Unfortunately I have recently been diddled by them as well 😞 a Facebook friend shared a "sale" they were running and I considered this friend to be fairly reliable and savvy, so went ahead without a second thought. I will be opening a dispute (and probably escalating this to a claim) with Paypal as soon as I am able. I'm waiting to see if I receive the item first so that I can provide photo evidence of the products. Having done some digging, these scammers have operated a number of websites over the years, current live websites include:
Clothworthy - https://www.clothworthy.com/
ClotheSpirit - https://www.clothespirit.com/
Comfyrs - https://www.comfyrs.com/
Onfreestyle - https://www.onfreestyle.com/
Lovcloth - https://www.lovcloth.com/
Weekneww - https://www.weekneww.com/
Stamess - https://www.stammess.com/
DailyOOTD - https://www.dailyootd.com/
This is certainly not an exhaustive list. Lessons learned for me:
- Check when the company/ website was launched, if they only popped up a few weeks/ months ago and are already having a sale, walk away. Likewise, if they have a Facebook or other social media page, check the date that the page was created.
- Check the returns policy. A reputable company will always have their returns address in plain sight and if they don't offer free returns they will at least generally ask for proof of postage rather than recommending tracked delivery and telling you they can't guarantee receipt of your returned item.
- Check their feedback. If it's oceans of 5 star reviews in a very short space of time and not a single complaint, chances are it's a scam. Again, also worth checking on their social media page if they have one. If there are 196 comments but you can somehow only see 11 positive ones and all the rest have been hidden, stay far away.
- If there is any indication whatsoever that the company is based in China, walk away. Unfortunately scammers like this are rife and they have ruined the reputation of legitimate Chinese businesses but it's very difficult for the average customer to figure out which ones are trustworthy. If you are buying from a seller based in China, only purchase through websites such as eBay, Etsy, AliExpress or any other website which offers a strong customer protection/ dispute system.
I hope Paypal suspends the Shopping Technology Co., Limited account. We're just the tip of the iceberg, who knows how many other people they've scammed?
