Check out this site
 

I ordered a laptop from a seller on eBay a few years ago.

Sent money by certified check, then waited. And waited.

Occasional contact by e-mail, with repeated promises to mail the computer. No ability to call the person who sold the computer.

I started contacting fellow bidders, and no one had received their computers. Once I started putting the pressure on the seller, he did return the money. He was indicted later.

The story was posted (not by me) on www.laptopscam.com

So, my advice is this: You are not being paranoid. Notify your credit card company for possible fraud. It was probably too good to be true!

I would never, NEVER send certified check to any online merchant. Never! (Have I said "never" enough? :rolleyes: )

FYI: This is what I copied from other websites
 

1. http://www.epinions.com/content_142452887172

If you have been ripped off, report freedelivery4u--links provided in Full Review...
Jun 03 '04 (Updated Jun 03 '04)

Author's Product Rating


Ease of Ordering:
Customer Service:
On-Time Delivery:
Selection:

Full Review
I have opened an investigation with American Express and I encourage everyone that has been ripped off to file a complaint with:

The FBI's Internet Fraud Complaint Center:
http://www.ifccfbi.gov/cf1.asp

The Federal Trade Commission:
https://rn.ftc.gov/pls/dod/wsolcq$.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=PU01

NY State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer:
http://www.oag.state.ny.us/online_fo...aint_alert.jsp

The Better Business Bureau:
http://complaints.bbb.org/Welcome.asp?BCode=0121

The NY Dept of Consumer Affairs:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dca/html/complaint.html

Square Trade (a service on E*Bay):
www.squaretrade.com

I purchased a Canon Optura Xi camcorder from freedelivery4u's listing on E*Bay on 5/11. Freedelivery4u had two listings of the same item with 10 units available for each listing with a "Buy It Now" price of $620. They had 100% positive feedback with over 130 reviews. Before purchasing I called freedelivery4u to ensure that item was new, factory sealed and had a USA warranty.

After I purchased the item, I went back to the listing a while later to find that one of the listings had been canceled and the price on the other listing had jumped to $980. Several days later I discovered that freedelivery4u had been suspended by E*Bay, but E*Bay will not say why.

They charged my credit card on May 19th, but they have still not shipped the item as of June 3rd. The listing said that it would arrive within 15 days. I called on May 11, 18, 20, 21, and 25...each time they said that it would ship with 1-2 days. On the 25th they said that it would ship tomorrow but they were closed from May 26 until June 1.

Based on the similar experiences expressed by other Epinioners, I think that it is safe to say that this is a fraudulent business.

For the hardcore Epinions users who demand a description of the web site in order to rate a review "Helpful" or better: The website is well laid out, easy to navigate, and very professional looking (except for the occasional grammatical error). They have a good selection of products and amazing prices. BUT IT DOES NOTE MATTER BECAUSE THEY ARE A FRAUDULENT BUSINESS. IF YOU PLACE AN ORDER YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE YOUR MERCHANDISE!

Recommended
No

What product did you purchase or try to purchase? Canon Optura Xi Camcorder

How helpful was this review in making a decision?


2. http://www.epinions.com/content_1421..._~allcom/s_~na

FreeScam Discussion Group at Yahoo - JOIN NOW! (Reply to this comment)
by ezwider
I am a victim too. We must act decisively and swiftly. I have created a discussion group at Yahoo.
* Your group information:
Group name: freescam
Group home page: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freescam
Group email address: [email protected]
Pls join. "Strength Rests on Unity" Jun 02 '04
2:01 pm PDT

FreeDelivery4U: odds & ends
 

Here is the web site for the NY Off of the Atty Gen - Consumer Issues:
http://www.oag.state.ny.us/consumer/...er_issues.html

If anyone has spoken with the AG's office and can provide info on if they are investigating this cpmpany , please post.

As of today, I see the FD4U web site is still up, but the BBBOnline logo has been removed.

I notice in reading the details on the site, it says they take AMEX and Optima, but no mention of MC or Visa. I'm coming in late. Did the web site mention MC and Visa previously as acceptable forms of payment?

Chalk Up One More !!!
 

Where do I start?? When I ordered (5-18-04) web site took Discover, when I ordered :rolleyes: :( ONLY took M/C or Visa hint,hint oh well :o 14 day delivery guarantee or 15% OFF !!! WOW Today is business day # 15. Do you think I'll get my $52.50 CREDIT ;) HA HA No answer on either phone line & WEB SITE seems to be down ^ :D BOY am I surprized. Great info here glad I found you guys.. Hope & PRAY for the best..As little hassle as possable with visa :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :eek: I HIM, Harley

What I find curious in this thread is the fact that those who admit to have bought from this sleazy merchant just happen to be new FTers. ;) By the way, welcome to FlyerTalk!

