Sometime in October (can't remember the exact date) I was leaving Coles supermarket in Logan Central, Brisbane, Australia and was approached by a man with a strong Italian accent and claiming to be a representative of Armani. He was stylishly dressed, had a pleasant, if persistent manner, and what I presume is a fake Armani employee identification.
At first he asked for directions to the airport (which is on the opposite side of the city), then said he'd been given clothes by his company and would have to pay some kind of taxes to take them back to Italy, so he wanted to sell them cheaply. Sadly I do not recall the name he gave, or very much about his car.
The clothes offered were a pinstripe suit and 3 leather jackets free with the purchase. He claimed that the combined value was around AUD $4500 but would sell the suit for $1500 (with the other items free). I declined saying I couldn't get more thaan $1000 from the ATM. He dropped his price to $1000 and I said I still wasn't interested, so he asked me for my best price. I said $700, since I was actively looking for a good suit at the time, and the suit seemed to be well tailored. He bargined me up to $800, which (at the time) I thought was still fair, so I withdrew the cash from the ATM, very carefully hiding my pin entry, as he stood quite close.
Although I was ripped off, and probably could have gotten these goods much cheaper if I'd realised what was going on, I have had good use of the suit. The week after I purchased it I was voted best dressed at a formal I attended while wearing it :) Suits of similar style and material seem to sell for around AUD $300- $400 in stores and even cheap leather jackets are around AUD $100. After learning of this scam I am now concerned about the longevity of the clothes. Quite possibly they are of inferior quality and will wear out sooner than the genuine article.
Teijo
Marsden
Australia
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