SkankinPickle bad trader alert

[subarubrat]

After giving him multiple breaks I must come to the conclusion that he has taken the money and run, although I welcome him living up to his obligation.

 

Here is the trail of events:

 

10 July we agree on the part price and shipping.

 

-Will get you paypal payment in the PM when I am back home.

                          

cool beans, I have literally no money at all, livin in my car
at the moment. Parts are in a storage unit. I can ship as soon as you
send paypal for sure. Just hit me up as soon as you can.

-Justin

 

I paypal'd him and sent along some extra cash offering to buy him lunch for making the trip to mail the part.

 

11 July he replied

 

Dude! Thank you. That helps so much. That will feed me for three-four
days:)  I am holding down the collection to send as much as possible to
good homes. Wanna do every thing I can to avoid having to throw away all
of the 2nd-gen stuff I have collected over the last 8 years.

Are there any other blue interior items that I should keep an eye out for?

-Justin

 

After that the part never showed and he gave a few excuses along the way:

 

Hey, Sorrry about not getting to you sooner. I was pressure washing
and painting a house in a remote location, and was living there while I
was working on it. No internet, plus even if I did, I had no way to even
buy gas to drive to the post office. I hate telling people that I am
not able to follow through with what I said I would do, and was so
ashamed that I didn't say any thing at all. Yet not communicating is
even worse. I just tried to block it all out, put my head down, and work
as much as I could to get my self out of this mess.  I have like five
things I needed to ship and have been staring at the boxes in
my passenger seat for the last week and a half. Finally made enough to
get back to even. I can refund or ship it out. 

Let me know how you want me to proceed.

-Justin

 

I tell him to ship it and ask for a tracking number, no reply.

 

I hate kicking a guy while he is down but I am not the only one to send money and get no item, so fair warning to others.

 

 

                            
                       

 

[Dinky26]

+1 on what was said above. July 19th I sent him payment and nothing yet either.

 

I'm fortunate that I found a like part at another location and got my Brat back to running again.

 

I'm not going to bash on him either, hard to say exactly what he has going on, do what you have said you were going to do and have committed to though.

 

I'm still hoping he will come good on his word.

[silverhelme]

One of the other sites I belong to has a bad seller section to report deals like this. The section is moderated so that it can't be used to just bash anyone you might not like, It might be something for the moderators to think about.

[subarubrat]

That isn't being done here, just a factual timeline. Same with the other folks who have had a bad deal with this guy recently.

[rdweninger]

My take is ... if you accept payment for goods, then you should ship them asap... like NEXT DAY.    

Yes, he is down on his luck.  But that is no excuse for failing to ship the parts.    He received the cash for the parts and the amount for shipping.

   Advice to everyone.... When you are down on your luck, don't screw your friends or your family.     They are the only ones who are there to help you get back on your feet. 

[SnatchedHatch]

My take is ... if you accept payment for goods, then you should ship them asap... like NEXT DAY.    

Yes, he is down on his luck.  But that is no excuse for failing to ship the parts.    He received the cash for the parts and the amount for shipping.

   Advice to everyone.... When you are down on your luck, don't screw your friends or your family.     They are the only ones who are there to help you get back on your feet. 

I can't agree with you more (although if a seller stipulates he'll have a delay in shipment, before cash is exchanged, then of course...).

 

There's a definite PRO-tip in what you said, don't involve those closest to you with your finances. It's difficult to follow, when you are truly desperate and you really have no one but your family to turn to, but there's a good reason for it. The lender and borrower labels change the power dynamic in a relationship.

That can lead to hurt feelings, awkwardness, and tension.

 

You know.. writing "...when you are truly desperate..", knowing what I do about Skankin and what's he's told me of his life situation, I just struck upon some insight as to how he played his cards in taking advantage of some of us.

There's no way of knowing if he had mixed feelings about it, if it all was a blind rush for him, or if he made a calculated decision in cold blood.

I hope for the former. That of course doesn't make it right, but it sounds like he's in a bit of a bind with the folks. I actually completely missed the tacked on messages SubaruBrat added, and they further suspect me to think the same.

 

Subarubrat, you did the right thing! I was in the same boat, and acted on a gut feeling.

 

 

Here's a great thread on the subject, and I'll go ahead and post the OP and top comment: http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/2j1oki/never_loan_money_to_friends_or_family_but_when/

 

"OP:

My

husband and I have a rule (now) that we don't loan money to family or

friends. We are as generous as we can be when a loved one is in

financial trouble, but we always make peace with the idea that we will

never get that money back. We are middle class, but his mom and sister

are working poor (definitely not dead beats but always paycheck to

paycheck with few luxuries).

This mental attitude helps when my MIL buys something for my children

even though my husband just spent $1200 fixing her car. If she owed us

that $1200, I would be annoyed that she "wasted" $10 buying ice cream

for the kids. But when I remember our decision, I can relax and watch

her help my laughing 2 year old eat. And I know that his memory and my

daughter's memory of their grandmother will be worth a lot more than

money.

 

But honestly, sometimes it takes a heated minute or two to remember our decision."

"Top comment:

For years I loaned money to family and I was still a financially growing young adult, usually getting it back, but not always.

I grew a bit resentful when I saw they'd spend more for instant

gratification than waiting even a few days for non-essentials at a lower

price. Then when I realized I was living a more spartan lifestyle (by

choice) than they, yet I was still the default cash flow fix. They

would also buy luxuries I myself would consider unaffordable for myself.

I realized I wasn't helping. I was the enabler. I stopped "helping" financially and my relationship with family improved."

Edited January 8, 2015 by SnatchedHatch