Well, it finally happened... I got ripped.. advice?

[personman]

Hey guys.
I've been buying selling and trading on the internet for three years now and I finally got ripped off. I'm pretty ticked but im remaining calm.
It was one of those deals that followed the rule 'if its too good to be true, it isnt'. Its just that I had gotten so many good internet deals over the years that I was pretty confident.

Well, it started out with my friend wanting a mag. I bought one off the internet (thanks slipknot) for a great price and traded it to him for his impulse. He had had the impulse for a while but never used it too much due to problems with his knees (they are getting better now). I personally dont like impulses but this was a pretty nice gun. It shot great.

Right now I dont have a very nice guitar, and I want a better one. I was browsing around on PBN and found this thread. (http://www.pbnation.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=633827) He has edited out his first post but luckally I saved it. It read:

This is a Gibson Lespaul Classic Plus, cherry sunburst guitar. The MSRP for this guitar is $2200....I inheirited it from my grandfather about 4 months ago. It's in perfect working condition. I replaced the original neck with a (Lotus) Les Paul neck. I stripped all the strings off but never got around to putting new ones on. (you could put strings on it for less than $10)
That wasnt all he said, but thats all I saved.
It also had this picture linked: http://brittontv.com/southpaw/cl+.jpg

I dont know much about guitars so I looked it up, and that was a VERY nice guitar.
At fist I was thinking, no way am I going to get this. Then I saw that someone else had offered an impulse which wasnt as nice as the one I thought, and this guy said he was interested. So I said what the heck and posted mine.

He sent me an instant message. Click Here To Read (http://ajhodges.ultrixhosting.com/guitar.htm) (Note the ONLY things I edited I clearly stated when I did, and were for legitimate reasons.)

He seemed like a pretty nice guy, pretty good communication, and I was ready to do the deal.

Later we talked again in this IM: Click Here To Read. (http://ajhodges.ultrixhosting.com/guitar2.htm)

Theres a little gap in here, where I guess I forgot to save the convo. I recorded a video of the gun firing paint, working perfectly fine. I also took some very high quality pictures.
He told me that I would have to pay for shipping for the guitar since he diddnt have the money to do it. That was cool with me.

It continues: Click Here To Read (http://ajhodges.ultrixhosting.com/guitar3.htm)

After this, he gives me the tracking number and asks me if I can go ahead and send the gun because he had a tourney he wanted to use it in. I was pretty reluctant but I trusted the guy so I said ok. When I got the guitar, it looked like it was in amazing condition and I was pretty happy with it. I wanted to find more about the guitar so I googled it and I couldnt find any other pics that looked just like this guitar. So I registered and posted on ultimate-guitar.com. Read the thread here:
http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=135077

Well, as you can imagine, after I got this responce I was pretty ticked. I thought maybe the guy had made a mistake though, so I decided not to yell at him. I sent him a PM on PBN and asked him to get on AIM asap because I had a question about the guitar. He got on pretty fast, and this is how our convo went: Click Here To Read. (http://ajhodges.ultrixhosting.com/guitar4.htm)

I dont know if the guy was playing stupid or what. I sent him another PM or two and he diddnt reply to them. I'm stupid for not saving them but I have some clips of what I said.

I asked him if he would send me back the gun or 350. He diddnt reply so I sent him another one asking why he wouldnt reply to my PMs. This was his response..

Sorry about that...some of my friends get on my name here and read my PM's so i didn't know i had any new ones. Anyways...i like the gun, and i don't want to send it back, i think we had a fair trade.


Um, ok.. The guitar is worth 100 and the gun tank and hopper are worth 500.. how exactly is that fair?


What im trying to say is we made the trade...you said the guitar sounds good. I mean i know it plays fine. What do you not like about it?

This was my reply:
It does sound good, I like the sound in overdrive atleast. I cant for the life of me get the higher frets in tune though, no matter how much I adjust the bridge things (which are supposed to fix it)
Also it is just the concept that I lost 400 dollars. I dont throw that kind of money away.
I understand that you like the gun, I like it too. But if you want to keep it you're going to have to compensate for my losses, which means atleast 350 worth of stuff.

His reply:

I'm sorry...i don't have $350 worth of anything to give you right now man...

I told him that I would give him time to think of something to send me, or come up with money. This is what he said.


I can't really thing of anything to send you...

I sent him a few more messages. I dont really remember what they said. He diddnt reply to them. I could see from message tracking that he had read them so I asked him:
personman wrote on 09-26-2004 12:18 AM:
Er-- are you going to reply to my messages or ignore me?

He replied:
Right now im trying to mess with the gun...im shooting at 133 fps, which is not good.

