# What's the scam or angle in this email I'm getting? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 20, 2010, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-scam-or-angle-in-this-email-im-getting/550871 "2010-08-20T14:35:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-scam-or-angle-in-this-email-im-getting/550871/1 "2010-08-20T14:35:30Z")
> [@](#): > > Dear Cardinal, > > My name is Chris Thomas, and I am the Hiring Manager for WarehouseIn Corporation. I received your contact details from FLEX Hiring Team and will provide to you with the information you requested. > > Our company is the full-service wholesale distributor of various popular products such as designer clothing, watches, electronics, etc. Although wholesale is our primary business model, we recently started selling etail through the reseller network that we operate and manage. This reseller etwork is where we do see you fit perfectly! > > If you interested in operating your own online store off Ebay, UBid, Craigslist, or other similar trading spaces, we will provide you with favorable product listing and complete assistance. > You will list and sell our products from your store online, we willship them, and after buyer confirms delivery, you will collect up to25 percents in sales commissions. > > Remember, we will never ask you for any upfront deposits or “start-up” investments. > > Without taking too much of your time I briefly described our business model. You sure will find answers to all of your questions by visiting our www site at [WareHousein.US](http://WareHousein.US) (Look under FAQ section) > > To become a reseller please proceed to Registration on the same website. The registration is free and you can start right now > > After registration we will assign Service Representative to your account, who will further assist with the process and answer any questions you may have. It does seem too good to be true, but I don’t see the hole in the plan, yet. Is this a real scam, or one of those jobs that is theoretically possible but very difficult to make a “real” job, like selling Mary Kay and such? Many sales companies make part of their living off the sales people who burn out early, having cost the company little time, and earned very low commissions. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-scam-or-angle-in-this-email-im-getting/550871/2 "2010-08-20T14:37:58Z")
You collect the money. forward it to them, and the shipments are never made. ---
**Author:** ![dmatsch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3be4f8/32.png) [@dmatsch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dmatsch)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-scam-or-angle-in-this-email-im-getting/550871/3 "2010-08-20T14:42:03Z")
I’m smelling a pyramid. Either that, or you sign a contract to give them a vast majority of your profits and/or a fee. ---
**Author:** ![Yarster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/7c8e57/32.png) [@Yarster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yarster)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-scam-or-angle-in-this-email-im-getting/550871/4 "2010-08-20T16:01:09Z")
At best, this is an Amway type business. At worst, it’s a total scam where you funnel them the money, they never ship the goods, and you take the bad feedback hit ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-scam-or-angle-in-this-email-im-getting/550871/5 "2010-08-20T16:15:29Z")
Why would they need you to list their shit on eBay and Craig’s list? If they wanted to sell their shit retail, why wouldn’t they just set up their own website for it? A google search for “Warehousein,” and “warehousein corporation” turns up nothing on either count, so it’s probably not even multi-level marketing. They’re just looking for patsies to put up false listings and funnel them the cash. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-scam-or-angle-in-this-email-im-getting/550871/6 "2010-08-20T16:17:46Z")
It also occurs to me that the website they’re trying to direct you too could be a phishing tactic (where they try to get you to give them a lot of personal information on their fake “registration” page), or that it could be boobytrapped with malware. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-scam-or-angle-in-this-email-im-getting/550871/7 "2010-08-20T18:22:22Z")
The business model is not bad - the more places you can list your products, the more chances you have of selling them. Assuming I were selling widgets and didn’t have enough people coming to my website (or on ground business), I could see where this could help me; offer it on hundreds or thousands of individual accounts and more people will see it, thus perhaps equal more sales. That said, I agree there are lots of pitfalls with this offer and would be wary. Just saying that it is not a bad idea, assuming the original business is ethical and playing fair. ---
**Author:** ![GHO57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df788c/32.png) [@GHO57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GHO57)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-scam-or-angle-in-this-email-im-getting/550871/8 "2010-08-20T18:43:24Z")
The first question to ask in any get-rich-quick scheme is; “why do they need me?”. If they handle every aspect of the business, and have a marketable product, why would they want to add another layer between them and the customer… and are even willing to pay 25% for the privilege. Do you offer them something they can’t provide in-house? I doubt it, based on the business model. The more likely option is you’d be either helping hide something, or there to take the blame… that is, if they’re not just out to rip you off (“nominal” registration fee… sales quota you have to buy… phising…) ---
