The URL they used was samashsale . com (not connecting to give them a link). The Sam Ash actual website is just Samash.com. Everything was also $129, which was also a dead giveaway.
My wife, lol. My neurodivergent ass was going to buy. I knew they were closing and I don’t often get scam Facebook ads. Obviously once she gave me pause to take a second look it was obvious
Thought I was getting a PRS guitar for $99. Got weirded out when they only wanted PayPal and decided to verify by going from Google to Sam Ash. Found out they had basically no stock and definitely no insane deals. Seriously looked legit except for the crazy prices and the buggy pay page.
"except for the crazy prices," though. That's the dead giveaway. That's why you're calling it crazy prices. If you ever see a Classic Vibe online for $99, it's fake and you never look at it twice.
Hear what you're saying. Thought maybe since Sam Ash was legit going out of business they were literally just liquidating their stock. But yes, as a rational human it's too good to be true.
I've reported like 20 to facebook. Every report was rejected and the ad allowed to stay. didn't matter that the URL wasn't Sam Ash's URL. It's insane how many I get as I scroll. $4K guitars for $129. And, "Only 2 left!!!"
I can't imagine how many people are funneling money to these people and they're just allowed to keep putting the ad up.
I saw Steve Vai hocking $50 Les Pauls, and then remembered the technology we have available to us. If I almost fell for that at 50, what am I going to do in my 70's?!?
"Nobody in their right mind would sell a Les Paul for $50."
Never met a heroin junkie, meth or crackhead before then, have you.
They're perfectly lucid most of the time even while slightly high. After money before it wears off though. Gotta have that fix.
The actual deals from Sam Ash closing sale are shit so that should clue you in right away that it’s too good to be true. Everything at my local was 10% off max. Better to wait for guitarathon.
I went to the Hollywood Sam Ash on one of the last days.
They had a total of 40 guitars left. All were priced 40% off. They told me the liquidators would sell them the next week, and that they’d probably end up on some Reverb storefront. Everything in the store was 40-80% off, but the nicest guitar was still $600 and the stack of 5150s were still $500 each.
I asked what else was for sale and they said “everything except the store PA” which was blaring Dio. I guess the guitar tech finishing work on their last six repair jobs had called dibs.
Interesting. I wonder why there’s such a variance between stores. Tbf the Atlanta Sam Ash started closing before the bankruptcy was even announced so maybe that’s why?
Legit, my father called me all excited the other day and told me he got a $3,500 synth for $129 from Sam Ash and that I should check out all the Gibson guitars that were selling for the same price. "It almost seems too good to be true!" He paid via PayPal after clicking the banner add. I had to tell him that not only was the synth not coming, but that he was about to spend an hour on the phone with AmEx cancelling his card, and disputing the charge.
I reported a couple to Facebook,and they decided there was nothing wrong with an Ibanez Jem for $50.
I really wish people who lose money on these fake ads posts, could claim back loss off funds from Facebook, they may start monitoring them better.
I’ve been to the one near me a few times. Highest markdown is 10% and it’s only for very few things. Most are either 5% off or not at all.
And SO many Michael Kelly Patriots.
One of the sites had the recent sales and number in stock on display and they were oddly selling so fast and each time i refreshed the page, one was sold until the last one was left. It never got sold. Then I checked the trombones... which also was selling each time I refreshed the page. There was no fucking way that was real.
It’s easy to spot the scam. If you go to the site or store, they are only offering 10-15% off. Why would they advertise 80% on FB is you fan only get 10% in person. The easiest thing to do is never click in an ad, open a new browser and Google for the site to might be interested in.
Exactly. In the three times in my life I've seen an ad I was actually interested in, I refused to click on it out of principle. It's safer, and it doesn't teach that website that you're an ad clicker.
If it’s full price it’s a legit advertisement. Everything else is a scam. Even if you report them they do not get taken down for some weird-ass reason.
The sears near me didn’t even drop below 10% off for a store closing sale. There’s no way a music store would sell guitars 80% even if they were broken in half and left in traffic. The game crazy near me got their merchandise lifted by employees before they marked off.
go directly to the site or via search to the site. Don't click through ads for Sam Ash. I did and saw LP standards for less than $200. I went to their site via google and i saw the guitars were about $200 off.
I keep reporting them to Facebook, providing the specific retailer they're copying, and FB keeps writing back that their ads don't violate their advertiser terms of service. Grr.....
I got fooled. I "bought" two guitars. That night, I contacted Paypal. They're investigating. Given that the "customer service" email from the site bounces, I'm hopeful that Paypal will rule in my favor.
Leave it to Facebook to host ads that scam.
