I really hate to do this, but for the good of all here...

[Fingolphin]

In order to try to prevent anyone else from getting burned, I have to say something. I commissioned an XBOX mod from a very active member here on these forums (he is also quite active on other retro gaming forums as well) who seemed respectable, and is always posting things about mods he can do on various systems and mods he's done for people, etc. He also has a YouTube channel where he talks about retro games. Anyway, he seemed to have a decent reputation in the community. I was looking for someone to mod an XBOX and install CoinOps for use in an arcade cabinet. I contacted him, and we agreed on a price. Here I did some dumb things. But first of all, understand that I was fairly new to PayPal, and I wanted to trust this fellow retro gamer and take him at his word and seemingly good reputation. Boy, was I wrong to do so. First of all, he required the entire amount up front, and it wasn't cheap (yes, it was stupid of me). I reluctantly paid it, again, thinking that this person wouldn't want to do anything to damage his online reputation, right? He lives in Canada, so there are fees when using PayPal to pay. He assured me not to worry, because PayPal has protections for buyers. He couldn't possibly rip me off. Then he talked me into using the "gift" option on PayPal, to get rid of the fees. Riiiiiiiiight. What I didn't realize at the time was that if you pay using the "gift" option, those PayPal protections are GONE.

First he said it would be done in May. Then it was June. Then August. Then September. Then October. After TEN MONTHS I have received nothing; not even the slightest indication that he has done anything at all. When he was responsive, he always had some lame excuse. Some chip burned out. He was at some remote cabin in the far north with no internet access (although YouTube videos and comments continued to appear), he's at Thanksgiving, he's doing homework, he's on a desert island, whatever. He has repeatedly promised various things, and not a single one of these has materialized in any way whatsoever. As of now he is completely unresponsive, and I have demanded my money back, as it is clear I am never going to receive what I paid for. He has also had the nerve to continue to request money for things like a "bigger fan" to install. He is a complete liar and a thief, and he has robbed me, pure and simple. I have more integrity than he, so I will not reveal his name in this post, but if you PM me, I may tell you there. But his handle is Satoshi Matrix. Do not be fooled or taken in by this con artist. I hope that this post will spare someone else in our hobby from being robbed by this individual in the same way.

[nightrnr]

Major Bummer. I had thought we had a better community going than that .
I guess there's always someone to ruin the trust.

Hmm, looks like we might have to do away with the "gift" option when dealing here, except for maybe among closer associates.

Anyways, you have my sympathies.

[dsheinem]

viewtopic.php?f=22&t=10752
^

If you'd looked there, you'd see that he has -2 feedback already, which should have been a caution at least against sending as a gift. In my book, gift payments or payments that cover fees are fine if you trust the person. If you have reason not to, they aren't.

Two Questions:

1) Was this deal negotiated through this forum? Since you just joined, it seems like you must have negotiated and communicated about the deal elsewhere and so it wouldn't technically count as a -1 against him here in this community...

2) When you say you "did some dumb things" do you only mean paying with a gift payment, or were there some other issues regarding the deal that you've left out?

[Thierry Henry]

I wonder what Satoshi Matrix has to say for himself? Would be interesting to hear the "other side" to this story.
But whatever, a ten month (and counting) waiting period is just ridiculous.



and this is just taking the mickey to a whole other level.

He has also had the nerve to continue to request money for things like a "bigger fan" to install.

[nightrnr]

http://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=10752
^

If you'd looked there, you'd see that he has -2 feedback already, which should have been a caution at least against sending as a gift. In my book, gift payments or payments that cover fees are fine if you trust the person. If you have reason not to, they aren't.

I wonder, did he have the negative feedback 10 months ago? (don't feel like diving through 900+ pages)

1) Was this deal negotiated through this forum? Since you just joined, it seems like you must have negotiated and communicated about the deal elsewhere

Yeah, why do people do that? If I deal with someone I make it a point to document it somehow on the forum of the service and/or goods, especially as a newbie.

Anyways, bad decision making or not, it's nice to know about the sour deal. However, if there's no correspondence trail on this site, how many will trust that it happened?

[dsheinem]

However, if there's no correspondence trail on this site, how many will trust that it happened?

It's not that I don't trust it happened, it is just that the +1 and -1 should be for transactions that originate on this site in order to try and keep the feedback as accurate as possible for deals that occur here (as opposed to via YouTube, some other retro site, eBay, etc.). I think evidence of severe problems on other sites can and should get someone banned from our BST (and I think SM may actually already be banned from BST here), but it doesn't equal a "-1" in the totals per se.

That said, I think it would be a good idea to list at the top of the feedback thread a list of members who are banned from BST...if one of the mods has a list they can send me I'll put it on there.

[Thierry Henry]

Seems like this Satoshi Matrix guy has been pulling similar type of crap on other forums as well.

Over at NintendoAge he's been listed in their "Hall of Shame"

Satoshi Matrix ---------------------------------- (added September 2011) Chronic time waster and full of excuses. Takes months to ship items and blames it on lost postage, weddings, and school work.

[nightrnr]

That said, I think it would be a good idea to list at the top of the feedback thread a list of members who are banned from BST...if one of the mods has a list they can send me I'll put it on there.

I second this, or at least show that info on their feedback line.

[J T]

He does great game reviews though.

[Fingolphin]

He does great game reviews though.

That was one of the reasons I thought he was legit. And although he NEVER has any time, his videos are posted daily on YouTube.

And no, I did not do the transaction through this site; it was elsewhere. But I wanted to make others in the community aware and also put the pressure on him a bit to maybe get my money back (I don't think it's going to happen).

As far as the "dumb things" I did, I was referring to what I put in my original post. No hidden details.