When doing favors for RPF members go south

Cry-Lo Ren

Active Member
EDIT:

It was all one big misunderstanding on both our parts and all is resolved. Though will leave the thread as is as a message to future buyers and sellers that a little communication and some patience goes a long way when making a transaction. Wish to say thank you to Jonah for clearing things up and will both put this behind us with no hard feelings.


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First of all I apologize if this thread is in the wrong section I was unable to find a placed where members can warn other of transactions going south.

Mods please feel free to delete or move.

Purpose of this thread is to not only warn others of this person but when doing favors that includes money.

I had mentioned a while back on a thread that I will be going to disneyland and was willing to pick up some star wars park exclusive items for members so that you guys would not have to pay crazy eBay prices and I would simply charge exactly what I paid as I know that if the shoe was on the other foot I would appreciate if someone did the same for me.

When Jonah aka Inquisitor Peregrinus
http://www.therpf.com/member.php?u=1707

Contacted me he had asked for 3 anovos imperial belt buckles, now I did not ask for payment (huge mistake) due to that I did not know how much they sold for at the park and instead of over asking and then having to refund difference I thought it would be a lot easier if I purchased them and then emailed a photo of the receipt and we will go from there. So I went out of my way during my trip to pick these up for him, came home, told him the total, and he stated that payment will be done in a few minutes....This was Monday and its now Friday.

Multiple emails sent, he logs on multiple times a day and well the part that really sucks that i did not know until now is that when you buy something from the park the only way to return it is to pay out of pocket and have it shipped back (or pay $100 for a park ticket and return it while you are there) so I have to wait days for the package to get there (hoping it doesn't get lost in transit) , days for them to get to it and inspect it, and then days again for the funds to reach back into my card.

Once again purpose of this post is not only to warn others of the type of person you would potentially deal with if anyone should ever do any transaction with him but for those who are a bit like me and simply wish to do others a favor my message to you is get paid in advance even if you have to refund the difference after. This was a mistake on my end and have learned my lesson.
 
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Thats a '****** bag' move IMHO..


So.. to summarize.. he has just completely ignored you and any attempt at communication?.....correct?
 
That is correct, last message I got was that payment will be sent over in a few. That was Monday and after multiple emails being sent on when the payment will be sent I am giving up. I was maybe thinking that something came up as of course we all have our personal lives but every day I see him log in RPF multiple times a day browsing multiple thread so that theory went out the window.

Thats a '****** bag' move IMHO..


So.. to summarize.. he has just completely ignored you and any attempt at communication?.....correct?
 
Not cool, it's a big pain lugging them items around with you, let alone you're out of pocket.

I wouldn't let it sour you on all members, I had a misunderstanding with another member and things escalated. We talked, I was in the wrong, apologized and we got over it. Now he gets stuff delivered to me so I can forward to him, saving on shipping. 99% of the people here are decent human beings, I hope this doesn't put you off to others.

Jonah made have had something come up, now he's afraid to tell you. All he needs to do is let you know what's going on, so he can either pay you or let you sell them and get your money back. I'm sure they would sell pretty quickly in the JY or RL.

Sorry you got roped into this, you seem like a cool dude who takes alot of time out of his day to help others, especially with all the pictures you take and upload.
 
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Not gonna beat a dead horse, but you already acknowledged your mistake of not asking for the $$ up front. I think I've only ever done something similar (going out of my way to buy something ahead of payment) to people who I interact locally and know more personally. To be honest, while I agree, he shouldn't have ran off or the like, I can't agree that it was a committed sale unless he actually sent you the money for it. I do know how much those buckles cost and the fact that you bought 3 of them at all without any forwarded money is kinda significant for anyone to do on the word of anther person.

So....to necessarily call him out could subjectively be wrong in that, to us, he never actually "committed" to it in the first place. I admit there have been times when I've messaged sellers about an interest in something but I either completely forget about it or just can't afford it like I had thought. Him asking you to get them is a bit of a step further but you agreed to it, went out of your way to do so only on a matter of trusting this guy was gonna follow through.

There have been a few sales related issues I have had recently, more-so the seller saying I'd be next in line for purchases only to openly sell it to another individual out of the blue. As pissed as I am about those actions, I don't feel it necessary to bring it in the open forum unless I was legitimately scammed...

Not to sound like a jerk or anything. Just resell them, either here or Ebay. Raise your prices even if you want to.

Being nice these days sometimes doesn't always turn out in your favor. Trust, me, I learned that the hard way a long time ago..
 
That's a bummer man. Why don't you put the buckles up in the Junkyard, to see if any other members would like them? That way you won't be out of pocket for the return postage, and a different member can benefit by getting a limited edition item. Just a thought, hope it all works out ok.

EDIT: Ha, just like Chris said above!
 
I was raised and taught that a man is only as good as his word. Though I understand you point of view and know that many agree with you there also many who see it from mine and to me him giving his word was a committed sale. I guess im a bit old school like that.