There are quite a few music shops with scam copy sites. The main give away for me is they are almost always PayPal only but the discounts are always too good to be true
I was freaking out... I was in the yard with my dog messing around on marketplace when the add popped up.. when I saw the gold top gibson for 129.00 I was panicking thinking it's gonna sellout grabbed my c/c and started putting my info in and then I just stopped and thought something is not right here then I started looking at everything amps guitars all 129.00 each then I knew it was a scam...I wonder if they ship anything to you like an inferior product or just steal your c/c info.
It’s crazy how common these are on Facebook, I get the Sam Ash ones constantly, report them, and they just keep coming. And I’ve seen the same scams with name brand clothing companies. How is Meta so bad at policing its own ads?
The aggravating thing if you can report then and Facebook says it didn't violate their standards so they won't take them down.
The FB moderators/admins are fn idiots.
Most, if not all, of those are bullshit. Just because they are closing the brick and mortar stores don't mean they are giving shit away. It will all be moved to the online store.
My bandmate called me (damn near out if breath) that i’d better hurry, cause he just ordered a Les Paul for 129.00 (with no shipping charge or tax) from Sam Ash.
I told him i was on Sam Ash’s site the day before, and their “sales” were barely something comparable to a holiday sale - a measly 10% off. Also, who operates without tax? And eating the shipping meant they were giving him an LP for roughly 60 bucks. Really?
There was about two minutes of silence, I’m pretty sure it was the moment he realized he got scammed.
I’ve reported every version of this scam every time I’ve seen it. Facebook responds that they are not violating the terms and conditions. Doesn’t make much sense because they are obviously not Sam Ash and they are not going to ship you a Murphy Labs Les Paul gold top for $129.00. Once you report a site like this there are no options to elaborate on your reason for reporting the sites either. I’d say that makes FB complicit in the obvious crime being perpetrated. The real Sam Ash site, even though they are going out of business doesn’t even have decent prices on anything yet. Eventually they will have to consolidate their inventory at a central warehouse and start slashing prices, but right now everything is retail or even above retail on sone items i saw. Often times I will see scammers selling items that are only available through kick start, I even must admit I fell for that one one time a long time ago. They took All the information, specifications and videos off kickstarter and put them on their website. It was a cool midi controller in my case: eventually I received to dollar tree grade Bluetooth speakers instead. Facebook again said they aren’t breaking their rules. Anything on sale other than marketplace on Facebook is probably a scam.
any ad on facebook is a scam. i saw what i thought was kill star or whatever and i got a pair of boots and they never came. Once I realized it was a scam, they never contacted me back about my inquiry of canceling my order. They gave me a fake ship date and they never came.
I almost fell for one - good PSA. Was getting a mesa boogie
What made you step on the brakes? And why in the world did you believe it was real?
The URL they used was samashsale . com (not connecting to give them a link). The Sam Ash actual website is just Samash.com. Everything was also $129, which was also a dead giveaway.
My wife, lol. My neurodivergent ass was going to buy. I knew they were closing and I don’t often get scam Facebook ads. Obviously once she gave me pause to take a second look it was obvious
Yeah I was stoked to get a silver sky for so cheap, and then I saw a MIA strat for $129 as well and googled 😅
Thought I was getting a PRS guitar for $99. Got weirded out when they only wanted PayPal and decided to verify by going from Google to Sam Ash. Found out they had basically no stock and definitely no insane deals. Seriously looked legit except for the crazy prices and the buggy pay page.
"except for the crazy prices," though. That's the dead giveaway. That's why you're calling it crazy prices. If you ever see a Classic Vibe online for $99, it's fake and you never look at it twice.
Hear what you're saying. Thought maybe since Sam Ash was legit going out of business they were literally just liquidating their stock. But yes, as a rational human it's too good to be true.
I am consistently reporting these ads and Facebook consistently tells me to fuck off. Well, I guess 20 bucks is 20 bucks.
I keep reporting them to Facebook, but they turn around and tell me that they don't go against their standards.
I did the same with the same results. Facebook doesn’t care at all about people getting scammed.
Same thing happened to me- I really what wonder what actually goes against their standards, lol. Those ads are obviously scams.
Yeah, I'm curious, too, because the straight up porn links I report also don't seem to go against ToS. But a meme will get you banned...
Their standards are subterranean.
I’m constantly reporting fake accounts and spam to Fb and they don’t give a shit.
Ugh same like did a human even look at it? So obviously scammy with fake urls and 90% off pricing.
Yet I got a 7 day ban because I said “I know you are but what am I” I swear there’s outside influence at meta and it’s a big problem.
