10 Common Scams by website sellers

[Clinton]

Some people would say it's just smart "marketing". I call it crooked.

[Dave McM]

At best I'd describe it as an annoying time-waster. Unless you're alert to the weasel wording, you go and look at what looks like an interesting prospect, only to find that the figures don't add up.

Of course, there's the possibility that an innocent, inexperienced or just plain naive newcomer to the market may be bamboozled by the follow-up pitch and buy in the expectation that the claims in the initial headline apply specifically to the site on offer.

It's not outright lying, but it's calculated to mislead, so yes, I would say it's dishonest in spirit if not in law.

[bealive]

The 'Over-Selling' on Flippa is a common practice Kay. But stop and think a minute. That tactic is fed to us every day on the TV and even in a used car lot. It's all part of the game I guess.

RT...

[Kay]

I wasn't referring to 'Over-Selling' on Flippa. I've never used Flippa.

...the subject heading of the OP seemed to be more about seller scams in general. So, here's one that wasn't on the list: Misleading Headlines.

That tactic is fed to us every day on the TV and even in a used car lot. It's all part of the game I guess.

Yes, it's prevalent, but that doesn't make it honest or ethical. In any case we are discussing website seller scams here rather than 'marketing' in general. And IMO it's useful to have a list of common scams which sellers use to entice unsuspecting buyers into buying a site which turns out to be less than what they thought they were buying.

So, in your opinion, it's OK to mislead people just because it's all part of the game. Would it be something you would be comfortable doing?

[crabfoot]

So, in your opinion, it's OK to mislead people just because it's all part of the game. Would it be something you would be comfortable doing?

The root of that statement is that a lot of people treat business as a game - if they get away with "cheating" that's just another tactic to them. The irritation is that it is hard to avoid those people on the web. I think everybody has the capacity for deviousness, but the point is that many people use devious methods in order to compete with others - the profit motive overrides their consciences.

Why people fall for trickery and spiel I don't know, but not telling the whole truth and exaggerating the good points will often effect a sale when the sober truth actually makes people suspicious that you're hiding something!

I know that in some situations I will say something "smarmy" to get by - I also know that it is not necessarily a "fair thing" to do that, so I deliberately limit the use of my "natural charm", which is why I'm not a salesman - but if you don't think the same way as those people, you have to accept that their "game" attitude is widespread and prevalent, and live with it.

Bob Monkhouse once said that "Growing old is compulsory - growing up is optional."

[bealive]

I wasn't referring to 'Over-Selling' on Flippa. I've never used Flippa.


Yes, it's prevalent, but that doesn't make it honest or ethical. In any case we are discussing website seller scams here rather than 'marketing' in general. And IMO it's useful to have a list of common scams which sellers use to entice unsuspecting buyers into buying a site which turns out to be less than what they thought they were buying.

So, in your opinion, it's OK to mislead people just because it's all part of the game. Would it be something you would be comfortable doing?

Kay, I'm not saying that it is OK to hype something up so much that it is over-inflated. I do not think it should be a way of life at all. However, it is a sad, but true, way of life these days. What we have to do is develop a way to see through all of the fluff. "Due Diligence" is a must do to keep from being skinned.

It used to be that a person's word was his/her's bond. I come from a time that a hand shake was actually valid; honor actually meant something. Those days are gone.

There are two basic options available.

1. Not do business
2. Investigate and look past the hype.

The real downside that's evolved is that 'No matter how up-right you are, no one will believe you.' What can be done? I have no idea.

RT...

[Dave McM]

The real downside that's evolved is that 'No matter how up-right you are, no one will believe you.' What can be done? I have no idea.

Even if that is the case, there's always the option of maintaining your own integrity and hoping that enough people learn that you're a trustworthy business partner.

Again, even if it is the case, I don't think that it excuses deliberate attempts to delude potential buyers by language that flirts with misrepresentation if not actually rushing headlong to embrace it. Presumably most people agree, otherwise we wouldn't see the need for trading standards legislation and advertising watchdogs - however ineffectual their efforts might sometimes seem.

[crabfoot]

Even if that is the case, there's always the option of maintaining your own integrity and hoping that enough people learn that you're a trustworthy business partner.

My elaborate response to this has been blown away by vagaries (and lost in space).

My first sale on eBay was a car we did not need. I posted it honestly, making it clear that some damage to all the offside panels was entirely covered by the (transferable) manufacturer's guarantee - it was sideswiped by a lorry on the M25. I got no bids, just a bunch of people asking if the car was a resurrected write-off.

I left things alone until the initial listing had disappeared and re-listed the car. By this time it needed an MOT certificate, which was obtained as a formality (no faults). This time around, I did not mention the sideswipe or any damage, and it sold. We delivered it to the purchaser and I did a "bit of smarm" by showing him how to tell that it had never been shunted from the rear. I told him how to transfer the manufacturer's guarantee, so that he could continue the service history unbroken, and also told him not to leave feedback until he'd had it for 30 days and was happy with the car. He left me really nice feedback.

Now if I was totally ethical, decent, honest and truthful, I could have shown him how to check a "bonnet line" and decide if a car looked like it had been "front-ended", using that car as an example - then I could have told him why he had nothing to worry about because that wasn't why the bonnet line was disturbed on that car, because the bonnet line was down to that lorry driver on the M25 and the car had not been front-ended.

Sometimes life is too short to worry about what someone else thinks ... wth he saved about £600 over dealer price and got a good car.

My point is that if you're " too straight", people regard it with suspicion - "what else is hidden?".

Dave wants everybody to be totally upfront, but you still need buying customers to prove that "the goods" are worthwhile.
Nobody can tell if you're legit or otherwise if you don't make any sales. One has to strike a balance between truth, hyperbole and BS. In my experience, truth requires some hyperbole to effect sales. I cringe at the efforts of those people who clearly outsell me but are using BS to do it - but they do outsell me, because all I do is cringe.