Should I Buy?

[monty2006]

Hi guys, I have a dilemma regarding whether to buy a new laptop from a company which I am not sure I can trust. Since I am not very expierenced in these things, and I have never been conned before, I am not sure what to do, so hopefully you can help.

 

A company called "Come Limited" recently "spammed" a forum I visit regularly, with it's prices for various electronics. Here is what they have posted on numerous forums:

 

edit

 

The prices are incredibly lower than anywhere else where you can buy these electronics, which had me thinking at first that they were simply a wholesaler. However I e-mailed "Paul Richardson" and he has told me that they are a wholesaler but also sell single items to customers. I have spoken to him online and via e-mail and he has repeatedly told me that they are a reputable company. I have even looked up their business number at ukdata.

 

The major thing that worries me is that they do not have a website, and so I would be giving them my card details without knowing anything about the company really. The prices seem too good to be true, so I am in limbo as to what to do here.

 

Please give me advice on whether I should trust this company, I have tried to unearth some information about them, but I still cannot find anything to tell me whether to trust them.

 

Thanks guys, your help will be greatly appreciated.

 

William

[Jeanjaquessmoothie]

Ever heard the phrase

 

If it looks too good to be true, it probably is

 

I reckon it's a con. If it was a little cheaper than elsewhere, fair play, but loads cheaper, it's more than likely designed to sucker you in. If not, why sell it that much cheaper?

 

There's one born every minute

 

My thoughts.

 

JJS

[monty2006]

"If It looks too good to be true, it probably is"

 

I was going to say that, thought it might be a bit cliche though...

 

Thanks for your thoughts..

[blitz]

NOKIA N95 ................................. $230USD

You got to be kidding me, it really does look a little...too good. I would only suggest buying if its collection + inspection of goods before payment. Why are they listing dollars rather then pounds, that nokia is worth £250-£300 and they are listing it for half price

[bed32]

Well - there is a saying "if it sounds to good to be true it probably is".

 

Their prices will almost certainly be ex-VAT, and they may even not include Duty as well.

 

However at the end of the day if you pay by credit card and the company is based in UK then you really don't have much to lose

[Ecossewarrior]

Yeah sounds a bit too good however I am interested too see if it is because I am looking for a mac laptop at present. Are you going to go aheead with it or just leave it?

[doompixie]

WE DEAL ON EXPORT

 

Explains why the prices are in dollars and probably why they are so low. Exchange rates from GBP to USD is going pretty good for us right now.

I would be concerned whether or not the merchandise is compatible in the UK though.

[monty2006]

Thanks for the replies guys, I won't be going ahead with it, I am only 16 and £300 is a lot of money to lose for me if it is a con. The man I spoke to seemed very pushy and keeps calling me asking me whether I am ready to buy, which makes me even more suspicous. If I lived in london I would go down to their premises but I don't so I am going to leave it. He said they are looking to get a website soon, (another thing which didn't sound quite right) so I might wait until that materializes...

[Sidewinder]

The address given seems to be a mailing address for a multitude of small limited companies - and this firm seems to have spammed an awful lot of forums in the same way - I would be a bit concerned at Mr Paul Richardson using different e mail addresses depending on which country he is targeting the ad at

 

It may be effective marketing or a bit of a fly by night - I wonder where their warehouse is? I would hazard a guess and say that stock would be shipped from the US - if at all - would that create problems with voltage differences or other compatibility issues if the units are not UK spec? (sorry - don't know enough about that)

 

Interestingly I googled a few phrases from the original ad and price list and came up with [LINK REMOVED] Not the same company advertising these items, but if you look at the ad listings for the Apple and Lenovo units they are in the same order and being advertised at exactly the same prices.

 

Personally I would be wary.

 

PS - if you do go ahead and it all works as it should, them PM me as I have a son who would dearly love a PS3 and at $180 rather than £430 I might be tempted

[Ecossewarrior]

Wise move monty! when they start pushing you it always sounds dodgy!. I had a guy who bought my car from amsterdamn who tried to buy my car with a fake cheque! kept phoning me asking when his car was coming!!!! u can never tell till its too late sometimes so its good that u had the common sense to not do it

[demon_x_slash]

The advertising post looks very very similar to spam we get on here from time to time. My advice: Run A Mile.

[bed32]

The address given seems to be a mailing address for a multitude of small limited companies

That in itself is not a cause for concern - it is probably the company's registered office which is likely to be either their accountants or some serviced offices

[Sidewinder]

That in itself is not a cause for concern - it is probably the company's registered office which is likely to be either their accountants or some serviced offices

 

I completely agree - nothing wrong at all, but it seemed to add to the picture of a UK front for an organisation ostensibly based elsewhere. It just seemed a little messy for a wholesale operation to be advertising so randomly when at those prices they could clean up with a more targeted campaign.

[HSBCrusher]

The advertising post looks very very similar to spam we get on here from time to time. My advice: Run A Mile.

demon is bang on with his advice!

 

leave them well alone!

[demon_x_slash]

'his', lol, dearie me, luckily I don't take offence to the intimation of gender bending...

[gyzmo]

Monty, at the risk of repeating what anyone else has said....

 

When you said that you were only 16, my stomach dropped. This seller seems to be relying on on your inexperience and is definitely bullying you. No decent trader will pressure you into buying something (in fact, such tactics could well be illegal under the Unfair Commercial Practices dirctive but I shalln't bore you with that).

 

I hope by now you have got the message that you should not hand over your hard earned cash to this geezer. You will not see it again if you do.

 

Have you a friend or relative you trust who has bought computers in the past? Or it may be worth asking your employer / teacher etc for advice on where they would go to buy one.

 

Things may go wrong no matter where you buy from. You want to be sure that you do your homework (no, not from school) before making a purchase and ensure that whoever you buy from will at least still be around for you to complain to.

 

Good luck.

[HSBCrusher]

'his', lol, dearie me, luckily I don't take offence to the intimation of gender bending...

lol

 

have we met before.... lol

[monty2006]

Thanks for the great advice guys. I never quite trusted this company, but at those prices I figured it might be worth a go. I will definitely not be dealing with them, and will look elsewhere to buy my laptop.

[HSBCrusher]

Thanks for the great advice guys. I never quite trusted this company, but at those prices I figured it might be worth a go. I will definitely not be dealing with them, and will look elsewhere to buy my laptop.

excellent!

now you have to deal with the crooks on the high street...

[gyzmo]

Oh, to crush the hopes and aspirations and innocence of the young! You rotter!

 

True though!

[ScarletPimpernel]

These scams are very common, and feature regularly in the various 419-baiting sites.

 

ecossewarrior -

Beware of cheap Macs. It's very difficult to get them legitimately for less than you'd pay direct from Apple. Potential difficulties with warranty would put me off buying from other than Apple or an authorised reseller. John Lewis are worth looking at, because they provide a two-year warranty. On the other hand, they don't always have everything in stock, whilst the Apple Stores will often have the latest spec machines first.

[monty2006]

These scams are very common, and feature regularly in the various 419-baiting sites.

 

ecossewarrior -

Beware of cheap Macs. It's very difficult to get them legitimately for less than you'd pay direct from Apple. Potential difficulties with warranty would put me off buying from other than Apple or an authorised reseller. John Lewis are worth looking at, because they provide a two-year warranty. On the other hand, they don't always have everything in stock, whilst the Apple Stores will often have the latest spec machines first.

 

 

Quoted for truth, I am going to buy from apple to make 100% sure that I am buying what I want, amazon do them cheaper, but you can't choose your specs as easily, or at all.