Is this Amazon zShop deal a scam?
December 6, 2004 12:58 PM Subscribe
Response by poster: I've been pricing out new notebooks and after searching for the HP Pavilion zd700 on google i found a seller selling a maxed out model for less than 1/3 the price.
I know that if something is too good to be true it usually is but i thought i'd try to do some due diligence. So these are my questions
1. Will Amazon help me deal with the seller if they end up trying to screw me?
2. Since the guy is offering a warranty on the ad does that make this a safer purchase?
3. Is the fact that the individual seller has no information on the site and is only selling two types of products as really bad as it seems?
4. I emailed the guy and haven't heard from him yet. If he does reply are there any questions that i could get answered that would make it worth the risk?
Sorry if i'm ignorant with online buying, i've never really dealt with ebay/craig's list type transactions before.
On preview: they aren't getting me with the shipping, that is free too. Like i said, this seems way to good to be true
posted by lips at 1:07 PM on December 6, 2004
I know that if something is too good to be true it usually is but i thought i'd try to do some due diligence. So these are my questions
1. Will Amazon help me deal with the seller if they end up trying to screw me?
2. Since the guy is offering a warranty on the ad does that make this a safer purchase?
3. Is the fact that the individual seller has no information on the site and is only selling two types of products as really bad as it seems?
4. I emailed the guy and haven't heard from him yet. If he does reply are there any questions that i could get answered that would make it worth the risk?
Sorry if i'm ignorant with online buying, i've never really dealt with ebay/craig's list type transactions before.
On preview: they aren't getting me with the shipping, that is free too. Like i said, this seems way to good to be true
posted by lips at 1:07 PM on December 6, 2004
Are you absolutely sure your laptop isn't a knee pad?
posted by scarabic at 1:10 PM on December 6, 2004
posted by scarabic at 1:10 PM on December 6, 2004
a large number of too good to be true zShop prices are scams - a dead giveaway is the "Email before buying" notes they leave in the product details
when you do contact them, they want to make the sale outside of Amazon, frequently asking you to wire cash to a Western Union or the like - never a good idea
Amazon only protects purchases that actually take place through Amazon as the processor
posted by angry jonny at 1:33 PM on December 6, 2004
when you do contact them, they want to make the sale outside of Amazon, frequently asking you to wire cash to a Western Union or the like - never a good idea
Amazon only protects purchases that actually take place through Amazon as the processor
posted by angry jonny at 1:33 PM on December 6, 2004
My girlfriend thought she was getting a good deal on Prince of Persia for me last year for xmas from a zShop. Long story short, she got her money back from Amazon and I got Prince of Persia well after xmas.
My suggestion: If you don't need it soon it looks like Amazon will refund your money if it's a scam. If you want it before the end of the year, skip the zShop.
posted by revgeorge at 2:13 PM on December 6, 2004
My suggestion: If you don't need it soon it looks like Amazon will refund your money if it's a scam. If you want it before the end of the year, skip the zShop.
posted by revgeorge at 2:13 PM on December 6, 2004
Amazon should cover you if its a scam if you stay within their payment system. If you are told to send money by wire then its a scam and you should report them.
And you know, any deal that's too good to be true, usually is too good to be true.
posted by fenriq at 3:11 PM on December 6, 2004
And you know, any deal that's too good to be true, usually is too good to be true.
posted by fenriq at 3:11 PM on December 6, 2004
Some online dealers are liquidators, and will sell units with little or no inspection of the units.
The laptops being sold could be refurbished units with missing screws or dead pixels on the display.
Apart from a (possible) return policy/restocking fee, you can pretty much forget about technical support.
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and flies like a duck, you could still get goosed.
posted by Smart Dalek at 4:39 PM on December 6, 2004
The laptops being sold could be refurbished units with missing screws or dead pixels on the display.
Apart from a (possible) return policy/restocking fee, you can pretty much forget about technical support.
