Warning - be careful of con artists and scamsters

[Silver]

No one is stupid for requesting beefed up security, lol

And no offence was taken from any of the members suggesting anything.
You are all great!

We have looked into the Classifieds a number of times I can assure you - we even spent many hours implementing a whole new Classifieds module and tried to get it working - but it just didn't look and feel right.

We will continue to look at implementing other ways to improve security or prevent scamming - but for now all we are saying is that we all need to exercise caution. And if we all look out for each other a bit it will also help.

By the way, this thread is very good because it highlights all of this.

Please don't fight with each other on this issue - lets rather help each other.

 

[Arno "NoxFord" Steyn]

Okay Clearly I have offended some of you with my post and I apologise for that

A point on my "Lack of Intelligence" this line was aimed at the fact that no matter how much security anyone puts in place if there is a little weasel on this forum somewhere that wants to take you for a ride he'll find a way. be smart about who you buy from and how you go about payments and deliveries. when in doubt meet face to face insist on product when cash is handed over (I learned this the hard way after paying a guy R1200 for a mod and he's accounts not even registered here anymore)

Next Point I never said Silver or any admin insulted or grieved any members, however there are posts in this thread that was posted purely to complain about there being no more security then there already is and these posts is what made me post in this thread in the first place. (My first post is exactly that though ... me complaining about complaints #GotTrolledIntoIt)

I apologise to those of you who felt offended by my post that was made out of pure aggravation.

 

[zadiac]

@shabbar, please pm me all the info you have as well as a detailed story as to what happened that brought you to this moment. I will then organize everything for you in the correct format statement that you can then just print and sign. With that, there is only two other forms at the police station that you need to complete and sign and it's done.

 

[Cobrali]

This is sad to see..sometimes I turn down offers for shipping goods when I feel suspect about members so I generally do meet ups. I used to think about having a buyer rating implemented on the member's profile so people can see that we have had good dealings before. And I generally only ask for payment on acceptance of the goods cause sometimes people want to check if the goods are as advertised.

 

[Normz]

Apologies @Cespian , I misread, I have edited my post and am truly sorry for the misunderstanding

 

[Kuhlkatz]

...aaand that is why peeps should go to vape meets. To trade their stuff there. No, actually it's so you can meet, learn to relax, take comments as they come, and just think 'Ag, you know what, I'll just let this one slide and smack him with my mod or accidentally burn him with my dripper the next time we discuss his k@k coiling over a hydraulic sandwich at the meet.'

I think most of this community all stand together and gets annoyed when someone gets ripped off, as a lot of the classifieds interaction is based largely on trust and feedback from others. I'm not really in the market for used goods, but I would likely pre-pay or meet up with most of the guys I see on here daily for an extended period. New or newish members, probably not, but I'd likely agree to meet at a public spot if the option is available. Else, sorry... not for me.
If a deal sounds too sweet to be true, it's likely sugar-coated for a reason.

Please just be extra careful when you do arrange meet-ups, as it is quite easy to rid you of your vehicle, any high value items you are potentially selling, and any cash in hand when you suddenly find yourself outnumbered in a secluded spot, or on the side of the road between point A and B. Pick a place where you are not vulnerable, especially if you do not know the the person you are dealing with, or have not seen anyone else mention a deal with them.
I'm not saying everyone is a skelm, but do keep your own safety in mind when dealing on here or any other platform for that matter.

Just my 2c.

 

[Effjh]

A lot of victim blaming here it seems. Way to kick a guy when he's down. Regardless, asking if more can be done to protect buyers is a fair request in my opinion. I'm a web developer by trade and know there are options that can be implemented if you really want to. It will never be a catchall, but weeding out potential scammers is in the best interest of everyone. We have been lucky here so far since it is a great community, but as it continues to grow there will be more and more chancers.

 

[boxerulez]

I've been following this thread for the last few days and to be honest the fact that this post/thread needs to exist is what the hell is wrong with people today.

The Classifieds tells you from day one to be careful and that you use it at your own risk. Membership on the Forum is not Pay to Join so the fact that there is even admin being done means people like @Silver love vaping enough to spend their own time moderating and monitoring the Forum.

The fact that there are individuals having a fit about the classifieds and constantly trying to blame someone else for something that happened to them is a pointless waste of the admins time in my honest opinion. There is no way you can blame another site like BidorBuy or even Junkmail if you were not happy with what you bought or you got scammed.

@Silver Could we please remove this post as this is a serious reminder of the lack of inelegance that we have to deal with each day, there is a warning up on the classifieds and having this thread is seriously only handing some users a platform where they can dump their garbage.

