Is Carnager cycling wear just a scam? You be the judge...

[enkei]

This morning, my little IG account received two DMs offering me the opportunity to be a brand ambassador. I immediately ignored (ie., deleted) the one from the jewellery brand, but the cycling wear brand was of more interest.
   

Carnager.cc's social media manager gushed about the amazing opportunity, so I decided to see where this might head. But first, a little Google-sleuthing. Ewwww.... not good.

"But can we always trust the reports of others?" I mused to myself (internally, obvs. I'm not THAT eccentric. Yet.)

The first thing I encountered was Luca, the 'amaaaazing' and obviously automated "official Manager" for Carnager.
   
   
   
   
   
   

You can see from the reply to my "Nice scam, bro" response that this is all automated. (Note, please, that at no time did Carnager's 'official Manager' refute my assertion that this is a scam.)

So, what's the AMAZING opportunity I get from allegedly becoming a brand ambassador? I get to buy THREE of their sunglasses for the price of one. AND I get free shipping. Wow! That's three sunglasses for just €69. Sounds great, right?

Alas... it didn't take long to find the same sunglasses on Alibaba, where the typical unit price is around US$2.

The Achilles Pro on Carnager's website:
   

On Alibaba:
   

Is Carnager a total rip-off?

I don't think it's fair to conclude that. Not totally, at least...

From what I've read about the experiences of others (I'm not about to waste €69 on this garbage to find out), you DO receive something for your money. The problem(s) is/are that they're using what appears to be extremely dishonest methods to get sales. Their website makes attractive-sounding claims about their mission, objectives, product quality, design, engineer, materials, environmental friendliness, etc. They offer brand ambassador relationships that appear to be nothing more than a deceitful way to get sales. Their markup is ridiculous (I'm sure you can find the same glasses on AliExpress for $5-10).

The online reviews from other social-media users that have fallen for this cheeky marketing strategy are not good. I didn't find a single buyer that was happy with the quality of the product they received. On top of that, buyers, oops I mean brand ambassadors, complained of non-existent customer service and the long time it took for their 'amazing' sunglasses to arrive.

So, is Carnager a rip-off/scam? I leave it to the reader to decide. After all, it's your 69 euros, not mine, but if their 'official Manager' doesn't argue when I say it's a scam, what are we to conclude?

[meamoantonio]

(07-28-2023, 05:20 AM)enkei Wrote:  This morning, my little IG account received two DMs offering me the opportunity to be a brand ambassador. I immediately ignored (ie., deleted) the one from the jewellery brand, but the cycling wear brand was of more interest.


Carnager.cc's social media manager gushed about the amazing opportunity, so I decided to see where this might head. But first, a little Google-sleuthing. Ewwww.... not good.

"But can we always trust the reports of others?" I mused to myself (internally, obvs. I'm not THAT eccentric. Yet.)

The first thing I encountered was Luca, the 'amaaaazing' and obviously automated "official Manager" for Carnager.







You can see from the reply to my "Nice scam, bro" response that this is all automated. (Note, please, that at no time did Carnager's 'official Manager' refute my assertion that this is a scam.)

So, what's the AMAZING opportunity I get from allegedly becoming a brand ambassador? I get to buy THREE of their sunglasses for the price of one. AND I get free shipping. Wow! That's three sunglasses for just €69. Sounds great, right?

Alas... it didn't take long to find the same sunglasses on Alibaba, where the typical unit price is around US$2.

The Achilles Pro on Carnager's website:


On Alibaba:


Is Carnager a total rip-off?

I don't think it's fair to conclude that. Not totally, at least...

From what I've read about the experiences of others (I'm not about to waste €69 on this garbage to find out), you DO receive something for your money. The problem(s) is/are that they're using what appears to be extremely dishonest methods to get sales. Their website makes attractive-sounding claims about their mission, objectives, product quality, design, engineer, materials, environmental friendliness, etc. They offer brand ambassador relationships that appear to be nothing more than a deceitful way to get sales. Their markup is ridiculous (I'm sure you can find the same glasses on AliExpress for $5-10).

The online reviews from other social-media users that have fallen for this cheeky marketing strategy are not good. I didn't find a single buyer that was happy with the quality of the product they received. On top of that, buyers, oops I mean brand ambassadors, complained of non-existent customer service and the long time it took for their 'amazing' sunglasses to arrive.

So, is Carnager a rip-off/scam? I leave it to the reader to decide. After all, it's your 69 euros, not mine, but if their 'official Manager' doesn't argue when I say it's a scam, what are we to conclude?

Totally devious way of selling $5 alibaba sourced cycling apparel, got these messages too today. I would have respected them more if the just said they're just offering these but masking their marketing as a brand ambassador program is just plain disrespectful to people trying to make a living and sharing content for people to start their cycling journey.

[Jesper]

Would ask where their manufacturing plant is located since as an "ambassador" for their product I would like full transparency and knowledge.
It is just another marketing means to use someone (who still has to pay) as their network marketer. The "Souke" (Chinese) brand was trying that on this website and supposedly would provide you with "free" samples of their cycling apparel. I assumed it was just generic gear you could get under many brand names in China with their name emblazoned on it. I answered their request through this site and they said great and asked me for my measurements for shorts and shirts which I provided. Nothing was ever sent of course since they never requested a shipping address. They did ask for my email address which I declined to provide them saying that we could readily communicate by private message on this site as we had previously been doing. I received no further communication from them after declining to provide them my email or more personal data. Many companies are doing this and most are just rebranding mass produced items made for worldwide marketing under various names. Some of of these second level distributors make it sound like they are a real company in the sense that they are offering the public a unque brand. Take a look at Vilano cycles; they are essentially a wholesaler doling out boxed bikes from a warehouse.

[enkei]

LOL, the bot is still trying.
   

[Talha]

I think it's pretty obvious it's a scam