Former owner Mehmet Oguz, ripped off the new owners by fraudulently misrepresenting the business when he sold it to them. Oguz was sued by the new owners, Michael & Tang Hollingsworth in Fulton County (Georgia) Superior Court.

Oguz claimed a 38% profit margin. The Hollingsworths discovered after taking control that the true reason for the profitability of the company was a fraudulent scheme that charged customers for unwanted services. Oguz was charging customers a $29 fee for so-called "premier membership" for "free shipping" for a year, and coupons for other purchases. Customers had no means to opt-out of the fee thus the fee was unauthorized. The actual profit margin for sales was actually 4% before customers were charged with the fraudulent fee.

ALL of the scams pulled by CostCaptain, and the complaints made by customers took place before the September 9,2013 date when the new owners took over the company. The post by "Jill N." above was probably written by Oguz. Another of his scams was to use phony names for non-existent employees of the firm when complaints were made.

The following is an article on the demise of CostCaptain by Courthouse News Service: https://www.courthousenews.com/snookered-by-online-pirate-couple-claims/

It's alright to use to gain a few extra bucks if a person has some free time. A person can get points in a number of ways. The more common ways are surveys, watching videos, and shopping. Need 500 points at a minimum to get a reward which is usually a 5 dollar gift card. It takes 2500 points to get cash ($25) through PayPal. It usually takes about a week to get a gift card or money from Swagbucks after you claim your reward.

However it can be difficult to accumulate points as if you don't qualify for a survey you get one point. And you can only gain a maximum of 5 points daily from surveys that you don't qualify for. Can be very time consuming. Sometimes a person qualifies for a number of surveys in a short period of time. It depends on who is conducting surveys, and if they are a match for you. Most surveys are 75 points. Some have point values less than 75 points and others have higher point values.

Usually have to watch 20 videos to get 3 points most of the time. It's a mighty slow way to get points. A person who has a lot of free time on their hands like a retiree, senior, or disabled person might be happy with that though.

I haven't tried to get points via shopping. I haven't come across any products thus far that I need where I would benefit from that.

I haven't come across any "gotchas," questionable practices, scams, or anything else of that sort. So, I can't say that it's harmful in any way. For a person who has free time it's a way to get some gift cards and/or make a little cash. A person won't get wealthy from this.

They have been building quality products since 1837. About the only product line they have had that has lemons are their push mowers. Especially the self-propelled mowers. Whether you are buying small equipment like lawn care or large construction or farm equipment the quality is usually very good and they stand behind the equipment with a good dealership network that provides good service.

Pros: Very good quality equipment especially if you buy from a dealership. Service is usually very good. They stand behind their products. Third-party manufacturers of their parts have to follow Deere's standards. Don't expect them to stand behind abused products though. Most of their dealers are too knowledgeable for that. The dealers have after hours service during various harvest seasons if you live in an agricultural area.

Cons: Very pricey but, the quality is usually better than products from other manufacturers. Products sold at Home Depot and Lowe's are usually not as good as the products sold at the dealerships. But, Deere usually stands behind them. Also, in the last 20 years or so a number of the dealerships have been bought by companies that have formed chains of dealerships. Service is often not as good at these chains as they are at Mom and Pop dealerships. Stick with the Mom and Pop dealerships if you can.

Pros: Quick about shipping merchandise and getting it to you. Reliable. Good return policy. Customer service is usually good. Ads online are more accurate than Amazon so wrong items are sold and shipped. What you see is what you get.

Cons: Often more expensive than other online stores. They usually ship small items in a box that is much too large for the item. Selection of software is not as large as some other online stores.

In the Midwest we have a great deal of problems using cell phones if one gets more than 10 miles away from an interstate highway. NET10 works very well in this area as they use Verizon's phone network. Rarely have dropped calls.

My complaint is when it comes to buying a new phone if someone's current phone begins to malfunction. I bought a new one because the battery was going bad in mine and it would cost over twice as much as a new phone for the battery. I managed to use Bluetooth to transfer my data from my old phone to the new phone. I had 8 days and 850 minutes of service left as I use the 1000 minute, 30 day cards. After transferring my data to my new phone I tried to add a new 1000 minute, 30 day card to my reserve. Instead of adding the service to my reserve the phone kicked out my remaining time and began using the new card immediately. This angered me.

I called a customer rep at NET10 and was given the run-around. They would not put back my remaining days and minutes. So, I then took the new phone to the store that I purchased it from (a Walmart cell-phone center)). Walmart contacted NET10 and received the same run-around that I did. I didn't get my 8 days and 850 minutes restored. That has stuck in my craw. So be careful when purchasing a replacement phone.

Have been very pleased with Amazon as both a buyer and a seller. As a buyer they get what you ordered at the price that was advertised. Shipping is no hassle.

One issue that I have run into is when an item is no longer made by a manufacturer. Amazon sometimes will advertise the replacement item using the product description for the old product. If you want the replacement product fine. But, if the replacement product is inferior to the original you will have a problem. Sellers run into the same problem. They aren't given the means to advertise the new product. They have to advertise the replacement item using the old item description.

As a seller they hold you to selling a quality product and making sure you get it shipped on time. You must also provide a way for the customer to track their order.

The complaints I have with them as a seller is that it can be a nightmare to get all of your information on the correct screens. The screens aren't the most user-friendly. And if you don't get all of your information down you won't be paid in a timely manner.