Illustration by Tabi Walters
How far will newspapers go to earn online revenue? Pretty far, judging from the ads that follow articles on MLive.com: “Major Investors Are Buying This ‘Unlisted’ Stock” is really an ad for vacation time-shares, while “Costco Shoppers Say This Fat-Burning Patch Triggers Weight Loss ‘Unlike Any Other’” promotes a “GLP patch” that doesn’t actually contain the coveted weight-loss drug.
But what could be more reassuring than a charming old lady giving a friendly wave from the “You Might Also Like” section in September? Tucked among links to an article about a death in the Upper Peninsula, a Dear Abby column, and MLive’s own “Labor Day Sale” for online subscriptions, it announced, “Joan Closes Her Ann Arbor Bag Store After 39 years.”
A click led to a touching story: “What started as a quiet dream in a cozy corner of town has grown into a beloved destination for those who appreciate slow fashion, artisanal quality, and the story behind every stitch. Each piece in this shop is personally handcrafted by me, Joan,” it promised.
A photo showed a quaint wooden storefront and another link to listings for “10,000+ Handcrafted Bags. Each one stitched with love and care”—and now on sale at “80 percent off.”
The Observer has covered Ann Arbor retail for thirty-nine years and no one recalls a “Joan’s Bags” here. Nor, it seems, was it ever in business in Detroit; New Orleans; Littleton, Colorado; Spruce Pine, North Carolina; or Gloucester, Massachusetts.
All those locations were reported—and debunked—in comments on a skeptical video by YouTube creator “SkillSculptor.” Some posters said they’d been shown the same ad on Facebook and Apple News. One said they’d placed an order with the purportedly local business, only to have it arrive from Hong Kong.
Related: A Scammer Operating in Plain Sight
“The images are created by AI, and Joan’s story sounds very much like they asked AI to create an emotional story that would appeal to people to make them buy,” wrote @lokahirose. If true, that would explain the many other similar websites reported in the comments: “It was Karen’s bags before,” wrote @patriciasmyth4325. “Bags are plastic (polyurethane, I think) and small. … Saw one bag selling for $44 at Karen’s priced at $12 at Walmart.”
By mid-month, “Joan” was no longer waving at MLive readers, but other too-good-to-be-true bargains were following a reporter around the internet: “James Andrews” was closing his men’s handbag boutique. “Ranch and Row” was “Unfortunately … closing the Patriotic Panama Straw Hat and Fedora Collection.” And “Dorothy Bags” was advertising its “Farewell Sale—Up To 80% Off Before We Close Forever.”
This type of add has been pretty common since the beginning of the year. The same “forced to close” and “pillar of the community” story. The only thing that varies is the product, almost always a drop-shipped item that is a far cry from the displayed picture. I was super curious how big of a rip-off they were and used a temporary digital card to purchase from one for shipment to a rented mailbox. This one was “high quality shirts with hand-stitched lettering”. I was shocked that something actually showed up – it looked nothing like the photo: made out of a cheap shiny material and the phrase was just a cheap cricut iron-on. I reached out about the deviation and got an immediate reply saying I could either take a refund for 30% of what I paid and keep the shirt or pay for shipping the return and get the full amount when they received the shirt back in “original condition”. I chose the former since I was sure there would be conflict with the condition of the product no matter what. They processed the return pretty quickly, but also a few weeks later, random attempts at various charges to the temporary card started to pop up. I deleted the card after the fourth attempt.