Scam Warning

[Predrag Trpkov]

His member name is XHipHop, his real name is Robert Thompson and lives in Tobyhanna, PA or at least that's where he was located in February this year, when I sent him the money for the Aphex EQ he had offered through the Gearslutz forum (Gearslutz Secondhand gear classifieds). I never received the EQ and the seller has refused to reply to my emails and personal messages in the past several months.

I reported this to the Gearslutz forum a month ago, but he hasn't responded, although he's been logging-in there regularly. For more details click here:

http://gearslutz.com/board/showthrea...5&pagenumber=2

This is his Ebay score from three years ago. Same m.o.:

http://feedback.ebay.com/ws1/eBayISA...ipHop&items=25

He's been banned from selling stuff through the Gearslutz forum, but he's recently offered some equipment here.

Buyer beware.

[BurnBarfield]

Thanks for the heads up!

[XHipHop]

First I want to point out that Predrag is from Croatia...not somewhere that I can easily prove that I sent an eq to!

Second, Predrag, I'm sorry for this. It definitely should not have come this far but in my mind from the beginning I though i was getting scammed! I guess this wouldn't have gone this far if I was though, and the burden of proof does fall on me.

The only way to "fix" this problem is to either (a) give you your money back which i would gladly do or (b) buy another aphex 109 and send it to you. If you choose the second option, does anyone know a courier with a tracking number that goes to Croatia!? (dhl!?)

I guess I'd prefer the first one just because it is less of a hassle but it is your choice (if you even want to dignify this post with a response...).

Look, I wouldn't want to rip someone off over $115 but at the same time, I REALLY didn't want to get ripped off over $115 (or 710.13 Cr. Kuna). So I guess there lies a bit of a contradiction...but i've never (to my knowledge) received a call from Predrag which to me threw up a red flag...I guess I was wrong about that.

I make enough money from recording to pay my bills and make possible a small gear purchase each month like most people on this board. Most of my gear comes from buying and selling right here, and I'm sure I've had over 75 transactions in the past two years on the various boards.

Predrag, I appologize for not answering your emails and delaying this for this long. If I can fix the problem in any way I'd like to...I know it is too little too late but I'd like to try.

Alright, that's that. It's kind of uncomfortable writing something like this but I hope it at least solves this one issue.

Bob

[Blue Bear Sound]

xHipHop.........

AS an outsider to whatever the situation is between you a Predrag, I gotta tell you it looks pretty suspicious. If it were just the one case, maybe not, but all that negative feedback form many others doesn't bode too well for you and your credibility...........

Personally, regardless of whether you resolve the issue with Predrag or not, it would be enough to put me off of ever dealing with you.

[XHipHop]

Yeah, I think has finished me as far as selling on the internet goes. I hope people will still meet me face to face and inspect gear they are interested in although that is not likely either.

I also hope people will still sell gear to me.

I just sold a Urei La3a that should be arriving on monday and a Digimax that should be arriving on monday as well.

I appologize again and if i owe anyone money or gear (i don't think i do other than Predrag) please email me and I will settle it.

I don't think I'm going to respond to this thread anymore because I've said all I can say but if anyone wants to discuss anything with me personally waste@aol.com is my email.

Last, I've NEVER seen that gearslutz thread for the record! I swear!

Bob

[ChristopherDawn]

Wait! You said HE sent you the money and then you didn't ship him the unit because you were afraid of being scammed? I don't see how that works.

[Predrag Trpkov]

Originally Posted by XHipHop

First I want to point out that Predrag is from Croatia...not somewhere that I can easily prove that I sent an eq to!

First I want to point out that croatian postal service has just switched from ox to horse carriages which should speed up your heroic mission considerably. Oh wait, you only need to prove that you sent the package, not that it actually went overseas and that I received it. Well then, unless you put the Aphex eq in the bottle and threw it into the ocean, there should be a way to prove it. By the way, what do you think you proved by stopping the communication altogether?

Originally Posted by XHipHop

Second, Predrag, I'm sorry for this. It definitely should not have come this far but in my mind from the beginning I though i was getting scammed! I guess this wouldn't have gone this far if I was though, and the burden of proof does fall on me.

This certainly wouldn't have gone this far if, after being informed that the package never arrived, you "checked to see what you can do at the post office tomorrow", which is what you said you'd do in your last email exactly four months ago.

