# Scammers?



## Frack (May 3, 2009)

Hi, I was just wondering if anyones ever been scamed by someone else in the classified section of this forum? Ive seen some adds that seem fishy on this and other forums, like P. metalicas for 40 bucks or something like that and while more experienced people can spot these fakes Im afraid that people new to the hobby can be fooled by these people. I know that if when I was just starting out if I got ripped off it would have ruined it for me, I have been ripped off on little things like feeder insects and even that was so frustrating to me that it made me just wanna give up. So what Im wondering is, is there anyone protecting us from these peope? The way its set up now anyone can just create an acount and start scamming, is it just buyer beware? Sorry if Im being a pain but I feel like theres so little accountability with some deals online and its so easy to defraud someone that its up to the people that can do something about it to act, though unfortunatly they usually dont care is what my experience has taught me.


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## Katnapper (May 3, 2009)

I think admin. cares very much and does a great job in removing anyone who has proven themselves to be a dishonest or unreliable person with which to trade. And this, even though it is not really their "job" to "police" people advertising within the forum. It is very much a "buyer beware" situation, until someone actually PROVES themselves to be untrustworthy. If even knowledgeable people within the worldwide mantis circuit do not even know, or have any recommendations (good or bad) about a particular person, then how is admin. to know? You wouldn't want admin. deleting people suspected of being untrustworthy, but not proven so. New sellers or traders, previously unknown, with no feedback are a risk. But does that automatically mean they are bad? You can't just delete people who are "suspect" without good cause.

Another forum member PM'd me just a bit ago asking about the risk of making a prospective trade with a person in the Classifieds section. This is what I told him:



> Should I take the risk?


NO. I have emailed him asking for references. He replied that he would send some, but never has. He also made a trade offer to me for 1 Idolomantis, 2 Gongy, and 1 Bleph ooths for 4 P. chlorophaea ooths. Yes, the P. chlorophaea are an interesting species... but what he's "offering" is potentially worth much more than what his proposed trade is. It's too good to be true.
Always remember... if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Of course not every great deal is a scam. There are genuinely nice people who are generous with their trades and such. But usually those people are well known on this forum, and others, all around the world. Considering his advertisment was his first and only post, no one really knows him or has any information about the validity of previous sales/trades, his offers sound too good to be true, he has obviously and blatently stolen others' pictures to advertise his supposed species (which means he probably doesn't have any of the species he claims), and the fact that he's from Poland (Kruszakus told me Poland is rife with scammers) and currenly living in Japan... or so he says....... put together, it all screams SCAMMER!!!!!! I think he is trying to get people to agree to trades and rake in a bunch of free ooths to then turn around and sell. I sincerely advise you not to send him anything, or deal with him in any way.
 
Edit: Forgot to answer your question! No, I don't think I've ever been intentionally scammed by anyone on this forum. I have had some disappointing trades, buying ooths that never hatched. But I don't believe the sellers intentionally sold ooths they KNEW wouldn't hatch.


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## Rick (May 3, 2009)

Do not buy from somebody with zero posts or no feedback or you're taking a risk . Also if it is priced too good to be true it probably is. I have done a fair amount of buying and selling here and never had any problems.


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## PhilinYuma (May 3, 2009)

If you follow Katt's and Rick's advice, you can't go wrong.

As Katt says, Admin has provided us with a means of checking on prospective sellers, but I sometimes wonder if we members use it as well as we should. There are so many excellent dealers on this forum, who recieve rave reviews, that it may go against the grain for some of us to post a bad review if the deal isn't an outright ripoff. I've had discussions with fellow members on PM about whether someone was really out to defraud or just guilty of conducting sloppy business, and in one case I recieved two seriouly awful pots of "hydei" (one was wild ffs and the other produced nothing at all) but did not post a negative review because the member posted that he was going out of business. In retrospect, I should have.

Generally, if you follow the advice above and buy from members who are active on the forum and have good feedback, you will have a remarkably good experience -- good communication, beutifully packed material, and lively, happy mantids, sometimes with "freebies" thrown in as insurance.

Finally, I would add that although several highly respected dealers on this site do not accept PayPal, it is a good thing to insist on if you have any doubts about a purchase. And beware of paying for ooths that "should be laid shortly!"


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## [email protected] (May 3, 2009)

So Phil &amp; Kat are you 2 saying that we as buyers need to post any and all deals that we do on here good or bad?. 

If its a dealing that has gone wrong I would 1st pm them &amp; tell them about the shipment &amp; how it came &amp; 1st thing take pics of everything that came and give them all the info you see, and smell, ie bad dead smell "heat kill and makes things rot faster" so when you are opening yourr shipment and it smells bad be ready for some dead things.

This is not just for Mantids, its also for Rep, and there food too.

Danny


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## PhilinYuma (May 3, 2009)

ArkBlue said:


> So Phil &amp; Kat are you 2 saying that we as buyers need to post any and all deals that we do on here good or bad?. If its a dealing that has gone wrong I would 1st pm them &amp; tell them about the shipment &amp; how it came &amp; 1st thing take pics of everything that came and give them all the info you see, and smell, ie bad dead smell "heat kill and makes things rot faster" so when you are opening yourr shipment and it smells bad be ready for some dead things.
> 
> This is not just for Mantids, its also for Rep, and there food too.
> 
> Danny


I can't answer for Katt, Danny, but I would say post all good transactions as soon as they are concluded -- a line or two is enough -- and if a deal goes bad, give the seller every chance to rectify it and only post when you find that you are not getting satisfaction. Beware, though of dealers who string you along (I'll send you replacements as soon as I recover from my heart surgery") until you can no longer file a complaint with Pay Pal. It is a good idea to ask for your money back (minus shipping, usually) as soon as you feel that are getting the run around, and if you don't get it, post that fact.


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## Rick (May 3, 2009)

ArkBlue said:


> So Phil &amp; Kat are you 2 saying that we as buyers need to post any and all deals that we do on here good or bad?. If its a dealing that has gone wrong I would 1st pm them &amp; tell them about the shipment &amp; how it came &amp; 1st thing take pics of everything that came and give them all the info you see, and smell, ie bad dead smell "heat kill and makes things rot faster" so when you are opening yourr shipment and it smells bad be ready for some dead things.
> 
> This is not just for Mantids, its also for Rep, and there food too.
> 
> Danny


You should leave feedback. If there is an issue make sure you have ALL details in your feedback post explaining why there was a problem. If it is good feedback it can be short.


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## [email protected] (May 3, 2009)

Cool I have'nt had anything to post out hear yet but its good to know we can trun to each other for help.

Danny


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## The_Asa (May 9, 2009)

I've never been scammed here and I've made a fair share of buys and trades...I just like to communicate with whoever I'm buying from...I'm a little confused actually, are the sellers also supposed to give some feedback on the buyers as well? I understand that the buyers giving the sellers feedback would successfully prove that they did in fact buy the item, but it would be kinda nice to have it all in one place.


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