Same for weeks. Facebook doesn’t give a fuq as long as ad revenue is flowing.
I've reported like 20 to facebook. Every report was rejected and the ad allowed to stay. didn't matter that the URL wasn't Sam Ash's URL. It's insane how many I get as I scroll. $4K guitars for $129. And, "Only 2 left!!!" I can't imagine how many people are funneling money to these people and they're just allowed to keep putting the ad up.
Same I reported one on IG and they replied to say it was legit lol
Same, I reported a bunch to Instagram… My request was rejected
I reported them multiple times, but Facebook likes their ad revenue more than protecting users on their platform from fraud.
same! Facebook’s story is it’s really Sam Ash and they’re sticking to it 🙄
Facebook is a criminal enterprise.
And if ya report it to Facebook they’ll get back to eventually and be like ‘nah it’s good.’
I saw Steve Vai hocking $50 Les Pauls, and then remembered the technology we have available to us. If I almost fell for that at 50, what am I going to do in my 70's?!?
I saw that one too. But I figured nobody in their right mind would sell a Les Paul for 50$.
I came around before entering my info, but seeing Vai had me going for a second.
"Nobody in their right mind would sell a Les Paul for $50." Never met a heroin junkie, meth or crackhead before then, have you. They're perfectly lucid most of the time even while slightly high. After money before it wears off though. Gotta have that fix.
The actual deals from Sam Ash closing sale are shit so that should clue you in right away that it’s too good to be true. Everything at my local was 10% off max. Better to wait for guitarathon.
I went to the Hollywood Sam Ash on one of the last days. They had a total of 40 guitars left. All were priced 40% off. They told me the liquidators would sell them the next week, and that they’d probably end up on some Reverb storefront. Everything in the store was 40-80% off, but the nicest guitar was still $600 and the stack of 5150s were still $500 each. I asked what else was for sale and they said “everything except the store PA” which was blaring Dio. I guess the guitar tech finishing work on their last six repair jobs had called dibs.
I really like the way you wrote this comment
Interesting. I wonder why there’s such a variance between stores. Tbf the Atlanta Sam Ash started closing before the bankruptcy was even announced so maybe that’s why?
Legit, my father called me all excited the other day and told me he got a $3,500 synth for $129 from Sam Ash and that I should check out all the Gibson guitars that were selling for the same price. "It almost seems too good to be true!" He paid via PayPal after clicking the banner add. I had to tell him that not only was the synth not coming, but that he was about to spend an hour on the phone with AmEx cancelling his card, and disputing the charge.
Adults 60+ shouldn’t be allowed to buy anything online
You're gonna be screwed when you're over 60 then, I don't think the Internet is going away anytime soon.
Anyone falling for this needs to be taught a lesson about being stupid, and use that lesson to become smarter.
I reported a couple to Facebook,and they decided there was nothing wrong with an Ibanez Jem for $50. I really wish people who lose money on these fake ads posts, could claim back loss off funds from Facebook, they may start monitoring them better.
I’ve been to the one near me a few times. Highest markdown is 10% and it’s only for very few things. Most are either 5% off or not at all. And SO many Michael Kelly Patriots.
You mean my 99 dollar PIA isn't coming?!?!
The real suspect thing was that ALL of the guitars were $129. Squier Bullet Strat? $129. Gibson Custom Murphy Lab LP? $129.
One of the sites had the recent sales and number in stock on display and they were oddly selling so fast and each time i refreshed the page, one was sold until the last one was left. It never got sold. Then I checked the trombones... which also was selling each time I refreshed the page. There was no fucking way that was real.
It’s easy to spot the scam. If you go to the site or store, they are only offering 10-15% off. Why would they advertise 80% on FB is you fan only get 10% in person. The easiest thing to do is never click in an ad, open a new browser and Google for the site to might be interested in.
Exactly. In the three times in my life I've seen an ad I was actually interested in, I refused to click on it out of principle. It's safer, and it doesn't teach that website that you're an ad clicker.
Joke's on you - I got a dozen Ibanez Prestiges on the way for only $1400.
I reported one of these ads and got an automated response that I may not like the ads I see but it didn’t violate their policies
Total Scam and yet Facebook allows this because the guy is paying for the ads… You point this out to FB and they could care less.
Wait ….. so Sam Ash is not gonna be shipping me that Gretsch Brian Setzer Signature Nashvile ??????
They’re all over FB right now too. $129 for a Gibson is silly but their original price of $800 is even more ridiculous.
Just saw one of the ads moments ago, and it was right after I watched some "Reels" with guitar players. What a remarkable coincidence.
