Bartertown.com

So I've been on bartertown for about 15 years, with a four year break in the middle, but overall, I've put a lot of time into this site.

One thing I've noticed, you see the same shenanigans over and over. For instance, I just enacted a simul ship trade, for about 600 bucks worth of GW stuff on each side. The guy was very cool during the whole trade negotiation, answering all my questions, getting back to me in a timely manner, etc. Now, as soon as I mentioned I shipped and provided a tracking number...total blackout. The guy has a high rating, so I'm not worried about him sending, but I see people doing this all the time. Not saying this guy is doing it, but I typically see this, the guy will not return any pm's, will wait to get my stuff inspect it, then miraculously recover from whatever 'kept' him from answering pms and shipping his stuff, lol.

This is not really serious, but I wish people would just say "I don't want to simul ship" Even though Magicickaly Memories points out in one of my trade refs that he would,

More serious, and thankfully much less common is the "bartertown curse" that falls on certain individuals. I'm sure you've all seen it, you negotiate a trade, send your stuff and bam, the person falls off the planet completely. After you hound them for days, weeks, months....they finally respond with "I apologize, but I've had a (family emergency, death, divorce, apocalypse event) and could not mail your stuff." These are the same jokers that will also drag things out as long as possible, hoping you eventually lose interest. A buddy of mine is facing one of these guys right now, he's even called him on the phone, but as soon as he said "I'm the guy you were trading with," yep, you guessed it, the phone cut out, disconnected, hung up.


Any other shenanigans I'm missing?


BTW, this post is meant mostly for humor, and I am in no way accusing anyone of anything(except the guy in my first definition, lol).

I might just be lucky, but I'm had very good, upfront transactions with 99% of the people I've bought/sold/traded with on here. I can only think of one case where the person promised to cross-ship and instead waited until he had my stuff - sadly he was dumb enough to re-use the box I'd shipped in. (I wasn't actually upset, I was amused - there was that brief "Oh hell he's a scumbag" when stuff didn't arrive on time, but when my box returned with his stuff in it, I just had to laugh)

I'll have had three occasions now when I've miscounted or omitted something from a shipment and had to send a second box and people have been nothing but nice about it. No one mentioned that I'm an idiot who shouldn't rush when he's packing things. (which is true)

I'm very glad that the community here is largely upstanding folks. I think the reputation-tracking keeps some of the would-be-scumbags honest, and I chalk up occasional hiccups as good people being way overworked and stressed these days.

--Robert

Ha, that is very true, this is a great community and if you consider the volume of trades and the very few incidents of douchery, its amazing.

I attribute it to deputy pantz, is he still here?

WishiePants is, indeed, still around. Mostly, though, he's busy with real life.

Narc, you really hit the nail on the head with your "call outs" of the various types of shenaniganisms that are what I call "Bartertown Common."
I shipped my side on a simul-ship, then your wife got sick? Yep. That's Bartertown Common.
Your wife shipped the box but lost the DC, only to discover the unsent box a week or 2 later in the trunk of your car? Mmm Hmm. Bartertown Common (though, LOLOL, this actually DID happen to me once).

I'll have to wrack my brain and see what I can come up with from staff perspectives. As an Admin, I get between 5 and 20 PM's a week asking for trade advice in some form or another (Yes. Up to 20 a week). I get a lot of "I sent my stuff and how he's disappeared" BS. Get some weird ones, too.

Geez. I remember that, for a while, there seemed to be an epidemic of pubes arriving in trade boxes. Someone even went so far as to have "For every pube I find in your trade items, I shall kill you" in his sig line!

Eric

GAH. I think I'm going to demand a NO PUBE rule in all future dealings...

--Robert

themailedfist wrote:GAH. I think I'm going to demand a NO PUBE rule in all future dealings...

--Robert

QFT.

oAF

I remember one time on eBay where I got an item (a guitar multi-effect pedal) wrapped in a USED dog pillow. It was disgusting! It smelled of urine and had dog hair ALL over a $400.00 unit. Terrible.

I have had several traders who had simulsend sickness (even when I have 6 times as many references). Although, they usually come right around when they get their items.

I have had two trully bad experiences here out of over 300 transactions. That says a TON about the traders here.

Karl

What...
Why would...
But I don't...
I mean...


Oh, nevermind. That's just too gross to get into.

Eric

I guess he figured that it would be the best protection...
It didn't get damaged in shipping (the unit worked great).
It was very odd though in a somewhat unpleasant way.
My wife asked me to IMMEDIATELY take the pedal unit to the garage.
And it was one box that I didn't reuse (and I reuse EVERY box).

Karl

Someone even went so far as to have "For every pube I find in your trade items, I shall kill you" in his sig line!

I'm getting over a cold, and that set me laughing so hard that it turned into a full minute-long coughing fit!

isn't "no pubes in the 40k" an unspoken rule? I'd be curious as to how it got there,

On the trade front, my items arrived and my trade buddy just revived from a sickness. I'm sure that is just a coincidence, in fact, I'll be really sad if he actually was sick, so if that is the case, I hope he will be upset with the dozens of traders that use that line,

Here's one I love "the post man brought it back, insufficient postage" really, thats odd, you told me you drove it to the post office and got a flat rate box...fail!

Here's one I love "the post man brought it back, insufficient postage" really, thats odd, you told me you drove it to the post office and got a flat rate box...fail!

LOL That's funny.
I love that excuse.
"There was insufficient postage on it, so it was returned."

I also like, "I went to the post office, and they were holding it because [enter flimsy BS excuse here]. It's on it's way, now." Then, when you get it, it's postmarked for the day he went to the post office (or LOL even later).
In the US, they don't hold packages at the post office like that. If they were holding it for whatever reason, it would go somewhere else. Also, they postmark it when you take it to the counter. So, the postmarked date would be when you took it to the counter.

What about those Canadians blaming it on customs... Oh, wait... That one's true.

Eric

What about those Canadians blaming it on customs... Oh, wait... That one's true.

Most of the time!!! LOL

To clarify I live about 30 min out of mid-sized city in a village that has it's own post office run by two 70-80 year olds that can't figure out how to send post internationally. It drives me NUTS!!! So shipping stuff out is a TPITA. So I try to delegate as much as possible.

I have to admit that I actually have sent my wife to the PO in town to get something out that I promised to get out ASAP, and then found it a week or two later in the back of her minivan on more than one occasion.

Yes I actually HAVE been snowed in.

Yes I actually HAVE had piece take 2 months to show up from the US. This was shortly after 911. A friend actually had a model cut in pieces shortly after 911. Usually takes max 15 Business days ground now.

Most of the time the border thing is a total transparency. I have had packages come in 5 days, and now that I understand some of the technical things that you MUST do, things are extremely easy.

Ha, I just got a note from a trade that he found he was missing a turret to one of the tanks....still has not mailed out his part. I guess I need to mail him the turret before he comes down with another ailment/death in the family/ or postal mishap,

Maybe not quite shenanigans, but I just got *two* people, that's right, not one, *two* people, sending me PMs inquiring about the same trade ad from March of 2009!! I didn't even know that was possible!