Report Brooklyn Bait and Switch Websites to Federal Prosecutors

Here’s a link to the Internet Crime Complaint Center, operated in part by the FBI.  Please file a complaint if you’ve been victimized by any of the bait and switch websites.

ProPhotoNation (Pro Photo Nation) Conducts Bait and Switch Techniques

Beware of prophotonation.com, which currently appears on Google searches as a “sponsored link.”             

Pro Photo Nation purports to sell the Canon EOS 509D for $469.99.  They don’t actually sell it for this price, they simply advertise this price in an attempt to upsell you some overpriced accessories.

Here’s the resellerratings link.

ComplaintsBoard link.

First person account.

Their “about us” page claims they’ve been in business since 1976, but the web domain was created in October 2008.  The domain contact is listed as “discreet,” but the contact address provided is Avenida do Infante 50 Funchal, Madeira 9004-521 PT.  The website itself contains no address, and the photo of their store front is a poorly photo-shopped picture.  You cannot even tell what city or state they operate in.

It looks like ProPhotoNation is operated by TechonDigital, one of the absolute worst, fraudulent enterprises operating on the Internet today.  Read their reviews here.

I found some of the exact language in ProPhotoNation’s site on the Techondigital site.  Note that they’ve made some alterations to the language, apparently in an attempt to avoid detection in Google searches.

Techon Digital:

21 days for return or exchange (DIGITAL, VIDEO & Gps devices 7 DAYS) with the receipt RMA# only. Please call our customer service department to obtain RMA # (Return Authorization Number). Returns will not be accepted without RMA #. Returns received by us without RMA # will not be our responsibility. Also we will not be able to accept any returns without the original manufacturer box with the original manual and all the accessories which were included in the original shipment. Shipping and Handling is not refundable!  Please be aware that a return authorization number does not constitute any final disposition. After we receive your return, we will submit to our QA department where it will be assessed for a refund or exchange. All returns must include all merchandise or services sold under the same order number and invoice. Please understand these orders are often sold as a kit/package and we cannot resell those items separately.

Pro Photo Nation:

10 days for return or exchange (DIGITAL & VIDEO 7 DAYS) with the receipt RMA# only. Please call our customer service department to obtain RMA # (Return Authorization Number). Returns will not be accepted without RMA #. Returns received by Prophotonation without RMA # will not be the responsibility of Prophotonation. In addition Prophotonation will not be able to accept any returns without the original manufacturer's box with the original manual and all the accessories which were included in the original shipment. Shipping and Handling is not refundable! All returns are subject to a restocking fee ranging from 3%-20%. Please be aware that a return authorization number does not constitute any final disposition. After we receive your return, we will submit the goods to our QA department where it will be assessed for a refund or exchange. All returns must include all merchandise or services sold under the same order number and invoice. Please understand these orders are often sold as a kit/package and we cannot resell those items separately.

Don’t be fooled…avoid prophotonation.com.

WARNING: CAMERA GIANTS (CAMERAGIANTS, CAMERAGIANTSINC.COM) WILL RIP YOU OFF!

Fake price comparison site everyprice.com now lists cameragiants.com as having the lowest price on the Canon HV30. The cameragiants website even boats a “2009 Gold Award” from everyprice.com and an award from rightbuydigital, another fake price comparison site. They sure won awards quickly, given the website name was only created last month (as you can see here). Here's a photo of their world headquarters. According to the State of New York's Department of Corporations, (link) they incorporated on February 6, 2009. Their mailing address is
CAMERA GIANTS INC.
PO BOX 230795
BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, 11223
This link is from someone who tried to purchase from them.
As it turns out, Camera Giants is operated by 86th Street Photo. I googled some of the language on their site and found the exact language on the websites of 86th Street Photo and 1wayphoto.
1wayphoto is one of the worst ecommerce websites on the Internet. Read their reviews here. 86th Street Photo has even worse reviews, which seems almost impossible.
From the Better Business Bureau:
"According to complaints filed with the BBB, WiseTronics (aka 86th Street Photo) employs bait and switch sales tactics in order to sell more merchandise. After placing an order on-line, consumers receive an e-mail instructing them to call the company to "confirm" their order. Once on the phone, sales representatives try to sell consumers extra batteries, accessories, and warranties, some of which are included with the camera. When consumers decline, their order is cancelled or they are told that their item is not in stock."
The Bureau has the following contact information:
Shlomi Albaydadi Owner
2845 86th Street
Brooklyn, NY 11223
How do I know that Camera Giants is operated by 86th Street Photo? I took part of the URL from an item on the camera giants website: prodshelf.asp?dept_id=10344 and put it in Google. The only search result was from 86th Street Photo. Take a look at the photos above…they are the EXACT same pages. Both were designed by a web developed called blueswitch.com. If you look at the source code for both websites, and search for blueswitch, you'll find their name.
If you already tried to purchase something from Camera Giants, cancel your credit card, and contact your State’s attorney general and tell them you’ve been the victim of Internet fraud. If you are in New York, contact Andrew Cuomo's office as well as the Department of Corporations.
If you have not yet attempted to do so, don’t. You won’t get the item for the price advertised. These people will try to sell you over priced accessories. If you don’t agree to purchase an additional item, the original item is out of stock. Classic bait and switch.

