With all the different promotional product companies in Australia there’s a lot of innovation and some really terrific ideas. However there’s also an awful lot of mediocrity. In fact there are some that are down right scary. I’ve spoken to clients who have paid for promotional merchandise they never received (the supplier basically took their money and couldn’t be found again), clients who received products with a bad print of their logo, clients who received corporate flash drives with an actual computer virus and more horror stories.
- Scammers deceive businesses with counterfeit products, poor-quality goods, and hidden fees, etc.
- Warning signs include no physical address, multiple websites, overseas sites, and price-based sales propositions.
- To avoid scams, research suppliers, read reviews, verify legitimacy, use secure payments, and be cautious of unrealistic deals.
What Are They?
Promotional item scammers are individuals or entities that engage in fraudulent activities related to the sale or distribution of promotional items, such as branded merchandise, giveaways, and corporate gifts. These scammers often deceive businesses and consumers by offering counterfeit products, delivering poor-quality goods, charging excessive fees, or not delivering the ordered items at all. Some common tactics used by promotional item scammers include:
- Counterfeit products: Scammers may produce and sell fake branded merchandise that infringes on trademarks and copyrights, leading to potential legal issues for businesses.
- Misrepresentation: Scammers might use false advertising or misleading product descriptions to make their items appear more valuable or of higher quality than they actually are.
- Hidden fees: Unscrupulous sellers may charge excessive shipping fees, handling fees, or other hidden costs that were not disclosed upfront.
- Non-delivery: In some cases, scammers may take payment for promotional items but never deliver the ordered goods, leaving the buyer with financial loss and no merchandise.
- Poor quality: Scammers could deliver substandard products that do not meet the expectations set by their marketing materials, resulting in a negative customer experience and potential damage to the buyer’s brand reputation.
So how to identify a reliable promotional product supplier in Australia? Well I can identify the following pointers which should trigger alarm bells:
(1) The “website” has no address for where the business is located. (somewhere the scammer needs to hide perhaps?)
(2) You’ve done the correct thing and shopped around. However although the telephone number is different you can’t help but feel someone has set up multiple websites and is pretending to be a different company.
(3) A single mobile number as a point of contact
(4) Overseas websites which don’t end in .au means that Australian laws can’t be applied and it is strictly users buy at their own risk. This can be very dangerous as not only quality is an issue but physical safety as well as custom issues may cause you a lot of legal headache.
(5) Little or no knowledge of product or worse still little care other than selling something to you.
(6) A sales proposition based on price alone. Pricing which is tooo cheap to be believed more often than not would mean no replacement guarantee, inferior products, unsafe products (especially promotional candy).
Hope this helps a bit when searching for an innovative honest reliable promotional merchandise supplier. To avoid falling victim to promotional item scammers, businesses should conduct thorough research on suppliers, read reviews from previous customers, and verify the legitimacy of the company before making a purchase. Additionally, it’s essential to use secure payment methods and be cautious of deals that seem too good to be true.
