Scam from Shoe seller in China

[A-Dog]

Has anyone else been scammed by http://www.rekhsob.com/

I know I have been scammed; I'm currently working with the Paypal resolution team for a refund.  After reading some of the other 'scam' postings, I'm wondering if I will be successful in getting a refund.  Here's how the scam worked so far......

I see a legit website selling shoes.  Place an order for $120.00 paid thru Paypal and feeling pretty secure about the transaction because the seller's website uses Paypal.  I receive a 14 cent plastic shower cap sent to me from China in a small padded envelope.  I was racking my brain trying to figure out what was behind this.  Why did I receive a shower cap from this company?  When Paypal said they would refund my money as long as I returned the item I was sent.  I could use any shipping company that has online tracking.  My first stop was the UPS store.  They told me it would cost me $90.00 to send it via UPS with online tracking (a .02 lb envelope).  So, there's part of the scam......now I have to pay an additional $90.00 to get my $120.00 back!   If I decide that's just too much money and not worth it, the seller wins and gets $120.00 from me for nothing (oh, the seller spent 14 cents for the shower cap and whatever the shipping cost was, I highly doubt it was over $5.00 to ship that junk to me, but I have to pay thru the nose to send it back to China).

My next stop was the US Post Office.  The price is around $12.00 for registered mail w/tracking, but I have to find out today if the tracking is the 'online tracking' that the Paypal email said I have to use. 

After reading some posts here, I realize that there might be more to this scam..........I saw  that when a buyer sent their merchandise back to China, it ended up sitting at a depot in China and the seller said they never received the merchandise back and Paypal didn't issue a refund because the seller never received the stuff.  I hope my claim doesn't end that way.

This dispute is not over yet.  I am currently working thru the dispute process with Paypal and I am going to try and send this cheap hotel give-away shower cap back to the address provided to me by Paypal.

I will never buy anything from China over the internet again. 

I'm surprised that Paypal still does business with a website that scams its customers.

Is there somewhere that a warning can be posted about scams like this (besides this forum)? 

Will Paypal discontinue dealing with a company that scams their American buyers?

[Nadia67]

"They do not have our support" Well, I do hope so. Why is it still possible for scam webistes that exist for months, now, to be able to provide payment WITH PayPayl? Sounds like support to me, and reading other reactions, to many of us. Maybe I don't understand as I'm not an insider, but this very issue pops up in every comentary, Alex

[mad4mky]

I too was scammed (I am ashamed to say---as I am usually so internet savvy). I filed a claim---right away, as right after I sent the money, my heart sank. I KNEW something was 'off'. I started looking for reviews and came upon this forum. Then I really knew I was scammed.

I filed the complaint. And then got my 'package'--of the shower curtain today. I updated my claim to what I received was not the item I ordered...but then I started reading more here on the forum about calling Paypal directly.

Wa-la!!! I got the nicest phone clerk. He understood right away what was happening and credited me back the money right then and there!!! How awesome is that?!? He said Paypal is VERY aware of this scam artist/s and they are trying to stop it!! Kudos to Paypal for working on this---and trying to get ti stopped!!! woo hoo. I am back in love with Paypal!!! 

[Karoe]

I too was scammed when buying shoes off a site called Style Time.  I paid $44 and three weeks later got a shower cap in the mail.  PayPal opened the case, and closed it when they got the notice of shipment from the seller (for the shower cap I got) so I called back.  They know about this fraud and credited me back the money immediately.  They can shut this seller down but he/she can pop back up with a different account.  I guess we should pay more attention to the secure site logo when shopping on line.

[s_c]

Be warned that when you get scammed, as I was, by the so-called Rios Shoes site, Paypal makes it very, very difficult to get a refund.  Just like everyone else, after waiting a month for the tracked item to be delivered so that I could proceed with my dispute claim, a hotel shower cap was delivered instead of shoes.  Paypal, meanwhile, had decided to close my dispute since it was taking so long.  I protested that action, and then, later, called back when the non-shoes item arrived.  They were very nice on the phone, but then sent an email saying they would not issue a refund unless I mailed the shower cap back to China at my personal expense!  The cost ($74) of mailing the plastic hotel showercap back that the scammers will cost MORE than the cost of the shoes.  It is ridiculous that Paypal is handling this obvious rip-off as though it were a legitimate error on the part of the chinese internet thieves who have the scam down perfectly knowing that people won't pay to mail the showercap back and, voila!, they get to keep your money.  Paypal's so-called protection is a huge illusion.  I feel as cheated by Paypal as by the fraudulent shoe sales website.

