Let's call this a "public service announcement". It's actually a Facebook post from a friend that I am propagating.
SCAM SHOP WARNING!
In
light of a recent noticeable increase in scam dice shop ads popping up
on Facebook, I'd like to issue a warning not to buy from stores or upon
seeing dice ads with prices that seem too good to be true. Because they
always are.
Here's
an example in the photos of a store called Cowboykm that is using a
photo stolen from Norse Foundry of an amethyst set they offer for $1.99,
when the actual Norse Foundry price is $90. Other names I've recently
seen used are Universemallse and Diceshops.shop / Diceshopsv.
These
stores usually use stolen photos of high end dice from other brands or
independent makers and offer them at prices that no reputable store
could make or sell them for. The latest marketing ploy also seems to be
"we are closing our store" or "giveaway" messaging.
These
shops make their money by charging inordinate amounts of shipping
costs, and often they send the customer cheap acrylic dice that look
similar enough that they hope people will not complain.
I have a long list of such stores on my dice blog (https://www.virtual-dreams.org/dice/scammer-dice-shops/).
I've been collecting names since November last year, the list has grown
to an impressive listing of 82 shop names by now. Feel free to pass
names along to me that aren't listed.
Please share this in other dice or role-playing groups. The more people know about this, the better.