Buyer Beware!!! The Amazon Survey and the Reward for Taking It

One would hope I learned my lesson and would never ever even take a 2nd look at any offers of FREE products where I am only asked to pay for shipping and handling ( $4-$6) 

Wrong!!! Today an advertising from the trusted Amazon popped up asking that I answer a 30-second survey and in exchange get a “gift.”

I trust Amazon, I have an account and my site is an Amazon affiliate.  I clicked on the survey and indeed, as promised the questions were easy and unthreatening.  

Do I have an account, how often do I shop with them, would I recommend to a friend! Then, I was congratulated and a list of desirable products was presented to me: skin care ( of course!!!) vitamins, Menly supplements,  and what caught my eye was an elegant purse priced at $99.00 but because I got lucky with the Amazon survey, I had it free just the $6.99 for shipping. 

I remembered my own advise, “if it looks to good to be true, it probably is.” I read several clients’ comments. All excellent. Common sense should tell us not everyone could be happy! 

Hmm… I really liked that purse… As I searhed for a card, I remembered another of the suggestions I made to my readers who were scammed: pay with a card which has a low credit limit so the potential scammer could not charge astronomical amounts without your approval! I followed my own advice and used a gift card with little money on it. 

In a moment of major lucidity BEFORE clicking place order I actually READ the fine print and not just pretended! I was horrified:

It stated this was only a 14 DAY TRIAL to determine if I liked their product and IF I DID NOT call a number stated in this notice before the 14-day deadline to send it back and cancel, a similar product WILL BE MAILED to me every month at the cost of $99.00 until the subscription was cancelled!!!

OMG I almost fell for this scam again!  In all faireness, and as a disclaimer, Amazon probably has no knowledge of this otherwise “legal” deal, since the information is provided in small print!

I erased my card information as fast as I could and decided to share with you the BEAST has many faces!!! This time the “face” was a purse!

Morale of the story:

Read the fine print!

If it looks to good to be true, it probably is!

Please comment and share your stories.

Wishing all wisdom and trusting knowledge is POWER!