Ok, so after many PMs, emails, and donated shipping costs, I am finally completely tired of waiting for aaron to send out the items he donated that people won. I have started refunding those who won items from him the money that they paid (I stopped just to write this post), but will cover his mistake myself and send the full amount to ALS anyway. I am tired of sitting on the check just
waiting for everything to wrap up, so I've decided "fuck it, I am ending it myself".
I had two non-site members file complaints about not receiving his items and one of them made a PayPal claim against me. My account's good standing isn't worth risking for aaron to finally sort out his problems. I'd suggest anyone who didn't get their items from him to leave a -1 in the feedback thread. I'm sad that it ended this way, but I've reached the end of my patience.
This is the second year in a row where the auction had to stretch well past the final "ship by" date because of people not sending stuff in a timely matter. tbh I am feeling pretty sour on running the auction again next year, despite all the wonderful support from so many of you. It's a shame that a few bad experiences over the years can really dampen the enthusiasm for future installments.
If you're curious, here's the letter I am attaching with the check, which will FINALLY go out tomorrow. I'll let you know if I hear anything back from ALS in the form of a thank you note or anything else.
To Whom It May Concern:
Enclosed you will find a check for $1,400 to aid the Alzheimer’s Association in their ongoing efforts to fight the disease and to help patients and their families who suffer with its effects. I am writing this letter to accompany the check because I thought you might want to know where the money came from.
For the past few years I have been in charge of a charity auction that is created through the participation of members of the discussion forums for the website Racketboy.com, a website that is centered on discussion about “retro” video games (games such as old Atari 2600 or Sega Genesis games that are no longer sold in stores). Members donate old video games, memorabilia, and other items that are then bid on (mostly by each other) and paid for at auction’s end. That money then goes to an organization of our choosing, and this year we decided we wanted the recipient of the money raised in the auction to be the Alzheimer’s Association.
Specifically, one member explained their own interest in our donation for the year contributing to Alzheimer’s research by writing that “My Grandmother was diagnosed with it within the past year or two, and it's really taking a toll on her, my Grandfather, and the rest of our family. For those who don't know people with it, it's a bit hard to explain, but it's like losing your whole personality in a lot of ways, it's really bad. I sure as hell wish there was more research being put into it.” Another member suggested that “a friend of our family had to look after her husband when he got Alzheimer’s. She only got an hour off a week when a nurse would visit, which was only just enough time for her to go shopping for the upcoming week, and was the only time she could normally get out of the house. The worst part is that often he couldn't remember who she was when she came back from shopping some of the time despite them having been married for decades. Several times he locked her out of the house or phoned the police thinking she'd broken in to steal his WW2 collection”. These kinds of personal anecdotes moved the rest of us to pull our resources, to enlist the help of friends at GameGavel.com, and to promote the auction in an effort to help further the work that the Alzheimer’s Association has become known for doing.
Obviously you are no stranger to the kinds of heartache the disease causes, but I wanted to remind you that people consider your work to be vital in making strides towards a cure. We trust that this check, which represents the contributions of about many individuals, will help you take a small step towards making much-needed discoveries.
Sincerely,
(dsheinem)
p.s. If you wish to (or are required to) list us as donors anywhere, please list us as “The Racketboy Forum Members” instead of using my name. Any correspondence can be addressed to me. Thank you.
