WARNING - Scams Involving Playstation 3

WARNING!

Scams Involving Playstation 3

As with the release of any popular product, such as the Playstation3, there are a lot of scam sites and people praying on unsuspecting consumers. Be careful about websites which seem too good to be true, and be sure to carefully read Ebay auction descriptions. For example, we heard about someone who paid $900 on Ebay for "3 Playstations" which was actually three Playstation One consoles, not a Playstation3.

Use common sense when shopping. If you find an online store which you never heard of, see if they raise any red flags:

• You never heard of the site before.
• You have not heard of any satisfied customers who purchased from them.
• Their domain was registered recently, and/or their "whois" records were protected by a proxy/privacy service for anonymity.
• The site provides no physical mailing address and has no retail store.
• Some product descriptions are vague.
• If you call the company or send emails, see how responsive they are.
• If the store only accepts Paypal transactions as forms of payment.
• If the store is based in another country, especially Hong Kong and Cayman Islands.
• The online store uses a bargain web hosting service provider, like a hosting provider that offers very inexpensive shopping cart and merchant packages. Real stores pay hundreds or thousands of dollars a month for their merchant services, so be wary if the store sells expensive electronics through a $5/mo hosting service.

If an online store raises a couple of those red flags, try to avoid them. While some of those sites actually could be legitimate, there is still a real possibility of being caught in a scam or getting headaches dealing with lost orders and disputing credit card charges.