Bad Trader Alert

[larrylaffer]

All this PayPal protection is so overrated!!! They make it extremely difficult to have buyer protection... maybe we should all start filing claims in Best Business Bureau... not that they have the power to reverse PayPal's decisions but at least they keep public records showing a ton of people complaining about it...

[CPUWIZ]

They won't do anything about sellers from China, period.

[digress]

bad trader ebay. Has been harrassing me on ebay. 

neovoyager

AKA

phoenix3797

AKA

FABRICE BUCAILLE of france

 

 

details wants to not pay for 3 weeks despite listing stating 3 days

then bids anyways... and proceeds not to pay beyond reasonable period...at which time he demands free shipping with no tracking.

 

So i cancelled as all sellers know what is up. Ship to without tracking, claim it never arrived claim money back on ebay. Blocked on ebay for all future sales.

 

Different item of same name is listed but France is not an option to ship to. 

Bids anyways using second ebay profile of his parents house within same town and demands I ship it to his parents address despite listed as not shipping to france.

 

Threats and more threats via messages.

 

AVOID! I recommend you block him on ebay too with block bidders list.

Edited November 30, 2020 by digress

[+OLD CS1]

This is part of the reason why I simply do not offer international shipping.  I have run into scammers and flimflammers, lost or delayed packages which counted against me, and tariffs and paperwork.  Oh, and several who had demanded that I find a way to not show the price for import fees.

[digress]

I'm in canada so I find shipping with tracking & insurance between usa & canada to be quite safe. But any further is a toss up. I don't mind shipping to the states anytime. Beyond usa or canada though I'm going to stop too.

 

2 hours ago, OLD CS1 said:

This is part of the reason why I simply do not offer international shipping.  I have run into scammers and flimflammers, lost or delayed packages which counted against me, and tariffs and paperwork.  Oh, and several who had demanded that I find a way to not show the price for import fees.

 

[+OLD CS1]

57 minutes ago, digress said:

I'm in canada so I find shipping with tracking & insurance between usa & canada to be quite safe. But any further is a toss up. I don't mind shipping to the states anytime. Beyond usa or canada though I'm going to stop too.

I do not consider Canukistan international, so I will happily sell to my neighbors to the north.

[taxman]

Isn't there a way you can setup countries you do not ship to in your listings so that those buyers physically can't bid on your items?

[+OLD CS1]

28 minutes ago, taxman said:

Isn't there a way you can setup countries you do not ship to in your listings so that those buyers physically can't bid on your items?

Yes.  I believe you can do this in your account profile (block bids from countries to which you do not ship,)* but I know you can do it in the listing under international shipping, you can check the boxes for regions and countries to which you will NOT ship.

* I found it under Account Settings > Site Preferences.

 

[Lastblade]

I have a bad transaction with eighbit.  I bought an arcade stick from him for $200 last night.  He said he tested it and that it is working.  It is a pickup only item as it is quite heavy.  I paid him $200 cash and when I tested it at home, it is not working at all.  I suspect that the Ultimarc board is defective, but he won't take any responsibility for selling me a defective stick under the premise that it is working.  He wanted me to spend more money/time to fix it on my own.  This is completely unacceptable.

 

The thread is here.

Edited December 6, 2020 by Lastblade

[eightbit]

12 minutes ago, Lastblade said:

I have a bad transaction with eighbit.  I bought an arcade stick from him for $200 last night.  He said he tested it and that it is working.  It is a pickup only item as it is quite heavy.  I paid him $200 cash and when I tested it at home, it is not working at all.  I suspect that the Ultimarc board is defective, but he won't take any responsibility for selling me a defective stick under the premise that it is working.  He wanted me to spend more money/time to fix it on my own.  This is completely unacceptable.

 

The thread is here.

Yes, the thread IS here:

 

 

This was sold as a partially tested item and I was pretty clear about that. If it were fully tested it would NOT have been $200. I have very solid feedback here on AtariAge and have bought/sold/traded with hundreds of folks over the years. Before you decide to attempt to badmouth someone you should try to calm down, think logically and try to resolve the problem via the methods I suggested.

 

[+x=usr(1536)]

Not to take sides on this, but quoting from the thread to which you were referring, this is @eightbit's original post:

 

On 12/2/2020 at 4:49 PM, eightbit said:

It is huge. I would have to take measurements, but it has to be around 4FT or so long. Four players and trackball. All of the buttons and joysticks (and trackball) are extremely high quality. I know very little about arcade controls, but they feel like the arcade to me. The inside has a million wires and some boards. Plugs coming out are two USB and a PS2. I am assuming the PS2 is for the trackball and one of the USB's for the trackball buttons. I tested this briefly with a Raspberry Pi using just the one USB and the joysticks worked fine. He really knew his stuff so I suspect it all works as it should.

