I am taking the unusual step of making a preemptive transaction report. Normally, we ask people to wait until a few weeks after a trade, and even then it's not clear what is going on.
However, with these 2 accounts, the following was brought to my attention by derek:
derek wrote:I just wanted to bring this one of the Swap Shop Mods attention, the user tfgguy who just joined the site today (5/19/2012) is listing a positive trade reference in the Good Trader thread for another new user (Jamesc2012), who seems to be a bit shady or extremely young after sending a few PMs back and forth about a trade. The only reason I noticed it is because they told me to go back and look at the thread that they had a positive trade reference on it (which showed up after I'd checked it once). I'm experienced enough to walk away at even the smallest hint of something shady, but there are other users who may not be. While I know there is nothing that can be done about it, and that it may even be legitimate, I wanted you to be aware of it since it seems very weird that in the span of a day someone could successfully complete a trade.
These 2 accounts are originating from the same location... i.e., this is the same person posting on both accounts. Using 2 accounts is against our rules, but using 2 in order to leave positive trade references for oneself is grounds for immediate permanent suspension.
Therefore, if you have any trades ongoing with Jamesc2012 / tfgguy, I wanted to post here to let you know to stop them immediately!
Please only post in this thread with information relating specifically to these user accounts, particularly if you have an ongoing trade.
This guy asked to trade with me. Offering me way more money in models than I was giving him. Adamant that I send first. Would not show me pics. Or do any communication other than pms. Felt shady. I said no.
I do actually have a trade on going with him, posted out last Thursday, will let people know if it does actually go through, gotta be worth giving the guy a chance
VaUgHaNy86 wrote:I do actually have a trade on going with him, posted out last Thursday, will let people know if it does actually go through, gotta be worth giving the guy a chance
To be clear, it's possible he will actually follow through on his trade- I certainly hope he will.
However, posting a positive trade reference for oneself is about the worst offense you can commit in this area of the site, other than not sending your half of a trade or the like.
Anyone asking others to ship first when having just joined a site / with a low post count / etc, is extremely suspicious, and people should be wary of trading with them. If a "you ship first" clause is ever used, it is the newer member / one with less references that should be the one to do it, obviously!
I whole heartedly agree, and after it was bought to my attention by another member who I've traded with before who was also considering trading with him I had a talk with him as I had already posted my items, he's adamant that the items he's offered to trade me will be sent out, there is not much I can do with regards to the items I have sent him but I'll give him the chance to prove his doubters wrong and I hope to god he does
Jamesc2012 wrote: Interested in the russ's i have 2 Ariadna starters and 40 Necron warriors NOS
lmk what you think
Flying Pooo wrote:Hey mate,
Thanks for the PM! I'm interested in this deal. Could I perhaps get some pictures of your Necrons and Ariadna starters sets?
And may I ask why have you not posted in my swap shop thread? Not only does it bump my post , but I also I think it is also a just a formality/show dedication to the trade.
Thanks,
Flying Pooo
Jamesc2012 wrote:soRRy my bAd thOuGhT I had (KEYboarDs mesSING UP)
SAdly I do not haVE PICS, buT I dO HAVE A dozen cURrent TRADES, IS IT an ISsue?
Flying Pooo wrote:Yes, It is an issue as you don't have any COMPLETED TRADES.
I wont be comfortable trading unless I get pics and even then you'd have to ship first.
Jamesc2012 wrote:Alright, well thanks anyway
Flying Pooo wrote:Can't you find some way of taking pics...
Jamesc2012 wrote:nothing to take with, aside from a dsi but i don't have wifi, only crummy dial up
Flying Pooo wrote:Well I'd love to trust you, but I don't know...If you're looking at it from my point of view this does seem kind of shifty. I really hope that deal legit though because it was a great deal, but you have no way of proving it is legit, soooooo.....
Jamesc2012 wrote:of course, I understand where you're coming from, it's just I really love the old russ's
Flying Pooo wrote:So do I. The new ones aren't as good. If you do complete any successful trades or come up with a way to take pics I'd love to trade with you.
But until then...
Jamesc2012 wrote:Yea, i UndErstanD.
It seems I may have doged a bullet here... He seemed shifty from the start. Especially since he offered me more than my stuff was worth and he wasn't able to take pics. Then there was that whole caps thing...
I did actually consider making a preemptive transaction report but I gave him/her/it the benefit of the doubt. I hope he pulls through for you VaUgHaNy86.
Same here, I just sent him 50 bucks for 2 land raiders and ten assualt marines. I hope He goes through, because this is enough already for me to go back onto paypal and request for the transaction to be revoked.
Yes, this gentleman insisted on shipping simultaneous in a rather large trade (a FW Reaver titan for an entire army) despite only being a member for 3 days at that time with no references elsewhere on trading sites. I declined and decided to look at some of his posts earlier in his dakka history and saw that he posted the night before that the titan he was negiotiating about with me was already sold (and had also apparently concluded a deal to sell it to another person who posted in his thread while he was still negotiating with me). Caveat Emptor.
He has been permanently suspended... hopefully he does the right thing and follows through on the things he was supposed to send.
zephel, I assume you have his email address since you paid him via Paypal. Could you PM it to me?
At this point, anyone needing to communicate with this user will have to do so via email, as he won't have access to his PMs here now that he has been suspended.
