was I scammed?

I was playing SL today, and saw this person with an avatar I thought looked really good, so I sent them an IM saying so, and they replied with a thanks, and that they were looking to sell it, and asked if I wanted to buy it, long story short, I did, and now I think he ripped me off, only one thing came out of the folder he gave me, when I wear it, nothing about my avatar changed except that he walks differently, he doesn't look any different though, I IMed the guy about it, and he says that's normal, that it looks different to others but not the user, which sounds like BS to me, but I'm just a newb, so I'm hoping somebody else could confirm weather what he's saying is true or not, thanks

~Z

I suspect you probably have been.

But try clearing cache and relogging anyway, it couldn't hurt. Probably won't help, but can't hurt.

You can try ARing the perp, but LL doesn't get involved in "resident disputes".

thanks for the reply, I tried what you suggested, but nothing changed, I guess I should be glad though that it was only L$ 1000 that he got from me, he wanted L$2000 at first....

Aw no Zhane. This does not sound right.

If he wanted to help you, he should have taken you to a shop. There are even places to get good freebie skins and shapes and hair now. Not freebie malls but the real shops, with promotional offers.

It is not normal for you not to see your own avatar. Once in a while it might look 'fuzzy' but if you got a new one, and put it on, it should look different than before.

Are you sure you right clicked and wore the new skin and shape?

Most decent skins and shapes are no transfer, which means they can't be passed from person to person.

IM me if you want some help in-world. And I won't charge ya a blessed $L.

Look at the folder again, is it still empty of everything but the shape and/or AO?

But, yeh, when he gave you the Emperor's New Avatar runaround that was pretty damning.

Definitely abuse-report him. See if the chat is logged in your application settings directory (in chat.txt).

aww that really is wrong

send me an IM in world I will help you out

It *is* possible (although unlikely) that the seller is a complete bonehead and didn't realize that the items were no-transfer.

Can you ask him to check whether the items he thought he gave you were no-transfer?

If he's honest, he'll do it, and if they are no-transfer, he should give you your money back.

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A "complete avatar" normally consists of:
- a skin
- a shape
- eyes
- hair (usually in two parts, a "bald head" item and a hair object)
- shoes (three parts, a "shoe base" and two shoe objects)
- other clothing items and possibly accessories like jewelry
- possibly an animation overrider, or AO

When you wear things, your avatar will change its appearance on your screen as well as everyone else's.

It's generally not a good idea to buy things directly from a strange avatar. We buy things from stores.

Look for free items first. There are places like The Free Dove, the Gnubie Store, and Freebie Warehouse and Yadni's Junkyard where everything is free (or only $1L).

Be thankful that all you got was an empty folder. You might've been sold a shape distorter, or worse yet, an object that (if you give it the OK) will drain your $L account.

If something is no transfer they won't transfer. It would be pretty hard to mistake that.

Could someone explain to the OP how to copy and paste his transaction history with this character into a note card (in SL), and title and save it? Because he needs to.

Then, yes, if there is nothing in there but an AO and he charged you 1000 Lindens (there are free ones - it may be one), or especially if he told you he was selling you more and didn't, then go to help/abuse report in your SL viewer. And fill everything out as well as you can.

There is a category for fraud - goods/services paid for, but not provided.

Meanwhile, without naming names, could you tell us what is in that folder or what shows up as coming from him to you on your transaction history?

I'd go thru the steps for trans. history with you but I'm worn out, and I don't want to misspeak.

In your web browser, go to https://secondlife.com/account/transactions.php?lang=en

Change the first date to yesterday's date

Click on the button "View (up to 500)"

Now you should see all the transactions.

There are a couple of ways to save this.

OPTION ONE:
If you have Excel, you can download a spreadsheet by clicking on "Download" to the right of the form.

OPTION TWO:
You could save the web page itself by selecting (from the menu bar)

File > Save As

and then select "Web page, complete" as the file type.

OPTION THREE:
You could also just highlight the table of transactions and copy it into a file.


You really need to save this, because the information will go away in a month (I think).

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Clarissa was asking that you list what your transaction record shows this person gave you.

When she said, "Without naming names" because you can't say who this was in the Forums - it's a violation of the Terms Of Service.

.

If you transfer a folder, it silently ignores any no-transfer objects, it only warns you about no-copy objects.

His comment that other people see the new outfit, though, when he obviously wasn't seeing you change, makes this unlikely to be an accident.