Mind you, I have friends in the U.S. and any of them, with a little help from you, could have investigated matters with the USPS. A copy of the receipt presented back then would have freed you from any responsability, as far as I'm concerned. It would have also given me a chance to try and track the parcel.

But back then I believed you had actually sent the parcel.

Originally Posted by XHipHop

The only way to "fix" this problem is to either (a) give you your money back which i would gladly do or (b) buy another aphex 109 and send it to you. If you choose the second option, does anyone know a courier with a tracking number that goes to Croatia!? (dhl!?)

I guess I'd prefer the first one just because it is less of a hassle but it is your choice (if you even want to dignify this post with a response...).

Look, I wouldn't want to rip someone off over $115 but at the same time, I REALLY didn't want to get ripped off over $115 (or 710.13 Cr. Kuna). So I guess there lies a bit of a contradiction...but i've never (to my knowledge) received a call from Predrag which to me threw up a red flag...I guess I was wrong about that.

You're right. This is really not about the figures. Because if it was big money, someone would have already knocked on your door. This is a matter of principles. You take my money and disappear. I don't quite like it. Then I find out that you've pulled that exact trick before, on Ebay, more than once. That's called pattern. Now, $140 (well, I had to pay the Western Union fee and, by the way, it was the price you asked and I sent you extra $5, just in case) is not too high a price for such a valuable knowledge, but we still have a problem. I can't resist the urge to share it with the world. You can call it a defect of my warm Slavic soul. You see, my mother was born in the same village as Nikola Tesla. That one could have been the richest guy in the world, but he couldn't have cared less for patents. He did it all for the benefit of the mankind. But I digress.

Anyway, now we have a clear situation. Anybody who would consider buying something from you will have an access to the information. They'll be able to figure out in advance what dealing with you can turn into and now they'll also be able to figure out if you're capable of resolving such situations, which largely depends on how you're going to act in the coming several days.

Originally Posted by XHipHop

I make enough money from recording to pay my bills and make possible a small gear purchase each month like most people on this board. Most of my gear comes from buying and selling right here, and I'm sure I've had over 75 transactions in the past two years on the various boards.

Predrag, I appologize for not answering your emails and delaying this for this long. If I can fix the problem in any way I'd like to...I know it is too little too late but I'd like to try.

Feel free to send me another(?) Aphex 109. It would be the right thing to do after all. There was one offered yesterday on r.a.p. and the asking price was quite similar to yours.

Predrag

Originally Posted by XHipHop

Alright, that's that. It's kind of uncomfortable writing something like this but I hope it at least solves this one issue.

Bob[/QUOTE]

[Blue Bear Sound]

Originally Posted by Predrag Trpkov

Feel free to send me another(?) Aphex 109. It would be the right thing to do after all. There was one offered yesterday on r.a.p. and the asking price was quite similar to yours.

Hmm - maybe it was the one you had bought, but he resold instead of shipping to you??!?!? You know, kind of like airlines overbooking flights!!!

(sorry - couldn't resist!)

xHiphop, Bob, whatever -- I strongly suggest you do the right thing..........

[Predrag Trpkov]

Originally Posted by Blue Bear Sound

Hmm - maybe it was the one you had bought, but he resold instead of shipping to you??!?!? You know, kind of like airlines overbooking flights!!!

(sorry - couldn't resist!)

I'm obviously not the only one to whom such a thought springs to mind first.

And I've seen a lot of Aphex 109s for sale in the past several months.

Only, the airlines would at least give your money back, no questions asked.

Predrag

[HangDawg]

That's one crappy Ebay rating. This shit really pisses me off cause I just went through some crap with Choke Slam on ebay. The guy sent me a smashed noise gate and tried to tell me it wasn't that way when it was packed. Huh, right!


Anyhow this guy is only 100 miles from me. Maybe I can go rough him up for ya.

[t_chance]

What does he go by on ebay so I know not to deal with him.

[kragbax]

What does who go buy on eBay? XHipHop? Click the link in the first post on this topic - it has his ebay rating. If you mean Choke Slam, good question. Unless that's what he goes by on Ebay too.

Ahhh.. the digital world... where anyone with an internet connection can rip you off from hundreds of miles away. They make it waaaaayyy too easy. Some legitimate escrow service should be almost mandatory these days. Course.. there's always live and learn

-Krag

[H2oskiphil]

Watch out for soundman05 on eBay. He got me (and another guy-same item) for a ART stereo 31 band EQ back in February. He disappeared for a while, but I just noticed that he's bidding on eBay again, so it may not be long until he's selling again as well....