I also exchanged some trade messages with Jamesc2012. He wanted everything in my trade thread which included items from four completely different armies in exchange for a couple thousand dollars worth of DEldar. He also tried to goad me into shipping to Australia despite my trade thread being labeled [USA] and insisting that shipping was less than $50 for a box filled with hundreds of models and tanks. Someone looking for all that definitely hit up some warning lights and I thankfully did not pursue a trade.
The fact that he claimed to have 20,000!!! points of NOSCSMs in his trade thread should have been a red flag. I don't think the GW store near me or my FLGS have that much in stock even.
Wow, I honestly didn't think my PM would do any more than make the staff aware of a potential abuse of the Reputable Trader thread. This is the first time I can remember there ever being a preemptive TR. I'm hoping anyone with an active trade with the person actually gets what they were promised, or has a way of getting their items/money back if they've sent them which I believe this is possible with some shipping companies).
What led to me sending the PM in the OP was them responding to my current trade thread, and we'd negotiated to the final steps. While I have no problem doing a simultaneous send with an established user (i.e. someone who has been around regularly for 3+ years), or a user with a few positives in the RT thread, or even sending first to someone with a lot of trading references here on the site, this person had no positives left for them (when I first looked at the thread), and they were new user. So I asked them to send first based on that information. They replied that they do indeed have a positive in that thread, and sure enough, one had appeared from a user that had joined less than 24 hours before. I sent them a final reply to end the negotiation as I was already feeling kind of iffy as it was but was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt on the basis that they send first (I got the same kind of weird caps PM as above, which is why I said I thought they might be young and inexperience with online trading). I told them that a single positive from someone who hadn't been on the site for 24 hours just didn't fill me with confidence, and that's where I left it after I shot that PM off to RiTides. I'm definitely appreciative of his effort to get ahead of any potential problems, and I do hope that it turns out that anyone that did complete their end with this person gets what they were promised.
RiTides wrote:Yes, it's unusual... we always try to give the benefit of the doubt, but posting a trade reference for oneself is (obviously) way, way out of bounds.
Also, sorry for not asking before posting your PM I just wanted to get the word out here quickly, since he was so prolific in seeking trades.
We'd actually gotten a few other heads-up about this user, but nothing concrete until your noticing his post in the Reputable Traders List...
Don't worry, I wouldn't have had a problem about you posting it even if you'd asked. I just wanted to add background to why I felt it was necessary to even send it off. The Reputable Traders thread is important to how a lot of users interact with trades, and scamming that as you said is way out of bounds.
Looks like I might of dodged a bullet, he had sent me a PM also about me looking for Necrons.
Will say one thing though, he didnt offer me everything I was looking for, was just saying he had some of the vehicles I was looking for.
So maybe he will come thru for the folks he has deals with right now. Cause I would of expected him, if he was trying to scam me, offer me everything I was looking for.
well he offered me everything I was looking for at a really dirt cheap price, and while I have found some amazing deals here before, i regret jumping on this one.
zephel wrote:well he offered me everything I was looking for at a really dirt cheap price, and while I have found some amazing deals here before, i regret jumping on this one.
2 raiders and 10 assualt marines for 50 bucks
Thats a helluva steal if its real. My apoligizes to all you chaps that got scammed by this a$$hat. I always get a kick out of reading these because people who try to scam other dakkanauts really think that this is all y'alls first time to the rodeo and that they can get away with it.
zephel wrote:well he offered me everything I was looking for at a really dirt cheap price, and while I have found some amazing deals here before, i regret jumping on this one.
2 raiders and 10 assualt marines for 50 bucks
Hey to help the community im willing to send 10 assault marines over to you if it helps. sry I don't have any land raiders
thanks, that would really help out with the painting project i'm trying to get done,and with ths whole issue he kind of put me back a bit cause now i gotta sit and wait and hope paypal gives me back my money.
WOW. I was literally about to ship to him in the next hour, and shipping to australia would have been expensive, not to mention the models I was going to send. Thanks for this thread, you saved me
Yeah thanks, I was about to purchase 12 new on sprue minotaur from him. I thought it was a red flag when I saw his dakka join date and the fact that who has 12 minotaur NOS sitting around?
He tried to do the same thing with me regarding some Salamanders I had posted. He offered me an obscene amount of Grey Knights for what I had posted. When I asked him about it, he stated that he thought it would be fun to trade army for army. I naturally declined.
Edit: He has been rather persistant with me renegotiating the trade, Sorry I had forgot to post that before.
Zephel, I would wait for Paypal resolution- you may want to go ahead and file a claim, referencing this thread. If he fails to ship, they will rule in your favor.
he tried to sell me a FW reaver titan. I demanded pictures and he told me he didn't have any but he had 20 ongoing trades (which proves what?).
I asked how he could afford 1200 in titan parts and not have a camera or smartphone and about his join date and he just said he got it off ebay for 500.
I let him know since the FW reaver came out, i've seen every single one ever sold on ebay and the cheapest a full ones ever gone has been about 700-800 (that's on ebay.com and .co.uk), but he still insisted he paid 500
Mod edit: Remember, personal insults are not allowed in any part of the site.
I feel a complete tit... I've lost out on some good stuff, 2008 ltd ed games day marine, Baal turrets, a Mephiston/astorath conversion, hard to come by bits, sanguinary guard and imperial armour masterclass. Never mind the 24quid postage...
