Topic Wiki

https://www.dansdeals.com/more/dans-commentary/dark-side-earning-credit-card-points-psa-dont-swipe-others/

https://www.mixcloud.com/zev-brenner/talkline-with-zev-brenner-on-credit-card-scams-affecting-the-orthodox-jewish-community/

http://podcast.headlinesbook.com/e/31616-credit-card-miles-and-points-swiping-for-rewards-buying-and-selling-miles-is-it-assur-and-a-chillul-hashem-or-a-great-way-for-a-side-parnassah/



BEFORE SWIPING FOR SOMEONE READ THIS: (first hand story)

https://forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=36812.msg2062371#msg2062371
https://www.dansdeals.com/more/dans-commentary/dark-side-earning-credit-card-points-psa-dont-swipe-others/#comment-1399884


Dan's warning to DDF:
I hope people realize that any buying group or anyone else that gets merchandise in advance of payment can go south at any time. That's even if you get a check at the time of delivery.
X-posting as I don't want anyone to say that I never put a warning here.

A story that ended up in court - https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/DocumentList?docketId=iRcRHuyZUdOIx69D00a5XQ==&display=all&courtType=Kings%20County%20Supreme%20Court&resultsPageNum=1


I am one of the biggest buyers for buying groups, I have done millions in transactions and have sent to every group there is over the past 3 years. Most buying groups are okay, some scan in slower than others, some pay slower than others - most will lose a few packages over the year. You can research and find which are better for you.

However there is a bigger problem now with Amazon itself.  Amazon in the past has been great with any problems always ready with a refund for lost packages even if it was thousands of dollars. Lately Amazon has clamped down and has tagged these buying groups addresses  in their systems as "freight forwarder" and now no longer will fix any problem you have whatsoever. Doesn't matter what the problem is, even if it shows the package was never delivered, amazon will not help you in any way. Their copy and paste response will always be "this item was sent to a freight forwarder and we're unable to replace or refund the item. We recommend contacting your freight forwarder for more details, as we don't have any more insight or information regarding this matter, For more information about sending items via freight forwarders, please visit our Help Pages: https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201117950." As well the amazon drivers either must know this or have been increasingly bad at delivering packages because the numbers of packages missing has gone up astronomically. Previously you would have very few packages missing, now the past 3 months I have had 59 "lost" packages. I now have over $15,000 of loses and some guy in Delaware is probably living the life with all the stuff he stole from me. I will survive, I have made a lot more than $15,000 over the years however just a warning to others here that things are not as they used to be and it really is no longer worth doing buring groups with all the loses piling up

« Last edited by Yo ssi on July 24, 2023, 06:47:26 PM »

Author Topic: PSA: Don't swipe recklessly for others  (Read 1182555 times)

Offline Z56

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Re: PSA: Don't swipe recklessly for others
« Reply #2140 on: February 18, 2019, 12:13:48 AM »
All of this still seems like something is not accurate
Not even one person came forward saying they were scammed

I know many people scammed
“I have nothing in common with lazy people who blame others for their lack of success. Great things come from hard work

Offline YesThatsMe

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Re: PSA: Don't swipe recklessly for others
« Reply #2141 on: February 18, 2019, 12:23:32 AM »
During my days at Sterling I had some time on my hands. My job consisted of very basic bookkeeping on excel sheets, otherwise there wasn’t much work that our inventory software didn’t do for us, except during tax season. (Another reason I left, and why I wasn’t replaced until a few months ago).

Anyways I spent time reading these forums. When I found the Sungames thread I was enthralled, read it from start to end, which took me 2 days! (I knew shimino1 personally so really found it entertaining).

I then remember thinking, yikes, I’m sitting at a Sungames in the making, if things continue in certain ways. It’s so saddening to see “the end”. The owners were wonderful hardworking yidden who would run away from even a Chasash of Gezel. They didn’t take anything for themselves, they lived on the bare minimum. Most employees were getting paid more, which was kind of ridiculous, but they wanted to sacrifice in order to build. I hope everyone, including them, come out b’shalom. If there is a process in the making which can solve something, it should be at least given a try, it’s the best bad option right now. All the hate definitely won’t help and will make things worse.

