Trad Gang

I hope that this will help someone in the future.  I recently sold a tree stand through the Tradgang Classifieds. I spoke with a man on the telephone and agreed on a price of $210 including shipping.  He gave me the impression that he was a decent, honest guy and I (in retrospect stupidly) shipped the stands on his word that he would mail me a check.  He claimed that he was an officer in his state's bowhunting association.  That was a month ago.  I have never received payment.  I spoke to him once a number of weeks ago and he said it must have been lost in the mail and that he would send me another one.  I never got it so I sent him a letter, left him phone messages, and sent him a private message.  In each of these I asked for payment and I even offered to pay return UPS shipping if he had changed his mind.  He has not answer any of my messages. I know that he received my private message through Tradgang because the website conirms that it was read by recipient.
In my mind there is no difference in what he has done than stealing.
The lesson is obvious - don't ship prior to receiving payment.


Norman

have you contacted the state bowhunting association? They would probably take a dim view of these shenanigans whether he was an officer or not, representing himself as one.

Wow, not what you would expect from the gang. sorry to hear I dont know what to say. maybe this guy will do the right thing.

I would like to know his Tradgang handle so i can avoid doing business with him.

bama, hope you get this worked out. I always feel a bit of a dilemma selling/buying from the classifieds.  Trust has to be practiced on somebody's part.  If I insist on payment first, then I am asking others to do what I am unwilling to do.  Trusting others for payment is really no different than asking them to trust you for the merchandise.  Not sure what the answer is, but I have continued to trust fellow TradGangers and normally ship stuff on their word that they will forward payment.  So far no problem as they have all been great guys to deal with, but as your experience shows, it can happen.

On another site I visit there is a list of folks that have made deals and everything went smooth.  Maybe we need something along those lines.

I have yet to make a deal for an item that didn't go smooth as silk on TG other than the "Too many hogs" fiasco.

Bama you say don't ship prior to payment.  I've been on the other end where I sent $500 and hopped I wasn't getting ripped off.  I understand your point but it works both ways.

You are right about it goes both ways.  At the same time this deal happened I sold another stand to a gentleman in Michigan that went smooth as silk.

That's a bummer. Hope things work out for you. I never wait for payment, I always ship as soon as the deal is done. I just sent a 1100.00 bow before payment, I'm just not going to worry about it. I hope I didn't just jinx myself.

Dave

I wish you would post the handle of this person so no one else would do business with him. I have bought and sold a good deal of stuff in the classified section without a problem so far. I have been on the recieving end and the sending end of a SLOOOOOW US postal service and had a few anxious moments but everything worked out OK. Trust is a must with the transactions we do here and everyone needs to know if we have someone here who is untrustworthy.

Sounds like you did everything you could, short of getting the authorities involved.

I would like to hope it is simply a slow PO, and that maybe another factor is the cause...wishful thinking I guess.

As for me, I have yet to have any issues whatsoever while dealing with fellow tradgangers.

Best of luck.

I left him a phone message and a tradgang email this morning.  I plan to keep trying and give him this week to respond but then will ask Tradgang Administrators permission to post his name and handle.

QuoteOriginally posted by wtpops:
I would like to know his Tradgang handle so i can avoid doing business with him.

-Ditto-

I have had deals go south on me as well and know how you feel, it is a shame people treat others this way.

Thats a bummer.
Sorry to hear that, and hope it works out.
I'd be willing to bet that he is not
an organizational Officer that he claims to be.

Sorry for what happen to you !!  I think such persons has to be banned from our gang...Honesty and spirit of cameradie has to be high in count.
Aniway is the same thing if you send money first no one can guarantee to receive what you are expecting for.

That's a real No No.    

Army

That happened to me and a few other members here about 2 years ago.A new member just registered and put about 5 items up in the classifieds and listed himself as a police officer.I sent him money for a TH quiver,and I never recieved anything.I ship sometimes before recieving money but after getting burnt a few times it just leaves a bad taste.

Bummer that happened, the mods should at least ban him from this site.  I help moderate an Alaskan site and that is the action we have taken when/if someone shafts another member in the classfieds.  There shouldn't be any tolerance for that kind of swindling.     :knothead:

I have bought some bows ,traded some stuff,and sold some bows, and so far all the people I have delt with have been fair, honest and above board.I hope that trend continues and your case was  an isolated case. Maybe he'll still come thru,,hope so!!

