Bartertown.com

Hi all. I'm brand new to the site, so I wanted to say hi. I got pointed here by a gaming buddy, so I thought I'd sign up. (Granted I also saw a fewq real good deals. lol)

I'm really concerned however. Like the site suggested I started looking for trader feedback. (The thing that concerns me is sending my items to a complete stranger.) So, I started looking up feedback on different people w/ the button at the top of the site.

That's when I came across, not me, but MY name. Someone that has a name like mine completely ripped off people. Now I am absolutely afraid people will see that and no trade w/ me.

Should I be that worried? I mean, as long as I feel safe I don't mind shipping first, but still, the thought is there.

I suppose I'd just like advice from the forum users before I start anything. I've got nothing to hide in the least.

-Jason Bush

Part of the HUGE negative appearance is the simple fact that one person chose to leave MULTIPLE feedbacks for, essentially, the same thing.

That being said... Yeah. Your name truly WILL hinder you here.

Sorry.

It's a fact and I'm known for being upfront and straight-forward (hopefully, you'll be around long enough to see that more often).

If, as you state, you are willing to ship first until you earn a respectable rating, then you won't really have any problems, as that is the ultimate in scam prevention (for the person receiving first).

Welcome, and good luck!

Eric

It won't hinder you much. As a new member with a 0 rating you'll probably have to send first anyway.
If you are expecting people to ship to you first and you share the same name as a scammer here,you're in for alot of headaches.
Get used to hearing "NO!I'm not shipping to you first!".(alot)

Two Words:

Small Trades

Toss $100 in your paypal account and go get some of those last miniatures you've always wanted to paint. Grab an old captain and stick a couple tentacles on him and boom: Chaos Champion and a 2 rating.

Always wanted a slew of nicely painted wizards, but don't play Fantasy, just grab the Empire set from someone and lo and behold: 4 rating

For the record a Positive trade bumps your rating by 2.

Welcome to Btown

Thanks for all of the replies guys. It's pretty much what I expected. Whether that is a good or bad thing, I do not know as of yet.

-Jason.

Don't worry too much about the 'lower trade rating ships first' thing. Every new trader on Bartertown goes through the process, and the website offers several ways to protect yourself, if sending first makes you uncomfortable. Things like checking a potential trader's references, giving the person you're trading with a phone call, using insurance/tracking numbers and sending money via services like Paypal or Postal Money Orders all contribute to create a fairly secure trading environment here.

Start small and work your way up! That is what we all did here!

We all started at the bottom. I have been on here for quite a while, and recently my frequency has dwindled on the selling side (and buying, I have most of what I want), but there are some on here that have built up a really good rating in a short time period. I remember when I traded with some people with a 20 rating that now have a 200+.

Hi Jason!

I did some digging into the Feedback, and you've got quite an uphill battle here, partly because the "Jason Bush" scammer was operating out of the same area as you:

Jason Bush
2500 Lake In The Woods A709
Ypsilanti, MI 48198

According to MapQuest, Ypsi (where he scammed people) isn't that far from Riverview, MI (where you live), only about 30 miles.

Plus, Jason used multiple e-mails to try and "start fresh" before scamming people:

- thegatekeeper@onebox.com (Feb. 2000 - Nov. 2000)
- fathertime@onebox.com (Mar. 2000, once)
- bushj@vrinet.com (Mar. 2000 - Jun. 2000)
- wendta@vrinet.com (May. 2000, once)

And also aliased himself as "Rochell Gobie" (Nov. 2000, once):

- rg40k@yahoo.com

I wasn't on the site when that scamming occurred back in 2000, so I can't speak directly to them. But from what I see, about the only good things are that your last name isn't "Ticknor" and you don't live in WI!


But as you're starting fresh (the scams were more than 5 years ago), you'll have to build up a lot of positive refs to overcome "your" previous history on this site. Just take the time to build up your refs through solid execution.

I suggest that you ship via USPS Mail Delivery Confirmation on all packages, and exchange of DC numbers after all shipments. Similarly, do all payment via USPS Postal Money Orders. This way, everything stays on the up-and-up, or it becomes a Federal Mail Fraud issue.


Good luck,

/John

________

added links to "Jason Bush" related Feedback

Alkatchoff wrote:sending money via services like Paypal or Postal Money Orders all contribute to create a fairly secure trading environment here.

I gotta disagree on the Paypal note.

Paypal is infamous for protecting scammers over honest users. Paypal has a well-documented history of going after whatever money they can get their hands on. They will debit an honest persons account if a scammer reverses payment or uses a stolen credit card. The resolution process is completely arbitrary, in Paypal's favor:

http://www.paypalsucks.com/

If you check, Paypal is NOT a bank. They are not required to (and don't) follow Federal Banking rules or requirements. There is no guarantee of deposits, nor protection.

If you read their TOS agreement, it is completely one-sided, and the reserve the right to unilaterally impose changes whenever it suits them. They litterly could add a clause that all deposits forfeit tomorrow, and "legally" take every penny on deposit!

Based on what I've seen, Paypal is NOT what I'd consider an ethical company, and I would hesitate to do business with them.

/John

I can agree with some of the stuff you pointed out about Paypal. In fact, some of those misgivings are keeping me from setting up an account with them. However, Paypal also offers a decent amount of services to protect buyers and sellers who use their services. I won't list them all, but they can be found at
http://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cm ... er-outside

Again, I'm not saying that they make Paypal secure or foolproof. Most of these means have limits or restrictions, and don't provide a completely secure environment. However, Paypal is convenient, and offers what a lot of traders consider to be sufficient protection. For a trader with no feedback, I'd consider a Paypal account to be a fairly useful tool.

Yeah, Paypal is convenient and fast, that's for sure. But I'm not sure how much protection you *really* have there. Based on the horror stories, I'm not sure it really works if someone wants to scam you.

To me, the key difference is if you catch somebody: a Paypal scammer faces a slap on the wrist compared to a the penalties for Mail Fraud (5 years in Federal prison & $100,000 per event!).

Completely agree on the penalty issue. The possibility of mail fraud charges alone can be a powerful deterrent against scams.

Wow. Only 30 miles? Same name too?

Plan on sending first and you won't have a problem.