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Archive for the ‘Counterfeit’ Category
A small cell of the notorious fake check scamming ring from Nigeria were caught this week. I am sure some of you have been victims or almost victims to this popular scam ring. The scam would involve a seller and a buyer. The seller is the victim and buyer is the scammer. The buyer sends you a check as payment for an item you sold. You deposit the check in your bank. You think “all is well” because the money clears. Until about 30 days later when your bank finds the error. Then your bank accuses you of depositing or cashing a fake check.
That’s right, what a terrible thing to do to someone. There have been cases of people selling cars or property and falling for this scam. I read about someone who lost fifty thousand dollars from this scam. Listen to this;
This land lord put a property up for rent in a classified ad. The buyer(scammer) wanted to supposedly rent property. They told the landlord they were moving from the UK to the USA. They told them that their company was paying them fifty thousand dollars to relocate(this is normal for re-locations). So nothing out of the ordinary the land lord goes along with it. The landlord was told they would receive a relocation check for fifty thousand dollars. When the check came they were asked to cash it and send twenty five thousand dollars to their decorator(so they could decorate the apartment before they flew in). They were also told to take the other twenty five thousand dollars to keep as the first years rent upfront. So the landlord goes to the bank. The bank excepts the check and he takes out twenty five thousand for himself and the other twenty five thousand to the decorator. Guess what? The decorator is the scammer also. You send the money to the decorator and think all is well. About thirty days later you get a phone call from the bank telling you that you have 24 hours to pay back fifty thousand dollars or they report you to the FBI for fake check scamming.
Believe it or not, people fall for this scam everyday. Just remember, nobody is going to give you more money than you have coming to you. That should bring up red flag number one. The second problem is; they want you to send a quantity of money to some you don’t know, that isn’t even involved in the trade. These are the 2 signs of someone trying to scam you.
The second way this scam could go is the most popular one. It goes like this: You put an item up for sale and get a replay like;
Hi my name is so and so from (another country) and was interested in your item. Is it still for sale? I want to buy something for my friend in your country. He also needs extra money for (an excuse). If I send you (amount of money) more than the item is worth; can you send it to my friend in your country along with the item? You think okay, I can send it along with the item anyway. You deposit or cash the check and send the person your item and extra money. The bank picks up on the error about 30 days later when nothing can be done. Now the person gets away with your money and the item. You owe the bank money for the fake check also. You lose three times. Your item, extra money, and full amount of check.
Another popular Nigerian scam goes like this. Its a little different and doesn’t involve a check.
Hi my name is so and so from (another country) I have a large quantity of money(usually in tens of millions) that I can’t touch unless we pay (another large quantity of money, usually in the hundreds of thousands) for lawyers fees. If you help we will send you (another large quantity of money, usually millions). Don’t ever fall for this scam. I can’t believe people have fallen for it. The government say over 100 million dollars has been stolen from this scam in the USA alone. So, someone is falling for it.
Nobody can be sure this ring has been stopped with this bust in New Hampshire. It is believed that there are thousands of people involved all around the world. One thing is for sure. The ring has scammed billions of dollars from people all around the world. There seems to be this same exact check scam going on all around the world right now. Its sad when people have to resort to this kind of thing. This ring in New Hampshire that was caught is a small part of this enormous scam ring from Nigeria. But they were responsible for an estimated 5-10 million dollars scammed from people. And there were only two people involved in this small cell of the ring. To think there are thousands of people involved in this scam and what huge amount of damage only two people caused. I can’t even fathom what the rest of the ring is pulling in.
Just remember the 2 warning signs of the Nigerian check scam.
1. Nobody sends you more money than the item costs.
2. Nobody is going to ask you to send money to someone you don’t even know. Especially if they aren’t even involved in the transaction.
If anyone has questions let me know. I would hate to see anyone fall for this.
Check out your local flea market. You don’t have to be special to reserve a spot to sell your goods there. You just have to make arrangements and pay for your spot/table. Then you can sell any goods you have. Some people will pay full price without trying to talk you down. Other customers will try and wheel and deal their way to a good bargain. Either way, you will make tons of money at a flea market because of the volume of customers you will get.
My niche at the flea market was jewelry and lingerie. Find your niche and go for it! You don’t even have to sell name brand merchandise. People are at a flea market to find things for a good price. You won’t make as much money if your product cost a hundred dollars or more. So as long as the price is right, you will make money. There are tons of wholesalers who offer some really great priced goods that are not name brands. Buy some no-name goods wholesale and resell them at the flea market. You can make some profit and sell an interesting product at a great price for the people at the flea market.
