Bad Purchase

[uforgot]

I made a purchase on here from a TE member. I paid through paypal, but it wasn't by credit card. After a couple of weeks I emailed the person and asked where my purchase was. Well, she had moved, couldn't get to the post office, computer was locked in her trunk, etc. I told her I would give her another week. A week went by so I made a claim through paypal. She then told me that she couldn't ship to a PO Box, so could I please send an address and she would ship UPS. Another 10 days so I escalated my claim through Paypal. 10 more days and she did not respond so Paypal decided the claim in my favor but guess what? They could not recover the funds from her account. Big surprise. She hasn't been on here since Nov. 4th either. Never thought I would be posting this sort of thing here about another member, and I'm out of ideas. Only $35, but I'm not feeling particularly nice about it.:(

[songlady]

I'm so sorry to hear that! It's a shame that we can't trust fellow TE'ers!

[Trek420]

I'm really sorry about this. Other than AV jerseys and buffs I've never purchased anything from a TE'er. KnottedYet bought a bike, her Waterford and that went smoothly.

I would never respond to an offer from a TE'er on their first post but once established tend to trust the group. It's a shame this happened at any cost.

[KnottedYet]

I've bought a lot of stuff from TEers, but only ones I "know."

(I will love Limewave forever for selling me her beautiful Waterford!)

[Blueberry]

I agree - that sucks! I've purchased from TE'ers (and given away/sold a couple of things), but they were either AV buffs or folks I knew. I've also had one very nice TE'er send me some capris for free (they didn't fit and she had worn them).

Grrr.....

[sandra]

That does suck. I hate it happened to you. Careful warning to not purchase from anyone that is new or only has 14 posts! I'm just thankful it was not something big like a bike!

[Starfish]

I, too, have had several good experiences, both buying & selling. I think looking to see how long they've been around, and how active, might be a good idea, though.

[uforgot]

Yup, if it had been a mixte you would have gone to NM, climbed the mountain and gotten it for me, wouldn't you!!!!:eek:

[sandra]

Yup, if it had been a mixte you would have gone to NM, climbed the mountain and gotten it for me, wouldn't you!!!!:eek:
ABSOLUTELY!

[uforgot]

ABSOLUTELY!

Remember, though, you couldn't RIDE it down, so you would have to carry it. Or so I was told...

[sandra]

Maybe I can get someone to haul it down for me. Lots of gravel roads. If I can borrow a computer, I'll email you and let you know. :D

[uforgot]

Make sure you ONLY email. No going to any other sites or I will lock the computer in the trunk and disable any latches.

I've had about $5 worth of fun with this. Only $30 more to go!

[Trek420]

Remember, though, you couldn't RIDE it down, so you would have to carry it. Or so I was told...

The mixte should be fine downhill, uphill could be a problem though.

You want I should have someone go kick some shins? ;)

[uforgot]

The mixte should be fine downhill, uphill could be a problem though.

You want I should have someone go kick some shins? ;)

I guess I should explain. She told me she couldn't get to the post office because she didn't have a car. I replied that she was on a biking board, couldn't she ride a bike? Well, no, she lived on a mountain with gravel roads, and actually Sandra seems to remember all of the excuses better than I do.
They were all insane.

So, sure, go kick some shins!

[sandra]

She couldn't email about the purchase because her computer was in a locked trunk that could not be unlocked. Someone let her use a computer, but she had strict orders to ONLY check her email.

More flimsy excuses that I could have ever dreamed up except that when it was reported to paypal she seemed to have immediate computer access.

I just hate it for Claudia. :mad:

[Trek420]

Well, no, she lived on a mountain with gravel roads......
So, sure, go kick some shins!

Oh right, because we all know that bikes can't go on gravel roads so we'll believe that.

She doesn't have a car.

The computer is locked in the car. Hmmmmmmm

There are no roads yet there is internet access .... sometimes.

Hmmm, ya know I think I dated her once. ;) :rolleyes:

Knott? Get your Doc Martens on :mad: That way Knott can be the tall imposing redhead and then you gets to worry about the 5'.05" (just found out I shrunk) Nidan. Though I did take a vow to use my powers for good not evil. So .... I hope you get the money back.

