Anti-Scammer suggestion to council and anyone else

[lazygrae]

I have a suggestion I’d like to throw out there for the council and anyone else who’d care to comment.

What if it was mandatory to have a have/want list online before being able to post on this site, or be considered “reputable” (or whatever the term is going to be)? Does anybody think that would make it harder for scammers?

I could be totally wrong, but it seems to me that scammers would tend to reply to want postings, rather than a post a have list. That way, they can say, “oh yeah, I’ve got that” and no one’s the wiser. True, any list can be suspect as well, but perhaps the extra trouble would dissuade them.

The list doesn’t have to be exhaustive with extensive details, or fancy. Just something to show, generally, what you have and what you want. Anybody can get free web space to do this, or perhaps even easier, and several people here have done it, is to maintain their lists as messages right on this board, which can be edited at a later date as needed. No html required, just typing. There is the link on anybody’s user name to “Visit <member name>’s Webpage” that can be used to access it.

I don’t know, maybe some people are uncomfortable being that public or have other objections. It’s just a thought so let the $.02 come out.

[mele503]

I think it could help weed some of them out. I know some scammers have a website like the famous Nova Scotia trader because they sent me the link and I visited it. When I asked why the sets they said they had to trade me was not on it they replied that had not updated their list with it.

[loren]

well theres a couple ways to look at that

i dont list all i have on my trade list, some things are just held back to trade for like items

very rare things like --it takes a thief --and --vegas --for examples

when someone has something of equal rarity and quality, i offer them to try and swing a deal for a hard to get--rare set

with this idea, if i answer a post for a great item and offer one of these, it makes me look like a scammer, due to the fact that someone just pulled a nearly impossible set out of his sleeve, that wasnt listed on any web trade list

also there are people who dont know how to make a web site list, its not easy in some cases

i think we are getting a little carried away with ideas

how about we just let this council thing play out and see what happens there

any scammer would just list a bunch of things on this list anyhow, i dodnt see what it would solve

there are people i send my list to, that say theres no way someone could have all that, you must be trying to pull something

[combsisthebest]

One thing that we were trying to do as a council is have sub-forums. One of those subforums would be a place where people post ONLY their Have List, and would be able to edit it at their leisure. However, TJ didn't think some sub-forums were necessary.

[lazygrae]

there are people i send my list to, that say theres no way someone could have all that, you must be trying to pull something

Are you talking hypothetically? Or are you saying that some people actually challenge you about what you have listed?

[loren]

Originally Posted by lazygrae

Are you talking hypothetically? Or are you saying that some people actually challenge you about what you have listed?

i have been challenged by a few and flat out called a scammer for trying to trick someone with a list like that--no one could have that many

in one case

i answered her posts for wanted sets, and i --by luck-- had like all 8 of the sets she wanted

when i sent my note and my link, she thought i was makeing her a target and she was going to tell everyone to beware

people draw their conclusions from very few facts , most of the time

the slightest hint, and off they go with their ideas, its easier to make something up, than to look into the facts and make an informed choice

thats why i am overly protective of my internet standing at times, without your known reputation, your just another scammer

heres another one, recently i worked on a trade for a very rare set for quite a while, i offered many references to the person--THE ENTIRE TIME I OFFERED TO SEND FIRST--but the person wanted references for some reason anyhow

so i listed 1336 ebay feedback and only 1 negative, cd helper thread, and the sitcoms --vetern standing with plus 40 trades

of course i never list personal references- they can easily be faked and prove nothing at all

well of course thats the very weekend when the point system gets scrapped--on this site

so dude looks on this site and theres no such point standing and vertern status and he emails me and cuts the deal off

EVEN THOUGH I AGREED TO SEND FIRST FROM DAY ONE

so because this site jumped around on the references, i lost out on one of my all time top wants--a high quality cagney and lacey set

and without any fault of my own

now dude will not answer my emails at all--my reputation is garbage with him

so you can see why i have an opinion on the way references are presented

[Agent 13]

Originally Posted by loren

...EVEN THOUGH I AGREED TO SEND FIRST FROM DAY ONE...

Something smells rotten in Denmark. I bet there's more behind his hesitancy than meets the eye, Loren. Count yourself saved a headache.

[lazygrae]

I bet there's more behind his hesitancy than meets the eye, Loren.

Agreed.

With all the + references you quoted and being willing to send first, he just doesn't want to trade with you, or maybe, for whatever reason, he can't.

I'm recording C&L off-air at LP. Nearing end of season 2 now, have the pilot movie and 1st season eps, they are not uncut though. Drop me a line if you like and are interested, it's easier for me to make 2 copies of each disc as I do them as opposed to ripping and burning later.

[loren]

Originally Posted by Agent 13

Something smells rotten in Denmark. I bet there's more behind his hesitancy than meets the eye, Loren. Count yourself saved a headache.

i see your point, but if HE was a thief, wouldnt he have grabbed my stuff in one second

yes perhaps, after he looked at his set of cagney, it didnt look so good and he was looking for a pure excuse to back out--any excuse?????

yes i may be lucky it happened that way, but when its a set you really liked, its tough to take a setback, i guess i have to dwell on the hundreds that worked out just fine, and forget the few that got away----

[nannyfan]

I think scammers evolve fairly quickly and even if their list didn't include what they had told someone that had, it would be believable if they told them they haven't updated their list yet and/or they just received a bunch of new sets in trades.