E-Commerce Times Talkback
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See Full StoryThere's an old saying about kicking a person when he or she is down,
but I can't remember how it goes, so here is my take on the people who
are crying over the thousands of dollars in rebates they never got from
CyberRebate.com: You got exactly what you deserved.
Frankly, it's beyond me how the deal ever sounded like a good one, or
more to the point, one that could be sustained long-term. The temptation
for free or cheap stuff must have been strong, but paying up front? How
many things do you pay extra for up front on the promise, made by some
invisible person behind a fancy Web site, that you'll get it all and more back.
Posted by: Mainer1 2002-11-27 13:52:40 In reply to: ECT News
Posted by: Survived 2001-12-13 12:41:28 In reply to: ECT News
I think that there is a way to make the free-after-rebate business succeed, but it would involve customers waiting a longer time to get their refund.
Posted by: Paul 2001-08-08 16:43:22 In reply to: ECT News
Posted by: E. Westbrook 2001-05-28 11:30:22 In reply to: ECT News
So I bought a lot more and am out a lot of money. I'm not overly angry because I knew there was risk and I have the money to cover my losses. It's a shame Cyberrebate can get protection under the law and their customers have none. I do think fraud was involved because of the timing of promotions and bankruptcy date.
Posted by: LoriA702 2001-05-25 03:06:13 In reply to: ECT News
Hmmm....I would think that since Mr. Regan gets to post articles on here about us ripped-off cyberrebate customers, that we would at least get to post something in defense of ourselves and the article. Guess not. I thought that members of the media believed in "free speech?"
Why didn't you write this two years ago. You seem pretty smart now.
I checked on the net for bad information about CR and found very little and most problems were rectified. The NY Attorney General investigation was not reported and they fined CR a small amount and let them continue. Look at the fines the credit card companies pay and they still continue in business.
CR was well rated by many rating companies.
If you don't think the CC companies share the blame think about how much money the CC's made off the CR business. Ten times the commission on one item and interest and late fines and now more interest. Why didn't the CC's investigate. I thought the CC's were responsible not to be involved with scams.
I don't know if this was a business plan gone way wrong or a scam, but with most scams it effects the most vulnerable people.
The CC's are going to have to pay for this one. Spread over the different banks 85M is little compared to what the CC's penalties are in class action suits.
Posted by: Jed Login 2001-05-23 18:39:15 In reply to: ECT News
Posted by: JLB 2001-05-23 16:59:06 In reply to: ECT News
If not, it should be because Lemmings also don't stop at the cliff edge!
Posted by: Jed Login 2001-05-23 18:45:15 In reply to: JLB
Posted by: Contra 2001-05-23 23:02:15 In reply to: Jed Login
Now, why would he want to do a thing like that?
;-)
Posted by: Jed Login 2001-05-23 18:43:34 In reply to: JLB
Posted by: Mark 2001-05-24 08:59:34 In reply to: Jed Login
Posted by: Iyad 2001-05-23 14:58:15 In reply to: ECT News
- Your take on this story is most amateurish at best, and dangerous at worst. Especially writing for an eCommerce news organization, your primary concern should be the fact that this is the first mass-scale consumer eCommerce collapse, not to make poorly thought out comments. If you let Cyberrebate get by this time, what prevents Amazon, Buy.com, or even eBank from going down, leaving their customers holding the bag?
Reconsider your position and rethink this issue more clearly. Just because people went for a good deal they are now allowed to be humiliated and defrauded en masse! Shame on you.
Posted by: Chong 2001-05-23 23:10:28 In reply to: Iyad
I am one who is very sceptical about feebies on the Internet. But I tend to trust sites that
have established and well-known partners. I am not residing in U.S. but I happen to come across
this website. Now I am glad I did not encourage my U.S. friends to try this site.
I do not think it was a free lunch. The buyers pay to CyberRebate up front and their money is with CyberRebate
for however long it takes for them to get back the money. Interest, if the money is put in bank, and opportunity
cost are involved. Rather than researching into why CyberRebate has collapsed and what can be done to prevent
such cases from happening againt, the author actually says that consumers are greedy and got what they deserved?
