I’m just going to make my way through this whole story as it occurred because the annoying factors in this situation are numerous.
eBay Member: xpiano959 (Name: Ted)
November 26th, 2013: This member first contacted me on eBay asking if I would take partial trade and cash for a deal. I declined, but was very kind to him and encouraged him to keep collecting.
December 3rd, 2013: This member, after many declined offers from me, sends me a message asking me “When I’m going to go ahead and just list my [PSA 10 Umbreon Gold Star] as an auction since it is obviously not going to sell for the price I am asking.” I explained that I am in no hurry to sell the card and primarily just use it to draw traffic to my other deals.
Pet Peeve Number One: Tell me what I need to do to sell my cards.
December 14th, 2013: No contact until now, but he responds explaining to me that “his friends owns a $550,000 Pokemon store and has for 20 years and is an expert and tells him that my card is way overvalued.” Ted also tells me that “the object of my sales is to make money.” I politely explained to him again that I’m not listing it to make a quick buck. I also found out later this person he is calling a friend is Ed (Ebirdman).
Pet Peeve Number Two: Extremely slow contact/responses.
Pet Peeve Number Three: Name dropping sellers that everyone already knows.
December 14th, 2013: Continues to send me messages about his expertise and collecting goals. I don’t particularly care to hear these, but I am kind anyway and let him talk. It’s nice to be excited about what you are doing with cards and I get that.
December 27th, 2013: More bad attitude about me being willing to sit on cards until they sell at the prices I want. His attitude is increasingly demanding and angry towards me.
December 27th, 2013: Some discussion about my PSA 9 Vaporeon Gold Star goes on and he says “consider this a commitment to buy” and agrees to pay on “1-1-14.” I knew I wouldn’t have access to the card until the fourth of January, so I agree to this. I ask him to email me at my personal address to do more talking.
January 3rd, 2014: Messages me to tell me he needs “one more day to get his proverbial ducks in a row” before payment. I agree to this.
January 5th, 2014: He says “I want to buy the card today like we discussed, is that ok?” I tell him its obviously okay because I was expecting payment the day before. I asked him to email me again (has happened several times at this point) because I am having trouble connecting to eBay. He tells me “He is having trouble too and will try again the next morning.” I ask him to just email me because I don’t like how long this deal is stretching out. He does not respond.
Pet Peeve Number Four: Dragging me out and clearly ignoring my requests (to email, in this instance).
January 7th, 2014: Tells me he “has been involved with selling his home and will be in contact with me shortly. He promises!!!” Later that day he asks if I “got his email” but there was clearly no email sent. He then says he tried eBay and that my account is unregistered. This is false. I tell him very clearly what my paypal is again, what name he can expect to see it sending too, and all that jazz. He then tells me that he’s only ever done this before with one other person. Ebirdman, and that he may have messed up because of his inexperience. I continue to be patient. He agrees to try again.
January 8th, 2014: He tells me he tried again and it didn’t work. I had received 30 separate payments in the last week, so I know it works. I tell him I want payment by midnight or I’m going to ask to not continue with our deal. He tells me that "Ed discouraged doing our deal like this (Despite having done his own deals with him like this) because their is no protection). I explain to him that we have agreed to deal via goods and services, so his protection is there. He then tells me that “Ed told him not to buy it from me and that, with some time, Ed will find him a copy in this condition, grade it, and sell it to [Ted] for the same amount.”
PTE PEEVE NUMBER FIVE: People trying to steal sales. It is tacky, rude, and all-around low in character.
That day (today) he continued to cop a terrible attitude with me and started making demands out of ME that I lower the eBay price to what he wants and he will buy it that way. I told him that I’m no longer interested in doing business with him because he has disrespected my time. He threatened to report me for soliciting over messages. I informed him that he is guilty as well and has given me written confirmation that he and Ed have done the same thing, as well as using friends and family to dodge fees. So turning me in would likely get him and Ed in trouble too. So that was not a good decision. He got extremely crappy with me and here I stand.
Why you should care:
I suggest avoiding xpiano959. Because it is not a straight ripper, I’m not adding him to the official list or anything like that. If he pays upfront through eBay, you should be fine, but I don’t suggest anyone do private deals with him. He will certainly give you the run around, demand lower prices, and cop an attitude with you. He has bad etiquette across the board.
Furthermore, I know some of you have a relationship with Ed. I don’t particularly care what your relationship with him is personally, but I found it tacky to try and snag a deal from someone else’s hands so blatantly. This thread is not about Ed, it is about Ted, and I’m not interested in hearing an argument about Ebirdman’s selling ethics. I included it because I felt it was a necessary part of the story.
That is all. Thank you.
Sounds like a real pain in the arse
