Are they really that stupid? (cheats and scammers)

The vast majority of customers I deal with from my store are great. In fact, some of them have turned into good friends. But every once in a while I get someone posing as a customer to try to scam free stuff from me. The one I had this week really takes the cake. She was all "I bought a cat and it's broken, can you send me a new one?" to which my standard response was "tell me when you bought it so I can check my transaction record (and here's how you can find the date you purchased it if you've forgotten)". She IMs back a while later that she's forgotten the date she bought the cat, can I pleeezzz send her a new one, and oh by the way can I give her a free lion while we're at it. *rolls eyes*

At this point I check her profile and discover that av was born less than 2 months ago. I double-check all my transaction records for that period and discover (not at all to my surprise) that she hasn't purchased anything from my store, ever.

*big sigh* Are they really that stupid? Or do they think I am?

In SL as well as RL... Considering the level of intelligence it takes to work for and earn what you want... Yes. They really ARE that stupid. (^_^)y

There's a sucker born every minute.

And now she's IMing me saying "lols wow we use to be friends".

Erm, right. In the last two months we were buddies but I, um, forgot? Is that right?

Sheesh. *shakes head with amused amazement*

Gosh, you meanie, you.

LOL

Well, figure that she gave you a smirk and a laugh anyway.

Yep, you forgot. You forgot to just mute her and get it over with

I haven't encountered any of these types.. yet. I'm waiting. Oh, am I ever waiting.

People will go through a lot of work to scam for a few pennies. Pitiful

yes

But I really have the Brooklyn Bridge in my inventory for sale!!!!

That is nothing -- I have this absolutely gorgeous land-locked water-front property for sale.

Hey, Nimby! Remember that L$50 I loaned you on that week that you didn't download your transaction history?

edit: oops! typo.. It was L$500.. er.. L$50000.

don't forget the 10% interest you were promised, compounded hourly....

I'd have to have fun with people like that, and reply something like: "Oh you mean the CAT-234-456G Series that you seeem to have brought on 1/4/07? It's been discontinued, I'll sent you the H series upgrade with a free 4 dimensional BLU hydroxide interface"
Then send them a small plywood cube or random inventory object with some freebie script for particles in it.

Actually I have a question related to this, how can you find a transaction from quite a while back if you're not sure when you got it? is there some way to search the name of the item or the creator in your history? the reason I ask is that I need to prove that I bought something last year which I loved so much i recommended to a friend. We went to the store and I bought them for her using the gift option which I stuffed up, instead buying for myself! clearly this was an honest mistake as I already own a pair, and its happened to me before and the shop owner was great! refunded me no questions asked! but these guys have completely ignored my polite requests!

I had someone IM me today wanting to sell my products, asking if I do affiliate selling and can she please set up a vendor. I checked my records and she's never bought any of my products.

Gee, thanks for supporting me. Yeah, I'm anxious to do business with you!

You can only access the last 30 days of transactions. So you would have had to down load them to your computer to see older transactions.

Yeah......some people are that stupid......usually this is evident as soon as ya step outside your door. My boss said to me the other day.... "I really wish people had to pass an IQ test before they came and talked to me!" LMAO

Some people will try anything to get free stuff, no matter how stupid they look. There's always the chance that someone is even dumber, and will fall for it.

I've given a lot of free skins away, and I have no problem doing that.....I do what I do to share with others.....but that said.....it does kind of give me pause when a random stranger IM's me and just blatently asks if they can 'have' one of my skins. Something tells me I wouldn't get very far if I just started IM'ing the creators of the designs I like and asking them if I could 'have' stuff.

There's the scammers....and then there's the one's that just come right out and ask for a freebie. LOL I guess I'd give the askers more credit, at least they're being honest about the fact that they don't want to have to pay for anything.

Yes, and yes. Oh and from the entire conversation with them you've posted here, I'd say also, another kid on the grid. 13, tops. NB: I am not anti-kid. But we all remember what most of our classmates were like at that age, and how they spoke, and some things just scream 'adolescence.'



There isn't a way I know of to search for creator in inventory (I wish there were.) But ask your friend the name of the item, and have her right click on it and choose properties (if it has a prim part) in inventory. Or have her rez it to the ground and click, choose edit, and read the creator name from that. Then, you can look up the store. But then it sounds like you IMed the creator so I'm not sure what the question really is, I guess.

The first store owner was unusual. Most will NOT go by someone's word alone, for good reason - people try to scam freebies off them all the time. Most will not honor a request for a refund or exchange unless you can send them a note card with the transaction history so they can check their own records easier. (Rather than going through 6 months of history a line at a time.) It also shows some effort on the customer's part that most apprciate, I think. (Not saying you were being lazy - just saying how most prefer things.)

Also there are SOME creators who ignore any request for customer service, even WITH all of the above conditions met.

It seems like you have two options. 1. Go into the store and hope to run into the store owner, with your friend along wearing the item. This proves it was paid for. 2. More likely and realistic - ask your friend to pay you for the item since you bought it for them by mistake. I wouldn't, but if you are really broke, and really close friends with the person so they will understand why you are asking them to do this, they might just laugh it off and 'refund' your money for you.

From the shop owner's point of view, you got your money's worth because you paid and received an item (even if it went to someone else), and they have no liability to you.

I've gotten the wrong thing before due to lag (those page-through vendors can be slowww) showing something different on my screen than was on the vendor at the time. I've not gotten things I paid for. I've bought things that could not be used due to quality or that did not work. A lot of times I got no reply at all to a note card w/transaction pasted into it; I hear of shops where the owners are just never in world and never reply to anything from anyone. It happens.

I hope that covered a solution for you because I'm a bit muddy on what your question was. From the shop owner's pov though, it's likely they see it as item delivered, period.

you don't have to need someones work to appreciate it's value. it could just be as simple as they thought you're stuff would fit in well with their stuff.

I was looking for tents usable for tenants, found a store that specialised, and advertises all your camping needs, soo like an idiot I bought one of each set, tent, sleeping bag, camp bed chairs, got them back and rezzed, not one of them has a pose or animation in them they are totally unusable, the resposne oh you need to get the free poseballs and put them on it yourself????
I think I was just really rritated that such junk is sold, anyone can make something and sell it but surely like in rl they should live up to their description?
Maybe I expect too much..

If there are other merchants that sell similar items, she may have confused you with someone else. It occasionally happens to me. In the past, though, the person who made the mistake did buy something from me but got confused with who they bought what from.

you should have sent her a little coffin for her dead cat. with the instructions put it in that and it will work again.

I also like screwing with the ones that get the complete wrong person and open with rude messages like "I bought bed off you and not get bed give me money back now you bastad!"
After ignoring them I wait a few days then send similar tone messages from my alts and just laugh as they send replies like "I not sell sex castles", "you are being rude!"

If whoever received the item right-clicks it in inventory and selects 'Properties' then they will see a date on the item. Usually this is the date they acquired it (although, in the case of items that have been rezzed, modified and taken back into inventory, it's the date last modified) but that should help to narrow down the date you need to search for in your downloaded Transaction History files.

I'm not anxious to do business with someone for whom my work means nothing but "hey, I can make money selling this stuff!" If this person doesn't have enough interest to have dropped a few dollars trying out the products, just how much time am I supposed to give them? My answer? I didn't even answer the IM.