Beware of Fake Raves/Posts : Wedding Planning %26 Etiquette : Forums : Brides

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Beware of Fake Raves/Posts

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MagicalMomentsP... Posts : 742 Registered: 3/6/06

Beware of Fake Raves/Posts: Posted: Jun 22, 2008 4:55 PM; The Internet has changed the way business is done and people communicate. Unfortunately, screen names and e-mail addresses have provided the cover for those who wish to deceive you. We're all aware of phishing and computer viruses. But a more insidious form of deception is the fake rake and its cousin the vendor trashing.
Some of the signs of the fake rave, include a new forum member who gushes over a specific product or service. They typically have less than a few posts and for some of them, it is their first appearance on the board within days of registering. Why would somebody who has never visited, let alone posted to a board, suddenly show up and start praising a specific vendor? Why not talk about the rest of your vendors too?
Another sign might be when the post is deleted by the moderator another almost identically worded rave will show up on the board. Furthermore, you may see contradictory information between the post and other bio information. Finally, when caught by the moderator, the fake rave will be removed.
You should also be wary of the new poster who suddenly trashes a vendor. It could be a competitor pretending to be an upset client for the express purpose of hurting a competitor. While it is true people do get upset with vendors and start posting to boards, you need to use the posting as one piece of the puzzle and not the whole photo. After all, there are always two sides to the story.
The fake rave is just a way to obtain free adversing for the vendor in such a way as to deceive you. Just as the fake complaint is an attempt to drive people away from a competitor. For how to you really know who is the author of the anonymous post? In the end, do you want to hire a vendor who lies to you via a fake rave? For who knows what else they may lie about!
Howard Kier, Certified Professional Wedding Photographer
Magical Moments Photography

wedding_photographer

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XYZ1 Posts : 367 Registered: 1/7/08

Re: Beware of Fake Raves/Posts: Posted: Jun 23, 2008 11:26 AM Go to message in response to: MagicalMomentsP...; I can't help notice that a certain rave has now vanished from the Photography & Video board ... good riddance!
The members here are pretty good at spotting fake posts. Over in the Wedding Dresses board, there have been several posts by "brides" raving about a sketchy Chinese dress manufacturer called SheShopping -- people usually tell these fake brides to get lost within hours of the first post.

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KatharineC Posts : 940 Registered: 2/6/08

Re: Beware of Fake Raves/Posts: Posted: Jun 24, 2008 10:44 AM Go to message in response to: XYZ1; I can't help but be a bit suspicious of the Candid image review thread, where every single person who says something negative about the photography place has only ever made that one post. Hmmm.

On October 31st 2008 I marry my One True Love!

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MagicalMomentsP... Posts : 742 Registered: 3/6/06

Re: Beware of Fake Raves/Posts: Posted: Jun 24, 2008 6:13 PM Go to message in response to: KatharineC; Hi Katharine,
Actually, after seeing your post, I thought I would check out that thread and the comments. I actually believe those posts are accurate because the registration date for each of posters varies and is not a recent registration.

Howard Kier, Certified Professional Wedding Photographer
Magical Moments Photography

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KatharineC Posts : 940 Registered: 2/6/08

Re: Beware of Fake Raves/Posts: Posted: Jun 25, 2008 1:55 AM Go to message in response to: MagicalMomentsP...; Well, I thought the style of writing sounded genuine (often you can spot the fake ones because they're repetitive or don't speak English properly - in the case of the Chinese dress shops!) but what are the odds that all those people registered randomly, never posted, and then all found a thread against a vendor they'd all had problems with and posted within a few days of each other? It could happen, but it's a huge coincidence!

EDIT: Ok I went and rechecked and I see that the posts weren't actually as close together as I thought. So perhaps it is genuine after all! Apologies if I offended any of those people...

On October 31st 2008 I marry my One True Love!

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helenf Posts : 1 Registered: 11/24/08

Re: Beware of Fake Raves/Posts: Posted: Nov 24, 2008 11:34 AM Go to message in response to: MagicalMomentsP...; Hey Howard - If you are so concerned with vendor abuse on these forums why do you promote you own business everytime you write. I don't write much, here or anywhere else, but am a big reader, and to me, it seems like you are trying to make BS advice posts just so you can get your business name out there. And oh yeah... the fact that your are "Certified" lol.

