https://www.epeenek.top/
I am a great believer that if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.
However, I tripped over this website that, although not easy to navigate and with no contact details, seems to have some real bargains. For example, Rio InTouch fly lines for £33, Scientific Anglers for £17, and Riverge Flouro leaders (I know, I know) for £2.60 with 100m of Grand Max for £12. There are plenty more items from many brands although fly items are mixed in with coarse tackle.
My first thought was fakes but there so many items it seems unlikely. It could be a complete scam where money is taken and no order appears but with payment by Visa/Paypal it is easy to apply for a refund on non-delivery. I wonder if they are taking excess stock from Chinese manufacturers producing for the big brands.
I am very tempted to put in a trial order despite the risks; nothing ventured, nothing gained. Although of course a fool and his money are soon parted :roll:.
Only created on the 20th October :shock:
https://whois.domaintools.com/epeenek.top
Quote from: Fishtales on October 30, 2020, 02:56:32 PM
Only created on the 20th October :shock:
https://whois.domaintools.com/epeenek.top
I know. All very suspicious but ... :8)
If it is a complete scam someone has put a LOT more work into it than needed to catch a few fools before social media warnings put a stop to it.
The reputation of PayPal for giving customer refunds and processing claims is pretty poor. Because they stand between the customer's card and the seller you have less protection than a card used direct.
Looks like this outfit is some sort of clearance house and lots of retailers will have cancelled orders this year.
OK. I am happy to be the Board's guinea pig :D
The site is really not easy to navigate and there are some pricing anomalies (same object at different prices). Anyway, as my other thread, I wanted a waterproof sling and they have the Fishpond Thunderhead for £73 including postage. I also ordered some tapered leaders which brought the total up to £91. But when I paid I was only charged £50.33 because of a "quantity discount".
I used Paypal because it does not give my card details away - and I have never had any Paypal issues.
There is lots of Orvis, Patagonia, Simms et al kit advertised at silly prices.
I might end up ripped off but the risk/reward ratio made it worth a gamble for me.
Well, I have had an email confirmation of my order.
Actually, two separate email confirmations for the same items but with different order numbers so perhaps I shall have 2 waterproof slingpacks - or none!
Keep us up to date.
How long is the delivery time.
A
I looked at the FAQ page which says shipping is usually 5-7days. Also states they do not charge sales tax? Makes me think its coming from abroad and there might be VAT etc to be paid.
Jim
Quote from: Noddy on October 30, 2020, 08:44:27 PM
I looked at the FAQ page which says shipping is usually 5-7days. Also states they do not charge sales tax? Makes me think its coming from abroad and there might be VAT etc to be paid.
Jim
There might well be duty etc, but on another web site people claim they rarely get charged on items from China. In any event, I have paid about 25% of the cost of buying in the UK so there is plenty of headroom :D
Doing more browsing, I see they have Abel nippers and other USA made items. In fact, an absolutely enormous range across the board. Very curious.
I'm a bit of an Abel fanboy so if your order turns up safe and sound I'll be indulging!
Let us know how you get on with it. If everything is fine i will be making a few purchases from them :shock:
The charge went through in US$ and to someone with a Western (American sounding) name and a Hotmail account.
I am starting to think this is just too good to be true after finding virtually every Hardy rod available for £82 and Amplitude fly lines for £30. But I find it hard to believe that anyone would put so much effort into a scam though; there would be no need for so many items.
Just have to wait for my delivery to find out the truth :D
Their server is in America but online Chinese sales are made in dollars so fingers crossed .....
Just keep a close eye on your card, especially for a relatively small payment to something like Amazon that you might easily miss.
There seem to be a lot of these "very cheap" stores selling nearly everything on earth and i suspect that they populate them by somehow sucking down a real web site and then republishing that to give them content. I've no idea what the purpose is, perhaps it is simply to take payment and run or perhaps there is some other sort of scam going on. Perhaps they are actually selling stuff? I don't know.
Quote from: caorach on October 31, 2020, 07:26:06 PM
Just keep a close eye on your card, especially for a relatively small payment to something like Amazon that you might easily miss.
There seem to be a lot of these "very cheap" stores selling nearly everything on earth and i suspect that they populate them by somehow sucking down a real web site and then republishing that to give them content. I've no idea what the purpose is, perhaps it is simply to take payment and run or perhaps there is some other sort of scam going on. Perhaps they are actually selling stuff? I don't know.
Hello Phillip
I don't know either but it seemed worth a calculated risk to find out. On balance, I think their prices are just too good to be true. Also, the range of goods from Paramo through Hardy, Simms, Abel, plus much more is pretty incredible. No Sage that I have found.
I paid by Paypal so the site would not have my card details and I have deleted the payment method as a precaution. I have alerts set on my card and bank accounts. And I have all the anti-virus etc programs on my computer activated.
Quote from: arawa on October 31, 2020, 07:37:24 PM
Hello Phillip
I don't know either but it seemed worth a calculated risk to find out. On balance, I think their prices are just too good to be true. Also, the range of goods from Paramo through Hardy, Simms, Abel, plus much more is pretty incredible. No Sage that I have found.
I paid by Paypal so the site would not have my card details and I have deleted the payment method as a precaution. I have alerts set on my card and bank accounts. And I have all the anti-virus etc programs on my computer activated.
Sounds like you've covered your back pretty well, let's hope it works out and maybe it was worthwhile to give it a try in the interests of science :-)
There are fairly often complaints about PayPal support in disputes not being too good. Often related to a Chinese purchase, but many thousands must go through OK.
https://www.paypal-community.com/t5/Disputes-and-Limitations/Circuos-Technology-Co-Ltd-Scam-seller-support-by-PayPal-s/td-p/2322794 :makefun
Sceptical me. I had a good look at this site & can not believe how cheap they are offering goods. A ABU four piece spinning rod new for £13 odd Hmmm The Long Firm Scam comes to mind.