Did you contact Tery Green and let him know about the situation?

I thought the big thing here was Respect.  Sure doesn't sound like this guy is showing you any Respect.

I just sent the guy one last private message saying:

"I regret to do it but see "Stolen Stand" post on Tradgang website. Let me know if I put down anything that was not totally true.
God bless you."

Fortunatly I have had all good deals that have went smooth so far.  But I'm always nervous when making these type of deals.  Nothing afainst new guys but I try to avoid making deals with people that haven't been members for very long and had several posts.

Do you guys use pay pal..from what I understand both partys are covered when using pay pal.

Damn, is this turning into an epidemic???

this is how the classifieds disappeared last time..probably should contact mods. before bringing it up on the forum, if they want it aired then do so..but I do agree, have had mostly great deals except for a couple..mostly great people here.

Sorry to hear, but David mitchell has it right. One cannot ask for payment first, why should one trust and not the other. I will not do a deal unless the other party and I agree to sgip at the same time or within a day of each other. Shawn

IMHO, if this happens, the "non deliverer" or party who did not hold up his/her end of the deal should be banned from the site. We should have a list of people who screwed up and it should include some info so we can track them in case they come back with a different handle.

That said, I bought a bow about 3 weeks ago and have not gotten it yet. Contacted the seller a couple of times and did not get an answer for a week but finally did today and it was a good reason. He even wanted to make it up in some way, like an extra gift etc. Not necessary. Sometimes things happen.

Let's hope a couple of days will clear things up

sam

I received an email from the buyer this morning in response to my last private message.  He said he has had some personal problems and would call me today.  Hopefully this will work out.

I have had great experiences on this site.  I agree with David M. and others though, trust cuts both ways.

I do hope it works out and sounds like it may.  

Dan

I am really glad to here that this thread might have a silver lining in it.  Bama, hope it all comes together for you.
Horner

The buyer called me this morning and apologized.
He said that someone he had relied upon to communicate with me while he was dealing with some family and health problems had dropped the ball
We agreed that he will mail a partial payment today and the balance in 30 days.  He offered the alternative of returning the stand.  He did say that I had mistakenly understood that he was an officer in a state association - he is a member but not not an officer.

Bama, I think you've been doing the right thing here. Patience is a virture, we all have problems at times and "stuff" happens. Personally I am willing to be open to the possibility of being shafted once for the oppertunity to trust good people. If he doesn't come thru it will hurt him and more than the hurt you will experience by losing the stand.

That said, I'm hoping this all works out well, sounds like it will now any way.  :thumbsup:

Bama..glad this working out for ya  :thumbsup:

Sounds like all is going to work out, Thats good and the buyer is most likley a good guy but man when something comes up and i know things do you have got to talk it out.

Hope it works out, Bama

I also wanted to comment on how a deal should be made. First, it is normal and expected that payment is recieved before sending an item. That's the way business is done. Buyers should do as much as they can to protect themselves. If you use a US Postal money order; it brings the United states govenment in on your side if the seller doesn't deliver. Also, you should get the sellers home phone number and address before sending money. You can do an internet search on the phone number to see if the address and name are legitimate. If things don't look right; don't send any money! If the seller is willing to send the item based on your good reputation, then it will work. A Paypal account is not a cure-all for both parties, but it does allow the buyer to pay with a credit card, which gives him the chance to cancel payment if the seller doesn't deliver. For trades, you need to be sure the person is legit and has a good reputation. Be carefull, but sometimes you just need to trust people.

when I was interduced to trad archery the first thing I noticed was how good the people were. Then I went on a 3-day trad event with vendors an such.I had gone to a vendor to pay by creditcard for 1 doz of g.tip arrows.He explained he was not set up to accept creditcards so he gave me his card an told me to just mail him the money an to keep the arrows.I could not belive he was willing to do this.It was then I knew I was plugged into a very special bunch of people.I have sold bows on our classafide I mail the bow they mail the money an everyone is happy.I love the trust an the "TRADITIONAL WAYS" of Tradgang an traditional archery as a whole an we should not under mined by this low life scumbags.we also need to check out who we are dealing with as best we can call your tradgang friends.try to do some research just for your protection.

Thanks for everyone's input.

One thing is beyond a shadow of a doubt - Tradgang is a first class site with first class members.  Great source of info and ideas