It is high time to come clean on The Armory.

After mulling this over in my head for some amount of time, it's high time that someone made a definitive post on the subject of The Armory.

I've read the posts of many others on here, and it is becoming increasingly clear that my situation is not an exception, a corner case. It's the rule. It's looking more and more unlikely that The Armory actually has any plans whatsoever to actually do anything to fix any of it.

The Armory has been downright ignoring reddit private messages as well as email messages from customers with orders that have already been paid for and ought to have arrived a long time ago (or at least an explanation provided for the non-arrival). All while posting on reddit as if nothing is happening...

The Armory is at the very least a scammer, and to keep such people in the sidebar is a disservice for the entire community....and i am more than happy to provide proof of this to the mods once they PM me on here with information on how to proceed and what kind of proof they want (as they have been saying).

4/7/2014 Edited to update anyone that might be looking at this: The Armory now appears to have ceased all communications (and even if they decide to materialize again after i update, i am now a 100% convinced that the chance of them not being a scammer or worse is zero.), including emails, pms as well as posts on reddit. As of today, i also am unable connect to any of their onions. "Bitsec" (probably operated by the same people) never answered anybody's emails. Nobody that i know of ever received anything related to their orders, and no refunds were given out. Somebody is still logging in at one of their emails though. If you are still trying to buy from them, STOP IT or you will be scammed too. It's one thing taking a shot in the dark (knowing you might be sending your funds into the abyss) and testing the waters before the scam reports started coming in, but if ANYONE is still trying to buy anything from them - you are wasting your time and money. You might as well take your bitcoins and send them to an invalid address.

There is some speculation that it`s the same people that were responsible for Executive Outcomes as well as some other scams. STAY AWAY FROM ANY VENDOR CLAIMING TO SUPPLY THIS TYPE OF PRODUCT UNTIL A RELIABLE MARKET WHICH ALLOWS THIS TYPE OF PRODUCT TO BE SOLD IS AROUND AGAIN...OTHERWISE YOU WILL BE ONE OF THE MANY PEOPLE WHO HAVE FALLEN FOR THIS SCAM. THEY HAVE DONE IT BEFORE - AND WILL ALMOST CERTAINLY DO IT AGAIN. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.


Comments


[19 Points] IGetDankShit:

So yeah, after reviewing the materials sent to the mods, I'd say the OPs evidence is pretty damning. The escrow service used by The_Armory seems very suspect, but I cannot confirm that they also operate the escrow service they use.

On deepdotweb, Bitsec is listed as a third party escrow service and they also seem to have a clearnet gateway. However, this clearnet gateway seems to have been suspended by the hosting providers.

This in addition to /u/The_Armory apparently ignoring customer communications doesn't look good for them. My vote is to add a warning next to their name on the sidebar and make a post explaining why. I've said previously a few times now that The_Armory needs to employ a 3rd party escrow service, and they seem to be stalling to do so even though they said they were looking into getting an account on Agora. At any rate, it would not have taken this long to get a vendor account setup on one of the markets.

A decision should be made later today once I get a chance to speak with the other mods about how to proceed. Thanks for staying patient everyone.


[4 Points] IGetDankShit:

Message the mods with all the proof you've possibly got. Screenshots of messages, orders, payment thru the blockchain, or anything else that you feel is substantial.


[3 Points] Vm4vf:

I've sent the proof to the moderators. Awaiting results.


[3 Points] muttand:

THE REAL PROBLEM WITH THE ARMORY: The bit sec escrow service which supposedly takes your payment into escrow then disappears. I raised weeks ago they are scammers and thieves.


[3 Points] the_armory:

We have not ignored any email messages, and can provide read receipts and replys for all emails.

We do not use reddits PM system as a means of communication, but we do check it. Only 2 users have given their email addresses, and one was fake. Again we'll provide screenshots and if this keeps up we'll be giving the mods control of our account and completely withdrawing from reddit. Look through it, delete it, whatever. No personal information is in there, only PM we receive.

Not sure why everyone is hesitant to post their emails, but since only 1 has given us a legitimate email through PM could you just post it here?
We can't do much without it since the usernames are hardly ever the same as the email.

If you are unhappy, just ask for a refund and we'll give it to you. It's not that complicated and not a single customer has requested this so far, only asking "When will my order arrive".

Read our site please. It covers everything - misunderstandings, the multiple escrow services used, and many of the issues that can simply be fixed by just telling us to cancel you order.

We have not had any communication with bitsec in 2 weeks as well, and these errant claims are somewhat upsetting.
If BitSec wont work or answer, they don't just have your money - they have ours. If we were running BitSec we wouldn't be passing up current orders because people don't like Abescrow and don't know how to use I2P, we'd just keep accepting them.


[4 Points] Vm4vf:

To the mods: If you require or want further proof in regards to the lack of communication, PM me.

To The Armory: I'm not sure whose fault it is, all i know is that through no fault of my own not only has my order not arrived but my messages (on reddit as well as emails) are also not being replied. Not only that, but many others seem to be having exactly the same kinds of issues. A good vendor would have made an announcement concerning this entire fiasco a long time ago. Are you a legitimate vendor? Yes, my research before buying a product from you as well as our communications (previous to the escrow being paid) led me to believe that, but the fact of the matter is that AFTER i made the payment things went quickly downhill.

All i know is: i still want my order shipped. I am not interested in a refund with the escrow fee deducted. IF any of my things arrive in a workable fashion i would even go as far as to say that we could negotiate something so as to minimize your losses (it is in my long-term interest that reliable vendors are around). But first i need to SEE that you are actually a vendor which sends out PRODUCTS.

As for who i am, i'm sure you can understand why i would rather keep myself pseudonymous from you. This shouldnt matter. Start communicating with your customers better, SEND OUT THE PRODUCTS. Offer everyone who wants a refund a refund, and the others that dont give a reasonable timeframe upon which they can expect things to happen, etc.

instead of just giving the ones who are actually assed to post this kind of stuff on here special treatment.

IF you are who you claim to be then it should be very easy for you to remedy this entire situation & become the most trusted public FA seller around (for as long as you can keep the v&'s from coming). Even if you dont trust your customers, think of this as a long-term investment on your reputation.

Go on ahead, please prove me wrong by sending out the product. I believe strongly in the value of the services & products you (claim to) provide. They could literally be life-saving for a lot of people all around the world.


[1 Points] summore:

So the Armory runs or owns, or is in some way in charge of Bitsec? What a shock if that's true. Not really.


[1 Points] FrankSuper61:

Now the armory is gone!

9 days haven't their single reply and website is done, I guess that's it.


[1 Points] summore:

Tried to warn people about these scum, and made it a point to make their last days on reddit very uncomfortable.


[-7 Points] dsfsdasdas3:

they were proven a scam long ago on sr1 so im guessing all the mods who were defending them are quite new.