norkusa
04-05-2003, 10:58 PM
I was totally amazed when a package showed up on my doorstep the other day from a newsgroup transaction that turned sour. I thought I was ripped off for sure!
Way back in November of last year, I was scanning usenet for rare Virtual Boy stuff hoping to score some good deals. I came across a post from someone in a NG that had nothing to do with videogames. They said they had a Virtual Boy Store Display for sale. I contacted the person, negotiated a price ($75 shipped), exchanged addresses, and sent out a postal money order later that week. Then almost immediately, all communication stoped. He never responded to my emails and didn't answer the phone when I called his place. I thought "great, I've been ripped-off".
I went to the post office, thinking that since I paid the guy with a postal M.O., they can help me get my money back. No luck. The postmaster said I was basicly S.O.L. because the money order has already been cashed and there was no way to prove that the guy I sent it to was the one that cashed it.
So then I called the cops and filed a report. About a month later, I get a call back from a detective. He tells me "Im working on theft cases right now that involve hundreds of thousands of dollars. It seems rediculous that you are filing a report for a $75 theft, but it is a misdemeanor, so we'll look into it and let you know".
At that point, I gave up all hope on getting my money back and pretty much forgot about the whole thing. But then, just a couple days ago, the VB display showed up! It came with this long letter of apology from the guy. Turns out that the detective paid a visit to his place and really scared the shit out of him! He wrote that the reason for the "delay" was that he was going thru some rough times and getting my package out to me wasn't a priority. Well, at least the asshole was being honest and didn't give me some lame excuse like "I lost your address".
Anyway, the display is great and totally mint! Looks like it has never been used. And to add to the suprise, there was even a Red Alarm demo cartridge in the cartridge slot! Moral of the story: don't give up the fight if you've been scammed, there is still hope (unless your beef is with Paypal, then you really are screwed).
Way back in November of last year, I was scanning usenet for rare Virtual Boy stuff hoping to score some good deals. I came across a post from someone in a NG that had nothing to do with videogames. They said they had a Virtual Boy Store Display for sale. I contacted the person, negotiated a price ($75 shipped), exchanged addresses, and sent out a postal money order later that week. Then almost immediately, all communication stoped. He never responded to my emails and didn't answer the phone when I called his place. I thought "great, I've been ripped-off".
I went to the post office, thinking that since I paid the guy with a postal M.O., they can help me get my money back. No luck. The postmaster said I was basicly S.O.L. because the money order has already been cashed and there was no way to prove that the guy I sent it to was the one that cashed it.
So then I called the cops and filed a report. About a month later, I get a call back from a detective. He tells me "Im working on theft cases right now that involve hundreds of thousands of dollars. It seems rediculous that you are filing a report for a $75 theft, but it is a misdemeanor, so we'll look into it and let you know".
At that point, I gave up all hope on getting my money back and pretty much forgot about the whole thing. But then, just a couple days ago, the VB display showed up! It came with this long letter of apology from the guy. Turns out that the detective paid a visit to his place and really scared the shit out of him! He wrote that the reason for the "delay" was that he was going thru some rough times and getting my package out to me wasn't a priority. Well, at least the asshole was being honest and didn't give me some lame excuse like "I lost your address".
Anyway, the display is great and totally mint! Looks like it has never been used. And to add to the suprise, there was even a Red Alarm demo cartridge in the cartridge slot! Moral of the story: don't give up the fight if you've been scammed, there is still hope (unless your beef is with Paypal, then you really are screwed).