This complaint concerns a company called SwapSellTrade.com (2459 SE TV HWY Suite 224, Hillsboro, OR 97123, phone 503-844-0504) who is engaging in Deceptive Trade Practices. I would like to warn EVERYBODY that said Company is engaging in deceptive and fraudulent business practices and to STAY AWAY from them!
In mid-September I purchased by credit card a case of digital cameras from the SwapSellTrade.com website for $289 per case. After my purchase, I did not receive any form of receipt from this company as a record of payment. The only correspondence I received from SwapSellTrade.com was an E-mail sent on 9/18/03 that informed me of shipping times and the packing slip that was shipped with the item. Neither contained a breakdown of charges as a record of payment.
SwapSellTrade.com's website made the claim that they were hired to liquidate a camera wholesale distributor. They made the claim that they could not accept model requests and will not ship a specific model. They made the claim that this was a closeout warehouse clearance sale. They made the claim that all sales are final. This entire claim is COMPLETELY FICTITIOUS, concocted by a sleazy scammer named Joe Richey, as you will soon see. The text of the web page follows (from swapselltrade.com/we_have_been_hired_to_liquidate4.htm
"we have been hired to liquidate a camera wholesale distributor and we are offering this deal to the public first come first serve
We are going to pull cameras by the case and ship them as orders come in.
We promise each case will hold 8 to 12 cameras depending on case size. Be advised we are not accepting model requests and will not ship a specific model.
This is a warehouse clearance sale and all shelf case pulls are random
We will not cherry pick for a certain model all sales final.
This is a closeout sale no specific model or brands will be displayed to entice the sale. All sales will be random as pulled
First come first serve
Each case is $289.95 and will only contain digital cameras no 35 mm cameras at this price don't want a case order less for $49.95 a camera"
On September 24, my shipment arrived via UPS. When I opened the box, I was surprised to find eight (8) boxes containing no-name-brand "Digital Camera/Webcams" made by a Chinese-owned company called Premium (Model #050-300K). Upon further examination of the box, I found the poor quality of the text and graphics to be unacceptable. But that was only the beginning of the many surprises that followed.
Upon opening the box and examining the item, I found not a digital camera in the true sense of the word, but a cheaply made pen-shaped item that passed off as a digital camera and a Webcam at the same time. This so-called digital camera was made of very cheap plastic; did not have a flash; was the lowest-grade resolution camera on the market (640x480); had a cheap, out of focus viewfinder; did not have an LCD image review screen (LCD panel only showed the number of pictures taken and function modes); and made audible sounds reminiscent of cheap imported handheld LCD video games. This was an obvious disappointment.
Even more disappointing is the fact that this item did not live up to its claims. The Premium Digital Camera claims it works with Microsoft Windows XP. Upon attempting to load the software driver using the included CD onto a computer with Microsoft Windows XP as the operating system, an error arose indicating that it "Failed Windows XP Logo Verification." What this means is that the company that provided the software (Premium) failed to test their software for compatibility with Windows XP. This is evident in that the Designed for Windows XP logo does not appear on the external packaging or on the CD itself. Thus, I could not load the drivers and other necessary software needed to get the camera operational. The full description of the Microsoft Windows XP Logo Verification process can be found at the following Web address: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/using/productdoc/en/default.Asp? Url=/windowsxp/home/using/productdoc/en/logo_testing.Asp
At this point (9/25/03), I contacted SwapSellTrade.com by E-mail to resolve this issue and request that I return the item without having to pay their stated 20% Restocking Fee. At issue is that fact that I received a product I can't do anything with because of its poor quality and inability to resell - and why I should have to pay SwapSellTrade.com any additional fees for what I believe is their potentially deceptive trade practices. I received a form message in response that informed me as to their return policy. However, this message reiterated their 20% restocking fee policy. So I wrote the company back, and in response they sent me another E-mail indicating that they saw nothing wrong with the item in question, and that the 20% restocking fee still applies. So in not so many words, SwapSellTrade.com's defense in their E-mail correspondence back to me was that I ordered cameras and I got cameras.
I also contacted SwapSellTrade.com by telephone (503-844-0504) to speak with a Customer Service Representative regarding the matter. What I found was unacceptable. The individual explained to me that I needed to send an E-mail to [email protected]. I told him I wanted to speak to an individual from their Customer Service department. Again, he told me to just write an E-mail to their Help Desk. I asked him if they had anybody I could talk to, and he said, "Uh, well, they're all busy packing." I then asked him if they had a Customer Service department at all, and once again, he told me to just E-mail their Customer Service department. It became readily apparent to me that SwapSellTrade.com has no Customer Service department, nor do they have a live person with whom to resolve disputes. This raised a red flag and prompted me to do some more research into this suspicious outfit. What reputable company doesn't have a Customer Service Department?!
I researched the item on the Internet to see how much it sold for. I searched on eBay.com and found that it was selling for far less than the $27.90 per camera I paid.in fact, these items priced between $5 and $14 on eBay, and only a couple actually received bids (indicates an item that lacks interest). But what I found next was even more shocking. During my search, the only result was an Importing/Dropshipping/Distribution company called The Premium Connection (http://www.premconnect.com) headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. What appeared on my screen from The Premium Connection website was the same digital camera sent to me by SwapSellTrade.com (http://www.premconnect.com/html/050_300k.htm). I looked on my invoice, and the FOB (shipment origination) was Las Vegas, Nevada. I contacted The Premium Connection and spoke with Mark regarding my shipment. After researching my invoice number in his system, Mark verified exactly what I had suspected.