[Janeli]

I was recently scammed by this seller.  Ordered two pairs of shoes which never arrived.  I emailed three times and got no response.  I received a tiny padded envelope containing a scouring pad.  Got on to Paypal, rang them up.  They were great and refunded me the money no problem.  I will be more careful in future.  If something seems too cheap to be true then it probably is!

[jules4]

I was recently taken by this scam. PayPal did refund my money. Here's something interesting I'd like to add that gave me perspective on the magnitude of this scam. I happen to work for the USPS at a mail distribution center. Last night as I was operating a parcel machine, I saw SEVERAL small packets from China from the same exact shoe scammer. The customs declaration all noted the enclosure as either a scour sponge, shower cap or drain plug. The shipping method is China Post with USPS First Class tracking. I hope PayPal is working with the Postal Inspection Service on this as they may be able to locate the mailer. I may file a personal claim since USPS services were involved the transaction. Don't know why this did not occur to me to do this before. I encourage others to do so if they are inclined. The Postal Inspectors are likely to have the ability to get these domain operators to relinquish info about who these crooks are.

[noshoes]

Let me chime in as well.  "My" company was Shoes365buy.  I went through the dispute, claim process with Paypal, they investigated and then told me the case was "resolved" because the company provided proof that they had sent the item.  I soon received the shower cap.  I had a feeling there was a relation there so I googled xiaoya yang shower cap and got an eyeful!  Seems to be several different companies in this loop.  Isn't there a way that Paypal can tell that these companies are connected????  I've learned to be much more mistrusting of internet sites even if they are associated with Paypal.  How can they keep getting away with this??????

[Nadia67]

Please read my comments through this tread, too. I was scammed by Shoes365buy.com, just like you. And yes, there are about 40+ companies, the so-called "shower cap companies", that use the same scamming procedure to cunningly use PaPals own regulation to scam us, by providing a tracking number for "no shoes at all" but a worthless shower cap, or something similar. Please post your case also on www.scambook.com, search for "shoes365buy(.com), and there we all are. Same story like yours. I feel the same, it's been some long weeks of stress, in order to finally receive my refund, as I'm an international buyer, had to contact PayPal Netherlands. And they're just not that familiar with these scammers. I was, frankly, furious, wanted to bring them all down, and, if you read my comments, constantly asking over here why they can actually keep going on. I still am upset, so it's important to share as much as you can over here and, please, on scambook, as well, so someone, a global investigation unit, will finally pick up, see how huge this scam is, and properly investigate it, resulting in some action, finally, closing them all down, put them in jail for global fraud. That's my hope, Alex

[noshoes]

Good news...Paypal has refunded my money for this scam. I had gone through the claim process and they thought it was resolved when they got a tracking number.  Of course, when I got it I got a shower cap.  I followed someone's advice on this site and called Paypal asked for a dispute agent and she immediately knew what I was talking about.  I also posted on scambook.com.  I hope these people get caught but I have learned a valuable lesson about being sure who I'm ordering from.  I didn't feel 100% comfortable with this site but they were the only ones who had the exact shoes I wanted...I wonder why?!  Thanks for all the valuable advice!

[iampaulaw]

It happened to me, too. Ugh, I feel like an idiot. $150+ dollars down the drain. My dispute with Shoes365buy.com was closed because the seller provided a tracking number for the package. Of course, when the package arrived, I did not receive the shoes I ordered for my sister's birthday, but instead I have something to scrub my kitchen sink with. I immediately called PayPal and was told "We have to give the seller 10 days to respond to this new dispute and you may or may not get your money back." Why??? There are 17 pages of complaints about this company or similar companies. Everyone has received a kitchen sponge or a shower cap. This one is no different. I just want my money back. If I get told by the resolution team that I have to send the sponge back to China for it to only end up sitting in a depot somewhere so that these awful people can claim they never received it, I will never ever use Paypal again for anything and will encourage everyone I know to stop using it, also. There are alternatives to Paypal. Some of those alternatives don't even charge a fee. The great thing about Paypal has always been the level of protection, but I don't feel protected and I don't feel safe and I don't feel like i will ever see that $151.60 again.