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Been swindled on basschat??


umcoo
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Not sure if this is the right place, apologies if not. I recently bought something off the basschat forums (i won't say what or who off), and it still hasn't arrived. I sent the cheque on december 3rd and the money came out on the 9th. I was told once the cheque had gone through the item would be sent special delivery, but still heard nothing. I PM'ed the seller on the 18th and got no reply when I asked if he had any idea of a delivery date.

What would you do.....

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It's possible that the seller has a problem at work or home, is ill or something similar.

You could ask on here if anyone knows this person and can check out the problem that way.

I bought a bass off someone on BC (or a prior incarnation) and it took just over 4 weeks to arrive but it turns out that for this particular seller and their lifestyle that's about standard and once I knew that I relaxed a bit.

You could just place a polite post explaning the circumstances and give the seller a chance to respond in a similarly reasonable manner.

If all this fails, well it may be name and shame time?

Of course what you've done so far may illicit a response :)

Edited by GreeneKing
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[quote name='GreeneKing' post='106911' date='Dec 20 2007, 09:58 AM']You could just place a polite post explaning the circumstances and give the seller a chance to respond in a similarly reasonable manner.

If all this fails, well it may be name and shame time?

Of course what you've done so far may illicit a response :)[/quote]
I would caution against naming and shaming. Anyone should feel welcome to PM me if they have an issue with another member and I'd be happy to help/mediate where I can.

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[quote name='umcoo' post='106901' date='Dec 20 2007, 09:41 AM']Not sure if this is the right place, apologies if not. I recently bought something off the basschat forums (i won't say what or who off), and it still hasn't arrived. I sent the cheque on december 3rd and the money came out on the 9th. I was told once the cheque had gone through the item would be sent special delivery, but still heard nothing. I PM'ed the seller on the 18th and got no reply when I asked if he had any idea of a delivery date.

What would you do.....[/quote]

Not unusual, BC isn't ebay and rightly so. I rate myself as a highly disorganised person, but having dealt with a few guys on here I think I'm one of the more organised BCers :huh: I really wouldn't worry too much, the Xmas post won't be helping things either (my local posty reckons it's not unusual for post to simply sit at the sorting office for several days, even weeks, this time of year 'cos they simply don't have the manpower. Having said this, he said this during a half-hour chat during his round.... :) ). Don't name and shame because in nearly every situation in which someone on here has done so, there was a simple explanation.
Chris

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Hi umcoo,

Sorry to hear about your plight but there's some good advice being posted here I think, especially about being patient.

I had a similar incident 2 years ago when Basschat was Bassworld and I thought I was about to lose both my money and the bass I was looking forward to receiving..

What I forgot to take into account was that the people on the forum are very diverse and lead very different lives and in this case, the person was a student who led a much more hectic/chaotic life than mine. So though everything got done in the end, it just took much longer..

The Mods are here to moderate and that would definitely be the best way to pursue the matter if it doesn't improve.

Best of luck with it..

Nik

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I don't really find delays like that acceptable to be honest. And yes, I know I'm anal about this kind of thing but if I'm selling something it will be packed and ready to go before it's sold and will be sent the same day or next working day once it is sold.

If for some prior commitments that can't happen I would make sure the buyer knows exactly whats going on BEFORE he buys.

As for unseen circumstances well, they are unseen obviously, but I would still make an effort to contact the buyer. I know how painful it is to wait for new bass related gear so I just couldn't bring myself to make someone else wait.

Hopefully the guy will read this thread and at the very least offer you an explanation.

p.

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As moderators we won't directly interfere with transactions. We can't really take sides and will remain impartial, unless it is obvious someone is purposely committing fraud.

What we will do if required is converse between buyer and seller if a stalemate has been reached in order to hopefully bring a solution to both parties. This may be the ability to email sellers directly using their registered email address, this circumvents the need for them to log on to see a PM.

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[quote]What I forgot to take into account was that the people on the forum are very diverse and lead very different lives and in this case, the person was a student who led a much more hectic/chaotic life than mine. So though everything got done in the end, it just took much longer[/quote]

But not making this clear from the outset and not keeping the buyer informed is just plain rude. Surely if someone has enough time to contribute to a forum they have got time to send a message?

If you're too busy to successfully complete a transaction...don't sell anything. I know it sounds harsh but for me, treating others with a little consideration is of paramount importance.

p.

Edited by paul h
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[quote name='paul h' post='106967' date='Dec 20 2007, 11:09 AM']But not making this clear from the outset and not keeping the buyer informed is just plain rude. Surely if someone has enough time to contribute to a forum they have got time to send a message?

If you're too busy to successfully complete a transaction...don't sell anything. I know it sounds harsh but for me, treating others with a little consideration is of paramount importance.

p.[/quote]

FWIW, I [b]totally [/b]agree with you.

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[quote name='Machines' post='106962' date='Dec 20 2007, 11:07 AM']As moderators we won't directly interfere with transactions. We can't really take sides and will remain impartial, unless it is obvious someone is purposely committing fraud.

What we will do if required is converse between buyer and seller if a stalemate has been reached in order to hopefully bring a solution to both parties. This may be the ability to email sellers directly using their registered email address, this circumvents the need for them to log on to see a PM.[/quote]

fair points, but whenever I've been PMd I've had email notification of the fact.