Ok. Thanks for the info I am not sure I ever tried to drag a folder without checking permissions first - they're listed right there, although yes, if the guy was new too, he might not know to look for it. Also I drag things one by one, just to make sure. And still...$1000 avatar to avatar? It has an air of "Buy a Rolex out of my raincoat" about it. Actually I have never asked for one linden from someone for things sent them - and it should be so because they were mostly all freebies.

There are some 'new rez date' yet crooked avatars who frankly just seek to rip people off - selling them ripped (copybotted) goods, or freebie full perm goods they can get in any freebie mall.

The OP and anyone new might want to join NCI, they really do have training and looking after new residents nearly down to a science (I say that because it may not be possible to make something so human and variable INTO a science.) Look in search/Groups and then look for NCI.

It's sad. Although, it's unusual the OP would have that much money being new, themselves.

Two things about this read scammer to me. First, "okay I'll take what you have" as far as Linden payment. And second, as Argent put it so well, the Emperor's New Clothes. "Oh everyone else can see your new clothes - but you can't."

I think it's a long shot he did this by accident, but, even if he did, $1000 for some second hand stuff is a bit greedy.

OP I look forward to hearing just what he sent you - your trans. history will list it. Thanks so much Seven for outlining the process....I'm beat. Lol

Zhane, for very sensible reasons we have a rule on this forum of not naming names - but if you don't get any help from the person who "sold" you this avatar, then I suggest you go onto one of the external web sites where this rule does not apply. Just put up a polite post explaining what happened from your perspective and request that the individual concerned come forward and explain. Name and shame can sometimes be the best option - good luck!

Malice or incompetence notwithstanding, this was a blessing in disguise.

For a mere $L 1000 you have learned something quite valuable, inexpensively and early on.

Hope you have better experiences soon. 95% of the people on the grid are really nice.

Someone else had a story similar to this a month ago...

They paid 1000 for a shape and something went wrong if I recall right.

The first lesson is that an 'avatar' just isn't worth that much.

Its either worth a lot less or a lot more.

A lot less if a shape file - I'd never pay more than 0L for a shape file. Anything more and you're being ripped off.

If its a shape and skin - just ask where to buy the skin. Better to buy from a merchant's shop than directly from them until you're sure that shop delivers.

If its a shape and skin and outfit - it could be worth a lot if legit - unless the parts are just assembled freebies. Only buy one of these if the seller and the creator are either the same person or somehow connected (a group for example, partners, alts of each other).

Another handy thing to do is to search out that merchant on slapt.me and xstreet. If they then fraud you, you can review them there and note that.

With unknown merchants, its -always- best to buy from something that has a buy option rather than a pay option. With the buy option, examine the window that opens to be sure of the contents.

With a pay option - you will only be protected to a limited extent if its through a recognizable vendor service, like a meta-life terminal. And that just gives you a place to leave a complaint, rather than any actual true protection.


It helps to learn the market before you start making large purchases. Again, Slapt.me, xstreet, meta-life, iVend, etc all can be used to search and find out what an average price is for something, and what that price claims to deliver.

Hey L$1000 was a huge amount of money to me when I was a newbie. A particularly unsavory land baron stole L$50 from me (and called me a stupid noob) and I still make mean T-shirts about her to this day.

Not everyone wants to take the time to make their own shape. And even some of those that do, prefer starting from some bought base (note, "some", some prefer to start with a blank slate; or even make a male shape using a female shape base, or female from male base (certain advantages, disadvantages - mostly due to minimums).

A shape that costs more than 0L is by no means a rip off.

^^This plus this:

It could also be that he was wearing the avatar when trying to transfer it - you cannot transfer things that you are wearing.

It took me a couple weeks to talk myself into that first 200L purchase.

Now I'll look at 200L and shrug - 77 cents. I can handle that.

I'm still amazed at these people who get scammed out of a 1000L though - jumping in and being willing to spend that much when new and not yet sure of your footing.

totally.

This. There IS a real art to shape making - the really good ones stand out.

So do the really bad...

Oh yeah! I don't know why this comes up every time someone mentions shapes.

Someone with a good eye, with a good sense of proportions, the right kind of patience and experience, is definitely going to make a better shape than a klutz who has trouble opening an umbrella.

.

One of your first clues was his willingness to slash the price by 50%.

In SL an indeed in RL as well, it is always good to step back and consider if it is a wise move.
Next time you could ask the person if they have any references or a store. Then ask friends or people here if it is a good idea.

It is true tho that 1000 L is a pretty inexpensive price to pay to insure that you are more careful in the future on any amount of L you do not wish to lose.