I got the idea for this post when I posted a new picture on my Instagram and within seconds I received a pretty standard spam comment “Hey lovely we were scrolling through and think you’re absolutely gorgeous 😍 Dm us we’d love to collab!✨”. These comments wind me and the majority of other bloggers that I’ve spoken to about this up. Most of these comments appear within seconds or minutes of you uploading and tend to be quite generic.
I get comments like these on SO MANY of my posts and have in the past reached out to find out some more info, but thought I’d share some of the responses I received. You might wonder why I’ve titled this post “exploring and exposing” and if you’ve not come across these kinds of accounts, you’ll not be familiar with them or understand why they’re exploiting people, but I’m here today to explain how and why.
Basically, they’re Instagram accounts that look for accounts to “collaborate” with, but don’t want to do so in the traditional sense.
In the blogger world, a collaboration is a company sending goods in exchange for exposure on your social media channels – I’ve done a few of these and am happy with how these have worked out. For these other companies, they are looking for the “influencer” (not a fan of that term, but we’ll roll with it) to purchase one of their items at a “discounted price” or for postage, who will then be supplied with a discount code to share on their social media channels once the item arrives. Once they share their photo on Instagram, the idea is your content will be shared on the main account for more exposure.
This isn’t a real way of collaborating with a brand and not something I’m going to be throwing my money at (especially as I’m quite sure that these companies aren’t ethical or environmentally friendly) – however I did reach out to a few. The crux of it is; they’re conning people into buying their products with fake promises and shitty products. As a helpful guide for anyone that’s thinking of getting involved with these companies, I’ve put together a list of a couple of things you should know about collaborating with brands;
- You should NEVER have to pay a fee to become an affiliate
- You should NEVER have to pay upfront postage (unless you need to return a product to a company for whatever reason) for products
- You shouldn’t NEVER have to pay for products if you’re a brand ambassador
I’ve screenshotted a couple of the sites I was directed to after enquiring with the main account (most of the comments come from smaller accounts with around 4-5 posts and a couple of thousand followers – can I get a “bot account” call?!);
BIG promises right?! I’ve listed a few of the regular commenters below and linked on to some stories from other people that have had first hand experience with them;
- Nora NYC (they’re relentless)
- Unicorn Eyewear
- BFirst Apparel
- Hot Miami Shades (again – relentless)
Let me know in the comments below if you’ve had any experiences with brands like these and how it was! I know I won’t be parting with my cash, that’s for sure!
Hot Miami Shades ScamInstagraminstagram brandinstagram conInstagram engagementInstagram followersInstagram likesinstagram spamNora NYC Scam
Those comments really annoy me too. How long do they really spend looking at your posts? When I see that I have to pay a fee, that makes alarm bells ring!
I know right?! I think they’ve got bots set up to post that on accounts which use a particular hashtag and don’t bother actually looking at the content of your feed!
I can not stand these Instagram accounts. I get a comment like this at least once every post. If not then a DM with some shitty scheme to ‘Collab’
lol blocked, byeeeeeeeeee!
I feel for this once when I first started blogging because I thought it was genuine! I was offered a 30% discount on a set of brushes to ‘promote’ Stupidly spent £19 on a brush set I never actually wanted or needed. Funnily enough, I never got reposted or contacted again after that.
No wayyy!!!! I would have been pissed the fuck off! I nearly fell for it before I thought it sounded weird and googled it, glad I bloody did! I delete all the comments now cos they piss me off!
omg thank you for posting about this! i was contacted by xoxo 5th ave and actually bought something that amounted to £70!!!!! and because it’s coming from new york i have to pay customs on top. big regrets!!!! why did i do that?!?!!!!! do u think i should contact them and ask for my money back and to cancel the order ? only after i placed the order did it start ringing alarm bells ! advice?
Hey lovely, so sorry for not responding sooner, I only just saw your comment! Did your order come through yet?
i asked them to cancel the order and they insisted that all sales were final. I accepted this outcome (i wasn’t pleased but there wasn’t anything i can do) and the item still hasn’t arrived! I’ve sent numerous emails about it and not heard anything back. i am so annoyed at myself and also their crap service!
