@GonzoHomebrewer and I agreed to a trade on February 17th. I was to send Veritas 015 and Beer Geek Speedway for Vanilla Rye and 3-4 Trillium beers to balance the cost. I sent a trade request and he accepted and we exchanged shipping info. We agreed to ship the Monday after I was to receive my beers from CA. Everything seemed fine so I shipped out on Monday march 16th. At this point he stopped responding to me, the beers were delivered on the 19th. I sent multiple messages and I could see that he was online and had read them but didn't respond. He finally responded on the 21st saying he'd had a family emergency, he was sorry and that he would make it right. He said he would pick up the trillium beers tuesday the 24th and ship out either that day or the next. I said that was fine and appreciated the update. Tuesday and Wednesday came and went I messaged him several times for updates, he read the messages and had time to rate a few beers but didn't respond. Now he hasn't been on since Thursday. So here we are.
Ugh...of all people, it happened to you? Have you tried reaching out to him by phone? Two of my trade partners, @pizzarrhea and @Kevincredible, traded with him IP and left good reviews. Maybe they can provide you with @GonzoHomebrewer 's phone number if you don't have it. Good luck, brother!
Come on @GonzoHomebrewer! As a fellow MA trader, you're really bringing me down. OP, if this doesn't get resolved, message me and I'll hook you up with some Trill.
Thanks @mythaeus, if one of those guys has a phone number that'd be great. Unfortunately I didn't get his number.
Sucks that this is happening/happened to you. I wish I had an extra Vanilla Rye to send along with your horizon society beer. Hopefully @GonzoHomebrewer pulls thru for you!
Couldn't go on forever, but it has been a while since a bad trader thread was started. Come on @GonzoHomebrewer and stop hurting home brewers reputations.
Feedback is all positve and he's been a pretty active member on BA for some time. I think there's good reason to be optimistic that there's been some sort of misunderstanding/miscommunication, but that eventually this can be resolved amicably.
Got an email from FedEx saying my package is on the way. Still no word from @GonzoHomebrewer though. Hopefully this all works out
The agreed upon beers arrived today with generous extras. I left appropriate feedback given the situation, @blue-dream this thread can be closed unless @GonzoHomebrewer would like to add anything. Thanks to all the great BAs that offered to help, it's nice to be part of such a generous community. Cheers everyone!
One of the things apparent in his overall fb is that most, perhaps all, of his previous fb is from IP trades. Some people shine on IP trades but fall down when shipping. @ldhughes3 I really like your suggestion that people require him to ship 1st. IF he's wise he'll suggest it himself to help prevent future problems. @GonzoHomebrewer note that if you opt to ship 1st that will help alleviate problems with shipping lag but it doesn't in any way relieve you of responsibility to fulfill your responsibilities. IF you agree to ship 1st then simply neglect to ship, the other person might not be out any beer, but s/he has probably lost numerous opportunities to make the trade with someone else. IF you're trading for highly sought after beers that rankles despite not being out anything but missed opportunities. Note too that if you're trading for hoppy brews freshness is an issue. Regardless of who ships 1st people want their DIPA/IPAs in a timely fashion. Neutral fb means that your rep hasn't taken a serious hit. It's up to you to see that a similar situation doesn't arise again.
Really sorry this happened to you Lew. Hope everything else is going good for you bud. Glad it all worked out in the end
Agreed, and I think it's understandable that this should be so. For someone who hasn't traded before, or who has traded on only a limited basis, shipping beer can be an unexpected hassle (which is why I do it so infrequently). It takes time and resources just to organize the beers you plan to ship. Right size box, tape, wrapping paper, boxing everything up so that it's safe to ship... plus finding the time to head over to the local UPS or Fedex store; coming up with the scratch to send it off; and sometimes just dealing with the store staff (as of course it's illegal to ship beer in most states). Even the weather can be a concern, as I learned with a box of bourbonic plague I shipped a couple years ago (anyone in the mood for a BP popsicle?). With all those concerns and considerations, it's easy to put it off, put it off, and put it off, waiting for a convenient time to box the beer up and drive it over to the store. At least in my mind, the sort of scenario that seems to have played out here is no surprise at all. In any event, it's good to hear to that everything worked out in the end. It would be nice if gonzohomebrewer could chime in with his side of the story, but my guess is at this point he probably won't.
John is right. If you want to trade, there's a certain amount of minimum baseline effort involved to male sure you can carry through. If you're worried about costs, don't get hooked...keep things simple. Losing a box (if you trade enough, it *will* happen) can be devasating. My wife only half jokes that part of our basement is actually a shipping and receiving center. I've got all kinds of shipping stuff down there. That said, if you've got any nice Oregon bottles, John, let me know if you need anything from Boston.
Nice bottles from Oregon? There's no such thing. My wants are all the usual things from the NW (Alchemy, HF, Lawson's stuf, etc.). Anyway, I'll shoot you a beermail, with a list of current "nice" offerings from Oregon. If you see anything you like, I'm sure I'll be able to come up with something from your neck of the woods that I might want.