 

Emphasis above is mine, but it's there because I feel it's necessary to point out that he didn't give any impression that he was guaranteeing it as being 100% working.

 

You've also got a one-off piece of hardware made by someone of unknown ability, using off-the-shelf parts, with no idea as to the quality of their assembly.  Expecting it to work 100% of the time isn't necessarily unreasonable, but it may be unrealistic.  It's also not unheard of for hardware to test out OK on location, then fail in some way when it gets to its destination.  This has happened to me with any number of arcade video games in the past.

 

Finally, given that the i-Pac is the heart of this thing, have you contacted Ultimarc to see if they have any ideas as to what may be wrong with it?  They're ultimately the only ones who can properly help diagnose a potential issue with it.

 

I would also ask both parties involved in this to take a step back, breathe deeply for a moment, and reconsider how to sort this out between each other before turning it into a public pissing match.

[eightbit]

2 minutes ago, x=usr(1536) said:

Not to take sides on this, but quoting from the thread to which you were referring, this is @eightbit's original post:

 

 

Emphasis above is mine, but it's there because I feel it's necessary to point out that he didn't give any impression that he was guaranteeing it as being 100% working.

 

You've also got a one-off piece of hardware made by someone of unknown ability, using off-the-shelf parts, with no idea as to the quality of their assembly.  Expecting it to work 100% of the time isn't necessarily unreasonable, but it may be unrealistic.  It's also not unheard of for hardware to test out OK on location, then fail in some way when it gets to its destination.  This has happened to me with any number of arcade video games in the past.

 

Finally, given that the i-Pac is the heart of this thing, have you contacted Ultimarc to see if they have any ideas as to what may be wrong with it?  They're ultimately the only ones who can properly help diagnose a potential issue with it.

 

I would also ask both parties involved in this to take a step back, breathe deeply for a moment, and reconsider how to sort this out between each other before turning it into a public pissing match.

 

 

I agree, I recommended first contacting Ultimarc support as they seem to have a good track record with customers (from what I have been reading online since he reported this issue) and we can go from there. But I have the feeling from the text messages I have been receiving from this member that he is not willing to put in any repair effort. He just wanted something that worked 100% and expected that. The problem is I did not (and could not) guarantee that and I thought I was pretty clear about it.

[Lastblade]

I bought something that he claims to be working.  If I could have tested it, I would but I gave him the benefit of the doubt (and Covid).   I want my money back because I don't have time to deal with this and if I had bought it with Paypal, I would have some protection from seller like this.

Edited December 6, 2020 by Lastblade

[eightbit]

1 minute ago, Lastblade said:

I bought something that he claims to be working.  If I could have tested it, I would but I gave him the benefit of the doubt (and Covid).   I want my money back because I don't have time to deal with this and if I had bought it with Paypal, I would have some protection from seller like this.

 

 

I have been trying to assist you with the problem. Did you email Ultimarc support as suggested? Did you post a thread in the arcade forums asking what this could be as I suggested? Did you do anything other than plug it in, say "hey this is not working" and then blow up my phone with "I want a refund!" text messages and attempt to stain my good name all over the forums? I suspect I know the answer to all of these questions...

 

You didn't read the sale thread. Nowhere did I ever mention that this was 100% working. Or fully tested. Nor did it have a quality seal or a "money back guarantee". It was sold as is. I purchase stuff from craigslist, facebook marketplace, yard sales, etc all of the time and I never suspect any of that works 100%. And those sellers usually do give you a line that it "works fine". I however was completely transparent about the condition and what I did and what I did NOT know about this device.

 

If you are not willing to first take the steps I had recommended to see what is up with this thing then I cannot help you further unfortunately. You need to find out exactly what is wrong with that thing first.

[Lastblade]

You already stated that you won't pay me back because you used the money for rent, so it doesn't really matter what steps I have to take to get this to work.  

 

Fact is that I would not have bought this if I knew it isn't working and that I need to put in more time or money.  That is not debatable.  You can try to sell it to the next person saying the parts are worth X.  All I know is that I wouldn't have bought this for $100 as is.  It isn't worth ANYTHING to me in the current state.

[777ismyname]

1 hour ago, Lastblade said:

You already stated that you won't pay me back because you used the money for rent, so it doesn't really matter what steps I have to take to get this to work.  

 

Fact is that I would not have bought this if I knew it isn't working and that I need to put in more time or money.  That is not debatable.  You can try to sell it to the next person saying the parts are worth X.  All I know is that I wouldn't have bought this for $100 as is.  It isn't worth ANYTHING to me in the current state.

If it isn't worth anything to you then I'll give you $25 plus shipping for it.

 

I looked at the original post when it was posted. The listing simply doesn't say what you say it says, period.

[CPUWIZ]

2 hours ago, Lastblade said:

I need to put in more time

 

You could have probably got it working, within the time frame you wasted typing.

