Shoup Airlines

Say My Name, Say My Name…

Would you like to hear the story that inspired my little love poem to the USPS. It’s a bit long. You’ve been warned.

This is only truly appreciated if you go all the way back to the beginning.

Back in 2005 I started fishing the market for a digital SLR since they had finally dipped into my price range. Unfortunately, I was unemployed and couldn’t justify purchasing one at the time so I went to boot camp instead. After six months of marching, push ups and aircraft grease under my fingernails I finally returned home with some cash. Thus, the search began again in earnest.

In January of 2007 I had a good prospect and made my choice, ordering the camera online. The usual confirmation and order number emails came pouring in. But then I got an email saying I needed to call and confirm my order. I thought that was strange but dutifully called only to have the sales person try and sell me accessories and lenses for some really exorbitant prices. I said no thank you and we confirmed my order. I should receive my camera in 7-10 days. Fifteen days later, I called to see what the deal was. The camera was out of stock and wouldn’t be replenished for another 5-8 weeks. I thought that sucked but they were accommodating enough to cancel my order.

I got busy with other things and put the search on a back burner. When I got around to it again I realized the 5-8 weeks had long since passed and called the company again. No, they were still out of stock, try again in 5-8 weeks. Well that sounded suspicious.

I started looking again and apparently the street value of the camera shot up because everyone’s price on the camera jumped by a minimum of $300. And so the camera got shelved…again.

About a month later I was tooling around on eBay and found a sidebar ad listing the camera at a decent price. I enquired, they seemed pretty helpful and knowledgeable, things looked on the up and up. The catch? They only took wire transfers, but I figured since they advertised on eBay, had a pretty good staff and a solid web site, that I would bite. They took me hook, line and sinker. Bank of America did everything they could, as well as some international business fraud agencies, but nothing came of it. eBay apologized for the error in choosing advertisements and left it at that. As for the swindlers, they’re still there, waiting for the next sap.

Amazingly, I found myself undeterred. It’s only money, right? Coincidentally, the price came down again on the camera and the original vendor now had it on sale. I promptly called and miraculously they had them in stock! I went through the same ordeal of saying no to very expensive accessories and lenses and confirmed the order. The Very. Next. Morning. I got an email stating that the camera was out of stock and they were cancelling my order. You will never understand how much I wished I had a thermonuclear bomb in my possession at that moment.

I was visiting my Mom’s at the time and she asked if the vendor had a heavy Brooklyn accent. Now if you know my mother, you would expect a question like this because she lives in left field, but it startled me because she was actually on the right track this time. Turns out she had gone through the exact same situation when trying to a buy a camera off a web site. Apparently, they mark the cameras down pretty low but won’t actually sell them to you unless you buy the “optional” accessories that are marked up into four figure land. You think I’m exaggerating. I’m not. Oh, and they’re all run by the same company based out of Brooklyn. Go figure.

At this point I was pretty disenchanted with anyone selling cameras online. Yet for some reason I turned to eBay. Again, there were some pretty good prospects but I kept getting out bid. Then an email came through offering a second chance on a bid because the original winner had backed out. I bargained with the seller and actually got him to come down on the price. The catch? He only accepted money orders. Any of this sounding familiar yet?

It’s okay though, I convinced myself that it was different this time because he had a record on eBay. Not a single bad comment in over 100 sales. He had had a bad experience with PayPal which is something I’ve heard from others using that system. Besides, I thought, who would give me their address, email and phone number if they were going to con me? A very stupid con man, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

I sent the money order off. He sent the “camera” off. I tracked it through USPS’s system which is pretty shoddy and doesn’t update all that often. The day I thought it should arrive, it hadn’t and so I got online to check on the package. It had been labeled “undeliverable” and that is when I discovered just how bad the USPS customer service system is. The automated phone system will never actually lead you to a real person. The other phone system was simply down, would not work. No one at the post office wanted to help or offer any suggestions in locating the package. So per their operating procedure, the package was sent back to the sender. At this point the seller was still talking to me and griped about the USPS but assured me he would check into it and get back to me. That’s the last I heard of him. And in case you’re wondering, the package is still supposedly enroute via Cincinnati. So even though they’re only being used in this con, I still hate the USPS. Had they acted a little more professionally we may have caught on to this guy’s act a little sooner.

Yesterday, and just starting to wonder if I had been grifted AGAIN, I returned to eBay to find out what the deal was. I noticed my seller suddenly had some negative feedback and started reading. They all said the same thing, they’re item had never been received and no money had ever been refunded. All in the last week or two as well. One buyer suggested that everyone contact him. I did and found out he had been conned the exact same way. Apparently, our seller would send a package with an address label giving the correct city, state and zip code but a non-existent street name so it would get lost in the postal system. That way he would gladly refund the money if you produce the shipment. Problem is, he did this to too many people and the evidence piled up against him.

Turns out the buyer I contacted is a lawyer. A criminal prosecutor to be exact. He has already given Mr. Edwards (the seller) a written warning of pending legal action. He also contacted the Charleston Police Dept. who promptly (surprisingly) gave Mr. Edwards an ultimatum of returning the funds or being arrested for grand larceny. The evidence is still being compiled, but as of right now Mr. Edwards owes at least six of us over $8,000 total.

For those keeping score at home I have paid $1,595 for this camera after ordering it four times starting back in January and still do not have one.  And the beat goes on, badda da, badda da, badda da da da.