Edit: As of November 09, 2012, both of these websites have been shut down.

As the domain names suggest, these websites only sell a single product – the Sensormatic Hook. Apparently, the vendor believes this item is a hot commodity, and that sales are directly proportionate to the number of websites one can create. Yet none of the websites associated with this person are of good quality, and they appear to be scratched together with stolen images and content from other suppliers.

The Whois Lookup for each site shows registrations of:

• sensormatic-hook.com (creation date: 25-Jul-2011)
• sensormatichooks.com (creation date: 06-Mar-2012)
• removesecuritytags.com (unconfirmed, but likely the same owner)

The first two websites consist of the same, unappealing layout and design. Strangely, they also feature a short video which refers to a separate site, removesecuritytags.com. This domain is not in operation, and if you attempt to bring up the index page, a directory listing with a bunch of raw files is shown (as at August 17, 2012). After completing a Whois Lookup of this domain, we have been unable to ascertain if the third website is related to the first two, as there is a possibility that the video is leeched.

One thing that we can confirm is that these websites ship out of Europe – which explains the higher prices – probably due to higher shipping costs. But the main problem for (US) customers here would more likely be shipping delays due to clearance issues as the ‘package’ passes through customs. As mentioned in a previous post, this item would be subject to screening upon importation, and it is very hard to predict how long this might take, as well as what consequences might result.

Turning our focus back to the vendor, we can confirm that the email address associated with the first site is hharnikk@gmail.com. For the second site, the vendor appears to operate under the name of Online Solutions. Lastly, if the third website is indeed owned by the same person, we can confirm it is associated with the handle ‘doosh1000’, of which there are many Google search results. These include a Twitter account, a closed eBay account, a Freelancer profile, etc.

We weren’t able to find any trust seals on any of the websites. Additionally, Norton returned both domains with a big question mark, as they’re probably too small (too few users) to be tested. Also, the owner does not display the Google Wallet acceptance logo, so there are no publicly visible reviews. Amusingly though, the vendor does state on one of their web pages that they are;

“… the number one provider of sensormatic hooks in the UK, US and Europe.”

Since Sensormatic hooks are sold online by private vendors only, and not through companies that are required to report their earnings, one has to laugh at the self gratifying nature of such a remark. Conversely, we are of the view that sensormatic-hook.com and sensormatichooks.com are just a bunch of opportunists, and are more likely the most inexperienced and untrustworthy of all vendors in the field.