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Marketplace Sale = COD screw-up

rtdgoldfish said:
Thats what the COD was for.
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THe poster probably meant you should have taken the money upfront. Which is a good practice online. There is more protection for buyers than sellers IMO.

So yeah, I always take payment upfront for pretty much everything. Some forums like anandtech use heatware.com, for feedback. This come at a disadvantage because those with lots of heat want people to ship first all the time, because they have more than you. Anyhow. Take payment before you ship, even if it is a money order. Have them send it to you before you ship anything.
 
rtdgoldfish said:
I actually just recieved a UPS tracking number in my e-mail. Seems like everything will be sorted out without getting the authorities involved :)
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The timing seems way too perfect. Who knows whats actually in that package. Hopefully it's your mini, but I wouldn't say you're out of the woods yet :( Hope for the best, fear for the worst.
 
As fascinating as this entire thread is, why did the OP offer to sell me his Mac Mini on 9/14 for $400 shipped via PM? I see that this thread was started on 9/13 and one day later he offers to sell the mini not in his possesion to me for $400? This is after on 9/9 budapple offered to sell it to me...Maybe I am missing something here, but it seems that the one that was scammed was trying to scam me, while another person offered to sell a mini that was scammed? I think this may be a good time to just go to the Apple store and buy a new mini....sheesh!
 
umgolfer said:
As fascinating as this entire thread is, why did the OP offer to sell me his Mac Mini on 9/14 for $400 shipped via PM? I see that this thread was started on 9/13 and one day later he offers to sell the mini not in his possesion to me for $400? This is after on 9/9 budapple offered to sell it to me...Maybe I am missing something here, but it seems that the one that was scammed was trying to scam me, while another person offered to sell a mini that was scammed? I think this may be a good time to just go to the Apple store and buy a new mini....sheesh!
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He might have offered it to you, thinking he would have it back in his possession in the next few days. And yeah, I'd go to the refurb store and get a Mini, seems like it would save you a lot of hassle!
 
umgolfer said:
As fascinating as this entire thread is, why did the OP offer to sell me his Mac Mini on 9/14 for $400 shipped via PM? I see that this thread was started on 9/13 and one day later he offers to sell the mini not in his possesion to me for $400? This is after on 9/9 budapple offered to sell it to me...Maybe I am missing something here, but it seems that the one that was scammed was trying to scam me, while another person offered to sell a mini that was scammed? I think this may be a good time to just go to the Apple store and buy a new mini....sheesh!
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Yes, I offered you the Mini hoping that it would be back in my hands.

**EDIT** Here is my original PM to Umgolfer:
Long story short, I have a MacMini available for sale again. 1.42gHz, 80 gig HD, 512 ram, SuperDrive, AirPort, Bluetooth. $400 shipped sound ok?? If you are interested, PM me your city, state and zip so I can calculate shipping.
 
Here is a screen grab of what you sent me.
 

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livingfortoday said:
Any update on this? Did it get back ok yet?
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curious about this too. hopefully so!

at any rate, it's pretty safe to say that budaapple will not be doing business again on these forums! lol.
 
I'm hoping for a happy end. Its things like this that scare be away from selling online. Most people are honest, but all it takes is one bad transaction.
 
Tracking number says I'll have the computer back on the 21st now. Guess that means tomorrow. I'll post back if everything is a-ok.
 
Good luck! Having been scammed on both sides (as a buyer and seller) and as someone who has had to deal with a situation where I was called a scammer when it wasn't my fault, I just hope it all works out.
 
Just got home from work (9:30pm) and found the Mini sitting outside my front door. I can't believe UPS would just leave it there but oh well. Opened it up, everything is there. Gonna hook it up to my monitor in a few to make sure everything still works. I'll edit the post from the Mini if everything is alright.

Weird thing: got a letter from my bank today as well saying they are sending a "substitute check" for the amount of the original check. I've got a pending deposit in my account for this amount. Anyone have any idea what this might be??
 
A sign that you should switch over to Washington Mutual?

Run every diagnostic you can before calling everything square, but I am relieved that everything is looking like it may be ok. Always good to know that there is one less bad person out there than originally suspected. ;)
 
Everything seems ok with the Mini. Booted with no problems. Passed the hardware test. Anything else that I should check before I call this a closed deal??
 
System profile it and double check the specs, but it sounds like the buyer made good to me. :)

EDIT: You could run a ton of memory and processor intensive stuff, like open as many apps as you can, run Adobe products if you have them, etc, but it doesn't sound like that's particularly necessary.
 
rtdgoldfish said:
Everything seems ok with the Mini. Booted with no problems. Passed the hardware test. Anything else that I should check before I call this a closed deal??
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Dust it for prints.

But in all seriousness, I would still notify the state. Sorry dude, but writing bad checks is a crime and should never be taken lightly. Basically he screwed you and he'll walk. You had to deal with this for a week... unnecessary waste of your time.
 
I agree in spirit, but the guy made good (especially if he comes through on covering the single remaining bank fee). It could have just been an honest mistake; I am yet to meet anyone who hasn't accidentally bounced a check before. I would have bounced a couple in the past five years if my bank didn't offer me overdraft protection...
 
disconap said:
I agree in spirit, but the guy made good (especially if he comes through on covering the single remaining bank fee). It could have just been an honest mistake; I am yet to meet anyone who hasn't accidentally bounced a check before. I would have bounced a couple in the past five years if my bank didn't offer me overdraft protection...
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He sent me the Mini back just fine but I have yet to see the money order for my bank fee I was promised. In the end, I'm just happy I got the computer back in one piece.

And the only check I have bounced in the three years I have had a checking account was due to this transaction and the funds not clearing my bank account. Lucky it was a check to my landlord and he's been a friend of mine for a few years so there was no problem there, we have since worked things out.
 
Sold the Mini to a local student today. She came over and was sold on it after about two mins of me showing her OSX and what it can do. Sold her the Mini, an Apple wireless keyboard and a DVI to S-video adapter for $400 cash.

Thats what I call a smooth transaction. No shipping, no bad checks, no headaches. Just money in my pocket and a new Mac user. :)
 
rtdgoldfish said:
Sold the Mini to a local student today. She came over and was sold on it after about two mins of me showing her OSX and what it can do. Sold her the Mini, an Apple wireless keyboard and a DVI to S-video adapter for $400 cash.

Thats what I call a smooth transaction. No shipping, no bad checks, no headaches. Just money in my pocket and a new Mac user. :)
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nice to hear its all worked out for you
 
Today a little after 5pm, I had a deposit in my bank account for the amount of the bad check. Called Bank of America's 1-800 number and the lady said it was from a redeposited check. It seems they somehow collected the money from the guy who had written me the bad check. I've since gotten the computer back and sold it. Haven't been able to get back in contact with the guy who wrote me the check. What do you guys think I should do?? Morally, I know I should give him the money back since he doesn't have the computer anymore. But on the other hand, he hasn't contacted me back so I'm thinking he has blocked my e-mail address or something.
 
Yes, you do need to refund him the money. (Here we go again...)

Do the best you can to contact him using whatever info you have for him. That's about all you can do. I'd imagine he'll be wanting it back, so give him every opportunity to get back in touch with you.
 
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