 

Think on the bright side, now a lot more people won't deal with you and you don't have to worry so much about dealing with established members.   Best of luck, the unknown can be exciting.

[+sixersfan105]

I'd like to report a bad trader, AtariAge user @Lastblade, after reading about his dealings with @eightbit in a certain thread. TLDR, don't hesitate to deal with eightbit but avoid Lastblade. 

[Keatah]

I'm sure some methodical straightforward logical common-sense troubleshooting would fix this right up. As mentioned earlier it was built by someone of unknown ability. And sold as-is. Now the onus is on the purchaser to get it rolling. Custom-made controllers fall firmly in the DIY and hobbyist category. And implies some repair and tweaking.

 

This is easily worth $200 in parts alone. If this were to be done professionally with attention to every possible detail like anti-vibration PCB mounting and stress-free wire dressing, it'd cost nearly $700. More if you specify armageddon-level EMP protection and speech recognition configuration! Ladies and Gentlemen, we have the technology. The techn...

[+x=usr(1536)]

1 minute ago, Keatah said:

I'm sure some methodical straightforward logical common-sense troubleshooting would fix this right up. As mentioned earlier it was built by someone of unknown ability. And sold as-is. Now the onus is on the purchaser to get it rolling. Custom-made controllers fall firmly in the DIY and hobbyist category. And implies some repair and tweaking.

 

This is easily worth $200 in parts alone. If this were to be done professionally with attention to every possible detail like anti-vibration PCB mounting and stress-free wire dressing, it'd cost nearly $700. More if you specify armageddon-level EMP protection and speech recognition configuration! Ladies and Gentlemen, we have the technology. The techn...

 

For pricing, here's how I look at it:

 

At today's prices, I can get an X-Arcade Tankstick With Trackball for $149.99.  Granted, that's only a 2-player, 6-button configuration with middle trackball - but it's well-made, robust, and compatible with damn near everything.

 

A 4-player control panel that sells for $200 has enough in it in parts alone that it's pretty damn close to the price of that X-Arcade.

 

My advice to @Lastblade: quit your bitching, learn that this is a hobby where you're expected to be able to troubleshoot things like this, and step off of @eightbit's dick.  You didn't get shafted.

[digdugnate]

seems like Root Cause Analysis is a lost art these days...

[+frankodragon]

https://www.ultimarc.com/control-interfaces/i-pacs/i-pac4-board/?selected_section=product_tab_25#product_tab_25    He could tested it easily if he took the time to download the firmware.

[CPUWIZ]

On 12/6/2020 at 12:11 AM, x=usr(1536) said:

step off of @eightbit's dick.  You didn't get shafted.

 

So many questions.

[Hydro Thunder]

On 12/6/2020 at 1:27 AM, sixersfan105 said:

I'd like to report a bad trader, AtariAge user @Lastblade, after reading about his dealings with @eightbit in a certain thread. TLDR, don't hesitate to deal with eightbit but avoid Lastblade. 

I realize this is a dissenting opinion here (to an extent), but I just want to say that I have had excellent dealings with Lastblade.  I think that this transaction was obviously a bit of a mess and I feel bad for both parties involved.  I understand the seller's side, but I also understand the buyer's side.  A cash deal for an item that ended up not working is upsetting to a buyer, but it's also upsetting as a seller when the buyer isn't receptive to troubleshooting steps.  We're all trying the best we can and emotions run high this time of year, and when significant $ are involved.  I suspect this was a once time bad situation and hopefully everyone (not just the buyer and seller) can take some things from it going forward other than "avoid so and so completely".  Better communication prior to the transaction would have saved a lot of headache.

[FroggoGamer]

I've had a recent problem that apparently has been a problem with a lot of eBay sellers. I sell games I'm done playing with on eBay and recently I got an order for one game. Not  big sale, just $9 plus shipping, and as usual I paid my shipping via eBay since I get a shipping discount AND they automatically log the . Well, 4 days after it ships, while it is still en route through USPSm, the buyer puts in a refund request for "item not received." I found that to be odd, so I looked it up, and the address is to a business front in Wilmington DE, and there have been numerous BBB complaints made as the company is a front for Georgian scammers (Russian Federation, not the US State). eBay game the scammers their money back but I was able to reclaim my monry from eBay, but it wasn't easy. 

 

The account is rokaram9 (since eBayers technically can't leave "bad buyer" reviews, I left a "positive" review warning folks about them). But each buyer has a different name. Mine was "Guram Karamanian" but the Paypal account lists the name as "Vano Trashvil." Other BBB complaints list different buyer names so the "buyer" may just be a bot. 

 

Here is further info on them: 

 

Inex Group, LLC

2601 B W 6th St

Wilmington, DE 19805

 

https://www.bbb.org/us/de/wilmington/profile/mailing-services/inex-group-llc-0251-92002123/customer-reviews

Edited February 10, 2021 by FroggoGamer