I'm thinking.. uhh what? The gun was working fine when I sent it out. I did a search and I found this thread:
http://www.pbnation.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=655933

I dont see how this could have happened, and I still dont. The gun was working perfectly fine when I sent it out, I swear by my life.

I talked to him a little on AIM and asked him when he could get the money to me. He said he was getting a job soon and could pay me. So I have him time. I asked him in a PM when he was getting a job and he replied
"'ll contact you when i find something out."

Well I was starting to get a little impatient. I told him very plainly that if I did not see the money soon that I would start to get pissed. He replied with this:
"Well it'd be better if you just calmed down....why get pissed off when you can't do anything about it."

This morning I sent him this.

Hey, Something just came up and I need that money pretty badly. Can you borrow it from your parents or something? I think they would understand if you told them a guy has been waiting almost a month for this money now..
If it'll help, I'll call and talk to them.
Thanks

And I was shocked when he sent me this:


i'm not sending jack...because the gun doesn't even work anymore

WHAT?!

I sent him this:

WTF?
I sent you the gun working perfectly fine, I video taped it working and everything. I dont know what the hell you did to the gun but whatever it was was your fault and not mine. I still expect the money or I will take legal actions.

He just replied with this:

Well your not getting **** from me buddy....the gun now shoots 133fps MAX...i cannot find out what is wrong with it. and wtf? legal actions? what are you going to do? call the cops and tell them that you made a trade with some guy on the internet but you didn't like what you got so you want it back?



Well, I'm not exactly sure what to do now. I'm thinking about calling his parents. Can anyone help me out here?

Thanks for reading this insanely long post, I appreciate it.
Adam

[personman]

Forgot to add that he also just made this post:
http://www.pbnation.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=664420

[LaW]

Honestly to my knowledge the most you could do if you didnt even get the guitar would be to contact the local authorities in his area. Unfortunately I am not sure in regards to transactions on the internet and getting a product not as advertised, anything can be done by authorities. The only thing I can think is to take it to small claims, you would have to do it in his state for any judgement to be upheld and that might be too much of a hassle.

Definately call his parents, get them involved. If that doesnt work you can either get a lawyer to handle a case so you dont have to travel to do small claims, make sure to add the cost of a lawyer into the amount requested.

I have been in a similar situation and I got my money by having a friend of my parents (cop) call and intimidate the person in the other state but thats a different situation.

[personman]

I dont know weather I should tell him I'm going to call and try to intimidate him or just call, because I'm thinking if I tell him I'm going to call and he isnt afraid, he will just try to block my phone number or pick up the phone before his parents do..

[LaW]

Dont tell him your calling. The way I see it, you dont owe him any kind of respect especially to release your intentions regarding the matter.

[ryanshep]

ask him why its ur fault the gun doesnt work if he even says it did....

"i then turned it down and the gun worked fine but now (few weeks later) the gun is shooting very low....is this due to the solenoid?"

I think instead of wasting a couple hundred on a lawyer, get a plane ticket there only like 100 bucks these days and go give his house a visit

[oneworld]

press... *67...then dial his number...so it would be like a sales person.. then ask for the man or woman of the house!...and tell them all about it!.... :D

[SlipknotX556]

You have his adress, his real name. Find his number from Whitepages.com, call him, tell him if he dosent give you 350 dollars you will report it to the police. If this is a kid, I am thinking he is, call and talk to his parents.

I have been dealing online almost the second day I came to AO, which was almost 3 years ago as well, I have never been ripped off, I hope I never do get ripped. Sorry to hear that you got ripped, hope things work out.


Your welcome for the great deal on the gun :) .

[personman]

Thanks for the advice so far everyone.
I'm suprised I havent gotten any 'you're stupid, what made you think that was legit? idiot idiot idiot!' replys.. thanks for being mature, guys.

I plan on calling his house tommorow after school when I'm in a better mood. He shouldnt be home since he is in the central time zone.
BTW, he is 16 years old, I am 15.

Thanks so much everyone,
Adam

[RRfireblade]

Wow, that sucks man.

Unfortunately I think you should have done a little more home work on the deal.

For starters the pic he sent you is of a left hand guitar, unless I'm missing something, you were dealing a right hander.

Beyond that, even if it WAS a Gibson LP, they have a set in and glued on neck. 'Changing' the neck would have been a huge project and require acomplete refinish/rebiuld of the guitar.

Any of that, not to mention replacing it with a cheap knock off neck would completely destroy the value to that of beyond worthless.

He obviously lied and intended to rip you off but you should have been more carefull when playing around with $500 worth of Gear.In actuallity, you got a guitar equal to the value of what you were told, even if it had started out as a Gibson LP it would have been worth the same as a knock Lotus with a bad finish if that alteration had been done to it. Sorry.

