Anybody know this guy? I feel like I'm getting screwed...

[rbudrick]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8232922560&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&rd=1

I won this item (ended 11/19) and sent out the money order for it on about the 23rd. It took him until around the middle of December (the 9th, maybe?) to say he got the payment. Turned out he gave me two different addresses to send payment to and I didn't realize it...I notified him of this around the 20th and he said he got payment about 5 days later (he was kind of late to respond). Anyway, I never got the item and he doesn't respond to repeated emails since then.

Low feedback, I should have known better. But basically, I figured I'd never really have the chance to find this item again. I have the large grey box that goes with the modified GB, but didn't have the GB, and I've never seen one sold seperately.

I know, shame on me for bidding on someone with low feedback (don't rub it in! LOL ). Anybody know this guy? Looks like he has another auction up right now, anyway.

(Edit: revised the dates...sorry, typos)

-Rob

[Darth Sensei]

I despise paypal for the fees they rape me with when I sell something, but I am VERY leery of buying something with a money order.

[rbudrick]

I was between banks at the time, so I kinda had to pay via money order. :-(

-Rob

[bitrate]

I dont think that there will be a problem here. I think that guy is the owner of assemblergames. Deals alot in development stuff and has always seemed legitimate to me.

[Roi]

100% sure he is trustworthy.

[rbudrick]

Interesting. Does anyone have contact info for him? I can understand if he's busy and give the benefit of the doubt...are you sure he's the assemblergames guy?

-Rob

[mills]

All those auctions looked legit. It was the Christmas season so maybe he was really busy.

[dj898]

he may not quick on responding but he does honest guy and your item will arrive...

last time I deal with him there was only two e-mail before payment and none aftwards - I got mine a week or two later and I'm long way from USA... :D

[Funk Buddy]

It looks like him alright. He is not that good with communications, but you should get your item.

[rbudrick]

Ok, that's cool...I just wish he'd return an email to confirm. I noticed in the emails that his name is Anthony O'Connor, but Kevin O'Connor runs the assemblergames site. Is this the same guy, or are they related?

-Rob

[ProgrammingAce]

It's the same guy, he's had issues with paypal in the past (he got screwed out of $1500 by paypal) so he uses a different name. He's completely trustworthy, but he's been a been a bit busy lately with someone trying to have his site shut down. I buy stuff from him all the time, you'll see i'm in his feedback as it is.

[rbudrick]

It's weird...now that I know who he is, I've personally never seen him as anything but a top-notch guy. Seriously, he's always seemed very cool.

However, I have gotten information from two other people that have had really bad experiences with him (not sending stuff, no refunds, continued promises that never come through over many months or a year) that have happened over the last year or so. One of these people knows a third person who had the same thing happen.

So, needless to say, I'm a bit worried still. I did notice the post on his site about site troubles.

-Rob

[ClassicGameTrader]

Ok, that's cool...I just wish he'd return an email to confirm. I noticed in the emails that his name is Anthony O'Connor, but Kevin O'Connor runs the assemblergames site. Is this the same guy, or are they related?

-Rob

If it is in fact kevin, I am sure you will not get screwed. I have seen him around the net since 1996 or so, did a few deals with him over at Gametz and even back in the days of Newsgroup trading. He is usually slow and busy but you should get your stuff.

[PapaStu]

I bought some stuff from Assembler a while back (PS debugs from the Acclaim auctions). Communication dropped off aftera few emails, but everything showed up as said and expected (which was in excelent condition). I even had to switch something, and though there was really no communication back from him it all came to me again as promised and in good time.

I'd not be too worried if I were you.

[gepeto]

Damn that auction ended on the 19th.

How is he having it delivered on horseback?

As a seller you should at least respond to the buyers email.
I am sure if he had not been paid he would have been getting emails out to you.

I remember one time I won an auction It took over 2 to 3 weeks for the package to arrived. I even checked the postage. I believe there is a certian type of mail rate that is slow as a turtle.

If shipping is gonna be slow state it in the auction.

