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"Tokyo.bags". "Japanese designed". "Japan designed". "Osaka Bags" "born from the streets of Japan".
The fraudster, Carousell admin "Tom" has since sold these claims to 127 foolish people who bought his bags. Another fool will buy his bags.
An admin abusing his position doing this.
Misleading customers with false information is fraud. Misrepresentation of products can incur lawsuits. This person Tom did it intentionally, fully aware that he is scamming customers.
Foolishly, customers praise him as a friendly, helpful, courteous, young man. He is a very good liar & faker.
Knowing well where he obtained the bags, he still states in every item's title & description that they are "Tokyo designed" "Japan designed" "Osaka bags". This is a clear case of fraud.
All his listings have been crafted to fit his scam. Even the fabric of the bags he stated is false, taking advantage of the fact that the fools who buy from him can't tell the difference anyway.
Customers purchase the bags on the assumption that they are "Japanese designed". They have a right to demand a refund because his claims induced them to buy. That is how he obtained his high number of sales in just 2 months.
Profit based on fraudulent misrepresentation. (Perhaps the only way to succeed on Carousell.).
He stops short of saying the bags are made in Japan because there is no "made in Japan" label. Everything else he can lie & nobody will know because he intentionally selects bags that bear no logos & no labels.
Blank slate bags for him to craft his lies. Ingenious only if nobody finds out the source of his bags. A risk that he foolishly takes without considering the plenty of sellers on Carousell.
I know the source of his bags. Because I tried showing that he is lying, he started deleting my posts from the search listings so that my items don't appear to expose him. I sold the same bags as him & cheaper in order to draw buyers' attention to the fact that his bags are not as he claims.
And now he has disabled/locked my account (Tues 19 Jan).
[I can still see my page but can no longer post items. I have tested & the account can still send & receive messages for now. Locking of my account happened this morning after one "buyer Richuu" (with 3 negative feedback scores) private messaged me regarding "Osaka.bags" on the day of this post 18 Jan.
That buyer wanted to know why my listings & Osaka bags were similar ( he can't even see that they are in fact identical). When I explained, he didn't think fraud was ethically wrong, threw a spoiled brat tantrum at me & said he was going to "Osaka.bags". After that, my account was disabled.
Yesterday, I was still able to list items. But now at 1pm, I am unable to list my items with a notice that says I am not authorized to do so even though I am logged in: "You may not have the appropriate permissions to perform this action. We are redirecting you to the login page."].
"Osaka Bags/Tom" is the admin.
When he is online, he bumps his own listings so that it occupies rows & rows of search results, dumping down on other sellers. The abnormal distribution of search results is obvious. When he is off, the items from different sellers return to a normal distribution appearance.
[There is another seller who bumps her own posts up to rows & rows. Jamieq. Same MO, same high positive feedback score with eerily the same customer comments on how wonderful the seller is.
However, her rows stay up for a shorter time than his. The system prevents own bumping of posts. However, it can be bypassed. Nobody else bumps their posts in such rows on a daily/nightly basis except these 2 people for the items they are selling.]
The deletions of my listings are not a system moderation mechanism as claimed by "admin support" "Zoey". My posts are deliberately selected & deleted. Regardless of how many times I re-post, he will delete it.
Within minutes of posting at night, my posts disappear from the search listings, although they remain on my page. It means buyers cannot see my listings unless they come to my page. And when they click "like" to bump my items, it's useless because none appear in the search pages (only bumped up on my own page).
If I didn't constantly check my listings, I wouldn't know they have been deleted from the search database. I would think nobody is interested when in fact, the listings aren't even appearing anymore in search results.
Nobody sees my listings in search results, nobody buys, nobody knows. Only his bags will show up each time. Thus, securing his scam that his bags are "Tokyo designed". No exposure, no competition.
At first, I already suspected it was done by a person, not a machine. The timing of the deletions start from 6pm to around 11pm. Not punctually.
It means someone after work has come back, starts deleting my posts & stops before midnight because next morning there's work. A student would have more time & flexible timings. (Turns out he admits in a customer feedback that he is working.).