Goodguys.com
 

Anyone looking for a camera in the near term, this or next week should head over to goodguys.com. I just noticed they are having a fathers day sale, and are offering 10-15% off all cameras. Not to mention the fact that they do NOT charge sales tax in any states and shipping is usually FREE.

I was encouraging a friend to buy the new canon S60, and it came in at less than 440$ for that camera delievered.

Sad to hear you've been taken so badly. I had good luck with Butterfly on a Nikon CooPix4300. Usual attempt to sell add-ons, but not a major hassle. Camera was delivered promptly and in good order. No complaints.

With 2 megapixel camera phones coming out soon, why would anyone buy a single function digital camera?

Several reasons...

(1) My ancient (1999) brick phone is indestructible, whereas most people I know who have a cam phone seem to have trouble with it. (Either the camera part or the phone part or both.)

(2) With the cam phones, you rely on the network and (in most cases) pay to send your pics through the network. I like to take my digicam, fire off dozens (or hundreds) of pics, sift through them after I've gotten home, and keep only the good ones.

(3) The midrange digital cameras have a full feature set that the phones will probably never have. (Whether the shooter knows how to use them is another story.) I can see a day where the cell phone might replace the point-and-shoot party-pic camera, but I think I will want to have a more powerful photography tool. I say "I think I will" because I haven't bought one yet and I am still trying to decide if I want to commit the effort/time needed to learn how to use a good camera. :)

I am lusting for the Leica Digilux 2.

Too steep for me, especially as I'm on my third digicam in the past 18 months (Casio Exilim left in rental car, and Panasonic Lumix dropped at a Cubs game. Too many Old Styles).

I did very much like the Exilim. I had the model with the 3x optical zoom, 2" LCD, about the size of a credit card and less than an inch thick. Pictures were clear, shutter and save time were fairly speedy.

A while back, there was a discussion in another thread about people not being permitted to use camera phones at all, as they were working or visiting places where cameras were not allowed. Makes me wonder if TSA might get concerned (paranoid?) about anyone using a cell phone near security, with their no photos policy.

I haven't seen any quality problems, but I'll accept that they exist since these products are early in the market. Next year those quality problems will not exist.

Sending pics over the air? Well it's free with Bluetooth or a USB cable.

As for features, the V600 has 4x zoom and next years models will have loads more features. However phones will not necessarily replace professional digital cameras. OTOH, when will professional digital cameras start adding Wifi, Bluetooth or 3G? Next year I predict.

Poor Purchase
 

I too bought from these slimeballs. I contacted my credit card company yesterday and they reversed the charge and are investigating it . Mine is the same story, I bought from them on May 18th. My card was charged the following day... it seemed legitimate, I even talked to them on the phone. On May 27th I received a UPS tracking code.... Yesterday I started getting concerned. I was sucked in by the extremely low price... for the Olympus C-5040 I purchased for $365... I compared shop and couldn't pass it up. But as time went on I started to get paranoid.... maybe it was too cheap considering best buy and circuit city were at $850-899. I am not at all experienced with this technology and it was a gift for my husband. I got online yesterday to try to figure things out and their website was gone... the only link it gave me was to this website and to find others with the same problem... well I thinik we were duped big time. I am soo bothered by this that I am not sitting back if anyone could give me more info on who to report them to It would be greatly appreciated....... :mad: :mad: :mad:

Lisa
McHenry, IL

At this time, I don't think any of the Sprint PCS (my crappy carrier) phones have enough built-in memory to allow me to store a lot of pics in the handset and then download them (or "Bluetooth" them) to another device later. PCS offers a new PDA-type device that has a camera in it, but everybody I know who has one of these (without the camera) always has trouble with it, so I don't think I want to go there. :eek:

That would be awesome to get a good digital camera with WiFi capability. Imagine being in just about any city in the world and zapping a couple gigs of data from your cam to the Internet while you sit and have lunch. Cool! ^ (Okay, so it might not be that easy until late in the decade, but it'll happen eventually...)

Couple of reasons. First, I dont think 2 megapixels is enough. I currently have a 3+ megapixel Canon and it is barely adequate in terms of image quality. I wouldnt consider anything less than 3 megapixels and I cant wait to move to six or more. Secondly, the phones typically have vastly inferior lenses when compared to standalone cameras from good manufacturers like Canon, Nikon, Lieca, etc. Third, the amount of control one has over exposure on the phones is virtually zero while on a good stand alone camera it is substantial.

Get a S500
 

I've had my Canon powershot S500 for 2 months now and am very happy with it.It has a really good 5 megapixel lens. It prints clear and crisp pictures.


For $499, it's a great deal!

James