They got boatloads of free publicity, and as a profile in The St. Petersburg Times indicates, 150,000 orders were placed in the first week alone. That's over $2 million dollars in PayPal funds that were transfered to the Vick Dog Chew Toy owner Jaime Salcedo.
All that occurred in early August of 2007 and as of the end of November no one has actually received a product. The stories of delay and sincere desire to please their customers are right out of the confidence scam manual - meanwhile all of the delays have long since pushed customers outside of the 45 day window where buyers can dispute their transaction. As this website notes the man behind the PayPal account has dropped offline and there are now two sites claiming to sell the non-existent toys.
It looks like everyone bought into this pet novelty gift idea by shelling out $13.50 (plus shipping and handling) got scammed. The only positive is that the real Michael Vick might eventually get some new cellmates...
Permalink | Linking Blogs | Sphere: Related Content | Digg this! | FARK It!
Filed under:
Scams
Comments (6)
Kevin,I recently h... (Below threshold)1. Posted by Wanderlust | November 25, 2007 4:50 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Kevin,
I recently had a brush with a scam artiste on ebay. Fortunately, despite PayPal's cutoff at $200 recovery (for newer sellers), I think most people will be able to get their money back; that is, if they paid for the purchase with a credit card and not by e-check or money transfer.
In my case, the scammer pretended to be selling an expensive stereo receiver. Once I got a heads-up from another seller that the guy was likely a fraud, I filed a claim with Paypal.
When the Paypal investigation concluded and I only received $200 back, I then filed a claim with my credit card issuer. Since the Paypal claim had already verified that the seller had not shipped me the goods, I received a full chargeback credit from the card issuer in less than a week.
Meanwhile, Jaime Salcedo would have had to submit some kind of bank info and credit card info to Paypal in order to receive funds paid into his Paypal account. And two million dollars in cashflow would be a bit difficult to make disappear.
So yes, I agree that Mr. Salcedo and his pals will eventually be incarcerated. And I hope it's sooner rather than later.
1. Posted by Wanderlust | November 25, 2007 4:50 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on November 25, 2007 04:50
2. Posted by jpm100 | November 25, 2007 10:10 AM | Score: 2 (2 votes cast)
If these ever get made, I'd test them for lead.
2. Posted by jpm100 | November 25, 2007 10:10 AM |
Score: 2 (2 votes cast)
Posted on November 25, 2007 10:10
3. Posted by Les Nessman | November 25, 2007 2:12 PM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Sounds like this is an opportunity for a legit company to make and sell this product.
Obviously, there is a demand for this product.
What's funny is, this con artist could have done it legit and made a bundle of money. He could have easily had these cheap chew toys made to 'resemble' Vick for a dollar or two and sold them for a big profit. Instead, he now faces life on the run until he is nabbed.
What a wasted opportunity.
3. Posted by Les Nessman | November 25, 2007 2:12 PM |
Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Posted on November 25, 2007 14:12
4. Posted by Kevin | November 25, 2007 2:28 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Thanks for doing this article, Kevin!
We need all the attention we can get.
Have a good one,
Kevin
www.vickdogchewtoyscam.com
4. Posted by Kevin | November 25, 2007 2:28 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on November 25, 2007 14:28
5. Posted by TGScott | November 26, 2007 9:53 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
I hate that it's a scam. I would love one of those for my dog.
5. Posted by TGScott | November 26, 2007 9:53 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on November 26, 2007 09:53
6. Posted by Clancy | November 26, 2007 1:15 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
I don't even have a dog and was tempted to buy one when they were the rage, but something on the website prickled my spidy sense and I decided that $20 was too much to spend on a novelty...
(If I remember correctly, it appeared to be for sale for around $5.95, but then suddenly it was 8.95 and before you could check out it was $13.95 plus shipping and handling.)
6. Posted by Clancy | November 26, 2007 1:15 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on November 26, 2007 13:15