Oh no! I’ve written a follow up post which you might find helpful with some suggestions on next steps to take – http://thefashionfauxpasofgabrielle.com/2019/05/what-to-do-if-youre-contacted-by-a-scam-instagram-influencer-account/
hi! i have just become an ambassador for xoxo 5th avenue, i know there is some expensive stuff on their site but i used the code they sent me and saved 40% on a necklace and got a choker with it. Just checking on what you bought that was that expensive or if they didnt let you know about the code i would want check since i just became an ambassador!
Hot Miami Shades and Unicorn Eyewear have both contacted me! I knew it was a scam simply because I don’t have many followers-not the obvious choice for an influencer. Who am i gonna influence-all 200 of my followers?😂
Ahh they’ve commented on so many of my posts that I just delete them all now 😂😂
Is Unicorn Eyewear scam? They sent me an email about the Ambassador program that they have
Are they asking for you to pay for products in exchange for being featured? If so then I think you need to steer clear.
Have you ever heard of the brand “small wave company”? Im not sure if they’re legit or not and was wondering if maybe you had ever gotten contacted by them. It wasnt very generic feeling because they had followed me for sometime but only recently attempted to contact me by commenting on my recent photo. Their instagram is @swavebrands if you wanted to check it out
I haven’t heard of them before – did you DM them? If it’s not generic I normally do as you never know!
Hey! so i did end up DM’ing them and they did reply. This is word for word:
“Hi! thanks for the DM! We have launched our first collection ever and so far its going 🔥! Our team is expanding, people love to be our Ambassador and we would love to have YOU be part of this too. With your discounted ordered shirt you can earn 💶 by influencing! LET US KNOW! ⚡️”
what do you think? i dont think you should have to pay for their merch to become an ambassador!
Definitely not – anyone that says you need to buy to be an ambassador is taking the piss!
I actually was the googling the company myself! They followed me and then dmed me with that exact same paragraph word for word! Glad now I know it’s a scam that was a close one! 😅
Haha!! It sounds like they’re doing it a lot more lately, I’ve had loads of comments on this post!
Hey! so i did end up DM’ing them and they did reply. This is word for word:
“Hi! thanks for the DM! We have launched our first collection ever and so far its going 🔥! Our team is expanding, people love to be our Ambassador and we would love to have YOU be part of this too. With your discounted ordered shirt you can earn 💶 by influencing! LET US KNOW! ⚡️”
what do you think? i dont think you should have to pay for their merch to become an ambassador!
I fell for the “Hot Miami Shades” scam. I figured I needed a new pair of glasses anyway, so might as well right? Well, here we are 3 months later with nothing to show other than a charge to my card that I’m currently disputing. I read on their site that if I dispute the “ambassador” price they will not only win the claim but come back and charge the FULL PRICE for the item. I’ve filed with BBB as well. If I see that bogus charge my next stop will be the Miami police to file a theft report and the Attorney General’s fraud department. I’m not playing around with this company.
WOW!! I read up on them a lot and saw quite a few videos with people explaining pretty much what you’ve said above! I’m so sorry you’ve had to deal with this crap, but hope you let us know how you get on!
Omg THANK YOU so much for this post! I got contacted by xoxo 5th ave and unicorn sunglasses last night and have been searching and searching for info! I just started about a month ago on IG and am new to this besides running a blog. I haven’t been able to find any info on whether or not you should buy a product to become an ambassador. I had a gut feeling that no you shouldn’t have to PAY to advertise for someone!! But wasn’t completely sure if it was actually something most influencers do! I’m not in a position to anyways so I always politely decline or counter offer (which they never respond) but didn’t know if I was blowing my chances at all this!!! Funny you have the exact companies I was contacted by. Def won’t ever pay for a product to advertise for someone else!!!
