Trader Alert! - CP32

[padre]

Folks,

I wanted to share my experience with a trade gone south with a Sitcoms Online member – CP32 (Christina P.). We agreed on a 34 dvd trade (my Drew Carey set for 34 dvds from her) back in April (26th). I shipped on the 28th of April, my part of the deal. Christina said, on the 28th of April:

“I wont be able send till mon or tuesday next week”

Well, nothing arrived the next week. She commented on a ‘shipping’ thread to me on the 5th of May:

“Yours will be properly packed lol ! I got sony blanks for your trade. I live 5 miles from a walmart. Thanks again.. Nice to see someone who actually cares these day”

Again, still no package. Then on the 9th of May, I received:

“I m a little behind.. ran into a problem here... I hope to have them out later this week.. will ship priority mail for you.With Dc numbers too,,, I apologize for the delay “

Well, I figure a couple of more weeks is no biggie. Stuff happens. Then nothing more the entire month of May, and ½ of June – until she posted 6/11 about the ‘delays’ to me and some others. I re-sent her the list of items she owed me and received this email on 6/15:

“I apologize for such a wait... Unexpected problems... I m working on all trades... I hope to have this out by sat or monday... If you ever you decide to trade with me again.. I will be happy to send first.”

Well, nothing received. Then, on July 1st I received:

“I ll be sending priority mail tuesday .. Since monday is a Holiday.”

Well, she lives in Ohio and I live in PA – one state over. Priority Mail would get it here fairly quickly! Nothing. I had emailed her three times since then, asking her for the delivery confirmation numbers. Nothing.

Then on July 14th, I received a long note, which included:

“I ve been trading for years. I ve never ripped anyone off.Dont intend to do it now. I ll email you a dc number..Most likely your package would arrive before the time I can email your confirmation. I have a pre paid Priority mail envelope at home”

Well, as you can guess by now, to date, I’ve received nothing. Now I know she’s traded with others on this board in the past, and I understand things come up in all of our lives. But the constant “Oh, they’ll be out Monday…” and they aren’t - is really pissing me off. And, considering I’ve been hearing 3 months worth of it, can you blame me?

So, the question is - when does a ‘good’ trader turn to a ‘bad’ trader? In my eyes, Christina has crossed that line.

Kevin (Padre)

[Agent 13]

Since I've found padre to be one of the best traders I've encountered, I believe that his frustrations are legitimate. Another trader has expressed to me similar concerns.

[padre]

Originally Posted by RareTVonDVD

Christina has been trading for a long time and she's thoroughly honest. Somtimes she gets behind, and it can take a while for her to come through with her end of the trade. But CP32 has always come through as far as I know.

Well, I'm sorry, but her behavor during this trade has not been acceptable, and that's why I posted it. If it was going to take her MONTHS to get her end of the trade out, I would have asked her to send first (or, more likely, I would have passed on the trade). But because she seems to have this 'good trader' status, I assumed she'd be honest in her communications and commitments. Guess that was a wrong assumption.

Listen, I've been waiting 7 months now for discs in a trade from someone else and I still don't consider him a bad trader.

That's definitely where we disagree. In my mind, that is a bad trader. You can't possibly call someone who takes 7 months to get their end of the deal delivered a 'good trader', can you? Would you recommend them to others?

This guy is reliable but, like CP32, it can take him a while to come through. Sometimes quite a while. Stay frosty. You *will* receive your discs from Christina, though it may take a while.

Again, that's your assumption. Mine, based on the false communications received to date gives me no reason to trust her anymore.

[jasoncole]

Originally Posted by RareTVonDVD

Christina has been trading for a long time and she's thoroughly honest. Somtimes she gets behind, and it can take a while for her to come through with her end of the trade. But CP32 has always come through as far as I know.

Listen, I've been waiting 7 months now for discs in a trade from someone else and I still don't consider him a bad trader. This guy is reliable but, like CP32, it can take him a while to come through. Sometimes quite a while. Stay frosty. You *will* receive your discs from Christina, though it may take a while.

a person who has been a good trader for most of their existence on the board is still not imune from having bad trades.if i build up a reputation as a good trader who says to the other party "i will have your tapes all finished in 3 weeks " and i then fail to communicate properly and take 3 months i then have had a BAD TRADE that is only fair.this is as long as i don't have a fair excuse (death in the family etc) but even then emails take only seconds to type!!
if christina isn't being honest and saying "i am sorry for the delay but with .... taking up my time i am just not able to get your tapes away any time soon" then she is putting herself in a position of having her first bad trade.
when i dealt with nannyfine she told me that she was a very slow trader so i said "i am still happy to wait 6 months for the tapes!" they took 4 months so i didn't think much of it when i recieved them.
at the moment i am taking on 1 trade at a time and giving people an expected time frame so i don't follow the same path, my most recent trade was only 2 weeks overdue,although the tapes i sent to jen took probably too long.if she felt that was a problem and made a statement of it i certainly should accept the blame

its only fair!!

[padre]

Jason,

All good points. I think that's the primary reason I'm upset about her actions (or lack thereof), is the dishonest communications. I've dealt with slow traders in the past, but they've been up front and given me estimates of when they'll be done. I just put it in calendar and set a reminder for much later. But what I've been getting from CP32 is "they'll be out Monday..." multiple times - If they're NOT going to be sent, DON'T send that in an email! Am I wrong??

If we were talking about VHS>DVD transfers, or set creations - it could take months. But not what we're talking about it this case - just straight duplications.