Are we up to $5.50 worth of fun yet?

[sandra]

Actually I think she is being held hostage. :eek:

[Trek420]

Actually I think she is being held hostage. :eek:

spewing tea on the monitor :p that statement .... your avatar ..... so funny.

Rally our TE posse, we must send money to pay the ransom!

[sandra]

Make sure you ONLY email. No going to any other sites or I will lock the computer in the trunk and disable any latches.

I've had about $5 worth of fun with this. Only $30 more to go!
Are we up to $10 worth yet? :D

[sandra]

<--------my avatar looks like this -----------> :eek: :cool:

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

<--------my avatar looks like this -----------> :eek: :cool:

OMG, too funny!

[Trek420]

<--------my avatar looks like this -----------> :eek: :cool:

That of course is a photo of you at the instant you'd been crowned Miss Puerto Rico despite the pepper spray in your gown and make up (hence the shades). ;) :rolleyes:

$9.78 worth of fun. Lost fun worrying, "hey, maybe she HAS been kidnapped" :rolleyes:

[uforgot]

We are definitely up to $10! Maybe even $10.49.

[Trek420]

Do I hear $10.50? $10.50 for this tale of caution and woe. $10.50 for all our loss of innocence and trust of TE gals. (hey, maybe she was a guy?).

[Eden]

urk, there were enough clues that I couldn't help myself.....
I know who it was :rolleyes:

[KnottedYet]

Do tell!!!!! (pm to protect the guilty)

[Trek420]

Is it gossip if it's pm'd? And what was the clue? Who's been AWOL since November? Who lives on a mountain with a gravel road? Who leaves their computer in the trunk?

Elementary Dear Watson :cool:

[madscot13]

gadzooks I have been away too long. all of these clues and I have no idea. but I am so innocent and trusting!

[Velobambina]

Claudia - I'm sorry to hear about your experience. If that person posts a "for sale" again, could you please let the moderators know who it is so no one else gets cheated?

[uforgot]

Do I hear $10.50? $10.50 for this tale of caution and woe. $10.50 for all our loss of innocence and trust of TE gals. (hey, maybe she was a guy?).

Sorry, I can't say $10.50 until I get some more one-liners.:D

I can't imagine that she would come back here after this thread, unless she changed her user id.

[Tuckervill]

How do you know it was a "she"??

I'm always suspicious when I see a FS from someone I've never seen on the board before. Sorry you were scammed.

Just a little warning of a scam that happened to us this week. A couple of charges came through our bank account--on first look you wouldn't notice them since they were both less than $11, but I keep a tight watch and I didn't recognize them. But look out for these charges: to DGEN for 8.99 and to MV Web Templates for around $10.65 (sometimes it's $12.99).

Total scam and there's no way to tell how they got my CC number. Big hassle getting a new card. They've hit thousands of people, just judging from the number of posts on a few 800# message boards There is no common thread. I personally think it's a leak in paypal, but I would love to be corrected.

So, be careful out there!

Karen

[uforgot]

She had posted on here several times. I read her posts and it seemed okay. She had also sold once before on TE. Unless her first name was an alias, it was a she. Glad you caught those charges right away! I always check my accounts too.

[Triskeliongirl]

So why can't you out her? I see nothing wrong with posting the identity. I will add that while it is a shame when this happens, this is the WWW so we can't restrict who visits here. I have bought and sold on TE, but as others have said, only to folks I feel I have gotten to know, or in one case it was a new poster so I asked her to email me her ebay user ID so I could check her feedback and I did the same. But, we all must know that it is riskier to buy out of paypal. I also make a point of publicly thanking someone that I bought from on TE, or giving the names of others I have sold to on TE, if the purchaser wants to check up on me.

