"I had tickets to a sporting event and couldn't attend. I made a 1-day listing and clearly stated that the tickets must be picked up in person within 24 hours (the game was the evening after the auction ended, so there wasn't any time to ship the tickets). A woman won the auction for about $600. The auction had ended at 10:00am and by 5:00pm she still hadn't responded to my emails trying to organize the exchange. Finally, at 9:30pm, I got a one-liner email: "I overbid and my husband won't let me buy these. Sorry and enjoy the game! "
I first tried explaining that I wouldn't have the time to resell the tickets (I already got turned down by the losing bidders). She said, "... that's not my problem. It's eBay, not a car dealership. I can back out if I want." I still don't understand the car dealership reference.
I was pretty upset. I was basically going to be stuck with tickets to an event that I couldn't attend. That's when I got the idea to convince her to change her mind.
I created a new eBay account, "Payback" we'll call it, and sent her a message: "Hi there, I noticed you won an auction for 4 [sporting event] tickets. I meant to bid on these but couldn't get to a computer. I wanted to take my son and dad and would be willing to give you $1,000 for the tickets. I imagine that you've already made plans to attend, but I figured it was worth a shot."
At 11:30pm she responded to Payback: "I'll do it for $1,100, no less. I can meet you at the game if you agree. I need your phone number."
At 11:35pm, Payback wrote: "Deal. Here is my number..." (Thanks Google Voice for the throwaway number). She called a few minutes later and made Payback "promise" to go through with the deal. She emphasized that she'd be out a lot of money if Payback backed out. Payback swore he would never do such a thing.
At 11:45pm, the woman emailed me: "Fine. I'll buy them. But you have to drop them off at my house tonight. I'll have the cash ready." So at midnight I drove to her house across town and met her on the road in front of her apartment building. She was a nasty and rude individual. Things didn't get any better when I told her I wanted an extra $20 for the trouble of driving there at midnight (yeah, pushing my luck, I know). It became very awkward and she literally threw 31 $20 bills at me. I counted them before handing over the tickets. I said, "thanks for the great transaction" as she flipped me off while walking away.
At 10:00am she called Payback to make sure they were still on for the exchange. Payback said that he could no longer go to the game and wouldn't be able to do the exchange. She blew her top and I swear to god started speaking in tongues. Payback said, "Ma'am, this is eBay, not a car dealership" and hung up. I got a rabid email 10 minutes later telling me that I was going to hell and that she's reported me to the local police, FBI, and... the fire department. ???"
Response: *******funny *******! You know you can go to JAIL for this. Yu theef!!!!! [City] cops FBI fire and government already no. Your done. I got your number and your name. This is thefting property *******!!! Give my $620 back or everything bad wiil happen - ******!!!!! You cant steal and get away. Refund me now or else!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You dont want a lawsuit. Trust me. u dont. You can have tickets just give me my money and be done."
That's the bulk of the email, word for word. There was more at the end too. She must have pressed 'enter' 30 times and wrote "****" and the another 30 times and wrote "HELL". Then she wrote her name which was strange.
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1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles
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GOOD FOR YOU MAN!!!!! Maybe she should have an intervention by her husband and get the internet removed from any access so she can no longer "jerk people around" on ebay.
Hats off to you.. seriously.. hats off to you. I hate thieves and liars, and liars basically steal your trust.. so.. what's the diff?
I have to say that he story teller is a complete idiot for posting this on the world wide web. It sounds like he's proud of his accomplishment but I suggest something to keep to yourself rather than tell the world who you are and how you did it. Another case of too much testosterone and being the big man on campus. Lets only hope he never comes across a national security secret.
Honest to goodness Carl, it is a pretty good story on some level BUT I couldn't go to church on Sunday and face the Lord if I pulled that on someone, let alone tell the world, literally.
what did Hillar used to say, "Don't admit to anything illegal online." While the fellow's actions may not have been illegal, he didn't need to tell the world how he deceived someone.
To the tune of an extra $20 no less!!! Looks good on the greedy nasty! Maybe if she didn't have to add the "that's not my problem", line all would have been OK.......
People like this need to be exposed and the guy would have been an idiot if he didn't post it!! Why not inform and protect himself and the next person?? Like most e-bay sellers post now, don't bid unless you are going to follow through with the transaction... This guy would have been out an unfair $600.....
He did onto her that was done onto him........... Go man go!
There is another moral to this story. Don't spend money that you don't have, especially when trying to flip stuff. I see it all the time ( I payed 700 and I am asking 500 to get some of my money out of it!). Lots of adds like that on the net.
Assuming that the story is true, it's bad enough that she backed out of the deal, but then to go back when there was an opportunity to make a buck! (If she had even a touch of class she would have advised Payback that if he hurried he might be able to get the tickets from the original seller.) My opinion, great creativity and even better execution! As far as posting the story (again, assuming it's what happened), I'm all for it as it is good information for both the swindled and the swindlee. Ebay involves trust. If you can't be trusted, don't use it. (Ownership....)
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"So when you spot violence, or bigotry, or intolerance or fear or just garden-variety hatred or ignorance, just look it in the eye and think... The good outnumber you, and we always will." Patton Oswalt
