is this a scam?

[ecoinsa]

hi,
i been looking for xbox 360 in china but all i can find are scams, now i am searching in us but is kind of the same thing, some of them have good prices but I tell them that i want to fly and pick up my stuff personaly, and all of them tell me that they dont have stock.
they told me that i can go there and purchase my items from them, but I would still have to pay in advance because of the fact that they do not stock these items. and the process could take two weeks.
should i buy from this companies?
www.electronicwholesaleonline.com
www.virtualelectronicsusa.com
www.electronictreasures.com
all accept credit card,
but i can use paypal because i am in guatemala and here there is no paypal service.
thanks

[poirot]

You are right to be suspicious anytime they don't seem interested in you picking up the order. Often, these "merchants" are not where they pretend to be, but rather in some distant country. Sometimes, it's not possible to pinpoint exactly if they are legitimate or not, so all you can do is point to various red flags. And all three of these have plenty:


Domain name electronicwholesaleonline.com registered for 1 year only on: 14-Aug-06 (2 months ago)
Total content of their contact page is below. No address and no phone/fax:
--
You can contact me by email if you want to give me an offer or for questions. I will reply a.s.a.p. The best way to reach me is through one of the instant messenger. I will be on most of the time waiting for you. Thanks
Email Us : e_wholesale@hotmail.com
Phone Support : N/A at this moment
* You may make me an offer by emailing me. *
Make sure to include in the subject line : CUSTOMER SPECIAL OFFER


Domain name virtualelectronicsusa.com registered for 1 year only on: 13 Feb 2006 (9 months ago)
Their contact page list only a PO Box, and a phone number from QWest which offers a number of services including VoIP which can be accessed from all over the world via an Internet connection.
I did a phone directory search and got: (No listings found for "Virtual Electronics" in CO)

Virtual Electronics USA.com
PO Box 470835
Aurora, CO 80047-0835
Phone: 1-888-488-8878
Fax: 303-745-6862
Email: sales@virtualelectronicsusa.com


They also posted on their About page:

ALERT

It has come to our attention that an email was circulated from Larry Waters of lbwholesaleworld. This email is pasted below:
________________________________________

Sent: Thursday, September 28, 2006 11:03 AM
Subject: Alert , Beware bad company,s , will scam you

Warning, these people are not to be Trusted
can not deliver products

(supplier's name)* edited for privacy
(supplier's name)* edited for privacy
virtual electronics

The decision is yours

I wouldnt.

________________________________________

We have relationships with several suppliers who have had dealings with Larry Waters. All of them ultimately decided not to do business with him for a variety of reasons; all of them negative.

Perhaps Larry Waters' strategy is to increase his business by slandering other legitimate venders.

Virtual Electronics USA.com has had only one experience with Mr. Waters, which also proved to be negative. He tried to purchase products from us using his customer's credit card. Since the billing and shipping addresses did not match the card, the authorization code came back as "NNNM" (high risk), so we decided to cancel the transaction. We notified both Larry and his customer to that effect. We released the authorization attached to the individual's card and never collected any funds for the transaction. For this event, Mr. Waters has apparently initiated his campaign of slander against us and other suppliers who refuse to do business with him. Larry did, in fact, tell us over the phone that he thought our "business ethics were too strict" (which we take as a compliment).

At least one of the companies named in this outrageous email told us they are proceeding with a law suit against Larry Waters over it.

Feel free to contact us if you have concerns or questions regarding this unfortunate event.


This seems terribly petty for a supposably well established company to complain about one critic, specially since that person's advise about dealing with them was merely: "The decision is yours, I wouldnt."


Domain name electronictreasures.com registered for 1 year only on: 2 Sept. 2006 (1 month ago)

I can see any address or phone/fax. Only a web submission form.
On the checkout.google.com page, there is:
Electronic Treasures, 850 287-4838, 19 Beulah Rd., Pensacola, FL 32526 US

I can't find a listing for Electronic Treasures in the Florida phone directories.
The phone is from Network Telephone Corporation
They have a Remote Activation Call Forwarding service for a number of cities in various states, but in only one city in Florida. Pensacola. coincidence??