Offline Chief Rabbi of New York

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Re: PSA: Don't swipe recklessly for others
« Reply #2142 on: February 18, 2019, 05:36:03 AM »
I know many people scammed

And they really aren’t saying anything to @Dan because they think if they are quiet they might get paid back ?
Show Some Respect for Me, I am The Chief Rabbi of New York :)

Offline DealKiller

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Re: PSA: Don't swipe recklessly for others
« Reply #2143 on: February 18, 2019, 07:29:49 AM »
During my days at Sterling I had some time on my hands.
Can you please explain their business model?

Offline JACKBLUE

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Re: PSA: Don't swipe recklessly for others
« Reply #2144 on: February 18, 2019, 07:59:45 AM »
And they really aren’t saying anything to @Dan because they think if they are quiet they might get paid back ?
they did reach out to @Dan

Offline JACKBLUE

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Re: PSA: Don't swipe recklessly for others
« Reply #2145 on: February 18, 2019, 08:00:44 AM »
I know many people scammed
+1 I know a few people that got scammed.... 2 are active DDF’ers......

Offline bznt

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Re: PSA: Don't swipe recklessly for others
« Reply #2146 on: February 18, 2019, 08:02:10 AM »
they did reach out to @Dan
Not being disrespectful, but Just wondering how can dan help the people who got scammed ?

Offline JACKBLUE

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Re: PSA: Don't swipe recklessly for others
« Reply #2147 on: February 18, 2019, 08:05:13 AM »
Not being disrespectful, but Just wondering how can dan help the people who got scammed ?
he can’t but he asked for victims to reach out to him so he can write a post....

Offline Boruch Parnes

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Re: PSA: Don't swipe recklessly for others
« Reply #2148 on: February 18, 2019, 08:10:51 AM »
Not being disrespectful, but Just wondering how can dan help the people who got scammed ?
it helps for the future

Offline Dan

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Re: PSA: Don't swipe recklessly for others
« Reply #2149 on: February 18, 2019, 08:36:24 AM »
Seems like it's time for someone to just post a first-hand story here.
Save your time, I don't answer PM. Post it in the forum and a dedicated DDF'er will get back to you as soon as possible.

Offline bznt

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PSA: Don't swipe recklessly for others
« Reply #2150 on: February 18, 2019, 08:42:12 AM »
Seems like it's time for someone to just post a first-hand story here.
The people I know who got scammed will not post publicly, because they are still considering their options and course of action , and posting publicly might jeopardize that.

Offline Dan

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Re: PSA: Don't swipe recklessly for others
« Reply #2151 on: February 18, 2019, 08:43:56 AM »
How would posting jeopardize that, unless it will stop others from "investing" to pay back previous "investors"
Save your time, I don't answer PM. Post it in the forum and a dedicated DDF'er will get back to you as soon as possible.

Offline JACKBLUE

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Re: PSA: Don't swipe recklessly for others
« Reply #2152 on: February 18, 2019, 08:45:27 AM »
Seems like it's time for someone to just post a first-hand story here.
didn’t some DDF’ers email you first hand stories?

Offline bznt

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PSA: Don't swipe recklessly for others
« Reply #2153 on: February 18, 2019, 08:47:03 AM »
How would posting jeopardize that, unless it will stop others from "investing" to pay back previous "investors"
Well. “ this particular “ scam is over, nobody is “ investing” anymore in this business, the question is, how they recover from it

Offline Dan

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Re: PSA: Don't swipe recklessly for others
« Reply #2154 on: February 18, 2019, 08:47:04 AM »
Nothing detailed and I don't have the time to pull teeth or get on an hour long phone call.

People can write their own story here and let the community ask questions. Make a new username if you have to.
Save your time, I don't answer PM. Post it in the forum and a dedicated DDF'er will get back to you as soon as possible.

Offline Yehudaa

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Re: PSA: Don't swipe recklessly for others
« Reply #2155 on: February 18, 2019, 08:49:14 AM »


Seems like it's time for someone to just post a first-hand story here.



The people I know who got scammed will not post publicly, because they are still considering their options and course of action , and posting publicly might jeopardize that.

Even if it wouldn't jeopardize their chances of repayment, active DDFers might also be hesitant to post their story here as it's been made really clear here that trusting someone with that type of money was a big mistake. Publicly admitting to mistakes- especially big ones like these- is never easy.

