Slashdot Mirror
Consumer Strikes Back at Crooked Online Retailer
BigBadLad writes "Seems like customers are at a huge disadvantage when dealing with dishonest retailers. This is the story of a man who had a horrible experience with an online camera retailer. In short he was lied to, yelled at, and threatened to be sued if he posted the experience on his blog. He was also persuaded to sign an agreement that would allow the retailer to charge him an extra $100 if he left bad feedback."
My mom had the same experience. She placed a $800 camera order and was called that day to "confirm her address", at which point they proceeded to try and sell her a $150 warranty and other expensive accessories. Once she refused, they suddenly informed her the product was out of stock, but they later said they could get it to her by Friday if she paid for a $150 warranty. She tried to cancel and they said there would be a $40 restocking fee (for restocking the product they didn't have). They also got caught in their own lies at numerous points. The first representative said it was his first day, and then later he said he had lied before and that he was there for six years (the BBB documents this company as being three years old). They threatened her with their possession of her credit card and made nonsensical threats to trace down any bad review she or any of her family or friends made, which they could somehow magically do since they "had all the IP addresses of the computer in her household". The people she talked to at this company said their names were: Harvey Finkel and Moses Franco, though this was probably made up. Their email tells the user to leave a five star review at shopping sites using the following link: http://www.priceritephoto.com/priceritephoto/offer .htm
and the text below:
**Please do NOT mention this in the review, we do not offer this to all our customers.
**Please do NOT mention my name or the fact that we asked to write a review the websites will not post it. This will also make you eligible for FREE shipping on any accessory purchases in the future.
Since it seems from many of the comments on the blog that this sort of thing is common, I wonder how the swindler's behind this store can be shut down instead of just shutting down the store? Even though it may seem satisfying to finally get this store put out of business, its frustrating to know that these crooks will probably leave the business having made a lot of money preying off consumers and may just move onto another business. Has anyone been able to obtain any info on whose behind this and how we can pursue legal action against them, instead of just pursuing their pathetic crooked stores?
Wow, that's a shockingly bad story. I've had bad experiences with some web retailers before, but it didn't compare to that!
With shopping search engines placing the focus directly on price, and the ease at which you can set up an online store, it probably invites people like this to set up low quality operations where they cut costs by doing things like not having stock.
I agree you should target the people behind such sites rather than the sites themselves, as it's too easy for them to just set up a new site and do it all over again.
MyLinkVault - online bookmarks with a fast drag-and-dr
I read that and I really feel for the guy and everyone else who ends up in that situation. I've had problems myself with online sellers.
I also shut down my own online store due to what appeared to be an organized plot against one my stores. I'm not a tinfoil hat type, so hear me out... I operate 4 online stores, doing the drop ship thing. It was 5, but one business I opened seem to go up in flames once I started getting page ranks. How? I began getting orders from customers who demanded overnight shipping and immediate confirmation of overnight shipping. As my stores clearly state we do not have a phone number and that we do not offer overnight shipping on anything, this really was bizzarre. They would complain within hours of placing the orders.
Shortly, we recieved complaints from the better business beaureu from these customers who had NEVER BEEN CHARGED, and the complaints contained completely blown out of proportion accounts of what happened. Including accusations that we swore at them on the phone(which is a neat trick since we don't operate a phone number), gave them false tracking numbers, etc... We later found out it wasn't just BBB reports, it was also showing up in online message boards where our target market resided, as well as online consumer complaint websites.
I just shut the store down entirely because I didn't want to deal with it. What convinces me this was a plot is simply that none of this crap has happened to my other stores. I've operated them just fine, with very few complaints. But in this one sector, I suspect there is some business out there who didn't like my growing page ranks or my feedback ratings. And it just started out of the blue, shortly after we began getting high placements in google, yahoo, and MSN.
Anyone else here experience that? Just wondering.
In contrast, most people feel that, even armed with the internet, a blog and the resulting social networking, one cannot do anything about Iraq.
