Disappointed with Tthomas

BOSS1

Gold Member
Feedback: +75 / =0 / -0
Joined
Sep 16, 2008
Messages
1,700
This is my account of what happened and my opinions of the experience.


Greetings,

In the roughly 15 years I've been here, and dozens of transactions, I've had only a couple less than really solid/positive experiences. I don't believe I've ever left negative feedback.

However, when a member here comes to me, offers me an item at a price, I agree to purchase it, then 'ghosts' me, wastes my time & money, edits/removes content, and doesn't take an offered opportunity to explain themselves, IMHO it casts a negative light on the forum, at least for me.

Tthomas had two watches for sale in this thread, an Apple Ultra and a Garmin 7X,(initially at $600): https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/closed.1918630/

Short version was I started a conversation and we exchanged multiple messages, but didn't strike a deal. Towards the end Tthomas became unresponsive, so I figured he moved on for whatever reason.

Then on March 21, Tthomas messaged me asking if I would consider buying the Garmin for $400.

There were some additional messages on payment method/timing, and Mar. 22, I agreed to purchase the Garmin for the offered $400 via USPS Money Order.

Two days later (Mar. 24) Tthomas responded with "Ok let me know when you’re ready. It’s boxed up and ready to ship."

The next day, I replied it sounded good, to mark it 'SPF' and I'd send him the MO in about 7 days. I asked him for his email address which he provided. I posted in the thread I'd be taking the Garmin per our comms.

Afterwards, Tthomas became unresponsive for a time, but then did respond on Apr. 11, asking if he had sent his address.

I asked for his info a couple more times, and then on Friday Apr. 14, with the weekend approaching, advised I would move forward with purchasing the Money Order (I had a busy workweek ahead of me the following week), No response from Tthomas. True to my word, I purchased the $400 MO (with fee) the following day (Apr 15).

I messaged that afternoon (Apr. 15th at 5:29 PM) that I had purchased the Money Order asked again for his info so that I could send it. I could see Tthomas had read the thread again about an hour later at 6:25 pm with no response. He also wasn't responding to emails.

At 9:25 PM I posted again in the conversation that I had seen he had read the convo earlier without a response, and I asked him why. No response.

The next day (Sunday, Apr. 16th) I posted the following:

Sunday at 10:02 AM
You know I can see when you read this conversation, right? You read it again a couple hours after I posted the above^^. So you're aware of where things stand.

No. 6 of the forum/exchange rules:

SECTION 3 - Rules for Everyone -

6. These forums operate on honesty and integrity. As such, we have a dim view of people who act dishonestly. Your actions in the community have consequences, even if they happen elsewhere, something to keep in mind.


And FWIW, money has changed hands: After I advised you I was going to do so on Friday (above^)- I purchased the USPS Money Order . USPS Money orders aren't free and neither is gas. That was your opportunity to speak up.

The ball is your court - all you have to do is the right thing - honor your word.

Looking forward to your reply.

Thanks.
M



Tthomas subsequently left our conversation and edited his original sales thread to remove the original listing details/description.

No response, no explanation, nothing, even when give the opportunity to do so.

I conferred with one of the Supermods, invited him into the conversation Tthomas and I had, and the Mod advised I could post what happened here in the GBU

I had to expend more time and gas to get the $400 MO resolved.

So, you can decide how you like, but this kind of behavior, IMHO, is not consistent with Rule 6 and the high standards I've normally experience here on the forum.
(The above isn't every single exchange/detail, but gives you the pertinent information.)

Hopefully this was a one-time occurance for whatever reason.

Have a good weekend.
Boss
 
This is my account of what happened and my opinions of the experience.


Greetings,

In the roughly 15 years I've been here, and dozens of transactions, I've had only a couple less than really solid/positive experiences. I don't believe I've ever left negative feedback.

However, when a member here comes to me, offers me an item at a price, I agree to purchase it, then 'ghosts' me, wastes my time & money, edits/removes content, and doesn't take an offered opportunity to explain themselves, IMHO it casts a negative light on the forum, at least for me.

Tthomas had two watches for sale in this thread, an Apple Ultra and a Garmin 7X,(initially at $600): https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/closed.1918630/

Short version was I started a conversation and we exchanged multiple messages, but didn't strike a deal. Towards the end Tthomas became unresponsive, so I figured he moved on for whatever reason.

Then on March 21, Tthomas messaged me asking if I would consider buying the Garmin for $400.