The only reason I took the deal was because it seemed so good and I'm (well probably all of us) absolutely broke at the min and had a bit of luxury money left which I used for postage...
I'm considering getting a credit card, buying a flight to new south Wales and physically getting them back!
I've searched the web for his name, trying Facebook and the dora creek electoral roll... I will find him, I have Dora creeks police station email and his address.... I'm guessing it's a fake name, he'd have to be real daft to use his!
I'm actually gutted! Lost all faith in people! I've never been a gakker with anyone, what a load of ....
zephel wrote:thanks, that would really help out with the painting project i'm trying to get done,and with ths whole issue he kind of put me back a bit cause now i gotta sit and wait and hope paypal gives me back my money.
They should rule in your favor if he doesn't respond.
I too got took. I bought quite a load from him because the price was reasonable. To the tune about about $220 worth.
He is a Premium Paypal Member, which you can't be without being Verified, so I doubt there will be issue in getting money returned. He'll be in a load of hurt when PP comes after him.
Me and my friend were going to trade with him. And it was same situation as most people say they have had: He offers many for not as many He wanted to trade 44 necrons for 15 eldar. And with my friend a marine army for a reaver AND warhound, with every weapon. I am curious though, anyone have 1succesful trade with him?
He was suspended for leaving a positive reference for himself on the Reputable Traders List with a sockpuppet account, not for a bad trade... so this is a bit of a unique case. It's the first time something like that has happened here, where a person basically confirmed that they were being dishonest by doing something concrete like that Before it turned out that they were not fulfilling their half of trades. So... hence this being the only case I can think of where posting a TR beforehand would be appropriate.
I have his email address if anyone who was PM'ing with him needs it, to continue to attempt to communicate with him. It would be wonderful if it turned out that he intends to follow through on his trades, and simply made a very dishonest mistake in making a second account to leave himself a reference. It would save him from getting in trouble with Paypal... hopefully he will see that, and make good on the trades he did commit to. We'll see... has anyone who is waiting for him to ship items had any luck contacting him via email?
RiTides wrote:He was suspended for leaving a positive reference for himself on the Reputable Traders List with a sockpuppet account.
I have his email address if anyone who was PM'ing with him needs it, to continue to attempt to communicate with him.
It would be wonderful if it turned out that he is a legitimate trader, who simply made a terrible, dishonest mistake in making a second account to leave himself a reference. However, if that were the case it would not change the fact that he would remain permanently suspended here.
It would save him from getting in trouble with Paypal, though... and thus would make a lot of sense for him to do, imo.
With that said... I'd just like to remind folks that they should only be posting here with information about the traders/trades in question. As with any TR, we don't won't this devolving into a witch hunt or anything like that, no matter how clear the facts may seem to be.
Let's see if he responds to anyone via email, or to the Paypal dispute that zephel opened.
Well I emailed him over a possible Blood Angels/Grey Knight Trade and he said he would be posting tomorrow, he's kept in constant contact and the caps have stopped so all is good at the mo. Will let you know how it turns out, hopefully he does send but if not oh well
When any of you spoke to him (via PM/email), did he write in alternating capitals and lower case? This isn't really relevant to the thread, but in some messages he said the keyboard is broken (hence the capital/lower case thing), but other messages were written perfectly fine.
He's replied to my emails as well and is adamant that the items will be sent first thing tomorrow, the cap's have stopped and he's being very mature in his emails so fingers crossed
NoBaconz4You wrote:When any of you spoke to him (via PM/email), did he write in alternating capitals and lower case? This isn't really relevant to the thread, but in some messages he said the keyboard is broken (hence the capital/lower case thing), but other messages were written perfectly fine.
YeP ThAT HAppeNED TO Me tOO. OThEr TiMeS It WaS FinE ThouGH.
Well he say's he's posting tomorrow and he originally said that he would send them with tracking on them as I did for him (at his request) so hopefully I'll get some tracking info in my inbox tomorrow morning
Mod note: zigzagboom and others not involved in trades with Jamesc2012, do not post further in this thread. It must be kept clear for people involved in trades. Further off-topic posts not adding to the resolution of trades will simply be deleted, and warnings issued if appropriate.
I made a trade with him last week. Space marines/Space Wolves for some Grey Knights. I inquired about the amount of models he was willing to trade, and he responded saying that he has his own shop that went bankrupt. I gave him the benefit of the doubt. We'll see what happens.
well, I noticed this thread a bit late...by a week. Already sent "Jamesc2012" $30.00 USD for some IG Vehicle bits+Shipping. as of Sunday(05-20-12), He stated that he would send the goods, well...today actually. We will see. This threads got me worried now.
I have also had an email saying items sent, asked for proof of postage, awaiting response
Also, I have found this lads resume online, I know how old he is and I know what he aspires to do... Needless to say, scamming people isn't in his best interest...
He's saying that he can't send by tracking as his paypal account is on hold because of people filing disputes against him so he can't send anything tracked
Yer what I think he means is he can't afford to pay the cost of having them tracked because he was planning on using the money from the paypal account to pay the postage
I traded with him and would like to get his real email. It was only 10 SM scouts but the principle is what makes me mad. I have made about 5 trades from this sight and have never had a problem.