**Author:** ![eclectic\_wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ac91a4/32.png) [@eclectic\_wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eclectic_wench)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-scam-or-angle-in-this-email-im-getting/550871/9 "2010-08-20T19:07:31Z")
I saw this one work like this on Ebay: They tell you to list a thousand-dollar widget. You list the widget. Someone buys the widget. Buyer sends $1000 to you. You send $750 to the scammer. The scammer uses a stolen credit card to buy the widget and have it shipped to the buyer. Sooner or later, the police come looking for the person who stole the credit card. They go after the person who listed the widget and took the payment…you. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-scam-or-angle-in-this-email-im-getting/550871/10 "2010-08-20T19:19:13Z")
Maybe I don’t understand the business, but does it necessarily have to be a scam? I am selling some crappy item for 50% profit, but I need more advertising, so I ask people to list it on ebay and they get half of the profit. They might figure that the increased number of sellers will offset the diminished profit. Also I would guess that, like some previous posters said, they will try to pressure you into finding other people to sell the product. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-scam-or-angle-in-this-email-im-getting/550871/11 "2010-08-20T19:27:51Z")
I think the fact that the alleged company name does not turn up in a Google search is a big red flag. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2010, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-scam-or-angle-in-this-email-im-getting/550871/12 "2010-08-21T18:24:35Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > I think the fact that the alleged company name does not turn up in a Google search is a big red flag. also the fact that the alleged company doesn’t even try to offer you their phone number, address or any verifiable info that looks genuine. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2010, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-scam-or-angle-in-this-email-im-getting/550871/13 "2010-08-21T20:04:39Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > You collect the money. forward it to them, and the shipments are never made. If not for the lack of online presence/contact info I would have wondered if it is a completely legit dropship outfit. They deal with warehousing, storage, and shipping, you make the front end. It would be for from the first such arrangement. You would probably make more money doing it yourself, but you buy your own inventory. ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2010, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-scam-or-angle-in-this-email-im-getting/550871/14 "2010-08-21T21:17:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\*You \*\*will list and sell \*\*our \*\*products from your store online, we willship them, and after buyer confirms delivery, you will collect **up to** 25 percents in sales commissions. As others have mentioned, they could take the money and never ship anything. As well, what does “ **up to** 25 percents” mean? How much do you have to sell to get 25 percent rather than 0.25 percent? ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-scam-or-angle-in-this-email-im-getting/550871/15 "2010-08-22T19:11:52Z")
It sounds like a variation of drop shipping, which even the legit drop shippers, it’s hard to make any profit from. ---
**Author:** ![GHO57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df788c/32.png) [@GHO57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GHO57)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-scam-or-angle-in-this-email-im-getting/550871/16 "2010-08-22T19:30:45Z")
Did you do a whois on them? ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-scam-or-angle-in-this-email-im-getting/550871/17 "2010-08-22T23:10:19Z")
Do an Alexa search on the actual site name… Which I just did, and there’s an entry for it, but with no data at all. Joe ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-scam-or-angle-in-this-email-im-getting/550871/18 "2010-08-22T23:35:18Z")
[http://warehousein.us/](http://warehousein.us/) Just went in and looked. If its not legit they went to alot of trouble. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-scam-or-angle-in-this-email-im-getting/550871/19 "2010-08-22T23:51:06Z")
That was the address given in the email. I wouldn’t trust it at all. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-scam-or-angle-in-this-email-im-getting/550871/20 "2010-08-23T00:18:24Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > That was the address given in the email. I wouldn’t trust it at all. Just for giggles I registered with a burn email addy and variations on my actual info. They have not asked for any payment. I agree for a site that has supposedly existed for several years that there would be more information. Although I checked for my own site and alexa has no data, it has existed for 4 years. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-scam-or-angle-in-this-email-im-getting/550871.md?page=2)