Shawn Tran (youtube name: URBNSpice) Sucks!

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chadridv

chadridv

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So this was the first and last time I'll make a deal outside the forum, but i suppose you gotta learn somehow.

Anyway, this guy from youtube, URBNSpice had a video where he mentioned that he was selling a knife. I contact him inquiring about the knife. we went back and forth a few times and i decided the deal seemed good to go. Initially (pre-payment) he was very responsive. (btw-he is a bladeforums member but he never told me his name)

I paid him October 7th. I contact him October 8th asking him to please confirm he received the payment, and asking him when, or if he had shipped the knife yet? He wrote back the next day saying he would ship out the knife "today" (October 9th).

I received a message via paypal October 12 saying my item from Shawn Tran has been shipped, however there is no tracking information provided.

i contact him again asking for tracking info... no response.

I didn't think much of it until 2 days ago, when i realized a full week had passed since he supposedly shipped it. I sent him another message pretty much telling him, I am disappointed the knife had not arrived, but more importantly, very disappointed he has not respond to any of my messages.

I went on to say that I decided to give him 2 more days (before filing a paypal claim), for either the package to arrive or at the least, for him to respond with a tracking number or explanation. I also made it clear to him that, without any response from him, i would share this story publically.

Those two days have passed and i have no package and no response.

Now there are 2 points I'd like to make here;

1. it is entirely possible the package may still arrive. However, I've never seen any domestic ground package take more than 8 days. With that said, if it does arrive i will certainly update this thread with that info.

2. He had mentioned to me in one of his messages that he is a student. I am a very understanding person, and i know full well everyone is busy. We are all busy with our own lives and responsibilities. Keeping in mind the possibility of this package still arriving, i considered not posting this thread because i am aware of how busy life can get for people. That is when i decided to check this guys recent videos, and since i sent that last message asking for tracking info, this guy has made three new videos! I didn't take the time to watch them all, but one of them is a video congratulating another youtube channel for reaching the 500 subscription mark! I'm sorry but if you have enough time to make a video congratulating other youtube channels, you can definitely make the time to write me a quick note.

If there is anything worse than getting ripped off it's making the time and effort to write about, but aside from venting, warning all the good folks out there about potentially nightmarish deals is what the feedback section is all about.

So my advice... never buy, trade or deal with youtube guy URBNSpice (Shawn Tran).

UPDATE: 10/22
wow, apparently this kid has been receiving a lot of messages from many of you hounding him for being a scumbag. It has seemingly been a big part of an apology i just received, and a vow to have my money refunded by tomorrow afternoon. In the end we're only talking about $60, which may or may not seem like a lot of money to all of you. But, for all of us, i'm sure the principals in question here obviously, and heavily out weigh the monetary value.

I just want to thank everyone who got involved, again $60 isn't much, but right is right!

Thanks so much!

(btw-i'll be sure to let you all know if i actually even receive the money)
UPDATE: 10/26
The money has been refunded and since my last update, this whole thing became quite the circus. In the end, my hope is that this kid Shawn will truly learn some life lessons. I'm not gonna get into the fine details of this whole thing, but if you ever find yourself doing business with this kid, i would advise reading through this thread carefully. Aside from read only, i don't think there's anything else to do. It seems to me this was a "beginning" and "end" story, so i will lock this thread up. I know that in the past, if there are repeat offenses, people often piggy back off existing threads, by all means include this link if anyone has future problems with Shawn Tran. Otherwise, i think we can let this die, and give the kid a chance to dig himself out of a deep hole.

Thanks again to everyone who got involved!
 
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Keep us updated on the status of this deal. Like you said, it's been about a week since he supposedly shipped your knife and it could very well arrive tomorrow. In most situations like this, there's always a time when the outlook is bleak but makes a full 180 when the knife arrives...hopefully this is one of those time.
 
Hall of Shame is only for those designated by the Administrator as particularly poor performers. Certainly not for a deal that's still up in the air.

Merged two identical threads.
 
Esav Benyamin said:
Hall of Shame is only for those designated by the Administrator as particularly poor performers. Certainly not for a deal that's still up in the air.

Merged two identical threads.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the merger, i wasn't sure which of the two areas was more fitting. However, in response to your comment, I would think the complete lack of communication, combined with evidence of YouTube activity (video uploads within the time period of awaited messages) would certainly qualify as a poor performance. In otherwords, even if the knife arrived today, i maintain the opinion that ZERO communication in between is inappropriate, especially when the person is taking the time to create videos congratulating other YouTube buddies on hitting 500 subscribers. That to me IS poor performance, regardless of the shipping status.

