You've talked to the seller, negotiated a price, and sent them the money. They may or may not have sent you PMs or e-mails with excuses like "I forgot to go by the UPS store" or "I had my mother/wife/whoever do it". Regardless, it's now three weeks later, you're $300 short and that box with your new graphics card still isn't here. You've probably been ripped off.

There's not a whole lot one can do once they've been screwed, and there's nothing TBCS staff can do, but you can prevent it overall. You can't prevent it completely, but you can lower the chances. Here's how.

1. Only buy from people you trust. Forum members who have been around a long time, have a lot of posts or have really high rep are probably going to be a lot better choices for buying than some guy who joined yesterday, has three posts and no rep. Just think to yourself: How long have they been here? How much do they contribute? Have they got really high rep? If you avoid dealing with people who come here just to trade, you can prevent getting screwed. Reading the feedback forum (once it becomes more populated) will help, too.

2. Demand insured shipping with a tracking number. If they don't give you a tracking number or give you a bogus one, you'll know something's up.

3. Pay through PayPal whenever possible. via PayPal, you can file complaints if the seller doesn't ship.

4. Common sense. If somebody seems pretty sketchy while you're still arranging things, don't send them your money. If you get a bad vibe, don't send them your money. If their asking you to send money to Nigeria, well... you get the idea.

Follow those tips and your chances of getting screwed over will drop pretty sharply. I follow those tips and I can tell you -- I've never been ripped off.

-Omega

AND REMEMBER: TBCS Staff are not responsible for your or other people's actions! If you have a dispute, bring it up with PayPal, the other party, or the Police.