Bad trader alert
Username: badwished
If the mods allow it, I will post his real name and/or shipping address.
I respect this community and just wanted to give you guys a heads up on my nightmarish experience with this guy so you don't have to go through the same thing. I'll try to make it as short as possible; otherwise this would probably take up pages. EDIT- I tried my best and it took pages anway.
We agreed to do a trade for my 9300 for his 2405FPW and cash. I shipped priority and he got my laptop on the second day. He claimed to have shipped priority but in fact just printed a label and gave me that tracking number. When I inquired, he said there was a problem at the post office. So, he repackaged and this time actually sent it out. Days go by, then weeks. Mind you, he's had my laptop for 3 weeks at this point and I haven't even heard about the money (which was half of the deal). It took me weeks after he received the laptop just to get a reply to my question "have you been home to look it over?” because first kept saying he was out of town then at his parents’ for the 4th of July. Each time I gave him the benefit of the doubt and was extremely patient with him. His communication is terrible; he disappears 'out of town' for days and I'm left hanging. Anyway, at this point we are both convinced the package is lost because it’s been three weeks and the PO calls and tells him to file a claim. The PO calls me later that day and I almost fall off my chair when they tell me the package has been found and will be delivered the next day. Turns out, he shipped Parcel Post instead of Priority. We clearly agreed to both ship Priority. Who ships something like this via Parcel? While it isn’t his fault that the package got lost, this probably wouldn’t happen if he shipped priorirty like he was supposed to. Anyway, the box gets here and it is totally wrecked on one side. I open the box (which once held Styrofoam cups!?) and it’s a total mess. A thousand dollar monitor screen has Styrofoam taped to the front completely haphazardly, tape and pieces of Styrofoam everywhere (which I had to pick out of the vents using toothpicks!) and get this- the packing material looks like the stuff that comes from the inside of a cheap comforter! This after he claimed that he “got it professionally packed at the UPS store.” It took me a good ten minutes to peel off the tape carefully so I wouldn't damage the screen. When I finally uncovered the screen, there were spots all over it. He obviously didn't even wipe it down before sending it. I'm really surprised the monitor wasn't cracked during shipment. Also, there is a considerable chip on the lower corner of the plastic border around the LCD and scratches all over the lower plastic part where the buttons are. Definitely not mint as he described. Anyway, the story continues. And it gets better. Days before I got the LCD he tells me he wants to back out on the deal, first claiming it is because there is something wrong with the HD on the laptop (no such problem when I shipped it and I just don't believe him. I think he was using this as an excuse to ship the laptop back- we'll see tomorrow when I finally get my laptop) and then he says it's because he can get my laptop cheaper from dell and that he's had some unexpected motorcycle expenses. I tried to work something out with him just so we can put and end this fiasco quicker, but he wanted to get the LCD back and ship my laptop back. Fine. We start discussing shipping back and given how the transaction has gone so far, I tell him I want to get my laptop back first and then immediately after receiving the laptop I would ship his LCD back. This guy starts downright blackmailing me, saying if we don't ship simultaneously he will not ship my laptop back until he comes back from one of his trips again (2 weeks). I reluctantly agree and go to FedEx THAT SAME NIGHT that I get the LCD in the mail and get it repackaged and sent back, overnight. He agrees to pay for all shipping and packaging. He gets the laptop the next day, as promised. Meanwhile, I am still getting "Billing info received" on my laptop tracking number. It was supposedly shipped on the 14th, NEXT DAY AIR SAVER. Should have gotten here yesterday. I have calling him and emailing him for days to no avail. No replies. Finally today, he replies to my email saying he got bad sunburn on his bike and that pay pal has still not transferred money from his account and that he's now heading out of town. I get suspicious again, and again I am right concerning this guy: I look on UPS's website and the only place that would accept the package that late on Thursday (he said he dropped it off at around 9pm) was an Office Depot. I call them up and turns out he JUST DROPPED MY LAPTOP OFF YESTERDAY (MONDAY) WHEN HE TOLD ME HE DROPPED IT OFF THE PREVIOUS THURSDAY. Again he did the printing of the label trick online just so I can have a tracking number. Not only that, but the office depot guy tells me the laptop isn’t packaged securely enough, air pockets everywhere. I shipped it with shipping peanuts to the brim and packaged the whole thing, quoting Stephen "like Fort Knox." Anyway at this point this guy still owes me about $150 in shipping charges and I'm still waiting for my laptop. My 9300 better come in the same condition I shipped it in (MINT). This whole experience has been an absolute nightmare and I would recommend you guys avoid this guy at all costs. He has been nothing but shady. I have every single email I've exchanged with him if he decides to challenge my accusations.
