What the hecks goin' on in Brooklyn?

The Background

Before I go on let me say that over the years I have made literally hundreds of online purchases with no problems and that there are probably tens of thousands of legitimate, small, honest e-merchants selling every conceivable product who are eager to set right any problem's a customer might run into. What follows isn't about them its about the few bad eggs.

A few days ago I decided I needed a better digital camera so I turned to the internet, as I normally do, for research and decided that a Canon Powershot S5 IS filled all the criteria I was looking for in a camera. After checking prices at several "brick and mortar" merchants my next step, as I have done hundreds of times in the past with other items, was to Google "Canon S5 IS" to check on online pricing. My google search returned some 636,000 hits. I selected the first one on their list, www.lowpricedigital.com (which is one of those outfits that provide prospective buyers with information about pricing for contemplated purchases, links to e-merchants selling the product and a rating for each listed merchant). I clicked on Broadway Photo (www.bwayphoto.com) their "best value" choice mechant, rated with "five stars" and a "Customer's Trust Award" winner and was swiftly whisked to Broadway's web page featuring the Canon Powershot I was looking for price at $281 and included free shipping. The base price of $281 was anywhere from $40 to $188 cheaper than every legitimate "brick and mortar" and e- merchant that I'd checked out. This didn't raise a red flag as I found many great deals on the internet over the years . . . this didn't turn out to be one of them.

The "Brooklyn Shuffle"

I've dubbed this scam the "Brooklyn Shuffle" because after getting slammed by it I did a considerable amount of research and discovered that a large number of the shady e-merchants pulling this e-commerce spin on the old "bait and switch" were located in Brooklyn besides it sounds cool . . .the "Brooklyn Shuffle".

Before I explain this scam a few definitions as used here would be helpful :

Bait advertising - According to the FTC (16 CFR Part 238.0) bait advertising is an alluring but insincere offer to sell a product or service which the advertiser in truth does not intend or want to sell. Its purpose is to switch the consumers from buying the advertised merchandise in order to sell something else, usually at a higher price or on a basis more advantageous to the advertiser. (I would add to that " . . . or to "up-sell" the customer additional products or services at wildly, inflated prices to make up for a "loss leader")

Loss Leader - A type of pricing strategy where an item is sold below cost in an effort to stimulate other, profitable sales (in the case of this scam, the "Up-sell").

Low ball(ed) - A drastically reduced price on merchandise offered for sale used to attract prospective victims of this scam.

Up-Sell - A sales technique whereby a salesperson attempts to have the customer purchase more expensive items, upgrades, or other add-ons in an attempt to make up for lost profits from "low balled" or "loss leader" merchandise. In most cases up-selling is a legitimate sales tool which provides additional useful products to a customer however when used as part of this scam "up-selling" usually involves selling inferior products at wildly inflated prices in a cynical attempt to recover any diminished profit the e-merchant suffers on the "low balled", "bait" merchandise.

Drop Ship - Drop shipping is a legitimate supply chain management technique in which the e-merchant does not keep merchandise in stock, but instead transfers customer orders and shipment details to wholesalers as transactions occur, who then ships the goods directly to the customer . The e-merchants make their profit on the difference between the wholesale and retail price and the money saved by not holding inventory.

Gray Market - Gray market merchandises are not generally illegal, they are being sold outside the distribution channels intended by the producer or manufacturer. Manufacturers will typically produce nationalized versions of their products designed to be sold in different countries or regions at highly disparate prices. These "nationalized" products are produced to comply with local laws, often contain instructions in the native language only, and in the case of electronics goods and photographic equipment conform to local power standards. The "gray marketeer" hopes to make a greater profit by purchasing products in a country where the price is very low and selling them in a country where the product sells for a much higher price. One drawback of the gray market is that many manufacturers will not honor warranties on electronics and photo equipment purchased through it. Another drawback in electronics and photo equipment is that the graphics associated with the merchandise's use maybe solely in a foreign language.