[KnottedYet]

I offer Trek up as collateral when I buy off TE. I'm sure she doesn't mind... :D ;)

[Skierchickie]

I wonder if there is any good solution to this issue? I mean a kind, gentle, TE kind of solution. Outing people seems so cold, and yet, how else can people know if there is a problem? Personally, I've been meaning to list a Butterfly TI saddle here one of these days, but I'm relatively new, with relatively few posts, and I wouldn't say I really "know" anybody (or, more specifically, that anybody here really "knows" me). So why trust me? And, after reading a couple of the threads, how can I feel safe as a seller? I'd be pretty upset if I bought something and got ripped off by somebody who had done the same to somebody else, and was a known problem. I suppose the seller is in the safer position.

One thing I am thinking is that a person isn't necessarily evil just because they haven't been here long, or posted many times. Personally, I lurk here far more than I log in, and don't post all that frequently. Frankly, I have a lot of other things I should be doing, too, and I'm not always checking the threads (although my DH seems to think I am :rolleyes: ). Although, I do agree that I wouldn't buy from (or sell to) anyone I've never seen here before.

I think Ebay's feedback system is a great thing - we've never been scammed yet, but it is probably complicated to implement. The thought of a separate thread where people could post names of people who they've had a bad experience with seems way icky. And would drive people away. And isn't kind OR gentle. By the way, having a buyer/seller post their Ebay ID is a good idea, but how do you know they won't just pick somebody else's ID, with a nice, clean record? If I were a scammer (and I SWEAR I am not!) I wouldn't think twice about doing something like that.

Just my 2 cents (and, I apologize, not 2 cents that will add to the fun total). :(

[Tuckervill]

Yes, I think a feedback system for here is bad idea, and is a departure from what this forum is really for. Lots of forums like this one don't allow any kind of buying and selling, and TE is really giving us a gift to be able to access a market so specialized as this one. I wouldn't want further development of that function of the forum to take away from all the good stuff that goes on here.

I think caveat emptor is the best policy, and it should be up to each involved party to decide how to proceed when something goes wrong. There's nothing that says the person doing the selling can't come to this thread and defend herself. That happened on a similar thread--I'm happy that the two people involved did not let it escalate to forum destruction! Those kinds of things can be so touchy, and I have seen entire forums imploded over personal vendettas that started with simple differences of opinion.

I just want to say thanks to Susan and TE for hosting the forum in the first place. It literally has changed my life.

Karen

[Trek420]

I offer Trek up as collateral when I buy off TE. I'm sure she doesn't mind... :D ;)

Uhm, dear, you what? :eek: :rolleyes: :cool: :p

[Triskeliongirl]

So far for me what has worked is to ask the seller for their ebay seller ID. I give them mine, and then we both only use the paypal accounts and confirmed addresses linked to that ebay seller ID. I also offer names of folks on TE that I have sold to. I also don't sell big ticket items here. You do get what you pay for. We sell to each other off ebay, knowing there is a risk. Another way to go is to list the item on ebay, and post the link here. That works too, but then we need to pay the ebay seller fees.

[mountainchick]

I got a bike off here from Kitsune...so if anyone wants to buy off of her in the future I give it a big thumbs up! :) I just wanted to give my experience here.

[TriMom217]

Something like this happened on another forum that I frequent only it was a much more expensive item, a complete bike. The seller had all the usual excuses, much like yours. Well, some local posters took matters into their own hands and paid her a visit. They retrieved the bike and shipped it to it's new and rightful owner, at their own cost.

Ahhhh....the power of the internet!

anyhow, I hope you get your item.

[VeloVT]

Something like this happened on another forum that I frequent only it was a much more expensive item, a complete bike. The seller had all the usual excuses, much like yours. Well, some local posters took matters into their own hands and paid her a visit. They retrieved the bike and shipped it to it's new and rightful owner, at their own cost.



While I certainly appreciate the poetic justice of this approach :p , it also strikes me as vigilante justice and as such a little beyond the pale :D .

All the same, it really sucks that someone would do something like this. It's always hard to accept that others are dishonest.

Sorry it happened.

[sandra]

Something like this happened on another forum that I frequent only it was a much more expensive item, a complete bike. The seller had all the usual excuses, much like yours. Well, some local posters took matters into their own hands and paid her a visit. They retrieved the bike and shipped it to it's new and rightful owner, at their own cost.

Ahhhh....the power of the internet!

anyhow, I hope you get your item.

