I Got Ripped Off!!!!!

T

tpyke

Feedback: +0 / =0 / -0
Joined
Sep 1, 2004
Messages
22
I dealt a few times on Ebay with djswholesaleblades and things got delivered, but VERY late. I figured as long as I get my stuff, everything's cool right? Then I visited his website : www.santoscutlery.com. This guy has one of every knife imaginable! So I place an order for a $180 knife. A month and a half later I email him asking what's going on and he tells me that he called USPS and that they weren't much help. So he said he would send me another one. A month after having supposedly sent the other one, he asks me if I would rather get a refund, I say yes and send him all the necessary info he would need to refund me my money and haven't heard from him since. I've tried calling on many occasions and there is never any answer. I called PAypal and they told me that after 45 days there is nothing they can do, and told me to try my luck with Ebay. The deal didn't take place on Ebay , but I tried anyway and they also told me that they had the same 45 day waiting period. Since I paid with my Paypal funds and not my CC, I cannot get my CC to help. I've checked on Ebay and it seems that he has done this to a few people, because all of a sudden his feedback is private and he has received quite a few negatives in the past months. The guy lives in California and I live in Canada. You guys in the US know your laws better than I do, is there anything I can possibly do? If not getting my money back, just making his life hell would do. I don't know if there is a place to call over there to have people's business' audited, or whether or not I could get him in trouble for dealing switchblades and balisongs in California? ANYTHING, I'm open to suggestions!

He just changed his Ebay ID from "djswholesaleblades" to "santosoutdoors"
 
I too have purchased from him, i got everything i ordered but like you mentioned it took awhile sometimes. If you look at his inventory he usually has like 20 or 30 of the hard to find knives in stock, which is a little suspicious. I also notices his feedback went private after a bunch of negatives were posted. A big red flag to me, so i decided a few months ago not to order anything else from him. Let this be a warning to everyone else out there what while he delivered in the past, i think his business is going downhill fast and he's trying to make as much money as he can on the way out. Im sure other people had dealings with him, lets hear it.
 
I think that the fact that he changed his E-Bay ID is an indicator that he was getting a lot of bad reviews.
 
I see people change thier ID's all the time. I don't take that as a bad sign in itself, as you can always click to see what thier former name was.

When someone has Private feedback though, I will not deal with them under any circumstances. While you can still see thier overall rating, you have no idea what was said or how they responded. I skip right over them, no matter how bad I want the knife.
 
I ordered from him once, it took like 2 months to recieve my item. I e-mailed him like 3 or 4 times before he finally responded to me. I did recieve the item eventualy in good condition after I told him I was going to report him to E-Bay for fraud. After that, he did the same thing, changed his ID name. It was frustrating to say the least.
He e-mailed me after I told him I recieved the item, and told me if I was ever in the market for another knife, he would take care of me on the price and shipping. Giving him the benifit of doubt, I e-mailed about a Benchmade AFCK I was interested in-----needless to say, he never responded back.
 
Hi, I hate to say it never pay with PayPal because from what I know is they are very difference from regular credit card if something go wrong they will investigate but not responsiable for the lost! Rigth now, I too in a similar situation I bought a knife online it was a private sale I sent the guy a postal money order it was three weeks ago no knife yet. I will give him another week if still no knife I am going to file a complain with USPS I think that is what you call mail fraud!
 
twenty-three [23] negatives in the past Month. That's not a good thing!!!!
 
If Canada has government dept similar to the IRS in the Usa, they may be able to help. if the person your dealing with isnt reporting yhis mornimg as income, they may want to have a chat with him.
 
Since you know he's in California, a letter to the Office of the California State Attorney General might help, or at least help prevent the same thing from happening to others in the future. Check their website, most have some form of "consumer protection" unit that you could address it to. Next step up would be if your province has an "ombudsman" a letter on official stationary from them to the CSOAG might get even more attention. The above assumes the knife in question was legal for you to purchase.

I am assuming there is no chance the knife was siezed by Canadian Customs. There have been numerous reports of their overly broad interpetation of your laws regarding gravity knives, but IIRC, the buyer is always notified of the siezure.
 
The Deacon said:
I am assuming there is no chance the knife was siezed by Canadian Customs. There have been numerous reports of their overly broad interpetation of your laws regarding gravity knives, but IIRC, the buyer is always notified of the siezure.
Click to expand...

You recall correctly. There would definitely be notification from Canada Customs.

This is obviously just another scumbag. It seems that eBay has quite a number of this type of seller. I have noticed many over the years in the knife section alone.
 
RGRAY said:
Email him a link to this thread and let's see if he responds.
Click to expand...
This forum and every other knife forum....
this is actually the last one I tried, I've been cuting and pasting the same thread on every forum. Unfortunately, I don't think he really cares, but I will try it! I have a strong feeling that once he sees that I spread the word out so bad, he will think "so why should I give him his money back, what else can he do?" . Know what I mean..?
 
m10commander said:
Hi, I hate to say it never pay with PayPal because from what I know is they are very difference from regular credit card if something go wrong they will investigate but not responsiable for the lost! Rigth now, I too in a similar situation I bought a knife online it was a private sale I sent the guy a postal money order it was three weeks ago no knife yet. I will give him another week if still no knife I am going to file a complain with USPS I think that is what you call mail fraud!
Click to expand...
It is absolutely mail fraud! If he can't show proof of shipment, then it is in fact mail fraud!
 
Ancient One said:
If Canada has government dept similar to the IRS in the Usa, they may be able to help. if the person your dealing with isnt reporting yhis mornimg as income, they may want to have a chat with him.
Click to expand...
Hmmmm, there's an idea...
:thumbup:
 
Keith Montgomery said:
You recall correctly. There would definitely be notification from Canada Customs.

This is obviously just another scumbag. It seems that eBay has quite a number of this type of seller. I have noticed many over the years in the knife section alone.
Click to expand...
DEFINATELY a notification of some sort. Lesson learnt, and to prevent anyone else from ever getting this done to:
DO NOT BE A NICE GUY WHEN DEALING ON THE WEB! WITH PAYPAL, IF YOU HAVEN'T RECEIVED ANYTHING AFTER A MONTH , OPEN A DISPUTE!!! It seems to kickstart many transactions that are starting to go south...
 
The crime will have to be reported to and investigated by the local jurisdiction where this individual conducted the transaction. The problem consumers run into is finding out exactly where that is, and who they should contact. Due to the extreme rise in this type of fraud the FBI has set up a website that will automatically direct your complaint to the appropriate jurisdiction for subsequent investigation. The web address I believe is ifcc-fbi.gov. I have this bookmarked at work, but I believe that should be correct. You will need to have all the info on the transaction available when you make the report. Hope this helps.
 
cleaner145 said:
Due to the extreme rise in this type of fraud the FBI has set up a website that will automatically direct your complaint to the appropriate jurisdiction for subsequent investigation.
Click to expand...

Adding to this: a lot of people are under the impression that the FBI investigates and prosecutes small-dollar cases. They don't. Their resources are limited. The damages have to be well into 4 figure, or more likely 5 figure+ category.
 
Thanks for the correction on the web link address. It's like cell phone numbers, once their programed you start to forget them. Ryan8 is completely correct about the dollar values of items that the FBI will investigate. Their site is only to dirrect the complaint to the right jurisdiction for investigation. It's up to you after that to stay in contact with the detective and provide whatever information you can. Also remember, the squeaky wheel tends to get the oil.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top