AIH Craigslist Keg spam. Anyone else?

[jekeane]

http://jacksonville.craigslist.org/fod/4491351415.html

So this post has been spammed every 3 days or so in my FL craigslist for several months now under the idea that this is some home brewer here in town. I have a feeling that this is AIH or some company they paid to do CL ads for them. Although I suppose it could be some guy that is disgruntled with the LHBS. Anyone else see this when they look up "keg" on their CL?

If it is AIH is it dishonest or at least awkward for them to advertise this way?

 

[phreaky]

Yup, been getting them every couple weeks on the KC Craigslist and the local brew club Facebook pages. Starting to get old.

 

[insanim8er]

Haha... No but we got this idiot.

http://seattle.craigslist.org/oly/for/4535929251.html

He's Been posting for a while in spite of it saying 2 days. Originally he had them for like $100/ea. I emailed him letting him know that's a rip... Never got a reply, but he did lower it to $70 now. Probably because another guy posted hi really nice ball lock spartan kegs for $70/ea near by.

 

[KPaul]

Yes, we're getting the same one as posted by the OP on our Craigslist.

 

[gl_az]

Yup, same exact posting has popped up on the phoenix cl as well. Glad to know this...they get put on my "don't buy a thing from them" list...

 

[masonsjax]

Yes that's dishonest and earns them a spot on my do-not-shop list. Honesty is very important to me and I will spend extra money to reward those that feel the same.

 

[Rockindaddy]

It was posted here in Albuquerque awhile ago but is not listed anymore.

 

[Dave46382]

Chicago CL, too.


http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/fod/4516318526.html

 

[BBBF]

Well... It is posted under "for sale by dealer" but it's gotten me a few times too

 

[GenIke]

It might be a bit tacky, but I dont see how it could be called dishonest.

 

[jekeane]

I dissagree with the dishonest part. Read it again and notice how many times the person says I and how they act as if they are doing some good deed by passing this deal they "found" along. It also is misleading as it doesn't mention shipping which is $10 min.

It prolly doesn't really matter. But it seems like a little bit of a lame attack on LHBS and individuals trying to sell their own kegs off. It's enough that I wouldn't do business with them.

I am going to email them to see what they say.

 

[Renoun]

I don't care enough to go searching for an example but I've seen a similar AIH linked post on Seattle CL.

 

[phreaky]

I don't think it's actually AIH doing the posting, I think this guy is just sharing this great deal he found, because if you look at the end of the link there is an affiliate-id, so he's getting a kickback from every one that sells.

 

[k1ngl1ves]

I don't think it's dishonest. It's craigslist. They probably have the best deals for kegs from internet stores too.

At least they're not passing off leaky kegs for good ones like most craigslist ads...

 

[jekeane]

I received a quick response from AIH I wont copy it here as I didn't ask their permission although I'm sure they wouldn't mind. Apparently AIH has an affiliate program where if you use the CL add link, the guy spamming craigslist makes 7.5% of the sale. The AIH rep assured me that this wasn't their add and that they had been notified of this type of advertising before. Unfortunately they are not sure what can be done about it. He did say they would look into it.

I am satisfied with his response. It does irritate me to think this CL spammer is sitting on his couch snagging 7.5% of those sales in a way that has a pyramid scheme feel to it.

 

[insanim8er]

Well AIH has had exceptional customer service for me. They told me something that wasn't accurate (free shipping on some items) but that wasn't actually true. But they held to it and saved me $45.

But I really don't see the harm in this.

I used to work for a company that dealt with affiliates. The company provided leads to contractors. They had many ways of generating these leads. Some ways were better than other, so some leads were very good.

But they also used affiliates who would generate the leads however they wanted. They would then sell that lead to us, and we would then re-sell the lead to the contractor.

Those affiliates would probably scan the phone book generating their own "leads" and the company I worked for would sell the fake lead to the contractor. When the contractor called to complain the lead was bogus (home owner had no idea what they were talking about) The company would do everything they could to NOT give the contractor the money back. And you're talking like $55/ea.

I ran reports showing how big of a scam this place was running. I quit. It was a disgusting company. That wasn't the only unethical thing they were doing.

I felt horrible. I setup a contractor with our service, and we got BOMBARDED with leads due to OUR error (account manager messed up) but the company sued this man for something like $2000 when he was a single man small time business.

That is unethical. This guy is simply letting people know kegs are cheap at AIH. So what if it's his kegs or not... If the keg is cheaper than other options, he's doing that person a service.

It's kind of what the internet is about. We all know we can buy local or buy off the web. I choose to buy the best deal I can.

 

[Hello]

When I see an affiliate ID in places like Craigslist, I simply go to the site without clicking their link. Dude can grab his 7.5% from someone else. Also, you can and should report him for spam. Craigslist is for local buying and selling, or so I thought. You can flag it and let CL decide.

I don't hate AIH at all but my money usually goes to Kegconnection now. AIH has been used twice when kegconnection didn't have what I wanted.

 

[masonsjax]

His goal isn't helping people, his goal is making money. Posing as someone doing a good deed without letting on that he's a paid affiliate is dishonest.

 

[Teromous]

I remember when ebay used to be an auction site. Now it's flooded with people who are just selling things at full price and ebay storefronts. You know it's getting bad when you can buy things cheaper at a pawn shop. Honestly I never had high expectations for Craigslist though. Even my radio station has a spot for reading off dumb ads on Craigslist. If you're surprised that somebody is scamming to make a buck on Craigslist then you're late to the party.

 

[Scooby_Brew]

IMHO this is no more dishonest then any TV informacial with so called " testimonials". The price looks pretty honest to me though.

 

[BBBF]

They have an affiliate program? How much money have I missed out on? I've been directing people to the 3 gallon kegs for months!

 

[JimEb]

$35 for a 3-gal corny?

Seems like a fantastic deal, no?

 

[BBBF]

Other than getting lucky on craigslist, it is by far the best I've seen.

 

[SharonaZamboni]

$35 for a 3-gal corny?



Seems like a fantastic deal, no?

I ordered from them last week. $29.99 for 3 gallon pin locks and $34.99 for 5 gallon.

 

[k1ngl1ves]

$35 for a 3-gal corny?

Seems like a fantastic deal, no?

Loose handle ones are $29.99! Just ordered 2!

Glad I came back to this thread...

 

[SharonaZamboni]

Loose handle ones are $29.99! Just ordered 2!



Glad I came back to this thread...

I got two 3s and two 5s. I haven't opened them, but they do hold pressure and the rubber is not too bad (as far as I can tell with them empty). Looks like the threes may have had bottom rubber glued at least once.

 

[insanim8er]

So this guy spammed our local CL here in Portland today. I remembered this post, so I did a search for all of craiglists national. He was ALL OVER.

So simply out of spite, I reported all the postings to CL (he's breaching their user agreement)

That was this morning. You'll notice they're all gone now.

 

[jekeane]

Yeah he changed his add here to more of an advertisement rather than a fake testimonial. As I mentioned earlier AIH was great in responding to this and acknowledged it is a downside to having an affiliate program. For every person using the program fairly there is bound to be a turd out there trying to make a quick buck from his couch.