If the worst comes to the worst you can still stop a cheque after it's 'cleared'.

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I don't mind if there's a delay, but I want to know when I will get the item. I've bought 3 items off BC so far, and they have all gone smoothly, but, I have always had to request a delivery date, rather than being told "you should have it ...." or then "sorry, there's been a delay, you will have it....". I don't think you can expect business-like service from a public forum like this.

Some of us will make more, or less effort, but our perceptions are all different too, so someone who thinks they're a great seller, may be a crap one!

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Thanks for all the replies so far everyone! I think I will just sit tight for the time being, as for the post, I'm a postman myself and I know if something is sent special delivery it won't sit around the office for a few days. Not where I work anyways!

I too believe that if you sell something you should send it straight away, and if not, it is essential to tell the buyer. It's only polite!

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Not swindled as such, but agreed a price for something with someone here, only for them to go list it on eBay without telling me and not respond to any of my PMs. It's fair enough, it is the seller's prerogative to sell it to whoever (s)he likes, but a little comms wouldn't have gone amiss. "Sorry mate, but I've decided to see what I can get for it on eBay". Wouldn't have taken long to construct such a PM, would it? It's just good manners, isn't it?

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I always try to send things recorded delivery, in this way ensuring that you and the buyer are always aware of an item.

Previously I sold a guitar neck to Chris (Beedster) and it turned out the truss rod was buggerred. I refunded the money straight away, he returned the neck and we were both happy. This is the way to do business, and is made easier as part of a forum, rather than ebay where it appears the term caveat emptor is now entirely neccessary!

For what it's worth, I'm happy waiting up to a week for delivery as long as the seller is in constant contact, and when the deal is done, I think it's only corteous to ask how they're getting on with the new item.

If it was me, I'd be on the phone or emailing as soon as possible, just to find out what's gone on. I assume you have this information.

I assume issues like this were the reason for having a feedback forum in the first place...

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It's a shame if you do have a bad experience out of this. Personally, I prefer to deal with individuals on this site and have had nothing but good experiences whether a deal was concluded or not. At the mo I haven't found it necessary to look in the feedback section - I hope that doesn't end up being the case, but I do look to see how long they have been on BC and the contributions they have made to the site.

A lot of us on this site have serious GAS and enjoy nothing more than buying, selling and trading (you know who you are - Beedster), I'd hate that the outlet for this GAS was sullied because I seriously hate ebay and can't afford shop prices!

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[quote name='Jebo1' post='107068' date='Dec 20 2007, 01:26 PM']I always try to send things recorded delivery, in this way ensuring that you and the buyer are always aware of an item.

Previously I sold a guitar neck to Chris (Beedster) and it turned out the truss rod was buggerred. I refunded the money straight away, he returned the neck and we were both happy. This is the way to do business, and is made easier as part of a forum, rather than ebay where it appears the term caveat emptor is now entirely neccessary!

For what it's worth, I'm happy waiting up to a week for delivery as long as the seller is in constant contact, and when the deal is done, I think it's only corteous to ask how they're getting on with the new item.

If it was me, I'd be on the phone or emailing as soon as possible, just to find out what's gone on. I assume you have this information.

I assume issues like this were the reason for having a feedback forum in the first place...[/quote]
+ 1 to all of this and I agree with all the above comments about being courteous, keeping people informed, being upfront etc. I'm happy to say that all of my dealings with members here have been excellent so far and hopefully, they have found the same from me in return..

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i've done several deals thru here both as buyer and seller and never had any problems. If I'm selling I always keep the buyer up to date on whats happening my end (cheque arrived ok, posted item today etc) because I know i'd want to be kept informed if it was me. Selling stuff can be a bit of a pain sometimes - wrapping up, getting to the post office, arranging courier etc, but thats just part of it. I'm fairly busy with other stuff myself most of the time but always try to organize anything like this as soon as poss.

Slightly off topic- i bought and paid for a pickguard from ebay about 10 days ago and as yet hadn't heard anything from the seller. I emailed him to see what was going on and he replied saying 'i only post to confirmed paypal addresses - please let me have your address and i'll post it straight away'. - fair enough (although i'm sure my paypal address is confirmed anyway), but if thats the case, why didn't he email me and ask for my address at the time? if i'd not bothered emailing him to see what was going on would he ever have done anything about it? unlikely methinks.....it won't be here for this side of xmas now thats for sure. bah.


peace

c

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All good sound responses and well considered but can't you can take a look at his profile and see if he has been on here since you've tried to contact him? Then maybe the mods should step in sharpish. I'd hate to think that someone was continuing to do this to other fellow BCers and people were unaware because we are all trying to remain very polite (which is no bad thing), do you see where I'm coming from?

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warwickhunt, the person in question was logged in yesterday, i sent the PM to them on the 18th. So no response...

I'm under the impression that the item hasn't even been shipped yet as before the deal went through, the person was adament it would be sent special delivery and would be sent once the cheque was cashed. If there's nothing from the postie tomorrow I'll get in contact with the mods. Thanks for everyones replies!

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