To bad I shipped USPS because with UPS you can cancel in route
TR updated to include username zigzagboom. He is giving out Jamesc2012's shipping address as his own. Do not trade with this user!
I am on a cell phone atm, will be dealt with once home...
At this point any brand new user giving out a shipping address to Dora Creek in New South Wales (NSW) in Aus should cause people to check / ask he ship first... Will deal with this more when home.
As always we can't allow posting of full personal info here, but at this point almost certainly police should be involved. Many users have his full personal details, if you are one of them please post here if you are willing to have others PM you for this information.
I can second that zigzagboom is not quite right. He wanted me to buy his alpha legion shoulderpads that he had, but because he 'didn't have paypal' he wanted me to buy something off his 'GW wishlist'. At that point I bailed out of it (thankfully).
I was going to mention this to you RiTides but I thought it would just sound like whinging or someone mouthing off for no reason since I'm someone with 0 trades so far. Now I feel like an ass for not PMing you.
Don't worry about it, motyak- I got 5 PMs at once about this from a number of different users. So there's a lot of confirmation here...
I've PM'ed back those who contacted me. CptCortez128 has mentioned having the email address of the police station in Dora Creek. I would think that emailing or calling them after gathering together a bit of evidence would straighten this guy out, especially if it turns out he is a minor, which seems possible. He's involved a lot of people in this now and has given out his address numerous times. Even if the names are fake (he's used 2 different ones) the address should be correct. And if there's a minor in the home, well...
Those involved please post here to update others and coordinate your efforts (and ONLY those involved... persons posting that are not connected in any way will likely have their posts simply deleted, as I should have done with zigzagboom's posts on the last page, it seems... since it was just Jamesc2012 buying time).
Hi all. I made a post in the swapshop forum about trading some items recently http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/450695.page and Zigzagboom was interested in just about everything I had, and just happened to have everything i needed in my wants. I was suspicious at first but thought I would see how it progressed. I asked for the postage address and gave mine in return. His address was in Dora Creek NSW, Australia. I said we can split the cost if he wants he said no he had it covered on his end although I thought he would need a large box to post everything and would be more expensive than my postage cost. He oddly asked how old I was and I replied "I'm 32 mate. Why? Do I sound like a kid lol?" He said "no no. would of put you around 20".
I had a feeling he was lying about something so I investigated his recent posts. I was very suprised to see him post in this thread and when I read CptCortez128 say "I'm considering getting a credit card, buying a flight to new south Wales and physically getting them back! I've searched the web for his name, trying Facebook and the dora creek electoral roll... I will find him, I have Dora creeks police station email and his address.... I'm guessing it's a fake name, he'd have to be real daft to use his!". I was not suprised Zigzagboom was in the thread trying to tell everyone to give it time, trying to delay the ban. I'm quite sure he is involved somehow with Jamesc2012 / tfgguy or wasinfact the same person.
This guy offered me a trade 20 karskins for 2 ogre batallion box sets i havent sent them out as i thought it was to good to be true im glad i didnt now
CptCortez128 let me know that he has contacted the police. Let's see if they stop by and let this (possible minor's) parents know what's going on here... of if he's on his own, let him know the amount of trouble this will put him in if he doesn't return the items he's convinced people to send him.
Always after people get hurt do we find out the truth. Anyway I just "traded" my necrons for some orcs and goblins. I will do everything I can to stop my shipment.
Thanks for this update. The user "zigzagboom" and I were working on a trade, my high elves for alot of NIB blood angels/space marine stuff. If he does contact me back, he will have to ship first, upon receiving (if he does ship) I would ship to him.
I was in talks with zigzagboom also for a trade.. Had my doubts and even asked him why he wanted the models when he was offering me more than 200% more than what I was sending him. He just responded there mostly ABOR orks that are converted.. I had my doubts so I thought I would let it sit a few days before committing..
martin74 wrote:Thanks for this update. The user "zigzagboom" and I were working on a trade, my high elves for alot of NIB blood angels/space marine stuff. If he does contact me back, he will have to ship first, upon receiving (if he does ship) I would ship to him.
Once again, thanks for the heads up on this.
I too was talking to him about a swap. It all seemed a little suspicious. I asked him to ship first as he had no references but he declined. Glad I opted out.
zigzagboom just attempted to trade with me. I have a pile of Kroot/hounds/krootox and he offered to trade for three great knarlocs (first clue!). Seemed like it would be a fast trade. Then i get a PM with an Australian address (second clue). I told him I go by the Bartertown rule of lowest trade rep sends first, then he messages me back saying that he "trades by value, sorry" (third nail in the coffin!). I told him he was insane for expecting a person to post a package to a person overseas that has no trade history.
I still have the PM that contains his address if a MOD or similar type person needs it. Kroot available too...
Well, it's in the hands of NSW police now, I have contacted the crime stoppers line and am awaiting email response for advice.
I need everyone to collect all their evidence together, keeping postage receipts and possibly print outs/screen shots of PMs, so when the police ask for them we can hand them over.
I've never dealt with police overseas before so this could prove to be tricky!
Liam
Automatically Appended Next Post: I have also emailed James to let him know what my intentions are.
As of yet I have had no replies from either James or the police.
Next update will occur when I have recieved any contact.
