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Thread: Scam ?

  1. 02-10-2021, 11:22 AM #1
    Scott Donley's Avatar
    Scott Donley
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    Scam ?

    Hi, I bought an indoor antenna , amplified, that did no better than my old cheapy non amplified one. I left a 1 star review. I got this email yesterday, what's the scam ? He already has my name and e-mail, no links other than the one to my review. So, what gives ?

    Hello!
    My name is Michael,
    I noticed you had a bad experience with our HDTV Antenna, and you left a negative review on Amazon:

    https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-r...SIN=B07FVLXHYV

    I am sorry that you are disappointed, and we want to smooth this inconvenience out for you. Therefore, I have 3 options to choose between for you:


    1 - Full refund (no need to send the unit)
    2 - 2 new HDTV Antennas as a gift
    3 -$50 Amazon gift card

    Just reply to this email with the number of option that is the most relevant to you. The only thing we ask you is to delete the review. We hope you will be happy enough with our offer to do it.


    We are a small family company and we strive to ensure that the expectations of each of our customers are satisfied.
    We will do our best to improve our product and customer service in the future.

    I am really looking forward to hearing from you!
    Thank you in advance!

    Kind Regards,
    Michael
    Sometimes we see what we expect to see, and not what we are looking at! Scott
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  3. 02-10-2021, 11:58 AM #2
    Michael Weber
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    Just a thought but to me it sounds like the scam is the product they’re selling. Trying to keep it going longer by getting you to remove your rating.
    My three favorite things are the Oxford comma, irony and missed opportunities

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  4. 02-10-2021, 12:01 PM #3
    Lee Schierer's Avatar
    Lee Schierer
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    I would pick option #3 and give him your address at a mailbox service in your area.
    Lee Schierer
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  5. 02-10-2021, 12:52 PM #4
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    Well he has my e-mail he could just send a gift card using that.
    Sometimes we see what we expect to see, and not what we are looking at! Scott
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  6. 02-10-2021, 12:56 PM #5
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    Mike Henderson
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    Quote Originally Posted by Scott Donley View Post
    Well he has my e-mail he could just send a gift card using that.
    That's what I'd tell him - just send the gift card by email.

    [Edit: I didn't see the request to delete your review. I would not delete the review. One additional reason they want to get rid of negative reviews is that Amazon pushes them way down when someone searches for that type of product if they have a lot of negative reviews.]

    Mike
    Last edited by Mike Henderson; 02-10-2021 at 5:45 PM.
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  7. 02-10-2021, 12:59 PM #6
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    Thomas McCurnin
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    Thought Police. They want to control the reviews and opinions of their bad product by bribing you.
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    Tom
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  8. 02-10-2021, 1:03 PM #7
    Nicholas Lawrence
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    The scam is the review system. People think they are an honest reflection of consumer experiences with the product, but they are not. Your experience illustrates part of the reason why.
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  9. 02-10-2021, 1:52 PM #8
    Frederick Skelly
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    Quote Originally Posted by Michael Weber View Post
    Just a thought but to me it sounds like the scam is the product they’re selling. Trying to keep it going longer by getting you to remove your rating.
    +1. Why would you change your opinion and screw the next customer by deleting that review? He is buying your silence. (Do you really need that extra $50?)

    YMMV,
    Fred

    [Edit. If he gives you a hard time, tell him that he's lucky you dont go update your review to say he tried to buy your silence.]
    Last edited by Frederick Skelly; 02-10-2021 at 1:59 PM.
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  10. 02-10-2021, 2:06 PM #9
    Stephen Rosenthal
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    Not sure it’s a scam, sellers can get a lot of personal info from Amazon. I had the same problem with a $70 amplified MOHU antenna. I called tech services and the guy was dumber than a box of nails. He told me that sometimes a non-amplified antenna is actually better and suggested I buy one of theirs. I asked if I could disable the amplifier - no. I told him I’d never buy another MOHU product. As a last resort I looked on their website and found in the faqs that all I had to do to disable the amplifier was to disconnect it and plug the antenna into the TV’s antenna input instead of the USB port. I did and suddenly went from 22 channels to 70. Btw, the call was not routed to India and the tech rep was American.
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  11. 02-10-2021, 2:32 PM #10
    Doug Dawson
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    Quote Originally Posted by Frederick Skelly View Post
    +1. Why would you change your opinion and screw the next customer by deleting that review? He is buying your silence. (Do you really need that extra $50?)

    YMMV,
    Fred

    [Edit. If he gives you a hard time, tell him that he's lucky you dont go update your review to say he tried to buy your silence.]
    That is exactly what you should do.

    I’ve been contacted about 4 or 5 times about a product I gave a low rating to, with offers of free merchandise and cash up to a hundred bucks, escalating, on the condition of deleting the review. It was a really crappy and unreliable product, that I returned to Amazon for a full refund, and I don’t feel like going along with other people being scammed (nearly all of their reviews are 5 stars, I wonder why.)

    Plus, the odds of you actually getting the money are probably slim.
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  12. 02-10-2021, 2:37 PM #11
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    Jim Becker
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    Common with third party sellers on Amazon...bad reviews are a problem if they start piling up. Amazon does not appreciate deletion of bad reviews, however, especially from "verified" buyers. That skews reality for future sales. This company is also probably just reselling something they buy inexpensively for markup.

    The "scam" is more pointed at future buyers if bad reviews get deleted...
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
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  13. 02-10-2021, 2:44 PM #12
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    I would consider editing the review. (Maybe not do it after due consideration, but at least consider it.)

    Let people know that the seller had made contact to try to resolve the issue. Then paste in the email.

    That would be an informative review.
    Beranek's Law:

    It has been remarked that if one selects his own components, builds his own enclosure, and is convinced he has made a wise choice of design, then his own loudspeaker sounds better to him than does anyone else's loudspeaker. In this case, the frequency response of the loudspeaker seems to play only a minor part in forming a person's opinion.
    L.L. Beranek, Acoustics (McGraw-Hill, New York, 1954), p.208.
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  14. 02-10-2021, 4:27 PM #13
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    Upon further consideration, forward his email to abuse@amazonaws.com Let them deal with it.
    Lee Schierer
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  15. 02-10-2021, 4:54 PM #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lee Schierer View Post
    Upon further consideration, forward his email to abuse@amazonaws.com Let them deal with it.
    I agree with this after giving it some thought. Third party sellers should not be trying to manipulate reviews with "rewards".
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
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  16. 02-10-2021, 5:01 PM #15
    Frederick Skelly
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lee Schierer View Post
    Upon further consideration, forward his email to abuse@amazonaws.com Let them deal with it.
    Yeah! That's brilliant!
    "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

    “If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”
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