7 Warning Signs of Scams When Buying Custom High-Performance Laptops on CustomMade

Indefinite Production Delay: Be wary of sellers who provide vague or constantly shifting delivery timelines. This can be a tactic to delay indefinitely, especially if they are using subpar components or have no intention of fulfilling the order.

Material Grade Downselling: Scammers may claim to use high-grade components but substitute them with lower-quality, cheaper alternatives. For high-performance laptops, this could mean inferior processors, RAM, or storage that do not meet advertised specifications.

Fake CAD Rendering Bait: Some sellers might use sophisticated 3D renderings or mock-ups to showcase a product that doesn't exist or is vastly different from what they can actually deliver. Always look for real-world product photos and reviews.

Off-Platform Deposit Request: A significant red flag is a seller asking for a deposit or full payment outside of CustomMade's secure payment system. This often happens to avoid platform protections and makes it difficult to recover funds if the transaction goes wrong.

Sourced-from-China Resell: While not inherently a scam, be cautious of sellers who are simply drop-shipping generic or lower-quality laptops from China and rebranding them. These often lack proper quality control and may have hidden issues or significant delays.

Non-Functional Furniture Design (Applied metaphorically): While this scam is typically for furniture, it can be applied to electronics. A seller might present a visually appealing laptop with impressive specs, but the underlying build quality or internal components are flawed, rendering the high performance unreliable or non-existent in practice.

Design Modification Ransom: In a custom build scenario, a seller might claim that a design modification is required mid-process, demanding extra payment beyond the original agreement. This can escalate, holding your custom laptop hostage until further 'fees' are paid.