Only Women Bleed (Sex, Sharia remix)
One of the many "badges of honor" on PriceRitePhoto.com's website is a PriceRunner award.
http://www.pricerunner.com/retailer/14312/reviews
Look through the list, and you can see 70% of the 5 star ratings are almost cut and pasted identical. Spelling errors matched post for post. It's so blatant that the review page has been put on hold while they verify the reviews. No doubt PriceRitePhoto trying to water down the negative feedback to protect their images.
Look for I purchased a Panasonic AG-DVC60 W/Pro Accessory Kit. I was very pleased with there selection of accessories in this kit, I believe I got the best Value for my buck. Also unlike most other internet ordering sites like this I found it very easy to talk to the sales and custumer service people. There was short waiting times on the phone as well as people who were easy to understand and willing to help me with my order from selection to delivery. I would recomend checking out PriceRitePhoto.com before making your next purchace.
Losers, how low can you go? Apparently PRP found an express elevator to ultimate lameness.
Here's what the business actually looks like. This is from the web site of someone who has been photographing the storefronts of mail order photo dealers in Brooklyn. The results are very funny. Some are mail drops. Some are bogus addresses. Some are homes. Some are tiny stores selling something else. Only one is a huge warehouse with loading docks.
It's a bit dated, but Don Wiss has documented the storefronts of most of the Brooklyn and Manhattan photo gear dealers. Some I would obviously never buy from. Others are just fine. A picture is worth a thousand words.
While a business can't protect them from all forms of slander, in this case a good business would have the protection of consumers who have had good experiences. If priceritephoto weren't a bunch of crooks, it would be reflected in the blog comments. But when a critical blog entry is confirmed by a lot of people, you don't have to trust just the blogger.
And the fact that this blogger has been around for a while is another reason you could have been reasonably confident it wasn't just set up by a competitor.
"How someone so technically and netsocially (for lack of a better term) savvy didn't ask around about this new store they were about to send $3k to is a mystery to me." From the weblog comments... "Thomas Hawk said... Mike, I have to say that I agree with you. I, of all people, should have known better. A quick check of the Yahoo! Shopping rating of 4 stars and several hundred reviews was not near enough due dilligence on my part. Although I acknowledge my fault in not doing better research on this company first, it does not negate that fact that a company like this should not be allowed to operate and con people -- especially through a vehicle like Yahoo! Shopping. I certainly will do better research in the future and am embarrased by my lacke of due dilligence in this case."
So if you've been extorted into providing non-negative feedback, you can always talk about how thrilled you were about the merchandise not actually being available and how exciting it was to wonder what charges were going to show up on your credit card bill this month and how happy you'd be about the merchandise if what you ordered actually ever showed up....
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
Actually, the website mentioned in the article is part of a chain of hundreds of websites all run by the same dishonest camera shop in New York. I lost a bookmark that someone had compiled that listed almost all of their websites, but they all share the exact same layout and graphic elements (the "Hacker Safe" logo is a dead giveaway) and they all list their bait-and-switch with Froogle/Pricewatch/etc.
I was searching for a Canon S400 and found one of these sites offering the camera for $100 less than anything even close. I knew it was too good to be true, so I called on the phone, illegally recording it but I wanted to have proof anyway. I asked specifically 1) was it refurbished (no) 2) was it the US model (yes) and 3) was it the retail version (yes). Okay, I figured I had all my bases covered, so I ordered it.
Warning bells went off when I got a call the next day from a sales rep asking if I wanted to upgrade the battery for only $15 more. Apparently, the battery that came with this model only lasts "30-40 photos" because Canon skimped on it. I was pretty damn sure a company like Canon wouldn't be so stupid, so after asking to call him back (so I could hit record on my answer machine) I asked if the battery that came with the camera was brand new and from Canon. Yes on both counts, so, I told him no thanks, just the camera and the "inferior" battery.
I received the camera and right off the bat I knew why it was $100 cheaper. It was the Japanese model. Basically, these a-holes had someone over in Korea or Taiwan fill up a shipping container with everything and sent it over here to the US. Grey-market. It's cheaper because of difference in currency, but despite being the "same" thing, it's not for two reasons: 1) Packaging...which isn't really important but 2) No US warrantee...which is VERY important. Also, US manufacturers can refuse to service foreign models (though they rarely do). Technically, your warantee is back overseas where the camera came from.
I called them and was told that was why it I was offered a chance to buy a warantee on the website. I pointed out that I paid for the US model, and did not receive it. I was told it was the US model it was just "imported direct from the manufacturer". I told them sorry, no dice, I want to return it. They said they would send me instructions. The instruction? 1) no returns without RMA number and 2) the only way to get an RMA number is to sign a form that you accept a 20% restocking fee. I took one look and called my credit card company.
Big plug here for Chase MasterCard. I have had to dispute six times in the four years I've had the card, and every time they worked FOR me against the merchant and made sure things turned out well. This time was no exception. The Chase rep sent me a simple form, where I checked the box "merchandise was not as advertised". For proof I send a picture of the website showing the model number (PowerShot S400) and the product box I received (IXY 400) Yes, they were the same physical camera, but not what I paid for!
I sent in the dispute and it was approved and I got my money back. Then the fun began! The merchant disputed my dispute, sending in a picture of a US box and saying that was what I received. Chase asked me to send them a different copy of the box, which I easily did. Then Chase informed me that I couldn't keep the product and I would need to return it to the company. I was pretty pissed about the concept of losing even $20 to ship it back to these crooks, but the helpful Chase person pointed out that MasterCard did not care how it went back to the company and suggested COD. (guinness)Brilliant!(/guinness) So, I packed up the camera and sent it COD without an RMA number. Surprise surprise, it was rejected and sent back to me. Yes, I had to pay the shipping both ways. But here's the fun part...I had attempted to return it and that's all Chase needed me to do. I sent in a copy of the shipping form and was issued the final resolution to my dispute: full ref
-- I wonder which will go down in history as the bigger failure: the War on Drugs or the War on Filesharing
I end up buying the camera from a store in South Carolina and there were no problems whatsoever and I had it in few days with everything as advertised. That is when I decided not to ever buy anything online from shops based in Brooklyn, NY. No matter how cheap it seems. I seriously think this matter should be investigated and this shop is just one of many there.
If programs would be read like poetry, most programmers would be Vogons.
And if you believe this guy is on his first business name, or that calling him is going to help in any way, you underestimate the thickness of the skin of this kind of parasite.
Actually going there would be kind of dumb even if you do enjoy a visit to Brooklyn. It will be a nondescript graffiti-covered brick place with a rollup door and just enough identification to take deliveries. Knocking on the door is probably just asking for a beating.
He'll be back with a new website, new fake feedback in all the right places, same scheme. He won't lose any sleep either.
Yeah sure - there are many comments from other sources that seem to back up his opinion about the company. His blog didn't just pop up a day ago, so he has some credibility. But still, one can imagine accumulating credibility just for the sole purpose of misusing it - it's called eBay style attack if I am not mistaken. Just some food for thought - the joy over bad guys getting it shouldn't stop us from thinking about the good guys that could also get it undeserved. Won't someone please think of the good guys!?!?
I would buy a $2900 camera if I could. The 5D is a low-pro/high-amature level camera.
It gets you:
*12.7 megapixels.
*Very high light sensitivity. (ISO 3200 which is about eight better times your average digicam.)
*Low noise(It will look cleaner at ISO 3200 than your average camera at ISO 400.)
*Fast shutter speeds(1/8000th of a second.)
*Interchangable lenses(Let's see you do that for less than $600 new.)
*Filters, polarizers, hoods, and diopters for those lenses.
*Full 35mm size CMOS sensor(for true wide angle shots(think 7mm.)
*Start-up time less than 1/3rd of a second(Your average digicam has about 3-7 seconds start-up.)
*Pro quality and strength flashes.
*Ability to slave multiple flashes(think portrait studio.)
*Ability to control the exposure for HOURS if needed(I've done some neat stuff with long exposures.)
*Remote shutter control.
*Underwater housing.
*Fast focus-to-shot(near instant, better than the half second or more some digicams take.)
*Focus and track moving subjects
*More focus and light metering options(Get that shot right the first time.)
