Land taken right out from under me!

That's terrible Lion! Damn..sure hope you get your land back. A confirmation button would certainly have stopped this from happening.

Seems the owner of the land set the land for sale at $0L. A mistake. But the default for sale box is not checked. The person who purchased the land should give it back, because thats the right thing to do.
Land scanners had nothing to do with this because the original owner set it for sale, this has nothing to do with released land. I am sure that LL will do the right thing if the current owner does not.
Instances like this do require review of all the chat logs however, an instant return to the original owner could set a dangerous precedent. I can see scammers using a similar story to reclaim land they sell using currency other than the $L. I am not saying that is the case here, but it is something LL needs to consider every time something like this occurs. Have some patience and keep us informed. I agree the purchaser's name should be posted, people need to know about unethical people living amongst them.

Andrew,

<<it was disingenuous of the person to purchase the land off of you for such a rip-off price. I'm going to dig into the logs and find the person and give them a lecture.>>

I wouldn't describe it as disingenuity, I would describe it as theft. I understand from the first posting that the 'rip-off' price you mention was zero. Certainly if I came across land that was unpriced with someone working on it, and took it, I would be committing theft.

I'm sure the thief is quaking in their boots if they read your comment. While you're giving your lecture, you might like to gently slap their wrists and tell them they are being a naughty person.

With Linden dollars having a real cash value, theft of land is the same as a rl crime. It should be treated with the same degree of severity. That person does not belong inworld.

Take home message so that you can protect yourself...

1. Set the land for sale to YOU.
2. Set the price of the land to something astronomical, like L$9999999 (if they buy it that price, you're rich!)
3. Uncheck the "For Sale" checkbox.

Agreed...Always set land for sale to YOU then the other two make no difference.

Oh, another thing.

Any more proof needed why land sales shouldn't be public? I'm sure the buyer sold it for cheap so it was out of his hands, and the next guy assumed it was fair.

Thanks for the support. Yes I do realize I could thought as trying to also pull a scam. Those that know me, hope they don't think this is the situation. Like I said it all happened so fast. Stuff returning, IM open to my friend, Land option window open. In all the fuss, I could have accidently clicked on the "for sale" button. I couldn't say. The guy that approached me, wasn't the same as the initial buyer. The guy that owns it now, sent me a message the day before the incident. Wanting to buy my lot, seems he was wanting to add to his. I did check Awa, he has a spot set for me to buy, a little smaller than what it was (he had merged it with his other land previously) after it was over, the guy flew by and shouted "WHAMMO!!!!" both Nova and I had IM'd him telling him it was a mistake, my IM he didn't answer, hers, he told her he got it fair and square. Regardless of the outcome, I will just pick myself up, dust myself off and start all over again! I'll just think of it as an EXPENSIVE lesson learned!

Please note that I am not posting the name of anyone I know to be involved, mearly a bit of trivia.

There is exactly one plot in Awa of 8096.

It is marked for sale for 40k.

It is in the Northeast corner of the sim.

It is owned by [Name Removed].

*edit*

As the person who now owns the land may be an innocent third party, I have removed his name from my posts until further information surfaces.

Herein lies a much deeper issue. On one hand we have Phillip stating that L$ are not *play* $, and on the other hand we have the EULA clearly stating the opposite. People pay RL money for land, monthly fees, goods, and services in SL. If we are to believe that L$ are truly worthless as the EULA proclaims, what is the point in saying SL will take over the world? Do we really think that can happen with the EULA as it exists now? Any stock broker or financial planner would tell you to steer clear of such ambiguous investments.

Before spamming Ken, realize he probably bought it from the original thief unknowingly.

well, I wasn't wanting to name names, but the person that bought it was Shadow Withnail. Ken Hadlee bought it off him a few moments later

Define a few moments? Could Ken be involved and playing honest buyer?

Let me see all the ALT's associated with someone via their profile info PLEASE.

A few moments, maybe within the hour, I hadlogged off for a little bit was so pissed. No I don't think that Ken was involved. He was interested in my lot, but like I said in my first note, I had paid 89,000L for it, just before the land prices really started dropping. I didn't think I would get near that amount for it, so was just going to keep it, instead of taking a loss (slaps head again).He said in his message to me about selling me my lot back, he was selling it to me at half of what he paid for it.

hmmm that sounds very fishy. Why would he be so kind as to sell you land at half the price he paid for it? I'll tell you why , because he got it for free....think about it.

logs will tell all unless they are really smart and refrain from incriminating talk.

I am very sorry Lion. This sucks big time. Hope Andrew Linden can sort this out for you.

Hi all! I talked with Colin (in game). Here is the deal, he told me to buy my lot back, once he gets confirmation, he would refund me the 40K for the lot. Yeah, its a little smaller, but I can handle a 500M loss much better than a 8608 M loss. Thanks for all the support and ingame messages, those offering me land till I got back on my feet, my most heartfelt appreciation go out to you all. See there are alot more wonderful people in SL than the scammers and such. NOW TO GET REBUILDING!!

On a related note... why does the Sell To: box not automatically put the owners name in there when the land changes hands? Would anyone be against this feature?

-Meiyo

One more crime protected by TOS. LL didn't undo the last few situations like this one. We'll see if something is done this time.

I'm not sure that you should be buying the lot back. Sounds fishy. I would just let Lindens handle the sit.

Lion I'm so glad you issue was resolved. Resolved property..I think not.

Lion

I am deeply disturbed that this sort of thing is capable of happening. Clearly your intent was not to sell your land as I know what your plans were. You have been a longstanding player of this game and are one of the main menswear designers in game. On top of that I have witnessed your extreme generosity to new players in SL!!!

In my view Lindens should take your history into account and fully restore what is yours. I too have one of these land scanners directly beside my property and I detest the damn thing.

does this mean the pos that pulled this stunt is going to get away with it AND get to keep the money? i'm happy things are working out to your satisfaction lion. i'm resting very uneasy with the understanding that the ll are just going to let the original crime slide. maybe a linden will post a clarification that will allay the fears of the community.

Sorry I don't buy part of this story...your neighbor bought it for 80k from the original buyer but is willing to sell it for half taking a 40k loss and you lose some of the property. I highly suspect your neighbor has an alt or a good friend that bought the land...I would accept no less than the full parcel that was stolen and the Lindens should check your oh so kind neighbor out.