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and flies like a duck, you could still get goosed.
posted by Smart Dalek at 4:39 PM on December 6, 2004
Not to derail, but I am typing on a ZD7000 series machine right now. Beware the battery life and fan noise. Of course with a machine of this heft, both are understandable, but man....
posted by FlamingBore at 4:50 PM on December 6, 2004
posted by FlamingBore at 4:50 PM on December 6, 2004
If you pay through Amazon, they will help you and guarantee a refund one way or the other if something goes wrong. They do ask that you send the item back to the seller, though. I recently had a problem with a company claiming to sell brand new laserjet drums, only to open the box and find a refurbished one instead. The company kept giving me the run around so I went to Amazon and within 2 days, I had a refund on my credit card. They were very quick, personable and helpful, so if you want to give this a whack, make sure you pay through Amazon.
posted by headspace at 6:27 PM on December 6, 2004
posted by headspace at 6:27 PM on December 6, 2004
I see the deal, and it looks shady to me. The guy has no feedback. Though technically it's safe it's so unlikely to be legitimate I wouldn't even bother myself.
posted by abcde at 7:14 PM on December 6, 2004
posted by abcde at 7:14 PM on December 6, 2004
I've been looking at the prices for Canon XL2 camcorders offered through zShops and I've just been too astounded at the $1000 price tag for a $5000 camera to actually go ahead & make the purchase.
I'm sure glad this question came up before I went ahead and bought one late at night...
posted by spaghetti at 7:38 PM on December 6, 2004
I'm sure glad this question came up before I went ahead and bought one late at night...
posted by spaghetti at 7:38 PM on December 6, 2004
Back when I was working for Amazon, there was lots and lots of scamming in the zShops. A majority of the scamming was done by people with addresses in Moldova and Romania, apparently it was some connection to the Russian mob.
They would list nice electronic items (video cameras, laptops, etc.) at pretty cheap prices. When a buyer came along, the scammer would email the buyer and tell them that the equipment was donated to a high school but that the school can't use the stuff and thus is selling it. The buyer was then asked to use Western Union to pay for the item. A number of buyers actually sent the full amount (and of course never received an item in return).
Once potential buyers became a bit more cautious, the scammers started asking that only a portion of the total be Western Unioned to them (and upon receipt the seller would supposedly ship the item in good faith and expect the rest later). There were lots of buyers who lost a few hundreds of dollars this way too.
We would cancel the scam accounts (and the listings) as soon as we found out about them, but the scammers would be quick to create new accounts. And they were smart enough to set up new accounts using different credit cards and different browsers (thus no related browser cookies) - which meant the new accounts were not detected as scam accounts right away.
I think nowadays zShop sellers must offer Amazon Payments in addition to other forms of payment. Amazon Payments is a lot safer so go that route if you can.
posted by gluechunk at 9:09 PM on December 6, 2004
They would list nice electronic items (video cameras, laptops, etc.) at pretty cheap prices. When a buyer came along, the scammer would email the buyer and tell them that the equipment was donated to a high school but that the school can't use the stuff and thus is selling it. The buyer was then asked to use Western Union to pay for the item. A number of buyers actually sent the full amount (and of course never received an item in return).
Once potential buyers became a bit more cautious, the scammers started asking that only a portion of the total be Western Unioned to them (and upon receipt the seller would supposedly ship the item in good faith and expect the rest later). There were lots of buyers who lost a few hundreds of dollars this way too.
We would cancel the scam accounts (and the listings) as soon as we found out about them, but the scammers would be quick to create new accounts. And they were smart enough to set up new accounts using different credit cards and different browsers (thus no related browser cookies) - which meant the new accounts were not detected as scam accounts right away.
I think nowadays zShop sellers must offer Amazon Payments in addition to other forms of payment. Amazon Payments is a lot safer so go that route if you can.
posted by gluechunk at 9:09 PM on December 6, 2004
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posted by smackfu at 1:01 PM on December 6, 2004