There just so happens to be a few peeps here on AO ;) that could have advised you on the Guitar and perhaps saved you the heartache.

I hope something good comes out of but I kinda doubt it will.

Good luck, I hope you the best.

Jay.

[LaW]

Slipknot, reporting it to the police wouldnt get him anywhere in the first place, so if the kid doesnt get "scared" thats just not going to work. If your only 15 personman maybe talk to your parents and see if they can help with the situation.

Also anyone that says to go pay his house a visit... what would that do? You cant just go there and take the marker back because thats illegal, you cant lay some kind of beat down because thats illegal... it would not solve anything.

And to the *67 comment... I for one will not answer a call that is from an unlisted number on my phone...

[personman]

Yeah, LaW is right.

Fireblade, I thought I did research, but I guess I just diddn't do enough. I should have looked to see if the neck was removable on gibsons. I later found out that they weren't of corse on my post on ultimate-guitar.com. It was too late then though.
I'm not so sure if he lied though, maybe he was just misinformed? Or maybe I'm just too easily convinced.
I noticed the pic was a left hander, and I thought I was getting a left hander until a righty showed up in the mail. Well whatever.
There alot of things I 'should' have done, but I diddn't.. :cry:

[Glickman]

if u wanna post the info you got, im sure i, or others can get some "nervously" accurate info, house pics, whatever. it does do its job :rolleyes:

then contact the "grandfather" and see waht he has to say

[personman]

I know how to get info with someone's adress.
There's no need for that information though, why would I want a picture of his house?

[teufelhunden]

www.ifccfbi.gov

Make it your friend. You're probably going to need to follow up with them to make sure it goes though. Also, try the Attorney General of his state.

[LaW]

I have gone through with the internet fraud complaint center before here are my experiences.

About 25+ people were ripped off by someone that some of us have actually met in the las vegas area and basically he was selling car parts to multiple people and probably got away with like 25k which he used to pay off debts. We filed our complaint and we checked in on it a few times. It took over 8 months before we got a reply that they were going to start looking into the case. In the end some of us got our money returned through courts etc and many just took a hit. I lost about 250 only so it was more of a lesson learned. I have met the guy before to which really got to me.

When it comes to small cases they usually look over them for a long long time. Something like this probably wouldnt be taken care of in the near future. That is how it worked a couple years ago and I dont see why it would have changed since.

[RRfireblade]

Yeah, I hear you.

Hindsight IS 20/20 after all. I just REALLY hate to see an AO'er take one on a guitar deal, I thought most around here was aware of my interests and knowledge of guitars. I feel bad knowing I could have helped but didn't know in time.

Anyway, I do feel bad for you and hope you get some kind of restitutuion.

Maybe it was Karma the the Imp crapped out on him. :)

[teufelhunden]

I just REALLY hate to see an AO'er take one on a guitar deal, I thought most around here was aware of my interests and knowledge of guitars.


And I thought you only made picks ;)

[RRfireblade]

And I thought you only made picks ;)
Oh, is that what they're used for? I've been using them to clean fuzz out of my belly button. :D

[personman]

I'm really hoping I can just make this phone call and have everything work out. Unless his parents are totally irresponsable, I should get my money back and this guy should end up grounded.
Do you guys think that I should have my parents talk, or should I do the talking?

Fireblade, I should have talked to you before I made this deal. But I guess at the time, the deal looked too good and I diddnt see any reason to contact anyone else. That and I was afraid if I showed anyone else they would give a better offer and get the guitar instead of me :p
But you can help me out here, I'm still looking for a nicer guitar and I'm hoping once I get the money from this guy, and money that someone else owes me, I'll have enough for a decent guitar. I really like the looks of the Epiphone Black Beauty and all the reviews I've read on it say its amazing. What do you think about epiphones? :)

I kind of wish the imp diddnt crap out on him, even if he did deserve it, because now he's going to blame it on me and it's going to be alot harder for me to get my money back :(
But crapping out is what imps do best :rofl:

[RRfireblade]

Do you guys think that I should have my parents talk, or should I do the talking?


What do you think about epiphones? :)




I would suggest you talk ot his parents. It will show your maturity and that your not some silly 'kid'. You can tell your own story and hopefully convey some honesty and sincerity.

As for Epis' , they are excellent guitars and usually a great deal if found used. I've played quite a few and they often out play the Gibson equivelent for far less money. Ultimately there is very little practical difference between the 2, not including price. ;)

[personman]

Yeah, but it just seems like if it was coming from an adult they would trust and believe the story more. For all they know, I could be lying, and I'm pretty sure this guy is going to deny it when confronted..

