benjoshua wrote:
I failed to add mystic-fairy to my blocked list and she/he bid on several of my items and won several and then dropped a couple, and said she/he didn't want them anymore.  Not good.  

O.K. Help me completely understand what's going on.  I get the part about working up a decent feedback and then reneging on a lot of sales all at once hoping some people don't get their money back.  

What I don't totally get is why they might buy a bunch of stuff and then not accept the package(s) claiming someone else maliciously used their account.  Or is it that they would win a bunch of stuff, claim the packages with no Delivery Confirmation and refuse the packages with Delivery Confirmation(because that will counter their claim that their account was used maliciously)?  I say this because the item she/he won from me was "refused."

And all this trouble is done to gain a few more D&D items or supposedly gain a few more dollars?  I personally believe some people pay more for my stuff because they like me as a seller.  Or maybe I am just deluding myself.

And this is post 1400!  Woot!  

JohnGaunt wrote:eBay does not deliver the packages; USPS does.   If eBay ran a postal service, then maybe all eBay packages would get to their destination without any fraud occurring.  USPS does not keep track of packages unless they have Delivery Confirmation or another form of tracking.  For dishonest buyers, untracked packages are free after an eBay claim of nondelivery.

Based on my eBay experience, most sellers do not use Delivery Confirmation.  I did not use Delivery Confirmation until some plastic D&D miniatures started getting lost in the mail.  After I began using Delivery Confirmation, packages magically stopped getting lost.

I hope that either eBay or the USPS notices that certain addresses have a high loss rate, but I also hope for world peace.

We have a yes vote.

I guess I am trying to understand the thinking of this seller and simple greed and/or stupidity seems almost too convenient. I am leaning towards maybe he/she thinks they are so smart that they can work the system.  It's similar to BLOCK-WIPE's MO.  

TheHistorian wrote:I was about to post this as suspicious too.

I think ash is right, we can't be sure this is the same person... but another seller of gaming material from a remote town with a population of under 2,000?  Rural Retreat, Virginia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Let's err on the side of caution.

I'm beginning to think that maybe its a group of friends/relatives/gaming group doing this together, rather than an individual working on their own..?

Seems like the core seller "Lisa" is diversifying perhaps and bringing in a team to spread it around a bit so its not so obvious

Here's another chapter in this story.  So, I forgot to block this person and "she" bid on several of my items and won one of them.  "She" asked her bids on other items to be removed.  I posted that I forgot to block "her" on this forum and immediately "she" vehemently accused me of blocking "her" from bidding further, but when I offered "her" the same item, "she" didn't want it.  Anyway, I mailed "her" winning eBay item w/Delivery Confirmation, and it was refused.  Apparently, it's on it's way back to me.

Now here's the new twist, along with the messages I received from eBay saying the account had ben fraudulently used. I called the Post Office in Rural Retreat, VA to inquire about how the package had been refused.  As it turns out, I spoke personally with the lady who took back all the refused eBay packages from Shellie.  As it turns out, her name is indeed Shellie, and Shellie is indeed female.  I specifically asked if she returned just the Delivery Confirmation packages or all of them.  The Postal worker said that Shellie returned all of them and communicated to the Post Office that her account had been misused by someone else.  At least her story is consistent. Furthermore, she requested from the Post Office that all packages from eBay not be delivered to her anymore and the Post Office informed her they couldn't do that.

What to make of this?  Here's a theory.  Shellie Williams was asked by Eastern_Treasure_Chest/Game_Emporium/JonB/Lisas_Stuff_Too badguy if he/she could have packages delivered to her house as his/her mailbox was busted (or some other lame excuse). Badguy furthermore creates the e-mail address "[email protected]" to conduct all communications.  Badguy proceeds to conduct business as usual.  It's just a theory, and I welcome other plausible theories.  The main problem with this theory is that she confessed she had an eBay account.

Again, all of this still seems too elaborate for too tiny gains.  I remain mildly surprised the perpetrator is female.  Don't get me wrong, there are some wicked women out there, and there are plenty of females who play D&D, but my gut says the real perpetrator is a guy.  Maybe I've been thinking it's a guy for so long, I've deluded myself.  I need to go where the evidence takes me. I also don't believe it's a group of problem people in Rural Retreat.  Again, I have no evidence of this; it's just my hunch.

benjoshua wrote:Here's another chapter in this story.  So, I forgot to block this person and "she" bid on several of my items and won one of them.  "She" asked her bids on other items to be removed.  I posted that I forgot to block "her" on this forum and immediately "she" vehemently accused me of blocking "her" from bidding further, but when I offered "her" the same item, "she" didn't want it.  Anyway, I mailed "her" winning eBay item w/Delivery Confirmation, and it was refused.  Apparently, it's on it's way back to me.