Calling him out is not for my benefit but to others who perhaps sell something in the junkyard and is contacted by this member. That way they know what to expect and hopefully have another buyer lined up in case that he pulls the same thing he did here.


Not gonna beat a dead horse, but you already acknowledged your mistake of not asking for the $$ up front. I think I've only ever done something similar (going out of my way to buy something ahead of payment) to people who I interact locally and know more personally. To be honest, while I agree, he shouldn't have ran off or the like, I can't agree that it was a committed sale unless he actually sent you the money for it. I do know how much those buckles cost and the fact that you bought 3 of them at all without any forwarded money is kinda significant for anyone to do on the word of anther person.

So....to necessarily call him out could subjectively be wrong in that, to us, he never actually "committed" to it in the first place. I admit there have been times when I've messaged sellers about an interest in something but I either completely forget about it or just can't afford it like I had thought. Him asking you to get them is a bit of a step further but you agreed to it, went out of your way to do so only on a matter of trusting this guy was gonna follow through.

There have been a few sales related issues I have had recently, more-so the seller saying I'd be next in line for purchases only to openly sell it to another individual out of the blue. As pissed as I am about those actions, I don't feel it necessary to bring it in the open forum unless I was legitimately scammed...

Not to sound like a jerk or anything. Just resell them, either here or Ebay. Raise your prices even if you want to.

Being nice these days sometimes doesn't always turn out in your favor. Trust, me, I learned that the hard way a long time ago..
 
To sell each separately, paypal fee, and shipping cost on 3 individual packages il be lucky enough to break even and thats even if I was to raise the prices to match current eBay prices. Plus there is always that small chance that they can be lost in transit. Thus it makes more sense to simply return them to disney unfortunately.

That's a bummer man. Why don't you put the buckles up in the Junkyard, to see if any other members would like them? That way you won't be out of pocket for the return postage, and a different member can benefit by getting a limited edition item. Just a thought, hope it all works out ok.

EDIT: Ha, just like Chris said above!
 
I was raised and taught that a man is only as good as his word. Though I understand you point of view and know that many agree with you there also many who see it from mine and to me him giving his word was a committed sale. I guess im a bit old school like that.

Calling him out is not for my benefit but to others who perhaps sell something in the junkyard and is contacted by this member. That way they know what to expect and hopefully have another buyer lined up in case that he pulls the same thing he did here.

It's not that it's a morally wrong thing to believe. I do feel that if someone says they're going to buy something, verbally or otherwise, they should follow through, but while we can both sit here and believe that, reality says otherwise. Unfortunately, "a man is only as good as his actions"
 
To sell each separately, paypal fee, and shipping cost on 3 individual packages il be lucky enough to break even and thats even if I was to raise the prices to match current eBay prices. Plus there is always that small chance that they can be lost in transit. Thus it makes more sense to simply return them to disney unfortunately.

I disagree... Post what you want for it with the understanding that shipping with tracking and PP fees are separate. Or incorporate the cost of materials along with 4% into the asking price to cover your fees with the seller paying actual shipping along with tracking.

no reason why you should be out of pocket on this.
 
Don't beat yourself up over doing something nice for someone. It doesn't matter if they're a RPF member, the local bag boy at the supermarket or part of the Church Choir... people are people and some will always find a way to disappoint. Chalk it up to experience. Shame on the fellow RPFer and he should DEF be called out for it.

But don't let go of being the nice person you are. To me, that's most important! :)
 
Also-- know that this is rare. In the few short months I have been posting here I have been gifted, traded, bought, and sold items to a handful of members. Be they project runs, junkyard items, or just sharing amongst friends, and thus far I haven't had a single misstep or ounce of flakiness come my way.

Which reminds me, I owe @ScottD a box and I keep forgetting to go to the post office! Thanks for the reminder to not be THAt guy!
 
I disagree... Post what you want for it with the understanding that shipping with tracking and PP fees are separate. Or incorporate the cost of materials along with 4% into the asking price to cover your fees with the seller paying actual shipping along with tracking.

no reason why you should be out of pocket on this.

Incorporate the costs, asking for the pp fees to be covered or to be sent gift is against the rules on the RPF as I have found out.
 
Incorporate the costs, asking for the pp fees to be covered or to be sent gift is against the rules on the RPF as I have found out.

I'm pretty sure none of that is against the rules... asking to have payment as a gift would be stupid, but I don't *think* is against the rules... though I would not be surprised if that one was...

BUT, incorporating all of your out of pocket expenses into your asking price I highly doubt would be against the rules...

*Edit*

Here's the actual rule from the JY:

"A seller may NOT request PayPal payment be made as a "gift" (this means choosing "I'm sending money to family or friends" from the Send Money page in PayPal). A seller may NOT request buyer pay for PayPal fees. If a seller chooses to accept PayPal, all fees should be calculated into the sales price."

So yes... payment as a gift *is* against the rules... (and also stupid if you were the buyer), but everything else is not....
 
I'm pretty sure none of that is against the rules... asking to have payment as a gift would be stupid, but I don't *think* is against the rules... though I would not be surprised if that one was...

