Ripoff on the BC marketplace 😡

[Roland Rock]

I feel that this issue needs a bit more exposure to see if the problem can be resolved. It's unclear whether the mods have officially been informed, and I thought it might be helpful to get advice from a wider audience:
http://basschat.co.uk/topic/257250-warwick-6-string-streamer-stage-1-flamed-maple-natural/page__pid__2746668__st__30#entry2746668

Edited April 14, 2015 by Roland Rock

[CamdenRob]

It's really unfortunate... There is an element of trust in all trades and sadly there are those out there who will exploit it.

Nothing BC or the mods could have done to prevent this.

I do feel for the guy who has potentially lost out here... still hopeful of a positive outcome

Edited April 14, 2015 by CamdenRob

[Roland Rock]

...and just spotted that he has actually reported it to admin after all. Hope he gets the help he needs. If I was ripped off by a BCer in Lithuania, I wouldn't know where to begin

Edited April 14, 2015 by Roland Rock

[ped]

Yeah we've been working with the member to try and help resolve the issue. Investigations and police intervention is ongoing.

Worth reiterating again the FAQ when buying and selling. Not always possible, but worth bearing these in mind when carrying out a deal.

Thankfully instances of this type are very unusual but we do get involved and help as much as we can.

Cheers
ped

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[color=#5A5A5A][font=Arial][size=3][u][b]Guidelines for BUYERS[/b][/u][/size][/font][/color]

[color=#5A5A5A][font=Arial][size=3]1. Make sure you exchange contact details with the seller. Get as much as you can – phone number, address, email and full name are essential. Be vigilant of members not offering any details other than their username.[/size][/font][/color]

[color=#5A5A5A][font=Arial][size=3]2. If in doubt about a seller's credibility, search the 'feedback forum' to see if they have sold before. Do not accept evidence of eBay feedback as there is no way of proving this is the same person.[/size][/font][/color]

[color=#5A5A5A][font=Arial][size=3]3. Have a good look at the member who you are buying from. View their 'profile' to find out how often they are on the forum, how many posts they have made and how long they have been a member. Be extra careful of brand new members with few posts.[/size][/font][/color]

[color=#5A5A5A][font=Arial][size=3]4. If you have a concern with the authenticity/originality/provenance/description etc of an item for sale, do not comment on the seller's thread as these comments will be removed by a moderator. If you believe an item to be fraudulent then please PM a moderator and we will do our best to arbitrate - otherwise simply move along.[/size][/font][/color]

[color=#5A5A5A][font=Arial][size=3]5. If you believe the price of the item is too cheap/expensive, then please PM the seller as to why. Do not ridicule or undermine the seller by posting how much you think it's worth or how much it can be gotten for elsewhere, the laws of supply and demand will determine if the item sells at that price.[/size][/font][/color]

[color=#5A5A5A][font=Arial][size=3]6. Always view the item if possible. At the very least request decent photographs.[/size][/font][/color]

[Mudpup]

I think its a harsh lesson of buyer beware that we should all take note of. There's plenty of "really nice" people about quite willing to rip innocent buyers off.

Personally I would never have sent someone with no history on this site 1600 quid via bank transfer. Paypal (with me paying the fees) would have been the only way of doing it for me - at least theres a form of protection that would justify the fees paid. I may have risked a couple of hundred quid but never that sort of amount.

I bought a cab internationally off here last year for £600 from a newbie - he appreciated that he had no trading history and was trusting enough due to my history on here to take a small deposit with the balance payable upon my receipt of the item. Everything worked out fine.

[Hobbayne]

Would you buy an expensive bass from somebody abroad with zero posts on here??
No definitely not!

[Cameronj279]

Shame that things like this happen. I can't say I would have bought something of such high value from a member with no posts but it shouldn't have to be a worry. Saying that, my only issue in the marketplace here was with a mod!

As Ped said, thankfully it doesn't happen often.

[karlfer]

[quote name='ped' timestamp='1429000031' post='2746763']
Yeah we've been working with the member to try and help resolve the issue. Investigations and police intervention is ongoing.

Worth reiterating again the FAQ when buying and selling. Not always possible, but worth bearing these in mind when carrying out a deal.

Thankfully instances of this type are very unusual but we do get involved and help as much as we can.

Cheers
ped

----

[color=#5A5A5A][font=Arial][size=3][u][b]Guidelines for BUYERS[/b][/u][/size][/font][/color]

[color=#5A5A5A][font=Arial][size=3]1. Make sure you exchange contact details with the seller. Get as much as you can – phone number, address, email and full name are essential. Be vigilant of members not offering any details other than their username.[/size][/font][/color]

[color=#5A5A5A][font=Arial][size=3]2. If in doubt about a seller's credibility, search the 'feedback forum' to see if they have sold before. Do not accept evidence of eBay feedback as there is no way of proving this is the same person.[/size][/font][/color]

[color=#5A5A5A][font=Arial][size=3]3. Have a good look at the member who you are buying from. View their 'profile' to find out how often they are on the forum, how many posts they have made and how long they have been a member. Be extra careful of brand new members with few posts.[/size][/font][/color]

[color=#5A5A5A][font=Arial][size=3]4. If you have a concern with the authenticity/originality/provenance/description etc of an item for sale, do not comment on the seller's thread as these comments will be removed by a moderator. If you believe an item to be fraudulent then please PM a moderator and we will do our best to arbitrate - otherwise simply move along.[/size][/font][/color]

[color=#5A5A5A][font=Arial][size=3]5. If you believe the price of the item is too cheap/expensive, then please PM the seller as to why. Do not ridicule or undermine the seller by posting how much you think it's worth or how much it can be gotten for elsewhere, the laws of supply and demand will determine if the item sells at that price.[/size][/font][/color]

[color=#5A5A5A][font=Arial][size=3]6. Always view the item if possible. At the very least request decent photographs.[/size][/font][/color]
[/quote]

PED, I only live 6 or 7 miles from the business address.
If I can be of any help please let me know.
Cheers,
Karl.