Below is an email I sent him outlining the first half of this mess:
He sent me:
Steve.
I am going to the post office in the morning and find out whats going
on with this monitor. I am very uneasy about this myself, I
cannot get the Laptop fixxed since its in your name.. So I think
whats best if I just send you back this laptop, and You send the
monitor back to me.... I just got off the phone with Dell and I can
get your exact Laptop for $1133.00 Shipped to my door.
Once Ive find out were the monitor is I will 2day Fedex This laptop
back to you...
Stephen
My reply:
Username: badwished
If the mods allow it, I will post his real name and/or shipping address.
I respect this community and just wanted to give you guys a heads up on my nightmarish experience with this guy so you don't have to go through the same thing. I'll try to make it as short as possible; otherwise this would probably take up pages. EDIT- I tried my best and it took pages anway.
We agreed to do a trade for my 9300 for his 2405FPW and cash. I shipped priority and he got my laptop on the second day. He claimed to have shipped priority but in fact just printed a label and gave me that tracking number. When I inquired, he said there was a problem at the post office. So, he repackaged and this time actually sent it out. Days go by, then weeks. Mind you, he's had my laptop for 3 weeks at this point and I haven't even heard about the money (which was half of the deal). It took me weeks after he received the laptop just to get a reply to my question "have you been home to look it over?” because first kept saying he was out of town then at his parents’ for the 4th of July. Each time I gave him the benefit of the doubt and was extremely patient with him. His communication is terrible; he disappears 'out of town' for days and I'm left hanging. Anyway, at this point we are both convinced the package is lost because it’s been three weeks and the PO calls and tells him to file a claim. The PO calls me later that day and I almost fall off my chair when they tell me the package has been found and will be delivered the next day. Turns out, he shipped Parcel Post instead of Priority. We clearly agreed to both ship Priority. Who ships something like this via Parcel? While it isn’t his fault that the package got lost, this probably wouldn’t happen if he shipped priorirty like he was supposed to. Anyway, the box gets here and it is totally wrecked on one side. I open the box (which once held Styrofoam cups!?) and it’s a total mess. A thousand dollar monitor screen has Styrofoam taped to the front completely haphazardly, tape and pieces of Styrofoam everywhere (which I had to pick out of the vents using toothpicks!) and get this- the packing material looks like the stuff that comes from the inside of a cheap comforter! This after he claimed that he “got it professionally packed at the UPS store.” It took me a good ten minutes to peel off the tape carefully so I wouldn't damage the screen. When I finally uncovered the screen, there were spots all over it. He obviously didn't even wipe it down before sending it. I'm really surprised the monitor wasn't cracked during shipment. Also, there is a considerable chip on the lower corner of the plastic border around the LCD and scratches all over the lower plastic part where the buttons are. Definitely not mint as he described. Anyway, the story continues. And it gets better. Days before I got the LCD he tells me he wants to back out on the deal, first claiming it is because there is something wrong with the HD on the laptop (no such problem when I shipped it and I just don't believe him. I think he was using this as an excuse to ship the laptop back- we'll see tomorrow when I finally get my laptop) and then he says it's because he can get my laptop cheaper from dell and that he's had some unexpected motorcycle expenses. I tried to work something out with him just so we can put and end this fiasco quicker, but he wanted to get the LCD back and ship my laptop back. Fine. We start discussing shipping back and given how the transaction has gone so far, I tell him I want to get my laptop back first and then immediately after receiving the laptop I would ship his LCD back. This guy starts downright blackmailing me, saying if we don't ship simultaneously he will not ship my laptop back until he comes back from one of his trips again (2 weeks). I reluctantly agree and go to FedEx THAT SAME NIGHT that I get the LCD in the mail and get it repackaged and sent back, overnight. He agrees to pay for all shipping and packaging. He gets the laptop the next day, as promised. Meanwhile, I am still getting "Billing info received" on my