ExecutiveGirl
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posted on July 25, 2001 03:17:10 PM
Just received an email saying if I take 45 seconds to fill out this survey, I will get this pen that retails for $45 in retail stores for FREE. At the bottom of the email it states this is sponsored by EBAY.
So, I filled out the survey (only a few questions, took less than 30 seconds) and clicked on the "claim free gift" button. Get this - you have to pay $7.95 via Paypal for S&H to get this "free gift"! Or, you can pay $10.50 for a different type pen.
So just beware if you get this email - don't bother filling it out! I can't believe Ebay is sponsoring this crap!
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Microbes
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posted on July 25, 2001 03:21:07 PM
I got the same thing.
The email was from paid4survey.net . Until recently they where sending these out with spoofed headers that made it look like you had sent yourself this email. I had to look at the source code to figure out where it really did come from. Many complaints to eBay (since they are THE sponser) and at least they've cleaned up their act enough not to spoof the header on the email.
If it's like the first batch this company sent out, when you filled out the survey, you picked up a "web bug" that reports every single website you visit back to them. (unless you're running a fire wall )
[ edited by Microbes on Jul 25, 2001 03:21 PM ]
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mildreds
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posted on July 25, 2001 03:21:56 PM
Thanks for the laugh. Maybe Ebay is trying to get people used to paying a shipping and handling charge that is similar to the rest of the world. Although 7.95 is excessive for a pen.
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sulyn1950
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posted on July 25, 2001 03:27:09 PM
What a stroke of genius! Here I am trying to get anyone to buy anything from me and this guy finds a way to sell a $.39 for $7.95!
It's a "scuzzie", "low down" thing to do, but you 'gotta admit...it's pretty slick!!!!!
Wonder just how many they will sell??? 
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dman3
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posted on July 25, 2001 03:30:42 PM
$7.95 is not excessive for a pen in fact it is faorly low compaired to many companies that have online sales.
Buy a pen on like from staples or office Depot Shipping is $20 on any order under $50.
http://www.Dman-N-Company.com
Email [email protected]
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ExecutiveGirl
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posted on July 25, 2001 03:35:06 PM
Dman: Yes, that may be true. But Staples or any of those types of stores don't tell you how you can get it for FREE just to scam you.
If they wanted to get $7.95 or $10.95 for these pens, they should be upfront about it. Not trick you out of giving your info to find out it's all a scam. If Ebay's advertisement wasn't at the bottom of the email I would have deleted the email.
Also, I just noticed that the email SUBJECT said it is a $45 pen and in the body of the email it states it's a $35 pen.
Uh huh.. probably a cracker jack prize pen.
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morgantown
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posted on July 25, 2001 03:41:25 PM
So what's the problem? They said the PEN was free, not the shipping.
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ExecutiveGirl
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posted on July 25, 2001 03:45:09 PM
Let me guess, Morgan - you're one of those sellers selling Ginsu knives at 1¢ with $9.99 shipping, right?
LOL
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ecom
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posted on July 25, 2001 03:47:25 PM
Just dispute the charge with PayPal and have his account frozen.
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morgantown
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posted on July 25, 2001 04:27:20 PM
I suppose you, EG are one of those people that think shipping price is magically linked to item cost. Buy for a penny, ship for a penny, even if an item weights five pounds.
You have shown no proof that the pen does not retail for $45 or even $35. $7.95 is not outrageous for a catalog company. And, it's not unheard-of on eBay.
ROFLMAO per usual.
ps. You can bet my shipping charges are more competitive than yours! HA ha. My FedEx account comes with very aggressive rates... 
ubb
[ edited by morgantown on Jul 25, 2001 04:28 PM ]
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NCC1701D
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posted on July 25, 2001 04:31:52 PM
Reminds of the time this guy was selling Ginsu2000 knives on ebay for .05 and charging 5.95 to ship them when actually shipping was only a couple of bucks.
The guy would also play around with the retail price and shipping prices, but the price seemed to always come out the same.
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ExecutiveGirl
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posted on July 25, 2001 04:37:50 PM
Morgan - you seem to have a problem comprehending the whole issue here.
The email did not say ANYTHING about "Free plus S&H fees". It did not mention S&H whatsoever.
If you are going to charge S&H fees, be UP FRONT about it. This company got my information by scamming it out of me. AFTER they get what they want from you, they THEN tell you "oh, by the way - you have to pay either $7.95 or $10.95 for S&H via PAYPAL." Note how they ONLY accept Paypal payments, too.
Personally, Morgan, I could give a rats *** what your shipping prices are, or how "competitive" they are. That was not the issue.
Now, back to the REAL topic.......
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morgantown
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posted on July 25, 2001 04:54:27 PM
EG, the eMail didn't say that shipping was free either. It said the pen was free - we?
Didn't you ever hear the saying "there is no free lunch?" Because there was an eBay endorsement on the page, suddenly you had a moment and belived? LOL
YOU commented on my shipping:
<i>Let me guess, Morgan - you're one of those sellers selling Ginsu knives at 1¢ with $9.99 shipping, right?</i>
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kiawok
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posted on July 25, 2001 05:09:05 PM
There's a sucker born everyday...........
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kiara
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posted on July 25, 2001 05:11:50 PM
This is the same place that offered a free magnetic bracelet and other goodies before this. It may be a good idea to dump your temporary internet files if you clicked onto the survey. Here is a previous thread on it:
http://www.auctionwatch.com/mesg/read.html?num=2&thread=384699&id=384699
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ExecutiveGirl
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posted on July 25, 2001 05:16:03 PM
There's a sucker born everyday...
