There was some discussion in the deals section about whether this website sells legitimate DVDs or not. I can't find that information any longer - seems the deal was deleted?
Anyway… this is probably a better place for discussion of your experiences with the store.
See also http://www.ozbargain.com.au/deals/assortedgoods.com.au
Mod — *See this Wiki site for the whole AssortedGoods fiasco.
I agree. Now I donno whether to buy the D90 or not. I think we are doing Assorted good a favour by taking it off. Anyway, good luck Stumo. I hope you get the camera together with the add on lens.
Wow! I see now the D90 is body only, how hard would it have been to say that two days ago!
I found nothing honest or upfront about assortedgoods and his "deals". Ever.
Yeah I see that now too, I took a screenie of it before it was changed, but even then it didn't say there WAS a lens. I was just going off what the dude said on here that it came with "a lens"… http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/21116
Anyway, assuming the worst case, which it probably is, is $600 for a presumably grey import D90 body ok?
I still have a chance to back out - since PayMate has identified me as a risk - I now have a couple of hoops to jump through before they will charge my CC. (its an overseas card so that is probably why I'm a risk)
Firstly we never took the AG post down as you have shown. If it gets too many negatives it disappears off the screen but its still there.
Also all the revisions are there but only mods can access them. If you need help then ask we can then take a PDF or screen shot of the revision you require
AG revised it 5 times and mods revised it another three. The revisions times by AG were
2.54 am
4:15 am
4:15 am
4:36 am
4:38 am
So look at the time you bought and if it matches we can help
also he's still selling the D60 for $400 apparently including the lens
i wonder if it is grey?
i actually don't care if it's grey. You can sell grey here as long as you make it clear what the warranty procedures are.
Nikon/Canon etc. only provide a 1yr warranty anyway and it is a gamble whether they are any better than Mackcam or whatever. Canon's local service is particularly onerous.
The fact that this dealer is not forthcoming with this information is his downfall.
@tonyjzx: I agree. Who cares if it's grey, as long as it's a "real" product made by Nikon (et al) and there is some way to get warranty if required. $600 for a D90 body only is still a great deal provided the above.
@quarrymaster: Thanks. Is there any way to tell if it is real even if it is grey? I googled for a while but I didn't find any info at all on fake nikons. ps. it hasn't arrived yet.
@stumo: The fact it does't come with Warranty from Nikon Australia will make it obviously a Grey import. THe price is a big giveaway also.
have we heard anything from those who have ordered?
My order is still in the "Processing" state, 6 days and counting.
I'm not worried about it being grey and I know what to look for there, but I'm concerned about these mentions of "fake" or "knock-off". Does anyone know how to tell or even if such fakes exist?
no idea, i would just look at photos off the net, then look at the serial number and confirm it with canon/company. Either way, us mods have his details (more than just his name) so if there are any details we can help you out.
That sounds good! :D
Hope stumo gets his D90. I'm still very tempted. Seller said pick up possible, and that would be my preference if I were to go ahead, which I'm not at the moment.
Yes, and this was in the thread at the time.
Here it is again:
http://www.nikon.com.au/pagearticle.php?pageid=65-52b9b66212
My order is still "Processing", 11 days and counting. Sony DSC-W290 for a birthday present for my son.
Yep, mines at 12 days now. This is getting a bit silly.
I also bought a 32GB sandisk extreme III SDHC card from eBay in preparation, but it has turned out to be a very, very bad fake (As in an old 128MB card reconfigured to think it is a 32GB C6 card!). I really hope it isn't a sign of things to come!
thats some bad luck, i hope you paid via paypal, lol
@swimmingtoad: Yeah I got an immediate full refund. The seller was selling that SDHC card on behalf, and looking at their history they were not into selling fakes (or even SD cards for that matter), so I left it at that. They assured me they won't be selling on behalf again, and I have destroyed the card.
@stumo: I am sure they know that was fake.
I bought 2 16G usb drives b4, they were only 2G in the end. Complained to seller, got immmediate refunded. That way it keeps the positive feedback good, and after a while it will gone forever. You will be surprised, a lot of people only use the 1st 2GB, might never find out.
Only 128Mb? The fake one ususally come with at least 1G, you can us a software to reconfig it back to the actual storage.
@fish: Yeah, if it wasn't a local seller (read: was from China) I wouldn't be interested in their sad story, and I would have negged and reported. But this seller wasn't selling any SD cards according to their feedback history, so lucky for them I believe them (but I'm not leaving them any feedback).
