Trading Ban

A trading ban has been attached to my profile and i'm absolutely livid about it. I've never scammed anyone, no user has ever complained about any dealings i've had with them, and i wasn't sent a pm informing me i was banned. If not for another user who shot me a pm asking why i'd been banned, i probably wouldn't have noticed it for a while. I've sent a pm to every mod asking for an explanation because i don't appreciate my name being dragged through the mud like this. I don't know what protocol is around here and i don't know if mods have carte blanche to do whatever it is they want without the courtesy of a pm in which the explain their actions, but i thought i'd get the opinion of the CAG community on this - maybe you guys can shed some light on this because none of the mods seem to care to respond to pms. Here is a copy of the pm i just sent to CheapyD:

Hi CheapyD,

One of your mods has taken it upon himself to impose a trading ban on my profile. I don't know what i've done wrong - i wasn't sent a pm telling me what i've been banned for, i've never had any user complain about any of my dealings with them, and i've never scammed anyone. I feel this is wholly unjust because everyone who looks at my profile and sees the ban will assume i'm an unsavory character and have wronged a fellow CAG when that isn't at all the case. I've sent a pm to every mod asking for some sort of explanation and haven't received a response. My tradelist has been deleted, i no longer have access to the trading forum and i can't conduct any trades in the gamesharing forum because of this scarlett letter that has been attached to my username. All i ask for is an explanation - i don't know what protocol is for mods, but this feels like a personal attack against me and it'll likely take CAGs a while to put any sort of faith in me again. This i think is very unfair when one considers that i've done absolutely nothing wrong

Thank you
Heavyd814life

I have no idea why you were banned, but I would guess it has something to do with all the PSN Cards you were selling. How did you get so many?

That's what i figured - i wasn't too sure, but it makes sense. I have a friend in distribution that hooks me up with a few cards at a discount every now and then - a point i made to one of the mods. There are other users here that sell them - and sell them at an even higher discount than i do. One of the mods sent me a pm about it and asked me to post a picture of all my cards - an utterly ludicrous request, where are we, USSR? He said if i didn't he'd just assume they were PSN cards from eBay. I don't care about anyone's assumptions - and i definitely won't post a picture of all my cards unless others are made to do so as well. I'm not a criminal and i won't be made to feel like one just to appease one person. I told him that if he'd like to buy a couple of cards and would like the physical cards, i'd be more than happy to mail them to him and to any other CAGs who'd prefer to have the physical cards as well. I didn't receive a response to that message.

I wasn't sent a pm that read - "if you don't post pictures of the cards, you'll be banned". I didn't receive any sort of pm at all - no warning, no explanations, nothing. Just an outright ban (because they can). I'm not some guy who is here just to sell PSN cards, i'm an active user here. I conduct trades for more than just PSN Cards and i browse the forums and comment on deals as an active member ought to. I give stuff away in the freebie forum and i don't appreciate my name being dragged through the mud like this. What irks me more than anything else is the fact that my tradelist, whish i've had since Sept. '10 has just been erased. Stuff i had on there for reference has just vanished - no warnings, no explanations, just someone with carte blanche to do as he pleases exercising his power. Where's the fairness in that?

Sounds like it would have been easiest to just post a picture.

And how does your friend in distribution get them? I dont really care unless your friend can also hook me up with some , but if they're obtained illegally I guess that's that. Why the mods would be so curious I dont know but oh well.

[quote name='whoknows']Sounds like it would have been easiest to just post a picture.[/QUOTE]

I have to agree with him, if you have the cards and its all legit just snap a picture and send to the mod. Problem solved.

[quote name='whoknows']Sounds like it would have been easiest to just post a picture.[/QUOTE]

F*&^ that. I'm with OP on this. I most likely have close to $300 in left over PSN cards from Kmart deals where I had to burn coupons over the last year. A few others I won in contests. I don't sell them on CAG because I can get more for them elsewhere but it's silly to make that request

I highly doubt the mod was just asking for the picture for fun. There was a reason behind it, whether that was to protect other traders or to protect the site in the case he got them illegally I don't know, but instead of taking less than a minute to put up a pic he rebels and gets a trading ban. Congrats.

[quote name='whoknows']I highly doubt the mod was just asking for the picture for fun. There was a reason behind it, whether that was to protect other traders or to protect the site in the case he got them illegally I don't know, but instead of taking less than a minute to put up a pic he rebels and gets a trading ban. Congrats.[/QUOTE]


Wow that's smart. So we are assuming that because someone snaps a picture of a lot of PSN cards that makes them anymore or any less legit?