Please show some respect for normal people like us, who likes to go for bargains,
and also have some faith in those sites that truly offers good bargains.
If these organizations were deceived by and collaborated with Cyberrebate, how can you blame the consumer? If anyone is to blame it is people like yourself and your employer whose job was to keep an eye on and protect consumers (and eCommerce in general) from the likes of Cyberrebate.
- Consumer laws (for credit cards AND for rebates) already in place call for protecting the user against deception and unfulfilled agreements between the seller and the buyer. What we are calling for is the application of these laws. If the prices charged by CR were MSRP or 1-2 times as much, you may argue that we "overpaid" and were taking a chance. But when you pay 10 times MSRP for an item, it is clear & without doubt that the rebate was a non-negotiable part of the sale agreement.
(cont. in next reply)
Posted by: David 2001-05-23 11:05:18 In reply to: ECT News
Those who take risk make the world go around. Those who sit on their a$$ and watch others take a chance and sometimes fail and then jump all over them are a dime a dozen.
Laws exist to protect those who purchase with credit cards and are misled. You can count me as one person who will be using these just laws to obtain my justice. You, well, you can sit and wait until the flowers smell just right so you can get off your keister. Ergo, risk is good and calculated risk, as in this case, will pay off.
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Edited by moderator for TOS issues.
Posted by: Greene 2001-05-23 10:24:05 In reply to: ECT News
This is kind of like blaming the victims in a bank or credit card fraud scheme -- they're just unlucky people who could easily be you. You never know when someone is going to take you for a ride; don't belittle those who happened to get stuck on this one.
Posted by: Nick 2001-05-23 01:10:55 In reply to: ECT News
Easy for you to say since you can change your tuned from ecommerce being "a bubble that can't burst"
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/perl/story/4674.html
To blaming this "impossible" bursting on greedy neighbors.
I'm very sorry for being "greedy" and making purchases from a website. The next time I receive email solicitations from ecommerce sites I will respectfully follow your advice and email them back saying, I'd like to take part in your sales you advertise, but I don't want to be too "greedy" and burst your bubble. I'd like to order your merchandise at the prices you advertise, but I've been scolded for doing such a crazy thing before!
Posted by: John Pupkin 2001-05-22 23:02:31 In reply to: ECT News
Posted by: Joy 2001-05-23 13:20:31 In reply to: John Pupkin
Posted by: Ruth 2001-05-23 01:04:29 In reply to: John Pupkin
no, none of the major media cares.
Posted by: Marc Bayram 2001-05-22 22:29:58 In reply to: ECT News
1. We are not trying to fraud the CC companies. They are there to protect us. I think after paying a $29 late fee for being one day late... they can fight for our right to fair products and services
2. 16.9-23.9% is fair?
3. No interest cards get offered to me every WEEK!!! It made me think...I could charge this cyberrebate crap... and then pay back the credit card company with no harm done..yeah!
4. No one on this entire board in their right mind would pay $200.00 for an electric toothbrush or $2499.99 for a MP3 player. What made us purchase this stuff was the ability to receive a guaranteed 100% rebate. My cost free! Who's gonna pass this offer up as long as you follow through on all the paperwork
5. This is not only an information board but also a support board where we seek comfort and help from each other. There is no need to rub it in any more because as I write, as I sleep, as I wake, as I work...all I think is the debt I owe. This was an emotional roller coaster in the beginning but as I now catch my senses..I realize I must fight for my right and rights of other. We must protect ourselves from future scams and protect the vitality of the internet.
Please don't hate us. We are only human and being human we make mistakes, learn from our mistakes, and try.. try again.
Sincerely,
Marc Bayram
Posted by: Carla 2001-05-23 10:43:33 In reply to: Marc Bayram
I do not view this in the same light as gambling. This was assured as a "risk free" process. Where is the gambling in "risk free"? This site was also endorsed by numerous Internet rating sites.
I do hope that the company and its owners are prosecuted for their fraud.
