Scam Scooters

The holidays are near and shopping season is upon us, so it seemed like a good time to repost.

My Transformer Remote Control Folding Electric Scooter has finally arrived!

   All for the low, low cost of $48.03 (USD) - including $12.00 (USD) shipping cost and $1.05 (USD) shipping insurance.

   Normally $699.00 (USD), it was a huge savings, especially with the Spare Lithium Battery - Transformer/Mobie Plus as advertised on Facebook.

   The advertisement even mentioned a basket and cupholder that they would throw in for free.

So cool.

Except it's not the right color, unless the box counts.

Doesn't quite look like the picture on the receipt either.

   Nor does it look at all like the item shown in the video from the ad on Facebook. I'm not thinking I will be able to ride the product I received, let alone drive over parking blocks or carry full bottles of water from the water cooler.

   Hmmm, could I have been scammed? Was an item listed hundreds of dollars below market price really too good to be true?

But it was on Facebook! I saw it in my Instagram feed. It even showed up as an ad in my news app! A Walmart New Year's Special. See, they are even running an ad now for Walmart Valentine's Day.

It must be legit!

Listed under multiple companies like Circuihy Store, Confirnug A, Genrosixh, Technicul, Bloerovestar shop, and many, many others, there is no way this could be a scam.

Wait, is Adequatia offering the same product for only $33.99 (USD) on Facebook?

Oh man, if I had only waited, I could have paid less. What was I thinking?

   To be honest, what I was thinking was: This is a scam. Let's see what shows up.

   It was like purchasing the Mystery Bag at the dime store, wondering what surprise awaited inside the brown paper bag. Undoubtedly it would be worth half of the purchase price. I was under no illusions, I knew that this was a scam - thus I used Paypal to make the purchase and protect my accounts.

    It was the source of countless entertaining hours for my husband and I as we speculated what we might receive. Would it just be the remote control for the scooter? Maybe a lifelike toy? Or perhaps something altogether different. Some people spend $50.00 (USD) to go to the movies. We never even had to leave the comfort of our own home.

The big day finally came.

    My purchase had arrived! But... there was no box on the porch. The box in the video was fairly sizeable, so it is not like I could overlook it. I checked in the back yard thinking maybe the delivery driver just didn't want to leave it on the front porch. Our street is fairly busy, but it was not there either. There was no package next to the mailbox, however, when I looked inside...there it was!

Or wasn't, depending on your expectations.

   As for me, I was expecting a package. Not necessarily the item I ordered, but a package.

And I did indeed receive a package.

Moreover, it was a package with TWO mailing labels.

   I wasn't terribly surprised to find that the item I ordered wasn't made in the USA, as advertised. It came from much, much farther away.

   As expected, the item I received, although quite a handy product, was also worth much less than I paid.

   Perhaps there was a mix up in shipping, a direct result of our government shooting down that innocent civilian balloon from China. It could have been a relay balloon for consumer purchases. Maybe it was an honest mistake, after all, the packaging was BLUE and the item I ordered was BLUE. I can see how such a mix up may occur. When they said it was manufactured in California, it might have meant the ad was created in California. After all, vacuums that are listed as "Made in the USA" are often not even assembled in the USA...

   Or, more likely, it was a deliberate SCAM, as reported on Reddit, YouTube, Myownwheels.com, and www.info.com among the many places I found the scam alert. I wasn't surprised. A quick search on the internet will show the price of mobility scooters anywhere from $699.00 to $4000.00 (USD). I was just a tad disappointed that I didn't receive the gray earmuffs that most people reported as having received from the scammers.

   I was also grateful not to be on a fixed income where such entertainment might be devastating, both emotionally and financially. If you ever find yourself in doubt about an advertised product, research, shop around, and ask someone you trust to take a look at an item before you hit the "purchase" button. Scams are becoming the new norm, preying on the unsuspecting and desperate. They come complete with legitimate looking logos, secure payment sites, and robotically driven confirmations and tracking information. The only thing scammers lack is a sense of morals.

So let my entertainment be a warning. If it seems too good to be true...IT IS!!!  

Unless you really wanted a USB cord or a pair of earmuffs.