*Shoot 3 frames per second for 60 frames(See the dust fly off the baseball when it's hit.)
I could go on and on. This type of camera is overkill for your average mom wanting to take pictures at Christmas. It's a real tool in the hands of a creative person.
Show me a 12.7 megapixel camera for $290. Hell, show me an 8 megapixel camera for $290 and I'll show you a piece of garbage.
Not everone needs a set of $2,000 cutlery, but you wouldn't give a professional chef a knock off Swiss army knife to do your meal with would you?
Oh, but you were really talking about high-priced cameras. The high-end stuff usually does cost an order of magnitude more than the pretty good stuff when it first comes out, and if you're a professional photographer it may make sense to buy it. If you need whatever this year's version of really high resolution is, with really perfect optics, really good color definition, high speed, and able to plug in a wide range of professional-quality lenses and similar frobs, yeah, you could spend that kind of money. On the other hand, if you're going to post pictures on a web page, a $99 camera and Photoshop is probably overkill. My general preference is toward the $49 range, e.g. a camera that would be $29 with a couple of features fixed, like removable memory cards instead of built-in, and slightly better batteries and maybe a flash. But I mostly take pictures to remember travel and family get-togethers, and 1024x768 is more than I need.
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
They've gone worse and worse over the past 18 months, too! Ebuyer is still cheap with loads of goodies and their website is easy to navigate, but I'm sorry to say their customer service is plain shite. Don't shop with ebuyer. If anything goes wrong with your order, don't expect it to be sorted... ever.
They don't do email, just "enotes" (which will take you an hour to send because that particular part of the website is so slow it loses connection all the time) and phone. Phone is expensive, and enotes they read and reply to weeks after... if they feel like it at all. I'm trying to have a conversation with their main man "david" but with weeks between replies, it just seems silly. They operate in the US too (I'm in the UK). Maybe if they piss-off someone enough in the US it'll get ugly. Here, they just hope you'll get bored and give-up, and go away.
My misfortune? I ordered a 120GB seagate drive, received a broken 200GB maxtor covered in finger prints. Difficult to argue "you sent me a drive I did not order and it's broken" when "david" says ebuyer or their warehouses don't do mistakes... Yeah right, do you remember last time you sent me an AGP card when I ordered the PCI version? And that time last year when my order turned-up weeks after chrismas even though I paid extra charge to have it delivered on time? My current problem has been going-on since last summer. I have a feeling I lost the money.
Well, least I can do is warn you not to buy anything from them... and don't trust me, check the other reviews online!
One can always do a whois on the domain name. The integrity of the registration information is another story though.
It's not just camera dealers. This kind of crap has been going on with many mail-order vendors for many years, and they've gotten away with it before largely because of the shortage of law enforcement manpower to follow up on the complaints, especially when they were shedding names on a regular basis.
What's new about this situation, is that the internet has made it possible to bring another, very powerful enforcement mechanism to bear, and that is easily-available customer feedback. Not every mark is going to have seen the slashdot story, and not every online-reseller scumbag is going to get this kind of exposure, but it's so easy to just type the name of the business and the word "crook" into google and see what comes up.
This actually works to the benefit of honest dealers of any size. I bought a TV a couple of months ago from a company back east that I'd never heard of, and I was willing to do so because I googled them and they came up clean.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
Some one mentioned to use them in an earlier post. What credit card companies offer them and how do you go about making them? Would gift cards be the same thing?
I've seen at least one retailer/service that charges you a $100 fee if you initiate a chargeback (challenge/cancel the charge) with your credit card company.
Report them to the credit card company. That's a violation of their merchant account agreement.
BTW, I know a woman in Boston who used to work in compliance for a credit card company. Her car was towed (for service, not an impound), and when she went to pick it up, she tried to pay for the towing on her Visa card. They told her that they'd only take cash. She pointed out that they were displaying the Visa logo in their office, and quoted chapter and verse from the standard contract, which requires them to take Visa for payment if they have a merchant account. They still refused, so she paid them in cash, then drove to her office, then called their bank and got their VISA merchant account cancelled.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
I was having a dispute with one ISP and I started recording the phone calls. I confronted a member of their management staff with the recorded phone calls. He told me that the phone calls were recorded illegally and that I could be charged with a crime.