Here's the way this scam works in general:

An e-merchant offers items for sale at "low ball", bait prices; the merchant then follows an order received with a "verification" phone call and/or email which is in reality a thinly veiled attempt to "up sell" the customer additional, wildly overpriced accessories or services designed to offset the "low balled" or "loss leader" selling price of the "bait" and garner the scammer a larger profit. If the customer purchases sufficient "up sale" the "bait" product (which can be "gray market" merchandise) and the "up sold" accessories are shipped; if not the customer will later receive an "out of stock" email informing him or her that the product will ship at some protracted future time, usually 3 to 8 weeks. This delivery delay is usually designed to be of a length of time as to solicit a cancellation by the customer. The customer is also given the option to cancel the order at this point and this email will also normally contain a notice that the customer's "credit card will not be charged until the merchandise is shipped" in an attempt to escape claims of fraud. If the customer doesn't cancel the order he or she goes into perpetual back-order until eventually the order is canceled. And that kiddies is how we do the "Brooklyn Shuffle" . . . bottom line, if you don't by the "up sells" you don't get the "bait" product.

My experience

Now to pick up with my experience with two e-merchants

Broadway Photo, Llc. (www.bwayphoto.com) a member of the Broadway Photo family which consists of A&M Photo World, LLc (AMPhotoWorld.com), Preferred Phot (PreferredPhoto.com), Wid Digital (WildDigital.com), Millenium Camera (MilleniumCamera.com), Time2Envy (stores.ebay.com/Times2Envy), CameraAddict, LLc. (cameraaddict.com)

Owner - Ben Z. Cohen, President

Address: 337 East 89th Street
Brooklyn, NY 11236

I placed my order with Broadway Photo on their website attempting to purchase the Canon Powershot S5 IS camera for the advertised price of $281 with free shipping. This outfit is really on the ball, within hours of placing the order I two emails and an answering machine message asking me to call their 1-800 number to "verify and process your order". I called the number and after a 5 or 10 minute on hold was connected with a "customer representative" who asked me to verify my mailing and shipping address and then launched into the "up-sell". First he informed me that the alkaline batteries that come with the camera would only last about 10 minutes and he was going to help me out by selling me 4 NiMh rechargeable batteries and a recharger for $79 (later I researched legitimate merchants and discovered the average cost of 4 NiMh batteries and changer was about $20). Since the alkaline batteries would only last 10 minutes (quick someone call Canon and tell them they have a design problem) I agreed to the NiMh battery offer (after all what good was a camera the only worked for 10 minutes). No sooner had I agreed to this "up-sale" then this guy launches into a sales pitch for a "deluxe digital camera accessory kit which included not only the NiMh batteries and charger but also LCD screen protector and additional SD card, blah, blah, blah and extended warranty". Now, sometimes I'm a little slow on the up take but it dawned on me, bling . . . this isn't a "verification" phone call its a sales pitch, so I tell the guy I've changed my mind and decided not to buy the batteries and charger or anything else and just wanted the camera for the original $281 and free shipping. The guy at the other end of the phone now comes unglued and launches into a hysterical tirade accusing me of shouting at him and disrespecting him when all he was trying to do was help me out and make me some good deals (disrespecting him? I thought I was the customer and deserved respect!). By this time I found myself totally off balance but I found my center an calmly proceeded to explain that I wasn't shouting nor disrespecting him . . . I just wanted to get back to my original order; a Canon PowerShot S5 IS digital camera for $281 and free shipping. After a few more comments about how he was just trying to do whats best for me and threats on his part to cancel my order because of my abrasiveness he graciously accepted my order and the phone call ended. Within hours I received an email from Broadway Photo which read as follows:

"This e-mail is being to sent to update you on the status of your order # xxxxxxxx. Your credit card had has not been charged due to the fact that the product you ordered is currently on back-order. When the product arrives we will e-mail you and then process your order.

For updated order status, shipping and tracking information visit the "My Account" area of bwayphoto.com or you may e-mail us at suuport@bwayphoto.com. Click here to cancel your order.

