I came across a new ad in my Google News feed, for a Combo Kit with Benchtop Tools – an 18-piece all-in-one type of product.
I have been groaning about this all-in-one transforming tool contraption for a couple of years now. To me, a standard set of cordless power tools plus maybe a benchtop tool seem to offer more functionality for the same or less money.
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This is the Power8, and a new DOER cordless power tool DIYer workshop kit version has been advertised via Kickstarter and other crowdfunding platforms in recent years.
I couldn’t help my curiosity and took a closer look. What’s new that they’re advertising about it again?
It turns out this is an older Power8 color scheme, but still – I’m not a fan of this concept.
At the time of this posting, the Cel Power8 combo kit is $350 at Amazon. The orange color scheme DOER set is still available on crowdfunding platforms for $599 for the basic kit up to $799 for the ultimate kit.
DOER says that the ultimate kit will retail for $1,079 and is expected to launch in November 2021.
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And yet, the “store” that’s advertising this “Tabletop Workshop Autotools Kit” has a “Hot Sale” where you save 19% off the $86 price. $70 from $86? That sounds like a reasonable sale, right?
This is definitely a scam. Let’s take the Amazon price of $350 as the current street pricing. You’re not getting this for 70 bucks.
Taking a look at the WHOIS:
Created: 2021-08-06 03:04:41 UTC
That’s the biggest red flag, but there are other typical signs, such as the absence of social media accounts or any real way to contact the “seller.”
I found ANOTHER scam store that has it for $68.62. But this one has the resemblances of a legitimate deal. The other “store” is similar, with a 7/29/21 domain creation date.
The scams seem obvious once you know what to look for, but the “stores” and scammers employ significant psychological tricks to increase the sales pressure and sense of urgency.
I can’t see myself ever recommending this tool kit – or the new brushless versions of it – but that doesn’t mean some users wouldn’t be happy with it. If you’re in the market for the Power8 or DOER modular and transforming tool kits, please don’t fall for the scams!
I wish I could tell you where you could buy it, but these tool systems are only sporadically available and through certain sellers.
Right now, I have only seen scam listings for the Cel Power8 tool kit, but it probably won’t be long before listings pop up for the DOER tool kit as well.
Is the Store a Scam?
Forget about the product or price. Is the store actually real?
First, go here: https://lookup.icann.org/ . Enter the domain name, such as google.com. Scroll down and look for the creation date. In my experience, doing this will red-flag at least 90% of the scam stores out there.
Every single scam store I’ve come across has only been around for days or maybe weeks. But, maybe the store looks real, and the WHOIS data isn’t convincing you that it’s a scam. There are other things to look at.
Do they have working social media links? Most scam stores don’t bother to direct their links anywhere, they just go to Instagram or Facebook homepages and not any actual accounts.
Do they have an address? A phone number? Or only a suspicious web form?
Individual sellers and storefronts might not have an address or phone number, but companies selling and shipping power tools should have some kind of obvious business or storefront.
Use your judgement. Scam stores are usually heavy on the psychological tricks, hoping to create a false sense of urgency or limited stock to rush you into giving them your financial information.
How many ways does a scam store product listing insist you can trust them?
If it seems too good to be true, it often is.
If you’re unsure as to whether a store is a scam or not, ASK someone else. You can always ask us, and your friends, families, or social media friends might be able to provide an objective opinion.
“What’s the worst that could happen?” Good question. At the least, it’ll be a hassle to get your funds back from PayPal or your credit company. But, keep in mind that they’re not looking to waste your time, they’re looking to make money off of you. A scammer might also gain access to your name, email address, phone number, billing address, and maybe your credit card information. And if you create a user account, they also have a password; how many people create unique passwords for each different retailer?
Jared
Ha, that thing would have to be $70 for me to even look at it. Gosh that’s goofy. Who want’s to be dismantling their table saw every time they need to use their drill?
Good points though – I see lots of time counters or false “low stock” numbers on these fake sites.
I think another thing to keep in mind is: does the “store” only sell amazing once-in-a-lifetime deals?
When there’s a deal from a real website, usually that website has regular stock they sell too, where things look more normal. If they just sold amazing bargains, they would run out of stock pretty quick.
JC
I’m looking at it for $39.80 ! What a deal , a 500$ plus tool selling for less than 40$ ! Lot of SCUMBAGS , trying to separate a working person from their money . My question is how do these A-holes even advertise these scams ?
Nathan
to be fair with the amount of plastic involved and how it’s probably made I bet it’s actually worth about 69 dollars.
I mean it does have batteries on it.
but yes I have seen a few of these sorts of scam stores. Thee was one a few months ago selling playground kits. same kits and hard was as say a 1400 dollar kit from Academy for under 800. So not bargin basement prices but still not right. Similar thing to this – store site was actually created the week before – has no shipping addresses. etc.
anyway thanks for looking out
Ceejay
So many such stores are now popping up on the internet. A few months ago I took a chance and bought an electric soda maker from such a shop. They were accepting Paypal, so I thought it’s safe and legit. A couple of days later, I received a mail saying that it’s delivered, along with the UPS tracking number. When checked, that tracking number showed that it’s delivered at the back door of my house! That never happened. So, I emailed UPS asking them to check. They said it’s a fake tracking number and they never delivered it. When I contacted Paypal for refund, explaining all this, they refused, citing the tracking number that showed that it’s delivered. I replied to them with the UPS reply. They did not budge. I complained to BBB with the UPS mail attached. The inquiry from BBB made Paypal refund the money. Just a few days ago a neighbor bought some expensive welding tools from a scam site. He received a fake Fedex delivery confirmation from them. He is now fighting with Paypal. Please be vigilant, friends. There are many such scammers at large.
ca
The more insidious scam seems to be PayPal initially refusing to cover it.
MM
We used to use PayPal in a business I have since sold, and I have had to deal with my fair share of PayPal disputes. In my experience the PayPal staff who review these things are overworked and pay very little attention to any one particular case. Many times I have had to follow up with them, even for very basic matters like customers claiming the product was never shipped even though we had full tracking information including hardcopies of labels and photographs of every outgoing package as we processed it for shipment. I can’t imagine what kind of hassle it would have been with the seller actively trying to provide fake tracking information.
Mike
How long until WHOIS creation dates are just automatically shown in the tool bar.
Gordon
There are a number of add-ons or extensions for both firefox and chrome that will show things like the Country of Origin and Whois for you. So I bet it gets worked into a future build as a part of the privacy focus.
High & Mighty
Honestly, anyone who would buy something like this isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed. They deserve to be taken for a sucker. The fact that it’s marketed as an ‘all in one’ should immediately raise red flags. Shame on the dimwitted for falling for the take. Better them than me. But they have to learn one way or another. Otherwise, garbage like this is going to continue to be funded by the public with no end in sight. The fact that people donated so that this turd could be sold to the public is horrible in its own right. The scam was the initial intention from the beginning. That’s obvious.
Stuart
To each their own?
Jay
I’m looking forward to this coming out and the eventual price drop.
Steve
I purchased a hose reel from what turned out to be a scam site, using PayPal. I disputed the charge with PayPal and even after being provided with a UPS tracking number by the “seller” during the dispute process, which like the above poster showed that something was delivered (which was not), I didn’t think to contact UPS because their website showed the delivery (I didn’t think that the UPS tracking could be scammed), but I had an argument that not only whatever was delivered I didn’t receive but that the weight of the allegedly delivered item was .50 lbs where the item I purchased was around 40 lbs. I never had to get that far because PayPal ruled in my favor. I was pleased and relieved with that outcome.