Lazada again - Potential scam? I'm not sure how. But ...

[Crossy]

OK

• Ordered a replacement for our dead above-ground pool. 30k Baht.
• Seller contacted Madam, so I got them on Lazada Chat.
• They said the item is too heavy for the Lazada courier.
• They want me to cancel via Lazada and go and collect from their office.
• But they only accept cash (offered me a discount).
• Location looks legit on Google maps.

 

I really don't like dealing outside the Lazada zone, zero protection.

Cash only = no protection from Mr Visa either.

 

What could be the angle here?

 

[Gaccha]

Never go outside of Lazada. There's a scam somehow in the value/final product. 

 

Refuse to go outside Lazada and watch their next step. 

[PJ71]

For large more expensive items always better to go to the physical shop if possible.

 

If not i won't buy.

[pgrahmm]

Lazada expressly states to not deal with anyone outside of their website or conduct business out of their structured accounts....

I had no trouble receiving a home gym that 2 men could not carry....I put a lasso around one end & dragged it.....

There have been instances with Craigslist were people carrying big cash to get a sale item ended up robbed & in some cases killed.....

I'm not suggesting this in your case but operating outside the established parameters carries a few risks & loss of Lazada's protection.....

 

If this place makes or sells the pools - how do they get rid of/or receive them? Or just stack them in a warehouse until Joe schmo consumer shows up????

[Bluespunk]

14 minutes ago, Crossy said:

• They want me to cancel via Lazada and go and collect from their office.
• But they only accept cash (offered me a discount).

That in itself sets the alarm bells ringing.

[VocalNeal]

For 30K they should deliver. If it won't fit in a Kerry truck how would I collect it?

[Crossy]

Lazada have accepted my cancel request, so just waiting for the $$ to arrive back on my card.

 

Yeah, the whole thing smells of some kind of scam.

 

Dodgy employee dealing out the back door perhaps?

 

I'd already decided not to deal with them outside Lazada, there are other (slightly more expensive) purveyors of the same item, so once I get my $$ back we shall see if they also have a weight issue.

 

[steven100]

I guess at the end of the day,  if you can go and actually see & inspect the product at a shop or warehouse then that's fine.   See the goods,  pay the cash and it all done,  but I wouldn't send any money until you see and receive the product. 

[Crossy]

I just don't buy the "too heavy" line. But if they said "please come and collect" then maybe ok.

 

Moving to wanting cash on the nail sealed the non-deal!

[Simple Jack]

Very sus. Avoid.

 

Last time i ordered an item like this. The seller arranged a private courier. 3000b for a flatbed. Bkk - Kon khean.

[Crossy]

The plot thickens.

 

Do Lazada charge the seller a fee when a buyer uses a credit card? Maybe that's what they're playing at.

 

And a timely reminder from Lazada slap in the middle ???? 

 

[MJCM]

Where did you buy the 1st one? Are they still in business?

[richard_smith237]

It doesn’t seem like a scam to me. 

I suspect the shop have simply used Lazada for exposure / marketing. 

Wait for the shop to make the full refund. 

 

IF the shop itself is convenient to visit it maybe more suitable for you to go and see the physical item. 

IF the shop is not convenient to visit, then you can look elsewhere. 

 

Obviously paying by cash at point of sale is perfectly normal ( they may also accept card or transfer etc ).

 

Kerry have a limit on Size / weight of packages.

I recall trying to send an excess baggage in from Phuket to Bangkok.

I’d flown into Phuket with a 40kg baggage allowance, but domestic allowance after sandboxing was 20kgs, so I arranged to send my 2nd bag via Kerry - I just about squeezed in their largest box. 

 

That said: The Shop don’t have to use Kerry Express with their limits - they could easily use the Thai Post office - but that means they’d have to drop the item off (usually Kerry come and collect) - the shop may simply be lazy. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Crossy]

2 minutes ago, MJCM said:

Where did you buy the 1st one? Are they still in business?

 

Yup, they are one of the "slightly more expensive" purveyors. At least I know they're above board.

[Gaccha]

24 minutes ago, Crossy said:

Lazada have accepted my cancel request,

I think the best practice is to force the seller to cancel by simply waiting it out. This hurts their rating. You cancelling slightly hurts your rating with the site. 

 

...but probably not too important. 

[richard_smith237]

8 minutes ago, Crossy said:

The plot thickens.

 

Do Lazada charge the seller a fee when a buyer uses a credit card? Maybe that's what they're playing at.

 

And a timely reminder from Lazada slap in the middle ???? 

 

Ah... that seems to be the issue... 

Looks like they want to avoid Lazada charges (or CC charges).

[scubascuba3]

For cycling shoes the other day I didn't bother returning the item via Lazada, i paid seller extra direct for upgrade and different size and sent shoes back and he sent new ones to me. Everything was fine, but i wouldn't do that for an expensive item, depends on seller profile also

[richard_smith237]

8 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

For cycling shoes the other day I didn't bother returning the item via Lazada, i paid seller extra direct for upgrade and different size and sent shoes back and he sent new ones to me. Everything was fine, but i wouldn't do that for an expensive item, depends on seller profile also

I did something similar last year with a Lazada shop based in BKK. 

 

Salomon Trainers - Size was slightly too large... 

Checked directly with the seller if they had the size in stock - they did. 

I sent the original 45’s back / at the same time they sent new 44’s to me. 

