Why won't people name and shame scum sellers ??

Just wanted to see if its just me who thinks that bad sellers are scum who should be named and shamed !

Someone I've met through this forum got done up like a kipper, and it has really wound me up - so just wanted to vent on here.

They bought a heli and radio of someone on this forum a while back, who knew they were a beginner - first of all they mucked them about waiting several weeks after payment before posting things off - which is just unexcusable in my view. Eventually the heli/radio arrived and seemed to be OK, as this guy is new he didn't know better, so struggled/flew it as best he could. He has recently bought another heli brand new kit, so having built this has problems with ESC failing to stop etc - this contributed to his new model getting damaged - he emailed me about this, and we've realised the transmitter is broken and throttle won't go below around 20% stick position.

I cannot believe the seller was not aware of this, if they had used/setup this radio with a model (which they claimed to) it would be impossible to miss, so I can only assume the seller did this deliberately knowing a newbie wouldn't realise the radio was bad.

I recommended he send this back to the distributor, who have inspected and provided a quote to repair 'damage from being dropped' - you could argue maybe this was damaged in the post or dropped by the new owner, except that part of the inspection report states it had been bodged inside the case wedged in place with a bit of foam - clearly whoever broke/bodged this knows they did it, which in my eyes is just ripping off someone they know is new to the hobby.

I've suggested my friend emails the seller explaining the situation with a copy of the inspection/damage quote, as if i had bought this I'd expect the seller to refund or pay repair cost, and frankly any decent seller would do this without blinking, but as we know there are a number of bad sellers who continue to take advantage of beginners/newbies on this forum and I really think this needs to stop.

I appreciate the mods don't appreciate these postings, but this makes me so cross I wanted to see what others think.

The feedback mechanism doesn't seem to get used, and certainly no-one seems to get negative feedback much.

I also am sick of seeing people strying to sell stuff - and other members 'bumping' this with posts like 'this is a great seller, you should buy this' - all this 'we're an honest forum, trust everyone' attitude makes me want to puke when I see people getting ripped off by sellers who are selling stuff on here so often you'd think they were running a business !

[dam74]

So true James. I've been stung myself in the past not on this forum but on ebay.
When I sell my items I usually take close up photos of any damage to show the buyer before they recieve the item of any issues, otherwise they might be alarmed if they didn't know. Also if the item is an RC model I usually state if it's had any crashes etc and what I've done to repair it. I'd rather be honest up front with the buyer.
Did have one incident recently where in my hurry to get to ParcelForce before close on Sat I forgot to pack an old FM TX with the heli. Contacted the buyer about it and said I had packed other items that weren't listed (eg. fuel pump) and would he be really annoyed about me not sending the TX. Anyway he was annoyed and wanted the TX so I contacted ParcelForce and had to hold the shipment. Went into the depot on Monday and added the TX to the consignment. Buyer I believe is now a happy chappy as he's now flying the Hawk Pro which I listed was a non-flyer as the engine was broken but he managed to get it running. He also managed to sell on the TX and RX so he got a working .30 sized heli for I think around £100-120

[jamesb72]

Glad its not just me - when I sell stuff I am so careful to make sure the buyer gets exactly what they expected, and if anyone was unhappy with anything I sold I would do whatever it took to resolve this - if this meant a full refund I wouldn't even blink.

I think only 'personal' selling should be allowed on this forum, people selling/swapping stuff they no longer use, not people who appear to be running a business selling on dodgy stuff.

I've been 'mislead' twice buying on here, but have had other stuff where the sellers have been perfect - if we could flush out the small number of dodgy sellers I think the forum would be a better place !

[simon1]

Glad its not just me - when I sell stuff I am so careful to make sure the buyer gets exactly what they expected, and if anyone was unhappy with anything I sold I would do whatever it took to resolve this - if this meant a full refund I wouldn't even blink.

I think only 'personal' selling should be allowed on this forum, people selling/swapping stuff they no longer use, not people who appear to be running a business selling on dodgy stuff.

I've been 'mislead' twice buying on here, but have had other stuff where the sellers have been perfect - if we could flush out the small number of dodgy sellers I think the forum would be a better place !

I think there is a common misconception that all of the people on this forum are genuine sellers, just because we are all addicted to the same game and are in it 'together'. I personally have not been ripped off at all, always been happy with any purchase from the forum. But have read many who havn't and it really does stink, I do think bad sellers should be named and shamed and possibly banned from selling on here again?

[coptermanic]

My wife is amazed that I buy stuff from forum members I have not personally met, and accept and trust their word. It's generally not good business practise!!

Whilst on most occasions, things seem to work out OK, but we do see instances of "trouble" between members over a buy/sell. Followed by the "he's a mate, would not do that" sort of supporting posts for both parties and the ensuing slanging match which does the forum no benefit.

Maybe we need to look at these transactions. Like having to provide a dated image of the item, or some easy "get-out" clause for the buyer if all is not what he/she expected.

