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Old 24-02-2015, 05:45   #16
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Re: Marine Online Vendors: Buyer Beware and Google Isn't Your Friend

"This isn't new" is an understatement. I really don't see how anyone thinks that aggressive marketing, like writing blogs that describe how nice a product is and mention it 25 times is criminal. Or one company bad mouthing a competitor. Google never said they were doing the free searches for your benefit. But you can always ask them for your money back if you don't like the search results. The web allows for all the scams and underhanded promotion to grow to web sized dimensions. But other than size, it is the same stuff as is seen with retail businesses everywhere. How many going out of business 80% off rugs do you need today? Do all the beautiful people in the slick magazine ad really love Coke?
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Old 24-02-2015, 05:52   #17
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Re: Marine Online Vendors: Buyer Beware and Google Isn't Your Friend

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Do all the beautiful people in the slick magazine ad really love Coke?
I aint beautiful but I sure drink Coke coz it will make me beautiful like them in the ads...........

What ? It isnt working? huh?

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Old 24-02-2015, 05:58   #18
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Re: Marine Online Vendors: Buyer Beware and Google Isn't Your Friend

When I look at my Amazon account info I am amazed at how much business I am doing through them. Living in a small tropical island nation and refurbishing an old boat means that Fed Ex is visiting us an average of twice a week here lately. But I've been shopping thru Amazon for years, since we have to have all our internet purchases sent to a forwarding/consolidation company in Florida. Amazon has been absolutely great. They have covered me in the very few instances where a vendor screwed up, without question or hassle. Twice now UPS has lost shipments and in both cases Amazon had a replacement shipment sent to me totally outside whatever happened to the original shipment. Near the best prices around and they cover their customers and police their vendors. I can't see me changing horses anytime soon. One does have to be vigilant about Chinese companies, but the info is there if you want to dig for it on Amazon. Posting a question about a crimping tool last week ( Where is it made?) got me three answers within minutes ( China) and I made a buying decision based upon that feedback.
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Old 24-02-2015, 05:58   #19
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Re: Marine Online Vendors: Buyer Beware and Google Isn't Your Friend

I think you will find that dropship is a common ploy on EBAY... boy have I been irritated when I find that 20 advertisers all have the same overseas company whom they sell products off. Prices different by up to $3 an item to make you think they are not linked.

try and report this to EBAY........ good luck on finding a phone number or email. EBAY do not care. Some of these dropship companies advertise as local, ie in the UK or USA with a local country address......but you will get an email from them after purchase stating that "we are just waiting on new supplies coming in and will send out as soon as possible....."
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Old 24-02-2015, 06:07   #20
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Re: Marine Online Vendors: Buyer Beware and Google Isn't Your Friend

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Originally Posted by Canibul View Post
When I look at my Amazon account info I am amazed at how much business I am doing through them. Living in a small tropical island nation and refurbishing an old boat means that Fed Ex is visiting us an average of twice a week here lately. But I've been shopping thru Amazon for years, since we have to have all our internet purchases sent to a forwarding/consolidation company in Florida. Amazon has been absolutely great. They have covered me in the very few instances where a vendor screwed up, without question or hassle. Twice now UPS has lost shipments and in both cases Amazon had a replacement shipment sent to me totally outside whatever happened to the original shipment. Near the best prices around and they cover their customers and police their vendors. I can't see me changing horses anytime soon. One does have to be vigilant about Chinese companies, but the info is there if you want to dig for it on Amazon. Posting a question about a crimping tool last week ( Where is it made?) got me three answers within minutes ( China) and I made a buying decision based upon that feedback.
Amazon is a good company to deal with. However..... I bought a tablet. It arrived in 4 days! However it went faulty after 60 days. Guess where I had to send it back to for repair? Yes...... Shenzen China. Cost of insurance airfare and customs declarations and holdups whilst verification made by customs...... 7 weeks.

Assumptions cannot be made. It means reading, as you stated, EVERYTHING regarding the product, the selling company and repair protocols.

In saying all this, the repair entailed sending me a replacement (upgraded unit) and they dealt with UK customs for me. Cannot complain about the actual company or service, and they now have a UK company and address for sorting out issues.
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Old 24-02-2015, 08:24   #21
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Re: Marine Online Vendors: Buyer Beware and Google Isn't Your Friend

A suggestion to the owners of Cruisersforum. Maybe not a great one, but what the heck, i'm bored this morning.

Start a new sub forum for product reviews, But one with a bit of a twist. The only members who can post reviews on it are those who have been members for a number of years - say 5 years - and who have many posts - say over 1000.

This would eliminate new posters who might have joined just for the chance to plug his product or service. It might instill some confidence in the readers to know that the person posting has at least been an active member for some time.

Just an idea.....
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Old 24-02-2015, 10:02   #22
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Re: Marine Online Vendors: Buyer Beware and Google Isn't Your Friend

I was just sitting here thinking about your idea on the product reviews, and glanced around to see how many posts people had, just on the page being displayed.

