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Forum Thread

I’ve been scammed-my first time and I’m mad 😡

847 92 July 27, 2021 at 04:45 PM
Ugh, I'm sooo mad.
As a long term member of Slickdeals and I must say Slickdeals has gotten MUCH of my money legally, I must rant on a purchase I made on another platform and look for possible recourse. (Instagram scam)
Many of us see a deal pop up and immediately jump on the bandwagon before it runs out, goes off sale, etc. and I have done this MANY times on Slickdeals because I trust the site and members.
I'll make it short...
Instagram
"Trek Bike Store"
Saw a Trek clearance bike for $99.99 and there were "only 5 left in stock"
I bit.
Directed me to PayPal. I signed in and paid the $99.99 out of my bank account.
Never received a confirmation email.
Got suspicious
Checked back on Instagram a few days later (ad was still live surprisingly)
People were chatting that it was a scam.
Emailed the person and of course didn't get a response.
Awwwwww I'm sooo mad man! My first scam but I'm sooo mad. Why did I fall for this crap???!!!
Trek doesn't even make a good bike anymore but I jumped on it anyway. Hahaha

Any advice? I contacted PayPal and they say I "authorized" the purchase so they won't back me up.
I also reported it to the FTC-just for the hell of it...
Any ideas?
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Deal?Where?
Salisbury, Maryland Joined Apr 2006 Cheap Ass
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Joined Jan 2014
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> bubble2 490 Posts
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JohnB7118
07-27-2021 at 05:07 PM.
07-27-2021 at 05:07 PM.
Go online to PayPal open a claim and escalate it to a "Item Never Received" claim. They have to do an investigation on it. I've been with PayPal since '99 and they never let me down.
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Joined Aug 2003
L9: Master
> bubble2 4,298 Posts
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fsyowad
07-27-2021 at 11:58 PM.
07-27-2021 at 11:58 PM.
So PayPal said you had no recorse? I have some nice expensive items I could sell (not Ebay) and haven't because i didn't want to ship something to some one and have them claim something was wrong with it or something and ship it back damaged or farked up and unsellable.. Don't buyers have all the power?
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Joined Feb 2011
L10: Grand Master
> bubble2 10,949 Posts
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shopperuvdealz
07-28-2021 at 06:38 AM.
07-28-2021 at 06:38 AM.
Quote from fsyowad :
So PayPal said you had no recorse? I have some nice expensive items I could sell (not Ebay) and haven't because i didn't want to ship something to some one and have them claim something was wrong with it or something and ship it back damaged or farked up and unsellable.. Don't buyers have all the power?
That happened to my bf.He sold a brand new sump pump,and apparently the buyer used it on his flooded basement until the motor burned out then claimed it was defective and won.Unreturnable and bf was out the money he paid for ihe sump pump.
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Joined Oct 2005
L3: Novice
> bubble2 172 Posts
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kankri99
07-28-2021 at 05:06 PM.
07-28-2021 at 05:06 PM.
I had a similar experience a couple of months ago. Fell for a "too good to be true" deal. I realized that it was a scam and disputed my Paypal transaction but it was closed citing the reason that I authorized the purchase. I waited for a couple of weeks and chatted with the Paypal customer service, told them that the deal was a scam and I never received my shipment. I got refunded instantly.
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Joined Jan 2007
Natural Bunny Killer
> bubble2 12,915 Posts
MadPup
07-28-2021 at 05:40 PM.
07-28-2021 at 05:40 PM.
I thought this was a post by Scotty Kilmer. Definitely looks like one of his tag lines. Maybe I'm watching too much Youtube. Frown
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Joined Sep 2003
L8: Grand Teacher
> bubble2 3,807 Posts
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mikedaley
07-29-2021 at 06:39 AM.
07-29-2021 at 06:39 AM.
You asked for advice. There is no such thing as a free lunch. If it looks too good to be true, run away fast,
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Joined Dec 2005
My # is bigger than yours
> bubble2 37,379 Posts
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SnakePlisken
07-30-2021 at 03:47 AM.
07-30-2021 at 03:47 AM.
Wow, what a rip off! I have 2 for $99. What's your bank acct #? God bless!
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Joined Nov 2006
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KMan
07-30-2021 at 05:24 AM.
07-30-2021 at 05:24 AM.
Quote from MadPup :
I thought this was a post by Scotty Kilmer. Definitely looks like one of his tag lines. Maybe I'm watching too much Youtube. Frown
NEVER put this in your Slickdeals! Why the feds want to shut me down! Only a moron buys these deals! My garage is a black hole of parts and tools!
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Joined Jan 2007
Natural Bunny Killer
> bubble2 12,915 Posts
MadPup
07-30-2021 at 06:46 PM.
07-30-2021 at 06:46 PM.
PayPal should cover you IF PayPal was integrated into their checkout system - i.e. you didn't have to enter their information. Last year I ordered something that was 95% sure to be a scam but in ordered it anyway for the gamble. I received the product but it was absolutely not as described. I disputed with PayPal and got a refund a couple of weeks later after their unsuccessful attempts to contact the seller.