Posted by: Thomas Ho 2001-05-23 09:01:21 In reply to: Marc Bayram
http://communities.msn.com/CyberrebateRebateRecoveryAlliance&naventryid=100
A poster at the MSN Community pointed out that the author of this article did a piece:
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/perl/story/4674.html
in which he claimed that "E-Commerce Bubble in No Trouble" so I wish that he would have emphasized the implications of the CyberRebate debacle for B2C e-commerce rather than "beating up" on its "victims" but as the saying goes: "Hindsight is 20-20"
I have a good deal more respect for Tim Picks and Brian Livingston, who saw this "runaway train" coming BEFORE it crashed!
Posted by: Janna 2001-05-23 14:08:07 In reply to: Thomas Ho
For one thing, how is buying something from CR different from getting a toaster from a bank for starting a savings account? These people were not purchasing overpriced merchandise but getting DVD players and Palm Pilots for the loan of their money for 10-14 weeks. How is that different? The site was endorsed by BizRate, CNNfn, and The Wall Street Journal. Since when is it stupid to take their advice?
It's so easy to laugh now, isn't it?
Posted by: melinda 2001-05-23 13:55:03 In reply to: Thomas Ho
I hope the author experiences something similar in his future...I hope he researches what seems like a good thing (perhaps a car purchase) and ends up with a big fat lemon. Think he'll be making lemonade? Not likely...and then I hope somebody gloats over his mistake instead of tsk-tsking the corporate giant responsible for his pain.
Posted by: marty 2001-05-23 10:59:45 In reply to: Thomas Ho
Here's the truth: People at CR thought that with enough cash on hand, they could float currency in various money markets, making more than enough on short-term plays using the huge cash flow to compensate for the need to buy and sell stuff.
You buyers from CR knew you were playing hyper-inflated prices, but you thought you were getting "something for nothing" in the transaction. Well, as you all know, there's no such thing as a free lunch, and the end of CR brings the point home so well.
In the end, you need to stop and think - does it seem "too good to be true" - then it is.
Buying from ANY company by mail, phone or Internet involves some risk - I mean, look at JC Penney - they are going broke and it would not surprise me to hear that they go away soon. Montgomery Ward folded a while back too. What happened to the customers who bought from them and now can't return a broken item? Do they sue the mall that the store was in?
In the end, life is a balance of risk & reward. The further you go on the risk side the greater the reward, but the more you have to lose.
I was looking for a mini cassette and disk player and the product they described and pictured seemed in the ballpark for what I had been seeing. I remember wondering how & why companies were making such offers. I thought market research was involved or they were new product trail blazers. I even thought about the money warehousing tie-in. But at the time I couldn't find any complaints to deter me - so I gave it a try.
When we received the product it was so inferior to our expectations (and the cost since I didn't know about their markup methods) we decided we didn't even want the thing for (eventually) nothing and returned it for a full refund (luckily!).
I don't consider myself an easy mark, therefore I have to conclude that CR customers are victims and you are being way too hard on them.
Posted by: Rabbit1126 2001-05-23 14:46:21 In reply to: marty
I mean, if you're going to spend $1500 for a $150 product, even assuming you were going to get the money back, was it really that much smarter than putting the money in the bank? Especially if, as people seem to be saying, so many CyberRebaters were in tenuous financial straits to begin with.
I don't know the hard data, so I'm asking - not trying to show hindsight.
People did not feel they were getting something for nothing. They loaned their money to CyberRebate and in return got merchandise. Losing the use of your money and interest for 10-12 weeks is not a free lunch.
Sure, S&L's closed too and stole people's money, but admit at least that people have a right to be angry that their money is gone due to someone else's bad business plan.
Posted by: Cheryl 2001-05-25 12:25:47 In reply to: tonie
Posted by: Thomas Ho 2001-05-24 11:44:09 In reply to: tonie
http://www.thestandard.com/article/0,1902,24394,00.html
that "foreshadowed" the situation represented by the CyberRebate.com debacle about a week before the bankruptcy filing! Do you think that we might see more "scandals" in the future? I'm afraid so!

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