I think I'm going to buy a new Black Beauty, but I'm hoping I can get it cheap. I think if I buy it through my band director I can get discounts. He said he got a kid a 1400 dollar clarinet for 600 dollars so I'm crossing my fingers :cool:

[dynastyfan]

i own an epi les paul standard and it is a very good guitar. from what the owner of my local guitar shop told me the humbuckers in an epi. are the same as gibson.

[RRfireblade]

zzounds had some 'b stock' Epi standards in black for like $399. Might want to check and see if they sitll have some.

[behemoth]

Comon, im not italian and big for nothing!

[RRfireblade]

Looks like they still do.

http://www.zzounds.com/item--EPILPSTD

[-=Squid=-]

I would call before I let my parents call, and if you talk to his parents and they wont help, then have yours call.

[personman]

Comon, im not italian and big for nothing!
Actually, counting this guy, this is the second guy who has ripped me off.
This guy was going to trade his mp3 player for my intelliframe, so I sent the intelliframe and he never sent the mp3 player. Boo hiss! ;) (Haha we worked things out though.)

Yeah, B stocks are cheaper and instock at wwbw.com (http://www.wwbw.com/Epiphone-Les-Paul-Black-Beauty-3-i31921.music) (where my band teacher can get discounts from) but I would rather have a brand new untouched one :)

[personman]

This guy is confusing me.

Him: Well your not getting **** from me buddy....the gun now shoots 133fps MAX...i cannot find out what is wrong with it. and wtf? legal actions? what are you going to do? call the cops and tell them that you made a trade with some guy on the internet but you didn't like what you got so you want it back?

Me: What I dont understand is why you're trying to pin the blame on ME?
I sent you the gun working great, and you screwed it up somehow, and now you're trying to blame me for it? Ummm, no.

Him: Did i ever say i was blaming something on you? no. and right now im trying to find out wtf is wrong with the gun, it shot fine for the game i used it in and then it just all of a sudden starts shooting low....

Me: It was implied in your message when you said you werent sending me '****'.
If it wasnt my fault, then why aren't you going to pay me anything?

Him: because i don't want to send you $350 for something that doesn't work. I'm not saying your at fault and i know im not at fault because i just played with it and thats all....so that must mean it's a faulty gun.

Well I dont know what to do. Should I ask for the gun back? Then I have to try and get it fixed, and he might have scratched it or something, but it would be alot easier than trying to pry the money from his parents?

[personman]

Ummmmmmmm NO.
I just read this post in his tech help thread.
http://www.pbnation.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=664420


no but i did take the solenoid out to check the spool valve and when i put it back in the solenoid is now leaking....it's pissing me off. I'm about to just sell is off cheap to anyone who can actually fix it.

[personman]

Any more advice? Should I ask him to send the imp back (my local proshop is very pro-sp and has a certified tech there that could probably fix it [for a price]) or should I call his rents and ask talk to them about money?
I dont really want the impulse back and I would lose money since I would have to get it fixed, but it seems like thats the best option, and the one that would work the best?

[RRfireblade]

Get the Imp back if you can. If it indeed has a problem, send it to me. I'll straighten it out for you at no charge as long as it doesn't need any hard parts.

Jay.

[personman]

Get the Imp back if you can. If it indeed has a problem, send it to me. I'll straighten it out for you at no charge as long as it doesn't need any hard parts.

Jay.

Well I dont want you to go through any trouble. I'm pretty cool with the guys at the shop so It would just be easier to get it done there..
You think I should try to get it back though?

[RRfireblade]

It's no trouble.......

I'd get it back 'cause it's worth more than the guitar you got for it trade.

And, it'll be a bit easier re-selling it or trading the Imp than a $100 no name guitar.

IMO.

[personman]

Its trouble ;)

Well, I ment should I get the imp back opposed to trying to get money from the guy?

[RRfireblade]

Money would be easier, but I'm guessing you'll never actually see any from him.He's more likely to give up the Marker since it's not working right, or so he says.

[personman]

Yeah, thats what I'm thinking too. PBN is down right now so I cant PM him though.

[tony3]

Wow dude that sucks, definitely call his parents. The first time I've got ripped in a deal, happened to be a local deal. Kid owes me 100 bucks, but I can't get it out of him and can't get a ride to his house.

[cris8762]

i recommend you talk to his parents and say "this situation needs to be resolved, i propose that i send back this guitar and he sends me a money order in the amount that the paintball marker was worth when i sent it to him in working condition because i have video proof that the gun worked when it was sent."

or something to that effect

[personman]

Well PBN is back up so I just sent him this message:
Hey,
Well lets come to a comprimise here. How about I send you the guitar back and you send me everything I sent you back to me. That way you dont have to deal with the gun and I dont have to deal with this guitar. I would appreciate it if you could give me something extra (even if its really small) since I will have to fix this gun, and I sent it to you working.
What do you say?

