Major trading slump: Reassuring words needed...

[jjreason]

Hey gang. Just checking in to see if anyone here has ever been involved in a trading "slump" as good as my current one. Get this: of the last FOUR deals I've made (3 here and 1 with a highly reputable member on another site), NONE of them have worked out yet. I've been dealing on the internet for over 4 years, and have completed close to 500 transactions by my count. I might have had 4 bad experiences total leading up to this summer - that's when the wheels fell off. Here's a breakdown:

Deal #1. Made with a (former? - he ain't been around in a loooooong time) member of this site with a good rep. I wound up buying nearly $100 worth of figures to complete the trade..... that's when he disappeared. The stuff has been boxed up here and ready to be sent off for over 3 months, but the other party hasn't replied to messages or emails. To be fair, this persons job description could lead them to going away on extremely short notice for a long period of time.

Deal #2. Made with a friend, and a popular member of these boards. Money sent on August 8th. Still no figures received. I have hope that they will show up, but there's frustration here as well because of the time it's taking.

Deal #3. Made with a member on another board that has completed literally hundreds of successful deals with others. You couldn't find a bad word posted about this guy if you looked all day. Money sent mid-August, nothing received but dubious sounding emails and promises of a refund in the mail. Again, I have hope but it's starting to run pretty thin.

Deal #4. Made with another good member on these boards. 2 figures sent out to that party over a month ago, with a confirmed receipt on his end. Nothing received on my end yet, though he indicates the figures he sent to me have been in the mail now for right around a month. Are you feeling my pain yet?

This last stretch has really soured me on this whole hobby. Every business day I eagerly anticipate the arrival of at least one of these packages, and every day I've been disappointed. At this point I'm down nearly $200. Add that to the really, really long delay I'm currently experiencing in dealing with my regular online e-tailer for the VOTC figures (starts with a "K", ends with a "o" and has "EBc" in the middle, if you catch my drift - I still don't have ANY VOTC figures yet) and I'm not even enjoying the boards here anymore because the feelings of resentment are growing on a daily basis. Reading about people getting new stuff all the time is starting to get a little tired.

Someone please tell me they've experienced a slump like this so I can get a little faith back.

[Rocketboy]

Sorry to hear about the bad luck. Hopefully that's all it is - bad luck.
For many people (myself included) $200 is a lot of money. And there is no denying that it's a lot of money in a relatively inexpensive hobby such as this one.

Deal #1 - As you said, maybe something came up and he/she had to leave. I'd give this one more time. Has this person even been active for a while? If not, I'd lean towards leaving suddenly.

Deal #2 - 2 months is beyond an acceptable time limit. There is no excuse for it. Timeto put friendship aside for a business deal. I'd demand either the figures or my money back, delivered to my house by the end of the week.

Deal #3 - Same as Deal #2. Figures or money back immediately.

Deal #4 - This one just sounds shady. Like when people tell the bill collectors (or whomever) that "I sent it out last week, I swear!" Again, I'd say it's time to stop being a nice guy.

Good luck.

[Lowly Bantha Cleaner]

Sorry to hear jj about your lousy run of bad trades. What I can't believe is the fact that you have been hosed by many reputable traders, including some here on our board. Have all of these traders admitted shipping your stuff, and how many have just plain stopped responding to your E-mails (the usual sign of fishiness). Maybe the post office shares some blame (have you enlisted tracking numbers and have they've been accessed).

Maybe your alter ego should pay a few of these members a visit, and smash!

[mabudonicus]

JJ- man I swear, I'll finish the Black suited spidey by x-mas bro, I broke my good elbow, ya gotta believe me :D

Knowing you, and some of the folks you deal with, I'd be pretty sure that one of 3 things is happening

A) serious "life" troubles on the parts of the sender (most likely the case with #1, if my guess is correct)
B) Actual delays,possibly embarrassing ones (likely with the 2 other trades from these boards, if my guesses are correct, not the embarrassment so much, but delays of some kind)
C) well, not to get political here, but the border has gotten kinda goofy the last while, if you catch my drift.....

I dunno, hope this helps a bit
if not....
:beard:

[jjreason]

I don't have any trouble with any of the people. If that's what it souns like - that's not the case. I have a problem with impatience to a certain point, but I think in these cases most peoples' patience would have worn out. If I thought these were "bad traders", believe me, I'd hammer them in the proper forum. I'm just feeling down about trading because of the delays.

[kool-aid killer]

It sucks to hear that man. Could the first person you mentioned be a member of the United States armed forces and a mod here? If so, im thinking his job may have gotten in the way of his actively trading. I sent him an email about some stuff a couple of months ago and no reply has come back. If i were you i would give the other members an ultimatum and if not reveal who they are. That way anybody else who could be in the process of dealing with them would have a heads up about them not coming through with you. Good luck.

[Kidhuman]

JJ, I hear yu on trade #1. We were in that one together. Check your PM's also.

[2-1B]

Wow, this thread is really ****ing me off. :mad:
How anybody could rip off JJReason is beyond me - Reason is a class act and a reputable trader. Yes, yes, yes, if this isn't cleared up soon I demand that you name names so we can get our international posse mobilized. :evil:
I got the American Midwest covered, good buddy. ;)

[James Boba Fettfield]

Yes, yes, yes, if this isn't cleared up soon I demand that you name names so we can get our international posse mobilized. :evil:
I got the American Midwest covered, good buddy. ;)

I was wondering when we would again be given the chance to get out the e-pitchforks and e-torches and have us another good ol' SSG witch hunt.

JJ, I'll put aside your Wolverines fan status to wish you luck in resolving these trade issues.

[mabudonicus]

JJ, I'll put aside your Wolverines fan status to wish you luck in resolving these trade issues.

Ooooohhh, I just gotta say The negotioations will be short

No worries jj, and you should be able to move that CDN carded stuff if you have to, I'd still say there's no foul on that one, but I feel for ya, nothing worse than having figures around ya can't open :)

[mabudonicus]

Just something to add, JJ, it was announced yesterday that Canada Post is having huge problems processing "international mail" and that you should not be too worried if stuff is taking forever to arrive....
I know it's not great news or anything, but I thought of you immediately upon hearing it...
So anyone doing business with Canadian folks, don't be too surprised if stuff is taking way too long..
Hope this helps, big guy :beard:

[jjreason]

Hi again, guys! Thanks for the support. I'm happy to report that after a couple of weeks absence (away for work training) situations 2 and 3 have resolved themselves. I'm hoping situation #4 is resultant from Canada Post's current situation and will get sorted here real soon.

How 'bout them Red Sox? :eek: :cool:

[Kidhuman]

Glad to hear it worked out JJ. ;) :beard:

[Mr. JabbaJohnL]

So they pretty much worked out, eh? That's good to hear. I've done many transactions on SSG and they've all worked out wonderfully. On EBay, the first time I ever bid on stuff, the guy never sent me my SOTE Luke and Dash, though I sent him the money. He had a bunch of stuff for sale that day, then suddenly disappeared. But since then I've had good luck on there.

[jjreason]

And now, happily, situation #4 has resolved itself as well. At least for #1 I haven't sent anything out, with any luck some day that person will come back and we can complete that deal as well.

[Kidhuman]

Good for you JJ. I think there were a few people in the same boat as you with #1.