laptop tracking number. It was supposedly shipped on the 14th, NEXT DAY AIR SAVER. Should have gotten here yesterday. I have calling him and emailing him for days to no avail. No replies. Finally today, he replies to my email saying he got bad sunburn on his bike and that pay pal has still not transferred money from his account and that he's now heading out of town. I get suspicious again, and again I am right concerning this guy: I look on UPS's website and the only place that would accept the package that late on Thursday (he said he dropped it off at around 9pm) was an Office Depot. I call them up and turns out he JUST DROPPED MY LAPTOP OFF YESTERDAY (MONDAY) WHEN HE TOLD ME HE DROPPED IT OFF THE PREVIOUS THURSDAY. Again he did the printing of the label trick online just so I can have a tracking number. Not only that, but the office depot guy tells me the laptop isn’t packaged securely enough, air pockets everywhere. I shipped it with shipping peanuts to the brim and packaged the whole thing, quoting Stephen "like Fort Knox." Anyway at this point this guy still owes me about $150 in shipping charges and I'm still waiting for my laptop. My 9300 better come in the same condition I shipped it in (MINT). This whole experience has been an absolute nightmare and I would recommend you guys avoid this guy at all costs. He has been nothing but shady. I have every single email I've exchanged with him if he decides to challenge my accusations.
Below is an email I sent him outlining the first half of this mess:
He sent me:
Steve.
I am going to the post office in the morning and find out whats going
on with this monitor. I am very uneasy about this myself, I
cannot get the Laptop fixxed since its in your name.. So I think
whats best if I just send you back this laptop, and You send the
monitor back to me.... I just got off the phone with Dell and I can
get your exact Laptop for $1133.00 Shipped to my door.
Once Ive find out were the monitor is I will 2day Fedex This laptop
back to you...
Stephen
My reply:
Quote:
| I haven't done the warrantee transfer yet because we haven't even talked about that. I was waiting for you. I've been told this kind of thing is done routinely and is very easy to do. The laptop left my hands in perfect condition. You're telling me now there's a hard drive problem and you want to send it back. How do I know this problem isn't a result of whatever you've done to it? (See below where I state that all my experiences with the laptop are documented on the forums and that I had no such problem). And honestly I don't want to spend any more money on shipping. As far as being able to get my laptop for $1133.00, that's not what I'm getting on Dell's configuration site right now, but EVEN IF this amount was correct, this is something you should have decided before our trade. All the specs and conditions of the trade were laid out precisely. Also, what about all of the extra stuff that I threw in the package? All that cost me money as well and even though you may have said you didn't need it, I clearly stated from the beginning that that was part of the deal and they would be included. I had no use for those accessories without the laptop. I even threw in the media play mouse, just as a kind gesture. And while we're discussing cost, this was part of a PM from me to you on the forums from the very beginning "I can get the 2405FPW w/ 25% off + $60 off + 2% off DPA on Dell's site right now. That's $822. My laptop is valued @ $2218 + 1GB Transcend Ram (now $108), factor in the 750 off and that's about $1576." 1576-822=$754. You agreed to send $750 + 2405FPW. Sounds like a very fair trade to me. Stephen, put yourself in my shoes and understand my position. Here's what has happened so far: 6/21, 8:40AM - I sent out the laptop. I immediately come home and e-mail you the tracking number. 6/21/2005 2:00PM - You e-mail me saying you've shipping and provide me with a tracking number that will later prove INVALID (These are exact words from the post office). Sometime on either 6/21 or 6/22 you call me and tell me that your PO told you your LCD hasn’t shipped because there was something wrong with the label. You’re very nagry and even apologetic to me about this and make it a point to tell me that I will receive your package no later than Monday-Tuesday. 6/22 - I contacted you about the invalid tracking number and you told me you'd get back to me after you go to the PO. I waited until the PO closed and contacted you AGAIN because you hadn't. You reply with a confirmation number. This confirmation number will later show “ACCEPTED” at your PO location for the whole time until today. 