The sad part is

If they've already spent the money, there is little they can do to get it back.  They'll get some form of punishment, assuming the case is strong, but it likely won't be enough to dissuade others from doing it.

Would you believe?

Would you believe the website is still active? Hopefully, since they apparently scammed across state lines maybe the Feds will get involved

Since in addition to the 2 parent entities that are being sued,

The next to the last paragraph lists 11 different "DBA's" (doing business as) that they used for their scam, I would be very surprised if they don't get prison time in Pa. before the feds get hold of them.

The list

Despite a very professional

Despite a very professional looking web site, the couple who ran this operation did so out of a single family home. The court document for the state case against them  (https://www.attorneygeneral.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/2021-11-24-Internet-Hobbies_CIE_Filed.pdf ) lists the "firm's" address as 504 US HWY 6 in Mayfield, PA. on the outskirts of Scranton. There is no separate retail store much less any warehouse at this location as claimed on their principal web site--just a modest house.  Internet complaints against their failure to supply goods, provide refunds, or even answer inquiries date back to at least 2013. Yet for years they managed to take advantage of unsuspecting customers and the fact that most people whom they cheated failed to take any action against them. Any forum members among this group should contact the Pennsylvania State Attorney listed in the above court document to increase the prospect of shutting down their scam. Others should take warning and not order goods from online firms that are not well known and recommended by others. Check the internet for comments about and reviews of unknown firms before you order.

Frank

Very good advice

This is excellent advice. For better or for worse, it's very easy to stand up a great looking website store in a weekend if you have some tech savvy. Then you could take folks to the cleaners before they even realized they were being suckered.

That said, we here at MRH try to vet our advertisers and make sure they're trustworthy. So those "lesser-known" hobby firms that advertise in MRH should be okay.

About Us page

Earlier this morning when I first read the OP's post I went to the website to see what all the kerfuffle was. One of the things I always check out is the "About Us" page. The one listed for this site has to be the biggest "red flag" I've ever seen that says stay away, far away in fact. Never seen a page that tries so hard to disclaim any responsibilities, it's outright freaky.

I think some posters are putting to much faith in expecting the judicial branch to eradicate this business. While I would like to see that as well I'm thinking we had just best be vigilant and warn others as to the shady practices they use.

No physical inventory scams

I think I ran afoul of an one of these outfits or something similar to it a few years back. They will advertise any item that their distributor shows in stock. They don't physically have the item but they give you every indication that they do right up until you order. Then enough days pass that you inquire and that's when you're told it's coming from the distributor which can literally take months if you get it at all. I actually got my item but it took like six months. Never again...

Quite a few Red Flags!

First of all, unless the Law has changed, Federal Law used to be at least require items to be ready to be shipped IMMEDIATELY before a Credit Card is charged (authorization is ok, but the actual charging the card to collect the money).  Second, they say they moved into a small warehouse, but then the next time they say they run on a "Just in Time" philosophy.  Which on is it?  Third, Pre-Orders.  This is a HUGE Red Flag. They say they CHARGE when you place a Pre-Order?!??! Which often can take months, sometimes YEARS (i.e. the Bowser RS-3s I Pre-Ordered from my Distributor in 2017 when they were announced and so far just the PRR ones I ordered are coming this month sometime, I HOPE).  I have customers, granted I know them personally and are good friends with them, who have pre-ordered a bunch of items, locomotives, freight cars, etc, and I haven't collected a dime from them.  When the distributor lets me know they have the items and if I want them still, I verify with my customers still want them, and I order them.  If I ever create an online store, which I would like to to do, but have been hesitant to do it lately because I am uncertain if I can maintain a level of service that I would want from a hobby dealer, I may decide, just before accepting the order from the Distributor, to ask for a non-refundable deposit from customers I do not know but it would be no more than 20% not the full amount, and it would be shipped up no more than 2 weeks (as sometimes it takes that long for my distributors to get the items to me).  This place has "SCAM" written all over it.  

Ken L

Resources

Hi all, a couple of resources for anyone who's fallen prey to an online shopping scam:

• File a report with the Federal Trade Commission's Report Fraud website. The database housing these reports is shared with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies nationwide.
• Contact your state consumer protection agency. These agencies are often part of the state Attorney General's office, as is the case in the Pennsylvania action mentioned above.

Hope these are helpful.
Cheers,
Shawn