80% off Lego Millennium Falcon

Oh man, so pretending this place will ship this knockoff, how do we know this isn't loaded with nasty stuff like lead?
 
Sure, likely whatever they had on hand. Whatever was already out to suppliers though is likely being liquidated :)
 
There's tons of sites like this nowadays. They are basically picking a too good to be true price point but at the same time it is not enough money that you're too afraid to lose it. They are looking for that sweet spot to get your money. You are not getting the product.

Maker's Muse did some videos on it related to 3D printers but it applies to any product.

 
There's tons of sites like this nowadays. They are basically picking a too good to be true price point but at the same time it is not enough money that you're too afraid to lose it. They are looking for that sweet spot to get your money. You are not getting the product.

Maker's Muse did some videos on it related to 3D printers but it applies to any product.

So what is the benefit to the site makers as most people will have cc protections? I don't get it. Is it for the 1% that actually can't get their money back? Is it to hold xxxx and earn some interest on it before they have to give it back via the cc dispute process? Wait a second...

I guess it does make sense if you want some capital for an 'investment' that will provide a return but don't want to borrow the money--just scam it from a bunch of people knowing that you'll have to pay it back in 30 days, but by then you'll have made the return on the 'investment' and you'll have no problem returning the money.

Or, I guess you can just withdraw the money paid to you daily by the cc processing from your bank account and put it somewhere else. When all the cc chargebacks kick in, there's no money to draw from the account and the company is a shell that the cc companies can sue in court but never collect. Even if you walk away with a small fraction of the money, that's a lot. Plus, no customers are going to complain to you as their credit card company took care of them. Wow, just wow. True scumbags gaming the system. This is the garbage you see in the third-world all the time. I hate to see that garbage coming here and messing everything up.
 
Yes, but these require a considerable amount of detail to get past all the regulations in place to prevent such things. There's no real efforts at the moment to prevent the type of fraud revealed in this thread. And in the first-world, you pay when you get caught. In the third-world you just pay someone off and do it again. Not like that doesn't happen in the first-world, but it's not as common as in the third-world, and isn't just viewed as 'normal'. :confused:
 
I bought a few off alibaba for dirt cheap... yeah it's knock off but it works fine for lego technic.
 
So what is the benefit to the site makers as most people will have cc protections? I don't get it. Is it for the 1% that actually can't get their money back? Is it to hold xxxx and earn some interest on it before they have to give it back via the cc dispute process? Wait a second...

I guess it does make sense if you want some capital for an 'investment' that will provide a return but don't want to borrow the money--just scam it from a bunch of people knowing that you'll have to pay it back in 30 days, but by then you'll have made the return on the 'investment' and you'll have no problem returning the money.

Or, I guess you can just withdraw the money paid to you daily by the cc processing from your bank account and put it somewhere else. When all the cc chargebacks kick in, there's no money to draw from the account and the company is a shell that the cc companies can sue in court but never collect. Even if you walk away with a small fraction of the money, that's a lot. Plus, no customers are going to complain to you as their credit card company took care of them. Wow, just wow. True scumbags gaming the system. This is the garbage you see in the third-world all the time. I hate to see that garbage coming here and messing everything up.

I'm not exactly sure of the worthwhileness for them, maybe enough people try getting money back through them and give up? They keep doing it so I assume they are making money somehow. I'm pretty sure these sites are being run from companies overseas somewhere.
 
I thought about that but then I wondered what kind of recourse one might have if nothing ever shows up. At least with a credit card I know I can call and talk to a person. Does that same apply for the prepaid cards since they're visa/master card or w.e

I use the Vanilla Visa's from my local CVS store. When you get them, you call the 800 number and set your zip code to the card for online purchases so you will not have any problems.

I have called the customer service number a couple times to ask some questions and got a live representative each time. I believe the people that pickup are the Vanilla customer service reps and not the bank that backs the cards.

Make sure you keep the purchase receipt for the card and the card itself until all the transactions are complete (meaning your stuff arrives and is not damaged, etc). If there are any issues down the road, they will ask for the numbers on the card. (If you lose a card, they will ask for the purchase receipt to help track it).

I had damaged goods show up one time and the vendor just credited the Vanilla Visa back just like a regular credit card.

Other notes that you might find helpful:

- If you have a small balance left on the card and want to use it up, you need to use it at a place that can take more than one payment method for a single transaction - I usually use Walmart. Just tell them you have a VISA giftcard and the balance left on it and let them process it first.
- If you buy gas with it, just go into the cashier and let them process it to make sure it goes cleanly. I have noticed that some stations pull a car rental stunt for a short time and hog some of the card's headroom until it clears their system.
 