Also please note that although this is not a pay to join platform there are a shitload of vendors paying a lot of money to advertise here and to be supporting vendors.

It is a business after all... i dont think anyone is inelegant or stupid for wanting a better system for the classifieds.

In the same breath... dont expect miracles its not a massive corporate either.

I vote for a 100 post count to advertise in classified section.

Sent from my SM-G610F using Tapatalk

 

[Lurkzilla]

I think an effectively used profile based user review system is the best solution, but as mentioned, nothing will make it foolproof. A minimum post count is merely a hurdle to overcome (quite easily), unless you are an honest person, like for instance myself currently at 19 posts .

FYI

The seller from our interaction has finally been in touch and has offered to either send goods or refund according to preference. Thus the issue will hopefully be resolved before end of week.

 

[shabbar]

I think an effectively used profile based user review system is the best solution, but as mentioned, nothing will make it foolproof. A minimum post count is merely a hurdle to overcome (quite easily), unless you are an honest person, like for instance myself currently at 19 posts .

FYI

The seller from our interaction has finally been in touch and has offered to either send goods or refund according to preference. Thus the issue will hopefully be resolved before end of week.

yes he has , after i managed to track him down on fb & got hold of his parents and some of his friends.

this "scammer" is a kid btw .

i opted for the refund , will post back here once i have received it.

Be safe on the classies guys.

 

[Marzuq]

yes he has , after i managed to track him down on fb & got hold of his parents and some of his friends.

this "scammer" is a kid btw .

i opted for the refund , will post back here once i have received it.

Be safe on the classies guys.

thats awesome news.
must have taken some serious 'stalking' skills to track him down in that manner.
on a serious note. holding thumbs for you bud.
we can all learn something from your experience.
unfortunately all noobs selling in the classifieds now stand the risk of not selling items due to their lack of reputation on the forum

 

[incredible_hullk]

yes he has , after i managed to track him down on fb & got hold of his parents and some of his friends.

this "scammer" is a kid btw .

i opted for the refund , will post back here once i have received it.

Be safe on the classies guys.

Seriously a kid ... what the frikadel... that's not cool at all. Well done CID @shabbar and glad u getting sorted

 

[Marzuq]

Looks like he deactivated his FB page

mommy probably clamped down and said no more internet for you little boy.

@Silver seeing as this is a kid and he clearly acted fraudulently, will his account be banned?

 

[Feliks Karp]

A post count limit in my opinion would not be practical nor really hold any intrinsic value. I remember when I first joined there was a guy going around adding "." to just about any thread in order to be eligible for one of the first contests, he was eventually called out on it, but it needlessly creates more work for the mods. Also since this isn't a Gibson novel the mods don't have a direct connection from their brain to the forum, there is a time delay. A solution would need to be more passive.

I would put forward that the first step would be to revise the privacy settings and what they control.

 

[shabbar]

mommy probably clamped down and said no more internet for you little boy.

@Silver seeing as this is a kid and he clearly acted fraudulently, will his account be banned?

Hey before the account gets nuked let's wait for our monies back.

Theres no way to get hold of this kid, his privacy settings are tight

 

[Lurkzilla]

Thanks for doing all the leg work on this @shabbar.

 

[Alex]

I understand the frustrations of all those concerned, but I'd like to ask everyone to please refrain from posting links or screenshots to any person on this forum. I have removed a few offending posts from public view.

 

[shabbar]

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand i haz a tracking number for my parcel.

will report back once its in my possession

 

[BumbleBee]

Just a thought... Bidorbuy has a system where users/sellers can become "verified", it's an application that costs R100 and requires the user to supply personal details, proof of residence, ID etc. That gives the seller a green tick on their profile, it's still not fool proof but may just offer buyers a bit more confidence especially if the seller is a respected long standing forum members.

 

[Pixstar]

Just a thought... Bidorbuy has a system where users/sellers can become "verified", it's an application that costs R100 and requires the user to supply personal details, proof of residence, ID etc. That gives the seller a green tick on their profile, it's still not fool proof but may just offer buyers a bit more confidence especially if the seller is a respected long standing forum members.

As you correctly said, it's not fool proof. I lost R7k buying a laptop on BoB from a verified user with good ratings...But yeah, it's probably better than nothing but implementing it on a forum is a whole different story I suppose.

 

[BumbleBee]

As you correctly said, it's not fool proof. I lost R7k buying a laptop on BoB from a verified user with good ratings...But yeah, it's probably better than nothing but implementing it on a forum is a whole different story I suppose.