I'm going to go study now, I have a test and a quiz tommorow that I need to pass :)

That sucks Tony.. you cant find ANYONE to give you a ride? Dang, I feel sorry for you.

Thanks for all the advice guys,
I'll post the reply tommorow :)

[themish]

central? wheres he located, maybe one of us can pay him a visit?

[personman]

Around Shreveport, Louisiana, but I'd rather keep AO out of this for now :)

[mike19087]

u should call his parents before anything else and dont do anything stupid with this that can hurt u later. I flipped out at a guy who ripped me off now he changed his aim email and ao so i cant get in touch with him.
good luck
Mike

[boardfu]

Two words bud. Small claims.

[robdamanii]

I would suggest you talk ot his parents. It will show your maturity and that your not some silly 'kid'. You can tell your own story and hopefully convey some honesty and sincerity.

As for Epis' , they are excellent guitars and usually a great deal if found used. I've played quite a few and they often out play the Gibson equivelent for far less money. Ultimately there is very little practical difference between the 2, not including price. ;)

I'll second the opinion on Epis. I play an Epi LP Boneyard signature edition, and it plays JUST as good as any of the Gibson's I've tried. I actually like it more, since it's a little more forgiving of my amateur playing skills.

Definitely recommend one of them. :tup:

[slasherdan]

I'll second the opinion on Epis. I play an Epi LP Boneyard signature edition, and it plays JUST as good as any of the Gibson's I've tried. I actually like it more, since it's a little more forgiving of my amateur playing skills.

Definitely recommend one of them. :tup:

Personally I think a call to the parents is going to be no good. Where do you think this kid got his morals???

The kid doesn't sound to mature for a 16 year old because he reads like he has the thought process of a 8 year old having a tantrum.

Calling his parents will lead to them asking him about it and him lying and them buying his story over yours. Or they'll say something like "Don't know what you're talking about and we're not interested."

You will most likely have to take the hit, or take him to small claims court. You have all the PM's and vid's saved so you can prove that you've been honest and up front and understanding and willing to work it out .... and that he's been a lying little crap.

Most likely he could be using several different alias's to cover his butt by making up a fake tech talk on pbnation ....

[abunkerer]

Well PBN is back up so I just sent him this message:
Hey,
Well lets come to a comprimise here. How about I send you the guitar back and you send me everything I sent you back to me. That way you dont have to deal with the gun and I dont have to deal with this guitar. I would appreciate it if you could give me something extra (even if its really small) since I will have to fix this gun, and I sent it to you working.
What do you say?

I'm going to go study now, I have a test and a quiz tommorow that I need to pass :)

That sucks Tony.. you cant find ANYONE to give you a ride? Dang, I feel sorry for you.

Thanks for all the advice guys,
I'll post the reply tommorow :)


Well, you have to treat this situation carefully. You obviously got ripped off and now have to do some damage controll. First off you are going to have to cut your losses, your first priority is getting your gear back. The fact that the gun is not working right is unimportant, and it is unproductive to even get into that argument. He is trying to change your focus.

I think that it would be silly to try and get him to give you "something extra (even if its really small)" because it is going to make him even less willing to send you anything back. The kid has his heart set on keeping the gun, his PBN sig reads: Pimpin the 2k3 impy. It going to be tough getting it out of his hands.

It also sounds like the kid knows that it is going to be nearly impossible for you to make him face any consequences for his actions. He has you beat right now, and he thinks that there is really little you can do about it.

I think that you should have your parents get involved, or at least tell them what you are going through so that they can advise you on how to proceed. You shouldn't have given him so much time to justify his actions. This kid probably doesn't care that he ripped you off, he probably feels good about it, he thinks that he got a good deal on a gun.

Internet scams happen all the time, do you think that those people on ebay that buy a picture of an alias intimidator ever get their $1200.00 back? nope, and the people pulling the scams rarely get caught.

[cphilip]

Your stupid.....

:D

I posted on his thread. See if you can look up his Phone number.

[personman]

Thanks for the posts but I really dont think thats going to help at all, infact I believe it may make it worse.
He's going to think that I went crying to AO for help (which I guess I did do in a sense).. well I dunno. Phil, I do appreciate your post though :)
As of now I havent accused him of ripping me off to his face, as you can read, I've been treating it as if it was a mistake, and I think that's the best and most mature way to handle it. I dont think things will get solved if I start screaming 'you ripped me off' ect ect at him..

I guess you're right that Its silly to ask him to give me anything back. But he owes it to me, pretty much he just borrowed my gun for a month and broke it in the process.. It couldn't hurt to ask? I dont think he really wants to keep the gun now that it is broken. His last post in the technical thread stated that he was thinking of selling it off cheap to someone who thought they could fix it.