Flea markets are also known for having goods you can’t find anywhere except a flea market. Who cares if you aren’t offering anything you can buy in retail stores. People visit flea markets for the experience of finding something different than you can find in regular stores. You don’t need name brand products to make money at a flea market. Weird and rare things sell remarkably well at flea markets(the same rule holds true for ebay). Take my word for it, find something good to sell that you can get for a great deal. Get enough stock to last you the whole flea market length. Buy a table/spot at your local flea market. Be prepared to make some serious money. Bringing home over five thousand dollars in a weekend is not out of the ordinary when you sell at a flea market.
At a flea market you probably won’t find someone selling the same thing as you. No competition means more money! Maybe do a scan of the flea market the weekend before you plan to sell and scope things out. Find out who is selling what and where they are. Map out your plan of what to sell and where to sell it at the flea market. The key is finding a good spot to sell your goods. The good tables are worth paying the extra money if it means a location where more people will see you.
Buying from flea markets can be a great score also. When you are a seller at a flea market, you usually get there early in the day. Which means nobody is there shopping yet. The early bird gets the worm. Hit two birds with one stone. Scope the place out for the best deals of the day from the other sellers there. I have found tons of things I have made really good money from at flea markets. Buy it cheap at the flea market and resell it on ebay for tons more money.
That’s right, just beware of counterfeit and fake goods: And you can make some great money from buying at flea markets and reselling on ebay. From simple things like snow globes, nick-nacks, to collectibles, and decorations. All kinds of things are at flea markets with lots of ebay potential. Heck, if you have your own website; list the goods you buy from the flea market there so you can make money without paying ebay fees. Either way, the rewards are very much worth it when you are a regular visitor to flea markets.
I look at flea markets, yard sales, and things like that as potential gold mines. You always hear stories of people finding really good things there. I have found some really good profit makers through the years just because of flea markets and yard sales. So, look in your local paper. Check out all the flea markets. Go take a leisure visit and see what you can find. Take the family if you can’t leave the house without them. You will have fun and probably make some money. At the same time; see if there can be a future for you selling at the flea market. I bet you can, goodluck!
Thanks for reading my blog everyone. Let me know if you have any questions.
Hi everyone, I hope you’re doing good. Someone recently asked if they could get in trouble for selling counterfeit or fake goods. This is a tricky question, because there are a few answers. And it depends where you live also. Most countries have strict rules against making or selling counterfeit goods. Other countries could care less. The funny thing is; most countries make counterfeit goods illegal to sell, but it’s okay to have it in your possession in small quantity. I don’t think I will ever understand federal laws, I just obey them.
General rule of thumb, if your country has federal laws, chances are it is VERY ILLEGAL to make or sell counterfeit/fake goods of any kind. If you’re country does not have a federal laws, chances are your country could care less if you make or sell counterfeit or fake goods.
But there are ways around it also. If it is a look-a-like without the company logo or name is is not considered a fake or counterfeit. You can sell this legally as long as you don’t promote it as the brand name in question. But, if the item has either the company brand logo or name on it anywhere it is considered a fake/counterfeit and it is VERY ILLEGAL to buy or sell. “If it has the brand name or logo on it, it doesn’t even have to resemble the product to be illegal to sell”.
Counterfeiting a brand name is a major federal crime. Trademark and copyright infringment are a huge problem in the USA right now and can come with jail time and/or big fines. There are over one hundred thousand counterfeiting rings that were busted last year.
Some people say you are okay if you don’t advertise the brand name. This is only okay if your product doesn’t have a company name or logo on it anywhere. Look-a-likes with out a company name or logo are tolerated if they are not advertised as the brand name product.
Look-a-like items are items that look like a brand name item without any company name or logo on it. You may have noticed some people who sell look-a-like items and they advertise it as “Compare to Oakley” or “Just like Oakley”. Even though it looks the same, it’s not illegal to sell because it doesn’t have a logo or brand name on it and they are not promoting it as a brand name product. Federal laws have really weird rules. I don’t see the difference, but apparently they do.
I always hear stories of people getting in trouble for buying fake goods from China. This is very popular. Don’t fall for cheap prices in China. Most wholesalers from China make counterfeit and fake merchandise. They make a living off of it. The problem is, it’s against the law to most of the world. But China is not a democracy, they do not have any federal laws or regulations. Therefore, they don’t need to follow rules set by other countries that have to follow the federal laws. That’s why China can sell counterfeit or fake goods and not get in trouble.
Most people that have been getting in trouble, have been getting caught on receipt of the goods. China or another counterfeiter will ship the goods to it’s customer. When the customer receives the goods, a team of officials arrest the customer. Most of the people caught for selling counterfeit goods have been doing it a long time. There has probably been a sting operation going on for quite sometime if you are caught selling counterfeit goods.
Big name brand companies that have been the victim of counterfeiting have created sting teams to constantly do research and catch counterfeiters. When you sell the goods, the sting team will purchase it. Then they inspect the item to find out if it is a fake. If the team can confirm the item is fake and you are selling fake goods under their brand name, you will be investigated. The investigation will go on until they can catch all the people involved so they can catch the entire counterfeiting ring.
