Did you receive a DM on Instagram from @theofficialmelery asking you to collaborate with their Jewellery brand? Beware! It’s not a genuine offer. Here’s the truth about Melery.co;
Exposing How Melery.co Jewelry Store Actually Works
Melery.co portrays itself as a store that sells quality 18k gold, tarnish free and waterproof jewelries for affordable prices. Whereas it’s actually a drop-shipping website that buys bulk cheap $5 jewelries from China and sell them off for exorbitant prices.
For example, the necklace listed as Abigial which is sold for €35. 12 on Melery.co is actually sold for below $2 on Aliexpress.com. (See proof below). Even if one adds the shipping fee of €2.16 per piece, the total price for one piece of necklace is below €10.
The brand ambassadorship collaboration is simply a tactic to make people pay exorbitant fee for cheap jewelries. People think they are getting the jewelries for free but in the real sense they’re being cheated. The $36 paid for just shipping covers the price of the jewelries and international shipping fee times three.
Red Flags
No Business Address
There’s no business address or warehouse address mentioned on Melery.co (the official website). Customers were shocked when instead of UK as stated the tracking details showed the jewelries were being shipped from China.
Anonymous Owner
Till date, there isn’t any information online about who the owner or owners are. The ‘About Us’ story on the website is vague and contains no details about the entities behind the brand. Meanwhile, though launched in 2023, the jewelry brand isn’t registered as a company. We scoured Canada Business Registries, UK Registries and came out with absolutely nothing.
Unethical Business Practices
There are numerous complaints online that Melery automatically adds customers to a monthly subscription plan. All efforts to unsubscribe are often futile and customers continue being charged a monthly fee for cheap jewelries in the mail.
I signed up with them after getting an IG message. 3 pieces of “free” jewelry, but$36 for shipping! Then I got the jewelry and it’s cheap AF! Came in small, small, plastic baggies. I’m so angry! Gave me a code for people to get a discount when they use it to checkout but I’m not recommending anyone but from this brand! Cheap jewelry, misleading and EXPENSIVE shipping! So angry
Is Melery a Scam?
Melery.co is operating a brand ambassador scam coupled with other shady business practices. Its brand collaboration is offered to all and sundry, even to Instagram users who are less active and have very few followers. Influencers of the jewelery brand do not get value for the shipping cost paid.
Meanwhile, customers are automatically added to a monthly paid subscription plan. All efforts to unsubscribe are often futile and customers continue being charged a monthly fee for cheap jewelries in the mail.
Tips on How To Spot Scam Influencer Ambassador Brand
Whether you’re approached on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook or any social media platforms, here are glaring red flags of dishonest brand ambassadorship;
- Requests for Payment: They might ask you to purchase their product first for reimbursement later, or to purchase at a discount or pay just shipping fees.
- No Formal Offer: Asking you to create content for their use in return for promoting your social media accounts. Or requesting a collaboration by commenting in your comments on Instagram, or your blog.
- Unprofessional Language Use: If they’re using language like sweetie, darling, honey, etc. or use language that contains spelling and grammar errors.
- Offering you a special affiliate commission with a “discount” for your followers (there are affiliate programs galore that you can sign-up to).
- It’s from a sketchy company that when you Google it, seems to be doing some questionable work or has poor reviews.
How to know If an Online Store is Legit
Aside from the obvious too good to be true discount sale, here are other ways to identify a scam website;
Check Website Registration Age
How old is the website? The domain age of a website tells a lot about a store’s legitimacy or transparency. Websites below 6 months old are often considered unsafe. You can find out a website’s age by checking on Who.is ( a free domain checker tool)
Find Out If The Website Has SSL Encryption
find out if the website is secured with SSL encryption. (https and padlock symbols). If the padlock symbol doesn’t appear near the website’s URL, then it means your personal and financial information is at risk at the store.
Verify The Business Address
Does The website provide return address? If Yes (Copy the address and paste on your browser. Google map would show if it is a real warehouse address or a residential address) If the address has also been used by other websites you’d see reviews in search results.
Search For Reviews Online
Are there customer reviews online? (It is advised that you sit it out if there are no customer reviews of the store. However if you’re not patient enough to wait you can send a mail to us to verify if the store is legit)
See similar Instagram brand ambassadorship scam – Gnarcy Jewellery
maria