I could grab 20 empty cards of a shelf and snap a picture. That doesn't mean they are legit and loaded.

Someone has been playing too much LA Noire

Again, I don't know the reason behind it, but there had to have been one. If I was in his place I'd ask why they wanted a pic then if it was a legit reason post it.

And nobody is going to go grab 20 cards at a store. That's stupid.

This has happened in the past with Xbox Live point cards as well. There would be people selling codes only that were from a credit card scam or selling stolen cards. They seem to come in waves when those type scams happen and then there is a flood of those items being posted in the trading forum. Now I'm not saying yours were obtained illegally, just explaining why the mods do ask those kind of questions and why it has happened in the past. They don't want any problems stemming from this site and the sale of possible stolen items. They have asked people in the past who have sold large quantities of cards to post pictures of their physical ones as well. Other people have been banned from trading for not complying with the request. You definitely aren't the first. I guess I don't see what the big deal is about posting a picture of the cards to the mod who requested it.

[quote name='whoknows']Again, I don't know the reason behind it, but there had to have been one. If I was in his place I'd ask why they wanted a pic then if it was a legit reason post it.

And nobody is going to go grab 20 cards at a store. That's stupid.[/QUOTE]


Yes but if you do sell PSN or XBL cards frequently and most of your buyers just want the code and don't care about you mailing the card you'd have STOCKPILES of cards laying around. I don't see what good a picture does. That's kind of dumb in my opinion...

I understand the "it is our site... play by our rules..." and I don't have a problem with that but I do think that asking for a picture and using the mindset that if the OP posted a picture it makes him legit is silly.

People are missing the point - having the physical cards doesn't prove they are legit - that's a foolish way to think. Codes, cards, it's all relative. My stance is that i won't be made to post pictures of my cards UNLESS everyone else is made to do the same. I won't be singled out - that's utter nonsense in my opinion. Perhaps simply posting a picture would make things easier, but that really isn't the point. I wasn't given any warning at all, i wasn't given an explanation - my tradelist was just deleted and this trading ban has been attached to my username. Tarnishing my reputation just because he can is what has me incensed. We didn't even have an actual discussion about this. We exchanged a couple of messages a week ago and i was suddenly banned after i bumped my tradelist to say i had 4 left cards left. If any of you are on GameTZ you only need to look at my profile to see how many of these i've sold over the months. I haven't had a single complain. Look at my feedback here and look back a few months at all the PSN cards i've sold - i haven't had a single complain. I have an influx of cards and pass them on a a discounted price to other CAGs and ONE person takes offense to it and bans me without the courtesy of a pm. That's messed up, imo and that's why i'm so upset.

JP posted the reason.

Now you know.

[quote name='Heavyd814life']People are missing the point - having the physical cards doesn't prove they are legit - that's a foolish way to think. Codes, cards, it's all relative. My stance is that i won't be made to post pictures of my cards UNLESS everyone else is made to do the same. I won't be singled out - that's utter nonsense in my opinion. Perhaps simply posting a picture would make things easier, but that really isn't the point. I wasn't given any warning at all, i wasn't given an explanation - my tradelist was just deleted and this trading ban has been attached to my username. Tarnishing my reputation just because he can is what has me incensed. We didn't even have an actual discussion about this. We exchanged a couple of messages a week ago and i was suddenly banned after i bumped my tradelist to say i had 4 left cards left. If any of you are on GameTZ you only need to look at my profile to see how many of these i've sold over the months. I haven't had a single complain. Look at my feedback here and look back a few months at all the PSN cards i've sold - i haven't had a single complain. I have an influx of cards and pass them on a a discounted price to other CAGs and ONE person takes offense to it and bans me without the courtesy of a pm. That's messed up, imo and that's why i'm so upset.[/QUOTE]


On second thought I would have taken a picture of my PSN cards next to my 3 inch penis for reference... err.. nevermind.


Edit: I need to go to bed before I get myself in trouble. Sorry you got banned OP. A lot of sites put restrictions on Gift Cards of any nature including PSN card. eBay will only let me sell one at a time which is a huge waste of time. I used to offload a half dozen a month their because it was how I washed my gift cards / gaming coupons because I could consistently get about $24 for a $20 card and after fees I broke about even. I didn't care that the buyer was over paying. I was never scammed as a seller and I never scammed any of my buyers. But the hassle of having to list them individually makes it almost not worth it. I thought about selling them here but I didn't want to deal with lowballs or what you're going through.