I then played the beginning of one of the recordings to him:
"This call may be recorded for quality assurance purposes."
I said "that's the sound of your company giving me permission to record these phone calls." He was not a happy man, but they sure became a lot more helpful in resolving what had been a service nightmare. And the tech support people stopped lying.
Citibank is one company that offers free "virtual account numbers" for their credit cards, to help protect you from CC info theft when ordering online. I don't know of any others that do right off, plz chime in if you know.
(Assuming you have a credit card with them) you log on to the website and the program generates a different temporary card number that bills to your regular card. The virtual card has a 1-month expiration date, and only acccepts one single charge (I found that out the first time I tried to use the same virtual account number at three different online retailers--the first one went through, the other later two got rejected. I had to send them each a different virtual number). This way you don't ever need to use your real card number online, and the number you do give is always different, and it can't be charged multiple times,,, or even at all after two months at the most. (prevents logged CC numbers at online retailers from getting hax0red and used later)
There are probably a lot of reasons to not like Citibank, but this is one thing they have done that is very good.
---And of course this would not have prevented the situation from happening, but it certainly cuts down on the possible excess charging that can be done. I don't know what other credit-card companies do it, none of the rest of mine do, but I don't use any other credit-card for online transactions at all anymore.
~
Yeah, it'll cost their hosting company a fortune!
Good! If you're going to provide services to thieves and scammers, then you deserve to suffer for it. The ISP could have easily looked up the countless online complaints about this merchant before signing a contract with them.
I don't buy from NYC area sellers. I include New Jersey, Rockland County, and Long Island in that zone. In fact, if I can't get it from somewhere on the left coast, I generally won't buy. FYI, I was raised in Queens.
Best regards.
Their email tells the user to leave a five star review at shopping sites using the following link: http://www.priceritephoto.com/priceritephoto/offer .htm and the text below: **Please do NOT mention this in the review, we do not offer this to all our customers. **Please do NOT mention my name or the fact that we asked to write a review the websites will not post it. This will also make you eligible for FREE shipping on any accessory purchases in the future
Well at least that explains how they manage to keep thier review ratings so high. And the people who actually fall for the bait and switch will be the ones most likely to fall for the FREE STUFF line as well.
I'm not a member of any of these shopping sites but I wonder how the sites will react if someone submitted the above link to thier complaints departments.
Quantum Physics a.k.a. sub-molecular statistics
The first conversation, the first paragraph, if true is a cause for disbarment proceedings at a minimum and probably criminal as well. At least to the point where you could get someone to inquire into it. Get the person's name and let them know you are contacting the State Bar to file an action. Then let them know you are calling the State AG, Fraud div. Then let them know you WILL put something online and you WILL trash their reputation and it will wind up being the most expensive few dollars that company ever screwed someone out of.
When someone goes nutz like that over the phone, I've found that just laughing at them seems to work.
It's also standard in Visa's contracts that you can't set a minimum purchase price either. The only things merchant can do is choose to accept Visa Debit cards, Visa Credit Cards, or both. The merchants signage must clearly indicate what they are accepting. (The standard VISA logo means both) As mentioned above, a quick call to your bank or Visa will cause almost immeadiate suspension or termination of the merchants account.
While posting something negative online about a person, product, or business is certainly nothing new, I think it's very interesting that we're starting to see some of these become internet-wide phenomena and in some cases even capturing the attention of the more mainstream press.
It's one of the (in my opinion, relatively few) things that could quite literally only happen online. With the advent of free blogs and such, almost anyone anywhere can post a message intending to call attention to negative behaviour of someone or something. It can then be linked to, blogosphered, slashdotted, forummed, digged (dugg?), viral-emailed, wikied, and so on, infinitely. We're seeing the birth of a new application of the internet: the network as a tool of disorganised justice.
I, for one, find this at once exciting, slightly frightening, and certainly interesting. The idea that networked ordinary people can do what law-enforcement authorities worldwide cannot is exciting. This genuinely has a chance to change the world. The frightening aspect is that much of this information is instantly taken at face value and unchecked, and the human tendency toward exaggeration is always a factor: if an innocent person or business were shamed in this way, it would be tragic.