6/23/2005 9:19AM - You e-mail me saying you're going to be out of town for the weekend. The laptop I sent you would arrive today. Coincidence? You also tell me that I should receive your LCD this weekend. That intrigues me because you sent the LCD PARCEL POST and NOT Priority Mail. By the way, this is another issue entirely. We both agreed to ship PRIORITY yet you shipped Parcel Post. But you didn't even tell me this. In fact, I had to get this information from the post office. 6/24 - I send you an e-mail asking if you're received the laptop (the tracking number showed that you did) and reply "I out of town, I’ve been told it’s at home" 6/25-6/27 - No communication 6/28 - I e-mail you asking if you've looked at the computer. You reply no, that you're still out of town. It's Tuesday and you originally said you'd be away for the weekend. I continue to give you the benefit of the doubt, despite the computer being in your possession since 6/23. Meanwhile, still no LCD from you and certainly no money either. The tracking number continues to say ACCEPTED at your PO location without updates. The PO would later tell me that something is wrong with that, saying that when it takes this long, there is an intermediate scan of location. 7/1/2005 3:03PM - I e-mail you asking if you're back in town and whether you've looked the laptop over. I also inform you that I haven't received the LCD despite it being in transit for so many days. It is on this day that I call the post office and they tell me that you've shipped PARCEL POST, not priority mail. You reply to this e-mail with "Wow, would you like me to scan you a copy of the receipt and Signature Receipt I got?." I say yes and you send me a scanned copy of the receipts. I am not a postal worker and can't comment on the authenticity of these receipts, but again I continue to give you the benefit of the doubt despite so many red flags so far in this transaction. NOTE that you did not send me a scan of the insurance receipt, saying it was on a separate invoice. You also tell me that you haven't looked over the laptop and that you're at your parents for the 4th of July. Stephen, count how many days the laptop that has been in your possession. I am still waiting for the $750 AND the LCD; meanwhile you have had my laptop since the 23rd. I am still confident that you aren't ripping me off and even tell you not to worry about it and to enjoy the 4th. 7/6 - I again ask you if you've unpackaged the laptop. You reply with "Its all good, except Cant Get the Modem to work, and the HD getting some errors, Going to Reload Windows Xp, Downloading The Drivers from dell Right now, to see if that is the problem Will let you know ". At this point, I am COMPLETELY shocked that you're having a problem with the hard drive. I had absolutely no such problems. Check my posts on Notebook Forums. My experience with my laptop is well documented there. 7/8 - I call you on the phone and leave you a voicemail basically summarizing this whole transaction, more concisely than I have above, and telling you that I (1) Have NOT received the LCD so far (7/8 would be the FOURTEENTH business day in transit) and (2) I have not only NOT received your $750 but I have not even heard a mention of it from you! You've had the laptop in your possession for SIXTEEN DAYS!!! You tell me that you understand and that you are also concerned that I have not received the LCD and that you will find out about that at the post office and as far as the money is concerned, you will FedEx me the $750 on Monday. I reply that Saturday would be better because I am starting to get impatient (and for very good reason I believe) and you agree to call me on Saturday when you ship the money out from the post office. 7/9 - I await your call from the post office, as you promised. I get no call or email from you. Now, today, Sunday, 7/10 you send me this email below that you can't fix the computer because the warrantee hasn't been transferred (well of course not, I've been too busy worrying about the lost LCD and the $750 that I never got!!!). And of course you say that you want to send the laptop back. I am really at a loss for words at this point. Do you see everything that is wrong with this picture? I have been nothing but fair, honest, and extremely patient with you. I have completely fulfilled my end of the bargain. I sent you a laptop that was exactly as I described, and it arrived at your doorstep in 2 days. You’ve had it now for EIGHTEEN DAYS! I have NO LCD and NO $750!! I am awaiting your prompt response. The situation has changed completely and we need to get this resolved ASAP. I took a lot of time to type this up. Please take the time to respond. |
