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How do I know if a company is legitimate and not a scam?


How do I know if a company is legitimate and not a scam?

Postby stentiford2006 » 12/10/2009 15:13

Hi Guys

I am a newbie to salehoo and all ebay selling etc and am trying to find my way through this jungle of nightmares! I was scammed last week for £500 by using moneygram (I know now as after the event I did my research!!!) I am copying an email that was sent to me froma supplier of phones and was wondering whether doing transactions this way is common? Hope you can help....stentiford2006

"Hello Customer,
-Minimum order is 20 Iphones.
-We do not accept third party escrow due to our drop shipping method which means we do not stock our merchandise.
-Our transfer is very secure we do not touch the funds until your satisfaction is confirmed you have 30 days before the funds are moved from our business account to our personal.
-You will also have full access to the account for 30 days to monitor your funds.

Hello Customer,
-5$ more for 16 gb
-10$ more for 32 gb
-We will supply you with all of the banking info of our account we use for buisness so you can monitor all transaction through our bank. "

Their email address is ** Link Removed: Only Available to Registered Members**
stentiford2006

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Re: Checking out a legit supplier from scammer?

Postby fudjj » 12/10/2009 20:57

stentiford2006 wrote:Hi Guys

I am a newbie to salehoo and all ebay selling etc and am trying to find my way through this jungle of nightmares! I was scammed last week for £500 by using moneygram (I know now as after the event I did my research!!!) I am copying an email that was sent to me froma supplier of phones and was wondering whether doing transactions this way is common? Hope you can help....stentiford2006

"Hello Customer,
-Minimum order is 20 Iphones.
-We do not accept third party escrow due to our drop shipping method which means we do not stock our merchandise.
-Our transfer is very secure we do not touch the funds until your satisfaction is confirmed you have 30 days before the funds are moved from our business account to our personal.
-You will also have full access to the account for 30 days to monitor your funds.

Hello Customer,
-5$ more for 16 gb
-10$ more for 32 gb
-We will supply you with all of the banking info of our account we use for buisness so you can monitor all transaction through our bank. "

Their email address is ** Link Removed: Only Available to Registered Members**


Don't need a company name, just putting iPhone and a Yahoo email address together indicates to me that this is a Chinese seller, and if not an outright scam, will be selling fakes.

Steer clear and save your cash : )
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Location: Brisbane, Australia

Re: Checking out a legit supplier from scammer?

Postby Satya » 12/10/2009 21:49

Hi stentiford2006,

Welcome to SaleHoo! Sorry to hear of your troubles. Hope you can recover your losses soon. Here are some simple things you can do to protect yourself when dealing with any supplier (especially those found outside of SaleHoo).

1. Run a whois check on the supplier's website to verify when it was created (it is safest to deal with suppliers who have been online at least a couple of years as most scam sites disappear within a few months to a year once word of their reputation gets out), who owns the domain, and where the domain was registered (the country should match the contact details on the supplier's website). We recommend using ** Link Removed: Only Available to Registered Members**
whois.ch?ip=salehoo.com&cache=off (replace salehoo.com with the url of the supplier).

2. Search the SaleHoo forum for the supplier's website/company name and see what other members have to say.

3. Call the supplier's telephone numbers to ensure they are genuine.

4. Purchase a sample before bulk ordering to ensure that the item meets your expectations.

5. Watch out for sellers asking you to "safeguard" your purchase by sending your money transfer in the name of a friend or loved one, or by establishing a "test question". These actions will not protect you from a fraudulent seller.

6. Low prices do not necessarily mean fraud, but radically low prices should warrant a closer look. If a price seems to good to be true, it probably is. Ask the seller as many questions about the item's authenticity as you can before you go any further. Request for a proof of authenticity as most brand name items come with official paperwork for resale.

7. Always use a credit card or PayPal to purchase goods. These forms of payment are safe because they give you a comeback if something goes wrong. With these payment methods, you can usually have the transaction reversed fairly easily if necessary.

Hope that helps - somehow. All the best!
Satya
SaleHoo Support Staff
http://www.salehoo.com/
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Re: How do I know if a company is legitimate and not a scam?

Postby richelle_salehoo » 12/10/2009 23:19

Hi stentiford2006,

Welcome to SaleHoo =D Great question to start off with!

Another thing you can do is try googling the "supplier's name"+scam and if they have scammed other people, I'm pretty sure you will find various posts on other wholesale forums.

After about a year of going through the SaleHoo forum, it would quite safe to say that for ANY product made by Apple, they (Apple) would still be your best choice!

Also, please be careful with Chinese suppliers claiming to sell you an authentic iPod/iPhone or any other brand name products for that matter, 9 out of 10 times they products usually are not real.

Cheers :)
Richelle
SaleHoo Support Staff
http://www.salehoo.com
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Re: How do I know if a company is legitimate and not a scam?

Postby stentiford2006 » 13/10/2009 09:46

Thanks guys I really appreciate your input. I have just started reading the auction inspector and your xmas ebay tricks!! Very good. Hopefully be selling soon!!!
stentiford2006

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Posts: 2
Joined: 09/10/2009 15:55

Re: How do I know if a company is legitimate and not a scam?

Postby Haydee » 13/10/2009 09:54

Hi Stentiford2006,

Welcome aboard! It's great to have you here!

They have covered pretty much everything that you need to know but I have provided some links below that you might find helpful.

For some excellent tips on protecting yourself from getting scammed:

** Link Removed: Only Available to Registered Members**
** Link Removed: Only Available to Registered Members**

For more information on importing from China:

** Link Removed: Only Available to Registered Members**

For issues concerning Chinese suppliers:

** Link Removed: Only Available to Registered Members** ... suppliers/

Christmas is fast approaching and we sure will be expecting good sales :) It is definitely a perfect time to start selling!

Please don't hesitate to post here or email us at ** Link Removed: Only Available to Registered Members** if you have any other questions or concerns.

All the best,
Haydee
SaleHoo Support Staff
http://www.salehoo.com
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Re: How do I know if a company is legitimate and not a scam?

Postby aglingerie » 19/10/2009 23:30

I see they have a video on youtube, just google their email address. You need to put a review on there as they have none, to warn people about them...
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Re: How do I know if a company is legitimate and not a scam?

Postby richelle_salehoo » 19/10/2009 23:45

Hi aglingerie,

Can you possibly post the link to that video? It may be something interesting to see.

Cheers :)
Richelle
SaleHoo Support Staff
http://www.salehoo.com
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