We apologize for any inconvenience."

After all I had been through with this outfit I clicked the cancel link and canceled the order, after all right above them on the LowPriceDigital webpage was 86th Street Photo and Video (www.86photovideo.com) which was selling the same camera for $245 plus a $14.95 shipping charge to my zipcode (mmm that comes to $259.95 how did LowPriceDigital come up with Broadway as the "Best Value"?)

The "Brooklyn Shuffle"? I'll leave that up to you, the FTC, the New York State Attorney General's Office, the Kings County District Attorney, and the New York Better Business Bureau to decide . . . I know what my opinion is, can you guess?

86th. St. Photo & Digital (www.86photovideo.com) a.k.a. MyWirelessDeal.com, WiseTronics.com, 86th. Street Photo, Inc., and 86PhotoVideo.com

Principal: Shlomi Albaydadi, Owner

Address: 2845 86th Street

Brooklyn, NY 11223

My efforts to procure the Canon PowerShot S5 IS digital camera I coveted now turned to 86th. St. Photo & Digital, after all LowPriceDigital did give them "5 stars", calls them a "Certified Merchant", identifies them as a "Featured Merchant" (funny the "name brand" merchants, Amazon and RItz camera, aren't "Featured Merchants"! Hmmm do I begin to smell a rat?) and their price for the camera with shipping is $259.95 which is some $21.05 cheaper than their "best value" merchant . . .what a deal. Off to their website I go, a few keystrokes, and bingo the camera of my recent dreams is within my reach . . . well almost!

Shortly after placing my order with 86th St. Photo & Digital I received an email from them:

"We thank you for choosing 86th St. Photo & Video as your choice for all your photographic equipment.

In order to further verify your order, we will need to speak with you on the phone. Please call our Verification department at 1-800-  Ext. 999   so we may verify and complete processing your order."

Hmmm, this sounds vaguely familiar!  Seriously, after my last experience with Broadway Photo I was prepared for this one . . . out came my old tape recorder, on went the speaker phone, push the buttons and dial the number.  Within minutes I was speaking to  of 86th Street Photo's "verification department", push the record button.  I verified my shipping and billing addresses. " Is that all?"  "Yes, oh wait I don't know if you noticed but you didn't order any batteries!".  I explained I didn't need batteries I had them and a rechareger, that I didn't need a high speed SD card, didn't need filters, didn't need, didn't need, didn't need.  With a bit of disappointment in his voice the "verification" person finally said . . "Well thats it I guess your all set".  Before we end the phone call I ask if the camera is in stock, the "verifier" assures me that their is no problem with stock as they (86th St. Photo & Digital) are a "drop shipper", I respond asking if I can expect the camera to ship in the next couple of days, the verifier tells me the there's no problem he works in the "verification department" and can state it will.

Wow, I'm going to get my camera in three days for $259.95 and no up sales . . . not so fast!

No sooner did I hang up then I checked my email and guess what an email from 86th St. Photo & Digital  . . . a shipment notification???  In your dreams:

"This notification is sent to you from our shipping department.

We regret to inform you that by the time your order reached the shipping process, our inventory on the product(s) you ordered was negative, therefore your order will be placed on a temporary backorder until we receive the product(s) back again in stock which will be in about 3-4 weeks.

Please note that your credit card will not be charged, as long as, your order has not shipped.

You can modify and/or cancel this order at any time before it is shipped without incurring any charges or fees to your account.

To cancel your order you may do so by logging into your account online:
1- login to your account online at www.86photovideo.com with your email and password (if you haven't created login information when you placed your order you may register at the following link to view your account  https://www.86photovideo.com/shop/login.asp?gotoloc=, or you can reply to this email with login info request and we will provide you with same.

We will keep you updated with further emails about the status of your order.

You will receive a separate email with shipment confirmation once your order is shipped.

We apologize again for this inconvenience and Thank you for your business.

86th Street Photo & Video."