Yeah, buyers must be aware of the risks and tread carefully, this is unfortunately the world we live in.

 

[KZOR]

I seriously cannot for the life of me understand what the problem is. I tried and tried to be quiet and avoid responding but this thread is heading in the "beyond ridiculous" zone. All this for a noisy cricket v2 that cost a mere R300. SAD!!!!!

In short :
Someone payed for a item a new member was selling. Money exchanged hands but not the item. THAT IS IT!!!

I have been scammed by a few blokes but that was because of my STUPIDITY. Since then i have learnt from it while blaming no-one besides myself for not properly doing my homework.
The forum has a classified section for the convenience of the members but everyone should realise that it should be done at ones' own risk.
Some tips that should always accompany any transaction:
1) Try your best to verify a seller/buyer
2) If something looks to good to be true then most of the times it is
3) If you experience even a slight hesitance then pull out of the deal
4) AT OWN RISK MEANS THAT YOU ALONE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE OUTCOME

hat more stringent measures be put into place

Requesting certain measures to be implemented like post counts are unnecessary. This happens once in every 5000 deals and could have been avoided if the buyer had more stringent measures in place.

I feel sorry for your loss but we can only sympathise with you and that is where the bus stops.
Stringer policing of the forums is not the answer.

 

[shabbar]

I seriously cannot for the life of me understand what the problem is. I tried and tried to be quiet and avoid responding but this thread is heading in the "beyond ridiculous" zone. All this for a noisy cricket v2 that cost a mere R300. SAD!!!!!

In short :
Someone payed for a item a new member was selling. Money exchanged hands but not the item. THAT IS IT!!!

I have been scammed by a few blokes but that was because of my STUPIDITY. Since then i have learnt from it while blaming no-one besides myself for not properly doing my homework.
The forum has a classified section for the convenience of the members but everyone should realise that it should be done at ones' own risk.
Some tips that should always accompany any transaction:
1) Try your best to verify a seller/buyer
2) If something looks to good to be true then most of the times it is
3) If you experience even a slight hesitance then pull out of the deal
4) AT OWN RISK MEANS THAT YOU ALONE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE OUTCOME


Requesting certain measures to be implemented like post counts are unnecessary. This happens once in every 5000 deals and could have been avoided if the buyer had more stringent measures in place.

I feel sorry for your loss but we can only sympathise with you and that is where the bus stops.
Stringer policing of the forums is not the answer.

Mate whether its R30 R300 or R3000 , its my money that i work bloody hard for. For you it might be a "mere" R300 for others not so.
Secondly are you saying that its okay for money to exchange hands without the item ? Coz the way you said "thats it" seems like it.
Thirdly I did not expect anyone to accept responsibility of the outcome now did I ?

If its a "mere" R300 why don't you be like Pablo Escobar and start dishing those 300 bucks out.

 

[Pixstar]

I seriously cannot for the life of me understand what the problem is. I tried and tried to be quiet and avoid responding but this thread is heading in the "beyond ridiculous" zone. All this for a noisy cricket v2 that cost a mere R300. SAD!!!!!

In short :
Someone payed for a item a new member was selling. Money exchanged hands but not the item. THAT IS IT!!!

I have been scammed by a few blokes but that was because of my STUPIDITY. Since then i have learnt from it while blaming no-one besides myself for not properly doing my homework.
The forum has a classified section for the convenience of the members but everyone should realise that it should be done at ones' own risk.
Some tips that should always accompany any transaction:
1) Try your best to verify a seller/buyer
2) If something looks to good to be true then most of the times it is
3) If you experience even a slight hesitance then pull out of the deal
4) AT OWN RISK MEANS THAT YOU ALONE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE OUTCOME


Requesting certain measures to be implemented like post counts are unnecessary. This happens once in every 5000 deals and could have been avoided if the buyer had more stringent measures in place.

I feel sorry for your loss but we can only sympathise with you and that is where the bus stops.
Stringer policing of the forums is not the answer.

Perhaps you should have kept your silence.
The victims here were just trying to fix things and look for ways to avoid it happening to others. There's no animosity, so don't look for it. Admin and others made constructive suggestions, all good.
If R300 means zip to you, good for you, but it means something to those that lost it.

 

[shabbar]

Perhaps you should have kept your silence.
The victims here were just trying to fix things and look for ways to avoid it happening to others. There's no animosity, so don't look for it. Admin and others made constructive suggestions, all good.
If R300 means zip to you, good for you, but it means something to those that lost it.

Exactly my point @Pixstar , some people have a lot to say just because they weren't on the losing end of the stick.