There were some additional messages on payment method/timing, and Mar. 22, I agreed to purchase the Garmin for the offered $400 via USPS Money Order.

Two days later (Mar. 24) Tthomas responded with "Ok let me know when you’re ready. It’s boxed up and ready to ship."

The next day, I replied it sounded good, to mark it 'SPF' and I'd send him the MO in about 7 days. I asked him for his email address which he provided. I posted in the thread I'd be taking the Garmin per our comms.

Afterwards, Tthomas became unresponsive for a time, but then did respond on Apr. 11, asking if he had sent his address.

I asked for his info a couple more times, and then on Friday Apr. 14, with the weekend approaching, advised I would move forward with purchasing the Money Order (I had a busy workweek ahead of me the following week), No response from Tthomas. True to my word, I purchased the $400 MO (with fee) the following day (Apr 15).

I messaged that afternoon (Apr. 15th at 5:29 PM) that I had purchased the Money Order asked again for his info so that I could send it. I could see Tthomas had read the thread again about an hour later at 6:25 pm with no response. He also wasn't responding to emails.

At 9:25 PM I posted again in the conversation that I had seen he had read the convo earlier without a response, and I asked him why. No response.

The next day (Sunday, Apr. 16th) I posted the following:

Sunday at 10:02 AM
You know I can see when you read this conversation, right? You read it again a couple hours after I posted the above^^. So you're aware of where things stand.

No. 6 of the forum/exchange rules:

SECTION 3 - Rules for Everyone -

6. These forums operate on honesty and integrity. As such, we have a dim view of people who act dishonestly. Your actions in the community have consequences, even if they happen elsewhere, something to keep in mind.


And FWIW, money has changed hands: After I advised you I was going to do so on Friday (above^)- I purchased the USPS Money Order . USPS Money orders aren't free and neither is gas. That was your opportunity to speak up.

The ball is your court - all you have to do is the right thing - honor your word.

Looking forward to your reply.

Thanks.
M



Tthomas subsequently left our conversation and edited his original sales thread to remove the original listing details/description.

No response, no explanation, nothing, even when give the opportunity to do so.

I conferred with one of the Supermods, invited him into the conversation Tthomas and I had, and the Mod advised I could post what happened here in the GBU

I had to expend more time and gas to get the $400 MO resolved.

So, you can decide how you like, but this kind of behavior, IMHO, is not consistent with Rule 6 and the high standards I've normally experience here on the forum.
(The above isn't every single exchange/detail, but gives you the pertinent information.)

Hopefully this was a one-time occurance for whatever reason.

Have a good weekend.
Boss
Thanks for the heads up. This guy is going on ignore. That said, why would you keep continuing to move forward on a deal with someone who clearly had repeated trouble with basic communication? Major red flag. I'd advise anyone to walk away from a deal when the other party can't communicate in a timely fashion.
 
it casts a negative light on the forum
It casts a negative light on the one person who didn't respond.

Why in the world would you pursue the transaction for a month when the Seller didn't seem interested in completing it? You can't force them to take your money and it's obvious you're lucky he didn't.
 
^^Why did I pursue the transaction?

First - I'm a Garmin Fenix fan...I have an earlier Fenix version, and it made me a convert. They are very tough, feature-filled watches. If you know anything about the line, a Fenix 7X Sapphire Solar for $400 delivered in the condition he described is a good deal.

Secondly, Tthomas is a long-time member with positive feedback. And as said, the vast majority of the transactions I have had here on BF have gone smoothly.

Third: not everyone is 'married' to these forums and/or the most timely communicator...some people actually have lives outside of surfing the forum...they have challenging jobs, people get sick, go on vacation, etc etc etc.

Fourth, purchasing the MO was minimal risk...and correctable, albeit it took some money and more importantly, time. It was worth the gamble.

Fifth, probably most importantly, Tthomas never clearly communicated ending the sale. You can't force a seller to take your $$, true. But if the seller agrees to the sale, and then, for whatever reason, wants to back out, they should 'step up' and clearly state so, preferably with a good explanation...especially when the buyer is keeping the apprised of their intentions/actions. I'm not Carnac.

I suspect the most likely scenario is Tthomas got a better offer, and rather than try to openly welch on his deal/word, he'd just ignore me until I gave up.

^^My opinion anyway.

Boss
 
Boss: You have outstanding feedback I can see that.

But.... Here's the thing that jumped out at me:

"Two days later (Mar. 24) Tthomas responded with "Ok let me know when you’re ready. It’s boxed up and ready to ship."