Just because you have seen people selling counterfeit or fake goods and they didn’t get in trouble, doesn’t mean it’s okay for you to sell it. Don’t worry, someday those counterfeiters will be caught. Big countries like China thrive on counterfeit goods. The truth is, people don’t mind buying-to-own counterfeit goods. Even if they know it’s fake, most people don’t mind. Some of it is made better than the real stuff. So they get a better product for a fraction of the price. But it doesn’t make it right. It is still against the law for most of us. And for those that are selling counterfeit goods and shouldn’t be; they will be caught someday.
If you are selling counterfeit or fake goods for a long time, you will probably be investigated soon if you aren’t being investigated right now. My advice to you is to stop right away and don’t contact the counterfeiters again. The sting teams can’t bust countries like China because of the laws. But instead, they bust the recipients of the goods coming from China and other known counterfeiting locations. If you are buying counterfeit goods from someone, you are considered being part of a counterfeiting ring.
It’s not a very good idea to sell counterfeit goods. I know, it doesn’t seem like you are hurting anyone by selling counterfeit goods. I don’t see the big deal either. But big brand name companies have really put some weight on law enforcement to stop counterfeiting. Law enforcement takes counterfeiting as serious as robbing a bank. You get a big fat federal charge to sit on your record for the rest of your life.
Play it safe people. If you think the deal is to good to be true, or if the price is way to cheap something is wrong. Counterfeit and fake items are very easy to spot as they sell for a fraction of the price the real thing would sell for. Don’t make the same mistake thousands of people just like you have already made. Don’t sell fake or counterfeit goods thinking you are not breaking the law. Because you are!
I hope this helps the person that asked me about selling counterfeit or fake goods. If anyone has any questions, I would be happy to help you.
Hi everyone, it’s finally Friday. This week went by so slow for me. As you all know, I like to help people. That’s why I try and answer your questions on this blog. Today someone asked me if it was a good idea to buy from another country, particularly China. You have to remember; if you buy goods from a country like China, they don’t have to follow any laws or rules that your own country enforces. Why risk such a huge amount of money to a company you’ll probably never even see or visit?
I have even seen companies from China offer drop shipping around the world to try and attract victims. Drop shipping will never work from outside your own country. It could be days, weeks, or months, by the time the package makes it past customs. Your customer won’t be too happy unless they live in China.
I am not saying you shouldn’t buy wholesale from another country. But it isn’t a very smart thing to do. Too many people are ripped off everyday from international wholesalers who don’t have to follow the same rules or regulations to keep things fair. You are rolling the dice if you choose to deal with an international wholesale distributor.
China is also known to sell counterfeit and look-a-like items. Some countries have strict rules about selling counterfeit merchandise. Just because you bought it from a company, doesn’t mean the trade was legal. People go to jail all the time for selling counterfeit goods. Countries like China don’t have laws against making counterfeit goods. So they can sell them without getting in to trouble.
International wholesalers have also been known to tell you what you are buying. You pay for the goods. Then they send you different goods that are worth much less. This switch-a-roo has been pulled thousands of times by international wholesalers. International wholesalers like this prey on people from other countries. They know they won’t be caught.
Do things inside your own country. At least you will be covered if anything goes wrong and it won’t be a total loss if something happens. You will keep your economy going. And you will know all your trading is legal.
I’m not saying you can’t make money if you choose to buy wholesale internationally. Some people make really good money. The risk factor is too high for me these days. There was a time when there were honest companies worldwide. These days too many scumbag companies are trying to steal innocent peoples hard earned money.
I bought from a company in China about 4 years ago. It went well for 2 years. I even knew the managers by name and they knew me well. One of my shipments never arrived. I figured they had it in customs. I called the company in China. They told me they shipped it gave me a tracking number. The tracking number was real and said it was in transit. The package never came out of transit. It somehow got lost. The company from China wouldn’t give me my money back. The international insurance was turned down. I lost over seventy eight hundred dollars.
It was enough for me to never do business internationally again. To this day, I won’t even do business internationally. I am not saying everyone internationally is bad or they will rip you off. Most people in this world are very nice people. But the small percentage really ruins it for the rest of us. It’s sad to say, but now-a-days, you have to always look over your shoulder. Technology makes it way to easy for crooks to scam people.
I am just saying, be safe, be covered, do business inside your own country. The low risk factor of doing business inside your own country is rewarding. Doing business inside your own country can make you lots of money without worry of being scammed.
Or you can make really big money and risk losing a huge chunk of change now and then. If that sounds good to you, then give international wholesalers a chance. Most of them do offer way lower prices that you won’t find in your country.
I hope I showed you the pros and cons of dealing with international wholesale companies. If you have any questions, feel free to email me. See you all tomorrow!