ST-506 interface as one kludge on top of another
  Cannot handle scatter/gather operations well (important in good Virtual Memory operating systems)

Pros of SCSI:

• Flexible device attachment (up to 7 or 15 devices per SCSI bus) (inside or outside of case)
• Longer cable lengths allowed (up to 12 meters using LVD)
• Support for almost any peripheral type (disks, tape, CDROM, optical, scanner etc)
• All commands can overlap with commands on other devices. Usually uses DMA to transfer data (which frees CPU for other tasks)
• Interface and protocol is carefully specified by ANSI.
• Largest, highest performance devices are available in SCSI before IDE
• Most adapters can do scatter/gather DMA which is a necessity in virtual memory systems (Like Unix, NT, 2000) (Win 95/98 ?)

Cons of SCSI:

• Generally more expensive than IDE/ATA, due to more complex firmware and extra testing required. (not to mention greater performance commanding a higher price).
• Slightly more complicated to install than IDE/ATA, due to termination requirements.
• Seems scary to novice users because of amount of terminology and connector/protocol options.

Some people point to the need to set IDs in SCSI as making it more complicated, but it's really no more complicated than choosing master/slave jumpers in IDE.

 

[callgirl]

Good post Namuna.

I agree that Citibank is outstanding when it comes to customer protection in disputes...they have been great in the 20+ years I've been using them, and I have never lost a dispute on an item that was charged on their cards.

You also mentioned Amex Blue...I do not have that card, but I have also found that other Amex cards are excellent in dispute situations and I have never had to shell out a penny on a disputed purchase on an Amex card.

Amex CORPORATE cards (of all kinds, regular, Optima, etc.) are another story...I have had nothing but hassles with the corporate division; their procedures are just archaic and they work as fast as sloths...but I should win my 2 current disputes with them, eventually.

Two cards to avoid when making a potentially disputable purchase: First Union and Bank America - my relatives were unsuccessful in getting disputes resolved with those banks. I'm sure there are many more cards that are as terrible as these two when it comes to disputes, and that there are VERY FEW as good as Citibank and Amex, but those are the ones I have personal experience with.

And a final thought on cards: NEVER use a debit card or PayPal/similar services for any potentially disputable purchase...there is little if any consumer protection for these. The one exception I know of: Citibank debit card, which does protect you to some extent.

 

[sun818]

In my opinion, it is not fair to bad-mouth specific resellers because they are not here to defend themselves. Some sellers are honest and it is simply a misunderstanding.

Remember that the delivery agent is involved and that does make the situation more complex. Because your package is not delivered, don't go threatening the reseller with a lawsuit, negative feedback, or a Moan thread. There are many factors to consider and they should be investigated first.

Thanks,
Sun Kim

 

[Healey]

Also, for an added bit of security, if your credit card company offers it, use the one-time numbers. This option gives you a one-time use credit card number, some can even set a top dollar amount and a drop dead date.

All MBNA cards have this option, as does some AMEX accounts and, I believe, the Discover card.

 

[Namuna]

Wondering whether those CHEAP CDRs you bought are any good?
Here are some tools to help you find out.

CDR Media/Dye Information
Check this site out to learn more about the CDR process and what they're made of and by whom.

CDR Identifier
Use this tool to find out who the OEM manufacturer for your generic/name brand CDR is.

Actually, www.cdmediaworld.com is a good reference site for all things CD.

 

[Rosebud]

Thanks for all the tips Namuna.