 

Its simple if both parties are honest - the issue of course is that while most businesses and customers are honest we usually operate to the lowest common denominator - scum of the earth scam artists ruin simple things for everyone. 

 

 

[CharlieH]

Buying at the store, paying cash would remove Lazadas cut and card fees.

 

The issue as I see it, once you leave them with the goods you are on your own,Get it home and its full of holes what then ?

[steven100]

1 minute ago, CharlieH said:

Buying at the store, paying cash would remove Lazadas cut and card fees.

 

The issue as I see it, once you leave them with the goods you are on your own,Get it home and its full of holes what then ?

yes .... for 30k I would want some kind of a signed guarantee/warrantee that it is working and everything is new as should be.  

[ezzra]

1 hour ago, Crossy said:

I just don't buy the "too heavy" line. But if they said "please come and collect" then maybe ok.

 

Moving to wanting cash on the nail sealed the non-deal!

"please come and collect" and pay them on the spot, is one way to make sure you're not being scammed...

[VocalNeal]

2 hours ago, Crossy said:

Do Lazada charge the seller a fee when a buyer uses a credit card?

Credit card companies charge the vendor 5%. So 5% cheaper if cash. Also no tax record if cash.

[rwill]

The big question is why would they sell it on Lazada in the first place if they know they can not deliver it?

 

Also why can they delivery it if you pay them direct but can't deliver it if paid through Lazada?

I have bought stuff on Lazada that was delivered by the seller, such as extension ladders.

 

They probably are just using Lazada to get people to see their stuff but not to actually sell it to them through Lazada so they don't have to lose the Lazada commision.  Sort of like getting free advertising.

Edited November 17, 2022 by rwill

[Kerryd]

I've had vendors ask me to cancel orders because they realized they vastly underpriced something and would lose money if they completed the order.

No sweat. Lazada asks why you are cancelling and there's an option for "vendor requested" (or similar wording).

I've had numerous vendors ship things using non-Lazada transport without issue. Considering that a lot of vendors sell a lot of large, heavy stuff, I'd have to wonder why one wouldn't want to.

It's possible they don't actually have the item and are hoping you'll go to their shop and they might be able to sell you something else. I wouldn't take cash. If they won't do a bank transfer or a debit card scanner, I'd look elsewhere.

What I often do is, when I find an item I like, I copy the first few words of the description for it, open a new (duplicate) window and paste the words into the search bar.

Then use the "Low to High" filter and scroll through to see how many other vendors may be selling the same thing - sometimes at much lower prices.

But if you see numerous vendors with almost exactly the same item, description and price, it's probably the same guy. A lot of them will have multiple "store fronts" and list the same things on them with maybe a tiny difference in price.

Also watch for the latest scam where vendors show a picture of an item with a really good price and when you click on the link you go to their storefront, but if you "add" the item to the cart it turns out to be something completely different. Like you see a high back chair for 300 baht, click on it, go to the page, see the chair and price, "Add" it to your cart, go to your cart and see it's now a plastic stool.

And when you click on the item you thought you had selected, it turns out to be a much higher price. Look at the other items offered and see a bunch more high priced chairs and a couple low priced stools.

It isn't a bug and it's been happening across a range of vendors and different kinds of items. I noticed they are doing it on AliExpress too so it seems to be a fairly organized scam.

I almost got caught a couple weeks ago when I was going to order an air mattress for a friend.
I found the one I had ordered months ago and clicked on it. It took me to the vendors page, showed the air mattress, storage bag and inflator bag (with a "+" sign between them). Clicked to "Add" to cart.

Realized it was the wrong colour. Clicked on a different colour and the price was nearly double ! Checked a couple others and the same thing.
Went to my cart and saw that instead of a mattress, bag and inflator bag, all that was there was the inflator !
Went back to the vendors site and sure enough, the inflator bag could be purchased separately - for the price I'd previously paid for the whole kit.

It's like a "bait and switch" scam and I'm kind of surprised Lazada (and AliExpress) are letting them get away with it (as I'm sure they must know about by now as it's been going on for quite awhile).

[VocalNeal]

^^ Why would Lazada accept it , if it cannot be delivered????

Edited November 17, 2022 by VocalNeal

[Crossy]

From their later comments it's pretty obvious they never wanted to deal via Lazada, the "too heavy" excuse was just fluff.

 

They wanted to avoid Lazada and credit card charges by collecting cash. 

[Jai Dee]

4 hours ago, Gaccha said:

I think the best practice is to force the seller to cancel by simply waiting it out. This hurts their rating.

I'd go with this approach too.

 

Stick to your guns... force them to either deliver as advertised or cancel the order themselves.

[VocalNeal]

6 minutes ago, Crossy said:

From their later comments it's pretty obvious they never wanted to deal via Lazada, the "too heavy" excuse was just fluff.

 

They wanted to avoid Lazada and credit card charges by collecting cash. 

Sounds fair to me.

[VocalNeal]

One side effect of all this Lazada nonsense is that no one stocks anything anymore. I've just been all over town trying to buy a sparkplug for my Honda. No stock or can order is all i get. Even at Honda. 

I can order just like they can from the dreaded Lazada but I can't have one today. 

[fdsa]

29 minutes ago, Crossy said:

From their later comments it's pretty obvious they never wanted to deal via Lazada, the "too heavy" excuse was just fluff.

 

They wanted to avoid Lazada and credit card charges by collecting cash. 

ask them if they could sell thru Shopee, i believe Shopee has smaller fees.