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Hey y'all,
I began trading for parts on RTL about two months ago on the premise that folks in "our gang" had parts they didn't need for their own projects and would fairly and honestly trade those parts for others I had and didn't need for my projects. Simple, right? Well, four bad trades in a row have forced me to reconsider the whole process.
Before I detail these trades, I just wanted to make sure of some basic ground rules.
First, in the numerous trades I've conducted, I always send the parts from my end in a belief that they are being sent by the other end at the same time. While this might be naïve, this action rests on a basic trust between RTL'ers that I thought we shared. I mean, if we all waited until the other stuff arrived, who'd trade at all?
Second, I trade with the understanding that if for some reason either party isn't satisfied with the parts, a total refund (i.e. return) of traded items is required. There's no arguing over stuff.
Third, when trading items, time is imperative. Once an agreement is concluded, the items should be sent as soon as possible...certainly they should be sent when the parties say they will. If a deviation occurs, the party requiring a delay should immediately notify the other party and keep them informed until the trade is concluded.
Finally, if an "act of God" prevents one package from arriving, then you both share the loss by splitting the other package of goodies. It's neither fair to say the "sender" nor the "receiver" is responsible for mail loss unless insurance is discussed and waived.
Now, short details of the trades in question.
The first trade to deviate from the above involved a simple delay in shipping. The other party held onto the parts he sent me for almost a week after my parts got to him. When the parts he sent arrived, they were in order and I was pleased with them if not the process.
The second bad trade remains unresolved after over a month. The other party sent his package to me at the same time I sent mine to him, but didn't include all of the parts agreed upon (he left out a minifig chair). I've contacted him three times and have been told three times "it's on the way tomorrow" or some similar comment. I still haven't seen the minifig chair.
The third trade was agreed upon after almost three weeks of dickering, then the other party wouldn't send his one part for my baggie full until mine arrived. When they did, he mailed the piece out from his company mail room. Now, three weeks since I sent my parts and two weeks he mailed his, I still don't have one piece I need.
The fourth bad trade involved some minifigs. Again, after some dickering, we agreed to a trade involving seven of his minifigs for eight of mine. In the concluding email he said "I'll mail them out this weekend." I replied that I would need to wait until Monday or Tuesday and sent them out on Tuesday. When I wrote that they had been sent, the other party changed his tune and said he'd be waiting until mine arrived (obviously, he did not send them out over the weekend as promised) before he sent his out. He finally sent the package to me a week after he got mine and when it arrived, it was one minifig short!
The question is: DO I FLAME THESE GUYS? The last two of them are running auctions RIGHT NOW on RTL. I want to conclude my deals with them, and don't want to flame them if these are honest mistakes, but I don't want other folks getting screwed by them if this is how they do business.
Not all of my trades have gone this poorly. One other involved a shortcoming, but I'm confident it was an honest mistake. Besides, the individual lives in Australia and was able to get his stuff to me one week from deal conclusion (far quicker than some of my North American counterparts...we trusted each other and our packages at the same time!). I've gotten no complaints back from any other deals with David Simmons, Tom Stangl and others and I've been most happy with those of you who have traded fairly. I HOPE THIS WON'T SCARE PEOPLE FROM TRADING AS I STILL HAVE AND NEED PARTS.
For now I'm waiting to see the results of ongoing consultations, but by this time next week I'll let you all know the results...hopefully in time to avoid getting screwed yourselves. CAN ANYONE TELL I'M MAD? I apologize for taking up the bandwidth, but I'm hoping for some feedback.
Regards,
Dave Foglesong
======== Posted via the LUGNET discussion group web interface ========
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Message has 2 Replies:
 | | Re: BAD TRADES...SHOULD I FLAME???
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| Hey I guess I was the one of the ones Dave mentioned in our deal with IGs (I will take my fair share of the blame). The deal involved the following 6 Imperial Guards (blue) + one Imperial Admiral (blue) for 4 exploriens + 2 Blacktron + one Dark (...) (26 years ago, 18-Oct-98, to lugnet.market.buy-sell-trade)
| | | Re: BAD TRADES...SHOULD I FLAME???
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| Dave Foglesong wrote in message ... <Snipped> (...) ground rules. (...) my end in a belief that they are being sent by the other end at the same time. While this might be naïve, this action rests on a basic trust between RTL'ers that I thought we (...) (26 years ago, 19-Oct-98, to lugnet.market.buy-sell-trade)
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