It will be very interesting to see where this concept takes us. Hang on, folks, it's going to be one hell of a ride.
Andrew Lenahan http://www.starblind.com/
There are dozens of similar outfits all over New York City. It's an open secret that they're basically all fronts for various ethnic Mafia organizations. Primarily Russian, Israeli and Syrian, but with ample representation from just about everywhere else on the planet. Whoever the actual operator of "Pricerite" is, you can bet your last quarter that they already have half a dozen other D/B/As, maildrops and websites up and running already, and that they spin up and down various identities all the time.
...but if you're just a consumer and not a sociologist, you would be well advised to avoid the heck out of any online "camera store" with a 11xxx or 10xxx zip code, with the possible exceptions of J&R and B&H. Caveat Emptor, to say the least.
From a sociological standpoint, these are fascinating organizations, especially in the way that they sometimes slowly, over time, evolve into "proper" retail outlets, (e.g. J&R Music/Video)... and sometimes "devolve" back into criminality (e.g. Crazy Eddie).
News for Nerds. Stuff that Matters? Like hell.
I had a similar, although not-so-bad experience with bestpricecameras.com. Google searched for the lens I wanted for my D70, a Nikkor 70-300m G lens, they showed up as a sponsored link and claimed to have the lens for $109. I ordered it online through their web page, which indicated the lens was in stock.
I got an email the next day asking me to call and confirm my order. WTF? With most online retailers, you confirm the order by, you know, placing the order and entering your payment information. I fired back an email saying 'consider it confirmed.'
2 weeks later, they still haven't touched my credit card for the lens. I call up, navigate through their voicemail (fortunately it's a 1-800 number, so at least they're eating the cost), and talk to the guy who I'm supposed to call. He tries to upsell me a UV filter, because if I'm using it with a digital camera, and I take photos outside, I'll "get a lot of glare off the CCD." Now, I put UV filters on my lenses anyway, just for the sake of keeping crud off the lens while I'm shooting, so I was planning on picking one up anyway. I asked the price, he said $50. $50, for a filter that goes for $10 at any camera shop around here.
I told him forget the filter, just ship the lens. He said okay.
1 week later, they still haven't hit my card. I call back, ask about the order number, now they tell me it's out of stock. This is while I'm looking at their web page, which claims they have it in stock. I told them to just cancel my order, and fortunately they didn't give me any shit over it, I assume because it was only a $109 lens instead of a $3,000 camera.
Lesson learned: never order from a camera shop in Brooklyn.
This story hit digg early yesterday. Then it hit Metafilter a few hours later. Looks like /. is a liitle slow on the uptake.
You weren't too far off the mark.
h tm
http://donwiss.com/pictures/BrooklynStores/h0135.
I know credit card charges can be a drain on small businesses, expecially for small transactions, but I was pissed. The local pizza place's minimum order requirement, despite being in direct conflict with their merchant agreement, wasn't displayed anywhere but the register (pay after you eat) and they tack on a $2 surcharge. On top of that, the guy wouldn't refund my buddy his cash, so we could combine the orders and meet the minimum. I told him to charge the card, but it would be more trouble than it was worth. I took a picture of his sign with my phone and sent the pictures and a receipts to Visa. They cancelled the charges outright and his account got yanked immediately.
The next time I went by, he actually ran out to his doorway and yelled about how I was ruining in his business and taking food out of his kids mouths. I told him I would buy lunch there more often, but he doesn't take Visa anymore.
They tried to fuck with me and I beat them back.
Last year they tried to dispute deductions for alimony payments. The deductions were perfectly legit. I had done my homework before making those claims.
I provided all the evidence they asked for, they still disputed. Unfortunately they picked the wrong time to mess with me because I was all fired up from getting ready for my divorce trial. When I got my CPA involved and fired back at their disputes USING THEIR OWN IRS PUBLICATIONS to prove my case, they finally relented with the original tax return unchanged.