I tore the card apart and it had a single 128Mx8 flash chip (that is in Bits), so it is 128M (Bytes). This was confirmed by running viceVersa (before destroying the card) and checking CRCs of copied files, CRCs started failing after only 120MB of data was copied. So it wasn't even worth reconfiguring, and it was sloooooooowwwwwwww.
I got a boxset dvd from them, and yes it is FAKE! This guy is a horrible and dishonest seller, steer clear guys.
How have you been able to tell its a fake? Did it come with documentation? have you contacted the seller?
I suspected it was fake when there was no copyright print on the boxset or on any of the dvd's (as there usually is. Also the way it was manufactured didn't was decent quality but I would have expected better from Warner bros. Video.
After a couple of days i contacted Warner Bros. and sent them an email with a photo of the boxset and I got confirmation of what I was expecting, fake. They said they didn't manufacture that and the ones they did were in awhote box set. They also said those boxsets are coming out of China and they were trying to stop them but that it's very hard.
I could have easily downloaded these but I pay good money because I want to give back to the companies who worked to produce what I like, instead I was dupped into paying people who lie and break the law!
Also just checked and these boxsets are identical to ones that are being produced from LinkChina (who specialise in making fake but good quality dvds and blurays). All of this guys stuff are imports (probably all or at least most from China) and at bare minimum some of his stuff are fake!
have you contacted the seller? what has he said? Have you reported him?
If you are sure the item is illegal - use this form.
From previous contact with seller I knew it would be completely pointless but I provided details to Warner Bros. and they were keen to investigate further.
I'll fill out that form now, thanks.
Well maybe the seller has been locked up by WB then, because my order is still "Processing", 16 days now.
stumo (and everyone else waiting for their order to update from "processing", have you attempted contact with them?
I would be filing a claim straight away if you paid by a method that gives you that option.
The camera I bought is a birthday present for my son, so is time critical. I presume AG are waiting on stock from their supplier, and for the cheap price I would normally be prepared to be more patient but not for an important gift. Today, after 15 days of uncertainty about actual date of dispatch, I finally gave up and have purchased an alternative elsewhere.
I have received multiple assurances of dispatches within a certain time period. All promises were broken. My last email prompted this link in an auto-reply: https://www.assortedgoods.com.au/fourm/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1…
HAVE NOT RECEIVED ITEM YET.
Postby James » Thu Jan 21, 2010 10:28 am
Hi.
First of all, don't worry! You have ordered this camera, paid for it so you WILL RECEIVE IT.
Delivery time is usually within 7 working days once a payment has cleared.
If you have been waiting longer then this it will still be delivered.
In some cases it can take up to an extra 3-4 working days due to supplier and demand issues.
Though your order is extremely important to us.
If you have been waiting for more than 7 working days we will REFUND you on the postage charges.
Just contact us after your order is delivered and we can arrange the refund.
Your order is on the way to you and will be delivered shortly.
NEW: We will be emailing customers all TRACKING NUMBERS for your order. Please allow a day to receive this in your email, you can then follow this order and see exactly when you will receive it. 21/1/2010 UPDATED.
Thank you for shopping with us, again I apologise if you have waiting for some time.
I have asked twice for a refund.
I have opened a Case with Paymate and kept them informed of my dispute. Silence from them.
Tomorrow I am initiating a chargeback from my bank.
Hi,
I am in the same boat, bought the Canon camera on 9/1 for my birthday (which is today, 28th) - web site still says processing. How can they refund the postage charges when it has free delivery?
Very dodgy.
How do you open a case with Paymate? Will have to do the same thing.
I sent an email to their customer service address and got back a canned reply with a case number. No further contact from them.
A better bet is to initiate a "chargeback" onto your credit card by contacting your bank and informing them of the disputed transaction.
@shump: Did you mention the "chargeback" word to paymate in your contact with them, that should get them listening, since they are the ones who will be having the cash taken back off them by the bank.
ps. the only reply I have had from AG is that automated one linked above. It is looking more and more likely this guy has set up a scam. ie. selling and shipping cheap/knockoff DVDs to establish an online presence, then "selling" loads of high value vapourware items quickly, and do a runner with the money. I guess he was hoping many people would pay by bank transfer.
A chargeback is such a hassle, I'm in no rush so going to give it another 2 weeks before doing that.
I have initiated a chargeback with my bank.