Now I'm getting a little pissed so I shot back the following email:

"I have just received an email concerning my order,999999-X, in it I was notified that my order has been "back order" because "your inventory on the product(s) you ordered was negative". I think you maybe mistaken as to the availability of this item since this item is "drop shipped" from your supplier and not shipped from your inventory
(please review the recording of my conversation with Kevin of your "verification department" confirming this and in which I was assured that my order would be filled immediately); I therefore fully expect that my order will be filled WITHOUT delay at the $245 price and that I will be receiving the equipment I ordered in the 3 business day period
I contracted for not after the 3-4 week delay which would be necessary if it were being shipped from inventory. A copy of this dialogue is being retained for future reference. Thank you."

Talk about playing dumb, they respond with:

"We regret to inform you that the products you have ordered with our company are sold out temporarily.

However, these products shall be available again within about 6-8 weeks from the date of this email. We would like to notify you that we still have not charged your credit card as of yet. Once we have the products ordered available again, we will send you another email notification and only then, you will be billed 24 hours prior to products shipment.

If you would like to be on the backorder list for this product(s), just reply to this e-mail with the phrase “Please backorder order# (________) in the subject.

If you would like to cancel the order just reply with the phrase “Please cancel order# (__________) and we will take care of the rest and destroy current information about your order.

Thank you for your business!

Sincerely,

86th St. Photo and Video"

Not only did they ignore everything I said, not only did the fail to explain how how a "drop shipper" can be "sold out temporarily", but they also doubled the delay time!

This time I didn't cancel but did some homework and shot back:

"Re-read my comment to you, your agent "spilled the beans" . . . you "drop ship" from your wholesaler therefore it is highly unlikely (read nearly impossible) that you are "sold out temporarily". I've googled you and have found hundreds of legitimate complaints about you pulling this same "bait advertising" in the past. Before you feign offense let me enlighten you of the FTC's definition of "Bait advertising" as defined in Sec. 238.0 of 16 CFR Part 238:

"Sec. 238.0 Bait advertising defined.

Bait advertising is an alluring but insincere offer to sell a product or service which the advertiser in truth does not intend or want to sell. Its purpose is to switch consumers from buying the advertised merchandise, in order to sell something else, usually at a higher price or on a basis more advantageous to the advertiser. . . ."

In this case in researching you I find a consistent and deliberate pattern of offering items for sale at "low ball" bait prices, following orders received up with "verification" phone calls which are in reality thinly veiled attempts to "up sell" the customer additional wildly overpriced accessories or services designed to offset the "low balled" selling price of the "bait" and garner a large profit; if the customer purchases sufficient "up sale" the "bait" product and the "up sold" accessories are shipped, if not the customer receives an "out of stock" email informing him or her that the product will ship at some protracted future time. This delivery delay is usually designed to be of a length of time as to solicit a cancellation by the customer. The customer is given the option to cancel the order this email will also normally contain a notice that the customer's "credit card will not be charged until the merchandise is shipped" in an attempt to escape claims of fraud.

I would like to point out to you Sec. 238.2 16 CFR Part 238:

"Sec 238.2 Initial offer.

(b) Even though the true facts are subsequently made known to the buyer, the law is violated if the first contact or interview is secured by deception."

You offered a product for sale, I ordered the product, you are a "drop shipper" these are the truths I expect to receive a return email informing me that the product I ordered; a new, U.S. warrantied Canon S5 IS Digital Camera has been "dropped shipped" from your wholesaler to arrive at my residence in the 3 business days I contracted for and with a tracking number which I can use to confirm shipment and track its progress."

And asked the New York Better Business Office to help resolve this issue. Its been 52 hours since I sent e-mail to 86th St. Photo & Video and I sill haven't gotten a reply from them and 24 hours since I contacted the NY BBB; will either do any good . . . with a reputable e-merchant I'd say yes . . . with these yahoos (with apologies to Yahoo which has nothing to do with this and is an excellent, reputable company) probably not but I can tell you this I intend to push this.

