Outlet Advantage (outletadvantage.com) is a scam originating from China. They are not affiliated with FOW in any way, although they are using our content from our website without our permission. We have already filed a DMCA complaint with Google because they have stolen our content without our permission. We have also filed an Internet Crime Complaint (IC3). We have also contacted Federal Trade Commission, BBB, and Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office regarding this. We have also contacted their host, http://www.hinet.net.
Outlet Advantage even has a Better Business Bureau logo on their site, but when you click on the logo it will send you to FOW’s Better Business Bureau profile. They are basically pretending to be us. They don’t accept normal forms of payment like Visa, Mastercard, Paypal, etc. They only accept GreenDot MoneyPak, which is basically a way to convert physical cash to electronic cash.
Basically, they post ads in craigslist and other free classifieds for items like outdoor furniture, sheds, play-sets, swing-sets, etc. for ridiculously low prices. They only post their phone number on those ads, 201-254-0410, as the contact information. I promise you will never reach a live person if you call their phone number. When you call the phone number, the voicemail tells you to go to their website, outletadvantage.com. On their website they only accept GreenDot MoneyPak as the form of payment.
For further proof that this is a fake company and a scam, contact the The Better Business Bureau of New Jersey, Inc. (Phone: 609-588-0808).
Here is their Whois lookup: http://www.whois.net/whois/outletadvantage.com
As you can see from the Whois lookup they have even placed our address as their own address:
36-05 Broadway
Fair Lawn
but the state is Beijing.
Please be weary of Outlet Advantage or outletadvantage.com especially if you are about to place an order from them. Call the phone number shown on their website as further proof that this is some kind of a scam originating from China.
Our website: FOW and our store, are not affiliated with these guys in any way. Again, please be careful!
Here are some ways that we can all try to work as a combined community to shut these scam artists down so that no one falls for their misleading tactics:
I almost fell for this scam yesterday. Outlook Advantage posted an ad on my local Craigslist for a Rainbow system playset. When I inquired about it, they sent an email with a link to their website. While there, I found $1500 worth of merchandise that I *almost* purchased. What tipped me off is although they advertised accepting MC, Visa, and Paypal, once I got to the purchasing site, they would only accept GreenDot MoneyPak. This seemed weird to me, which led me to google them... and luckily, I didn't fall for it. Scary!!!
ReplyDeletewe did fall for it. bought a playset for the kids that they had worked their butts off saving for and it was supposed to be delieverd today...now I go and their website has been shut down and there are complaints all over the internet about them. There were none when we ordered 2 plus weeks ago. Visa is looking into it and trying to get our money back for us. Be careful as they have already set up new ads on craigslist and just have a different phone with a woman who actual speaks decent english on the message. Post everywhere about how awful these guys are. We just threw away 800 of hard earned money. Mess with me but not my kids...I am so pissed.
ReplyDeleteWe were screwed for $800 on a swing set for the kids also. We are trying to get our money back from green dot so cross your fingers. This is realy unfortunate because we saved for a long time to get the swing set. I reported the scam to craigslist but the add is still there. I wont ever order online again. What looks to good to be true ......
ReplyDeleteI recently purchased the tiki bar for $475, it's been over two weeks and I still haven't received it. I am SO upset that I saved for this for a long time and thought I got a really good price on it. I hope I get the refunded money. :( When I was about to purchase it, of course there was nothing up about this company being a scam. Now that it's been over two weeks and still haven't seen the merchandise, now I see all of the complaints. I am SO upset. Who do I complain to first? I need to call Moneypak so I can try to get my money refunded. :(
ReplyDeleteThese scam artists assumed our corporate identity in order to make themselves look legitimate. We took different routes in order to get this site down, form contacting US law enforcement agencies, Taiwanese law enforcement agancies, Google, Federal Trade Commission, GreenDot MoneyPak, Craigslist, BBB of New Jersey, etc. Finally, as a result, it looks like their website is shut down but from what BBB has been telling us, they are still doing these tactics with other sites and other legitimate businesses.
ReplyDeleteTheir prices seemed way too good to be true and many of you had been misled into buying items from them. Unfortunatly, you made the clssic mistake - you thought you were getting a deal and that's perfectly understandable. The idea that you get what you pay for is utopia. Regrettably, more often you get significantly less than you have paid for. In this case these scumbags took your money and you received nothing in return.
If a website doesn't accept normal forms of payment like Visa, Mastercard, Paypal, etc. and only accepts things like GreenDot MoneyPak, which is basically a way to convert physical cash to electronic cash, please think twice about buying from them especially if their prices seem too good to be true. We regret that this happened to some of you but their website is finally shut down and no one else will fall prey to these scumbags.
Visa called us today to inform us that we would be getting our money back. They have been great to deal with and I am sooooo thankful that they are handling this so well. Make sure that you all contact Money Pack and talk with a fraud specialist if you are not having success.
ReplyDelete