To good to be true it may well be. I will take a rain cheque on this one.
Lets see how the others get on.
Tight Lines
Quote from: Highlander on November 01, 2020, 12:30:04 PM
Lets see how the others get on.
Tight Lines
That's my role :D
I'm taking one for the team :shock:
Just had good look at the site, lots of big names in there from fishing gear, outdoor gear and sports clothing.
I just hope it comes out OK for you Arawa if it does I will be ordering a few items myself.
Cheers
A
It might be factory seconds they are selling. The Tackle Bargains company used sell branded rods, reels etc for way below list price. I bought a few myself with no issues. On inspection you would find minor flaws etc in the finish, but the gear was perfectly fine.
Quote from: admin on November 01, 2020, 07:06:15 PM
It might be factory seconds they are selling. The Tackle Bargains company used sell branded rods, reels etc for way below list price. I bought a few myself with no issues. On inspection you would find minor flaws etc in the finish, but the gear was perfectly fine.
One range I looked at (I think Paramo) had a mixture of "perfect" and "factory seconds".
In a way, I hope nothing arrives because if it does it is going to cost me a fortune (and my marriage) when I put in a giant second order!
Quote from: admin on November 01, 2020, 07:06:15 PM
It might be factory seconds they are selling. The Tackle Bargains company used sell branded rods, reels etc for way below list price. I bought a few myself with no issues. On inspection you would find minor flaws etc in the finish, but the gear was perfectly fine.
I'd forgotten about tackle bargains. I bought a lot of lures off them at one time.
They were one of the few companies in the country who sold Luhr Jensen lures.
Nothing delivered yet or any notification of despatch. According to the website my order "is being processed".
Hope your not the one being processed 😜
Quote from: johnny boy on November 08, 2020, 02:28:29 PM
Hope your not the one being processed 😜
Every chance Johnny! I accept I have bought a lottery ticket rather than placed an order :roll:
Well, it is a bit over 2 weeks since I placed my order and no delivery or change in the order status which is still shown as "processing".
I have sent an email asking when I might expect delivery but no response.
It looks as if my initial thought that the site was too good to be true might be correct. Still, nothing ventured nothing gained.....
My thoughts with those sites are they might be collecting PayPal emails, postal addresses, phone numbers etc and then selling the information to telemarketing or scammers. Surely that's the only way they can make any money from such a venture?
Quote from: Sean Freeman on November 14, 2020, 12:41:20 PM
My thoughts with those sites are they might be collecting PayPal emails, postal addresses, phone numbers etc and then selling the information to telemarketing or scammers. Surely that's the only way they can make any money from such a venture?
Quite possibly. If a scam, it obviously makes money somehow.
There has been no suspicious activity on my Paypal or card accounts (difficult for them with 2-factor authentication and I do not give the number away).
I run a mail server to filter my emails as I have had the domains for 20+ years and they get a lot of spam (not helped by a New Zealand woman with an address the same as one of mine plus the NZ suffix who signed up to various sites without using the suffix :roll:). I have not, yet, seen any spam coming to the address I used with this site.
A puzzle.
I have concluded that this site is indeed too good to be true. No reply to 3 emails asking for a delivery date and no change in my order's "status" since it was placed. Also, the site's email address has changed weekly.
I will start a Paypal refund claim on Monday.
Your next assignment in Operation Guineapig is to buy a selection of Maxcatch floating lines so we can find out if there are any decent ones.
Quote from: Laxdale on November 22, 2020, 11:23:28 AM
Your next assignment in Operation Guineapig is to but a selection of Maxcatch floating lines so we can find out if there are any decent ones.
:D :D :D
Very happy with my SA/Orvis and Rio lines thank you. And I have far more than sufficient to see me out too!
I have noticed on another forum criticism is starting to emerge of some Maxcatch products rather than the previous "only fools with more money than sense buy anything other than Maxcatch".
Ach well nothing ventured and all that, I was also very tempted, good luck with the refund hope PayPal sort it out.
QuoteI have concluded that this site is indeed too good to be true
This covid business is affecting people in some strange ways, I worry about what they may do next :BewareSpam
Quote from: lynturk on November 22, 2020, 12:30:49 PM
Ach well nothing ventured and all that, I was also very tempted, good luck with the refund hope PayPal sort it out.
Paypal reviewed my refund claim very quickly and have contacted the seller asking for an explanation giving him until 2nd December to respond.
I did say that if the goods were actually coming I was happy to wait.......
Well, it was just too good to be true. Paypal refund received today exactly as promised.
As an aside, the Paypal refund procedure could not have been easier; one short form to be completed and that was it.
Good that you got your money back with no problems.
Did you report the fraudulent website?
Quote from: Hill loch gold on December 02, 2020, 08:24:47 PM
Good that you got your money back with no problems.
Did you report the fraudulent website?
Online to Action Fraud, but they were not at all interested in something I reported to them a few years ago. Perhaps they have bucked up!
Non receipt of goods and a seller gone AWOL will work with PayPal for a refund. If wrong goods or some cheap version arrives PayPal require the buyer to contact the seller with their complaint and resolve their claim with the seller by returning the faulty goods, often to China! That will not work if the seller cannot be contacted to agree anything but PayPal demand that sequence and proof of return. That is a common PayPal problem showing on their own customer site.
Glad that your non arrival was refunded.
Just clicked on that site, and Malwarebytes Premium kicked in with this:
[attachimg=1]