[rbudrick]

I sent him PM on the assemblergames site and he responded back saying it would go out Monday (1/9/05) and that he is going through his backlog. So, hopefully all is well.

I really appreciate everyone's help with this. Thanks! :-)

-Rob

[Darth Sensei]

Damn that auction ended on the 19th.

How is he having it delivered on horseback?

As a seller you should at least respond to the buyers email.
I am sure if he had not paid he would have been getting emails.

I remember one time I won an auction It took over 2 to 3 weeks for the package to arrived. I even checked the postage. I believe there is a certian type of mail rate that is slow as a turtle.

If shipping is gonna be slow state it in the auction.

I agree. I'd be pretty pissed too regardless of whether he actually ships or not.

[Griking]

I sent him PM on the assemblergames site and he responded back saying it would go out Monday (1/9/05) and that he is going through his backlog. So, hopefully all is well.

I really appreciate everyone's help with this. Thanks! :-)

-Rob


The auction ended on NOVEMBER 19th and after weeks of no communication he's finally says that he hasn't even shipped it and that he'll do it on January 9th?

How is everyone here able to defend this guy?

[Darth Sensei]

Heh, thanks Griking for pointing that out. I would've been pissed had it only been December 19th with no communcation.

[kevin_psx]

The auction ended on NOVEMBER 19th and after weeks of no communication he's finally says that he hasn't even shipped it and that he'll do it on January 9th? How is everyone here able to defend this guy?
Nope. File non-performing seller with ebay & item not delivered with paypal. Before the 45 days runs out! Don't care about past performance or "trust him" from his close buddies. ONLY NOW. And now he's being a total lazy bum. Deserves to get slapped by ebay/paypal.

"Sorry."

"That's just how I FEEL about it." - Daniel Jackson SG1

[Darth Sensei]

The auction ended on NOVEMBER 19th and after weeks of no communication he's finally says that he hasn't even shipped it and that he'll do it on January 9th? How is everyone here able to defend this guy?
Nope. File non-performing seller with ebay & item not delivered with paypal. Before the 45 days runs out! Don't care about past performance or "trust him" from his close buddies. ONLY NOW. And now he's being a total lazy bum. Deserves to get slapped by ebay/paypal.

"Sorry."

"That's just how I FEEL about it." - Daniel Jackson SG1

Rob had to pay with Money order so there would be no chargeback.

[rbudrick]

Well It's Sunday now and no package. Since it's coming from NY, I'm imagining it wasn't sent. Also, on Thursday I get a repsonse from an email I sent 2 weeks ago, almost disregarding the previous PM I received from him saying:


Rob,

We are looking into the item, I will dispatch a replacement if needed.
please contact me via assemblerex@(censored).com from now on, as this email address has become
heavily spammed in the last week...

Kevin

Pretty cryptic. Looking into it? What's there to look into? Is the item sent, or is it not? Is it broken/lost or does a Scooby Doo mystery surrounding it need to be solved before it's sent? That just doen't make any sense. Replacement? So was it broken, or does he think one was sent and I need a replacement for some reason? This is really starting to feel extremely sketchy.

-Rob

[Griking]

You've already been a lot more patient than I ever would have been. Christ, it's almost been three months now. Give the guy his well deserved negative feedback and move on.

Because you paid with a money order and not PayPal you can't file a charge back but you can file a complaint with the Internet Fraud Complaint Center (http://www.ifccfbi.gov/index.asp). They're a government agency and they WILL at least contact the seller. Perhaps having local authorities calling him about it will scare him into getting off his ass and sending you your item.

[The Brown Eye]

I don't know of anyone who's not gotten what they've ordered from him BUT I know a few people who have faced delays like yours (myself included). I also know he's terrible at responding to PMs/e-mails. I would probably neg him at this point, because two months is inexcusable. If you have time to sell the item, and spend the money, then why can't you make time to ship it out?

[ProgrammingAce]

I'd neg him too at this point. I've had some delays while buying from him, but this goes beyond bad service. I'd also pm him asking what's going on, and send him a link to this thread over here.