Slasher, I see where you're coming from, but I dont think his parents could be that bad. If they are, I'll get mine involved, and if that doesn't work, I'll take him to court. It might be alot of effort for 'only' 350, but my family doesn't throw away money like that. It just doesn't happen. My dad is pretty passionate about things like this.


Edit:
Oh, btw Phil,
YOU'RE stupid ;)


Edit edit:
I have his phone number :)
I was going to call this evening, but should I wait for him to reply to my PM?
I think I'll call collect just to be an arse :D

[behemoth]

hahahahh C-A-L-L-A-T-T! SAVE A BUCK OR TWO OR THREE! ...that carrot top...

[GotMag?]

If he lives in Haugton, Louisiana, I live RIGHT by it, in Bossier City like 2 minutes away

[personman]

If he lives in Haugton, Louisiana, I live RIGHT by it, in Bossier City like 2 minutes away
Yup, thats where he lives :)


Um..
Well.. It looks like we have a situation here, and as I was guessing, those posts did not help at all.

His reply:
How about.....**** you. Stop sending me messages because your not getting your gun back. and tell you little 15 year old friends to stop going in my threads and threating me with some bull**** lies talking about "you have a week...." in a week your gun will be sold to someone who knows how to fix it, i will then buy an autococker....so thank you, bye.

[personman]

Things are heating up a bit in this thread:
http://www.pbnation.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=7824473#post7824473


Its becoming very apparent that he is indeed trying to rip me off.

Personman....i would give my left arm to go back in time and stop myself from editing that thread to "Guitar has been sold."....in that thread it did state that the guitar i was selling was a "Gibson Lespaul lookalike".
Ha, I've never heard so much bull in my life.

[personman]

Please dont make any more posts or PMs to Kevin that could piss him off. As of now it looks like I may have got him?

I sent him a pm and I told him that I knew how to fix the gun but he wasnt getting the fix until I saw my money. Heh. This was his reply.

well dude...before you see any money, if you see any money, i have to acquire my job. I start work next week.

Well I dunno. But leave him alone for now.

[wad04]

this just really maddens me hard core, sorry man

[personman]

Wad, I am thankful for your concern, and I'm really happy to see that people are willing to help, but no more posts in his thread. Please? I think bugging him is only going to make it harder for me to regain my loses.
Thanks.

[-=Squid=-]

Don't believe a damn thing he says about getting his job; he is a liar and isn't going to pay you. Plain and simple, you will have to press it until he gives in. Call as soon as you can.

That's what I would do, anyways.

[wad04]

okay i'm done i promise not matter what. again i hope for the best! this guy sounds like a major tool.

[personman]

Don't believe a damn thing he says about getting his job; he is a liar and isn't going to pay you. Plain and simple, you will have to press it until he gives in. Call as soon as you can.

That's what I would do, anyways.
The problem is that I trust people too much :(

Gahh I really want to keep this simple, I have mid terms this friday and I should be studying.

[wad04]

go study, worry about it after.

[-=Squid=-]

The problem is that I trust people too much :(

Gahh I really want to keep this simple, I have mid terms this friday and I should be studying.
Trust me; I'm the same way as you... I want to believe people... but it is evident that this is BS.

[Empyreal Rogue]

Well, I hate to tell you personman but no matter how much I believe you (I do) he's right. You don't have the original thread in its entirety so you don't have enough to claim that you were a victim of a fraudulent trade. And he covered himself by editing the original post so nothing can be proven against him.

Harassment won't get you anywhere so don't be a nuisance. But talking with his parents or your parents to his is certainly your best option. Possibly even speak with a lawyer and present all evidence you have, though I doubt there will be enough to involve a court. It's pretty obvious you were a victim to False Advertising but there's no sure fire way to prove it without the original post in its entirety.

I hate to be the voice of reason, but someone has to do it. Sorry, personman. It just goes to show that bad things always happen to good people. Trust me, I know. :(

[LaW]

Well, I hate to tell you personman but no matter how much I believe you (I do) he's right. You don't have the original thread in its entirety so you don't have enough to claim that you were a victim of a fraudulent trade. And he covered himself by editing the original post so nothing can be proven against him.

Harassment won't get you anywhere so don't be a nuisance. But talking with his parents or your parents to his is certainly your best option. Possibly even speak with a lawyer and present all evidence you have, though I doubt there will be enough to involve a court. It's pretty obvious you were a victim to False Advertising but there's no sure fire way to prove it without the original post in its entirety.