After midnight, my posts that I re-posted will stay up in the search listings until the whole of next day. Come evening, they will start getting deleted. Regardless of the number of times I re-post, they will be deleted.
One item took 8 times to post & every time it was deleted. Why?
If it's really system moderation due to keyword spamming or irrelevant tagging, then my posts shouldn't be deleted. None of my posts contain any spamming keywords or tags.
I even changed the subject titles & descriptions & the deletions continued.
I even removed all the content & still it was deleted!
Other sellers tag their listings with all kinds of keywords & theirs are fine.
My listings that expose Tom's false claims or have a competitive advantage over his, are deleted.
At the moment, his bags dominate rows & rows in the search pages without fear of exposure of his scam now that my account has been disabled/locked.
Scams come in many forms. His method works just as well as other scammers who sweet-talk buyers with lies.
His bags are not "Japanese designed" "Tokyo designed" or even "Japanese inspired".
He names his bags with Japanese cities to complete his scam that he sells to unwitting customers. In a cheap way, he calls the bags "Japan Designed Kobe", "Tokyo Designed Yokohama", "Tokyo Designed Sendai".
Has he even been to Sendai? I have been there & I can say I love the scallop fried rice from the mall there.
I have walked the streets of Japan & I can say Japanese people don't carry such bags that he sells.
He even got the spelling of a Japanese prefecture wrong, calling the bag "Amori" when it should be "Aomori".
He goes so far as to describe his bags as "classic" "vintage" "Classic Japanese backpack". And superimpose Japanese words onto his photos. His imitation of English "flair" in his item descriptions is wince-worthy. He doesn't even know when & how to paragraph.
Posting 1 item so many times is really tiring & time-consuming for me. Always having to constantly monitor & check whether my listings can still be found in the search listings. It's stressful & upsetting that an admin is doing such a thing.
In my 1st e-mail to "admin support", I asked why my posts kept being deleted. They can't be found in any of the search pages.
2 days later, "Zoey" (who is actually the fraudster Tom) replied without even bothering to address me by name. "Hey there" "It appears that our content moderation system detected irrelevant keywords in your listings and removed them.".
Testing that claim many times, however, proved that it isn't a machine doing it. It's a fraudulent human.
In my 2nd e-mail to "Zoey", I asked why my posts still kept disappearing despite not having any keyword spam/tags & my observation that the deletions start at night.
I received no reply. Of course, because the admin is him. If the admin wasn't him, then I should get a reply & my account wouldn't be disabled while the fraudster's account is still doing fine.
Instead of replying to my e-mail, the "admin" disabled my account right after the "buyer Richuu" went to him.
4 days later today (20 Jan Wed), he replied as "Zoey". He said "we" saw that there was keyword spamming for one item. He finished it off happily smiling in his words that I was to report any keyword spamming if I saw it in other sellers' listings.
(Like hell I would report other sellers to him now that I know what kind of person he is. It would be like throwing sheep to the devil.).
"Keyword spamming" is a complete lie for an excuse because I have tested the system many times. I know it is not because of keyword spamming or tagging that caused my listings to be deleted.
He disabled my account yet didn't mention it. Since he went to my account page, he would have seen my profile description that says my account has been disabled by the "fraudster admin Osaka Bags" & that I can't post bags to expose him anymore. Yet he said nothing about it.
Instead he sounded very happy.
His e-mail confirms that he, Tom/Zoey/Osaka Bags, is the admin.
Carousell investors: Will you see any returns from your $6 million investment in this sham? Where has your money gone to?
I would advise people not to buy from Tom. Those who bought from him have a right to demand a refund because they purchased on false assumption that the bags are "Tokyo designed" "Japanese designed".
When a man has no ethics or don't know what is ethically wrong, can his end be good? He will attract like-minded people. Will he spiral down into drugs & depression? Get murdered? Or become rich?
Certainly, he will get married because many stupid women will fall for his sweet-talk. Doesn't matter if he's not attractive. Such women can't see past their need for sex & babies. Any man who is willing to marry them will do.
Screenshot of Fraudster Osaka Bags: Click to enlarge.
