Consumer Beware

[gpraceman]

Here's a site that I think consumers should be wary of http://www.pinewoodcars.com. They show up in web searches for things that they do not sell or provide any information on like tracks, software, timers, and other things. At the bottom of their homepage they have many Pinewood Derby links, but all of them that I have tried just redirect back to their homepage. To me this is an underhanded way to boost their search engine rankings by having these terms appear in their pages without providing any related content.

I asked them specifically about their Pinewood Derby Software link and their response was that they were partnering with a software company, but would send traffic my way for $450 a month (like I'd really fall for that one). They never responded back as to which software company that they were supposedly partnering with.

Being a derby merchant myself, trying to provide quality products and information, it bothers me to see merchants that do not seem to be above board. Are there other sites out there that consumers should be wary of?

[Darin McGrew]

Wow... $20 for a simple wedge-cut block, wheels, and axles. Other kits cost less than half that and include weights, decals, and other decorations.

[Cory]

Wow... $20 for a simple wedge-cut block, wheels, and axles. Other kits cost less than half that and include weights, decals, and other decorations.

This is like the joke about the boy in Central Park selling pencils for $1,000,000 each.

Passerby: Pssst....I don't think you're going to sell many pencils at that price.

Boy: I only have to sell one.

-------------------

The site owner apparently did a search on "pinewood" and then created a link for every result he got. All of these places -- Pinewood Prep School, Pinewood Campground Lodge, Pinewood Cemetary -- actually exist. This guy wants anyone looking for anything called pinewood to come to his site.

[gpraceman]

The site owner apparently did a search on "pinewood" and then created a link for every result he got. All of these places -- Pinewood Prep School, Pinewood Campground Lodge, Pinewood Cemetary -- actually exist. This guy wants anyone looking for anything called pinewood to come to his site.

To me, if they were above board, they wouldn't be using such tactics. That is plain deception. It would be a different matter if they actually had related (not by just having the word "pinewood" in it) content on their site.