I hate to be the voice of reason, but someone has to do it. Sorry, personman. It just goes to show that bad things always happen to good people. Trust me, I know. :(


Hate to say it but personman has PLENTY to go to small claims over this. He just has to go to small claims in the state that the other person resides and unless he wants to travel there would have to hire a lawyer possibly as well. That is the biggest road block in dealing with his situation. I have had to do something similar to this once and was able to get a judgment in my favor with less than what he has... so dont say he doesnt have enough "claim"... just my .02 cents

[Empyreal Rogue]

Possibly, but I've never dealt with small claims nor have I ever had to make one.

I was referring to the big picture.

[LaW]

Possibly, but I've never dealt with small claims nor have I ever had to make one.

I was referring to the big picture.

Basically what it comes down to is unless something can be worked out between the two parties a solution cannot be had without a lot of work involved to get there. It will take time and some money to pursue small claims. If you win you will probably be able to get the money you are owed and also money for legal fees.

[personman]

Well the best part is that I just realised that I have a witness of the origional post.
FROSTEEiCE obviously read the ad, and I could contact him and ask him if he remembers there being anything about him saying it was a 'look alike' (oh and trust me, there wasn't. there is no way I would even attempt getting a deal this good if I diddnt throughly read the ad atleast 10 times. also I just remembered I have the link that he posted that was SUPPOSED to be the guitar he was sending me. thats in my first post on this thread, that is also proof.)

I still think it would be alot easier if I could trust this guy. :(

[teufelhunden]

I assume you've contacted the PBN admin staff? They really don't like this whole fraud thing and will deal with it as much as they can. I'd also bet that their database has a record of the post before edit.. if not, and they run things decently over there, I'd bet there's a backup somewhere between the time he made the post and the time he edited it..

[personman]

I assume you've contacted the PBN admin staff? They really don't like this whole fraud thing and will deal with it as much as they can. I'd also bet that their database has a record of the post before edit.. if not, and they run things decently over there, I'd bet there's a backup somewhere between the time he made the post and the time he edited it..
Actually, I havent. I will contact them right now.
Why havent I thought of that?
Thanks :)

[personman]

Well I just talked to Tony in the PBN chat room.
He said there wasnt alot he could do, but he did say he could dig up the database file, but it would take a while. I told him that if I thought I needed it I would contact him. This would be very usefull if I ever DO take him to court.. I really dont want to though :(
I'll just point out to the dude that I have all these sources of information and if we were to go to court, I would most likely win.. I think I may call and talk to his parents tommorow as well.

[teufelhunden]

You're gonna wanna do that sooner rather than later and quit avoiding it.. if this kid really is looking to move the gun you're short on time.

[personman]

You're gonna wanna do that sooner rather than later and quit avoiding it.. if this kid really is looking to move the gun you're short on time.
I know, I know. :(
I'm a pansy, I've never liked calling other people's houses.
I have telephonophobia :(

[cockermongol]

http://www.pbnation.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=665611

I dunno if this has been mentioned yet... but you might want to act quickly if you want your gun back...

[personman]

I have NO IDEA how I missed that thread.
Thank you SO much.

[cockermongol]

I have NO IDEA how I missed that thread.
Thank you SO much.
no prob, glad to help

[black tri star]

personman, you should do the honor of beating him infront of his kids

[RT pRo AuToMaG]

I know a Louisiana State trooper that could probably help you out. His s/n is EZE I think on Pbnation. Send him a PM and see if he can help maybe. If not, just PM me, I know some pretty high up people in Louisiana if you need help. Good luck getting your stuff back.

[Automaggot68]

I know it wont be any help, but it's irking me anyway.
I was under the influence that actual Les Paul's necks were glued, not bolt on.
Same with Sg's.
Sorry for jacking the thread

[cphilip]

...get me his Phone number....

[SCpoloRicker]

...get me his Phone number....

/cue "It's Raining Men"
//sorry


It's impressive to see AO'ers helping each other out. Sick 'em Phil!

[Lesta]

wtf is wrong with you? You're being a total pansy about this. You gotta get in his face about it. Call him now and give him a piece of your mind.

[abunkerer]

wtf is wrong with you? You're being a total pansy about this. You gotta get in his face about it. Call him now and give him a piece of your mind.



Agreed. Personman, your fear of conflict is costing you an impulse. THis guy knows that you are scared and that you aren't going to do anything, your time is running out. I hope you have something planned because you sound like a decent kid and I hate to see people get taken advantage of.
good luck!

[slasherdan]

http://www.pbnation.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=665611

I dunno if this has been mentioned yet... but you might want to act quickly if you want your gun back...

He posted on the site that he's sending the gun back. Is this true??

[personman]

Well this is the PM I just got from him
i guess im going to just end up sending the gun back to you....sorry everything went down like this, i really didnt mean to rip you off in anyway....but i guess i'll contact you when we need to trade back, later.

I trust him.

This is the reply I just sent him.