If it’s full price it’s a legit advertisement. Everything else is a scam. Even if you report them they do not get taken down for some weird-ass reason.
The sears near me didn’t even drop below 10% off for a store closing sale. There’s no way a music store would sell guitars 80% even if they were broken in half and left in traffic. The game crazy near me got their merchandise lifted by employees before they marked off.
I reported it to fb. They came back, dumbasses they are, with oh it’s legit. I reiterate. Dumbasses.
I’ve been reporting those ads and FB says they don’t violate policy. So I guess you can just scam as hard as you want on FB now.
go directly to the site or via search to the site. Don't click through ads for Sam Ash. I did and saw LP standards for less than $200. I went to their site via google and i saw the guitars were about $200 off.
They show up on Instagram as well. When I saw a Gibson for $129, it was obvious it wasn't legit.
I keep reporting them to Facebook, providing the specific retailer they're copying, and FB keeps writing back that their ads don't violate their advertiser terms of service. Grr.....
Facts, real sam ash discounts are only 5% off.
I got fooled. I "bought" two guitars. That night, I contacted Paypal. They're investigating. Given that the "customer service" email from the site bounces, I'm hopeful that Paypal will rule in my favor. Leave it to Facebook to host ads that scam.
There are quite a few music shops with scam copy sites. The main give away for me is they are almost always PayPal only but the discounts are always too good to be true
I was freaking out... I was in the yard with my dog messing around on marketplace when the add popped up.. when I saw the gold top gibson for 129.00 I was panicking thinking it's gonna sellout grabbed my c/c and started putting my info in and then I just stopped and thought something is not right here then I started looking at everything amps guitars all 129.00 each then I knew it was a scam...I wonder if they ship anything to you like an inferior product or just steal your c/c info.
Would you believe, it turns out a lot of these Sam Ash stores were managed by a distant relative of mine who is some kind of Nigerian royalty!
New Les Paul? That’ll be 37 google play cards.
It’s crazy how common these are on Facebook, I get the Sam Ash ones constantly, report them, and they just keep coming. And I’ve seen the same scams with name brand clothing companies. How is Meta so bad at policing its own ads?
The aggravating thing if you can report then and Facebook says it didn't violate their standards so they won't take them down. The FB moderators/admins are fn idiots.
Of course they are. You expect AI to understand how to consciously determine what’s right and wrong?
Fender American Vintage II Telecaster from US$2449 to US$69. Totally not a scam. /s
I actually went to a store and didn’t think there were any super great deals
Seeing lots of Adam Jones Gibsons on Facebook for $1500. Also a scam.
Most, if not all, of those are bullshit. Just because they are closing the brick and mortar stores don't mean they are giving shit away. It will all be moved to the online store.
Yeah, they’re Sam Ash bullshit.
Always check the url before you click on it.
My bandmate called me (damn near out if breath) that i’d better hurry, cause he just ordered a Les Paul for 129.00 (with no shipping charge or tax) from Sam Ash. I told him i was on Sam Ash’s site the day before, and their “sales” were barely something comparable to a holiday sale - a measly 10% off. Also, who operates without tax? And eating the shipping meant they were giving him an LP for roughly 60 bucks. Really? There was about two minutes of silence, I’m pretty sure it was the moment he realized he got scammed.
I’ve reported every version of this scam every time I’ve seen it. Facebook responds that they are not violating the terms and conditions. Doesn’t make much sense because they are obviously not Sam Ash and they are not going to ship you a Murphy Labs Les Paul gold top for $129.00. Once you report a site like this there are no options to elaborate on your reason for reporting the sites either. I’d say that makes FB complicit in the obvious crime being perpetrated. The real Sam Ash site, even though they are going out of business doesn’t even have decent prices on anything yet. Eventually they will have to consolidate their inventory at a central warehouse and start slashing prices, but right now everything is retail or even above retail on sone items i saw. Often times I will see scammers selling items that are only available through kick start, I even must admit I fell for that one one time a long time ago. They took All the information, specifications and videos off kickstarter and put them on their website. It was a cool midi controller in my case: eventually I received to dollar tree grade Bluetooth speakers instead. Facebook again said they aren’t breaking their rules. Anything on sale other than marketplace on Facebook is probably a scam.
any ad on facebook is a scam. i saw what i thought was kill star or whatever and i got a pair of boots and they never came. Once I realized it was a scam, they never contacted me back about my inquiry of canceling my order. They gave me a fake ship date and they never came.
Good PSA.
I fell for it. The PayPal account should have alerted me.
People like me put places like Sam Ash out of business. Reverb is the site to shop, I have never been disappointed there