Wait one minute, was she on top of a mountain? with gravel roads down? :eek:

[fastdogs]

[QUOTE=TriMom217;269275]Something like this happened on another forum that I frequent only it was a much more expensive item, a complete bike. The seller had all the usual excuses, much like yours. Well, some local posters took matters into their own hands and paid her a visit. They retrieved the bike and shipped it to it's new and rightful owner, at their own cost.


I like that! Good for them- that person will maybe think twice before scamming someone again. However, knowing how those people work sometimes, it's lucky the bike even existed.

vickie

[uforgot]

Who's up for a TE vacation/knicker recovery trip to New Mexico?

[uforgot]

Wait one minute, was she on top of a mountain? with gravel roads down? :eek:

And I bet it wasn't locked in the trunk of her car either. And she probably wasn't a prisoner of the person lending her a computer. (For email ONLY)
Maybe it should be a rescue trip????

[Trek420]

She doesn't have internet access, only e-mail. Yep, that makes a whole lot of sense. Methinks the damsel in distress inhaled too many fumes whilst locked in the trunk.

Saddle up gals, we must rescue her. :D Road trip :D

[crazycanuck]

Giddyup! Hi Ho Ranger..(insert lone ranger music)

TE gals always get thier man..oh hang on..wrong series..Te Gals always get thier stuff..

Sending air slaps to the evil person..:mad:

C

[madscot13]

Not to give another excuse, or but in where my .02 doesn;t belong, but I know with a lot of work computers it is only intranet. that means only email so that the employees don't goof off to much.

[mountainchick]

My Nov/Dec SS was in NM...I hope it's not her! I wouldn't wanted to have spent all that money on someone who scammed another lady on here!

[teigyr]

I can't believe someone did that. The stories are so funny too! Even if certain internet things are restricted, there are internet cafes, right? And she DID post here at TE.

How long is the gravel road? I used to live on a dirt road that I could ride on (on my mtn bike) or walk my road bike. I used to carry my bike when there was snow. Our road as about a mile but it wasn't too bad.

I like NM.

Hey, wait. Is she anywhere near ROSWELL?? Maybe there are explanations beyond our comprehension though I want to believe :rolleyes:

[Trek420]

Not to give another excuse, or but in where my .02 doesn;t belong, but I know with a lot of work computers it is only intranet. that means only email so that the employees don't goof off to much.

Hey, I'm at work and goofing off right now :D

Most companies give you time access for simple things like e-mail, booking a flight. I can't go online while I'm actualy working but can log on at lunch or a break. I.M. is a big no no, and many sites are blocked like I can't surf e-bay but can get on Craigs. Go figure.

But if she knew this order was going on one would think she's make arrangements....unless she was locked in a trunk :cool:

Life happens and sometimes things get crazed but one would expect an explanation of the delay.

[snowtulip]

Hey... I live in NM, you can all stay with me!:D ...or I could get it myself (although I am small, I pack a lot of energy). So how many visitors should I count on?

[uforgot]

Not to give another excuse, or but in where my .02 doesn;t belong, but I know with a lot of work computers it is only intranet. that means only email so that the employees don't goof off to much.

She said she was using a friend's computer and he told her she could only check her email, not visit any websites, but she was going to see if he would take her to the PO sometime during the week. That's where Sandra got the kidnapped idea. Maybe we could form a TE rescue misson!

[mimitabby]

wow. I thought the person that we are all talking about posted HER SIDE to the story? or is this yet another transaction gone south?
(sorry for the aspersion, Sandra)

correction; this IS another transaction. what a bummer! I wanna know too!

[divingbiker]

(there are enough clues in this thread to figure it out...)

[kelownagirl]

Yup.

[Trek420]

correction; this IS another transaction. what a bummer! I wanna know too!

The same person bought from the same person again? I'm clueless as usual.

[kelownagirl]

No. Uforgot bought from a newish TE'er and did not receive her article. Cannot contact the person to get her money back either, despite many attempts and many excuses...

[Velobambina]

The first one was solved very amicably. It was due to miscommunication--my assumption of no return, which I should have clearlystated in my FS post. Lesson learned

This is one an entirely different situation. Poor Claudia. Circumstances aside, why would anyone post anything FS if they didn't have the ability to follow through?