I am certain Stuart would be amenable to any suggestion which might make these transactions "better".

[jamesb72]

Surely it would be easy for mods to allow people to PM them to register a dispute, if it isn't resolved in 7 days they look at buyer/seller side, and if complaint is genuine the seller is blocked from forsale forum until this is resolved ??

Given the abuse of paypal gift payments to avoid payapl resolution being possible, this would seem a pretty basic thing to do.

Alternatively, gift payments should be prohibited under the conditions of the for sale forum, then if anyone is unhappy they can file a paypal dispute for full refund - paypal are pretty good at resolving in buyers favour in almost all cases.

[Nick B]

I sold a 600 motor on here only to find out from the buyer it needed new bearings....i was gutted and it was resolved straight away,anything i sell now gets a good looking at before listing.

Hope your friend gets it sorted asap,otherwise please name and shame

[dam74]

Dunno how easy it'd be to employ a rating system for transactions?

Or even just a policy by the admins of a three negative transactions and you can no longer sell/buy in that section of the forums.

[Tim Procter]

I appreciate the mods don't appreciate these postings

First of all I agree with your post 100% James.

I have in the past setup a "Poll" regarding more moderation on these forums and got shot down sadly.

So I will go with the flow so to speak.

I also am sick of seeing people strying to sell stuff - and other members 'bumping' this with posts like 'this is a great seller, you should buy this

This practice "should" have been stopped because new rules were added on 14th Feb 2010. That can be read here

trust everyone' attitude makes me want to puke when I see people getting ripped off by sellers who are selling stuff on here so often you'd think they were running a business !

I... like many more have noticed a certain member on these forums buying lots of items only to sell them on as soon as the item is delivered trying to make a few quid. sad sad sad.!!!!

[jamesb72]

Hope your friend gets it sorted asap,otherwise please name and shame

To be honest, I hope I've got the wrong end of the stick on this, and the seller will man up and pay the repair cost immediately - if so I will be the first to PM him my congratulations/apologies.


As for naming and shaming, and feedback - I think the iTrader system could be a lot easier/more obvious - ideally it should be a quick link when clicking on a profile - its a bit hidden at the moment.

Also, I think that buyers should be encouraged to leave honest feedback without fear of reprisals - if a sale was neutral or negative, it should be reported - similarly there should be a 'super-positive' for great sellers who sort out problems quickly - as I understand mistakes happen, and to be honest the best sellers are the ones where a problem comes up and they resolve it quickly and this should be recognised with more than just a +1 - again this should only be used when appropriate, not just for every normal sale!

[Mart61]

I agree with your post in general terms James. I've said it before and I'll say it again - if I ever feel that that I've been conned or messed about during a purchase here, I will sure as hell name and shame the seller.

I have a couple of caveats tho:

• peoples opinions of "like new" or "mint" differ. Any defect, however slight, on an item being sold should be clearly identified
• I would try to resolve the dispute amicably via PM prior to "name and shaming" the seller

I once had the mickey taken a tad when selling a DX6i that I knew to be far from mint - you can see the listing here. As you will note I went to some lengths to make the potential buyers aware that this is not mint.

Caveat emptor!

p.s. I do, however, honestly believe that the vast vast majority of the sellers and buyers on this forum are honest and trustworthy. Perhaps part of the reason for very few (if any) negative feedback is because the vast vast majority of the transactions complete without issue.

[Jamin_00]

I would too name and shame if all other attempts to get it resolved to my satisfaction failed.

But so far (touch wood) in all the deals I have done over this forum I have not had a problem

[Boggy]

now that the full facts are known .

a shocking manipulation of the forum to obtain a refund!!

shame on you James

[Mart61]

This practice "should" have been stopped because new rules were added on 14th Feb 2010. That can be read here

I... like many more have noticed a certain member on these forums buying lots of items only to sell them on as soon as the item is delivered trying to make a few quid. sad sad sad.!!!!

I agree 100% Tim with both of these points.

Your point No.1 I think is a good rule but perhaps unenforceable (unless the threads in the For Sale area can be limited such that the only person that can edit or add to the thread is the seller?)

Your point No.2 - I agree here. Almost looks the buyers/sellers concerned are laundering dirty money!

[Lynx.1677]

So now I'm a 'scum' seller eh?

He's talking about me folks.

First of all I bought the DX6i 2nd hand from ebay as I wanted to use it with Phoenix rather than use my DX7 as I was worried about scratching/dropping my shiny new DX7.

I also sold him a 250SE which I built and that worked fine as did my sim with the DX6i that I sold him.

Second of all he emailed me YESTERDAY when he bought the thing 5 MONTHS AGO. Why the hell should I refund or repair it when it was 5 months ago??????

Anything could have happened in that time.

If this had happened a few weeks ago I would be more than willing to replace/repair it but 5 months. Come on!

Rather than jump on here straight away and slagging me off, why not get your facts right.