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Never order anything from Brooklyn without a thorough background check. Seriously. I live here and it's a cottage industry: offer too good to be true prices, ga

Never order anything from Brooklyn without a thorough background check. Seriously. I live here and it's a cottage industry: offer too good to be true prices, game shopping sites and search engines, post fake ratings and reviews, when enough people catch on start up under a new name. This guy seems to have taken it to a whole new level though. See some photos of storefronts here (some are totally legit like B&H, but you see some of the photos and names and you get the picture) http://donwiss.com/pictures/brooklynstores/ http://donwiss.com/pictures/brooklynstores/

stretchwithme 16y ago
agreed. Years ago I bought a camera from just such a company and they called me claiming that I also needed to buy a special case to get that price. Very pushy and rude. But I had a coupon for a free case right from the manufacturer and the ad made no mention of such a requirement. A more thorough investigation would have saved me the trouble. If you've never heard of a company, a significantly lower price from a high cost location is a definite warning sign.
jscore 16y ago
Yep, I live here too (and not in Williamsburg but closer to Brighton Beach). Brooklyn is hustler's paradise. Some people I know do stuff online that will make this guy look like an amateur.
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Alex3917 16y ago
For those not from New York, I'll just point out that traditionally most of these problems have been associated with stores run by Hasidic jews. Although I'd imagine that many of the hipsters and other locals are just as bad if not worse. That being said, don't buy a suspiciously cheap camera from a store that's closed on Saturday unless you've done your due diligence. And even then you're taking a risk.
- ekanes 16y ago
  If the locals are "just as bad if not worse" why did you single out Hasidic jews? Yikes.
  - Alex3917 16y ago
    Because a large percentage of the electronics stores selling grey market stuff out of Brooklyn are run by Hasidic jews. Obviously not all Hasidic jews selling cameras in Brooklyn are criminals, but it's generally easier just to avoid them. Similarly, just because I wouldn't pay $5000 for a Rolex on the streets of chinatown doesn't mean I'm racist against asians. In general I have no evidence that Hasidic jews are any less ethical than any other group of people. At the same time there appears to be an ongoing problem of the ones in Brooklyn using their appearance of religiosity as a cover for committing crimes, especially related to selling stolen electronics and drug dealing. (Jesse Eisenberg was recently in a movie called Holy Rollers, which was about the latter problem.) Sure there are some people who are losing business due to being falsely stereotyped, but it's like 200 people as opposed to 200 million so the social consequences are fairly limited.

stretchwithme 16y ago

agreed. Years ago I bought a camera from just such a company and they called me claiming that I also needed to buy a special case to get that price. Very pushy and rude. But I had a coupon for a free case right from the manufacturer and the ad made no mention of such a requirement. A more thorough investigation would have saved me the trouble. If you've never heard of a company, a significantly lower price from a high cost location is a definite warning sign.

jscore 16y ago

Yep, I live here too (and not in Williamsburg but closer to Brighton Beach). Brooklyn is hustler's paradise. Some people I know do stuff online that will make this guy look like an amateur.

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Alex3917 16y ago

For those not from New York, I'll just point out that traditionally most of these problems have been associated with stores run by Hasidic jews. Although I'd imagine that many of the hipsters and other locals are just as bad if not worse. That being said, don't buy a suspiciously cheap camera from a store that's closed on Saturday unless you've done your due diligence. And even then you're taking a risk.

ekanes 16y ago
If the locals are "just as bad if not worse" why did you single out Hasidic jews? Yikes.
- Alex3917 16y ago
  Because a large percentage of the electronics stores selling grey market stuff out of Brooklyn are run by Hasidic jews. Obviously not all Hasidic jews selling cameras in Brooklyn are criminals, but it's generally easier just to avoid them. Similarly, just because I wouldn't pay $5000 for a Rolex on the streets of chinatown doesn't mean I'm racist against asians. In general I have no evidence that Hasidic jews are any less ethical than any other group of people. At the same time there appears to be an ongoing problem of the ones in Brooklyn using their appearance of religiosity as a cover for committing crimes, especially related to selling stolen electronics and drug dealing. (Jesse Eisenberg was recently in a movie called Holy Rollers, which was about the latter problem.) Sure there are some people who are losing business due to being falsely stereotyped, but it's like 200 people as opposed to 200 million so the social consequences are fairly limited.