Strange phone call from Kusadasi rug merchant?

[nolatravelgirl]

I don't think it is Seabourn who is to blame, I think it is more than likely some other person or entity working with a government agency who is perhaps selling information. My first trip to Turkey was a land based vacation where I did not take a single organized tour. I mostly just shopped and ate yummy foods so I can't even blame a tour company fro selling my information. I too got called for years after that trip with sales pitches from rug guys in Turkey. I considered it a minor annoyance in my day. I would put away the pitch forks and witch hunt for Seabourn and just consider it part of the aftermath of a trip to Turkey.

[JVilleGal]

Mustafa the carpet man has been calling faithfully twice a year for almost 10 yrs. Some of my favorite charities are not as dependable as Mustafa :)

[homeschoolmama]

I had a merchqnt literqlly chqse me down the street for about 8 blocks while I was screaming for police...he would not take no either for the rug or the sexual advances....was very scary.....that being said I did buy from another merchant and love the rug even 30 years later.

 

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[Roxburgh]

We actually had a very good experience with the purchase of rugs in Turkey. However I am very sympathetic to those who are being harassed by aggressive merchants. We bought lovely rugs in Bodrum while on a land-based trip, and gave out our contact info. Periodically we receive polite phone calls from the same merchant who comes to the States regularly, as he told us he would when we bought the rugs. We simply say "No thank you," and don't hear again for 6 or 12 months. I wish that calls from home remodeling contractors and political campaigners were less frequent! But still, I am sorry for your bad experience, and agree that you should reach out to Seabourn to see what they have to say.

 

We have bought two rugs in Turkey (over a 30 year period) and are very happy with both. We are friendly with the people who run our local oriental rug store (and have bought from them in the past) and they reckon we got a very good price for both.

 

We did get follow up calls for a couple of years and then nothing.

[ddpe]

This is not from Seabourn. We went to Kusadasi on Azamara and receive the same call every year after the big show at the Atlanta Mart (for retailers). He has come by and showed us lots of carpets from his truck. I did not buy anything, because there are better prices and rugs locally. But, don't mind the once a year call. It sure beats "this is credit card services" calls I get all the time or the fake Microsoft support calls.

[duquephart]

On 2/26/2015 at 3:52 AM, secoma4 said:

The cruise ships are required to provide passenger lists, which include passport details, to the port authorities ie Customs. People within these organizations, the n association with traders, can be very resourceful!

 

You know this how?

[Hlitner]

I often put on my "skeptic hat" and that is the case with this situation.  We have often posted that the Turks are wonderful entrepreneurs and this sounds like a scheme I heard about during a land trip in Western Europe.  So, lets do some speculation.  You go to a "rug factory" in Turkey, as part of an excursion.  Most already understand that when a tour compoany takes you to a store/factory, it is likely they are getting a kick-back on sales (or possibly own the store).  Nothing wrong with the practice, but be aware that you may not be getting the best deal because of the extra involved costs (i.e. paying the tour company, cruise line, etc)>

 

Now, assume that the carpet place sells your information to another "entreprenaur" that is affiliated with a carpet store located in your home country (i.e. USA).  You are then contacted and encouraged to let them try to sell you more products (such as carpets).  They will come to your home or perhaps arrange to meet you at a hotel suite, store, etc.  The odds are that the merchant dealing with you in the USA has no real connection to the merchant you met in Turkey (or elsewhere) but they have simply purchased your information and see you as a "mark" for some business.   I might mention that on the so-called "dark web"  (accessed through a TOR browser on the Internet) one can purchase all kinds of marketing lists, credit card info, social security numbers, etc.  Just about anything you can imagine is for sale.

 

As always, "let the buyer beware."

 

Hank

[Redtravel]

Got call yesterday. Thought it was strange.  Bought rug in Turkey 15 years ago.

[Hlitner]

5 hours ago, Redtravel said:

Got call yesterday. Thought it was strange.  Bought rug in Turkey 15 years ago.

15 years, WOW!  Like I said in my post, shops are able to sell mailing lists and the buyers (who resell on the dark web) would have no clue as to the age of the information.  My advice, to folks who do not want this kind of marketing is not to give out your info (name, e-mail, address) to merchants or excursion guides.   Folks need to understand that their personal info has value...to merchants.

 

Hank

[Sir PMP]

On 2/24/2015 at 9:59 PM, Windstar27 said:

This afternoon I received a phone call from a woman who claimed to be affiliated with the carpet store in Kusadasi where many Seabourn tours conclude.

 

She asked for me by name, and said I "might remember her" because I had visited the shop with other passengers last summer (July, in our case).

 

She told me that the shop had brought some carpets to New York City for a showing and didn't sell them all. Rather than carry them back to Turkey, they were contacting past visitors to see if we might want a "private showing" of rugs in our homes (!!) I told her their carpets were lovely, but we didn't need one.

 

Did anyone else get this call? It is bizarre on several levels:

 

We attended the carpet-making demonstration, but did not buy anything.

We never gave them our home phone number.

We live 2 hours from New York.

Were they really going to schlep a truck full of rugs to my house?

 

I can only assume that Seabourn gave (or sold) my home phone number to them. Any thoughts on this?

Remember that you have relatives in Nigeria.