Does anyone know the member on this forum dtravers? I sold him a Jon C flute about a month ago. The last time I heard from him was about 3 weeks ago. He said he recieved the flute and was sending a check in the mail. Since then I have not recieved a check and I wrote him numerous PM’s with no response. It safe to say I’m getting worried and I’m starting to fear the worse. If anyone can help me out please PM me.
Thanks,
Patrick
Patrick, at risk of stating the obvious, are you saying you sent a flute that was not paid for to someone you didn’t know?
I hope this individual comes through, but I think you are waaaaay too trusting.
Best of luck, but this may end up being an expensive lesson.
Anyone care to comment on how these things are usually handled? I know there are a lot of flutes changing hands around here, and it seems like someone has to part with something before the party of the second part, so it seems like someone is going to be taking a chance.
Oh man, that’s rough. Maybe something happened, and he’s out of touch. PC could have crashed, or he got sick or something.
At any rate, if you sent it to him, then I’d assume that you’ve got his address. Maybe you can locate a phone number from that. If not, then at least send him a letter, certified, return receipt requested, asking what’s up.
I’ve bought a flute from a member here, and sold it on several months later, also to a member. When buying, I used paypal, and when selling, the buyer sent me a check. I deposited it, made sure it cleared and sent the flute out. That’s the standard way, I’d think.
Good luck with this. I hope that things work out. I tend to think the best of people, and to expect that they’ll do the same, but there are folks out there who don’t feel the same way.
dow
Well, one party HAS to trust the other in these cases, where true identity is easily obscured, or we would never ever exchange flutes or whistles the way we do.
Perhaps there should be a separate trading forum that required special authentication of someone’s identity. But that would require a lot of effort from a webmaster etc. and would hardly be in their interest. Even commercial sites such as eBay are not crook-proof.
That said; it could be some other circumstance - good luck!
E.
dtravers = Derek
Patrick, when you say that you sent a number of PM’s, were they emails or C & F PM’s? From searching C & F postings, it doesn’t appear that Derek has posted since 2003, so I doubt that he is watching for PM’s. Since you also have the address where you mailed the flute, with a name and address you can usually find a telephone number.
There are a lot of reasons why a letter containing a payment will be weeks late. I have had several letters with checks that late, but all of the transactions were finally resolved. At this point I would give Derek the benefit of the doubt and expect that there is a good reason why you haven’t received the letter and you haven’t been able to contact him. I hope that this will soon be resolved successfully.
dtravers
Joined: 04 Jan 2003
Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2007 4:28 am
http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?p=618545&highlight=#618545
Derek is living in Vancouver. For some reason the flow of mail across the Canadian border into the USA is notoriously slow. On several occasions it has taken at least three weeks for me to receive a letter from Toronto, and that isn’t that far away.
Exactly. I’ve made probably 50 transactions with folks on the C&F. In one early one, the seller said he liked to have the cheque and whistle cross in the mail. That’s how I like to do things if it’s a poster I recognize who’s been around here awhile. If it’s someone new or who I don’t recognize, I’ll wait to receive the payment.
Hi Patrick,
I am sure it is just slow mail, I have never seen a dishonest C&Fer! I mean everyone here is solid! I always ship out before I get any money, I mean if you can’t trust flute players, who can you trust? Doug is right that Canada mail is soooo slooow! 
And don’t forget the prcasternation factor, “well I will send the check tomorrow, after I find a stamp…”
Good luck!
I hope that it’s just a slower process because it had to cross a boarder. I’m def. at fought for not using some other kind of payment plan but at the same time I’ve been selling,trading, and buying stuff off this forum for years and never had a problem. I think the ease of it resulted into carelessness. However, if i’m wrong about this person i will apologize publicly for hurting their image but not until they (cross my fingers) prove me wrong.
Patrick,
enjoy the weekend
I know I will!!
As a buyer, I would generally expect to have the seller receive my payment before he/she sends me the goods. Yes, there is some trust involved (and usually big $$!). However, it is surprising how much info you can get through the forum by reading old posts. Also, often another forum member who personally knows the seller will vouch for them publicly as well. I guess they could both be in a scam together, but it seems unlikely that someone would engage in avid public discussion for years and then suddenly disappear at the prospect of a quick buck.
Is it a crossed check, i.e. issued to a specific receiver? If not, the shipper might refuse to transport it. I’m working for DHL and we occasionally check mailings from private customers for dangerous goods, forbidden items etc., and we are not allowed to send up cash, jewelry and non-crossed checks.
Hi Patrick,
I also agree that it could easily be the Canadian mail. I had a letter take over a month once.
You could likely Google the name and address and come up with a phone number. I think it’s good idea to get a phone number up front to prevent this sort of thing (the worrying I mean).
Doc
After all this time, it seems to me he’d be in touch by now. Even if he doesn’t log onto this site often, he’d have gotten an email notice of the PMs you’ve sent. If nothing else, I would have expected an acknowledgement of his receipt of the flute.
In short, it’s not looking good.
optional feature…
(what he said is that there is a check box on the profile update page.)
Isn’t it the default setting, though? Besides, it seems a little too convenient that he wouldn’t use it, especially whilst in the midst of a transaction. To me, the lack of a check is heavily compounded by the lack of availability.
Have you tried phoning?
http://findaperson.canada411.ca/
I don’t remember if it is the default, I don’t see that it matters much, it’s a choice.
My e-mail is visable, there is a link to my web site and I’ve chosen to use my name. (okay the one I go by not the version that my parents choose.) My chooses, yours are different.
I can not say what an other person’s reasons are for the choices made in their profile.
No argument, Denny. I’m just pointing out that it seems unlikely that a person doing business with someone on this site would be so hard to reach. I don’t think that it’s a coincidence. Time will tell, of course but I hope anyone reading this thread takes a lesson from it.
It’s easy to check if a person has seen your PM. If the message
is still in your Outbox, it has not been seen by the recipient.
If it is in your SentBox, the person has looked at it.