My research into online resellers scams.

I once did a report on online resellers and rating sites. During my research, I found ResellerRatings.com to be one of the best rating sites. But I also concluded that these sites are at risk to ballot stuffing, and that they needed to give more information about the person posting the information.

What I found out about the resellers was alarming. A lot of resellers remove the UPC barcode label from the product before it ships. The UPC code is used by the consumer to register the product with the manufacturer. The manufacturer uses the code to track who is selling their product.

If you use Google to search for words like ordered UPC removed, or rebate UPC removed, you will usually find someone complaining that one of these resellers removed the UPC barcode before shipping. The barcode removal usually voided their warrantee, or rebates were denied. I also found that the companies that these people were complaining about got excellent ratings on the reseller rating sites.

Another scam that I found was that people were not getting their orders shipped if they did not order a bunch of needless accessories that the salesman recommended. People would call to order a camera at a really attractive price. The salesman would take the order and suggest a lot of accessories. If the person did not purchase the accessories, then the order would ship late, or not at all.

I felt bad for these people after reading their stories. If they had known how to use the tools that are out there, they would not have been ripped off.

If you know of any other scams, please let us know.

 

The age old addage still holds true today