konopi-ga,
I haven't found anything on ozactivewear that sends up a giant red
flag that screams SCAM!
On the other hand, there's simply not a lot of information available
on the company beyond what they post about themselves on their
website.
However, the bits and pieces of information that do turn up seem to
indicate a reasonably well-established, but quite small business.
First thing I checked was the Whois record for their website, which seems in order:
http://www.ausregistry.com.au/whois.php
Result for: ozactivewear.com.au
Domain Name: ozactivewear.com.au
Registrant: KOINZAK, UWE HANS ULRICH
Registrant Contact Name: Uwe Koinzak
Registrant Email: uwe.koinzak@aussiemail.com.au
Tech Name: Uwe Koinzak
Tech Email: uwe.koinzak@aussiemail.com.au
I would have liked to have seen the date the website was established,
but apparently, this is not part of Australia Whois records.
==========
Next, I checked their registration with the Australian government, and
again, all seems to be in order:
http://www.abr.business.gov.au/(cxdb1k55dvpktx45mzlvn345)/
ABN Lookup provides access to the publicly available information
provided by businesses when they register for an Australian Business
Number
Last modified: 14 Feb 2006
ABN: 14 510 371 562 view history
Summary record:
ABN status: Active from 04 Apr 2002
Entity name: KOINZAK, UWE HANS ULRICH
Entity type: Individual/Sole Trader
Main business location
State: QLD
Postcode: 4069
Trading name(s)
OZACTIVEWEAR
Ozactivewear
History record:
ABN status From To
Active 04 Apr 2002 (current)
Entity names From To
KOINZAK, UWE HANS ULRICH 04 Apr 2002 (current)
Entity type
Individual/Sole Trader
Main business locations From To
QLD 4069 04 Apr 2002 (current)
Trading name(s) From To
OZACTIVEWEAR 14 Feb 2006 (current)
Ozactivewear 01 Jun 2005 (current)
Australian Media Production 04 Apr 2002 14 Feb 2006
GST status From To
Active 25 Nov 2002 (current)
Note that the business dates back to 2002, which is just what the
Ozactivewear website says, so it's nice to have confirmation of their
start-up date.
On the other hand, the business seems to have only recently adopted
the name Ozactivewear, having established itself originally under the
name Australia Media Production (which is also mentioned on their
website).
Adopting a "Doing Business As" name is certainly not unusual. My key
hesitation here is that ""Australia Media Production" does not strike
me as the name of a company selling sportswear and related goods, so
it may well be the case that they have only recently ventured into
this line of work. Also, their sale of Ipod's looks to be a very
recent venture for them as well, so again, they don't look to have
much of a history with this particular line of items. I would suggest
asking a bit more about their history and experience directly of the
owner.
Thirdly, the company is listed on Alibaba.com (a well know
business-to-business website) with a "TrustPass" certification,
meaning that the company's existence has been verified by a third
party:
http://ozactivewear.trustpass.alibaba.com/trustpass_profile.html
TrustPass Profile
TrustPassŪ serves to provide transparency regarding the identity and
legitimacy of your trading partners on Alibaba.com. Only companies
that have completed an Authentication and Verification procedure
conducted by a third-party credit-reporting agency have a TrustPass
Profile.
Lastly, the company is included in the Dun and Bradstreet International database:
http://smallbusiness.dnb.com/Default.asp?bhcd2=1162179769
and they offer a high-priced credit report for the company:
FOR MEDIUM RISK CREDIT DECISIONS
Business Information Report
List Price: $498.99 *
Provides detailed business credit information, including credit
history and analysis.
I'm not suggesting that you purchase the report, but you may want to
consider it, if you feel the need for additional information is worth
the cost.
I also want to mention two searches with a no-news-is-good-news
outcome. I searched both Google and Australian newspaper databases
for any mention of Ozactivewear. Neither search turned up any
negative information about the company, which also tends to be a good
sign.
Of course, I am not in a position to offer any guarantees, and as
noted below, Google Answers is no substitue for professional advice.
However, I did not see any indication that this company is part of a
scam operation.
I trust this information fully answers your question.
However, please don't rate this answer until you have everything you
need. If you would like any additional information, just post a
Request for Clarification to let me know how I can assist you further,
and I'm at your service.
All the best,
pafalafa-ga |
Clarification of Answer by
pafalafa-ga
on
30 Oct 2006 07:21 PST
konopl-ga,
I certainly wish I could provide you with 100% comfort in your
decision, but there will always be unknowns and uncertainties, I'm
afraid.
I have done business background checks on many companies. I can tell
you without hesitation that ozactivewear does not have any of the
overt signs of a scam operation. In other words, it does indeed
appear to be a "legit" company, as you put it in your original
question.
Does that mean they are a good company to do business with? Who
knows? I didn't come across anything that would let me assess their
performance, reliability, credit-worthiness, service, and so on.
On the other hand, people tend to take to the internet with complaints
when they have an unhappy experience with a business, and the absence
of any such complaints for ozactivewear is a positive sign.
Have you thought of asking the company for references...? Contacts at
other firms (preferably, in the same part of the world where you are
located) that they've done business with. Couldn't hurt.
But bottom line is, it has to be your call, based on the information
available. But I don't see anything that suggests a problem with
these folks.
Hope that helps.
paf
|
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