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Fake Raspberry Pi Shops Pop Up
An anonymous reader writes "It seems that there are the first fake Raspberry-Pi sites out there: 'It's just been drawn to our attention that there's a Russian site (www.raspberrypi.ru) purporting to be an official reseller, which is already offering preorders. [..] If you see a site offering preorders or claiming to be an official reseller at the moment, it's a fake. Please don't send them your money. Initially, this site will be the only place you can buy a Raspberry Pi, and we are not offering preorders.'"
They have been selling Raspberry pie at Greggs for ages.
... is a Raspberry-Pi?
End of lesson. You may press the button.
Why name it Raspberry pie? Im allergic to raspberries you insensitive clods!
Is the hacker/maker community growing so large that this is a profitable endeavor?
Can you post the link of where to watch for them?
Did they register a trademark? I didn't see one on TESS. Not that that would really help them in Russia anyway.
It's an investment in obscurity.
Didn't you get the memo? We've run out of descriptive terms in the language, now we have to resort to made up terms like "Revo", "Ninite", and "Blaxor"; or subvert existing terms which have a completely different meaning like "Apache", "Chrome", and "Panty Shot".
All the good terms are taken, like "Dev" and "Board".
Having a name which completely hides the function is seen as an advantage - it's a great selling point which will draw in customers. Just wait and see!
The bad news is people are getting cheated, but the good news is that con artists see a big enough market to be worth creating fronts for it. It's a strong indicator that the Raspberry Pi will be successful -they just need to step up official press and YouTube releases with links to the real site.
that loud noise over your head? what the hell was that?
The post is taken directly from their website so the quote has no reason to describe the product. The /. editor saw no reason to describe the product because it has been in 13 articles since July.
Initially, this site will be the only place you can buy a Raspberry Pi, and we are not offering preorders.
Since the summary didn't actually link to 'this site' I thought I would do it and help you all out. It's right here, from the official manufacturers in Korea. Really, I'm not trying to rip you off or anything. I'm just a lowly slashdotter. You can trust me, I even have a sig. Right here, truly I am a prince, I know. It has OpenAPI security.
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
And yet again noone bothers to read the actual shop's web-page. Given web-site is nothing but reseller in Russia that is offering to preorder the Raspberry Pi in hopes of making bulk purchases when the product is available and saving a hefty sum on transportation and thus making a quick buck and offering it cheaper to those interested in buying it. But, well, who cares.
Who knew (especially here on /.)? Thank you, Caption Obvious.
The sign outside said:
"Free Pi!
The pi is also evil."
As well as the scam sites- I want everyone to watch out for the cheap fakes coming from China.
The $24.99 Raspbelly Pi, is a cheap knock-off and not a genuine item.
"That's the way to do it" - Punch
Trademarks don't matter if a company is taking pre-orders and delivering nothing.
Even if one tries the legal theory that they're selling vouchers that can be redeemed for the product in question?
I appreciate the fake resellers for creating this situation, and Slashdot for bringing it to my attention. Now I am aware of this product and will be keeping an eye out for it and may buy one from the manufacturer when they are available.
Secession is the right of all sentient beings.
Wouldn't this sort of thing be obvious as a scam? I mean, the target demographic for this equipment is highly specific and unique. I'd like to think said demographic has likely been following the progress of Raspberry Pi for quite a while now, and thus they know its legitimate status. Anything that deviates from that, out of the blue, is going to be fairly obvious as scam.
Still, it's good to see it being high-lighted for the non-followers.
As far as the scam site goes: If you're reading this, what the hell are you thinking. Really! You've been spotted from a 1000 miles away!
When the original Macintosh came out,it was crippled by the provision of only one diskette drive, and no slot for a second one. Users were constantly changing disks (since the OS and applications lived on one diskette), or had to get an external drive. There was a knockoff Macintosh, recognizable by the inclusion of two diskette drives. It looked good, like an improved version of the original.
Jobs was furious. There were radio announcements in Silicon Valley warning against the fake Macintosh.
Now I've heard of everything!
I got here through a series of tubes
Now, that's a new low, like putting on a black dress and molesting little boys freelance rather than through the regular Catholic church.
If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
Why link to the fake site? Why is that a good idea? Cmon...
You're just trying to throw me off the trail.
Screw you guys. I just pre-odered 10,000!
...is Google for? Maybe it's so you can find this site? Hint: it's a tiny $25 computer.
Raspberry Pi has been covered numerous times at slashdot. I'm surprised you haven't seen it before.
Free Martian Whores!
Until some Chinese firm makes one of those "fake" raspberry...
1. Make fake website taking preorders for hot new item. 2. Submit story containing URL to News sites like Slashdot declaring site a fake. 3. Watch fake site shoot up in Google rankings due to links on popular news sites leading to tons of sales. 4. Profit! An editor seriously fell for this?
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Aside from the Russian Raspberry Pi, lookout for the ShanZai Pi coming soon!