The next day, I replied it sounded good, to mark it 'SPF' and I'd send him the MO in about 7 days."


He is ready to go, and you tell him you will pay in 'about 7 days'...

"and then on Friday Apr. 14, with the weekend approaching, advised I would move forward with purchasing the Money Order (I had a busy workweek ahead of me the following week), No response from Tthomas. True to my word, I purchased the $400 MO (with fee) the following day (Apr 15)."

From Mar 25 to April 15 is 21 days. THREE WEEKS to pay and finish the transaction?

Truth be told, I'd have taken another offer after two weeks as well. Should he have let you know? Yup.

I wish you better. But brevity is ALWAYS a factor in a good transaction. I think you needed to jump on this quicker, or this thread would not have been needed.

Jim
 
Boss: You have outstanding feedback I can see that.

But.... Here's the thing that jumped out at me:

"Two days later (Mar. 24) Tthomas responded with "Ok let me know when you’re ready. It’s boxed up and ready to ship."

The next day, I replied it sounded good, to mark it 'SPF' and I'd send him the MO in about 7 days."


He is ready to go, and you tell him you will pay in 'about 7 days'...

"and then on Friday Apr. 14, with the weekend approaching, advised I would move forward with purchasing the Money Order (I had a busy workweek ahead of me the following week), No response from Tthomas. True to my word, I purchased the $400 MO (with fee) the following day (Apr 15)."

From Mar 25 to April 15 is 21 days. THREE WEEKS to pay and finish the transaction?

Truth be told, I'd have taken another offer after two weeks as well. Should he have let you know? Yup.

I wish you better. But brevity is ALWAYS a factor in a good transaction. I think you needed to jump on this quicker, or this thread would not have been needed.

Jim

I totally agree with you Jim. I wouldn't have waited "about 7 days" days for buyer to get MO either, which actually turned into 21 days.

BOSS1 BOSS1 , was the 7 days agreed upon by both of you? And when that turned into 21 days, was that still agreeable? Did you keep communications open during that time to let him know that it actually would be 21 days instead of 7? If no, then that's not even remotely reasonable.

For complete transparency, I have done two deals with T Tthomas , one as recently as 2/2023, where I was the buyer both times and had no issues.
 
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BTW BOSS1 BOSS1 , ask the mods to help you get your one negative feedback removed. It's obvious by the comment left that the seller meant to leave you a positive feedback and accidently hit the wrong button.
 
Gents,

Yes, the about seven days was communicated/discussed. Not everyone is 'gotta get this sold today!'. I was waiting for payday and gave a couple buffer days in case I couldn't get to the post office with work.

As I posted in my original above, I didn't cover every single communication, etc. There was more, but I didn't feel like reciting every.single.thing.

Keep in mind, Tthomas had the Garmin listed for some time, and it didn't sell. Then he came to me.

Also keep in mind that he had two fairly high value watches for sale (indicating he's probably not destitute).

At the end of the day, IMHO, Tthomas handled this situation very poorly and could have easily resolved it with a PM or email.

And for the record, still not a single word to me from Tthomas.

Boss
 
Looks like another buyer on that thread asked for his Paypal info and sent a payment. Did he agree to accept a money order? I personally decline offers with money orders as it takes way too long to receive the payment. I want to make a deal, receive the funds, and ship it out the same day.

However, I do agree that not responding to your message is unacceptable. He hasn't even responded to this thread. Maybe that's how he rolls.

I'd move on.
 
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While I can see him moving on to another buyer, he certainly should have notified the OP that that was what he was doing. This way all would be on the same page.
What I can't understand is why anyone would send a money order to someone that was not easy to contact.
Use of money orders(and really any deal) depends on excellent comunication by both parties. Money order deals take awhile and without good comunication one party will have no idea where they are in the deal or even if there still is one.
 
Again, did you keep communications open during that time to let him know that it actually would be 21 days instead of 7?
 
Again, did you keep communications open during that time to let him know that it actually would be 21 days instead of 7?

Yes...I made numerous attempts both via our conversation as well as email. However, you can't mail a MO to someone if they don't provide you with their information,

At the expense of repeating myself, this was a good deal on a watch I was very interested in, so I was genuinely interested in closing the deal. I guess I'm overly patient.

At the end of the day, IMHO, if you're going to break your word, it wouldn't be too hard to type something like 'I've decided not to sell you the watch.'

In any event, this is mostly a PSA for fellow members.

And yes, thanks Rycen for fixing my feedback!

Boss
 
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