SwapSellTrade.com had not been "hired to liquidate a camera wholesale distributor" as they claimed in their item description. This was neither a "warehouse clearance sale" nor was it a "closeout sale, " and they were not picking digital cameras "at random" from a warehouse shelf. What SwapSellTrade.com did was simply purchase the item from The Premium Connection at a discount and had it dropshipped (sent) to my address. This was all verified by Mark at The Premium Connection.
Putting the pieces of the puzzle together, I realized how SwapSellTrade.com was operating in this case. They covered themselves by saying they will not select the brand cameras to ship out. This way they could send customers a cheap, faulty product. They also covered themselves by stating "All Sales Final, " although one does not have to press very hard to find that they do in fact allow returns on this product. But this way, customers would be less inclined to follow through on returns because they believe they can't return it anyhow. What a way to stick the customer with a faulty product!
After I received these digital cameras, I checked back at the SwapSellTrade.com website to review the advertisement. It said, "3 cases left, " meaning the supposed warehouse clearance sale is soon to end, and the supposed camera store they were liquidating was almost cleared out. Out of curiosity, I recently went back to the SwapSellTrade.com website to see if I could locate the original advertisement for the digital camera closeout sale. To my surprise - SwapSellTrade.com had reposted the same exact advertisement on their website, only this time the words "3 cases left" did not appear on the page! All the more reason to see how this company is making fraudulent claims and deceiving the public.
My case is only one instance of SwapSellTrade.com's tactics. SwapSellTrade.com's website is chock full of similar "offers" and "one-time deals." Additionally, numerous complaints have been leveled against SwapSellTrade.com, including the following from here at the usacomplaints.com.Com/usacomplaints.com website (http://usacomplaints.com):
Http://usacomplaints.com/report66485.htm
"I recently purchased a platinum membership from Joe Richey. I was double charged: once for a platinum membership, and also for a dropship membership. I contacted Joe and he stated that he would refund the dropship membership fee. After several weeks I still have not received a refund. At this point he will not even respond to any e-mails or voice mails. I tried to handle this like a gentleman, but unfortunately it seem that Joe is a " Sleazy" business man, and I would highly recommend people to stay away from his offerings."
Ron Leicester, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
Http://usacomplaints.com/report49620.htm
Joe Richey, Swapselltrade.com, Merchandisecloseout.com Joerichey.com DISHONEST SELLER! Shipped partial order, then states have to wait 30 days in order to receive a refund as per "trade law". Uses your credit card at his leisure Internet
Received partial order from his online wholesale website. Received 1 out of 4 items. Emails were ignored as to the whereabouts of remaining order. Only answered my email when I requested to cancel my order and requested refund.
Forget about calling... NO ANSWER or ONLY RECORDED MESSAGES! Joe stated that I needed to wait 30 days as per "trade law".initially refunded purchase grudgingly (emailed me stating he now blocked my email), then emailed me that he re-charged my credit card for merchadise he felt I received.
So nice to have used my card without my knowledge and only told me after the fact. Still never received my remaining items. USPS Delivery confirmation ticket still reads that the item is intended to ship. (From last month). Goes by many names, couple of other owned websites, and many other dealers affirmed questionable activity only after mentioning the sellers name in passing conversation."
Angie, Schenectady, New York U.S.A.
To summarize my experience with SwapSellTrade.com, I:
1) Was never presented with a Receipt of Purchase;
2) Was deceived by the nature of their camera sale;
3) Was shipped a faulty, cheap product that does not live up to its claims and one that I could not resell to my customers.
My only solution was to return the case of faulty digital cameras to SwapSellTrade.com and cancel my credit card account to prevent any unauthorized charges from appearing. However, I will absolutely REFUSE to pay the 20% restocking fee. Why should I have to pay for their scams? I've already spend $8 shipping this product back!
IF YOU'VE BEEN SCAMMED BY SWAPSELLTRADE.com/JOE RICHEY:
1) IMMEDIATELY call your credit card company and do two things: First, review your statement with a Customer Service Representative, identify your purchase from SwapSellTrade.com, and put a "STOP PAYMENT" on that line item. Then cancel your credit card account & get a new card number. If you've paid by check, I highly recommend you call your bank, close your checking account, and open a new one. These actions should also prevent SwapSellTrade from charging you the 20% restocking fee they claim you need to pay. You don't want this scammer to get your money!
2) Contact the Better Business Bureau (http://www.bbb.org).
3) Return any items you purchased from SwapSellTrade.com. On the box, write RIC12 (this is an RMA number). Take your box to a UPS authorized mail place (you can also use UPS online and print your own label on an 8-1/2x11 paper, but you need a postal scale to weigh the item). YOU MUST USE UPS because apparently only UPS has a key to get into the Return Center gate. Send it to this address:
SwapSellTrade
3075 SE TV HWY Suite 12
Hillsboro OR 97123
James
Manassas, Virginia
U.S.A.
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