Gather your evidence people :-)
I really will try and sort this as best I can for everyone, I'm just a bit baffled on how international policing works! But rest assured, I will see this through!
Well I was dumb and gave him the benifit of the doubt and I didn't see this posting. He offered a reaver titan and had a fairly believable back story for why he was selling it. Any way long story short I sent $175 via PayPal and am now waiting 20 till I can get my money back. Btw if anyone knows how to speed up that process I would love a pm.
I will create a report saying this person is operating a fraudulent business. However, if you want any police action as you the victim of fraud then you will need to report this to your local police. They can forward the report through Interpol for further police investigation in NSW, Australia.
Regards,
S/C TINWORTH
Crime Stoppers Unit
I have since contacted my local police (north Wales police) and am awaiting a reply.
Hopefully we can get this resolved soon everyone!
I am trying to get this resolved ASAP for everyone :-)
Yeah tommorrow I'm going to contact the post office to see if my package can be rerouted back here. Even if I doubt the USPS can it's worth trying, and then I'll contact my local police as well.
It's your only hope from what I've been told. I just filled it out today. What worries me is there may be a fee involved...which is a shame they ought to make him pay the fee. But even this isn't a gurantee.
Sadly loking over this form it only works for Domestic and not International packages. I was told by USPS that the only way to get my stuff back would be to contact the "recipent"!!!! How funny is that!?! I will never send anything international again. And I refuse to send anything till some one shows me the goods. Thats what I get for trusting someone one too many times. Should have made him do it first since I have a few trades under my belt but I didnt figure this for a scam.
Raveworg wrote:Sadly loking over this form it only works for Domestic and not International packages. I was told by USPS that the only way to get my stuff back would be to contact the "recipent"!!!! How funny is that!?! I will never send anything international again. And I refuse to send anything till some one shows me the goods. Thats what I get for trusting someone one too many times. Should have made him do it first since I have a few trades under my belt but I didnt figure this for a scam.
Shipping internationally is fine as long as you follow some good sense advice and pick and choose the candidates you trade with when you do your end first. As I was telling Jamesc2012 when he was trying to get me to ship simultaneously, he (not I) fit the profile of a scammer... new user with no trade rep giving very good deals and wanting to recieve your end first. If you're going to ship first, make sure the person you're sending your "gift" to is a long time user (several years) with lots of posts (1000+) and some solid trades under his belt (10+) with no BTRs. There is only one person I've seen on dakka who actually fit that profile and did some shady dealings here in the swap shop and bartertown. Whatever you do, don't ship first internationally to someone who is a new user with no trade rep and nothing to lose if they're booted of dakka (like Jamesc2010 et al). There is a swap shop trade guide that has some helpful info stickied in the forum too.
Son of Loki wrote:Well I was dumb and gave him the benifit of the doubt and I didn't see this posting. He offered a reaver titan and had a fairly believable back story for why he was selling it. Any way long story short I sent $175 via PayPal and am now waiting 20 till I can get my money back. Btw if anyone knows how to speed up that process I would love a pm.
If you did your claim through the automated system with Paypal it can take awhile. I would highly recommend that you call paypal and talk to a rep. I found that if you talk to paypal rep that the claim is done alot more quickly plus they will put notes on the claim on what is going on along with any additional evidence you have.
Shipping internationally is fine as long as you follow some good sense advice and pick and choose the candidates you trade with when you do your end first. As I was telling Jamesc2012 when he was trying to get me to ship simultaneously, he (not I) fit the profile of a scammer... new user with no trade rep giving very good deals and wanting to recieve your end first. If you're going to ship first, make sure the person you're sending your "gift" to is a long time user (several years) with lots of posts (1000+) and some solid trades under his belt (10+) with no BTRs. There is only one person I've seen on dakka who actually fit that profile and did some shady dealings here in the swap shop and bartertown. Whatever you do, don't ship first internationally to someone who is a new user with no trade rep and nothing to lose if they're booted of dakka (like Jamesc2010 et al). There is a swap shop trade guide that has some helpful info stickied in the forum too.
where does that leave me? Im...
A) New to dakka dakka
B) wanting to buy stuff to convert 4 "Trumpeter brand BMP-1's" into IG Chimera's
C) this James guy was going to be my 1st trade, and I got(possibly) raped by him?
Im assuming that from your point of view, No1 should, or will ever trade with me?
Shipping internationally is fine as long as you follow some good sense advice and pick and choose the candidates you trade with when you do your end first. As I was telling Jamesc2012 when he was trying to get me to ship simultaneously, he (not I) fit the profile of a scammer... new user with no trade rep giving very good deals and wanting to recieve your end first. If you're going to ship first, make sure the person you're sending your "gift" to is a long time user (several years) with lots of posts (1000+) and some solid trades under his belt (10+) with no BTRs. There is only one person I've seen on dakka who actually fit that profile and did some shady dealings here in the swap shop and bartertown. Whatever you do, don't ship first internationally to someone who is a new user with no trade rep and nothing to lose if they're booted of dakka (like Jamesc2010 et al). There is a swap shop trade guide that has some helpful info stickied in the forum too.
where does that leave me? Im...
A) New to dakka dakka
B) wanting to buy stuff to convert 4 "Trumpeter brand BMP-1's" into IG Chimera's
C) this James guy was going to be my 1st trade, and I got(possibly) raped by him?