GoCameraShop: Beware of a New Google Sponsored Link

GoCameraShop.com has prices that beat most of the Brooklyn bait and switch criminal enterprises (with the exception from the one of the biggest frauds of all, soniccameras).  As an example, the Sony hdr-fx1000 is listed on the gocamerashop website for $2,219.09, lower than the fake price listed on Broadway Photo, Wilddigital, digitalsfuture and camera addict.  So is the price legit?  Unfortunately, there are no reviews on resellerratings.  Here’s the description from their website:

 

GoCameraShop.com is a professional supplier of electronic to worldwide. GoCameraShop Limited is a Hong Kong based company (No. 1180292), our business office locate at Room 11D, Building A, DuHui100, ZhongHang Road, HuaQiang North, Futian District, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. All our products, hi-tech gadgets and consumer electronics products are made in Shenzhen, a global sourcing center of electronic products, where a mass of professional electronics manufacturers locate.

 

On February 10, 2009 they signed up on eBay, but are no longer a registered user…not a good sign.

 

I found a comment in the forum section of DPReview (a photography website) that noted the following:

 

hey guys... thanks for the response... I did a little more digging and found a french blog site that had a thread about http://www.gocamerashop.com and they said that they tried to purchase a product and found that nothing was secure. You just send your money to an account. They advertise paypal but do not use paypal... its a scam... would have been a good deal if it was true... thanks for the quick replies anyways...

 

Here’s a note from someone on Yahoo! Answers:

 

“checked the site out too and I'm unsure like you. I put an item in my basket and checked it out. I'm wary because you can only pay by western union or money gram which leads me to believe they might be scammers. Why not have Visa or Mastercard as a payment option?

I clicked confirm order and got an order processing email to my inbox, but I haven't gone any further because I think I'd rather be able to pay by credit card and scammers generally use western union because they can get the money immediately then disappear. I'm going to avoid this site until I hear differently.”

 

Based on the above, I’d avoid these guys like the plague.

Face Finder in iPhoto '09

I'm not sure if this is what Apple had in mind, but I went ahead and identified him as Fred.

Warning: HDCameraWorld aka HD Camera World is a Bait and Switch Site

Hdcameraworld.com has been around awhile now, but they are appearing more frequently.  They are a classic bait and switch operation.  Read the resellerratings reviews here.  Per Don Wiss, the also go by the name Xtreme Cameras (XtremeCameras.com), U Buy Digital (UBuyDigital.com), and The Camera Professionals (TheCameraProfessionals.com).  Here’s a photo of their headquarters. There’s more detailed information here.

Better Business Bureau Report (link):

Name:

THE CAMERA PROFESSIONALS

Additional Business Names:

All Star Camera

All Star Electronics

Allstar Camera

Best Digital Online

HD Camera

HD Camera World

HDCameraWorld

Pay Less Digital

The Camera Pros

Together Allstar Camera

UB Digital

 

Address:

1151 McDonald Avenue

Brooklyn, NY 11230

 

Principal:

Moussa Swed, President

Phone Number:

(718) 265-9777

Additional Phone Numbers:

(800) 496-0227

(800) 577-6791

(718) 431-0610

(800) 577-6791

(800) 577-6791

(718) 431-0610

(718) 431-0610

(888) 745-0611

(888) 431-0611

(718) 431-0613

Website:

www.thecameraprofessionals.com

Additional Websites:

www.allstarcamera.com

www.allstarcamera.com

www.bestdigitalonline.com

www.thecamerapros.com

This is NOT a BBB Accredited business

Consumers have informed the BBB that TheCameraProfessionals.com is employing bait and switch tactics in order to sell extra and/or higher priced merchandise to customers. Consumers report that after they place an order on-line they are instructed to call the company to confirm their order over the phone and that while confirming the firm tries to intimidate the consumer into "upgrading". Consumers are told that “in stock” items are not in stock when they refuse to purchase the extra products.  Based on BBB files, this company has an unsatisfactory record with the Bureau because it failed to substantiate or modify advertising claims.

The Simpsons: Apple Store Opens in Springfield

Initial Thoughts on iLife '09

I finally installed iLife last night.  The face recognition in iPhoto is pretty amazing, although it apparently requires me to manually go through my entire album (nearly 5,000 photos) and confirm each one.  I transferred a one hour video from our Mexican cruise.  The stabilization feature took SIX HOURS, on top of the one hour to import the movie.  Yikes.  I haven’t made a movie yet (I’m currently importing the second tape from the trip) but I’ll update this post shortly once I’ve made a quick movie.  While stabilization is obviously a great feature, if in fact each film takes 7 hours to import I doubt I’ll be using it that often. 

