Bartertown.com

I was contacted by a certain trader who wanted to purchase an Eldar fleet I had. So we barter and agree to the deal and I find out, after the deal has been made, that this is for "his friend" - who has apparently done several deals through his screenname here because he "doesn't understand BT" or something of that nature. I informed him that he's in violation of the BT rules and it would have been nice to know this before I agreed to the deal.

So, the MO is in his friend's name and I'm supposed to ship to his friend. Now, apparently, said friend put a Signature Confirmation on his envelope and I didn't receive the PO pickup notice until Friday. I let them know I'll try to pick it up ASAP but this is a BAD week for me (I was laidoff and this is my last week here and I cannot take time off to go to the PO w/o risking my severance check). Monday, I'm contacted by the original trader asking if I've picked it up yet and I reiterate that this is a bad week and I will let him know when it's picked up and cashed.

Now, this morning, I'm contacted by "the friend" who has apparently opened his own account and is asking me the exact same questions the original trader asked two days ago. How in the world do I handle this? How can I politely say that this week just plain sucks for picking stuff up from the PO? Do I leave a ref for the original trader or for the friend?

I'm sure this is probably a simple question but I'm not in a good state of mind to figure it out. Quite frankly, this deal has been frustrating and confusing and, had I known there were two ppl on the original account, I would have never agreed to the deal!

If I were I'd chill out and let it work itself out. It's obviously not the most important thing to get to the PO right now. They are the ones who not only may have violated the rules but also sent with signature card (VERY annoying especially if you don't know it's coming!!!). I don't know how long the PO will hold onto it but if it's at least a week then I wouldn't worry too much about it and just get there when you can get there (you'll have pleanty of time after this week). If they can't wait that long then they shouldn't have used a questionable delivery service without asking you first.
On a side note kudos to the friend for setting up his own account but assumingly that would make his rating 0 and he'd be shipping first and having to wait for you to recieve the items anyway so no difference there.

If it was me,i'd keep to the person who started the deal,and post the ref for the person who started the deal,well the original account anyways,the fact that the "Friend" now has an account,really wouldn't matter.(thats his problem, not yours)

Because you didn't make the deal with the "friend" you made it with the original trader.

Hope that makes sense,not sure it does

Cheers
Steve

ancientsociety wrote:
How can I politely say that this week just plain sucks for picking stuff up from the PO?

That's exactly what you do. You politely tell them both (if you'd like) that you will get to the PO as soon as you are able to and that it would have been nice for them to tell you beforehand that they were sending signature requirement. Regardless of their reasoning for doing so, they should have been courteous and let you know.

Either way, just be polite and keep communication with them and things should smooth over ...

My thought was a mixture of the last 2 messages (PM & MK).

Additionally, AS... Do you have anyone you could ask to get it for you? A friend, parent, sibling, wife and/or girlfriend?
Typically, a sig requirement is just that... A sig requirement. Not necessarily yours.
They'll just need the little form that the postperson usually leaves behing, IIRC.


Good luck, Bro.
Sucks about the job.


Eric

I just found this post and I'm so completely and utterly sorry. I haven't talked to my friend for a few days so I had no idea what was going on, I wouldn't have bothered you had I known he asked the same exact questions. Especially so if I knew how busy you'd be this week. If I'd known you were getting laid off and were terribly busy I never would have sent that message.

I feel horrible now, I really don't know how to communicate how bad I feel. When I think back on things I never would have sent it with signature confirmation, especially given your reputation on the board and the way the secretary handles such things. I'd never done a money order before and that was what my step father had recommended but he doesn't know your reputation on the board, let alone your situation.

I thought my friend was going to let you know ahead of time that it was being shipped by the US Postal Service Priority 2-3 day mail with signature confirmation along with the tracking #.

The only reason I had my friend handle this for the initial approach was because I didn't know how you'd react to someone with a 0 rating given your rating. I feel even worse knowing about your employment situation. I'm going down to the PO right now on my "lunch" break to find out a)how long they hold packages, and b)if I can have them hold it longer.

Given your situation and how much we screwed up, it's only fair that I do everything I can to accommodate you. If it ends up being shipped back to me just let me know when a good time for you is and then I'll ship it back overnight. I really want to make the situation right and as easy for you as possible.

Impressive ebola. It is a violation of Bartertown rules and policy, but it seems you are making it work out in the end. There are lots of members here with low ratings, we all pay our dues. Just the way the system works. There are many of us here that like to give new members the opportunity to be a "player" here on the boards. However, there are those that get the chance and make the others jittery about it with shenanigans and such. That you joined up and posted this speaks loads about your character, the only way to validate it is to get in the trenches and work your way up.

Ancientsociety is a well known trader and will do anything to get his part taken care of, but even those types of people run into "real life" situations. All the best AS, hope everything works out.

speaking as a postal employeee, the only thing held for a week is express mail; everything else is at least 2 weeks. parcels are usually 30 days.

good luck with the job situation AS.
i've had several traders broker for others. they are the trader, regardless of who actually owns the item.

I don't want to stray off topic but I will echo what Stanislav said about you Ebola, I'm glad to see you are A) Paying attention enough and B) responsible enough to post to this thread and try to make things work out as best they can.
Don't be afraid to be the new guy. We were all in your shoes at one time and hopefully you'll be around long enough to be giving advice to another new guy in a few years. Welcome to Bartertown!