Im assuming that from your point of view, No1 should, or will ever trade with me?
Sincerely,
Panzer
Not all. Just be careful. I'd trade with you, but you'd be shipping/sending cold hard Paypal first.
In the case of 2 new users you can pay half, when items arrive, pay the other half. Sadly, you might
be better trading with Veteran traders for a couple of trades
Shipping internationally is fine as long as you follow some good sense advice and pick and choose the candidates you trade with when you do your end first. As I was telling Jamesc2012 when he was trying to get me to ship simultaneously, he (not I) fit the profile of a scammer... new user with no trade rep giving very good deals and wanting to recieve your end first. If you're going to ship first, make sure the person you're sending your "gift" to is a long time user (several years) with lots of posts (1000+) and some solid trades under his belt (10+) with no BTRs. There is only one person I've seen on dakka who actually fit that profile and did some shady dealings here in the swap shop and bartertown. Whatever you do, don't ship first internationally to someone who is a new user with no trade rep and nothing to lose if they're booted of dakka (like Jamesc2010 et al). There is a swap shop trade guide that has some helpful info stickied in the forum too.
where does that leave me? Im...
A) New to dakka dakka
B) wanting to buy stuff to convert 4 "Trumpeter brand BMP-1's" into IG Chimera's
C) this James guy was going to be my 1st trade, and I got(possibly) raped by him?
Im assuming that from your point of view, No1 should, or will ever trade with me?
Sincerely,
Panzer
Not at all... I've traded with plenty of people here and on bartertown with zero or one trade under their belt.. I simply don't ship first, especially in an international trade where there is no tracking involved generally. Would I trade with you or sell to you? Sure... I just would expect to you to do your half (as the new trader with no rep and nothing to lose) first before I do mine. I did the exact same thing when I started trading years ago; I had no rep so I shipped/paid first but I only tried to do deals with people that had an established trade rep until I myself had one. Twice this advice has saved me from recent scammers (Jamesc2012 and Canthatenuff). The only flaw in the system is when you get two people who both fit the profile of a new trader; in that case, someone has to bite the bullet and ship first.
Listen I'm not being funny guys but can we keep to the facts about specific trades with James, ideas on how to go about future trades can be posted elsewhere
Its only as this post may be looked into by the police and we need to stick to the facts
Can everyone involved please comment now on what they have lost and a monetary value so I can get a rough idea of the extent of the problem, and have a solid figure to hand the police on Thursday
I've lost 8 inquisitorial henchmen, 2 inquisitors, 6 Necron Pariahs (2 of which were still in blisters) and 3 2nd edition necron destroyers which altogether must be worth about £60- £80 plus the 17.50 to send it tracked to Oz, I also have 62 PM's from him as well as 6 emails
$30.00 USD - According to him, its shipped....Maybe I'm too stupid? But I'm still giving benefit of the doubt...at least till 2 weeks have gone by, and no package.
FROM MY EMAIL:
Me - Blue text
Him - Red text
Estimated time is 1 and a half to 2 weeks.
On 26 May 2012 11:52, <My Real Name & Email Here> wrote:
was there an estimated time of arrival? If so, I would like 2 know. thnx
From: James Carlson<His Email Here>
To: <My Real Name & Email Here>
Sent: Tuesday, May 22, 2012 8:19 PM Subject: Re: Order
Went out this morning
On 23 May 2012 07:36, <My Real Name & Email Here> wrote:
I ordered a bunch of IG Vehicle parts from you the other day. You had stated that on Tuesday you would send them. I send this mail to confirm.
CptCortez128 wrote:Right, north Wales police have contacted me, going for an interview with them on Thursday.
Hopefully this should get the ball rolling in our favour
Liam
CptCortez128 wrote:Listen I'm not being funny guys but can we keep to the facts about specific trades with James, ideas on how to go about future trades can be posted elsewhere
Its only as this post may be looked into by the police and we need to stick to the facts
Can everyone involved please comment now on what they have lost and a monetary value so I can get a rough idea of the extent of the problem, and have a solid figure to hand the police on Thursday
Cheers
Liam
Mod note: Agreed here. Nothing wrong with the prior discussion, but that's enough "general" trade advice here. Everyone who sent money / items to Jamesc2012, tfgguy, or zigzagboom please post the specifics here!
Automatically Appended Next Post: From going back through the thread, these are the people who have posted here as having actually sent money/models to this person:
zephel wrote:2 raiders and 10 assualt marines for 50 bucks
CptCortez128 wrote: I've lost out on some good stuff, 2008 ltd ed games day marine, Baal turrets, a Mephiston/astorath conversion, hard to come by bits, sanguinary guard and imperial armour masterclass. Never mind the 24quid postage...
VaUgHaNy86 wrote:I do actually have a trade on going with him, posted out last Thursday
Markillius08 wrote:Well. I just made a trade with that guy earlier this weekend. Gonna get ahold of paypal now. Dammnit.
jason2250 wrote:I too got took. I bought quite a load from him because the price was reasonable. To the tune about about $220 worth.
saylor17 wrote:I made a trade with him last week. Space marines/Space Wolves for some Grey Knights.