[mimitabby]

there are lots of people that can't get it together long enough to take a walk to the post office. I'm only saying that on the premise that we're assuming the person meant well originally.

I met a curious person here on TE myself. She posted a few times from Holland and wanted someone to buy her a buff. I could never figure out why she couldn't pay herself, but what the heck...So I volunteered. She sent me enough euros to cover it, and I bought it for her and mailed it. then she wanted another buff, so we did the same thing.
I didn't mind getting the euros, i use them on my trips to Italy. she sent them 1 envelope with one 20 euro bill in it at a time. She wrote me some nice emails, it all seemed pretty reasonable.
Then after all the bills and packages went through the mail okay, she wrote me again. It seems she wanted to rebuild a bike and wanted to buy american parts.
She wanted bank account numbers!!!!!! I said, sorry, you can't have that.
and i never heard from "her" again.
It was so odd.

[IFjane]

I have just read this whole thread through and I am so sorry this happened to a fellow TE'r. I am clueless as to who this person is (was?) but hope she never shows her face here again. What a rotten thing to do!

[Starfish]

(there are enough clues in this thread to figure it out...)

Apparently I am an idiot! :rolleyes: :D

I am dying to know who it is...not because I care who it is, but because I now feel so dumb for not being able to figure it out. :o

[fastdogs]

me too, starfish, I don't think I read enough of the right posts to get it yet. There was something about pepper spray, so I went back and read the dog chasings posts, but still didn't get it.
If uforgot wants to put together a posse to bust some heads, though, I'm in.
If whoever it is no longer has the item, or for whatever reason cannot ship it, they need to be refunding some money.
vickie

[Pedal Wench]

Go back in the For Sale forum, and find the one that mentions New Mexico in the first sentence... I guess that's the one, right?

[GLC1968]

If you want to figure out who it was, go back in the FS forum and look for items for about $35. That'll get you there.

I've never had any interaction with that person, but I'm sorry you got took, Uforgot!

[mimitabby]

it's not someone that posts a lot. I didn't even recognize her name.

[fastdogs]

ok, I got it. I didn't have the threads going back far enough.
vickie

[IFjane]

Found it - never heard of her/him/it....:mad:

[Trek420]

If you want to figure out who it was, go back in the FS forum and look for items for about $35. That'll get you there.

I've never had any interaction with that person, but I'm sorry you got took, Uforgot!

Hint #2 is somewhere it's mentioned the number of times she posted so click on members list, scroll through the pages of people registered but never posted, find the person who's posted that many times ... and dissapeared at about that time .... and their posts were all on the FS thread .....

But this is not to "out" anyone, she might really be locked in a trunk :eek: just be careful out there :cool:

Are we up to $10.75 worth of fun?

[Velobambina]

I had to search on "$35 New Mexico" to find it. LOL.

Never heard of her, either. Thank goodness no one else got sucked in. She was selling a lot of stuff.

[lph]

okaaay... here comes the party pooper... :rolleyes:

I'm a bit uncomfortable with this whole discussion. I'm really sorry this happened to you, uforgot, and I surely understand why you're pissed off, but I wish we could just leave it at that. I glanced at the other posts by this person, and he/she sounded like a legit cyclist, and I can't help feeling that maybe something stupid happened, and she got stuck making bad excuses.

Some of my family are the "lost in space"-types who mean well but are TERRIBLE at keeping appointments (one of them even does live up in the woods with no internet access), so I keep thinking she might just be really really ditsy, maybe very young? but not necessarily a terrible person.

[Grog]

Thanks LPH...

[fastdogs]

Regardless of circumstances, the person needs to refund the money, or at least communicate. That is not too much to ask.
vickie

[GLC1968]

LPH - I kind of thought the same thing since even her original post seemed to indicate that she anticipated some trouble shipping things.

That said, the transaction did take place all the way back in October and additionally, it's been over a month since she last posted here. If she couldn't get it shipped out by now, she could at least have returned the money....or emailed Uforgot.

