[gws226]

Hey folks,
I figured the all wise members of TSG might be able to lend a hand with my little brothers dilemna

My brother sold currency for a certain video game online a few weeks back. Apparently this is a very common thing, people trade ingame products for cash all the time

Anyways, he sold his game currency for $500! Being that he was not selling a physical product he was very leary about people claiming fraud, so he documented the entire transcation, what he was selling, the game information, all conversations, and even the actuall transfer of the item.

A couple of days after he completed everything and the person thanked him for the sale he got a note from paypal saying the seller claimed to have never received the product! My brother went through the whole procedure, gave paypal all the documentation that he had saved..... but Paypal informed him yesterday that he had lost the claim and he must payback the buyer!

He really did deliver the product to the seller, and apparently if you read the sellers feedback he has pulled this scam on the last 3 or 4 transcations he has done (and won them all)

I advised my brother to put a hold on transcations in his checking account until this thing is really "resolved" but we really don't know what (if anything) he can do?

Has anyone here been scammed like this? Is there anything he do?

Thanks for the help
G

 

[valley]

Anyways, he sold his game currency for $500! Being that he was not selling a physical product he was very leary about people claiming fraud, so he documented the entire transcation, what he was selling, the game information, all conversations, and even the actuall transfer of the item.

If he recorded the actual transfer of the item then how can anyone deny that the transaction took place?

My brother went through the whole procedure, gave paypal all the documentation that he had saved..... but Paypal informed him yesterday that he had lost the claim and he must payback the buyer!

He really did deliver the product to the seller, and apparently if you read the sellers feedback he has pulled this scam on the last 3 or 4 transcations he has done (and won them all)

I advised my brother to put a hold on transcations in his checking account until this thing is really "resolved" but we really don't know what (if anything) he can do?

I would suggest small claims court and let a judge decide. His documentation against the defendant's "say so" could very well sway a judge, especially if there is evidence that the person has scammed people before. Have him provide copies of the guys rating report from the other people who got scammed. Better yet...have him contact the other people and ask if they will provide him with a notarized statement that he can show the judge...and offer to do the same for them if they want to take the guy to court.

Good luck with it G. Let us know how it turns out in the end, whatever he chooses to do.

 

[somefellow]

yea right ..he has to pay him back ! not his problem , the onus should be on the buyer to prove he didn`t receive the product ....but of course put a hold on the cheqing account until it is solved and contact the others that ran into him and forward all correspondance to paypal.

 

[AKA Arizona]

Like Vally said Small claims court..............
BTW what was the buyers name? my in-laws buy and sell armor on Dark age of Camelot.
Oh ya, have him change his banking info so Pay Pal can not automaticlly remove the funds from his account or just close the whole thing until its resolved..............

 

[THoey]

Unfortunately G, he is not going to get any support from the gaming software community at all. They are very much against this tactic and are definitely not going to use any resources to assist him in doing something they are against.

It is not illegal, but it could be considered immoral, especially if the software company provided documentation showing that this is discouraged and accounts can be cancelled for such actions, I don't see even a small claims court doing anything about it.

Yes, I play one of these online games... We don't allow sellers into our group and kick out those that we find doing it.

Sorry G, not much help here...

 

[valley]

Yes, I play one of these online games... We don't allow sellers into our group and kick out those that we find doing it.

I'm not sure I understand anything about these games you guys are talking about. Care to shed some light on it? What so important about the games that you'd want to sell anyways? And for 500 bucks!!!

Just curious.

 

[THoey]

As mentioned, we don't sell and don't allow those that do into our group. We like playing the game for the fact of playing the game. The people who do the buying are those that want to not have to "work" to build up there "character". Those that sell are capitalists, but they take away from those of us that struggle to build up.

My son and I played since June of last year. We had one PC, one version of the software, each having a character and took turns playing. For Christmas, we got a new PC and another copy of the game. The company will not transfer characters between the software licenses because they feel that someone will build a charcter and then sell it to someone. So, I basically lost 6 months worth of play, and started completely over again.

For five hundred bucks, he must had sold a lot (millionS) of game cash that can be used to purchase supplies or the supplies themselves.

 

[AKA Arizona]

I'm not sure I understand anything about these games you guys are talking about. Care to shed some light on it? What so important about the games that you'd want to sell anyways? And for 500 bucks!!!

Just curious.

Its is Supply and Demand pure and simple, Some folks that play games online only have a limited amount of time to play, some that play for hours on end have greater skills, those skills or fashioned items are saved in the users computer and can be bought and sold for real $$$$$ My brother-in-law has a carater in a game that is a top level armor builder, he can sell his armor to ?? a player in the game that finds him in the relm, the purchase in the game is usually something that allows him build better armor, a higher armor rating will help you win battles on the other hand a player can contact him outside the relm and offer to buy his product for real $$$ ........................

 

[gws226]

Like Vally said Small claims court..............
BTW what was the buyers name? my in-laws buy and sell armor on Dark age of Camelot.
Oh ya, have him change his banking info so Pay Pal can not automaticlly remove the funds from his account or just close the whole thing until its resolved..............