[number6]

You know what's really sad about this seller? He leaves a neg very fast when the transaction does not go his way. Here is the item he won on Dec 26:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=1182&item=8740399816

and look how soon he negs the seller:

http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedbackMemberLeft&memberid=siliconvalleyliquidators&items=-1&item=-1&de=off

Of course it looks like retaliation feedback, but still. I would say that yes you should neg this seller and also put him on your blocked bidder list as well since he does not appear to honor his bids.

[The Brown Eye]

I don't know if I'd go that far. I sold him a Japanese Saturn Arcade Racer and FV on Ebay about five years ago (I wonder why I remember that?), and had no problem. Of course, his old account is NARU'd so that's quite irrelevant now.

[ProgrammingAce]

I dunno, he currently has a "non paying bidder" complaint against me. He issued it 5 days after sending me the invoice, and he requires payment by money order... It's kind of sad really, because part of the money order had an extra $20 to cover his server expenses... Not cool.

And to be honest, i'm not real fond of the fact that he's selling retail xboxes and passing them off as dev kits...:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=62054&item=8232918280

[dj898]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=62054&item=8232918280

well it said it's Acclaim's quality assurance (QA) unit so naturally think it'd be retail box, not dev box...? O_O
the description even said it's been restored using the restore disc...

I'm not defending this guy but in the cycle of development you need to use retail box to test out the final build - what if the gold candidate somehow crash on the retail box but runs fine on dev box? :p Besides he said this unit was used as phone assistance so it'd be safe to assume this is nothing more than retail box...

[ProgrammingAce]

That's the devkit refresh disc he was selling it with, not the retail.

[dj898]

it maybe...
what I was saying is the disc maybe devkit refresh disc but the box itself is just regular garden variety retail box...
don't see why anyone think the auction is for dev box as well when it was not said the box IS dev box? Or am I not getting something?

[Darth Sensei]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=62054&item=8232918280

well it said it's Acclaim's quality assurance (QA) unit so naturally think it'd be retail box, not dev box...? O_O
the description even said it's been restored using the restore disc...

I'm not defending this guy but in the cycle of development you need to use retail box to test out the final build - what if the gold candidate somehow crash on the retail box but runs fine on dev box? :p Besides he said this unit was used as phone assistance so it'd be safe to assume this is nothing more than retail box...

What the hell does that matter? Rob is getting screwed by this guy because he bought something that wasn't delivered.

[dj898]

Mate I was referring to the another auction posted along the thread... :D

for the original poster well it's sad to hear but it happened to me several times. Hate to say but it happens and that's why it's always wise to check before jump onto what looks like a good deal and why I never deal with anyone who doesn't accept Paypal no matter how tempting the item might be. Yes I passed up many of those simply because the seller wouldn't accept Paypal or asking too much for shipping... And that's why I'm now out of eBay completely...

Anyway, like I said all my comment was for that auction with retail xbox + dev disc, not the original auction. If it felt like hijacking the thread sorry about that...

[rbudrick]

No worries, dj898. :)

Taking a tip from CueWarrior to give this guy a call, I looked around and found his number pretty fast. He wasn't in, but I did leave a message with someone there.

We'll see how that pans out.

-Rob

[suppafly]

No worries, dj898. :)

Taking a tip from CueWarrior to give this guy a call, I looked around and found his number pretty fast. He wasn't in, but I did leave a message with someone there.

We'll see how that pans out.

-Rob

This guy really SUCKS. Theres no excuse for this lousy transaction....good luck

[rbudrick]

Yep. Still no follow-up. I've left two messages now.

-Rob

[rbudrick]

Calls still unanswered. I made a thread at the Assemblergames forum:

http://assemblergames.com/forums/showthread.php?p=125749#post125749

I hope it doesn't get deleted under the "offensive" rule of that forum (in the rules section). :hmm: I really didn't want to have to do that on his home turf, but it is truly a last resort.

-Rob

[Darth Sensei]

This guy is a dirtbag.