- If you buy gas with it, just go into the cashier and let them process it to make sure it goes cleanly. I have noticed that some stations pull a car rental stunt for a short time and hog some of the card's headroom until it clears their system.
I can explain this one. The credit card at the pump has a 'default' authorization hold set by the bank. It's usually in the realm of $100, but can be lower like $75 and I've seen as high as $500 for corporate gas cards. Now, when the nozzle is hung up and the transaction is complete, the actual charge is the amount on the pump. However, the initial hold is what is going to be in place until the 'batch' of cards is processed (a batch is 99 card transactions in the Wayne Nucleus system we have, but other systems may process overnight or at a certain time slot). Once the card is sent to the processor, it takes about 24hrs for the hold to release and the charge to hit the actual account.

So if you have a balance of $150 and get gas for $50 and then try to use it for $100, it will most likely decline because the 'available' credit is only $50, not $100. Hope this helps!

And thank you for the details on using the Vanilla Visa for shady transactions. I'm going to keep it in mind. (y)
 
So what is the benefit to the site makers as most people will have cc protections? I don't get it. Is it for the 1% that actually can't get their money back? Is it to hold xxxx and earn some interest on it before they have to give it back via the cc dispute process? Wait a second...

I guess it does make sense if you want some capital for an 'investment' that will provide a return but don't want to borrow the money--just scam it from a bunch of people knowing that you'll have to pay it back in 30 days, but by then you'll have made the return on the 'investment' and you'll have no problem returning the money.

Or, I guess you can just withdraw the money paid to you daily by the cc processing from your bank account and put it somewhere else. When all the cc chargebacks kick in, there's no money to draw from the account and the company is a shell that the cc companies can sue in court but never collect. Even if you walk away with a small fraction of the money, that's a lot. Plus, no customers are going to complain to you as their credit card company took care of them. Wow, just wow. True scumbags gaming the system. This is the garbage you see in the third-world all the time. I hate to see that garbage coming here and messing everything up.
I'd wager it's at least 10% won't even remember such a small purchase and will forget to do a charge-back before it's too late. My wife is one of those people who orders shit and is surprised when it arrives - and then there are the people who just can't be bothered to call their credit card company for $50. If the scammers can make it "enticing" enough 10-20% can be a pretty big haul.
 
I pulled the trigger because I bought a huge Luke Skywalker X-wing lego from Costco last november for $60. I realize there's a LOT MORE legos invovled here but I didn't think the delta was too crazy when I pulled the trigger. We'll see. As others have said, my Costco Visa has amazing fraud protections so if it's scam I'll get my cash back.
 
Even if it is counterfeit stuff, $50 is quite cheap for that many pieces.

Do you have much experience with counterfeit stuff? I hope you don't but I do. You'll find the fake product is inferior in its material and quality plus I'd be concerned about toxic crap like lead for example, especially if you have kids.

Several years ago I ordered a MAGPUL sling off Amazon. When I opened the packaging I knew immediately there was something wrong with with the sling as the polymer was softer than MAGPUL's other products and later found it was the same counterfeit product sold through Alibaba. Thankfully Amazon refunded my purchase but I learned to only buy from certified sellers when it came to certain brands.
 
Do you have much experience with counterfeit stuff? I hope you don't but I do. You'll find the fake product is inferior in its material and quality plus I'd be concerned about toxic crap like lead for example, especially if you have kids.

Several years ago I ordered a MAGPUL sling off Amazon. When I opened the packaging I knew immediately there was something wrong with with the sling as the polymer was softer than MAGPUL's other products and later found it was the same counterfeit product sold through Alibaba. Thankfully Amazon refunded my purchase but I learned to only buy from certified sellers when it came to certain brands.
And knowing this people will still buy the fakes--that's why there's a market for it. :(
 
Harrison signed the real one later.
That was a fake.
It was all staged.
Then dude did a good job of faking the pain. :D Makes sense too since one must put on a caliber act when acting a scene with Harrison Ford! (y)
 
And knowing this people will still buy the fakes--that's why there's a market for it. :(
Well take Lego for instance. You might have a particular set that costs 200 new the fake might be 60-70. It's not just a percentage argument of " I can get 3 sets for the same price" it's an argument of "that's 140 bucks, it's a lot of money" and for quite a few people that's what matters more than quality.

Personally I think the allure of something like Lepin isn't in the new stuff, it's the old stuff that isn't made any more. As that 200 dollar set may be found for 400-500 because of "investors" which I am more than happy in giving people like that the finger, it's a fucking toy not an investment, but the Lepin version still is 60-70. That said I'm older and don't have those "must have" feelings for toys, and luckily my kid doesn't know any better and I'm financially ok enough to pay full price for new ones I can help build with him.

But my original point was that 50 bucks for an $800 set is much too low even for counterfeit, yeah they probably can make the parts for that cost but they still want to make money on "their" work, it's a delicate game if charging enough to make the profit with the risk, and not too much such that people would just rather buy the original.
 