My sister used A Candid Image and she was very happy with them. I think the posts on the thread that trashes A Candid Image fit all your criteria for bogus posts, but because they are a competitor of your's you want to reassure the readers here that they are bad. Maybe it was you making all those dishonest posts. You seem to know exactly how to do it.

Fact is most "Certified" vendors whether it be photogs or anyone else want you to be afraid of finding an affordable alternative. They prey on people and their families who think that if they pay more they will be assured of quality. Do your research, don't go by what one thread says, and for God's sake don't take the advice of a competitor pretending to be "Mr. Nice Guy"

wedding_photographer , new_york , june_2009 , a_candid_image

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MagicalMomentsP... Posts : 742 Registered: 3/6/06

Re: Beware of Fake Raves/Posts: Posted: Nov 27, 2008 12:12 AM Go to message in response to: helenf; helenf wrote:

Hey Howard - If you are so concerned with vendor abuse on these forums why do you promote you own business everytime you write. I don't write much, here or anywhere else, but am a big reader, and to me, it seems like you are trying to make BS advice posts just so you can get your business name out there. And oh yeah... the fact that your are "Certified" lol.

My sister used A Candid Image and she was very happy with them. I think the posts on the thread that trashes A Candid Image fit all your criteria for bogus posts, but because they are a competitor of your's you want to reassure the readers here that they are bad. Maybe it was you making all those dishonest posts. You seem to know exactly how to do it.

Fact is most "Certified" vendors whether it be photogs or anyone else want you to be afraid of finding an affordable alternative. They prey on people and their families who think that if they pay more they will be assured of quality. Do your research, don't go by what one thread says, and for God's sake don't take the advice of a competitor pretending to be "Mr. Nice Guy"

Hello Helen,

I'm glad you've asked these questions. Since the forums have been realigned, I'm sure that you and many others who did not frequent the old photography forum may not know me. I first joined Brides.com at the request of my Brides.com advertising account manager to provide factual expert information to brides on a very confusing subject. Over the course of the year that I've been here, it has been a learning experience. I originally signed my posts with name, phone number, website and e-mail address. After much discussion, I was asked to limit my information to just my name and credentials. I provide my studio name for honesty's sake. That is so anybody seeing my posts knows that I AM a photographer and judge my posts accordingly.

As for A Candid Image, there are those who do have problems with that studio. I'm sure there are many who have no problems and are quite happy with the service they receive. But in this particular situation, I advised them to seek legal counsel because I nor anybody else here can advice them what to do after their complaints seem to fall on deaf ears. Of course, they could have been fake. But at the time I didn't think so.

I'm not even going to dignify your accusation that I'm behind the dishonest complaints. But HOW do you know they are dishonest?

Finally, the Certified Professional Photographer (CPP) designation is earned. To say that I or any other Certified vendor want people to be afraid of going to somebody who is not Certified is a careless comment and is an overbroad generalization. I don't know about any other vendors but the CPP was created to allow you, the consumer, to know who is able to do the job for which they were hired. BTW, I don't pretend to be a nice guy, I AM a nice guy!
Howard Kier, Certified Professional Wedding Photographer
Magical Moments Photography

wedding_photographer , new_york , june_2009 , a_candid_image

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Nalamienea Posts : 2,930 Registered: 6/13/08

Re: Beware of Fake Raves/Posts: Posted: Nov 27, 2008 8:29 AM Go to message in response to: MagicalMomentsP...; Howard, I wanted to come here and say that I don't think your posts are shameless promotion. I think you give honest advice. The fact that you spend so much time with us is a valid way of knowing that you're here to help. You don't show up just once and say "come see my website!" and then split again. You answer honest questions and from what I've seen actually had intereactions with brides (especially after getting bad photography) and have given them specific advice pro bono. It's like the professional floral person who started a thread over there. She gives great advice and yes she gets her name out, but I think these two are doing it the right way, by participating in the forums.

10/26/08