Fellow members please be on the lookout for a member named Eduardo Wardan. He is a con. He offered a Albion Agincourt to me and didn't send it once paid. I'll admit in my desire to obtain a Agincourt I did something I knew was a bad idea but I didn't think I would find a fraud here. It makes me sad that someone like that is here. But he or she is watching this and the other forums. They tried to contact me through a post on SFI. I have contacted the FBI as this is a interstate issue due to the payment made. I'll let y'all know if anything becomes of that. Feel free to ask questions

ChristianShort

Needless to say, I'm super upset by this. In 13 years, I've had three other truly fraudulent things reported to me and they were all eventually worked out. We had some other instances that I"m aware of, but they weren't this fraudulent and generally got caught quickly before doing damage. The biggest issue was with a guy who sold his swords and then held onto them for way, way too long before shipping them out. From what I know, they eventually got to the new owners but the process was a big pain in the butt.

This one is bad, though, and so I have to take time to remind people to look for red flags:

1) Make sure you all vet all members involved in your transactions. This means doing research on the person's participation on this site. Look to see if that member posted on the Marketplace before and ask for references if you feel that you need to do so.

2) Look at the date the person joined this site and pay attention to the number and type of posts that he or she has made. New members deserve special critique.

3) Pay attention to the payment methods. The use of checks and money orders is a red flag to me. Receiving them requires you take your time to make sure they clear with your bank before you send the items. Checks can bounce and money orders can be counterfeited. Sending a check or money order affords you zero protection and not much recourse so be very cautious of this. PayPal and credit cards offer additional layers of protection for both parties. Escrow services for large dollar items are another option.

These things and more are detailed in our Marketplace Rules and Help topic. There's important stuff there. Make sure you read it and follow the advice.

I recently posted a Reminder about this sort of thing because I became aware of this same fraudulent member emailing people. It was reported to me that he was emailing multiple times and essentially spamming the same person about a want ad. He was already warned and his account disabled for the spamming. I did not know at the time that he was going for fraudulent behaviors but it was a red flag for me. I'm just sorry I was not informed quicker so that I could have taken faster action.

I didn't check the date he joined. If I had I would not have done it. My bad.

This is terribly sad to hear, and I hope it all works out. The Marketplace is one of my favourite features of this forum, and I have bought and sold dozens of items, both here and on Armour Archive. For those considering buying/selling, I hope that rotten apples like this do not spoil people from using this feature. In all my transactions, I haven't had any serious issues!

Best of luck!

--Hadrian

I agree, Hadrian. I just made a transaction with a -super-nice-guy- here in the Marketplace. He actually sent me the item *before* I paid him for it. My payment to him is on its way--btw. ;) It's terrible that there is almost always a crook hiding in the shadows. I also hope this will not dissuade anyone from using the Marketplace. We here are truly a circle of friends from around the world---and friends DON'T do that to friends. :mad: .......McM

He's posing as Eduardo Wardan He is also posing as other people on SFI.

Not cool. @Nathan, just throwing an idea out there - would it be possible/easy to restrict the marketplace access to people above a defined threshold of posts counts? These sort of fellow usually don't post at all, save for luring someone into a buy.

ps: assuming the deal was made through the mkt place

Thanks to Christian for posting this alert.
Informing the collecting community is critical to sniffing out these charlatans.
Nathan's detailed response is much appreciated and very useful.

Per Hadrian & Mark, I too have had only pleasant experiences with the 'Marketplace'.

Regards, Jon

Thanks Nathan. As one of the low-contribution people (my post count doubled when I hit submit!) I want to be able to participate in the marketplace, but understand how buyers/sellers might be uneasy.

I very nearly pulled the trigger when Patrick sold his Vigil (wish I had) but I'd also read this thread and didn't know the best way to establish credibility. Other solutions like SBG's members feedback are helpful but only exist after a transaction has occurred - in Christian's case here or David's in the other thread they could leave bad feedback, but the poor experience already happened.

I've concluded that if I buy something from a reputable member here I will expect shipment only after all payment clears, and upon receiving the item if it's in good order I'll send an email to that effect, with details, for the seller to have on hand. That way they won't be wondering if i'm going to come along later claiming a defect or something. Buying from a non-reputable/unknown member...not sure what precautions other than common sense.

I look forward to seeing what you're planning Nathan. Thanks for that and for making this site available to us.

I buy/sell/trade here fairly often and feel a bit nervous about the low counters, but just because people have a low count here doesn't mean they haven't left an internet trail. I recently did a trade (a rather risky business) with someone with a low count, so I searched around a bit first, confirmed his back story, and confirmed that he was a member of another historical community. It turned out to be a difficult trade that might have gone very wrong. The low point was when he received my sword while his was returned to the sender, leaving both of them on another continent across an ocean from me. However, he was very embarassed and dedicated to seeing it through. In the end it worked out, with some additional expense and effort from both of us. So, here's to all the honest low counters!

Indeed I agree with the comment regarding low count. I'm at this point a "low count". This happened but I was a bit over eager to acquire the Agincourt. It's one I've wanted above most others for a while. I let my guard down. It won't happen again. This was 100 % my fault. It hasn't given me pause regarding other deals. I know for the most part I can trust the people here. Cest' la vie

Hello
I`ve been buying and selling on this forum and others for longer than i care to admit to myself,and except for a couple of misunderstandings have allways had a fair shake from everyone.Sorry to hear the scammers have infiltrated. If you paid by paypal you might be able to get your money back through them. Its a thought.Good luck.

I had a raver concerning situation occur after selling on the marketplace. I sold a sword to a member who paid the amount I was asking via PayPal in three instalments spread over a few months. He said that he was using his partners PayPal as he didn't have one (which I didn't have a problem with, all was paid). I then send the sword to the US from the United Kingdom via Royal Mail (the main delivery service here). The 'gentleman' sent repeated emails saying that the sword handnt been delivered (it was held up by a few days as postage was only a week or so before Christmas). He then made a claim again the three payments on PayPal saying that the sword hadn't arrived, even though the tracking on the item said it had been delivered to the address he gave. PayPal then reembursed the man the money and took it back out of my account saying, as the delivery address and the address they had registered for the person were different they had to find in his favour. This, in my book was equal measure stupidity on my part and thievery on his. After a few months worth of wrangling, I finally got the money back. I certainly have had my fingers burned.
Good luck everyone