What's the best Way to handle this?

[furor]

We'll after 6+ years of buying and trading on the internet I've finally been ripped off :(
I should have known but I gave the seller the benefit of the doubt. After sending out the money order he suddenly stopped responding to emails. It's been two weeks since he's cashed it and I have yet to hear from him and have not received my goods.
What course of action should I take? I plan on pressing full charges with his local police department. Should I contact my local police also? Are there any online sites in which to report fraud? What are the chances I'll ever see my money again? I used a US postal money order.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
>:(

[Anonymous]

My friend had a similar problem. Call the local police in his are, chat it up with them, then say "I got this guy in your district. I don't know if he's having trouble or what, but he just stopped responding to my calls/emails/everything. He owes me money, so it's a possibility that he's avoiding me, but Something might be wrong, too. Could I get one of you guys to go check on him?"

[swlovinist]

Did you go through ebay??? If you did you can get his personal info like his phone number and address. I had a problem like this and all it took was about 200 emails and phone calls to get my money back. Sometimes being ugly works :-D

[furor]

Did you go through ebay??? If you did you can get his personal info like his phone number and address. I had a problem like this and all it took was about 200 emails and phone calls to get my money back. Sometimes being ugly works :-D
Actually, I went through IGN Classifieds (That was my first mistake). I have his name and address which I'll be giving to the local authorities. I'm almost half tempted to make the 900+ mile drive and show up on his doorstep.
I like anotherflukes idea about showing concern for the guy. That just might be the trick to get the police to show up.

[hydr0x]

i have to say, one week really isn't much time, i was often enough not able to respond to emails for a week so this imho really isn't suspicious in any way, the chance is high that the police says the same thing, what if his hd broke? what if his internet-connection is fucked up? if u have a phone number, try to call him first, give him a little more time, and than u may contact the police (if the amount of money is worth it)

[Scoots]

In my not-so-humble opinion, if you can't respond to an email within a week's time, you have no business selling anything online. His computer broke? Boo hoo, go to the library or a friend's house for 5 minutes to let the buyer know what's up.

[furor]

i have to say, one week really isn't much time, i was often enough not able to respond to emails for a week so this imho really isn't suspicious in any way, the chance is high that the police says the same thing, what if his hd broke? what if his internet-connection is fucked up? if u have a phone number, try to call him first, give him a little more time, and than u may contact the police (if the amount of money is worth it)
One week isn't much time...but he cashed the money order two weeks ago with the promise of sending out next day. I've been emailing him everyday for two weeks without a single response from him. I will give him one more week to respond or see if a package arrives before I go full out. It sure is funny how he can send emails in the blink of an eye before I send the money order, but once he receives it communication has ceased.

[Videogamerdaryll]

There must be a way to get his phone number..Maybe a White Pages search on the computer..using his name and address........?

(I'm not easy to accept excuses for non sent packages and being ripped off)
But I think about if it was my position..

If I died..I don't know what would happen..
I don't think my wife would be worried about shipping stuff on Ebay at that present moment..everything would be in shambles..but I do prepair everything I sell to be shipped..and keep her updated..
Not everyone can do that...
I also do a lot to ensure the winning bidder that they are getting what I'm selling..I take pics,give tracking numbers..take pics of the package and a scan the postal receipt+ delivery confirmation and email it too them..I even put insurance on stuff sometimes for free..
I want to be that good seller..but some sellers could care less.I pack my stuff well too.
I think people who can't get it together on Ebay or so should sell anything..but the internet is a gold mine for scammers and lousy sellers..

I was ready to give you the link to the Ebay contact info..
http://cgi3.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?MemberSearchShow

Was this for a lot of money?
I'm very persistant..If I even have the notion of getting ripped off I try to find all the info I can about the person..I'll call them like crazy if my stuff takes way too long to get here..
We'll then I'm very carefull on what I bid on and I don't do trades or off Ebay deals......
He could be in Jail or in the Hospital..

You may be able to find out if he's locked up in his towns/county Jail..
There is some kind of search on the internet for this..
I did it once and found out that a guy who everyone thought was dead was in jail for 25 yrs..and the search located him in another state.

He may be in the hospital ..A seller on Ebay got in a bad car accident..he was in the hopital for a month or so..
He didn't have any non sent packages but if he did....people would of been in wonder..
The person could be single with no friends or family,a loner.he could of got killed..
Anything is possible...and I'm not easy to accept...any excuse.

But with research you may find this guy..call the local hospitals in his area..maybe he's been admitted..(must say your family)

Does he actively post at a forum site..maybe he'll make the mistake of posting or try to sell something else.?

[den68]

hopefully he's just lazy and not ripping you off. the "I've got my cash, I'll ship it when I ship it" type. even if that's the case it's just rude. I recently worked out a trade with a guy. I sent his package out the next day and didn't get my stuff from him for over a month.

the fact that he's ignoring your e-mails may be cause for concern but it could be a stall tactic to avoid telling you he hasn't bothered to ship your stuff yet.

good luck

[Kidcritta]

Man that shit pisses me off

How much cash r we talking here?
If its a large amount --go through the authorities.

Asmall amount---time to have some fun!!!!!!

Subscribe him to any free mail things you can find.
Put his email addy with all the porn sites and spammers
Send him packages with gross stuff inside.
-----OR--------

Get a map and work out what states/cities you have to go through
to get from you to him........
Get some postcards and send one to him each couple of days
letting him know you're getting closer and that he picked the
wrong psycho to fuck with!!!!!!!


You Also have enough info to get his phone number.
The possibilities are endless.


You may not get your moolah but damn you could have some fun!!!!!

Anyone else think this could be a fun venture????

[Videogamerdaryll]

Man that shit pisses me off

How much cash r we talking here?
If its a large amount --go through the authorities.

Asmall amount---time to have some fun!!!!!!

Subscribe him to any free mail things you can find.
Put his email addy with all the porn sites and spammers
Send him packages with gross stuff inside.
-----OR--------

Get a map and work out what states/cities you have to go through
to get from you to him........
Get some postcards and send one to him each couple of days
letting him know you're getting closer and that he picked the
wrong psycho to fuck with!!!!!!!


You Also have enough info to get his phone number.
The possibilities are endless.


You may not get your moolah but damn you could have some fun!!!!!

Anyone else think this could be a fun venture????

Oh Yes...definitely....I can be a real bstd on the comp...I don't like scams.
But I'd need the info and after he's sure to have been ripped off..

[chadtower]

You say you've emailed him every day. Have you sent any of those emails return receipt? You don't even know they got there if you didn't.

[Scoots]

What do you do when they say they've mailed it yet you haven't received anything?

[chadtower]

You fight like a robot! The humanoid must not escape! :2gunfire:

[K3V]

There must be a way to get his phone number..Maybe a White Pages search on the computer..using his name and address........?

You can do a reverse lookup on InfoSpace. Just scroll down to where you enter the address to look up the number:

http://kevdb.infospace.com/_1_SPKU8E04LF7CPM__home/wp/reverse.htm

-Kevin

[Sylentwulf]

I've posted this multiple times, and I stand by it. There is nothing you can do. Wasting any more of your time on this will just be adding salt to the wound of being ripped off. I've tried everything 2-3 times, and I've never gotten anything back.

Got payment back 3 times with paypal, but beyond paypal, local and federal police are the worst most useless bastards on the plant, followed by ebay. Paypal is by FAR the safest way due to their excellent handling of the situations.