When you see a person using words like "we" & "our", this person is a coward & is dishonest. He tries to appear as if he is bigger than just himself. Fake.
He first began with "Tokyo.bags" when I chanced upon his profile. Started with 50+ bags. Now he has 88 bags. Watched him for 2 months.
His scam was less elaborate a few weeks ago. Then he began placing Japanese words onto the photos to create an even more credible "Japanese designed" scam. He also began raising his prices after he had set up a customer base that trusted him.
His blatantly fraudulent item descriptions:
He calls this "briefcase" "Takasaki". Even dares says it "was designed with... in mind". Calls it "smooth leather". The truth is it's Made in China PU. Japan did not design it at all.
This bag he calls "Akita Oxford" was made with nothing in mind. Neither is it "Oxford material". It's Made in China Nylon. No leather whatsoever. The handles are just canvas & PU.
This backpack he calls "Kochi City" is same as the others. Very cheap quality. Refined Oxford canvas? It's actually Made in China Nylon. Leather straps? PU. And it's actually modeled by a young woman despite it being a man's/boy's bag.
It comes in other colors that he doesn't list because they are all ugly & uglier.
Traditional craftsmanship? He must be nuts. Made of goddamn PU in China. Mass produced. This one he calls "Tokyo Designed Osaka Classic Brown Backpack".
Huh? This cheap-looking, poor-looking awful blue backpack that looks more for girls than for men is called "Kochi City Backpack"? Oh, I feel so sorry for Japan.
"Made with refined Oxford canvas"? It's either oxford or canvas. No "oxford canvas" because these are 2 different materials. And that's PU handles, not "leather". Also, there is no "front pocket" whatsoever as shown in the photos. He is totally crazy.
This bag he calls "Japan Designed Osaka Duffle Bag Classic Blue". Look at his "gym/crossfit/yoga". If it's really deletion due to irrelevant keyword spamming or tagging, then why has this post remained? "gym" "yoga" "crossfit" 'macbook" are all irrelevant to the bag he is selling. Yet his post stays. Whereas when I do the same or similar to my listings, they are deleted.
In fact, all his listings, every single one of them, is untouched.
According to customer feedback, he is a young man. I don't know when he became mad. But there is no doubt that he has snapped. Look at this description below. This backpack he calls "Japan Designed Nagoya Urban Backpack" has only a front zip vertically down the middle & a zip around it. There are no exterior zip pockets.
However, in his description, he states there is a "classic flap closure with a front strap with personalized tips" "two exterior side zip pockets". He concludes with "personalized metal hardware" when there is no such thing. The backpack is PU material.
(Update Mon 25 Jan) I just checked Jamieq's listings. Many have also been removed from search listings: bags identical or competitively better than his, or similar.
Carousell Admin Fraudster Osaka Bags VS Jamieq:
http://therevolutioner.blogspot.sg/2016/01/carousell-admin-fraudster-osaka-bags-vs.html
3 comments:
I tend to agree something is off with the Carousell team (if there is even one).
Listings get deleted or removed from searches as mentioned.
It doesn't make sense when you are listing similar items which can be searched, listed by other sellers.
They do not adhere to their own policies truthfully.
I do not know what's wrong with them, but something is really not right.
Another note, their app really lags or time out very often during specific periods of the day such as night time. Which i assume is the hottest log in time when people are off work/laying in bed, couch, etc. Weekends are another period of note for this to happen.
Just saying...
Cheers!
Glad you see it too.
Weekends... used to hang. But these days (these few weeks), nobody. No activity. Quite smooth.
Weekday nights about 10.30pm, the thing hangs. It used to be 6.30pm onwards hang. But now it starts hanging later. When it hangs, avoid bumping listings or listing new items or deleting listings.
These days, updates of listings are not live. Takes a few minutes to show. Sometimes, totally no show, which means for bumped listings, it has been for nothing (but it is recorded so can't bump again).
Also, it keeps saying the server is busy more often these days. The page either refreshes itself or have to click refresh.
I really like the freedom the site provides in terms of everything. But it's a pity it's not better run.
P/S: I visited your blog.
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