Now here's the new twist, along with the messages I received from eBay saying the account had ben fraudulently used. I called the Post Office in Rural Retreat, VA to inquire about how the package had been refused.  As it turns out, I spoke personally with the lady who took back all the refused eBay packages from Shellie.  As it turns out, her name is indeed Shellie, and Shellie is indeed female.  I specifically asked if she returned just the Delivery Confirmation packages or all of them.  The Postal worker said that Shellie returned all of them and communicated to the Post Office that her account had been misused by someone else.  At least her story is consistent. Furthermore, she requested from the Post Office that all packages from eBay not be delivered to her anymore and the Post Office informed her they couldn't do that.

What to make of this?  Here's a theory.  Shellie Williams was asked by Eastern_Treasure_Chest/Game_Emporium/JonB/Lisas_Stuff_Too badguy if he/she could have packages delivered to her house as his/her mailbox was busted (or some other lame excuse). Badguy furthermore creates the e-mail address "[email protected]" to conduct all communications.  Badguy proceeds to conduct business as usual.  It's just a theory, and I welcome other plausible theories.  The main problem with this theory is that she confessed she had an eBay account.

Again, all of this still seems too elaborate for too tiny gains.  I remain mildly surprised the perpetrator is female.  Don't get me wrong, there are some wicked women out there, and there are plenty of females who play D&D, but my gut says the real perpetrator is a guy.  Maybe I've been thinking it's a guy for so long, I've deluded myself.  I need to go where the evidence takes me. I also don't believe it's a group of problem people in Rural Retreat.  Again, I have no evidence of this; it's just my hunch.

I dunno. As someone who was somewhat involved with this seller when "she", "he", or "it" was "Lisa", all I can say is that your theory sounds as plausible to me as any other than has been proffered. The extent of my dealings with the seller was that I won a few auctions, the delivery seemed to be taking a while, I contacted her and got a BS explanation, and immediately filed a claim (not wanting my opportunity to expire). The seller then sent the items, though they were somewhat worse than described, and I left feedback (which without looking I assume was negative or neutral, don't recall specifically).

Contrary to others' instincts here, I always felt that the seller tracked as a female.

I can get the following eBay ID's from this seller to show up in an eBay search:

lisas_stuff_too
the_game_emporium
jonb7839
mystic-fairy
brenscollectables
the_game_boutique
the_wizards_of_all_things

But not:

the_eastern_treasure_chest

Any explanation?    Also, were there any other incarnations, or is this the complete list?

Thanks!  Next question.  Are these all the names/aliases and addresses of this individual(s)?

Jon Bassett, 4866 Ebb Hall Rd., Dublin, VA 24084

James Corvin, P.O. Box 1255, 2958 Old Stage Road, Wytheville, VA 24382

Kahl, C J, Pulaski, VA 24301-2725

James Herbert Jr. Corvin, 2958 Old Stage Rd., Wytheville, VA 24382

Lisa Callahan, 1355 W Ridge Rd Lot 8, Wytheville, VA 24382

Robert Callahan, Pulaski, VA 24301

Richard & Carrie Callahan, Dublin, VA

Shellie Williams, 1696 Cedar Springs Rd., Rural Retreat, VA 24368-2698

If anyone can fill in any blanks, feel free to contribute.  

On June 19th, out of the blue,  I got this message from her,

Good morning! I was hoping you would be sweet enough to tell me the best way to strip down my minitures? To remove old paint, so they'll be be ready to be repainted.

Please forgive me for bothering you. But you look like you really know your minis, So I thought you would be the best person to ask! : )

Thank you for your time and I look forward to your reply.

--Shellie

- mystic-fairy

I replied and later she thanked me and said she was working on stripping minis.   I don't have that message.   Then on July 3rd I got this message,

Hi! I hope your having a nice weekend! I hate to bother you. But I was hoping you could give me some info. on stripping miniatures of their paint. What's the best thing to use...or what do you use to strip the minis of their paint?

I have some that I'd like to re-paint. Any information would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks so much for your time and Happy 4th of July!!

Shellie

- mystic-fairy

I didn't reply because I thought it might be some weird come on to a 56 year old has-been, since previously she indicated she was using my info to clean minis.   It seems even stranger now, and wonder if she was up to something.

RalphPartha wrote: It seems even stranger now, and wonder if she was up to something.

There's no telling what she was up to.  One possibility is that she was just trying to establish a relationship and trust to help her sales.  She could be trying to figure out who's on the Acaeum or not, but I doubt that.  Her sales and purchasing history are primarily with publications.  One characteristic of her communication is that she's bi-polar, sweet one minute and sour the next.