But I guess if any of them were ready to share their story they could open a username solely for the purpose of this.....

Offline zale

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Re: PSA: Don't swipe recklessly for others
« Reply #2156 on: February 18, 2019, 11:10:49 AM »
Can you please explain their business model?

+1 @yesitsme can you elaborate a bit more about the operation? Was the retail store itself profitable, or was it just a front for other businesses like Amazon etc?

Offline Chief Rabbi of New York

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Re: PSA: Don't swipe recklessly for others
« Reply #2157 on: February 18, 2019, 11:36:01 AM »
Nothing detailed and I don't have the time to pull teeth or get on an hour long phone call.

People can write their own story here and let the community ask questions. Make a new username if you have to.

@bznt @JACKBLUE @Z56
since it was a lot of people who got scammed
just have they create a new user name and put more details
this could help clarify everything
Show Some Respect for Me, I am The Chief Rabbi of New York :)

Offline lubaby

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Re: PSA: Don't swipe recklessly for others
« Reply #2158 on: February 18, 2019, 12:02:27 PM »
After people declaring bankruptcy and settling with the cc
Hopefully everyone will be able to move on
Declaring bankruptcy and settling with credit card might not work for this (as in, these swipes might not be discharged)..

Offline YesThatsMe

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Re: PSA: Don't swipe recklessly for others
« Reply #2159 on: February 18, 2019, 12:05:27 PM »
+1 @yesitsme can you elaborate a bit more about the operation? Was the retail store itself profitable, or was it just a front for other businesses like Amazon etc?

The store was profitable enough to pay a decent profit to the owners. A few good management decisions had been taken about 3 - 4 years ago to get it there. A small business, friendly service, part of the community, run by great guys.

Now one employee at the store began selling stuff online from the basement. They were very successful. They expanded - to a warehouse in Lakewood -, hired guys - working "virtually" (not in Lakewood) - to manage the Amazon accounts (buyers basically), and took investors - (or people they believed had access to investors) - money to fund purchases.

A lot, if not most of products were giving amazing returns. However, a lot sat in inventory and wouldn't move. Some sold for cost, or even a bit less. Also, no star product would last a decent cycle. A certain anonymous vendor came onto the listings of a great line and basically wiped away the micro-industry. The competition on Amazon is so fierce it's scary. So the profits were being used to run operations, while the warehouse became overloaded and inventory was ignored - especially on the financial statements.

Everyone involved was promised "commissions", basically a waterfall from the "profits". It was my job to calculate what the profits per Amazon account was. However, investors were promised a 10% ROE, plus a percentage of the profits (obviously the owners had no idea how to differentiate between a "loan" and an "investment"). The account manager got decent wages (paid by Sterling), and 10% of the profits. Yet inventory was never accounted for. So a buyer could spend $200K on various goods, and turn over $100K of it for $150K. Now the $50K profit got divvied up, but the $100K that didn't sell (and in my opinion, never will) sat. The right place for this would be a $100K write-off, but the only books it would go on were Sterling's. The buyers and investors were doing great! The buyers got paid quarterly, the investors got great Excel sheets, and Sterling was running out of money.

Eventually, such an operation will run out of cash. Also, towards the end of my tenure, the owners began buying up different businesses they felt they can turn around. They began a affiliate trucking business which was very successful. In order to pay-where-they-needed, they used money from wherever-there-was that day. Investors who understood they were investing in account X, managed by Mr. X, focusing on product X, which was a sound idea, found their money being "inter-company-loaned" to whoever needed money that day. There was no Controller or CFO, the owners just "Churned Water".

Now I have no idea how the CC thing began. It was definitely not something that would of crossed the owners minds during my stint there. I guess the situation got really desperate. Again, they were, and are, great honest Erliche guys. They gave Tzedakah, kept people on payroll because they were scared to take way Parnassah from a Yid, and kept their work-space to the highest Tznius standards. They took Mamesh nothing, even when one made Chasuna. They legitimately believed they knew what they were doing, and wouldn't listen to whoever said otherwise. This was, in my opinion, their only fault.

 
« Last Edit: February 18, 2019, 01:28:11 PM by YesThatsMe »