[Unregistered]

File a dispute on paypal while you get the chance

[rbudrick]

As mentioned, Paypal is out of the question. I paid with a money order, as I was in between banks at te time.

-Rob

[ASSEMblerEX]

I'm sending your money back.

It says it was left on your doorstep, and you're probably ripping me off, but my reputation is worth more to me on my forums than your money.

[rbudrick]

Kevin, I would never rip you off. If I had, I wouldn't have staked MY reputation on these forums. Think about that. My repuation among this community is pristine, and I would never intentionally tarnish that. That would be downright stupid. Now, I could have flatout made such an accusation at you, but I REFUSED to do so. Again, this denotes the extreme level of unprofessionalism that has come from your side since the beginning of this.

Also, you say "it" says it was left on my doorstep. What is "it?" Do you mean the carrier? Who was it? Is there some tracking number I should be aware of (there must be, or "it" would have never been able to tell you)? Perhaps I could check on that number or maybe there is some confusion about another package you sent to someone else? If it were USPS, then a package with a tracking number must be signed for and they don't leave these without someone having signed. I've known my mailman for 20 odd years, and he is very "by the book." If it is any other carrier, then there is definitely a tracking number, whereas it is only optional with USPS. So, naturally, there is a tracking number, and I would like you to post it or otherwise send it to me.

I find it interesting that you reponded to this within hours of my having sent you a PM indicating I made a thread on your own forums about this. After all these weeks you could barely even communicate with me, yet you are still able to post away on your site and check it quite often. That speaks volumes.

-Rob

[ASSEMblerEX]

Not all sales go well, but I am willing to repair any problems.
I will return your money.

I was seriously ill at the time (and still am), but I am not here to gather sympathies.

I've sold thousands of items over many years, and have many happy customers, some of them even defending me in this thread. However people only remember the problems, and all of the sudden because one person didn't get their gameboy in the mail, I am the scum of the earth.

I am but a man, mortal and frail. I am not a shipping robot and problems do occur. And that is life.

Take it any way you like.

[ASSEMblerEX]

Not all sales go well, but I am willing to repair any problems.
I will return your money.

I was seriously ill at the time (and still am), but I am not here to gather sympathies.

I've sold thousands of items over many years, and have many happy customers, some of them even defending me in this thread. However people only remember the problems, and all of the sudden because one person didn't get their gameboy in the mail, I am the scum of the earth.

I am but a man, mortal and frail. I am not a shipping robot and problems do occur. And that is life.

Take it any way you like.

[suppafly]

Return the money then! and problem solved!

WE ALL have problems in our lives...just end your transaction with some honor....

[kevin_psx]

I am but a man, mortal and frail. I am not a shipping robot and problems do occur. And that is life.
Wonder why you don't think the same about Your Sellers?

"Has my money, where is my item?" Seller siliconvalleyliquidators (7) Jan-12-06 23:12


The OP waited 10 weeks and you lecture him that he's not being fair to you the seller. But you left a neg after only 2 weeks when you were buying. Hypocritical much? "Do as I say buyer; not how I act."

[Griking]

This wasn't my transaction but I'd think that this can all be easily resolved if the seller provided the buyer with the shipping tracking number. The seller said that "it was left on your doorstep". This is information that the seller couldn't possibly know unless there was tracking info of some sort. So why not provide it? Either there's a tracking number and the seller can prove his innocence or he lied which speaks volumes as well.

Also, none of this explains why the seller wouldn't respond to repeated emails from the buyer. Too sick to respond to email but not too sick to post on his own website's forums? :hmm:

[suppafly]

I agree with Griking

[ProgrammingAce]

I guess that's what i get for defending him... now i'm on Assembler's sh-t list.

[rbudrick]

Looks like assemblergames closed the thread over at the AG board. Said he was going to leave it open to help any others with disputes, now he closes it to avoid any further shit against his name.


I'm going back to bed. You won't hear from me until sunday night as I still have a fever.

I consider the matter now closed. If you wish to complain further until you feel satisfied, please feel free to do so to this domo-kun.
<picture>
I understand your pain, but you're one customer among many satisfied ones, and plainly put, shit happens.

