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While searching for a particular camera, I came across this online store that I have never heard of and can find no reviews of but they have great prices. I was wondering if anyone here has dealt with them before. Pro24Photo Thanks.
The site was created 3 months ago and like you said has no reviews on ResellerRatings or anywhere else. Frankly you'd be out of your mind to do business with them.
The site was created 3 months ago and like you said has no reviews on ResellerRatings or anywhere else. Frankly you'd be out of your mind to do business with them.
Thanks for posting so fast. My red flags went up when I could find no reviews of the site. I figured I would post here and find out for sure.
Your welcome! The mail order camera business is absolutely rife with scams. Best to stick with one of the major vendors like BH Photo, Adorama, Tallyns, or Amazon. Otherwise, always check ResellerRatings.com carefully. I say "carefully" because it seems that shady vendors have figured out how to stack the reviews there lately as well, so make sure they have a long history and lots of reviews. And remember, if a deal seems too good to be true, it most likely is!
When you're trying to determine the legitimacy of site there is few simple tests you can use to help eliminate the bogus ones.
Firstly look it up in the Whois, the registration info might not be listed but where the server is located will be. In this case it's owned by a person in the UK and the server resides in the US. I persoanlly would not deal with anyone company based overseas unless they were well established.
The second thing you can do is check the account signup page and/or the cart. Any page collecting personal information even if it's just your name and address should be https, if it isn't run away becsue that means either the site doesn't take security seriously or is bogus. SSL certificates are expensive and are only good for the domain they are purchased for, these fly by night sites never have them. In the case of this site it's been revoked, click the account button.
Last but not least check the contact page, if there is no phone number listed run away....... They have a phone number listed, call it....
If a site does pass those tests it doesn't necessarily mean it is legitimate, it's just a short list to eliminate the ones that are most likely scams.
FYI there is lot of semi legitimate sites out there with other scams. Two of the most common ones are they will offer some ridiculous price on something and then once they have your money they will give you the run around and then offer you a refund or something else at an inflated price. The other scam is to offer stripped down equipment that will appear to be regular retail version, in small print will be the desription of what it is. e.g. They will have picture of DSLR but in fine print you'll find it's just a camera body.... no lense, no battery, no strap, no case etc.
I say "carefully" because it seems that shady vendors have figured out how to stack the reviews there lately as well, so make sure they have a long history and lots of reviews. And remember, if a deal seems too good to be true, it most likely is!
I never trust review sites open to the general public. The problem you mentions about companies is huge and that applies to large legitimate companies too. I've caught two vendors on my site doing it and I know there has to be others. The other problem is people with legitimate reviews tend to be those that are not happy, very few people take the time to review a product they like and are happy with.
I have placed an order a week ago using the pro24photo.com website. I did received a confirmation email. However, I have never received the merchandise. My credit card has not been charged yet. I tried to contact with them via phone or email with no success whatsoever. The phones are disconnected and they do not answer emails. It seems this is a web site from Ontario (Canada) but it really looks suspicious. I have already closed my credit card, but unfortunately they do have my personal information.
I will definitely not ordered from this web site. You have been warned.
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Pro24photo - Warning looks like a scam
