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Golf Scams

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jmcharries

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Hello!

As a relative newb to golf I know there are several like me that may not be aware of all the ways golfers can get scammed. I think almost everybody is familiar with Warrior Golf Clubs and their unscrupulous methods but I was wondering if anybody was aware of any other potential scams. This thread could serve as a warning to others so they don't fall prey. Are there any companies or even websites that offer "trials" or "testers" but seem more like a scam. Maybe they just want your credit card number or you find out you're paying for a subscription of some kind. Sound off here!

Not limited to scams in the strictest sense but for any of those "buyer beware" situations where you end up paying more for something you didn't realize or you didn't want, etc.
 
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Other than counterfeit equipment, which is all over the place, I think the golf industry in general is really kicked most of these companies to the curb.
 
JB said:
Other than counterfeit equipment, which is all over the place, I think the golf industry in general is really kicked most of these companies to the curb.
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so the Taylor Made N1 driver I just bought out of a van isn't an early release of 2017 follow up to the M1? the guy made me a 'good deal' because I seemed nice....
 
JayB said:
so the Taylor Made N1 driver I just bought out of a van isn't an early release of 2017 follow up to the M1? the guy made me a 'good deal' because I seemed nice....
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No, I think that's part of their new mobile marketing campaign. You're probably good....
 
jmcharries said:
Hello!

As a relative newb to golf I know there are several like me that may not be aware of all the ways golfers can get scammed. I think almost everybody is familiar with Warrior Golf Clubs and their unscrupulous methods but I was wondering if anybody was aware of any other potential scams. This thread could serve as a warning to others so they don't fall prey. Are there any companies or even websites that offer "trials" or "testers" but seem more like a scam. Maybe they just want your credit card number or you find out you're paying for a subscription of some kind. Sound off here!
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Not that it's a scam because it says it on the page but the Tour X golfs balls fall in line what you're talking about. Sign up for the trial with your credit card number and get enrolled in a monthly subscription.
 
Lately there's been a few commercial advertising some unnecessary stuff. Like the club cleaner pouch. Don't waste your money on stuff like this.
 
Warrior Golf is probably the last real scam still ticking.
 
Every single advertised GolfTown sale pretty much excludes everything once you read the fine print. Don't say 33% off store-wide unless it's true...just a pet peeve of mine.
 
Rockbottomgolf's free shipping banner. Then you read the fine print. On orders over $199. Not a scam really but it can be misleading when you get the email stating free ground shipping.
 
ArmyGolf said:
Every single advertised GolfTown sale pretty much excludes everything once you read the fine print. Don't say 33% off store-wide unless it's true...just a pet peeve of mine.
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Dicks sporting goods as well.
Unless it's Hagen, Slazenger or Top Flite it's not on sale.

They had a buy $100 get $50 off golf purchase the other day. I tried just about everything to see if anything worthwhile would work with the coupon. Nope.
 
eBay is flooded with counterfeit golf grips.
 
Roger Dunn or worldwide gold shops. 15% off items store wide. Then the fine print. Ping, cobra, titlest, puma, Nike, not included in the sale.
 
How is store wide sale a scam? I could see if it said everything in store is 33% off but store wide does do that.
 
erock9174 said:
Rockbottomgolf's free shipping banner. Then you read the fine print. On orders over $199. Not a scam really but it can be misleading when you get the email stating free ground shipping.
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Most online retailers do something similar, including non golf companies.
 
Exclusions apply because of manufacturer restrictions. The store is simply not allowed to mark down merchandise from certain brands (Titleist, Ping, etc.) So when they say "store wide" it is - excluding certain manufacturers.
 
JayB said:
so the Taylor Made N1 driver I just bought out of a van isn't an early release of 2017 follow up to the M1? the guy made me a 'good deal' because I seemed nice....
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Good one - and is that followed by the N2 Clubs and the MSI Irons?
 
pmm21 said:
Exclusions apply because of manufacturer restrictions. The store is simply not allowed to mark down merchandise from certain brands (Titleist, Ping, etc.) So when they say "store wide" it is - excluding certain manufacturers.
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That is a fine line and could be price fixing and that would be against Federal Law. They can claim "MAP" - Min Advertised Price. But in the end a dealer can sell stuff for what ever they want. I'm surprised some Attorney General hasn't rolled in on this for some face time on TV. :angel: OR a retail hasn't revolted...this sort of non-competitive BS is why Golfsmith is in bankruptcy.


Price Fixing | Federal Trade Commission

Price fixing is an agreement (written, verbal, or inferred from conduct) among competitors that raises, lowers, or stabilizes prices or competitive terms. Generally, the antitrust laws require that each company establish prices and other terms on its own, without agreeing with a competitor.
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Maybe one of the Attorney's here can tell me why some of these "manufacturer restrictions" wouldn't be considered "Price Fixing"?
 
@Chris said:
That is a fine line and could be price fixing and that would be against Federal Law. They can claim "MAP" - Min Advertised Price. But in the end a dealer can sell stuff for what ever they want. I'm surprised some Attorney General hasn't rolled in on this for some face time on TV. :angel: OR a retail hasn't revolted...this sort of non-competitive BS is why Golfsmith is in bankruptcy.




Maybe one of the Attorney's here can tell me why some of these "manufacturer restrictions" wouldn't be considered "Price Fixing"?
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The retailers aren't making agreements with each other, they're each making one with the manufacturer.
 
AshMan said:
Good one - and is that followed by the N2 Clubs and the MSI Irons?
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The guy told me if I was willing to pay cash, he could get me all those right away.....
 
Greg Kulbick said:
The retailers aren't making agreements with each other, they're each making one with the manufacturer.
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I'm no attorney, but this is my understanding as well.

If golfsmith and Golf Galaxy made an agreement on price that would be price fixing. If ping and Callaway make an agreement on price that is price fixing. But Callaway is free to set pricing on their own product.
 
Wake said:
I'm no attorney, but this is my understanding as well.

If golfsmith and Golf Galaxy made an agreement on price that would be price fixing. If ping and Callaway make an agreement on price that is price fixing. But Callaway is free to set pricing on their own product.
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Didn't LG and Samsung get in deep Doo Doo for doing this with flat screen TV a while back?

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
 
JRod said:
Didn't LG and Samsung get in deep Doo Doo for doing this with flat screen TV a while back?

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
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Yes, then and others. They were conspiring among themselves to raise the prices of TVs worldwide.
 
@Chris said:
That is a fine line and could be price fixing and that would be against Federal Law. They can claim "MAP" - Min Advertised Price. But in the end a dealer can sell stuff for what ever they want. I'm surprised some Attorney General hasn't rolled in on this for some face time on TV. :angel: OR a retail hasn't revolted...this sort of non-competitive BS is why Golfsmith is in bankruptcy.




Maybe one of the Attorney's here can tell me why some of these "manufacturer restrictions" wouldn't be considered "Price Fixing"?
Click to expand...


To further this, retailers have agreements with the manufacturers that give the OEMs the first right to buy back merchandise. So, with that clause in place, the retail CAN lower the price, but then they are contractually obligated to sell back to the OEM.
 
Barrett Rifles gave us crap several years ago for listing stuff on our site below MAP. We didn't even buy directly from them, but through a distributor. Companies go out looking for people violating MAP and threaten to revoke their resale privileges.

Bushnell did it to us when we moved a bunch of our stuff to Amazon. They still complained after we fixed all the prices so we told them to get bent and just stopped carrying their stuff altogether.
 
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