Information or experience about the online store, vellawax.com?

August 17, 2013 9:51 AM

Has anyone used this online store? It is legit?

The store offers some excellent prices on items like Thermomax. The only methods to pay are to wire money or to write a personal "cheque". Thanks, everyone.

posted by ragtimepiano to Shopping (8 answers total)

Response by poster: Oops, here is the correct link to vellawax.
posted by ragtimepiano at 9:55 AM on August 17, 2013

Instead of the myriad of usual ways to pay for things online, the only choices they offer are two that irreversible and offer no buyer protection. Half of the sections of their website -- including their terms of service -- aren't completed.

You'd have to be desperate to chance this. And if you're that desperate, you can't afford to lose this money anyway.
posted by jacquilynne at 10:12 AM on August 17, 2013 [4 favorites]

Requiring a wire transfer makes me think this is basically 100% a scam site. All their contact info leads to an e-commerce software site, not "vellawax." I don't think the .0001% chance this is legit is worth wiring hundreds of dollars to some warehouse in Indonesia.
posted by sonmi at 10:13 AM on August 17, 2013 [1 favorite]

Stay clear. The domain registration is privacy protected, which no legitimate online store should do.
posted by andrewconner at 10:21 AM on August 17, 2013

Wiring money to strangers over the Internet is a fraud paradigm.
posted by oceanjesse at 10:37 AM on August 17, 2013 [1 favorite]

It's on a shared IP in Indonesia with 80 other sites that include a bunch with similar stock PrestaShop templates. Yeah, it lists Bandung as its address, so it's not pretending to be based elsewhere, but caveat the heck.
posted by holgate at 10:40 AM on August 17, 2013

Best answer: I absolutely would not, and I usually would; I do a lot of on-line shopping and am not super-cautious. Wire or cheque only? Absolutely not.

Why not try aliexpress.com for a Thermomix?
posted by kmennie at 10:46 AM on August 17, 2013

"Refund Terms" has no active link, but "Terms and Conditions of Use" does and links to this information:

Your terms and conditions of use
Rule 1

Here is the rule 1 content
Rule 2

Here is the rule 2 content
Rule 3

Here is the rule 3 content

I think that's a solid NO.
posted by Room 641-A at 11:13 AM on August 17, 2013 [3 favorites]