Kevin

[loren]

i dont know this cp32, and am not makeing any comment on them

one thing that makes a trade much easier to complete is that if a person has limitations on--

equipment

time

money for blanks and postage

whatever, its up to them to state that PREVIOUS to the deal being confirmed

if its going to take a certain amount of time, then that may change the deal, but by all means disclose the time frame

i am sure it would save all sorts of hard feelings later on

[Agent 13]

One of the problems with issues like this is when a trader owes you, and then you see them posting indications that they've been trading with others while they still owe you (i.e. posting wants/haves or posting "thank you's"). This is one of the most frustrating things about dealing with a slow trader. Trading with someone else when you still owe someone falls into the category of lying.

[loren]

Originally Posted by Agent 13

One of the problems with issues like this is when a trader owes you, and then you see them posting indications that they've been trading with others while they still owe you (i.e. posting wants/haves or posting "thank you's"). This is one of the most frustrating things about dealing with a slow trader. Trading with someone else when you still owe someone falls into the category of lying.

absolutely

in this hobby, activity, your word and past performances are all you have to seperate you from scum bag scammers

do what you say, no matter what

we all have problems at times, there are always ways to solve them quickly

i have heard enough excuses for poor performance to last several lifetimes,

lightning hit the computer--a surge protector fixes that one, $ 15 at walmart--lame

the post office was closed--yes but its open 60 other hours a week and many have 24 hour drop self service--lame

i only can go so fast--then why commit to a trade if you have limits from equipment--a high speed duplicator is $ 230 on ebay, runs about 5 discs an hour---lame

cant afford blanks---at $10 a pack of 25 at walmart--perhaps your in the wrong hobby--lame

walmarts too far away--office depot delivers next day for free to everywhere--lame

my burner died--new egg has nec external 16X burners for $ 60 delivered, and they ship very quickly---no excuse for being a couple months late--lame

family member ill--well unless your the doctor, you surely have time to get the trade in a normal amount of time--lame

internet was down--public library has them for free, kinkos for like $ 6 an hour, every truck stop for a fee--last time i looked, my burners were not dependent on the interent , they run without it--lame

seriously your not fooling anyone with lame excuses, its only going to come back to haunt you later, when you try and trade again

[padre]

Another common response is "But I only check my mail once a week or two", yet you'll see post after post throughout the week from that same person. Funny how most people I know check their mail whenever they connect, when they are actively trading - or know they owe someone discs/tapes.

[jasimon1]

I think loren had some good points about things people say to stall (I had my burner decide it didn't want to work anymore this weekend and I had a new one in less than two hours because I have trades to finish) but we also have to realize that while I was able to run out an buy a new one right away, not everyone just has cash laying around for that. When you add life to all of her examples, you realize that they aren't as cut and dry as she makes them out to be.

lightning hit the computer--a surge protector fixes that one, $ 15 at walmart--lame
- yes that is great for someone that knows they should do this but what about dumbass people like my friend who didn't and had his big screen tv fried last week. $15 ain't gonna fix the problem

i only can go so fast--then why commit to a trade if you have limits from equipment--a high speed duplicator is $ 230 on ebay, runs about 5 discs an hour---lame
- I'm happy for you that you have that kind of money to be spending on a hobby but not all of us do

family member ill--well unless your the doctor, you surely have time to get the trade in a normal amount of time--lame
- Sorry but if someone I care about is seriously ill, the last thing I am going to be thinking about is tape trading.

[loren]

Originally Posted by jasimon1

family member ill--well unless your the doctor, you surely have time to get the trade in a normal amount of time--lame
- Sorry but if someone I care about is seriously ill, the last thing I am going to be thinking about is tape trading.

you missed the point

scammers have 56 times the national average of family members being sick

its a lie, and excuse

and dont tell me that the reason your two months or more behind in your promise is due to a family member being sick

what about all the time when there was no fictious family memeber being sick

[jasimon1]

You act like you are living in this nice little plastic bubble where money is unlimited and family members never get seriously ill. Yes, illness can put a person behind by months. I think the key to figuring out if it is a good trader behind or a scammer is whether or not they are telling you they are behind while setting up trades with other people. Yes, that requires a little work on your part but still it's your choice whether to do it or not.

[debwalsh]

Not trying to defend anyone or get in the middle of anything, but I know that CP32 has had very limited internet and vehicle access over the past couple of months. I don't know why, I just know that on the rare occasions when she's been on Cartoon Preservation Society in recent weeks, she's been signing in from her local library. One day, she was online daily, and the next, she was unavailable for weeks at a time, so whatever it is that has caused the problem, it was unexpected.

I know there have been other occasions when she's fallen behind, and when she's finally been able to catch up, she's made major efforts to make up for it (delivering her end and then some). I've never traded with her, this is just stuff I've noticed from posts over the last year or so.

For what it's worth, and your mileage may vary ...

[padre]

You know, if you're that far behind in your trades, and overwhelmed with things - how the heck do you have time to sign onto CPS and talk about new trades (which she's done in the middle of all of this).

[loren]

Originally Posted by padre

You know, if you're that far behind in your trades, and overwhelmed with things - how the heck do you have time to sign onto CPS and talk about new trades (which she's done in the middle of all of this).

thats quite simple

because the excuses are just that--excuses

if you can handle a 10 disc move, then stick to it

there very littler sense in a larger or more numerous moves without the ability to hold up your part

i dont know this person, and i am commenting in general

there is zero sense in other trades ubtil the first couple get done,

the relatives are too sick to complete trades, but well enough to try and make more commitments that can not possible be honored

also if a person cant afford to complete trades, then perhaps they should wait until they can afford it to make commitments for more as well

its a hobby, a leisure activity, a luxury, if you cant afford the time or money to do your part, then its time to excuse yourself until you can

there are options, i deal with about 10 people who know they cant copy and burn a large number of discs, but they dont tell stories and go for months , they make a deal and send me their discs, i copy them and retrn theirs and their new trade stuff--there are always options