[Chrismanbass]

the sort code from the bank transfer will give you the bank branch that the account holder opened the account

which could give you a rough area in which they live

could be useful in finding out if the person in question is the same as the one that owns cartec audio

Edited April 14, 2015 by Chrismanbass

[icastle]

I hope not... http://www.cartec-audio.com

[JTUK]

I really hope the guy gets a result and the rip-off merchant gets royally fingered by the Police...!!

[ambient]

Slightly off topic, but I've been approached by a new member on here a couple of times offering me items that I have wanted ads on for. He even accepted a silly offer as long as I pay by PayPal gift.

A friend at uni was also offered something by I think the same guy, going from the area he lives in anyway.

I think you can become complacent sometimes.

[Twincam]

Disgraceful!.
Can't really say anymore than that, i do really hope this gets resolved for the buyer in a timely manner.

[stingraybassman]

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1429008658' post='2746887']
I really hope the guy gets a result and the rip-off merchant gets royally fingered by the Police...!!
[/quote]

That sounds painful

Jokes aside, horrible situation for anyone. Nevermind being in a different country. Excellent to see the BC community offering help though.

[Dan Dare]

Ouch. Have to say, I never buy or sell anything musically related other than face to face. It means I may get a bit less for stuff I flog, but I don't get shafted. Also means I can make sure things I buy are as described. Funny. I've never had a problem selling buying other stuff - fishing tackle, etc, but musical kit seems to attract shystyers in their droves. A scam for sellers to be aware of is the "it arrived damaged/was faulty" trick. The buyer will pay you via PayPal and send a "courier" to collect. You receive no acknowledgement from the "courier" of the condition of the item. Surprise, surprise, you then get a message claiming it was broken/faulty and the payment is clawed back. If you make the mistake of paying the return postage to the buyer, you will receive a broken/faulty sample of the pristine item you originally sent.

[cameltoe]

[quote name='Dan Dare' timestamp='1429027442' post='2747189']
Ouch. Have to say, I never buy or sell anything musically related other than face to face. It means I may get a bit less for stuff I flog, but I don't get shafted. Also means I can make sure things I buy are as described. Funny. I've never had a problem selling buying other stuff - fishing tackle, etc, but musical kit seems to attract shystyers in their droves. A scam for sellers to be aware of is the "it arrived damaged/was faulty" trick. The buyer will pay you via PayPal and send a "courier" to collect. You receive no acknowledgement from the "courier" of the condition of the item. Surprise, surprise, you then get a message claiming it was broken/faulty and the payment is clawed back. If you make the mistake of paying the return postage to the buyer, you will receive a broken/faulty sample of the pristine item you originally sent.
[/quote]

Yup this has happened to me. You have absolutely no way of winning a situation such as this either with Paypal. They simply refuse to believe the buyer could be telling porkies, and more often than not the buyer can end up with the goods AND a refund.

[ambient]

[quote name='cameltoe' timestamp='1429046891' post='2747458']
Yup this has happened to me. You have absolutely no way of winning a situation such as this either with Paypal. They simply refuse to believe the buyer could be telling porkies, and more often than not the buyer can end up with the goods AND a refund.
[/quote]

My sister-in-law sold an unwanted/duplicate wedding present on ebay. The buyer claimed it was faulty which it wasn't, he got refunded and sent her back an empty box.

[Myke]

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1429008514' post='2746885']
I hope not... [url="http://www.cartec-audio.com"]http://www.cartec-audio.com[/url]
[/quote]

I really like the design on this website. It's a shame the reason it's been made it terrible.

I hope that this all gets sorted out and I know the powers that be behind Basschat is doing all they can to sort it.

Might want to remove the bank details though. Not sure what you can do with them but it's better safe than sorry IMO.

[lojo]

The buyer was silly to trust someone with that much money who had not established himself as a posting member , but I do feel very sorry for them.

[CamdenRob]

I think the buyer is now all to aware of the precautions he should have taken...

But it's important not to blame the victim here. Some poor guy was trusting enough to part with a tidy sum of money and a theiving sumbag kept the money and the bass.

[cameltoe]

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1429047143' post='2747469']


My sister-in-law sold an unwanted/duplicate wedding present on ebay. The buyer claimed it was faulty which it wasn't, he got refunded and sent her back an empty box.
[/quote]

Unreal.

[ambient]

[quote name='cameltoe' timestamp='1429080225' post='2747673']


Unreal.
[/quote]

She'd been selling stuff on eBay for years, yet they didn't believe her.

[juliusmonk]

This is really sad... I am having a bit of a situation myself right now with the last deal that I hope gets resolved asap. This is a posting member here on BC, not a newbie...

[KevB]

The really odd thing is that IF it is the same guy who runs the audio company then he's already very 'visible' on the web and it wouldn't take anyone long to track him down. Usually with these kind of scams the person behind it does all they can to be untraceable (false names, web accounts etc). I really hope that someone hasn't just targeted the apparent perpetrator and cloned his details, knowing that he already has a poor reputation online as a smokescreen. That would make the genuine culprit really hard to track down. Hope the OP gets it sorted, I'm sure the Admins here are doing all they can behind the scenes. Whoever's responsible it is behaviour of the shittiest order.