How funny!! Glad you found it helpful – I did the same when I was contacted and knew I should write a post so these scammers don’t get their way after I found more companies doing the same and videos on YouTube of girls telling their stories about unfortunate encounters!
Thank u por this post. It was so helpful. I was going to buy a bag from @vipereshop cause I was offered 50% discount and receive a code to promote them . Now I know thanks to this article that I should never pay to be an ambassador. Thanks
You’re welcome! Glad it’s helped someone steer clear!
Thanks ladies, relate to it all…know what to do now!!! We should all spam their sites and tell them to follow us for a discount 😂 !!
I might do that next time I get a comment 😂😂
Thank you for this! I just got THREE on my latest blog post and was curious if any where legit. This was very helpful. I figured none of them were considering they were all about 20 seconds after my post went live haha
Three’s a lot! I normally get about 2 on mine – so I know they’re on fire if I get more than that 😂 glad to have helped!
Thank you so much for this post. I was contacted by Unicorn Eyewear and told a model and influencer agency @globalinluenceragency saw my page and wanted to collab. I sent them my details and they sent my an offer that was only valid for TODAY. Thanks to my gut telling me something wasn’t right and google I have avoided a scam. The fact I don’t have that many followers on my instagram account was a big sign. Plus I looked at the website and the products look cheap and tacky and unlike anything I would wear.
Again thank you so much for this post.
Glad that I could help! I’ve been getting so many more of these comments on my Instagram lately so I’m not sure what’s going on!
Omg! Thank you! I got cantacted by xoxo…and filled out my information but didn’t order anything! Hopefully they won’t do anything else!
Ahh you’re welcome! I’ve been getting so many more DM’s and comments lately, it’s like this whole thing is booming!!
Daamn… i should have googled xoxo5thavenue before. I got a comment and got too excited i just started a make up inst page and i ordered 2 tee-shirts. And now they haven’t replied to any off my emails, I’ll still wait for the order to come I’ll post pictures to see what happens then or to see if it was just so I buy products. Im so mad now
Oh gutted!! Make sure to check back and let me know how you get on!
Omg I did they exact same thing with xoxo5thavenue I bought a tee-shirt and still haven’t received anything I am worried for what they might do tho.
Oh no how long ago was that?! Let me know how you get on!
Did y’all ever get your package? I should’ve googled and found this BEFORE i ordered.
I haven’t heard back from anyone yet!
If I did fall for the scam and I bought something will they steal my money ??
I haven’t heard of people being charged extra money, but if you don’t receive anything and they don’t respond, I’d contact your bank and let them know so they know not to process any payments to them xx
Thank you so much for this post, I was contacted by Alyssa Moscoffian (alyssa_wishlist) offering to send items for a collaboration with xoxo5thavenue : “The prettiest! Can we send you some items and get you featured on xoxo5thavenue? Lets chat! Check my link so I can get in contact with you”.
Then an other comment on a second pic: “Stunning! We should totally talk about getting you featured on our main page xoxo5thavenue and getting our Brand. Just check my link to chat more”.
I am french and I am looking for informations on IG. Your post is very helpfull!
Glad to have helped! They’re actually getting so much worse lately – I wrote this post months ago and have had so much traffic in the last month or so with people saying the same thing!
Thank you so much for this article!! Xoxo5thave have contacted me too. My gut feeling said this is not okay, but couldn’t find any more info. So again: thank you so much!!
Glad I could have helped lovely!
Same here!
Ugh, just paid for a shirt. I knew after I got the thank you email something was fishy. It takes ‘5 days’ to just make the shirt in China, nevermind when it will get to me. I mean it was 20$. I’ll give it a couple of weeks and then call the bank to dispute it. My bank is pretty good with that esp seeing as I wasn’t given a tracking number or any information otherwise.
Oh no! Well definitely check back and let us all how you get on – you never know it might well be fine!