[Grog]

I agree that it's a transaction that turned badly, and I feel badly for UForgot, and I also think (of course!) that the original seller should right the wrongs.

All of us will be warned not to make cash purchases from people we don't know very well, but to pay through credit card paypal instead so the charge can be reversed if the transaction goes bad.

Can we leave it at that now? I hate to interrupt the accumulation of "fun" but I don't like collective attacks, especially when the other party is not there to defend herself.

[silver]

I really don't want to extand the discussion but I do have a question.....I also thought that if you used paypal that you were ok, that you could get your money back. But I thought that uforgot did that and it was ruled in her favor, BUT that she STILL was not able to get her money because there was no money in the seller's account.

This definately challanges my confidence in safety net of using paypal for such transactions.

Is this true, you still didn't get your money back? I think this is good information for us to know.

I know I had to challange a transaction this fall, but the seller did come through, just two weeks delayed. I put a challange into paypal and they were examing it. But the seller sent the items and apologized for the delay.

[GLC1968]

Silver -

It's true...if the seller pulls the money from the account, the buyer cannot get it back.

From the other side of it: My husband sold a laptop on ebay using paypal. He received the money from the buyer in his paypal account, so he boxed the laptop up and dropped it off at our local FedEx place. He then sent an email to the buyer with the tracking #. That same evening, he got an email from either ebay or paypal (I forget which) telling him that that the buyer was under investigation for something. My huband quickly checked is paypal account, and sure enough...the money the guy had sent had been pulled out! AFTER he got the tracking #! My husband immediately called the FedEx place and the driver had not yet picked up the package for shipment, so he was able to get it back. He would have just sent a laptop to some guy for free. :eek:

Now, when he sells a big ticket item, he tells the seller that he won't ship until the payment CLEARS paypal (and he moves the $ to our bank account). It protects the seller...but yes, it can make a buyer nervous.

I don't know how this is different if a person uses a credit card through paypal. In the above case, it was a cash transaction.

[uforgot]

No, I did not get my money back. If I had used a credit card through paypal I could have taken the issue up with my cc company. I had paypal funds, so I used those. If the seller doesn't have anything in their account, or closes it, then they can't recover the funds. They indicated that there was some kind of alert on her account so if funds ever do become available, they will credit my account.

I think that from now on I'll use a credit card, double protection, or single if you consider that paypal said "okay, you win, you can have your money back. Oops! No money there and nothing we can do about it!"

[smilingcat]

Well I may be out of $$. Paid through paypal. Looking at the user agreement, Paypal makes it look like you are protected to $200 for basic and $2000 for premium whatever. But there is a section that says and in one lone sentence, "the fund must be available in the sellers account."

So the $200 protection or the $2,000 protection is totally meaningless and misleading. They do go to great extent when its $200 or $2000. If the fund isn't in the seller's account, too bad.

Well, the guy I purchased the item had 135 points with 98% rating. Then I find that he has several really bad negatives. how did he get the 98%?? I'm not sure how they calculated the percentages.

Bad day all around... getting honked at by an irate driver because I don't mash the gas pedal to the floor on the highway transition. And again on the surface street when the light turned green... Don't they know its not a race.

just coming to realization that I been ripped off by more than $100...

Sorry to steal the thread from uforgot.

so if you are e-bay seller make sure high $$ item has insurance and tracking number pay out of your own pocket even if you have to. and for the buyer, not sure what you can do???

not so smilingcat

[uforgot]

Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry. That is quite a bit to lose! As for the 98&#37;, I figure for every negative, there are three people who were unhappy but didn't want retaliatory feedback. Personally, I wouldn't bid on something over $10 if someone had 98%. Since 1998, the only time I wasn't careful was on the item this thread is about. I have 908 fb comments, and I have never been "taken" on ebay. Here are my personal rules.