[kragbax]

Just noticed he's "selling" a Ghost over at Sweetwater:
http://www.sweetwater.com/tradingpos...91889495558210

Some people really need to find another line of work.

-Krag

[Rev E]

Seriously, that guy was busted just like this case at Gearslutz. He (Bob, if that's he real name) had the quasi-articulate response that on one level made it appear that he was on the up and up. It's only after realizing that he bilked his victim out of the victims money for 3 months that you had to say Bob was full of it. This thread goes the same way. If you did in fact send the stuff, there's NO reason whatsoever to cut off email communication if the guy says he didn't get it. XHiphop and others like him are just effing it up for all the rest of honest sellers and buyers. What he's done is a crime and it's a shame.

Oh, and that Sweetwater thing. On Gearslutz it was revealed that Sweetwater banned him for his nefarious activities. I believe he was using the XHiphop moniker on sweetwater. Evidently, he's switched to Bob Thompson to elude the authorities. Personally, this guy must be a serial scammer or has a drug problem or something. I'm seriously ashamed both for him AND his mother.

[ausrock]

What it equates to is "Internet Fraud".

There is an Aussie guy sitting in a LA jail at the moment for selling non existant Lakers play-off tickets and other stuff on Ebay.........he is facing up to 5 yrs once convicted. Admittedly, he was dealing in "big buck" items, but it is still the same.........FRAUD!!!

[bgavin]

I have had a few of these vermin with my eBay transactions.

There is nothing you can do to prosecute them, so the alternative is chasing them down and notifying their victims and hosts. Cock roaches like this scurry from rock to rock. They move when somebody shines a light on them.

Has anybody contacted Sweetwater yet and provided them with this information?

[kragbax]

I did leave a feedback at Sweetwater explaining that 'waste@aol.com' is XHipHop who has been commiting fraud all over the place, and left a link to this and other forum topics regarding it. As of yesterday the mixer was still listed on Sweetwaters trading post, but it IS the weekend.

I really can't stand people who rip honest people off. It not only sucks for the people who lose the money, but for other honest people trying to sell their own used gear. Frankly I just won't make a purchase from someone anymore unless I can
a) see the item up front, or
b) get the item prior to sending my cash (why is your item worth more then my cash that I should send it first? - at least you can send an item COD, and/or prove a package was delivered); or
c) The person has a legitimate verifiable business location where the item is being sold from. Legitimate business owners are less likely to be scamming people (IMO), or possibly
d) the seller has a ton of positive feedback from a wide variety of sources

-Krag

[XHipHop]

Predrag emailed me personally and told me this is the only place he will correspond with me. So here I am. I said in my last post that people should contact me via email about all of this and for the record I got zero emails about it until Predrag's yesterday.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Predrag,

If you want an Aphex 109 I will surely send you one.

I want to make sure the address I have of yours is correct do you want me to post it here or should I post it here or can I verify via email? Whichever is better for you.

Bob

--------------------------------------------------------------------
To everyone else:

Predrag more or less sent me an email saying "well, so what are you going to do?" and I was very confused because I didn't realize that he responded to me here. I post my email address everywhere and my phone numbers is everywhere as well...I'm not hiding from anything/one. I feel like this is getting twisted into some George Bush bombed the world trade center conspiracy theory.

Last, as far as the mixer goes that I'm selling on sweetwater it is already sold and will be picked up by the buyer in person. I'll probably be selling a Sony DMX-R100 sometime next week. That one is available for pick up as well.

I'd appreciate it if 3rd parties didn't go around emailing sites claiming I've done this or that. You've never dealt with me and all you have is 2nd hand information about me. If you think I shouldn't be posting something somewhere email ME and I'll remove it if you have a point. If someone I've commited 'fraud' against would like to email those sites though they are totally within their rights, I suppose. I just don't like the mob mentality let's lynch the guilty guy!!!

Ps. I'm not guilty...like Kobe.

Pps. I've had two transactions in the last two weeks. One is a La3a which went smoothly and the buyer got it just fine. The other is a Digimax which turned out to be broken and I tried to replace it. I couldn't so they are getting their money back in full. My only other "bad transaction" I can recall is a Drawmer 1969 I sold had a mysterious hiss on one preamp that happened to me once and went away. I could not reproduce the problem no matter what I did. Shortly after I sold it the problem occurred for the user. I always used those pres for overheads so the problem was definitely gone for a long time because my overhead tracks did not have the hiss. This transaction was with a really nice guy from Brooklyn and I hope Drawmer found a way to take care of it. Just being honest and trying to reveal my "track record".