PanzerSoldier wrote:well, I noticed this thread a bit late...by a week. Already sent "Jamesc2012" $30.00 USD for some IG Vehicle bits+Shipping. as of Sunday(05-20-12)
mp40guy wrote:I traded with him and would like to get his real email. It was only 10 SM scouts but the principle is what makes me mad.
KingmanHighborn wrote:Yeah I traded zigzagboom 6 SM scouts, an AOBR Captain, and the OOP 3rd SM dex, and he was supposed to send me 20 Scourge Wings and 2 Sslyth.
Raveworg wrote:Always after people get hurt do we find out the truth. Anyway I just "traded" my necrons for some orcs and goblins.
Son of Loki wrote:Well I was dumb and gave him the benifit of the doubt and I didn't see this posting. He offered a reaver titan and had a fairly believable back story for why he was selling it. Any way long story short I sent $175 via PayPal and am now waiting 20 till I can get my money back.
UK: VaUgHaNy86, CptCortez128,
USA: zephel, Markillius08, jason2250, PanzerSoldier, mp40guy, KingmanHighborn, Raveworg, Son of Loki
Canada: saylor17
It would be great if those of you who are listed above who haven't posted specifics of what you sent (or at least the value of it) could do so, so that CptCortez128 has the most information possible when talking to the police. I think this is a pretty good list to start with, though. Several of the transactions are for higher amounts, particularly jason2250's and Son of Loki (see quotes above). Fortunately, it looks like those two have used Paypal for these higher amounts, and should have some protection from that.
I expect the police may need to wait a bit to show that nothing has indeed been sent before acting. However, since it's pretty clear something's going on here, maybe they'll be able to open a file on it / forward it on to the Dora Creek NSW police for checking into. Certainly, the best thing to do if a minor (or adult) is indeed soliciting a bunch of packages / Paypal payments to be sent to them that they cannot follow through on compensating for, is to nip it in the bud and give them a good talking to about the consequences early on... if soliciting items/money from over 10 people in 3 countries can be said to be "early on", that is.
Let us know how it goes, CptCortez128. For everyone else involved, please post your specifics in here (not including personal information, that can be done via PM if it turns out to be necessary) to aid in the police knowing the value of items involved here.
Agreed upon $175 for 1 Cadian Battleforce and 3 Leman Russ Demolishers, all NOS or NIB.
I sent Payment via Paypal on Friday, May 18th with the agreement that he would ship it at 8:00am on Monday, sending me the tracking number.
I did not hear back from him all day, and around 5 or 6 I messaged him to tell him that since I had received no tracking # and no attempts from him to contact me, that I would file a claim with Paypal if he did not contact me that evening.
Shortly after, I saw the thread here, so went to Paypal and submitted the claim - this was all on the 21st.
Current situation: Paypal says he has till Thursday, May 31st to respond to their inquiries or they will refund my money. Since they've given him 10 days and he has yet to respond, I believe I will be receiving some positive news from Paypal in the next couple days.
Hope nobody else gets took by this guy. Hope this helps!
1 New Necron Battle Force (Immortals and a Few Warriors assembled primed grey) - Retail $105
1 New Resin Necron Overlord (Assembled Primed Grey) - Retail $18.25
1 New Necron Codex - $33.00
Total retail - $156.25
So, at least four users have entered into trades valued at $150 or more.
jason2250 - $220.00
Son of Loki - $175.00
Markillius08- $175.00
Raveworg - $156.25
So that's a total of over $725 right there, just from 4 of the 11 people involved. So the total value of deals is very likely over $1000. I think the top three were fortunately through Paypal, so those should be more easily recovered. Raveworg's having shipped these items will require Jamesc2012 to return it (or send what was agreed to) which will likely only happen if the police talk to him.
Imperial armour masterclass £26
2008 games day ltd ed Cpt £20
A very well converted astorath £15
2 x hybrid metal Baal turrets £10
Storm raven turret with all weapons £5 ish
5 x sanguinary guard (basecoated to a high standard) £20
Variety of plastic bits £3
Postage to NSWs £24.20
CptCortez128 wrote:Well, I had to postpone the interview until next Wednesday... My wife has broken her foot and displaced her toe so had to cancel...
Until next week folks, sorry to drag this out, but family first as they say :-)
Liam
Sorry to hear that, but it may actually be a good thing to have delayed it a few days- given what Markillius08 posted, you will have verification that Paypal has taken action against this person by that time, which should aid with the police seeing that it's a serious matter. It will also give the folks who haven't yet updated the value of the items / money they sent a chance to do so.
Markillius08 wrote:Current situation: Paypal says he has till Thursday, May 31st to respond to their inquiries or they will refund my money. Since they've given him 10 days and he has yet to respond, I believe I will be receiving some positive news from Paypal in the next couple days.
Much like Smitty0305, I'd like to say thanks to the fast thinking mod RiTides and all the people involved for helping the rest of the Dakka Community out here!
I almost traded a massive space marine force for 3x the amount of Gk, which i found a bit suspicious considering in his thread he wanted them.