1. On big ticket stuff, I try to stay at 99.8% and above. I read all feedback first. So far, I have not had any problems on ebay.
2. If he has any problems as a seller, I may buy something if it's not expensive, and it wouldn't be a problem if the deal fell through. Sometimes they have bad feedback because they only had 50 transactions and didn't pay for one as a buyer. Or their product is good, but shipping is slow. Make sure you read those comments.
3. If they leave nasty comments in feedback to others I pass. Sometimes a seller sincerely tries to make it right, and you can tell.
4. If they come across in their auction description as nasty and rude I pass. You know, things like "Don't bother bidding if you can't pay", etc.
5. Look at the pics. You can tell if someone takes care of their stuff or not. One time I saw an ad for a couch and there was laundry and toys all over it. Or you will see a bike in a garage and there is crap all around. I don't go there.
6. Use a credit card. I know I learned this one from Sandra when she bought her last mixte. She doubly protected herself and I thought, "now THAT'S a good idea".

Why don't you check with your Post Office to see if you can do something about it as mail fraud? I also think that if the seller has buyer protection, (mine didn't, something else I would check for on big ticket items) paypal will refund the money from their own pockets.

Of course, it's kind of laughable that I'm giving advice when I'm the one that started this thread!:rolleyes:

As for the highjack, I kind of like this thread turning to online buying safety. That's really helpful to others. I honestly let my guard down because it was TE, but you know what? I will still continue to trust, whereas I don't on ebay. I've made several purchases on the TE for sale thread, and all (but one) were good.

[DeniseGoldberg]

...I kind of like this thread turning to online buying safety. That's really helpful to others. I honestly let my guard down because it was TE, but you know what? I will still continue to trust, whereas I don't on ebay. I've made several purchases on the TE for sale thread, and all (but one) were good.
I wonder if it would be worth adding a feedback thread for items sold here in the forum.

I participate in a photography forum that has a sticky thread in the Flea Market / Sales area of the forum titled "Positive Feedback Thread (post/search here)". It's for posting positives, not negatives. Take a look at the explanation and see if you think something like this might help here too: http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=7739. The postings there show feedback from (and for) both the seller and the buyer.

--- Denise

[Velobambina]

Denise's idea is a good one. Positives only.

[uforgot]

Found her. I am relentless. She has a new blog so I mailed her and here was her reply: I took out any info that may identify her.

Just to make things clear, I didn't intentionally rip you off. Rather, I have not been able to pay you back because I was scammed. My 401K is gone, my checking account is about negative $1000 dollars, my savings is gone, and my Visa card is maxed out (and then some, but we won't go there).

If you'd like to think I'm a thief that's fine, but believe me, I didn't spend 42 hours bussing back to ****** after cleaning houses to earn the money for a ticket, to move back in with my parents for giggles. And most of my stuff is still in ******* - I made it back with one suitcase of clothing.

You know, there's a way for you to view the account information and see that you are the first and only person who has had a problem with me in the 5 years I've had the account.

I understand you're upset; I hate the fact that I couldn't get you taken care of, I hate the fact that the person who was supposed to help me get you taken care of is the same person who ripped me off (and yes, we're talking going in my purse and taking my Visa card out of my wallet kind of ripped off).

In spite of what you might think, I would honestly love to get the $35 back to you. I'm not sure if PayPal refunded it to you already and I'm in debt to them, or if I'm in direct debt to you, but I will see if I can get my parents to help me resolve this.

However, as obviously frustrated as we both are by the situation and what happened, I will state, very frankly, that I don't sppreciate being Googled and then called a thief.

SHE doesn't appreciate being googled??? I guess not, since I can still find and contact her. Paypal says they are still working on it, but I wonder if there is anything else I can do since I know her name and where she lives?!?!?!

[mimitabby]

take her to small claims court.

good for you for tracking her down. It's always someone else's fault, isn't it?

[teigyr]

Excellent use of the internet :D

Y'know, small claims isn't a bad idea.

So in her blog, does she mention all these unfortunate events? ie does what she say happened appear to have happened?

[uforgot]

In her blog she mentions only that her computer had problems, she just got an ipod and oh, she has two digital cameras. I like the small claims court idea. Can you do it state to state? You can tell I've never had anything that I would need a small claims court for!

[sandra]

I had no idea. I was just thinking that Claudia was going to have to let it go and let karma get her. She's 23 years old and probably thought she could get away with it. I never have dealt with this or anything like small claims court!