This was a case of some auditor who did not know their own system too well. Nothing nasty ever happened, I was lucky to have all my paperwork organized, they had a tiger by the tail, and I can write a very firm and convincing letter. Even my divorce lawyer couldn't believe I got off the hook.
You CAN dispute the IRS if you know what you are doing.
Eternity: will that be smoking, or non-smoking? I Corinthians 6:9-10
Taken from http://thomashawk.com/2005/12/apology-letter-from- ed-lopez-owner-of.html An Apology Letter From Ed Lopez, Owner of PriceRitePhoto I received a call this morning from Ed Lopez, the owner of PriceRitePhoto. We spoke at length and he told me that the activity that has resulted from my post on my experience with his business has most certainly impacted his business. Mr. Lopez told me that he was calling to apologize and that Mr. Philips was going to be terminated at a company board meeting later on this morning. He confirmed to me that they do have the camera in question in stock and although I am not interested in purchasing it from them at this point indicated that he would sell it for me at the advertised price. Subsequently Ed sent me the following email: "On behalf of Priceritephoto I would like to sincerely apologize for the negative experience that you have experienced with our company. As a company this is not representative of the way we treat our customers. If there is anything that we can do at this point to rectify the situation, please let me know. We have tens of thousands of happy customers who have purchased form us in the past and it is our commitment to give our customers the best value when dealing with us. We are doing a comprehensive review of our company's procedures to ensure that something like this never occurs. We have also terminated Mr. Philips from his position with our company." Although I do not believe my "Steve Philips experience" was an isolated case by this merchant (and certainly the other testimonials suggest that this is in fact more of a common practice by them), my own personal view is that any retaliation towards this vendor should be channeled through legitimate and legal channels. Although some of the crank phone calls are actually pretty funny I think that it is better to take the high road in this case and to use legitimate resources where they exist, whether reporting them to the comparison pricing services or contacting the Attorney General (as I have done) or reporting them to people like the Better Business Bureau. I think that the popularity of this story comes in large part because the message resonates so strongly with all of us. Although in a sense it is the classic tale of David and Goliath retold, it is much more than this. We all have at one point or another in our lives been bullied and most of us have been defrauded or ripped off. The fact that so many times in the past there was nothing we could do about it makes us feel all that much better about the fact that in today's internet and blogosphere we actually CAN do something about it. It is tremendously empowering for all of us to be able to turn the powerlessness that we felt in the past into justice in todays' blogosphere through the help of things like Digg and Slashdot and Boing Boing. And although every rip off does not receive this level of attention, I believe this story in a greater sense is representative of perhaps thousands of rip off experiences that we have all suffered in the past and been able to do nothing about - some directly with this vendor, some directly with New York based camera vendors like this one, and some with just fraudulent internet businesses wherever they happen to be located. Because we in the past have had to live with the bitterness of our own personal frauds, our feelings towards the popularity of this story is that much stronger - as is our desire to retaliate. This being said, I again would encourage everyone to take the high road with respect to this vendor. I believe that the power of this story and the ultimate outcome, whatever that may be, will carry much more weight if as a public we handle things responsibly and do not resort to illegal tactics or harassment. Although there is a sense that we all must feel that these folks have gotten what they deserved, I think it would be a far greater legacy for this story to have if change takes place in legal a
I'm in as well. How fortunate for me (and bad for them) that I recently got a fiber connection at 15Mbps/2Mbps. I loaded up all few windows of the sites on the Spam Vampire site and then went off to work from about 1PM until 9PM today. In that time, I downloaded 14.5 GB of data, nearly all from the spamvertised sites (I also check the URLs first and did a google search to see if they were deserving. It looks like I pulled down over 4000 images from the scam camera site itself.
I'm going to be gone all weekend from Friday morning until Sunday night, so just maybe I'll set up the system to run the whole time. Let's see, 14G in 8 hours, so over a 52 hour weekend that will be around 91 GB of data pulled off of spamvertised sites. Only thing worrying is that my fiber company may balk a bit or the scam admin looking an logs and start making a fuss (or try their own direct DOS). Oh well, screw them.. they do it to the normal consumer every day anyway.