Thanks, I really diddnt want to have to do anything.
I dont think you ment to rip me off either.. or atleast thats what I thought for quite a while..
What do you mean by you will contact me when we need to trade back? :confused:

[personman]

I'm pretty confident that he has either realised that I could really get him on this, or maybe doesn't feel like dealing with it anymore. Anyway, I'm pretty sure I'm getting my gun back now :)


Kevio wrote on 10-05-2004 05:04 PM:
I just mean when im about to ship it out you know....im pretty busy this whole week with getting the job and stuff.

Ok.
Oh, and by the way.. I think we both know that you diddn't put the 'imitation' part in your post. I'm 99% sure that I diddn't miss that. And if you'd like, I've been in contact with a PBN admin and I can get him to check the database for the origional post.. but it looks like things are working out, so there isn't a need for that.
I'm pretty busy too, I know what you mean man. I have mid terms and this situation isnt helping me study at all..

Thanks :)

[cphilip]

Agreed. Personman, your fear of conflict is costing you an impulse. THis guy knows that you are scared and that you aren't going to do anything, your time is running out.!

He knows I mean what I say and that I will back up what I say. And he knows now I can and will interfere with his scam. I can tell you his parents do not know what he is up to. And they will if I have to. If he knows whats good for him he will follow through and send it back. And Personman you pay shipping back to him on that guitar and consider it a lesson learned. DO NOT ship the guitar back until you get your marker.

And get me his Phone number in case he does not. Do it! Keep me informed.

Why am I doing this? Well... if you must know...Personman is sort of like a Son to me... at least I feel that way. I like the kid. There are a lot of other kids I feel this way about here too. I got nothing but time when it comes to scammers when they hit close to home. I might not get it all done. But I can make life miserable for them if I chose too.

[personman]

Thanks Phil :) You're like a dad to me ;)

I will PM you his phone number just in case, but for now Im pretty convinced that he will send it back. Then again, I'm easily convinced :)

And dont worry, I dont intend to send the guitar back until I get my marker. And yes.. money will be coming out of my little stash I keep for paintballing to ship the guitar back (DARN! I was going to take a girl paintballing with that money, too! :D)

Edit: His latest PM states:

it's all good....we will trade back very soon.

[cphilip]

I have told him to insure it and track it and you will do the same....

Sometimes you gotta pay for your mistakes. If you get off this cheap it will be worth it.

That is his Mom's name there? Kimberly?

[SlipknotX556]

Phil you amaze me, you treat AO users like family, offering to call this kid, try to help out Personman. But you should still call him, and tell him not to try and rip anyone off again, just to see what he says. lol

[personman]

Yep, Phil is the bestest moderator ever.
I <3 Phil

I planned on tracking and insuring the package anyway. I guess thats his moms name, thats what showed up on whitepages.com.. The last names do match though.

[abunkerer]

Wow! cphilip, Way to step up for an AO'er, I hope everything works out!
:cheers:

[cphilip]

...you treat AO users like family, offering to call this kid, try to help out Personman. But you should still call him...

They are. To me they are.

I have promised not to start the calling if he does the right thing. Everyone needs and deserves a chance to do the right thing. And he, I think, is a good kid basicaly and will do the right thing. I have faith in human nature and believe that most people are honest and will do the right thing. And if he does it's between me and him and Personman. And will be left at that. No need to make it anything more than that as long as he does the right thing. Doing the right thing should be rewarded.

[teufelhunden]

There are a lot of other kids I feel this way about here too.



Daddy!!!

[cphilip]

Daddy!!!


No... you can not have any Gas money... however Rogue, Tuna and I are still working on that AO condom idea.... :D

[Kevmaster]

Personman...you're so stupid...how could you fall for that...

;)


Good to hear that it workedout alright in the end

[teufelhunden]

No... you can not have any Gas money


Oh. Well, no matter. I was really just buttering you up to tell you I've impregnated two different girls..

[mcveighr]

There is no question about whether or not he was trying to rip you off, he posted a picture of a left handed Gibson/Epiphone Les Paul. And argued that it was right handed, he sent you a right handed Les Paul knock off thats worth like 150$, if that.

He had a chance to sort it out, give his parents a call. I hope is dad IS a police officer, maybe it will turn out like that guy that walked away with the free turbo.

[mcveighr]

I have faith in human nature and believe that most people are honest and will do the right thing.
Not something I'd expect from somebody that seems as conservative as cphillip.

[cphilip]

Not something I'd expect from somebody that seems as conservative as cphillip.

Not certain I follow you at all. I am conservative on some things and not on others. I guess I am independent. But what does that have to do with my faith in human nature?

[Empyreal Rogue]

No... you can not have any Gas money... however Rogue, Tuna and I are still working on that AO condom idea.... :D

*nods*