Burned, and it was my fault.

[KRH1326]

Hi Guys,

This is an unfortunate post, but may serve to save somebody else from a down right shame.

99.999 % of the folks on Iboats are of a real friendly nature, other wise, they wouldn't be here and engaging in the Iboats forums. I have a small group of friends that I have cultivated here in the forums, and I am better for it.

The reason for this post is just a reminder that we really do not "know" each other, and that we are shielded by a screen name, and still are relativly anonymous.

I will not mention the member's name, because this is not a rant about who and what was done, but an example of what comfort and complacency can lead to.

"Mr. or Mrs. X" was online seeking help for an outdrive issue. He/she had also claimed to have a shop manual that they did not need and would give away. After several of Iboats members gave the sought after advice, and the problem seemed to be squared away, I followed up with a PM if they still had the manual that they were giving away. He/she claimed yes.

I told him/her that I would scan and post the manual (along with several others that I have already done). He/she took my address and said they would mail it.

I thought that I would be a good guy and I sent them a check for $10.00 to cover thier mailing costs, afterall, they were giving the manual away. This was in the beginning of August. I was patient and didn't pester them until I got my cancelled check back.

I called him/her on the phone, and they were shocked that I hadn't gotten it yet. Then he/she claimed that his/her husband/wife just had forgotten to mail it, and that they would. This was in the beginning of September.

I called them back in the end of September and they claimed that it was sent to the wrong address and would be sent to the correct one. I gave up waiting and hoping for it today.

The moral of the story....

No matter how helpful & friendly we all are to each other on these or any other forums, for that matter, we really don't know each other.

I am out 10$ , but I guess that is cheap for a hard lesson learned.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Burned, and it was my fault.

$10 is a cheap learning experience. Shame that it had to happen though.

 

[dr_bowtie]

Re: Burned, and it was my fault.

it happens and it sucks....

I have had it happen on other forums as well...to date I am only out $50.00 that I paid a member via Paypal for a heatsink and he never shipped it..he sold it to other members as well...I never got my money back either...though he did receive a nice visit from some uniformed men and some time in jail....

I did a trade on another forum back in may where I sent a Staff member like myself some water cooling goods for a PC and in turn he would send me a board and CPU...it was a fairly straight forward trade...this ended up taking several months to complete...everytime I PM'd him I got the "shipping it friday"

I even contacted the forum owner as he was my boss too and got a canned response about this member having issues and all...I am generally understanding but a deal is a deal...I sent the goods out months ago...I just got the board and CPU 2 weeks ago...so it was almost 6 months...

but yes I know how you feel

 

[tallcanadian]

Re: Burned, and it was my fault.

That's too bad. There is always one bad apple in a bunch. Sort of takes one trust away from everyone. Maybe the person will see this and do the right thing. Good luck.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Burned, and it was my fault.

Sure sorry to hear. I would have waited until I got the manual before I sent them the check, but that's just me.

The one member on here that promised to send me something, did, and completely free of charge. I still have that item.

And that man is having a milestone birthday today!

 

[KRH1326]

Re: Burned, and it was my fault.

Yeah Happy B'Day QC!!!


I was torn between posting the member name or not. On one hand this is not a vengeance post, but too, if I post the name, they can't get anyone else.

I will leave it at that. If a moderator wanted the name, I could be PM'd.

In this person's defense, they did not ask for anything for it. I just went ahead and sent them mailing cash. I don't remember if I told them on the phone that I would, It was a while ago.

This person could be a grifter, but really could be that screwed up. The thing is, I just don't know.

I have thier name, address and phone number. But I don't think that any law enforcement would be interested for $10. , especially for a verbal agreement that cannot be proven or disproved.

I don't think it's worth it, anyway.

Thanks guys.

 

[Summer Fun]

Re: Burned, and it was my fault.

Join the club !!, I had a guy on another forum. Bang me for a K1000 radar $450 bucks. I'm still waiting for that check.

 

[JB]

Re: Burned, and it was my fault.

Well, that is the main reason we don't allow such private transactions to be arranged or sought in the forums and delete any solicitation for them.

"I told him/her that I would scan and post the manual (along with several others that I have already done)."

