Bad Trader: @evilhead

Obviously not a bad trader, and a bad trader thread was unwarranted here. However, cut OP some slack. He is new to this and became worried, likely due to inexperience. These threads have become a forum for people looking for a reason to jump all over someone and it is really disconcerting. I think I would almost prefer seeing only admins and involved parties authorized to post at this point, since I personally believe that there are a great deal of individuals getting their rocks off just by having a reason to give anyone a hard time. It looks pathetic.

 

He was out some big beers and didn't have any communication for a week. I would have been VERY nervous myself. Most of the people I have dealt with respond within 24 hours.

 

It would be nice if everybody answered promptly and had good communications skills. However, if you read what I wrote the OP didn't follow the rules. Tired of the end justifies the means. OP probably knew what he was doing and how to do it. There are rules (guidelines) written to be followed. Of course, if you post a Bad Thread you'll get quicker results. But that's not the point. Maybe the dynamic duo of @F2brewers @blue-dream can give clarity (or have the guidelines updated with more details of warning your trade partner and time to wait).

 

This isn't about etiquette and perceived bad communication, this is about whether there should be a bad trader thread or not. You already stated this guy is not a bad trader. End of story, this thread should not even exist.

 

To play devil's advocate a bit: Let's say OP waited a month to post this thread (at which point I think we'd all agree a thread is warranted) and then his partner did in fact turn out to be a legitimate bad trader (i.e., thief). We'd all be jumping down his throat for not posting sooner and potentially allowing others to be screwed.

As with 99% of bad trader threads in which actual theft is not involved, communication could've been better all around.

 

Agreed, this isn't about etiquette, but if you have to wait until you have been actively screwed before creating these threads they serve no purpose at all other than to flag a bad trader who will be banned the same day by a mod.

You don't have to be a bad trader for the thread to be started - you just have to meet the criteria, and as @NiceBeerCans and i have been discussing - this isn't even that clear a criteria. I mean, no communication for a week and you have tried all the methods you have to contact them? Fits the bill for starting one of these threads - the mitigating factor here is the holidays, so the OP could have waited a few more days and tried one more time...

Absolutely this. a week at the holidays was a bit short. A month is way too long... but a week under normal circumstances is a really, really long time...

 

The way I read your posts, @homerunhitter7 only sent out the original message (with tracking number) and a follow-up three days later during the holiday period. Did it show that @evilhead read the message at that time? @evilhead Do you have anything to add to this discussion? Looks like you need to work on those communication skills.

 

And I don't buy into this either.

As mentioned, OP is damned if he does, damned if he doesn't. There's a wing that's pissed if the "warning" is too soon, & another wing that's pissed if the "warning" is done too late, & another contingent that will nit pick every time somebody puts up a bad trader thread.

I don't know why people have to make this so complicated. The guy didn't communicate for a full week. That's not acceptable. Then he was called out & responded right away. Seems like everything worked out to me.

 

There really is nothing in the rules about how much time to wait before starting a bad trader thread, other than "exhausting all methods of contact." If the traders involved don't supply each other with outside contact particulars like e-mail, phone number etc. then this can be exhausted pretty quickly. Perhaps requiring a phone number exchange as a pre-requisite to using the bad trader forum would get more people doing what they should be doing already? I don't know.

To my mind, if you are comfortable sending a box of beer to someone without getting proper details on how you can communicate with them should something go wrong (phone number, e-mail, shipping address, full name), you are implicitly comfortable losing that box of beer whether you think you are or not.

The question I always have in these cases is "Why wouldn't you ask for outside contact particulars?" I've never seen a good answer to this. "I've never needed it before," "This is my first bad experience" and "I didn't think of that" are not good answers. They may explain why you never needed to use that information in the past, but they don't explain why you shouldn't ask for it. This is the internet after all, where everything written is the whole truth all the time...

That said, unless you are dead, on life support, or being probed by aliens on a ship without wifi, if you agree to a trade, it doesn't matter how hectic life gets, prompt communication is part of the agreement. If you know that you are going to be unusually busy over the holidays, let your partner know that at the outset. Even if an issue arises that is wholly unexpected. a quick note to say: "Life falling apart. Need more time to ship. Sorry" is warranted. I mean, unless you eat way too much fibre, you can probably crank that out while you are cranking one out, as it were. We all have a couple minutes alone every day, no matter how bad a day we are having... If you can't be bothered to do that, then don't be surprised if a bad trader thread is started with a link to your handle. If you really were incapacitated to a point that prevented you from all forms of communication, people will understand, and your reputation will be restored. If you are unexpectedly busy or simply forgot to send a message when it is expected, leaving your trade partner in limbo for several days or more, then that is all information about you that other potential trade partners might want to know.




Apologies... slow day at work...

 

Locking this down as the op has reached out to us and said its resolved. Locking and leaving up for reference as usual.