The good news is that Harold might end up with two. So he can sell one to you now.

 

Not his section


But good thing you didn't

 

Piece of advice, take it or leave it. NEVER "drop $5k" into the account of someone you have never met, and especially when 90% of their posts on multiple forums are in the For Sale threads. A lot of folks on these boards are basically anonymous - no one actually knows them in person and they could be anything or anyone. A +2 on their trader rating don't mean shat.

 

Harold = SparkleCity?

If so, hook a brother up

 

WOW I can't believe I didn't see this. A good friend of mine knows this kid, I have talked to him before. I can get what ever information you need. FB, home address, Phone # (which you have), just PM me and let me know if you need/want anything. BTW, he is ALL mommy and daddy money, I know this for a fact. Kid thinks he's the shttt. Sorry this has happened to you.

 

Ok folks… it's time for an update on the situation.

The communications that I've had with seller since the last update (pictures censored):

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12/1/2011 2:06PM
FROM SPARKLECITYHOP
Are you kidding me?



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12/1/2011 2:07PM
FROM SPARKLECITYHOP
What is this supposed to be?



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12/1/2011
FROM CH1215G

Lol I didn't do that I swear to god. My friend must of did that when he shipped it lmfao



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*** NOTE: At this point, I want to take a break and rant.


I don't know whether to be more mad that he's laughing about this, or that he's blaming it on a friend?

First off, I want to say that I work hard to support my family, and my Z is the one thing that I get to do for myself. So when I have something special planned for my Z, it is important to me. In this case, it was really important to me, because I had planned for my first photoshoot of the car to take place in the mountains. I had booked the photographer, site, models, transportation, etc. a long time ago. When I hydroplaned and wrecked my Z two days before ZNationals this year, while traveling below the speed limit on a back road on the way for new tires, I was worried that I would not have the money and/or time to get the car ready in time. However, I pulled strings and did what I had to do to get everything lined up financially so that I could get the parts needed to fix the car and ready it for the shoot. I am not a rich man, so this in itself was not an easy task.

That having been said, you can ask anyone that I've done business with before, and I am not one to "rush" or "pressure" them on items that I've bought from them just to "get it sooner". However, because some components were damaged badly in the wreck, a few components were critical for the car to be drivable and ready for the shoot. This is why for the damaged components, I checked with each source specifically and made sure that those items could ship immediately. In fact, I was originally going to buy new from a vendor, but I saw a member on here with a brand new, rear sway bar listed for sale. I figured that as long as he committed that he could ship it immediately, that I would help out a member who was looking to sell something and buy it from him instead.

I hate that I was wrong in expecting a reasonable transaction to take place. I've never had a problem with doing business with anyone else on our forum, and when things haven't gone exactly as expected, as long as folks were honest and owned up to "man, I didn't get it shipped", all I've asked is that folks be honest and upfront with what is going on. OP insisted that he had shipped the item and was taking a sketchy and nonchalant approach to the whole situation, while I was facing real losses/damages due to his repeated "it's already shipped", "I shipped it overnight", etc. So it might be understandable that I was insistent in pushing for a straight answer as I was scrambling to recover from this issue in time. His attitude and response "you'll get it when you get it", and "Meets paypal requirements" was enough to put me over the top, and is why I gathered a New Jersey small claims court packet.

As I explained to OP, he was facing my losses/damages which were well in excess of the cost of refunding my paypal payment since he entered into a verbal/electronic agreement to ship the item immediately and did not execute the agreement under the original terms. As I explained to OP, he may have met the requirements for Paypal, but that wasn't the important fact in this case - he did not meet the requirements of the original agreement, and I have suffered damages/losses, through no fault of my own, as a direct result of his actions. Also, his negligent handling of the issue, repeated false statements concerning the dates of shipment, method of shipment, etc. provide a significant amount of evidence to support my case.

All of this is headed to OP in much more formalized documentation, along with details of damages, etc., so I don't feel bad about sharing some of it here with you.



---------------------------------



Now, on to the good part. Just like a good movie, this story has a twist. Since OP put me through so much stress and turmoil throughout this ordeal, once the package arrived, I felt that he deserved some payback with some stress of his own. That is why I took the pictures above and sent him the text messages with the pictures. Then, I just let my phone ring off the hook for 24 hours as he tried repeatedly to contact me. I had sweated the situation for days and wanted him to sweat it for at least 24 hours.


-------------------------------------


Here is the picture of the sway bar that he actually sent.



NOTE: The pictures that I sent him via text were not to defraud him and were not used to make any claims that he hadn't shipped it. They were only sent to him and only used as a gut check.

I was originally torn. I didn't know if I should be the better person, drop it, take my losses, and move on - but I worried that this kid has probably not learned anything from this situation. Then I realized that it isn't my job to be his daddy. So in the spirit of Christmas, I'm walking away with a spare sway bar. I will keep it in my garage to remind me of this oh so fun adventure.

The other member has yet to receive his items, and I guess at this point, I can only rightfully say that this was a bad experience and I can't say that OP is a scammer. However, his attitude throughout the process, lack of responsibility, and general "I don't care" attitude about leaving someone else in a tough spot leaves me disappointed.

I'm through with OP at this point and I'm working to minimize my losses. At this time, I reserve the right to submit my case to New Jersey Small Claims Court at a later date - mainly depending on how things work out for the other member, etc. But if I can cut most of my losses by rescheduling with everyone involved, I'd rather not have to say his name or interact with him ever again.

I hope everyone has a great Holiday season and I chalk this up to another lesson learned.

An old man but not yet a wise man,
SparkleCityHop

 

Wow, epic thread status achieved.

 

One last update, the other member just let me know that his shipment is scheduled to arrive 12/7 via USPS - 3.5 weeks after he sent payment and 2 tracking numbers later (like me).

 

/thread