If you entered the seller's details in PayPal and sent the money, that's equivalent to handing over cash to someone on a promise; no one can help you with that. Best put that down to the price of experience, and we've all done such things. $100 isn't chicken feed but it's a survivable episode. I got burned years ago (with many others) with a hot deal on a Zakk Wylde guitar [reddit.com] scam. That one still stings. Man, do I HATE Zakk Wylde! Smilie

The golden rule always applies: if it looks too good to be true it probably is. It always takes optimists longer to learn this than pessimists. Or is it that we all start out as optimists and become pessimists because of the rule?
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Last edited by MadPup July 30, 2021 at 06:53 PM.
Joined Apr 2006
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Original Poster
Deal?Where?
08-01-2021 at 10:10 PM.
08-01-2021 at 10:10 PM.
Haha! Great replies as always! And as always, SLICKDEALS and PAYPAL come through!
Opened a new case saying the product was never delivered and BAM!!!! 2 days later had my $99!
PayPal rules!
I'm not one to fall for this bs, but did and felt like an idiot!
Thanks to the first poster for the suggestion. Worked like a champ!
I remember about 20 years ago I bought a $50 scooter part from a guy on a forum. I "gifted" it to him so I wouldn't pay the additional fee.
Guess what? He screwed me.
PayPal wouldn't back me up.........soooooooo......
I work in a retail store. I pulled about 50 subscription out of the magazines and wrote his name on them and checked "BILL ME LATER"...
I never got my $50 back but he's probably still trying to cancel his subscriptions to "Modern Bride" "Quitling" "Ebony" and "Teen Beat"
😂🤡
1
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Joined Jun 2005
L6: Laser Lotus
> bubble2 21,668 Posts
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shhaggy
08-02-2021 at 06:52 AM.
08-02-2021 at 06:52 AM.
Quote from shopperuvdealz :
That happened to my bf.He sold a brand new sump pump,and apparently the buyer used it on his flooded basement until the motor burned out then claimed it was defective and won.Unreturnable and bf was out the money he paid for ihe sump pump.
There's always two sides to stories like this. I'll bet the buyer is saying he bought a sump pump that worked at first and then burned out extremely quickly, that it was a lemon so he returned it.
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Joined Jun 2005
L6: Laser Lotus
> bubble2 21,668 Posts
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shhaggy
08-02-2021 at 06:55 AM.
08-02-2021 at 06:55 AM.
Quote from Deal?Where? :
Haha! Great replies as always! And as always, SLICKDEALS and PAYPAL come through!
Opened a new case saying the product was never delivered and BAM!!!! 2 days later had my $99!
PayPal rules!
I'm not one to fall for this bs, but did and felt like an idiot!
Thanks to the first poster for the suggestion. Worked like a champ!
I remember about 20 years ago I bought a $50 scooter part from a guy on a forum. I "gifted" it to him so I wouldn't pay the additional fee.
Guess what? He screwed me.
PayPal wouldn't back me up.........soooooooo......
I work in a retail store. I pulled about 50 subscription out of the magazines and wrote his name on them and checked "BILL ME LATER"...
I never got my $50 back but he's probably still trying to cancel his subscriptions to "Modern Bride" "Quitling" "Ebony" and "Teen Beat"
😂🤡
That's not as good a prank as you think. First of all, most people will read anything in the bathroom, you just gave him free magazines. And the bill me later thing isn't binding in any way, shape, or form (mostly because there's no way to prove the recipient requested it). Eventually the magazine will stop coming if you don't pay but it was really more or less them giving you free samples.
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Joined Feb 2011
L10: Grand Master
> bubble2 10,949 Posts
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shopperuvdealz
08-02-2021 at 09:03 AM.
08-02-2021 at 09:03 AM.
Quote from shhaggy :
There's always two sides to stories like this. I'll bet the buyer is saying he bought a sump pump that worked at first and then burned out extremely quickly, that it was a lemon so he returned it.
This was a small sump pump that you would use for minor jobs like empying a small pool or to keep basements dry when you get minor excess water around your house foundaton.It wasn't meant to run continously for a huge flooded basement.The area where the buyer lived at the time was having huge floods from nonstop rain.You are naturally going to burn the engine up running it nonstop for days on end.
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Joined Jun 2005
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> bubble2 21,668 Posts
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shhaggy
08-02-2021 at 10:15 AM.
08-02-2021 at 10:15 AM.
Quote from shopperuvdealz :
This was a small sump pump that you would use for minor jobs like empying a small pool or to keep basements dry when you get minor excess water around your house foundaton.It wasn't meant to run continously for a huge flooded basement.The area where the buyer lived at the time was having huge floods from nonstop rain.You are naturally going to burn the engine up running it nonstop for days on end.
I get it, you think you're right. I'm betting so does he. What if he says it overheated after 30 mins or an hour? We have no idea what actually happened.
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