I could say the same about rude people.
[ edited by ExecutiveGirl on Jul 25, 2001 05:17 PM ]
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kiara
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posted on July 25, 2001 05:16:54 PM
kiawok said it all.......
Please read the thread about magnetic bracelets and you will see why they want you to take their survey.
[ edited by kiara on Jul 25, 2001 05:21 PM ]
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Microbes
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posted on July 25, 2001 05:36:23 PM
kiara, Thanks for the link. These people want to plant a web bug in your computer. They where using spoofed headers on the emails for a few months (I hate people who fake headers on emails) while trying to do this.
At least the headers are proper now, but they should disclose the fact that they are planting spy software in your computer when you take the survey. This is a much greater issue than the undisclosed $7.95 s&h charge.
Who Need's a stink'n Sig. File?
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cdnbooks
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posted on July 25, 2001 06:08:09 PM
...perhaps we should retitle this the PT Barnum thread.....
Bill
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wranglers
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posted on July 25, 2001 09:27:56 PM
actually it sounds like a pretty good way to hock your stuff, no listing fees, no closing fees, and if you can get ebay to sponsor the emails and charge them advertising to do so even if you only charge them .01 per thousand and it adds credibility to the email.
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Libra63
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posted on July 25, 2001 10:22:40 PM
I have a solution for all the unwanted items. Just delete them before opening. I open no email that I feel is spam. I delete it and let it go. Talking about ebay have you seen the new McDonalds game Monopoly. eBay is a sponser of that also. eBay is advertising on TV right now as I am writing. It is the one with that horrible lamp. Take Care
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dc9a320
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posted on July 26, 2001 08:47:08 AM
Libra63: Isn't that a credit card (Visa, IIRC) ad? Or is eBay co-sponsoring that ad?
As to the rest, the few surveys I sometimes took, I stopped years ago when I realized the main thing they wanted was to play games like with the pen here, and/or quietly add me to a mailing or calling list (I don't know the particular paid4survey company here, but wouldn't be surprised if direct marketing were involved).
Also, I never trusted any of those "normally retails for $XX, now for the low low price of $XX.99" kind of things anyway. Besides questioning whether "retails" is no more than a "suggested retail price" for an item no retailer actually carries, the item carried never looks like it would be worth the "retails for" price in the first place. Even if they are selling the item at cheaper than they can directly make a profit, I've long decided that they are really only looking for people that go for buying such stuff, so they can be sent a bunch of catalogs that maybe they'll buy more profitable stuff from, with the first item merely being a "loss leader." But I'm drifting off topic.
The pen offer here is very borderline, IMO. They call it free, and perhaps the pen technically is free, and the cost is wholly S&H, but holding off that there will be shipping costs until after one has given up one's time and personal information is deceptive, IMO, and if not a scam, it definitely sounds like a game. I take a very dim view on someone saying it's "free" and then trying to foist a cost anyway.
Even if there's still a sucker born every minute, that doesn't make the other side guiltless.
----
What's being done in the name of direct marketing nowadays is crazy.
The above are all just my opinions, except where I cite facts as such.
Oh, I am not dc9a320 anywhere except AW. Any others are not me.
Is eBay is changing from a world bazaar into a bizarre world?
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getalife
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posted on July 26, 2001 10:48:40 AM
"get this pen that retails for $45 in retail stores for FREE." "Get...for FREE" implies that you will receive something at no cost. "Get" is also a verb implying action or movement. As in you will receive for free. If you got it for free you would not be able to deduct it from your taxes. With a $7.95 shipping charge it would be tax deductible. If something is tax deductible I don't think it is free.
I think those who defend the $7.95 charge are buy into a Sophist type of logic.
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AuctionPulse
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posted on July 26, 2001 11:33:19 AM
I don't believe eBay even knows these spam e-mails contain their banner. I think these spammers just stole the banner and are using it to look legitimate. This type of spam should be forwarded/reported to ebay.
I get these email twice daily. Don't fill out or reply to these e-mails...they will then know they reached a valid e-mail address and will continue to spam.
[ edited by AuctionPulse on Jul 26, 2001 11:36 AM ]
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psalms139
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posted on July 26, 2001 12:52:12 PM
getalife said it all.......
I think those who defend the $7.95 charge are buy into a Sophist type of logic.
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BJGrolle
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posted on July 26, 2001 01:35:57 PM
I just delete them. I don't need a pen that badly. Or a portable radio... Or the numerous other email offers I've been getting lately...
This so-called "FREE" stuff is not only not "FREE", it's probably junk as well.
http://bjgrolle.freehomepage.com
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dc9a320
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posted on July 26, 2001 03:30:28 PM
BJGrolle: probably, and respond to one such ad (be it spam, those "You get this $60 value for only $19.99" ads, a lot of telemarketing, and some others), and you'll likely get tagged as a "sucker^H^H^H^H^H^H hot prospect" and subjected to a lot more direct marketing (lots more spam, catalogs, and telemarketing) for similarly junky stuff.
As far as eBay "not knowing," I couldn't say, yet I would say they should be aware of when their name is used in marketing, and in this case, feel they would be. Besides, this would fit a long-disturbing trend of marketing practices that began when eBay brought in DoubleClick (i.e. this latest doesn't surprise me one bit).
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