Anyone with issues send an email to assemblerex@gmail.com

So, if I want to complain further, talk to fucking Domo Kun? What kind of cocky-ass crap is that?

He considers it closed?! I don't have my money or item yet, and he says it's closed. Something tells me it was closed to him two months ago. Shit happens indeed. Go ahead folks, send your issues to that email box. Not that he'll respond or anything. Awesome tracking number he didn't produce, isn't it?

ProgrammingAce, I'm sorry if my issue has caused you to be on his bad side. I know how much his site means to a lot of folks. I certainly didn't intend for this issue to extend anywhere beyond the line between me and him. :(

-Rob

[ProgrammingAce]

Lol, it's not your fault, i'm glad you brought it up. I've been trying to get him to answer an email or a PM since Dec 15 over our sale dispute. I got a non paying bidder strike over it, but that's easy enough to dispute with the recept from the money order. He didn't give me a neg feedback, so that's cool. And i don't think he's going to ban me over the whole incident.

For some reason, the Domo-kun still makes me laugh...

[The Brown Eye]

So, if I want to complain further, talk to fucking Domo Kun? What kind of cocky-ass crap is that?
LOL When I was waiting for my debugger I e-mailed him there and PM'd him a few times and he never responded. You'll probably get something (money or product) from him eventually, but it wouldn't surprise me if it takes him three months (or longer) to do it.

I'm not going to dig too much deeper into this, but I would give him another two weeks to get your money or product to you, and if not then neg him here and on eBay. If he fixes the problem, then maybe a neutral would be in order. It's your call.

He just got another neg as well, putting his positive feedback down to 83.3%, and it was for that Xbox mentioned above. And why would he issue a NPB in 5 days to someone paying by money order? That makes no sense to me. And yet, people are still vouching for him, not making any note of these problems.

This and the whole gavroche issue (which cost me $1100+) of last year make me seriously rethink buying from people online. Buyer beware, now more than ever.

[Tbowl]

Some people did have smooth transactions with this guy though... but many have said that it has taken months for their items to come.

A part of me is saying people vouch for him because 1, they eventually do get their items, although it takes way too long and 2, he's a well-known man with his own website and such. I'm probably leaning more towards the 2nd.

Any regular person who would take 3 months to ship items would be chastised to hell.

[Darth Sensei]

Excuse me folks, but Rob HAS waited months.

Hey ASS-embler, refund his money and go your merry way.

Your bleeding heart, woe is me lying bullshit, is beyond pathetic.

[kevin_psx]

He just got another neg as well, putting his positive feedback down to 83.3%,

Why do people bid with such lousy percentage??? Out of 20 buyers-- 3 people got screwed. Piss poor.

[rbudrick]

Why do people bid with such lousy percentage??? Out of 20 buyers-- 3 people got screwed. Piss poor. LOL

But they are the exception. LOL LOL

He sent me a PM on the AG site.


Hi Rob,

If I don't hear back from usps by monday, I'll consider it gone and refund you the money.

Thanks for your patience.

Kevin

But I thought he already heard from them...something about my package being on my doorstep? :?

And why not just give the tracking number?

He has two weeks from today (until Feb. 6) for me to get my money back, or else I'll neg him and report him.

-Rob

[suppafly]

Why do people bid with such lousy percentage??? Out of 20 buyers-- 3 people got screwed. Piss poor. LOL

But they are the exception. LOL LOL

-Rob

Sorry about your problem with this ASS-embler dude...it really sucks to get ripped off....

[briskbc]

Don't forget to put this guy in the Blacklist thread above. It'll be the second time he's mentioned in it. LOL :hmm:

[ASSEMblerEX]

Hmm maybe I will test that new law about anonymously flaming people on the internet.

[Griking]

Hmm maybe I will test that new law about anonymously flaming people on the internet.


Where's his tracking number?

[ProgrammingAce]

Hmm maybe I will test that new law about anonymously flaming people on the internet.

The laws regarding postal fraud need no testing...