BUT, incorporating all of your out of pocket expenses into your asking price I highly doubt would be against the rules...

*Edit*

Here's the actual rule from the JY:

"A seller may NOT request PayPal payment be made as a "gift" (this means choosing "I'm sending money to family or friends" from the Send Money page in PayPal). A seller may NOT request buyer pay for PayPal fees. If a seller chooses to accept PayPal, all fees should be calculated into the sales price."

So yes... payment as a gift *is* against the rules... (and also stupid if you were the buyer), but everything else is not....

Sorry for being unclear, I was saying that yes you should incorporate the costs. Essentially saying "buyer must pay gift or add XX% for PP fees" is against the rules (I did so on my sale threads and had it pointed out to me by a mod). Increasing your price is of course not against the rules.
 
Sorry to hear this and no matter what anyone says about it you did the right thing calling him out.
 
Not gonna beat a dead horse, but you already acknowledged your mistake of not asking for the $$ up front. I think I've only ever done something similar (going out of my way to buy something ahead of payment) to people who I interact locally and know more personally. To be honest, while I agree, he shouldn't have ran off or the like, I can't agree that it was a committed sale unless he actually sent you the money for it. I do know how much those buckles cost and the fact that you bought 3 of them at all without any forwarded money is kinda significant for anyone to do on the word of anther person.

So....to necessarily call him out could subjectively be wrong in that, to us, he never actually "committed" to it in the first place. I admit there have been times when I've messaged sellers about an interest in something but I either completely forget about it or just can't afford it like I had thought. Him asking you to get them is a bit of a step further but you agreed to it, went out of your way to do so only on a matter of trusting this guy was gonna follow through.

There have been a few sales related issues I have had recently, more-so the seller saying I'd be next in line for purchases only to openly sell it to another individual out of the blue. As pissed as I am about those actions, I don't feel it necessary to bring it in the open forum unless I was legitimately scammed...

Not to sound like a jerk or anything. Just resell them, either here or Ebay. Raise your prices even if you want to.

Being nice these days sometimes doesn't always turn out in your favor. Trust, me, I learned that the hard way a long time ago..

I would have to disagree here...

It was more than just a passing 'I'm interested'..

The dude said 'payment was on its way'...

What other sort of commitment could there be?



I have generally found the members to be decent, moral people.... (I mean we all love props and finding kindred spirits is nice, and usually what people focus on)

but I have had a scare (a post seemed to get my product)...

but the two times I have done favors for people her with a 'trade' for my 'work'.. the quality was SUB-PAR at best.. (not even worth getting it) <---- however thats another issue all together! :)

I'd also mirror "Dont let it sour you"..... but put rules and boundaries in place so you protect yourself in the future. Anyone NOT a scammer will respect/understand.
 
I dropped him a PM to come here and tell his side of the story

- - - Updated - - -

Exactly bottom line he WAS commited and flaked


It was more than just a passing 'I'm interested'..

The dude said 'payment was on its way'...

What other sort of commitment could there be?
 
First of all, you say you sent me multiple e-mails. Since I never gave you my e-mail address, I'm curious where you were sending them. I certainly never got anything. Second, all the way up through our last communication in the 17th, you had said nothing about expectations as to a payment deadline. My internet's been down at home all week (just got it back up a little while ago, but it's still laggy and buggy as hell -- this is my fifth attempt to send this). I do log into the Entertainment & Movies section at work on the QT, but I have to keep things brief. I also can't do anything requiring a secure connection, such as PayPal, while at work. Since you hadn't expressed any impatience with me as of when I left for work yesterday at 1pm Pacific, I thought we were still in the fuzzy "within a week is good" sort of window that I have more typically encountered. I certainly wasn't expecting less than three days from "buyer" to "uncommunicative jerk" (since stronger language is filtered).

Since the PM I just read from you said if you hadn't gotten payment by this morning, I'm assuming I'm SOL on the buckles, as well as having my rep dragged through the mud. I failed to communicate to you what I was dealing with. Yeah, I didn't expect it to go on so long, and I was planning to let you know what was up when I got to work Monday, if it was still persisting, but... And from your end, if you were expecting payment by a certain date or within a certain timeframe, let the buyer know. You didn't. Unless it was in that invoice thingie you attached that I told you right away I wasn't able to read or download and that nothing happened when I clicked on it.

So yeah. I didn't flake. I didn't ignore you. I had stuff going on before and after your last message to me prior to the "you done screwed up, boy" one dated yesterday evening. From my perspective and experience, you're the most impatient seller I've ever run into, in sixteen years of buying stuff online, to have a whopping two days be your make or break. I have had many instances of waiting weeks, months, sometimes years for payment. If they haven't paid, I just don't send it. *shrug* Seemed simple enough. We're probably both wrong in this, and probably both right. Let me know if you've already sent the buckles back. I don't want you to be out that cost, especially for something I had every intention of paying for.

--Jonah
 
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