Paypal said that he lost his case.

Since its fictional money, my brother just gave the person his in game account..... that person then logs into and does whatever he wants to do (obviously the culprit logged into the account, extracted all the funds from it, then said the account was empty when he filed the claim)

I believe this practice is frowned on in teh gaming world as stated above, but there are sites similiar to ebay that are devoted to just such a thing. My brother decided to quit playing this one game and move onto another one, thats why he sold the account.

 

[lisaa7002]

Did he CALL paypal? I have had several phone conversations with them ( their support people are actually helpful) & I believe that you can make yourself clearer & I think that half the reports through email are probably just skimmed over. Have him call (if he hasn't already) and explain. He should also report him immediately to ebay. Good luck! Lisa (eaddict7002)

 

[AKA Arizona]

Did he CALL paypal? I have had several phone conversations with them ( their support people are actually helpful) & I believe that you can make yourself clearer & I think that half the reports through email are probably just skimmed over. Have him call (if he hasn't already) and explain. He should also report him immediately to ebay. Good luck! Lisa (eaddict7002)

Pass along some phone numbers... trampping arond in the Pay Pal web site it is almost impossible to get a phone number................

 

[hermes]

I know its the wrong thing to say, but a colleague of mine was scammed on ebay by someone who had used the "buy good feedback" sellers. Fortunately for him the seller had their address on there. My colleague and his brother paid them a visit at christmas and everything is ok now........................

 

[Ciberblade]

I have no love for paypal...and rather than go into it...here is a link

www.paypalsucks.com

**note - I know people who use and enjoy the system with no problems**

 

[gws226]

Yea, Im not a big fan of paypal myself. It definately has it merrits, but if you encounter someone who wants to rip you off, they absolutely can.

I bought something a long time ago, and never got it, filed a claim with paypal and "won" but they said the seller didn't have any money in account and I shyte outta luck

Now my little bro does a completely honest deal selling something and now he's getting scammed.

if you can come up some telephone numbers for him to call I would appreciate it.... I mean the kid documented EVERY aspect of the transcation just to make sure the buyer wouldn't turn around and make a claim like this.

 

[somefellow]

wow that google is something else ! all i had to enter was " paypal phone number " and look what popped up !


# PayPal official customer service number

* 402-935-7733
* "in case of unauthorized transactions, payment problems, errors or questions about your account, you should notify PayPal immediately"

# PayPal toll free number

* (888) 221-1161

 

[Infidel_Kastro]

Yea, Im not a big fan of paypal myself. It definately has it merrits, but if you encounter someone who wants to rip you off, they absolutely can.

I bought something a long time ago, and never got it, filed a claim with paypal and "won" but they said the seller didn't have any money in account and I shyte outta luck

Now my little bro does a completely honest deal selling something and now he's getting scammed.

if you can come up some telephone numbers for him to call I would appreciate it.... I mean the kid documented EVERY aspect of the transcation just to make sure the buyer wouldn't turn around and make a claim like this.

Phone number for Paypal can be found HERE

 

[Infidel_Kastro]

I found this online, and it tied into this topic, as well, I believe, on one that SoE just posted in another thread:

Gamer buys $26,500 virtual land

Would you pay money for this virtual vista?
A 22-year-old gamer has spent $26,500 (£13,700) on an island that exists only in a computer role-playing game (RPG).
The Australian gamer, known only by his gaming moniker Deathifier, bought the island in an online auction.

The land exists within the game Project Entropia, an RPG which allows thousands of players to interact with each other.

Entropia allows gamers to buy and sell virtual items using real cash, while fans of other titles often use auction site eBay to sell their virtual wares.

Earlier this year economists calculated that these massively multi-player online role-playing games (MMORPGs) have a gross economic impact equivalent to the GDP of the African nation of Namibia.

Investment prospects

"This is a historic moment in gaming history, and this sale only goes to prove that massive multi-player online gaming has reached a new plateau," said Marco Behrmann, director of community relations at Mindark, the game's developer.

ISLAND PACKAGE

A unique castle (furniture not included)
Hunting
Mining rights
Taxation rights on hunting and mining activities
Income from the sale of land lots
The virtual island includes a gigantic abandoned castle and beautiful beaches which are described as ripe for developing beachfront property.

Deathifier will make money from his investment as he is able to tax other gamers who come to his virtual land to hunt or mine for gold.

He has also begun to sell plots to people who wish to build virtual homes.

"This type of investment will definitely become a trend in online gaming," said Deathifier.

The Entopia economy lets gamers exchange real currency into PED (Project Entropia Dollars) and back again into real money.

Ten PEDs are the equivalent to one US dollar and typical items sold include iron ingots ($5) and shogun armour ($1.70)

Gamers can theoretically earn money by accumulating PEDs through the acquisition of goods, buildings, and land in the Entropia universe.

MMORPGs have become enormously popular in the last 10 years with hundreds of thousands of gamers living out alternate lives in fantasy worlds.

Almost 200,000 people are registered players on Project Entropia.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4104731.stm&author_id=28&headline=Gamer%20Buys%20$26,500%20Virtual%20Land