Earlier this week I penned a column discussing the perils of falling to a fake IRS scam — and, at the same time how to have a little fun with the “agents” who call you.
My aim in the column was mainly to be funny, but to pass along some useful information as well. I though by reading the kinds of things the scammers would say, you’d be that much more on your guard when it comes to recognizing someone trying to take advantage.
I should have taken my own advice.
Last November, Nintendo re-released their original NES gaming system. It was a smaller console, had built-in games and the retro controllers. It was a piece of my childhood — all my favorite games — for the very reasonable price of 60 bucks.
I wanted it. Badly.
Unfortunately for me, so did everyone else who was born in the early 80’s and the system was sold out nationwide in under an hour.
It’s OK, I told myself, they’ll make more and I get it the next time around.
Going on six months later — I still don’t have one. As it turns out, the release of the NES was just a marketing ploy to renew interest in the gaming company and drive up sales of their newest launch, the “Nintendo Switch.”
They’re not making any more of the NES, the ones that are out there are it — and online sellers know it. You can buy one online from a third party seller on Amazon, it’s just going to cost you a lot more.
They’re currently going for an average price of $169 — way up from their original $60 retail.
As much as I want one — and I really do — I refuse to pay that kind of money. I have much better things to spend nearly $200 bucks on than a 35-year-old gaming system. So I did what any tech-savvy Nintendo nerd would do: I set up a couple of apps to continuously scan certain websites and alert me if one was found for sale under $70.
Finally, results! After months of searching, I was alerted to a seller on Amazon who posted 14 of the systems for $27 a piece. I could see the “number available” ticking down as more and more buyers discovered them and added them to their carts.
I bought the second to last one, less than two minutes before the product sold out. I was stoked. At last! It was mine! Mua-ha-ha!
Or, so I thought.
A week later, my NES has yet to arrive and the seller’s page on Amazon is now awash in negative feedback from disgruntled buyers.
You guys, I got scammed. *facepalm*
In hindsight, there were warning signs, I was just so excited about getting my game that I missed them.
I’m not a newbie when it comes to online shopping: I know what to look for in a seller, what to watch out for and generally how to avoid being taken for a ride.
But not this time. I may as well have been my Mother, hunt-and-peck typing on “the Google” and trying to give her credit card information to anyone out there. (Sorry, Mom.)
Red flag number one: the price. $27? Kasie, you should have known better!
Red flag number two: Account history. The “seller” had only had a Amazon profile for a couple of months.
Red flag number three: 5 star reviews. No legitimate seller gets all 5 star reviews all the time. Four-and-a-half is good. Five is suspicious.
Officially, I haven’t been scammed yet because I’ve yet to clear my delivery window. Technically, “houston_college_student” has until April 4 to deliver the NES, but I’ll be shocked it it arrives.
In the meantime, I’ll be filing fraudulent seller papers with Amazon and going through all the red tape of getting my money back — although part of me doesn’t really think I deserve it because I was so stupid in the first place.
If something sounds too good to be true, it is. Especially when buying things online.