Not only does she have cameras and an ipod, she works with the following: Photoshop/Image Ready 7, Apophysis, Panasonic Lumix FZ7, Epson flatbed, Intuos3 tablet.

And she KNITS and maintains websites.

But the poor girl doesn't have $35 to replay Claudia. :mad:

[mimitabby]

you probably have to do it in her state. I'm sure there's online info about it.

[uforgot]

It's not really about the money anymore. I may spend $200 to travel to her state to recover $35, but think of the fun!

I'm picturing it...K.K., me and Judge Judy. K.K. starts in..."but my computer was locked in the car and I was being held hostage..." and Judy goes "Did you or did you not take this woman's $35????" I wonder if I can get on TV??? I need to find that face souffle pretty quick, and lose 25 lbs. Yeah, this could be fun. Sandra, do you want to stand next to me as my witness? You'll need to just answer the questions because you know how Judge Judy gets when a witness embellishes. I've seen the show maybe twice, so I'm kind of an expert...

[sandra]

Not I. I'm shy.

And I hear you look bigger on TV, so I better pass. :D

[Zen]

Judge Judy would tell her "don't pee on my foot and tell me it's raining".
I'm more of a Joe Brown fan.

[tulip]

She should make it right for Uforgot. No more friggin excuses. Time to grow up and take responsibility. This would be a good place to start.

[bmccasland]

Poor starving chickie could sell the I-Pod and one (or both) of the digital cameras, and any other extraneous stuff. Despite what some people think, you don't NEED an I-pod or most other electronic devices to live.

Yes, it's time for chickie to wake up, smell the coffee, take responsibility for her actions, and pay Uforgot back. And if that means selling stuff, so be it. Let this be one of Life's Lessons. Sometimes bad things happen that we have no control over, like being "down sized" out of a job (I have been, twice). But it's what we do with the circumstances, and making decent responsible choices, is what's important.

I better stop before I start sounding like an old phart, or worse, like my mother.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I doubt anything is going to get your $35. You certainly are not going to "reform" her in any way, and she obviously does not feel very guilty about it. Worse, she now sees you as persecuting/stalking her. She really believes she has good reason for her behavior. This is not going to change.
There comes a time when the struggle causes you way more of your valuable time, grief, and effort than the money. If it were me (and I'm pretty persistent) I'd just move on at this point. Sometimes knowing when it's time to do that is a healthy thing for ourselves. :cool:

[sandra]

I really do think Lisa is right here.

[VeloVT]

I agree with LIsa too. If it were a large sum of money ($500? $10,000?), it would be worth pursuing your legal options. But for $35, not only are you going to spend more recovering the money than the original sum, it's just really not worth the mental anguish/energy or time to pursue it on principle. You probably won't be "teaching her a lesson", she probably understands the ramifications of what she's done and thinks it's okay, and having to restore your $35 isn't likely to change that.

Sucks though.

[tulip]

I doubt she'll be back on TE...that'll teach her!:rolleyes:

[ridebikeme]

Um, I definitely feel bad for this whole thread, especially someone losing money. If there is a sliver lining in this, at least it was a small amount. I hope everyone can find that silver lining...

I agree with some others, it's time to let this thing go. What good does it do to keep repeating the same things over and over? Let this bad situation be something that everyone can learn from, and a thing of the PAST! Let's move on to something more positive!! It doesn't do anyone any good to keep this as something that continues, and continues, etc... Move on!!!

[roadie gal]

Do you have a lawyer friend with some REALLY IMPRESSIVE stationery? Can you get him/her to write you an IMPRESSIVE letter demanding the money back? If you can do that, go with it. Otherwise... I'd drop it. It's not worth the aggravation/ bad karma to do more.

[Eden]

Do you have a lawyer friend with some REALLY IMPRESSIVE stationery? Can you get him/her to write you an IMPRESSIVE letter demanding the money back? If you can do that, go with it. Otherwise... I'd drop it. It's not worth the aggravation/ bad karma to do more.

Heck - with word processing its not really that hard to *make* really impressive stationary... Send her a letter from Dewey, Chethem & Howe and see if she even gets the joke...