Omg thank you for making this little article, I was unsure about that Xoxo 5th Avenue thing because it sounded like it could be legit but it just seemed too good to be true. Like you said, it was one of those smaller accounts that have 5 pictures and hundreds of followers that commented on my post after a couple minutes. I usually ignore those but wanted to look into it this time. Now I’m sure I won’t be spending my money on their products lol
Ahh you’re welcome and glad to have helped! So many people have been saying the same thing!
You’ve definitely helped a lot of us out lol 🙂
I got my first message from them yesterday. I filled their form today, and they replied to me telling me I needed to buy a choker (an expensive one which looks very cheap) to be an ambassador.
I thought it was pretty weird, especially the deadline to buy the item – until today 11pm – and googled about the company reputation and then I get to your post. Thank you so much for helping me! I was about to buy some of their products, thanks to you I didn’t. 🙂
What a bloody nightmare! Aren’t the deadlines weird too?! I got so many follow up emails after as well which was pretty annoying too! Glad you found it helpful!
Omg yes xoxo 5th Avenue contacted me and I’m trying to grow my accounts so I fell for it!! I had to buy a $40 necklace and they haven’t emailed me since can’t believe I fell for this I’m so mad
No way! When did this happen? I’ve just written a follow up post to this if you want some guidance on what to do next
Thank you so much for this article!! I did what others have done and sent them a message, but that’s as far as I got. I don’t want to spend my money on something that isn’t legit!! It was from xoxo5thavenuenyc, they seem to be doing the rounds. I was a bit concerned when they said pay for something, so I googled them and came up with your article, thank you!!!
Ahh you’re welcome lovely! They must be on fire because I’ve had so many comments from people in the same position! Glad you found it helpful!
Thank you so much for writing this article. I truly wish I would have read it sooner, I actually just had XOXO 5th avenue reach out to me and purchased a necklace. I have all kinds of accounts that reach out to me on the daily. It is hard to know which ones are legit, because even stores just give a discount now, only a few of them I have seen do FREE products. This article really opened my eyes. Thank you again
You’re welcome lovely, make sure to check back and let us know what it’s like – it will be interesting to know!
I bought one about a month ago and still haven’t received it. It was from XOXO 5th Avenue as well.
The xoxo 5th avenue keeps emailing me and they want me to buy a choker for $39.00 and get a black choker free. Hahah i can get way better quality chokets for lesser price. They also never answer mh questions on my emails, defiently a bot. Another thing is they say my followers will increase, the account that messaged me about my wonderful picture only had 101 followers!! I have wayyyyyy more then that and its sad that i have more then them..i wish i could stop posts like this. But i dont mind the amazon ones or i even get ones that will pay me first and then purchase their product which is awesome!
Tell me about it!! My friend makes really lovely chokers, I’d much rather buy them from her and know they’ll be nicer and last!
You buy your choker from them and nothing happens ….
They were relentless and kept messaging me day after day…It got so bad i had to block them.
Bloody hell!! I’ve heard they can be a bit crazy with the messages too and had a couple of messages from one a while back when I was doing the research for this post!
I’ve been contacted more and more from different scam company’s. I know kind of emidietly (can’t spell) that this was bullshit, I always go and take a look at they’re website, and a alternative person does not fit the group of people they supposedly should reach out to. I was offered a discount code with the same procent as they’re discount they offered at their website. Thanks for the confirmation of my suspicion.
You’re welcome and glad I could help!
I think I got scammed! Had no idea ☹️ How do you get your money back?
Xoxo 5th Avenue contacted me and I actually bought a top and now I’m trying to find where it is after a month of waiting and all they say is they will get back to me as soon as possible 😭
Hey lovely, best thing to do is contact your bank/PayPal to see if there’s anything they can do – I’ve not long written a follow up post which might help – http://thefashionfauxpasofgabrielle.com/2019/05/what-to-do-if-youre-contacted-by-a-scam-instagram-influencer-account/ ❤️
Just contacted my bank about not receiving my order from Unicorn Eye Wear and them not replying anymore… Sucks to fall for a scam, thankfully it was just 28 USD. Will be smarter from now on!
Glad that you contacted them, but still shit to lose out! Keep us posted x