Autelrobotics , fraud?

[johndrone33]

I just tried to buy a new autel robotics thermal drone but i could not pay.
So i called my bank and wonder why and they said autel website was blacklisted on mastercard and paypal.

Is this something new or what?
Doesnt sound that good if a company is blacklisted on mastercard.

 

[mavic3usa]

I just tried to buy a new autel robotics thermal drone but i could not pay.
So i called my bank and wonder why and they said autel website was blacklisted on mastercard and paypal.

Is this something new or what?
Doesnt sound that good if a company is blacklisted on mastercard.

You're probably buying from the fake autel website masquerading as the real thing. There's one or two of those just like there are one or two dji websites that so many people *think* they are buying directly from DJI but they're not. The gratuitous use of company logos, the repetitive use of phrases like "the official store" or "authorized dealer" and the lack of policing from the manufacturers helps perpetuate this problem. When buying from autel, make sure it's Autel Robotics Enterprise Drone, Quadcopter & UAV for Sale and nothing else.

 

[1gratefulflyingdawg]

Bad people trying to steel from good people.

 

[johndrone33]

You're probably buying from the fake autel website masquerading as the real thing. There's one or two of those just like there are one or two dji websites that so many people *think* they are buying directly from DJI but they're not. The gratuitous use of company logos, the repetitive use of phrases like "the official store" or "authorized dealer" and the lack of policing from the manufacturers helps perpetuate this problem. When buying from autel, make sure it's Autel Robotics Enterprise Drone, Quadcopter & UAV for Sale and nothing else.

Holy moly!
So Autel Robotics Europe: Autel Drone Store - Autelpilot.eu is a scamsite?
Beccause thats the one i used.

 

[mavic3usa]

Holy moly!
So Autel Robotics Europe: Autel Drone Store - Autelpilot.eu is a scamsite?
Beccause thats the one i used.

You can decide based on the feedback you've received so far, if that's what your bank and credit card believe.....maybe checkout our sister site and see how they feel: New to Autel and looks like I got taken...

 

[johndrone33]

You can decide based on the feedback you've received so far, if that's what your bank and credit card believe.....maybe checkout our sister site and see how they feel: New to Autel and looks like I got taken...

The moderator at autelpilots forum just deleted my thread after i critizeised his behaviour.

He said " i dont care about autelpilot.eu " and i said it was very strange he did not care if a website is scam or not.
It should be in everyones interest to know if a website is a scam, i only wanted to prevent people from getting scammed, how is that a bad thing?

 

[Johnmcl7]

Holy moly!
So Autel Robotics Europe: Autel Drone Store - Autelpilot.eu is a scamsite?
Beccause thats the one i used.

It looks like a scam site to me. It's not always 100% certain and I'm not familiar with Autel drones but there's a few red flags that immediately stand out, the first is massive discounts across a wide range of products which is extremely unlikely. Another is the high pressure sales making out they have very little stock and they're down to the last few, it's not the case on this site but there's often timers ticking down for a sale again to pressurise you into buying. The registration information for the whois is hidden which is another red flag. They show as having 152 five star reviews and a number of other awards but you can't click these and I can't find any reviews for the site.

These days you really need to be cautious especially with popular products like drones, Apple devices, DJI products etc. because there's not just fake shop sites but I've also seen fake comparison sites and similar to make scam products look better. I generally go by if it's too good to be true it probably is and more recently someone added that if you have to ask if it's a scam, it probably is which I think mostly holds true. I was scammed many years ago and it's a horrible experience but it was an expensive lesson, while I may have missed out on some great deals along the way I'd rather that than get scammed again.

 

[Felix le Chat]

First hand experience.

Buying a new Autel drone online is a lot more of a crap-shoot than buying from DJI. As I found out: what looks to be the official Autel sales outlet is just one of hundreds of re-sellers that all use the Autel logo and name, sometimes using a site template that is the doppelganger of the real thing. It's hellishly difficult to sort the wheat from the chaff.

I got sold two three-legged donkeys (the original as delivered and the warranty replacement)... both of which suffered exactly the same mechanical component failure.

Luckily... when I threw a blue-arsed fit and demanded a refund, the re-seller honoured their commitment and I did what I should've done in the first place: bought a DJI.

 

[johndrone33]

First hand experience.

Buying a new Autel drone online is a lot more of a crap-shoot than buying from DJI. As I found out: what looks to be the official Autel sales outlet is just one of hundreds of re-sellers that all use the Autel logo and name, sometimes using a site template that is the doppelganger of the real thing. It's hellishly difficult to sort the wheat from the chaff.

I got sold two three-legged donkeys (the original as delivered and the warranty replacement)... both of which suffered exactly the same mechanical component failure.

Luckily... when I threw a blue-arsed fit and demanded a refund, the re-seller honoured their commitment and I did what I should've done in the first place: bought a DJI.

But reselling is not unique to autel drones, there are hundreds if resellers for dji drones and there are no problem with them most of the time so why is it a problem with autel resellers?

 

[Johnmcl7]

But reselling is not unique to autel drones, there are hundreds if resellers for dji drones and there are no problem with them most of the time so why is it a problem with autel resellers?

There's loads of DJI scam sites as well and I've seen a number of people scammed here and elsewhere unfortunately. The scammers also seem to be taking advantage of the problems in the US since buyers are struggling to get the drones from official sources so are looking elsewhere. It may stand out more for Autel since they're smaller and seem to have few official sites.