It is now 4 weeks since I placed the order; 3 broken delivery promises; 11 days (and counting) waiting for a reply from AG to my last message. As it took 8 days (!) to get a reply from Paymate to a simple question of what the refund process should be, I didn't trust them to be responsive at all. I thought going straight to the bank would be most effective.
(Crosspost from http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=1358891)
my order has been processing for over four weeks, only response i have had from the seller is i will looking into it.
Still waiting for my phone call to be returned.
The DVD's that did arrive had no protection (NCIS), still awaiting another box set (south park series 1 - 11) which i have now requested a refund for.
The "downside" in seeking any sort of refund via PayPal, PayMate or Chargeback etc. (while understandable) is that it provides sellers (authorised or otherwise) with an easy "out".
Typical of this is the dismissive response (above) in the exchange "HAVE NOT RECEIVED ITEM YET."
There is on the part of consumers a reasonable expectation that sellers either have the stock at time of advertising on their website (or ready access to same). Further that once payment has cleared, prompt dispatch will ensue.
Unless and until consumers pursue these Breach of Contract issues via Small Claims Court, Office of Fair Trading and the securing of enforceable undertakings via the ACCC, (some) sellers will act with impunity and regard their contractual obligations and prompt fulfillment as merely an option of their choosing.
Still have had no contacted from AG at all apart from the original auto-response.
It's been a month since they took my money and nothing to show for it.
Clearly this is a scam. Please be wary of Assorted Goods. Do not buy anything from them.
I want to add my experience:
I ordered a Nokia E75 mobile phone from assortedgoods.com.au on the 3rd of January and never got it.
In response to my queries, James gave three delivery dates, the 15th, 25th and 29th of January, but each date passed with nothing received. I sent emails demanding a refund on the 27th and the 29th of January.
When I asked him directly if I had been scammed after the non-delivery on the 25th, he said that I hadn't been scammed. I must say, after reading these posts, it sure looks like I have!
Fortunately, I paid with my credit card so I have the protection of the chargeback.
i don't get it
what's the game here?
there's a bunch of dudes on whirlpool also scammed
you can't get away with this kind of scam so i don't know what his motivation is
Is is the obtaining of an an advantage (the use of other people funds)?
or is it criminal conversion or conversion or unjust enrichment?
I dunno, see a Solicitor, ASAP.
Well, this guy has pissed me off royally. So, to kick things off I've put up a quick wiki to track this issue at http://assortedgoods.blubinc.net/
Hopefully, this way we can remain cohesive, share information, and tackle the issue as a group if it has to come to it. I don't want him doing the same to someone else.. Update it as you see fit.
Ok, so I've received a response from James. He assures me that there is no scam here, and there's only delays. I've been offered a complete refund, and I'm awaiting a phone call from him at some point today. Here's to hoping.
If James were serious, he would have given you an immediate refund, then offered you the opportunity to buy the item when he actually had stock to sell.
In the case of the Nokia E75 that I ordered on the 3rd of January and did not receive, the assorted goods website says that he has 16 in stock! You can see it here:
https://www.assortedgoods.com.au/shop/index.php?act=viewProd…
I agree, it is suspicious that James has been very prominent on the net and used his own personal ABN and not that of a company, which would limit his liability. Also, he has accepted credit card payments, which can be reversed.
Based on this, I have an alternative hypothesis about what James may have done:
Perhaps he himself got scammed from one of those dodgy wholesalers who advertise on alibaba.com, often based in China, who offer name-brand consumer electronics for ridiculous prices and then demand payment by Western Union - apparently, they just take your money or send you a crude counterfeit and you have no recourse to dispute the transaction.
That would explain the counterfeit DVDs that people reported receiving from him previously.
Maybe James thought he could make lots of money by buying more expensive items like cameras and mobile phones from them and reselling locally in Oz. He may either still believe he's gonna get something from them, or alternatively, he has realised the cold hard truth and now has no money to issue refunds.
This is just my speculation, and not an assertion of any kind.
Have to agree , so far there hs been a lot of talk but no action by This James, wait to hear about refunds before assuming anything has changed
@Mikinoz: Yes. I'm not going to assume anything until I either have the money in my account, or I have received the goods and verified they are legitimate. However, the recent flurry of emails from him are a damn side better than the silence we were getting previously, and seemed to suggest some element of positive progress.
nah i don't believe the alibaba thing
when that D90 thread was happening he said he had boxes of cameras there and he had more at his distributor
let me put it like this… just say i had D90s at my warehouse in china or us or where ever
is it ethical to take orders and money and then have the stuff sent over?
it might take a week to two weeks to get it here if things go bad… is that acceptable? he never said the stuff was overseas
he's a crook and a dumb crook at that… i wonder how he feels getting investigated by the credit card company?
