I filled it out and got a card from the post office saying....well..nothing really. LOL Just that they have noted my complaint and are looking into it. Fraud is rampant on these forums now...UGH.

If The PO gets enough complaints they will do something about it. If the value is high they will also... Keep in mind they keep those on file so if over time more and more complaints come in.. then they really start looking.

Anyone remember the "witch hunt" that went on 4 or 5 years ago... GW-ers rounded up everyone they could find that had been ripped off.. all filed and the postal inspectors did show up at her house.

~Dusty~

I have, and have heard nothing back yet, but it's only been a few weeks.

I am waiting for someone to send me plants that I mailed postage for in on the 16th of July. She has ignored two of my emails and then did answer one of them saying it has been hot and she "really didn't want them to die". She promised she would send them last week and now it is the end of this week and she still hasn't sent them. I saw another person had sent her money back in March and has not received anything from her. I sent cash, but I do have all the emails telling when I mailed the money and her response about when she would mail them. Does anybody know what proof you have to have for the post office? It's not really the money because it wasn't much money, it's the lies and deceit that gets under my skin.

Depending the vaue YOU set on the plants you sent. It can get them in trouble big time-Grand theft mail fraud. 2 years ago emailed gal who -had ignored emails. Had sent Her about $100 worth of plants.+ shipping Would never send that large amount again. Just put mail fraud charges will be filled in subject. She sent me some very nice plants---in 10 days. Had waited 3 months.

Mail fraud carries a 5 year jail sentence for each offense. That is quite a risk to take to get some free postage or free plants.

I got ripped off by tropicalfreak. I know how it feels!

I too was taken by someone who wanted a fairly large trade of seeds and plants. Both of us were to send the packages out the same day and notify the other when they received them. I waited and waited and they wouldn't even reply to my emails. Talked to the people at the post office and filed a complaint but never heard anything else. Hope they are enjoying the plants I sent. I'm sure I would have enjoyed mine if I had got them. But thank God not all the people on here are like that. Most are honest and you get what you trade for. I enjoy all my trades. And to those that are dishonest....may they have plenty weeds and hungry bugs. Bev.

I'm presently no longer trading since I now have more plants than dirt to put them in.... However, when I was trading I used discretion and if I was overly suspicious about someone I didn't trade with them. Here are a few suggestions one might consider if they are concerned about getting stiffed in a trade.

• Communication is very important. Be specific as to what you are trading. Describe the plant with the botanical name and describe it fully as to it's size and whether it is a cutting or a rooted cutting etc. Make certain they describe their plant. Determine if the trade is via regular mail or Priority. Ask them to tell you when the plant is put into the mail. Tell them when you receive the plant. I recall mailing a box of freebies to a newbie and two weeks passed and I didn't hear from her. I started to think, "What an ingrate" and then she wrote to say she had just received the box and she thanked me. This was a November trade and the box apparently got caught up with the Christmas rush....

• Send packages Priority and pay the little extra for "confirmation". Sure it costs more but it puts the person on notice that you know they have received your plant. No more of this, "Well honey I NEVER received your plant"

• Many members on this forum have an established track record. Running a search on a member's screen name will give one a sense if the trader is honorable. I was not as prolific a trader as many here but in the many trades I made I was never stiffed. Disappointed once or twice perhaps, but never stiffed. More often than not I was pleasantly surprised by the trades.

• Maintain a list of traders to avoid and keep a brief summary as to why they are on the list.

• Don't trade with anyone offering their first born in exchange. Their first born is likely 40 years old, unemployed and still living at home...

• I tended to avoid trades with members who had recently registered. I realize this practice may not be fair to new members but there will always be someone else willing to trade with newly registered members, thus my conscience was clear ;)

• I always avoided trades with members who I thought were flaky. My admittedly subjective opinions were based upon their own posts. This method was not scientific in any sense. After reading some threads I mutter to myself, "....Well that person certainly is a flake..."

• Some members are quite candid and state they will not send their trade until they have received yours. That's fine, but I never traded with these members as I considered it an insult. There were times where the person said they wouldn't get their package off for a couple of days and I went ahead and mailed mine to them. One time it was obvious to me that the member did not mail their trade until after they had received mine. Upon receiving mine they gave a lame excuse as to why their plant had been delayed being mailed. I eventually did get their plant but I logged that...

All good points Mikey. Thanks for sharing them. I think I pretty well agree with everything you said, particularly about using delivery confirmation.

I'm sometimes a little slow though, so it may sometimes appear that I have waited to rec b4 sending my end...but always am in close contact when trading.

Sue

Sue: I chuckled when looking at your personal page relative to the comment about the "boyfriend of 25+ years..." I couldn't decide if you were robbing the cradle or had a very long-term relationship....LOL - Mike

Mikey,

I guess I did word that a little funny. Actually he is 55 also, and I'm had him as a DBF about 27 years or so. A lot of kids/young folks laugh when I refer to him as a boyfriend...they must think only 'girls' have BFs. I think manfriend sounds silly, and significant other, could leave one wondering.

Glad you got a chuckle out of me, as I did your post here.

Sue...who just went OT...sorry Jim

One time i saw people was searching for gal she hadn't sent Her end of the trade. Then I look at swap that was going on=she had those plants to trade to someone else.NEVER had them on Her trade list before.

Kid, when I had my trade page up, I had many plants I traded that were not on my list.

~Dusty~

Now is the time to rate those who didn't hold up to their end of the bargain.

Sue...loving the new Forum

Here is a link that might be useful: New Trade Rating Forum

When I started this post I was pretty upset about a trade gone bad but I know it's going to happen. I hope that she planted the seed sent and I hope they grow well. Maybe she will feel gulity and finally send me my pineapple sage plant.
Jim