The "Brooklyn Shuffle"? I'll leave that up to you, the FTC, the New York State Attorney General's Office, the Kings County District Attorney, and the New York Better Business Bureau to decide . . . I know what my opinion is, can you guess?

How to avoid getting took

Avoiding the "Brooklyn shuffle" and most other online, e-commerce scams is really quite easy and only takes a couple of minutes of your time, just follow these rules:

1. If it sounds too good to be true it probably is - this should be your first clue that something isn't right. If the site is

offering a product at a price thats way cheaper than anyone else it may be a scam or a "gray market" product. Check them out before placing an order.

2. Be suspicious of strangers - If you are contemplating dealing with an e-merchant you've never dealt with before

contact the Better Business Bureau (www.welcome.bbb.org) and visit both their national site and, if you know

where the e-merchant is located, the BBB in their location and check them out. They've made it pretty easy (kudos to you BBB), you can search for BBB reports by company name, company phone number, website URL, business category (a little useless by itself), and optionally with street address and city. Enter the information you have, hit search and in seconds you can have a report on the e-merchant; the best thing is YOU CAN TRUST THE BBB! If the BBB has negative comments, avoid the outfit like the plague.

3. Don't believe the "merchant ratings", "store ratings", and "customer ratings" - You don't know who owns those

sites that "Compare Prices and Shops" and provide the merchant and store ratings; you don't know who really

is providing those "customer" ratings. One "Compare Prices and Shops" site I investigated rated a "Brooklyn Shuffle" e-merchant as "5 star", "Premium Seller", and a "Trusted Seller" . . .the site linked to 5036 customer reviews on this scammer, all glowing and positive; however, strangely when I googled this :Trusted Seller" I found page after page of "Brooklyn Shuffle" and "Gray Market" complaints against them and the BBB listed them as a "non-accredited business" with an "unsatisfactory record with the BBB". Who do you think wrote those glowing "customer reviews"?

4. Check out what previous customers say - As I said above, "you don't know whose writing those glowing customer
reviews" but you can probably trust the real customer community . . . google the business, if someone has had a
problem with the e-merchant it will probably be on the internet, if you see a consistent, pervasive complaint stay
clear of the bums or be prepared to be scammed.

If you go through these steps and the merchant checks out, go for it . . there are tens of thousands of hard working, honest e-merchants on the internet providing goods and services at great prices

But

If you come across any of the questionable e-merchants mentioned during your e-commerce dealings pass them by. If you currently are involved with them and think you're a victim of the "Brooklyn shuffle", FILE A COMPLAINT WITH: the New York Better Business Bureau (www.newyork.bbb.org), the State of New York Attorney General's Office (www.oag.state.ny.us), the Kings County District Attorney (www.brooklynda.org). and the Federal Trade Commission (www.ftc.gov) and demand that they be prosecuted!

e-Merchants I intend to avoid like the plague

A&M Photo World, LLc (www.AMPhotoWorld.com)
Broadway Photo, Llc. (www.bwayphoto.com)
CameraAddict, LLc. (www.cameraaddict.com)
Cameratopia (www.cameratopia.com)

Digital Liquidators LLC (www.digitalliquidators.com)

Ghu, LLC

86th. Street Photo, Inc (www.86photovideo.com)
86th. St. Photo & Digital (www.86photovideo.com)
86PhotoVideo.com (www.86photovideo.com)
Millenium Camera (www.MilleniumCamera.com)
MyWirelessDeal.com
Preferred Photo (www.PreferredPhoto.com)

Prestige Camera (www.prestigecamera.com)
Quest4Cameras (www.quest4cameras.com)
Regal Camera (www.regalcamera.com)
TheDigitalExpo (www.thedigitalexpo.com)

Time2Envy (stores.ebay.com/Times2Envy)

Tronicity (www.tronicity.com)

Wild Digital (www.WildDigital.com)

WiseTronics.com (www.wisetronics.com)