Well I've finally given up waiting for my goods or even an email response from 'James.'
Put in my Credit Card dispute (have to hand it to Commbank, who i've hated for years, they did it over the phone very effieciently and very friendly) today, 8/2 (order was placed 9/1 so I waited almost a month.)
Will let you know what happens.
after all this, not a single camera delivered…
I reported my experience with assortedgoods.com.au to the Office of Fair Trading and I advise everyone else to do the same. Their contact number is 13 32 20 and the link to lodge a complaint is here:
http://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/icms-public/complaint/regi…
Also, I spoke to the Police Assistance Line explaining that I believed that AssortedGoods were engaging in online fraud, and they told me that I could make a report at my local police station.
Hmm. AssortedGoods.com.au's ABN is registered to 2154 (Castle Hill in NSW) but Hervey Bay is in Queensland.
So although the name matches, they might not be the same guy.
That's definitely him
His employer is Assorted Goods and he's the "CEO"
I'd say there's more than enough compelling evidence, in addition to the ABN, to say he's Sydney based. The guy in the article also appears to be a few years too young. My money's on another interesting naming collision.
Well I had a contact at paymate, so I tipped them off to James' conduct last week, to see if they could get anywhere. Got a response today that they have just refunded all my money, so I guess they couldn't get anywhere either.
The main discussion can be found on the 'pool here http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies-archive.cfm/135…
I've also reported him to the office of fair trading.
A lookup of assortedgoods.com.au shows James mobile number as +43.5442328, not sure if it is legit or not.
I would also guess that based on his emails and the website, that English is not his first language, there have been a few grammar mistakes here and there.
Still no camera 6 weeks later :(
+43 provides a country code of Austria, so I think we can assume it is a mobile number poorly entered…
Maybe it's simply 0435 442 328…
Rinazzle, you (and everyone else) won't be getting anything from AG. Period.
We have received nothing but lies, except for a few people early on who got fake DVDs worth about 50c. A wiki has been set up, which details what you need to do to get your money back and report this conman. Do it now…
http://www.assortedgoods.blubinc.net/index.php?title=Main_Pa…
Thanks for setting up a wiki page for it. I am editing the top post to include it.
It wasn't me, it was eNGIMa. Big ups to him for bringing us all together in one useful place. James Murray Richardson needs to be taken down. The more people who report him using the links in the wiki the better.
The Office of Fair Trading responded to my complaint last Friday. The representative said that James Richardson had not replied to any of her emails or returned phone calls.
The credit chargeback from my bank St George finally came through this morning.
Hi. I was also a previous customer of James Richardson. recently i noticed their website has changed www.assortedgoods.com.au not sure if anyone else noticed.
anyhow yesterday i received a letter in the mail with a apology and my $1600 (special price James gave me at the time for bulk) refund for 3 Nikon d90 camera's.
could not believe it. i just contacted fair trading to let them know, but their closed today so will call Tuesday.
i will scan and post the letter i received in a few hours on here, it is very informative and apologetic from James himself and one from the new owners of assorted goods.
Latest from that web site:
assortedgoods.com.au company is now a propriety of Zhejiang Asia Wholesale CHINA
Confirmation of acquisition, Friday 26th March 2010
Important Information for Existing Customers Awaiting Delivery's
THIS MESSAGE APPLIES TO ALL THOSE WHOM PURCHASED A DIGITAL CAMERA ONLY
The order which you have placed will be completely refunded by us within 90 days.
If you placed your order over OfferME this will also be refunded to you by us within 90 days.
Oh good, someone else is interested in AG. I'm here because I bought a Nikkon D90 from their latest deal here http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/21116 .
I think it is a really bad idea that the mods have closed the thread. It is a good place to leave feedback about any dealings that were done. I mean fine, remove the links and bargain post to discourage anyone new going for it, but leave the discussion open please…
If it remains closed, then us ozbargainers are left to deal in private with AG, and we miss out on the collective wisdom of other members. Which admittedly I could get here, but I don't think this forum section gets anywhere near the same traffic as the deal pages does.
Either way I will post my experiences here if/when the camera arrives.