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General discussion (archive)Some advice, please(27 posts)(27 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted April 11, 2009
Please don't call me names or say shit like DO IT FAGGOT or anything like that.
Anyway, as some of you may know on IRC, I got a PM on the Cheap Ass Gamer forums from some Norweigian dude. He sent me this:

I just saw your post where you said you were living in Hong Kong. I was just wondring if you were interested in an cooperation? I'm looking for a cheap video game supplier and it looks like Hong Kong is pretty cheap.
If you could export these games to me and you added some money for youself, we could make profit.
If you like the idea, dont hesitate contact me or adding me: Levion@Live.No

Of course, I was a little suspicious, so I sent back this:

I'm interested. Tell me more.

He sent me this:

Okey! There are two ways we can do this:
1. Dropshipping. When a customer buys from me, I send you money and the delivery details and you ship the game directly to the customer.
2. Wholesale. I buy in big quantities from you and they get shipped to me here in Norway.
We can do both!
My question: What prices and avilability do you have? I'm interested in all type of games.
Here is my Norwegian shop: http://www.levion.0x.no
Regards

Now, my question is this: what do you guys think? Is he for real, should I pursue this proposition, or should I just say not interested, for fear it's a scam? I've never seen anything like this before.
Posted April 11, 2009
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michaelleung: Please don't call me names or say shit like DO IT FAGGOT or anything like that.

I don't think this is that kind of forum.
I'd first find out as much as possible about the webshop: how long has it been around, is it updated regularly i.e. check legality of the enterprise.
Second, check if this practice of shipping games to the EU from Hong Kong is at all legal.
It doesn't seem like it's a scam if the dude's ready to pay you the cash for orders in advance... But be wary, is all I can say.
Hope this helps.
Posted April 11, 2009
hmmm i'm no expert
but it's you risk you could try a limited partnership to start with to see if this is real.
rember this is a ression and people want to buy thier stuff cheap even from the other side of the world !!!
Posted April 11, 2009
Well, I checked out the store and while I don't know a lick of whatever language they speak in Norway, I did see some "lorem ipsum" here and there, meaning this is either fake or really new.
As far as I know, Hong Kong isn't a war zone or some place controlled by ruthless African leaders, so it's OK to ship to the EU.
Posted April 11, 2009
you could try translating the webpage using babelfish or google translate
Posted April 11, 2009
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michaelleung: Please don't call me names or say shit like DO IT FAGGOT or anything like that.

Oh GREAT, you've just ruined the whole point of my post!
I'd suggest asking someone like a solicitor for their advice. Maybe run a whois search on the shops website
From what I've learned over the years talking to a friend in norway, they have possibly the highest tax on the planet (presumably something to do with keeping longboats maintained) so its pretty logical to try and remove that as much as possible and having an external agency handle shipping would reduce the taxation burden substantially
That said, it sounds a bit dodgy to me. If you do it, do it with 1 title as a trial and do nothing till the money is in your bank (I'd recommend a new account for that)
Posted April 11, 2009
I do understand Norwegian, and to me the site looks legit, albeit very very new. There's one game for Xbox360, five games for PS3, and that's it. Each game has a detailed description in Norwegian, meaning it's not simply typed off the cover.
The "Sales Conditions" page mentions that occasionally, additional tariffs may occur, in which case the site will pay the tariffs when the customer shows them the receipt of the tariff in question. I take it this means that the site expects that some games will be shipped directly from another country to the customer.
I don't know about the legality of the situation though. I don't know the laws in Hong Kong. Here in Denmark, it would be illegal for me to do it, or rather, it would be illegal for me to do it without informing the Danish equivalent of IRS, and paying tax off whatever money I made from it.
Posted April 11, 2009
piracy is wrong.
Posted April 11, 2009
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Wishbone: I do understand Norwegian, and to me the site looks legit, albeit very very new. There's one game for Xbox360, five games for PS3, and that's it. Each game has a detailed description in Norwegian, meaning it's not simply typed off the cover.
The "Sales Conditions" page mentions that occasionally, additional tariffs may occur, in which case the site will pay the tariffs when the customer shows them the receipt of the tariff in question. I take it this means that the site expects that some games will be shipped directly from another country to the customer.
I don't know about the legality of the situation though. I don't know the laws in Hong Kong. Here in Denmark, it would be illegal for me to do it, or rather, it would be illegal for me to do it without informing the Danish equivalent of IRS, and paying tax off whatever money I made from it.

Thanks for that, I'm going to ask for more information out of this character before I get any deeper.
Posted April 11, 2009
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Weclock: piracy is wrong.

Uhm, yes. What does that have to do with this discussion?
Posted April 11, 2009
Importing/exporting for sale will require a licence. If you're not a business yourself, chances are customs are going to come down hard on you. I actually looked into doing this for Japanese games as exports and it really didn't work out as being worth it financially. Which is why I stopped doing it.
Posted April 11, 2009
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Weclock: piracy is wrong.
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Wishbone: Uhm, yes. What does that have to do with this discussion?

cheap video game supplier = selling pirated copies of games
Posted April 11, 2009
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Wishbone: Uhm, yes. What does that have to do with this discussion?
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Weclock: cheap video game supplier = selling pirated copies of games

Since he only sells console games, and since you can't use pirated console games unless your console is modded (correct me if I'm wrong), I don't think that's an issue here.
Posted April 11, 2009
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Wishbone: Uhm, yes. What does that have to do with this discussion?
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Weclock: cheap video game supplier = selling pirated copies of games

Or avoiding tax laws in a somewhat dodgy manner
Posted April 11, 2009
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Weclock: cheap video game supplier = selling pirated copies of games
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Aliasalpha: Or avoiding tax laws in a somewhat dodgy manner

Maybe, but that's another matter entirely.
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This is my favourite topic
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General discussion (archive)Some advice, please(27 posts)(27 posts)
(27 posts)