Shane Company Blames SAP for its Bankruptcy

I’ve hated Tom Shane’s voice, and his annoying ads, for years.   It was still depressing to see them file for bankruptcy last month.  After laying off some employees, the final paychecks bounced.  According to the bankruptcy filing, they lost $29 million in 2008.  Despite the loss, they continued to pay their annoying pitchman, Tom Shane, $1.3 million in salary.  What’s interesting is that the company blames the bankruptcy, in part, on an SAP implementation. According to Computerworld (here’s the link):

 

“Shane agreed in 2005 to buy a "sophisticated point-of-sale and inventory management system" from SAP AG that would cost $8 million to $10 million and could be rolled out within a year. The rollout took 32 months and cost $36 million, it said.  When employees started using system in September 2007, it "did not yet provide accurate inventory count numbers," and the stores became "substantially overstocked," Shane said.  The SAP system "became stable and functional" toward the end of 2008 but still doesn't deliver "the full functionality originally contracted for," the filing said.”

 

According to this article in Forbes:

 

In 2005 jewelry chain Shane Co.--"You've got a friend in the diamond business"-- hired German software vendor SAP to develop a new inventory management system. Two years later, in the retailer's telling, the system was incomplete, over budget by $28 million and a mess. Shane stocked up for the 2007 holiday season with baubles the software indicated it needed, but actually didn't. The company hired eight contractors to fix the problem and got its system functioning by fall 2008. But it wasn't enough. In January, Shane filed for bankruptcy.

 

A $36 million inventory management system for a company with 23 stores?  Yikes…that was some silver-tongued SAP sales person.  The Shane Co. is not the first to blame SAP for financial problems, just the smallest of the lot.  Prior “victims” include Hershey and Nike.  As the economy worsens, there will probably be a few others that look to blame someone…anyone…for their losses.

 

 

Cash4Gold: A Big Rip-Off

According to this article, Cash4Gold is not, in fact, a “fair transaction.”

 

“A little online sleuthing finds that I'm not the only one who figures that if Cash4Gold has this much money to spend on TV ads, someone's getting the short end of the stick, and it's probably the people sending in their family heirlooms to be melted into ingots. The folks at Cockeyed.com put Cash4Gold to the test, rounding up a bunch of old rings, necklaces, and earrings, and taking them to a regular pawn shop to be appraised. The offer: $198 for the lot. They then sent the items to Cash4Gold and waited for a check in the mail. It arrived within a few days as promised... in the amount of 60 bucks. (You don't have to accept the check; the deal isn't done until you cash it.)  That price alone is practically criminal, but that's where the truly slimy part of the operation begins. First, if you call Cash4Gold and ask for your stuff back, you abruptly get a better offer: In the case of the above experiment, the offer was a whopping $178. That's a better deal, but still not market rate, though the caller was told that Cash4Gold could "manipulate the numbers on their end" to make it appear that more product was sent than was in reality. Bizarre, but it's really the only way Cash4Gold can cover its behind to convince you the original offer wasn't a wholesale ripoff.  As bad as that is, it's far worse if you opted for the company's "Fast Cash" option. Here, that original offer ($60) is wired into your bank account within 24 hours of them receiving the booty. It sure is fast, but it's not much cash -- and you don't have the option of declining the offer at all. You're stuck with a pittance for your valuable gold items. (It's also worth noting that Cash4Gold has offered Cockeyed cash 4 removing its expose from the web...)”

Newly Released Movies Streaming for Free on the Internet

The New York Times had an article yesterday on how digital pirates are winning the battle against Hollywood studios, especially with a new wave of streaming websites that show newly released films. I consider myself pretty tech savvy, but I had no idea that such sites were available. Sure, I’m familiar with bittorrent and piratebay, but I don’t download content, not only because of legal implications but also because I’m concerned about security. However, the idea of easily watching a current movie, like watching a youtube video, is intriguing, but I doubted that you can in fact see current movies online.

After just a few google searches, I did in fact come across numerous sites with links. For research purposes, I watched parts of “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” streaming from zshare.net. The quality was very poor. The film was recorded using a camcorder at a theater (you can hear laughing and talking). But the worst part was that it was haphazardly edited, apparently to make the file size shorter. From what I saw, the movie was awful, so I really didn’t care about the quality. One movie I do want to see is “Taken,” where Liam Nelson’s daughter is kidnapped in Europe. I found a link from Asia that hosts the movie. It’s pretty crappy quality and has ads and subtitles. I’m not sure how the copy was made, as it does not look like a camcorder job. I enlarged the file on a 22” monitor and it did look decent. The soundtrack was in sync with the dialogue. All in all, I’m pretty amazed you can watch a just-released movie for free, at home. Hollywood definitely has got a problem here. A BIG problem.

Complete List of Madoff Investors

Here’s the link.  This is the equivalent of the Glengarry leads for unscrupulous investment advisors.

Air Traffic Tapes from Hudson River US Airways Crash

Here’s the link.

Christian Bale Tirade Dance Remix

Uncensored Christian Bale Rant