The prices are all set based on supply and demand. I probably have some sets worth money if there's an interest in that particular set, but like my hot wheels cars I got when I was little, they were just toys, not investments. Today, there's a market for investing in toys thanks to the Internet, and part of that market is limited production runs by the manufacturer as well since they can make more profit on a few sets than a smaller margin on selling a whole lot of sets.

As a creator of IP, it is a slap in the face for someone to steal my work. I have no limit of hatred for those thieves, market demand or not.
 
Well take Lego for instance. You might have a particular set that costs 200 new the fake might be 60-70. It's not just a percentage argument of " I can get 3 sets for the same price" it's an argument of "that's 140 bucks, it's a lot of money" and for quite a few people that's what matters more than quality.

Personally I think the allure of something like Lepin isn't in the new stuff, it's the old stuff that isn't made any more. As that 200 dollar set may be found for 400-500 because of "investors" which I am more than happy in giving people like that the finger, it's a fucking toy not an investment, but the Lepin version still is 60-70. That said I'm older and don't have those "must have" feelings for toys, and luckily my kid doesn't know any better and I'm financially ok enough to pay full price for new ones I can help build with him.

But my original point was that 50 bucks for an $800 set is much too low even for counterfeit, yeah they probably can make the parts for that cost but they still want to make money on "their" work, it's a delicate game if charging enough to make the profit with the risk, and not too much such that people would just rather buy the original.
If it's a counterfeit that will ship, it's not the "we can produce and sell for lower" price, instead it's: "we aren't supposed to sell, so let's clean inventory before selling legally must stop."

My guess anyways
 
These sites pop up from time to time mostly on facebook. A lot of the time they are easy to spot because the domain is not listed on various review sites and a whois on the domain shows its a brand new domain that's like a month old. This one looks like maybe its a hijacked ecommerce store? Not too long ago there was one with a handheld mini PC going around for something like 83% off. People were sent small flip mirrors instead of the mini PC worth like $1. My guess is they collect CC info and either use it or sell it. All of the ones I have seen are fairly small amounts for whatever they are selling making people more likely to bite.

One of the reasons I am no longer on facebook.
 
There's tons of sites like this nowadays. They are basically picking a too good to be true price point but at the same time it is not enough money that you're too afraid to lose it. They are looking for that sweet spot to get your money. You are not getting the product.

Maker's Muse did some videos on it related to 3D printers but it applies to any product.


I bit the bullet on a $49 6.5" smartphone octacore with 4gb ram and 64gb storage.
After a couple of months a received some cheapo bluetooth headset.
 
I bit the bullet on a $49 6.5" smartphone octacore with 4gb ram and 64gb storage.
After a couple of months a received some cheapo bluetooth headset.

Did you try to get your money back?
 
So I'm starting to get why these scams work for the scammer. Even if a small percentage of people don't dispute it, it can be a lot of money. And if they've already moved the money out of the account, the cc companies are sol too.
 
I think I'll build a website that sells AMD 50th Anniversary CPUs for $50 more than regular, but it won't be any better than the regular version. What do you guys think? Will it work? I mean, it's only $50.

Edit: Fuuuuck. AMD beat me to it.
 
I think I'll build a website that sells AMD 50th Anniversary CPUs for $50 more than regular, but it won't be any better than the regular version. What do you guys think? Will it work? I mean, it's only $50.

Edit: Fuuuuck. AMD beat me to it.

To be fair, the 2700X 50AE comes with Division 2 Gold, which has an MSRP of ~$100 (at least until the exclusivity period ends). So if you were planning on buying that *and* a 2700X (which is dumb given how soon the Ryzen 2s will be launching), it's not as *much* of a ripoff.
 
To be fair, the 2700X 50AE comes with Division 2 Gold, which has an MSRP of ~$100 (at least until the exclusivity period ends). So if you were planning on buying that *and* a 2700X (which is dumb given how soon the Ryzen 2s will be launching), it's not as *much* of a ripoff.

And a limited edition t-shirt, and the 2 signed case badges, and there is still another game as well.
 
Website is now no longer reachable. Probably going to call my Citi and report the fraud today.
 
CC companies should deny claims from anyone who knowingly suspects fraud. Hope they deny yours.
What exactly do you mean knowingly suspects fraud? I didn't buy this on purpose knowing it would be fraudulent. I SHOULD have realized what it was right away, but I didn't think about it until after the fact. I and others have said as much, in this very thread.
 
I'm actually interested in seeing what (if anything) that people that paid into this actually receive.
 
There was no way to track the order, once I closed the page showing the finished order, there was no way to get to it again.
For 3 days that page showed order is being processed (or something like that), then I rebooted my PC and it was gone.
There is no way this is going to arrive.
 
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