Ppps. About the ebay thing. There is a reason there is a class-action lawsuit going around against paypal. They indescriminately froze people's accounts left and right a few years back and people not only lost thousands of dollars but also had their businesses damaged. This is a fact! Look at paypalwarning.com, paypalsucks.com, etc. Moreover, paypal tells me that I'm not the owner of the waste@aol.com screen name even though I've had this name as long as I can remember. They tell me that they'll give me my paypal account back after they call the "real owner" and of course they never call me back. This has been an unresolved issue that's gone on for years. I have no been on ebay since then because I can't get these frozen funds. I hope this lawsuit against paypal works out.

-----------------------------------------------------

Rev E...I just reread your post. I don't know what you're talking about! Honestly!

I think this Aphex 109 is the only thing I've ever sold over Gearslutz. I usually think my gear isn't high end enough for that place which suprises me that someone from there actually wanted this EQ.

Either you are misinformed or you're just posting things that aren't true!

Can you check up on your facts and please get back to me. And yes, my name IS Bob.

[Treeline]

Stop whining. Deliver the unit to Predrag and then leave.

[HangDawg]

Originally Posted by Treeline

Stop whining. Deliver the unit to Predrag and then leave.

Yea, really! I don't think you'll be making a whole lot of sales round these parts.

[acorec]

Originally Posted by kragbax

I did leave a feedback at Sweetwater explaining that 'waste@aol.com' is XHipHop who has been commiting fraud all over the place, and left a link to this and other forum topics regarding it. As of yesterday the mixer was still listed on Sweetwaters trading post, but it IS the weekend.

I really can't stand people who rip honest people off. It not only sucks for the people who lose the money, but for other honest people trying to sell their own used gear. Frankly I just won't make a purchase from someone anymore unless I can
a) see the item up front, or
b) get the item prior to sending my cash (why is your item worth more then my cash that I should send it first? - at least you can send an item COD, and/or prove a package was delivered); or
c) The person has a legitimate verifiable business location where the item is being sold from. Legitimate business owners are less likely to be scamming people (IMO), or possibly
d) the seller has a ton of positive feedback from a wide variety of sources

-Krag

This goes into the "duh" catagory. eBay is a frickin joke and anyone who buys from them is asking for trouble. Meet the person, see the item, check it out, buy the item cash. Done for both parties.

If you can't find what you are looking for locally, drive a reasonable distance. If you can't do that, look for actual buisinesses who sell used stuff and deal with them. You may pay higher, but you will get what you want, period. One scam could wipe out all the money you ever saved on eBay.

I wish eBay would just go away, but there are no limits to the stupid people out there, so be it.

BTW, the last one on your list means nothing. There are several "scams" that allow a con artist to steal many times and STILL get positive feedback.

[distortedrumble]

well things like this turn me off to ebay. granted i've never had a problem with sales and buying things in the past. I know it'd be rediculously expensive but i would like to see something like a selling hub. something where sellers send the product to a third party hub and then the hub ships the product when its sold on ebay. that would weed out shady people especially if the product could be tested by and approved by the hub.

[tubejay]

I've bought hundreds of things on eBay without problem. I think it's actually a very good system if you look at feedback, and don't buy from people with low/no/negative feedback. I buy on eBay on a monthly if not weekly basis, and I've saved a TON of money, and gotten some very cool obscure gear that just isn't available in Neenah Wisconsin. Being in Neenah leaves me very little opportunity to go and 'see' gear before I buy it. I suppose if you're in New York or LA that may work, but for those of us in podunksville, we have to purchase our gear online.

I think with anything, you just have to be smart about your purchases. I've also bought a lot of gear on internet classifieds and have only had one problem. Again, it's a case of researching the people you're transacting with.

[WATYF]

That's weird... I emailed this guy yesterday about a Digimax he had up on harmony central (and a couple other places). He replied that it was still available...


...but THEN I found this thread.


It's kinda weird, because, in post #19, half-way up the page, he said (on 8/11) that he tried to sell a digimax but it ended up being broken and that he couldn't replace it.....


...so how is it that he couldn't find a replacement digimax 6 days ago, but now he has one to sell me?






I'm so cornfused?
















WATYF