However, if by "designation" you mean the hall of shame is reserved only for the use of administrators, I would humbly withdraw my submission.
 
safetyman said:
Keep us updated on the status of this deal. Like you said, it's been about a week since he supposedly shipped your knife and it could very well arrive tomorrow. In most situations like this, there's always a time when the outlook is bleak but makes a full 180 when the knife arrives...hopefully this is one of those time.
Click to expand...

i hope so too! although it does not change the fact that either way, it has been a terrible experience dealing with a person who never writes you back. especially when you know they've had the time to. i'll definitely keep you updated. thanks!
 
chadridv said:
However, if by "designation" you mean the hall of shame is reserved only for the use of administrators, I would humbly withdraw my submission.
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Yeah, the HoS is for guys who have been ripping people off for years, refuse to make good, change names and go back to their game.

Read some of the entries there and you can get real disgusted with humanity. :)
 
Esav Benyamin said:
Yeah, the HoS is for guys who have been ripping people off for years, refuse to make good, change names and go back to their game.

Read some of the entries there and you can get real disgusted with humanity. :)
Click to expand...

i gotcha... ok thanks for the clarification. you're right, poor performance or not, I can't quite condemn this guy to that level of disgust.

thanks again.
 
You bought a knife from someone on YouTube?!
And he told you he was on BF but would not give you his handle?
And you are surprised you got ripped off? Well, at least you did not use the PayPal gift option...
 
LorenzoL said:
You bought a knife from someone on YouTube?!
And he told you he was on BF but would not give you his handle?
And you are surprised you got ripped off? Well, at least you did not use the PayPal gift option...
Click to expand...

First off, your comment seems a bit redundant, since I explained in the very first line of the original post, it was the first and last time i make a deal outside of the forum. This guy has a lot of videos, over a long period of time and appears to have often put his gear up for sale without any indication of negativity.

Second, I am extremely disappointed in his lack of communication, (again, as I mention in the OP) it is entirely possible the knife may still show up, in which case, technically I won't have been "ripped off", just involved in a very ugly deal.

Third, the projected deal was a very good one. I didn't send him a fortune, actually it was a relatively small amount of money for a pretty nice knife. In fact It would be the smallest amount of money I had ever spent on a blade. So I guess my mentality was the risk was worth the reward.

Lastly, I never mentioned being "surprised", so although I appreciate you making an effort to comment on this thread, I don't see how your comment is either relevant or helpful.

Thanks anyway.
 
LorenzoL said:
Then wait for the outcome before posting in the GB&U.
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Please explain why?

Because it seems as if you think dealing with someone who will not respond to you whatsoever does not qualify as "bad" and "ugly". Personally, i would be glad to know someone has those negative characteristics prior to engaging in a deal with them, which is what this section is all about right? Warning the good people of others not so good. If you disagree with that, then obviously we don't see eye to eye.

And to be fair, i also state very clearly in my OP, if the knife shows up I will certainly update this thread with that information. However, in my opinion dealing with someone who never writes you back, is bad enough to be submitted to "the good, the bad and the ugly".
 
shappa said:
Maybe go to youtube and post in his vids asking where your knife is.
Click to expand...

:thumbup:

My point was that without his BF handle exposing him here would be pretty ineffective. I also doubt that many here would buy from a YouTube poster.
 
shappa said:
Maybe go to youtube and post in his vids asking where your knife is.
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Yep, that's a good idea. Thanks. Actualy it's funny, I even warned him that i would do stuff like that if he doesn't write me back. I even said i would make response videos to his videos telling the story, but the truth is, I don't want to. I don't want to take the time to make videos... What a pain. Anyway we'll see what happens. Thanks.
 
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LorenzoL said:
:thumbup:

My point was that without his BF handle exposing him here would be pretty ineffective. I also doubt that many here would buy from a YouTube poster.
Click to expand...

seriously? when was that your point? which sentence or group of sentences did you write that even closely reflects this being your point? was it this part...?
LorenzoL said:
"You bought a knife from someone on YouTube?!
And he told you he was on BF but would not give you his handle?
And you are surprised you got ripped off?"
Click to expand...

that clearly does not make any useful points, except to make you sound condescending and thoughtless.
 
LorenzoL said:
:thumbup:

My point was that without his BF handle exposing him here would be pretty ineffective. I also doubt that many here would buy from a YouTube poster.
Click to expand...

Well... looks like i've been blocked by the owner of that youtube channel. that does not bode well for him. i just tried to leave a comment. this is what i tried to write...

"you have never respond to any of my messages after i sent you money for an item on october 7th. I still do not have the knife, and worse i still have not heard back from you. PLEASE GET IN TOUCH WITH ME."
 
Condescending would sound like this:
Nobody I now would buy from a YouTube poster who claims to be on BF without asking him what his handle is and checking his feedback.
BTW, your last post seems to confirm you were ripped off.
Good luck.
 
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