Motorcycletoystore.com

['08-M50 Rider]

Has anyone used this site? They have Scorpio alarm systems for wickedly cheap right now and I'm thinking of grabbing one but I can't find any reviews and I don't wanna lose that much money.

Scorpio SR-i600 Alarm W/ Perimeter Sensor, Battery Back-Up and Anti-Hijack Feature - Security - Motorcycle Toy Store - Sportbike

full service for about 100 less than everywhere else. Might just be too good to be true tho so if you guys have used this place i'll buy it and if not I won't.

[RowdyRed94]

The site looks like a classic bait-and-switch scam operation. Any site that has "hacker safe" graphics and a cheesy customer support photo is immediately suspect.

I'd steer way clear.

['08-M50 Rider]

yeah TY. That was my initial reaction. But then I figured i might as well ask in the outside chance that someone had already used it and not gotten screwed.

[tehsteve]

The Hacker-Safe graphic is on many websites. It's part of the McAfee Hack-Safe program. McAfee is a well known brand of internet security software - although this Hacker Safe program has been called into question on many occasions. In order to have your domain put under this program, I believe you are subject to the same identity verification process as you would be for a verisign SSL certificate - you'd have to prove that your business is real, and if they received a bunch of fraud complaints then the cert would be pulled. Also, the domain has been registered since 2004 by these guys, so I don't think it's that much to be worried about. Either way, if you end up getting screwed like I did at vikingbags.com, just phone Visa and they'll take care of it.

[cyclesinct]

I wouldn't be too quick to judge based off of a logo they use on their site. That hacker safe logo is used on many reputable/legitimate sites. Also, the company I work for has one of those cheesy customer service picks and trust me we are completely legit and well established. A sign of a legit place (though not conclusive) is if they give a physical U.S. address and phone number, which they do. They do charge you a restocking fee of 20%, which isn't uncommon (usually between 15-20%) and you usually only see this with smaller places because the big boys can suck up the cost. I did a Google search and was only able to find one review on another forum and the person that gave the review said they had ordered from there with no issues. If you want, you can try looking into the BBB in Florida and see if they pop up on their site with any issues. Unfortunately with the Internet you never really know if a site is safe or not until you or someone you know uses it. Even reviews from other people can't be trusted too much because who's to say it wasn't someone from that site posting. You could also try calling their 800 number. If you get an automated system that gets you to a human then that could be a good sign. Many of the fly-by-night places will give you a phone number hooked up to an answering machine/voicemail. My final piece of advice is to use a credit card and not your debit card. You have better fraud protection (usually) if you make the purchase with your credit card. Besides if something goes wrong the money isn't actually gone from your bank account and you can fight with the credit card company to get rid of the charge without you actually being out some money. Well that is all of my .02 and more from someone who does a lot of online shopping. Let us know how it goes if you do decide to order from them.

[Kijak]

Tried looking for them on Better Business Bureau and resellerratings.com and didn't come up with anything. Not a good sign--usually the good guys have something there, not sure how long 'toy store' has been around.

[UpstateM50]

I noticed they really favor the Yamaha's there. Not too much for the M50 anyways. I would just find another site to work with.

[RowdyRed94]

I probably buy and sell online as much as anyone here, and I've never seen a site I consider trustworthy displaying that type of image. Several questions come to mind:

1. Why does a customer need protection against "hackers"? I've never heard of a single case where someone was ripped off by other than the operator of the site.

2. How do we know the label means anything? Any criminal can post those images. What's the point? How would you verify its legitimacy?

Edit: I see that the image links to a McAffee site. Problem is, some stores put up their own ratings and reviews on sites they control. How many internet users really know how to examine a URL and determine its safety? I could register mcaffee.is-awesome.com and most people would swallow it. It just seems like a bit of false security. The best bet is to always use well-known vendors.

[cyclesinct]

Originally Posted by RowdyRed94

I probably buy and sell online as much as anyone here, and I've never seen a site I consider trustworthy displaying that type of image. Several questions come to mind:

1. Why does a customer need protection against "hackers"? I've never heard of a single case where someone was ripped off by other than the operator of the site.

2. How do we know the label means anything? Any criminal can post those images. What's the point? How would you verify its legitimacy?

Edit: I see that the image links to a McAffee site. Problem is, some stores put up their own ratings and reviews on sites they control. How many internet users really know how to examine a URL and determine its safety? I could register mcaffee.is-awesome.com and most people would swallow it. It just seems like a bit of false security. The best bet is to always use well-known vendors.

You're exactly right, you shouldn't put much stock in those little pics because they could be recreated. And you're right that most people aren't smart enough to dig deep enough and know what they're looking at to decide if its real or not. How the "hacker safe" logo protects the customer though is indirectly. It doesn't protect the actual transaction, what it is supposed to prove is that the company's network has been tested to see if there are any vulnerabilities that a hacker could exploit to gain entry to their system where they would be able to steal pertinent information. As far as the link in the picture goes you should always treat them like links in e-mails DON'T CLICK THEM! Always, always go to the site directly and then search for the information you're looking for. That is the only way to guarantee you're not being mislead. As for people only being ripped off by the operator of a site that's far from true. Just listen to the news (T.J. MAXX comes to mind) where hackers got into the servers and stole tons of credit info. And for those of you that say, well I don't shop online so my info is safe, I hate to destroy the illusion, but that is completely false too. Any company you've done business with using a credit/debit card (including the company that issued you your card) has their servers hooked to the Internet so your information can be stolen just as easily as anyone elses. I will now step off of my soapbox concerning online practices. Basically, if your unsure about the site, just move on and try something else that you know you can trust.