RiTides wrote:That's a good thought, here's the retail values:
1 New Necron Battle Force (Immortals and a Few Warriors assembled primed grey) - Retail $105
1 New Resin Necron Overlord (Assembled Primed Grey) - Retail $18.25
1 New Necron Codex - $33.00
Total retail - $156.25
So, at least four users have entered into trades valued at $150 or more.
jason2250 - $220.00
Son of Loki - $175.00
Markillius08- $175.00
Raveworg - $156.25
So that's a total of over $725 right there, just from 4 of the 11 people involved. So the total value of deals is very likely over $1000. I think the top three were fortunately through Paypal, so those should be more easily recovered. Raveworg's having shipped these items will require Jamesc2012 to return it (or send what was agreed to) which will likely only happen if the police talk to him.
Those are US prices. Since the offender is an Aussie, shouldn't those listed prices be in $AU?
Well, the top 3 are payments that were sent via Paypal, so in AUD it'd be similar. The fourth are models, but not NIB, and that's the full US retail value. But it's a fair point!
Appreciate the constructive comments, just remember we want to keep this mostly clear for those involved, unless you have pertinent information to add.
Looking forward to hearing updates on the Paypal process soon, with today's deadline.
I just got off the phone with Paypal. His account has been flagged and can receive no more money. He hasn't responded to any of the disputes so things look good. I am supposed to have my money tomorrow at 9pm so I will let you know.
Having only just seen this thread (not been on this forum much), I glad i turned down his trade of 3 NOS tact Squads for 1 NIB Chaos Sorcerer as it all seemed a little fishy.
I wish everyone good luck on getting there bits back.
Just got my $175 reimbursed via paypal! It was supposed to happen manually, but one quick call to them and it was instantly dealt with!
For the rest of us that used paypal: on the 11th day after you submitted the claim, if Jamesc2012 has not responded to Paypal's inquiries, you should be auto refunded - if not call them up and they'll fix it quick fast.
yeah, being as my loss was a mere $30.00 USD, I wont be claiming it. let the kid have it, maybe he can buy some food or snacks in Aussie jail...or bribe "bubba" to stay away. SO....yeah
I disagree there, 300-30-3 bucks, a penny it doesn't matter. The kid needs to either send what he stole back, or as an act of remorse come through with his trade. Otherwise he is getting let off too easily.
As an update to my situation. My package was delivered this morning at 9:30 in australia. Obviously this was accepted. Well that means I will be taking the loss.
Raveworg- Let's see what happens after CptCortez128 talks to the police on Wednesday. It may be that they can get him to return the goods (or face the consequences with the police).
PanzerSoldier- I would file a claim, anyway. As mentioned, it's no good to anybody for him to have the money, he probably won't even be able to withdraw it for some time while Paypal is looking at his account. I'd file and get it back- it should be very easy to do.
So before I do my best to have something done about our friend James, has anyone recieved any further emails? Or the slightest chance of models? Or packages returned?
No Cpt I haven't received his end of the deal or my package back. I'm not really sure how long it takes to clear customs in the first place but he was supposed to of sent it the 28th of May.
Right, I have been to my local police. I can only file a complaint regarding my own case, everyone who has had unresolved trades with him need to contact there own police force who can then forward the reports to NSW police.
To have this situation resolved we all need to go to our respective police forces to get more evidence sent over to NSWs
Damn, as a relatively new guy to this site, this makes me sad. I see quite a few extremely good deals on here, and i'd just like to say, those that i've offered to, i -completely- understand if i am not trusted and you turn me down. im content with waiting a bit longer and gaining more trust. This is sickening
lakemacleod- This user has already been permanently suspended, has had their Paypal account frozen and funds pulled back out of it to refund people who paid him. The final question is whether or not his local authorities will pay him a visit to see about having the models that were sent returned, as he received models from people in several different countries with a not-insignificant value.
Hopefully the NSW police follow-up after CptCortez's local police forward on the report. I'm sure it would help if someone else who sent models would go to their local police with this information, as well, so that the NSW police receive reports from more than one source.
It may only take one police department contacting them to do the trick, though. I'm not sure if the UK and Aus police will have an easier time communicating... did they let you know what their next steps would be, CptCortez, and is there any way for you to follow up?
KingmanHighborn - you need to go raise a stink and file a report. He's committed a Federal Level Crime in the US (Mail Fraud) and they're obligated to follow through.
Thanks for Hosting this counterattack ritides, i appreciate you working hard to make sure justice is done, im in cinci ohio so my LPD would be out of his jurisdiction i think, plus by a random stroke of luck my mom forgot to ship the models, so my case would be weak, but thank god for her forgetfulness though
My case has been forwarded onto the stations sergeant.
As soon as I hear anything I will let you know, it could take up to four weeks. The problem is that I've filed a complaint but the crime has happened in aus so it's now for the police to liase between each other.
Obviously it can't be investigated in sunny north wales as the crime started on foreign shores...
Wow, but yeah this is good info to have. Might make an actual trip to the police station with this. Last time I just talked over the phone and they mentioned all I could do was go through the USPS's fraud stuff first. *sigh*
Raveworg, I have had to edit out your post above. I have the text saved if you did not do so and need it.
You can share this information via PM, of course, but not on the forum. Both links clearly showed this person's address. Please stick to PM with this, as stated... thanks.
nope, I was "supposed" to receive my order last week, or perhaps it was the week prior to that...can't recall. But I gave up on him, and PayPal has already reimbursed me.
So, don't rely on this guy "pulling through", cause he won't.
I just wanted to get the word out here quickly, since he was so prolific in seeking trades.
from a number of different users. So there's a lot of confirmation here...