Is Weavis really averaging 12 posts a day, seven days a week, for the year he's been a member?

I think the product review idea has some merit. Would be nice if those stating facts about a product had actually used that product. Instead of repeating what they were told, or what they read on the internet. How many times have you gotten into a spirited discussion with someone who initially appears knowledgeable about an issue, only to eventually dig out the fact that they have no personal experience with the item, service, or procedure in question? Would be good to be able to separate opinion from fact. And I value each, until someone gets them confused.
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Old 24-02-2015, 10:26   #23
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Re: Marine Online Vendors: Buyer Beware and Google Isn't Your Friend

You have to do your due diligence, as always.
Sometimes that's tough, for instance other than just gut feeling, how do I pick a Doctor, I'm certainly not qualified to know the difference? Ask my friends? Are they more qualified than I am?
For any system that's put into place, someone finds a way to beat it. I have never been on Angie's list, but understand the theory, but what do you want to bet that for a price if I was some kind of Contractor, that I could have bunches of glowing reviews on Angie's list?

Often you can weed out the chaff just by the claims a company makes, for example, a great many car stereo amplifiers claim more power output that the input power fuse can support, I guess their amp is "makes" power?

I just spent a bunch of money on an Autoprop, lots of people hate the thing, a few love it, most seem to love the Maxprop. But as a test pilot that knows a smattering of aerodynamics, I can tell you the blade profile of a Maxprop is inefficient, but there are droves of followers. It must work OK, but it's not as efficient as a fixed prop and my limited experience with a feathering prop is not at all what most report, and it's not what I expected, but what I'm seeing makes sense from a logical perspective.
Apple electronics are actually not very good, but people stand in line to buy the things, a lot of our consumerism if there is such a word is driven by the social desire to posses the item that has been most successfully marketed.
So often on forums there is a "leader" or two, with several cheerleaders, and it's the cheerleaders jobs to support the leaders opinions.
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Old 24-02-2015, 10:32   #24
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Re: Marine Online Vendors: Buyer Beware and Google Isn't Your Friend

In some situations I've found out that downloading a manual for a potential purchase will reveal it's true origins. The people who write the obscure marketing are not the ones writing the manuals. The translated English in some of them is hilarious. I think my favorite was the wire brush from China with the warning not to use it on teeth.
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Old 24-02-2015, 10:36   #25
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Re: Marine Online Vendors: Buyer Beware and Google Isn't Your Friend

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Is Weavis really averaging 12 posts a day, seven days a week, for the year he's been a member?
yep....... as a mod there was a lot to do..a lot of responses required.
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Old 24-02-2015, 11:38   #26
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Re: Marine Online Vendors: Buyer Beware and Google Isn't Your Friend

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yep....... as a mod there was a lot to do..a lot of responses required.
Ah ... so that's your excuse .
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Old 24-02-2015, 11:41   #27
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Re: Marine Online Vendors: Buyer Beware and Google Isn't Your Friend

I guess I don't have an excuse other than I'm "at work"...so since I'm the boss and screwing around on the internet I guess I can't bust myself....oh crap....just don't let my partner back at the office in San Diego building and shipping **** find out what I do all day...ha ha ha
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Old 24-02-2015, 11:47   #28
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Re: Marine Online Vendors: Buyer Beware and Google Isn't Your Friend

There is a reason you can get items cheap online folks - don't complain about drop-shipping or using shipping consolidators. If every company out there had to actually stock items that they were selling there would be a lot of companies going out of business. I just don't care that a product is drop-shipped, its the same product I would have otherwise bought and I probably got it cheaper. With amazon prime I don't even pay for shipping most of the time.
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Old 24-02-2015, 12:04   #29
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Re: Marine Online Vendors: Buyer Beware and Google Isn't Your Friend

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There is a reason you can get items cheap online folks - don't complain about drop-shipping or using shipping consolidators. If every company out there had to actually stock items that they were selling there would be a lot of companies going out of business. I just don't care that a product is drop-shipped, its the same product I would have otherwise bought and I probably got it cheaper. With amazon prime I don't even pay for shipping most of the time.
I'm don't have a problem with so-called drop shippers. It is one way to keep costs down, and therefore pass on better prices to buyers. Where I do have a problem is when a company is purposely obfuscating or misrepresenting themselves to be something they are not. Worse still would be if a seller won't live up to their advertised prices and/or services.

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I guess I don't have an excuse other than I'm "at work"...so since I'm the boss and screwing around on the internet I guess I can't bust myself....oh crap....just don't let my partner back at the office in San Diego building and shipping **** find out what I do all day...ha ha ha
Yup. It's good to be the boss ... at least I know why no work is getting done around here today .
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Old 24-02-2015, 13:56   #30
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Re: Marine Online Vendors: Buyer Beware and Google Isn't Your Friend

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In some situations I've found out that downloading a manual for a potential purchase will reveal it's true origins.
I do the same. Thanks to the net you can now do some more detailed research on a product before you buy it. Manuals tend to be written by engineers who are, IMHO, more honest than marketers.
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