TheCellShop.net Caught Bribing Customers To Submit "Perfect" Reviews

If you use resellerratings.com to check out companies before doing business with them, don’t take any perfect ratings for TheCellShop.net as legitimate. A reader forwarded us the following email that shows they bribe their customers to leave them perfect ratings in exchange for a $5 coupon.

I’ve done a little business with this company in the past, thecellshop.net, ordering replacement parts for my Blackberry.  Overall, their customer service is pretty good, even though they messed up an order of mine, they made it right in the end without any trouble.  But this type of thing seems very dishonest – offering money for a perfect review!  They even tell you how to cheat the system so that your order number seems correct to the ratings website.

  From: service@thecellshop.net
Date: Thu, May 1, 2008 at 1:06 PM
Subject: We will give you $5 for submitting a review
To: XXXXXXX@gmail.com
 
Dear Valued Customer,
 
If you have purchased from us before and feel we did a good job, please use the link below and rate us 10/10 and we will give you $5.00 in credit to use for anything on our website.
 
Give us a review here:
 
http://www.resellerratings.com/store/TheCellShop_net
 
It will ask you for an invoice #, it will start with a 4 and is 7 digits long.  If you do not have your invoice # anymore you can enter in 7 random digits with a 4 as the first digit.
 
After you write the review, please email me at danny@thecellshop.net so I can give you the $5.00 coupon.
 
Coupon offer: $5.00 off your sub-total.  Must order directly from http://www.thecellshop.net
 
Thanks for shopping with TheCellShop.net!
 
danny@thecellshop.net

Danny, are you saying that it’s possible to post a fake review for your company on resellerratings.com with a made-up invoice number? Are you saying any random 7-digit string that begins with a “4” will be accepted? Are you saying it’s okay to lie about your company on the site? Danny, this is the Internet—are you insane?
 
(Photo: Getty Images)

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