A Tale of Woe for Cyber Monday

Parent Cafe
1

<p>Anyone going online to shop during this holiday season needs to read about Vitaly Borker, the outrageous proprietor of an online designer eyewear shop. The New York Times report describes behavior that most reasonable people would say is committed only by sociopaths. Almost more frightening than a customer’s experience with Borker is the behavior of the corporate entities [like credit card companies] that online shoppers ordinarily expect to receive protection from.</p>

2

<p>That was truly outrageous. I couldn’t finish the article I was so angry. Why is this guy not in jail?</p>

3

<p>Agreed - he should be in jail. I could not believe how easily someone was able to accept responsibility for the charges by impersonating the “formerly” unhappy customer! The stalking activity was particularly unnerving.</p>

4

<p>Here is the link for the whole article. It is disturbing.</p>

<p><a href=“For DecorMyEyes, Bad Publicity Is a Good Thing - The New York Times”>For DecorMyEyes, Bad Publicity Is a Good Thing - The New York Times;

5

<p>Yes, disturbing. Garland, it’s worth the read.</p>

6

<p>It should go without saying, but before using a new, unfamiliar retail website, search on the website’s name and “complaint” or “review”. This guy really is a d**chebag.</p>

7

<p>Unbelievable! I googled ‘prada eyeglasses’ and there is his website - 3rd from the top. This is the kind of guy that needs to be put under the jail.</p>

8

<p>Wow. I’m fairly speechless on this one.</p>

9

<p>The guy reminds me of your standard, obnoxious internet ■■■■■ who continually finds ways to ban-evade – only he makes money off it.</p>

10

<p>What a wacko!! Kudos to Ms. Rodriguez for persevering through all of this. I’m not sure if I could be so “nice” about it.</p>

11

<p>Always go to [Store</a> Ratings & Reviews - ResellerRatings.com - Find Trusted Stores](<a href=“http://www.resellerratings.com%5DStore”>http://www.resellerratings.com) and check the ratings before you buy! I think more people complain than rave, so I would go with anyone who is 8/10 or better. That guy’s site has a 1.4/10.</p>

12

<p>YDS–I did go back and finish it. HOpefully, this guy is starting to and will continue to get what he deserves.</p>

<p>as an aside, this article is the reason why we still need newspapers–I have not seen this level of sustained journalistic investigation which will result in real consequences on any web-only site,and I am not sure I ever will.</p>

13

<p>While I always research companies I do business with- especially on the internets- this is a good reminder to keep at it- I am glad I don’t do business with Citibank- I have had much better customer support with US bank and my local credit union.</p>

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I agree</p>

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<p>Kudos to Amazon (my favorite place to shop).</p>

15

<p>I whole-heartedly agree with Garland about hard-copy newspapers. We need them now more than ever…if they work like a relentless gumshoe to nail shady characters such as Vitaly Borker. And let’s not let the bank or Google off the hook, either. From my reading, Google could have been a bit more forthcoming about how that crook gamed their heralded search engine. Now that I think about it, I seem to remember reading about a woman a few years ago whom similarly figured out a strategy whereby she was able to get her company listed at the top of Google’s search results (maybe it was Yahoo) more often than not.</p>

16

<p>My jaw dropped while I was reading this, and it never left the floor the whole time. </p>

<p>If you put the name of his company into google search, the second search term suggestion is “(company name) scam.” That should be a good clue right there. It is amazing the number of people he has mistreated – and the way he mistreats them!</p>

<p>I hope someone figures out his business name on Amazon so people can boycott him there, too.</p>

<p>I’m a writer, and I once wrote a story similar to this (pre Internet, so the impact was much narrower). It was very satisfying. This reporter did a good job and I’m sure she had fun doing it, too.</p>

17

<p>I think this kind of behavior emphasizes that we need strong consumer protection laws & attention paid to the scofflaws because businesses do not police themselves.</p>

<p>I hate to admit it- but part of me ( a teeny part) is in awe of this guys audacity and predatory impulse to exploit flaws in the search engines.</p>

<p>But that makes me need a shower.</p>

<p>I feel badly when anyone has to spend time & energy on fixing problems that never should have happened in the first place.</p>

18

<p>Just as a followup for those who are interested: today’s NY Times has an article re: a change in the Google search methodology which will hopefully make it more difficult for sites like DecorMyEyes to appear so prominently in search results. </p>

<p><a href=“Google Alters Its Method of Ranking Search Results - The New York Times”>Google Alters Its Method of Ranking Search Results - The New York Times;

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<p>Several years ago I found a great deal on a camera online; when I shared it with a friend he directed me to resellerratings.com and I saved myself from this type of interaction. It was also a company in NY and had the same obnoxious bait and switch business model plus gray market items when they did deliver. </p>

<p>It is easy to become accustomed to good online service and not check out every small website out there, but we need to stay vigilant. You should also check into the return policies before ordering as your CC dispute does nothing for you when there is a stated policy of a restocking charge, etc.</p>

20

<p>For those not a member of the NY Times, here’s a link to the actual Google response.</p>

<p>[Official</a> Google Blog: Being bad to your customers is bad for business](<a href=“http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/being-bad-to-your-customers-is-bad-for.html]Official”>Official Google Blog: Being bad to your customers is bad for business)</p>

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