Cameras Online? How The Shysters Work 429
earlylate writes "How do certain photo and electronics dealers thrive despite widely-circulated warnings by unhappy customers? According to a new investigative website "many apparently separate and competing dealers are actually jointly owned and run" and "go to great lengths to conceal their locations and management." Further, some comparison-shopping sites "are in effect marketing partners with their affiliates," the very dealers they rate. There's a contest based on the suspicious "flood of similar, glowing reviews some dealers receive," as well as links to several sources of information and advice for the careful online shopper."
It's all the mob! (Score:5, Funny)
This post alone will give me away, I need to move again... but I needed to warn you all!
Fear (Score:5, Funny)
Vigilante justice (Score:5, Funny)
If you'd like to volunteer, let me know, I have a great camera I can give you for a low-low price, that would be perfect for the job.
Re:It's all the mob! (Score:2, Funny)
*Hey Dom!! Grab the bat and some tie-wraps, we got that little rat-bastard now!*
Re:It's all the mob! (Score:3, Funny)
Re:It's all the mob! (Score:1, Funny)
I'm such a nerd.
Re:Who You Buy From (Score:5, Funny)
That's why I only shop at Best Buy.
<trying hard not to burst out laughing>
What are you, (Score:5, Funny)
Henchman, "I say, that scoundrel has surfaced in the United States. Shall we whack him?"
Don Worcestershire, "Quite."
Re:Vigilante justice (Score:3, Funny)
I believe they're talking about websites. Maybe people could take screenshots and post those, and we can be informed!
Seriously, though, there's a practical reason why vigilante justice is discouraged: Every a-hole who's mad that he couldn't get an otherwise reputable and service oriented business to cater to his every whim imagines himself in the same category as the guy who thought he was buying a Digital Rebel XT, but got an old, scratched Billy Idol CD in the mail. Thus you end up with the noise of a lot of ridiculous complaints alongside the real ones, and the last thing you want is to encourage these people to "take action". Just as there are dirty, scumbag shopkeeps, there are dirty, scumbag, sociopath customers.
Anyways this whole story is a lame spam for some lame website. So they're telling us that there are shady businesses, and that anonymous reviews aren't trustworthy? Egads, what a revelation! Thank you for informing me, 503 Service Temporarily Unavailable website!
PriceRitePhoto = Bad / BestBuy = Nice ? (Score:4, Funny)
I'd never trust a store who couldn't spell "right" correctly anyway. All you Grammar Nazis were right.
Re:Lots of scams out there... (Score:3, Funny)
Good luck with that.
Re:Vigilante justice (Score:3, Funny)
Yes, Brooklyn is packed with honest folks (Score:2, Funny)
Re:It's pretty easy to identify the unscrupulous.. (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Finding good reviews (Score:2, Funny)
Peasant 1: Are there? Oh well, tell us.
Sir Bedevere: Tell me. What do you do with witches?
Peasant 1: Burn them.
Sir Bedevere: And what do you burn, apart from witches?
Peasant 1: More witches.
Peasant 2: Wood.
Sir Bedevere: Good. Now, why do witches burn?
Peasant 3:
Sir Bedevere: Good. So how do you tell whether she is made of wood?
Peasant 1: Build a bridge out of her.
Sir Bedevere: But can you not also build bridges out of stone?
Peasant 1: Oh yeah.
Sir Bedevere: Does wood sink in water?
Peasant 1: No, no, it floats!... It floats! Throw her into the pond!
Sir Bedevere: No, no. What else floats in water?
Peasant 1: Bread.
Peasant 2: Apples.
Peasant 3: Very small rocks.
Peasant 1: Cider.
Peasant 2: Gravy.
Peasant 3: Cherries.
Peasant 1: Mud.
Peasant 2: Churches.
Peasant 3: Lead! Lead!
King Arthur: A Duck.
Sir Bedevere:
Peasant 1: If she weighed the same as a duck... she's made of wood.
Sir Bedevere: And therefore...
Peasant 2: