Over 100 families from NY, NJ paid top dollar for game consoles that never arrived

It was a disappointing holiday season for more than 100 families in New York and New Jersey who paid top dollar for video game systems that never arrived.

News 12 Staff

Jan 21, 2021, 7:24 PM

Updated 1,410 days ago

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It was a disappointing holiday season for more than 100 families in New York and New Jersey who paid top dollar for video game systems that never arrived.
The Rios family really enjoys gaming. In August, 10-year-old Aiden Rios even began saving for the new PlayStation 5.
“Every day before Christmas, I would go up to my room, talk to my little brother about it. Talking like, ‘Oh, I can’t wait to get this,’” Aiden says.
The PS5 is currently one of the hardest gaming systems to find. But Aiden’s mother Linette Rios says that a company called Prestigious Marketing Concepts said that it had the systems available. She placed an order in early November, but the console never arrived.
“I just kept getting the runaround. It was coming, it was in a warehouse sitting around somewhere. Then I’d get, ‘They’re coming in daily,’ and nothing,” she says.
By Christmas, Linette had to break the bad news.
“That day my mom told me that it wasn’t coming. I just got my heart broken,” Aiden says.
“It was a terrible day. It was terrible. It was worse for me, I think. I think he took it – he took it a little bit easier,” Linette says.
The Rios family is not alone. At least 100 families in New York and New Jersey appear to have ordered gaming consoles from Prestigious Marketing Concepts that did not arrive. Some paid above retail price, plus expediting fees to ensure they’d have them before Christmas. Several have now filed police reports.
“There’s so many different stories, we just don’t know who to believe anymore,” says Michael Lombardi, who also ordered a console.
An attorney for Prestigious Marketing Concepts says in a statement, “We are aware that a number of individuals have purchased electronic equipment and to date said items have not been delivered. [The owner] is working diligently to deliver the items…or provide a refund.”
The Better Business Bureau says that it is not aware of Prestigious Marketing Concepts, but says that it gets a lot of complaints about video game systems that don’t arrive. It warns customers to be aware.
“Do your research. If the big boxes are sold out of it, what is the likelihood that some lesser, smaller company is going to have the stock of that item?” says the BBB’s Melissa Companick.