 

[moldorf]

living in the USA, I would only buy a drone from DJI, Drone Nerds, or Adorama. Even though I'm an Amazon Prime member, I'd be very cautious about buying a drone from Amazon

 

[johndrone33]

There's loads of DJI scam sites as well and I've seen a number of people scammed here and elsewhere unfortunately. The scammers also seem to be taking advantage of the problems in the US since buyers are struggling to get the drones from official sources so are looking elsewhere. It may stand out more for Autel since they're smaller and seem to have few official sites.

Not sure I understand you.

You bought a drone from reseller website and you got the drone and when it had a problem you sent it back and got a new one?

If so, that website is not a scam.
A scam website is a website that never sends you the drone adter you have paid for it and thats what im asking about autelpilot.eu .

Forbsure there are resellers with bad support but thats not just for drone or autel, you can buy a brand new phone from a local company and their support will be bad but you can also buy a phone some other local company and the support will be great.

 

[Felix le Chat]

But reselling is not unique to autel drones, there are hundreds if resellers for dji drones and there are no problem with them most of the time so why is it a problem with autel resellers?

Put simply?

When you hit the DJI store through your flight app or through the official DJI site: you know you're buying directly from DJI.

Personally, unless it was a business based in a bloody big warehouse that I could drive to and mull over the show models before I drove back home with the sealed box in the back of my car: one bad 'on-line' showroom experience has taught me to be careful who I throw my cash at.

 

[Johnmcl7]

Not sure I understand you.

You bought a drone from reseller website and you got the drone and when it had a problem you sent it back and got a new one?

If so, that website is not a scam.
A scam website is a website that never sends you the drone adter you have paid for it and thats what im asking about autelpilot.eu .

Forbsure there are resellers with bad support but thats not just for drone or autel, you can buy a brand new phone from a local company and their support will be bad but you can also buy a phone some other local company and the support will be great.

I'm lost, nothing in your post refers to anything in my post - did you quote the wrong one? I never bought a drone reseller nor made any comments about genuine resellers.

I was talking about DJI scam sites which they are numerous ones where people have put orders in and never received a drone, the lack of official US sources for DJI devices now has meant new scam sites are targeting buyers looking for alternative sources where they are also not actually selling drones and scamming people.

You claimed there no problems with DJI resellers which isn't even remotely true and I've seen far more DJI scam sites than Autel ones.

 

[johndrone33]

Put simply?

When you hit the DJI store through your flight app or through the official DJI site: you know you're buying directly from DJI.

Personally, unless it was a business based in a bloody big warehouse that I could drive to and mull over the show models before I drove back home with the sealed box in the back of my car: one bad 'on-line' showroom experience has taught me to be careful who I throw my cash at.

I dont think most people buy dji drone from their official website.
Moste people buy from stores thats been in the game for many years like well known electronic stores, stores that sell cameras often also sell drones so i dont really understand what the problem would be if they also sold autel drones?
If you would get any problem with the drone you just send it to the store and they either repair it or send it to autel them self.

 

[Felix le Chat]

I dont think most people buy dji drone from their official website.
Moste people buy from stores thats been in the game for many years like well known electronic stores, stores that sell cameras often also sell drones so i dont really understand what the problem would be if they also sold autel drones?
If you would get any problem with the drone you just send it to the store and they either repair it or send it to autel them self.

Exactly.... You buy from a real world shop or a recognised and established outlet (digital) and you know you're dealing with a kosher business. The majority of the re-seller market is anonymous. Private individuals selling Chinese tech products with little or no experience or expertise, like a lot of the people who sell the sub-aqua drones made by Chasing or Fifish. A lot of Autel drone resellers fall into the same category, they don't even hold stock, the just take your cash and buy from their source. The only thing that changes after that is the delivery address.

 

[Johnmcl7]

I dont think most people buy dji drone from their official website.
Moste people buy from stores thats been in the game for many years like well known electronic stores, stores that sell cameras often also sell drones so i dont really understand what the problem would be if they also sold autel drones?
If you would get any problem with the drone you just send it to the store and they either repair it or send it to autel them self.

Because Autel are a much smaller company with a far smaller range that likely doesn't justify them using resellers and taking a cut, as of last month Autel are exiting the consumer drone market so there's even less reason for them to be using resellers.

 

[Felix le Chat]

Because Autel are a much smaller company with a far smaller range that likely doesn't justify them using resellers and taking a cut, as of last month Autel are exiting the consumer drone market so there's even less reason for them to be using resellers.

So that's another one bites the dust (Husban? history... Skydio? (spits on the floor)... only registered businesses, police or military. Parrot?... the same).

Originally, with me back in 2019 it was a very close toss-up between DJI (Mavic 2 Pro/Zoom) and Autel (Evo 2 Pro v.1). DJI won the toss. But even today, I wouldn't kick an Evo 2 out of bed... I'd just be very careful who I bought one off.

 

[Dave Pitman]

Holy moly!
So Autel Robotics Europe: Autel Drone Store - Autelpilot.eu is a scamsite?
Beccause thats the one i used.

The official site is: AutelRobotics.com

Autel Robotics Enterprise Drone, Quadcopter & UAV for Sale

 

[Johnmcl7]

So that's another one bites the dust (Husban? history... Skydio? (spits on the floor)... only registered businesses, police or military. Parrot?... the same).

Originally, with me back in 2019 it was a very close toss-up between DJI (Mavic 2 Pro/Zoom) and Autel (Evo 2 Pro v.1). DJI won the toss. But even today, I wouldn't kick an Evo 2 out of bed... I'd just be very careful who I bought one off.

Unfortunately so:

One of the best non-DJI drones just got discontinued. The announcement went unnoticed for weeks

The Autel Evo Lite and Evo Nano series are no more as the company discontinues the consumer drones

www.digitalcameraworld.com

I remember considering a GoPro Karma or the original Mavic...boy would that have been a mistake if I'd gone with the GoPro.