Tools & DIY
Power tools from well-known manufacturers are expensive and long-lasting. A discounted offer therefore looks tempting. Fake shops offer drills, cordless screwdrivers, saws and whole tool sets from well-known brands at prices that are not realistic in the trade.
- January
- February
- March: peak
- April: peak
- May: peak
- June
- July
- August
- September
- October
- November: peak
- December: peak
A surge in spring (the start of the gardening and renovation season) and before Christmas, when tools are often given as gifts.
A set for the price of one device
The bait pattern in tools is the quantity. The price of the set equals that of a single device.
Profile
- Typical products
- Cordless drills, hammer drills, chainsaws, lawnmowers and complete tool sets.
- Price pattern
- Sets of several devices for the price of one, explained as remaining stock or a dealer’s clearance.
- What is faked
- Manufacturer warranty and specialist-dealer links. If anything arrives, it is sometimes a replica without warranty.
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What to watch for in Tools & DIY
The general warning signs with examples- Complete tool sets from well-known brands are offered well below the usual price level.
- There is no information on the manufacturer’s warranty, service partners or spare-parts supply.
- In language/appearance the shop clearly targets a specific audience (e.g. tradespeople), yet has a generic, interchangeable design with no specialist-trade reference.
- Payment is possible only by advance transfer; purchase on invoice or by credit card is missing.
Typical scams in Tools & DIY
- Branded tools (e.g. from a well-known power-tool manufacturer) are offered as a set at a conspicuously low total price.
- The shop advertises supposed insolvency, discontinued or clearance stock from a specialist dealer to explain the low price.
- After the advance payment, no delivery arrives, or a clearly inferior imitation product without a manufacturer’s warranty is sent.
- Product images and technical data are copied word for word from specialist-dealer or manufacturer sites.
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