PSA video about a common current scam
2I suspect that most of you would have recognized the scam for what it was, but a full-depth dive into all of the red flags on this specific one is worth using as a vaccination against unsuspectedly sagging reflexive defenses.
Other common current video-ad scams include Tanner Shoes, and several fake names claiming to be closeout sales on hand-made leather backpacks and bags.
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OBTW, Temu has added Mystery Boxes to their online items, at varying prices around $5. I figured that since Temu has been better than average about CS complaints of "this product does not meet expectations (as long as it’s not habitual), I’d give it a whirl. The “mystery box” item for $4.63 was a lower-than-usual-quality refillable butane torch/lighter with a “burn the neighbor’s house down” max flame setting. That’s all, just a butane torch/lighter thingy. Since I have a use for it, and it’s better than the ultracrap ones sold for $2 at WallyWorld, I’ll keep it cheerfully.)
Anyway, having delved as deeply into Temu’s Mystery Boxes as I am willing to go, I will state that IRKs are a fecking bargain by comparison. (But no, this does not mean I’ll be jumping on the next one that’s $20, TYVM.)
@werehatrack Of course now that $5 mystery box is likely to cost about $12.50 due to tariffs.
@ItalianScallion Actually, these are shipping from inside the US, running through stock of stuff that arrived before the tariffs on China went in.
@werehatrack Good way for Temu to squeeze some money out of the junk–I mean, unsold inventory–they already have here before they may stop selling altogether to US customers.
@ItalianScallion @werehatrack They have third party logistics (3PL) partners here in the US that handle the local warehousing and local delivery aspects. It doesn’t remove the tariffs, but it does remove the even higher costs of de minimis.
As I see it, they’re pivoting to be like FBA – but instead of fulfilling by Amazon, it’s fulfilling by Temu.
As for the mystery boxes, I wonder if they’re sourced from their own returns, box damaged, and/or unfulfilled orders.
@ItalianScallion @narfcake It appears that the Mystery Boxes are being populated with slow-moving merch, possibly items with a higher-than-usual “not as described” refund rate. For this specific item, there is a LOT of that going on. And it’s absolutely pointless; the lighters would sell perfectly well with an honest description, but the marketeers running a lot of Chinese direct-to-consumer sites seem to be in a war of extreme one-upmanship in their absurd product claims. That’s why we see ads for flashlights claiming a higher output than an industrial laser capable of fusing refractory material powders.
@ItalianScallion @werehatrack
@ItalianScallion @narfcake This one claims 100,000,000 lumens, and it’s not even close to the highest claimed output. (They also claim it has a 1500W LED. Yeah, right.)
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256807079207332.html