We don't allow that, either, because it is a violation of Federal copyright law.

Please don't do either here, KRH. Scams and illegal copies are bad news anywhere, but absolutely forbidden here.

 

[JustJason]

Re: Burned, and it was my fault.

Join the club !!, I had a guy on another forum. Bang me for a K1000 radar $450 bucks. I'm still waiting for that check.

Thats exactly part of the reason iboats does not have a buy/sell/swap section. The Mods don't want to get into a game of he said, she said when it comes to buying/selling items over the forums.
That being said, There are definitely respectable folks here. If someone offers to sell you something via PM, look at their post count. To get to 1000 takes an awefull long time, and they are more than likely trustworthy.
If you feel the need to be even safer, get the phone number of somebody selling something and stay on the phone with them as they up it to ebay with an agreed "buy it now" price. Do your transaction through Ebay, as at least if you pay for an ebay auction via paypal it will be somewhat covered.

 

[JustJason]

Re: Burned, and it was my fault.

Beat me to it JB!!!

 

[Summer Fun]

Re: Burned, and it was my fault.

JB & Jason. You're right !! . But what the H*ll happened to the word TRUST and i give you my WORD that i'll pay you. . I guess a mans word is worth crap in todays world.

 

[Tyme2fish]

Re: Burned, and it was my fault.

I've been involved with two "deal/trades" on iboats.

Trade #1. Offered the shirt off my back to Kiwi Phil. He in turn (but didn't have to) sent me a bunch of lures. Trade completed satisfactorily.

Trade #2.Offered a spool of line to whom ever came nearest to the actual cost of building my boat barn. I made a mistake in reading the "bids" from the posters and ended up sending out a spool of line to each after I announced an incorrect winner.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Burned, and it was my fault.

I had a guy stiff me for $50 for a kicker bracker along with another member on another part. I also had another member offer to pay me shipping costs for an item I sent them which I never got.

 

[WAVENBYE2]

Re: Burned, and it was my fault.

Sorry to hear about what happened, There are alot of good guys here who are truly a "Man of their word" Don't let one incident ruin anything with the other people here.

 

[lowkee]

Re: Burned, and it was my fault.

Sorry to hear about your dealing. $10 isn't a bad price to pay to learn someone lacks morals. The flip side is isn't it sad they dissolved their morals for a mere $10.

I guess a mans word is worth crap in todays world.

It's a conscience choice you must make.. is it worth mistrusting everyone because some (most?) are untrustworthy?

I'm not always correct in my readings of people, but we naturally have an ability to detect the intentions of other people. Sometimes they can deceive us, but I think most of the time the 'gut instinct' (if you can keep your brain out of it) is correct. If something feels fishy, I don't normally fight the feeling. Then again, I'd rather get screwed once in a while than mistrust everyone I meet. It only punishes those who live a moral life.

Everyone has my trust until they lose it. I just try to look out for ambushes.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Burned, and it was my fault.

you know i have swapped, given away, sold, been given to, and bought and sold things to other members. i have never had a problem, the things i send out, have to be good. as a moderator, i have a reputation to protect. all of this thru PM's.

unfortunately, there are people out there that do not care about there reputation.

i have had a few problems on ebay, but paypal usually cured the problem.

 

[justchange]

Re: Burned, and it was my fault.

It's sad that others feel they have to con.

It's good to see that this site bans this type of forum. Might it be time to have a list of "don't buy from"?


One of the reasons I bought a boat was for something different from traveling highways and perhaps more friendly people. I found the second and am looking forward to the first.

 

[JB]

Re: Burned, and it was my fault.

For what it is worth, I believe that he who trusts everyone makes a lot fewer mistakes than he who trusts noone, but he who trusts selectively makes fewer mistakes than either.

 

[Summer Fun]

Re: Burned, and it was my fault.

I still trust some people . Its now you send me the check or money order FIRST !! then i'll send you your stuff. Its hard to get back at people when they give you a PO box addy or a cell number that doesn't work anymore.. I'll be happy if some day the check does show up. .

 

[Mark42]

Re: Burned, and it was my fault.

Funny thing. Got this manual in the mail the other day I never asked for. Send me $10 and its yours.....


Hee, hee, hee.