[Darth Sensei]

Hmm maybe I will test that new law about anonymously flaming people on the internet.

Have you refunded his money or not?

[rbudrick]

No, he hasn't.

I will report him to eBay in 5 days if I have not received my money. The postal service and his local police will be glad to hear of him too, I'm sure.

And besides, I am not anonymous. You have my name, address, phone number, email address, web handle, so good luck with that. On top of this, I haven't flamed you. I have spoke no untruths, so I can't be flaming you at all.

-Rob

[Griking]

No, he hasn't.

I will report him to eBay in 5 days if I have not received my money. The postal service and his local police will be glad to hear of him too, I'm sure.

And besides, I am not anonymous. You have my name, address, phone number, email address, web handle, so good luck with that. On top of this, I haven't flamed you. I have spoke no untruths, so I can't be flaming you at all.

-Rob

Just out of curiosity, what the hell are you waiting for? It's probably already beyond the point where eBay or even the local authorities will be able to do anything about it. Are you thinking that after being a deadbeat for 2 1/2 months he's going to finally get a concience after three? And even if he does suddenly refund your money or send you your item, after three months it still makes him a shitty seller deserving of a negative and being reported to eBay.

[ProgrammingAce]

Yeah, i haven't seen my "refund" yet either... I'm not exactly holding my breath.

[The Brown Eye]

I will report him to eBay in 5 days if I have not received my money. The postal service and his local police will be glad to hear of him too, I'm sure.

I've got to hand it to you, you're a hell of a lot more patient with these things than I am! What's sad is that on his site, he was going on and on about his "satisfied cutomers" and yet there's STILL two people in this thread with unresolved issues, even after it was made public.

And I'm not flaming anonymously either. I've dealt with you before, so it's just a matter of looking through Paypal and pulling the transaction up for my name and address, since they save those forever it seems.

[kevin_psx]

Where's the Seller's website?

[Funk Buddy]

I will report him to eBay in 5 days if I have not received my money. The postal service and his local police will be glad to hear of him too, I'm sure.

I've got to hand it to you, you're a hell of a lot more patient with these things than I am! What's sad is that on his site, he was going on and on about his "satisfied cutomers" and yet there's STILL two people in this thread with unresolved issues, even after it was made public.

And I'm not flaming anonymously either. I've dealt with you before, so it's just a matter of looking through Paypal and pulling the transaction up for my name and address, since they save those forever it seems.

Make that three.

[johno590]

This guys sounds like a real jerk.

rbudrick it seems like you have given this person way too much time to fix things. It's nice of you to try to let them work it out, but now it might be too late to do anything? I hope you can get something solved.

[rbudrick]

Well, apparently it's too late to post the item as not received, but I did manage to leave bad feedback since I still had the link to the auction (link to the auction doesn't appear under my My eBay page anymore). EDIT: Also sa that it was indeed under the Feedback section in the My eBay section, but not on the main page of the My eBay section.

I'm pretty sure this is the only bad feedback I've ever left for anyone. EDIT: Looks like I've left 2 for other sellers before this. After nearly 200 auctions over the years, not bad, I guess.


-Rob

[Darth Sensei]

What was his forum URL again?

[rbudrick]

His site is assemblergames.com, but the forums are assemblergames.com/forums

-Rob

[rbudrick]

An, of course, he leaves me bad feedback, calling me an outright thief:

http://pages.ebay.com/services/forum/feedback-login.html

Use the name rbudrick to view.

This little bastard stole my money and calls me a thief. What a fucking asshole.

And eBay says there isn't jack I can do about the feedback:


The feedback comment contains profane, vulgar, obscene, or racist language or adult material. Inflammatory language, such as "fraud, liar, cheater, scam artist, con man" etc., while strongly discouraged, will not be removed.

-Rob

[Darth Sensei]

Rob I think you made a mistake listing this thread in that feedback.

I believe they'll remove it now.

[Darth Sensei]

Apparently someone was unhappy with his treatment of you as well.

http://assemblergames.com/forums/showthread.php?p=128769#post128769