I'll tell you why, the 'leaders' around here are extreme fanboys. I've called them out, it cost me an account. But I still read the site, steal the deals, and re-register because nobody like that is going to tell ME what to do. Read their reviews, all 360. Uh oh, you like the PS3 or Wii more? Well here comes a ban or some sort of restriction. No, if you're going to run a gaming site then you damn well better give the Wii and PS3 just as much attention if not far more. Stopping people from visiting just because they aren't interested in your single lame console isn't going to fly. I make note of this on various sites, telling members on G4 for example that this place can't be trusted. It's sad and I would make a far more qualified admin around here since I own 30+ consoles and don't play favorites other than avoiding the 360. Sell them through PM's or something. Who cares what a few red words say.

[quote name='Heavyd814life']People are missing the point - having the physical cards doesn't prove they are legit - that's a foolish way to think. Codes, cards, it's all relative. My stance is that i won't be made to post pictures of my cards UNLESS everyone else is made to do the same. I won't be singled out - that's utter nonsense in my opinion. Perhaps simply posting a picture would make things easier, but that really isn't the point. I wasn't given any warning at all, i wasn't given an explanation - my tradelist was just deleted and this trading ban has been attached to my username. Tarnishing my reputation just because he can is what has me incensed. We didn't even have an actual discussion about this. We exchanged a couple of messages a week ago and i was suddenly banned after i bumped my tradelist to say i had 4 left cards left. If any of you are on GameTZ you only need to look at my profile to see how many of these i've sold over the months. I haven't had a single complain. Look at my feedback here and look back a few months at all the PSN cards i've sold - i haven't had a single complain. I have an influx of cards and pass them on a a discounted price to other CAGs and ONE person takes offense to it and bans me without the courtesy of a pm. That's messed up, imo and that's why i'm so upset.[/QUOTE]

I agree, anyone selling a large amount of PSN cards should be asked to post a pic, not just you. From what JP said it sounds like that's what happens.

[quote name='JP']This has happened in the past with Xbox Live point cards as well. There would be people selling codes only that were from a credit card scam or selling stolen cards. They seem to come in waves when those type scams happen and then there is a flood of those items being posted in the trading forum. Now I'm not saying yours were obtained illegally, just explaining why the mods do ask those kind of questions and why it has happened in the past. They don't want any problems stemming from this site and the sale of possible stolen items. They have asked people in the past who have sold large quantities of cards to post pictures of their physical ones as well. Other people have been banned from trading for not complying with the request. You definitely aren't the first. I guess I don't see what the big deal is about posting a picture of the cards to the mod who requested it.[/QUOTE]

That's fine and i understand everything you've said. My question is: why am i being singled out when there are other users selling XBL and PSN Cards? Give me a valid reason and i'll understand - i'm a very reasonable person. The problem is no one had the decency to have a conversation with me about this. One second all is well: i have a tradelist, i can view the trading forum. Next minute, i've been banned - everyone who looks at my profile will jump to conclusions and no one has the decency to pm me with an explanation. If this were the Soviet Union, i'd shut my mouth and beg for forgiveness, but i've don't nothing wrong, wasn't actually warned that i was doing something wrong, and a sentence was passed and i've pretty much been labelled a cheat. That is what i have a problem with, i've been unjustly treated and i demand the simply courtesy of an explanation

[quote name='whoknows']I agree, anyone selling a large amount of PSN cards should be asked to post a pic, not just you. From what JP said it sounds like that's what happens.[/QUOTE]


So is it any less wrong to sell ONE bad PSN card versus MANY?

[quote name='GBAstar']So is it any less wrong to sell ONE bad PSN card versus MANY?[/QUOTE]

No one with any sense isn't going to try and pull a scam over ONE card. I don't think anyone wants $15-$20 that badly.

Is it right? No, but it's nowhere near as suspicious as selling many at a discount.

I won't even bother selling any more cards here unless someone i've dealt with in the past sends me a pm and requests one. I'll just auction the 4 i have left on eBay and when i get 20 $10 cards at the end of the month, i'll do the same. It'll take me forever, but i'll get pretty darn close to retail value on each one and i won't have to deal with people who exercise power just because they can. I'm not a cheat, i'm not a scammer and i demand an apology from the genius who thought it was ok to attach this scarlett letter to my profile, giving everyone the impression that i've scammed (an)other CAG(s). I can't even get a gameshare together because everyone will assume i'm an unsavory character and that really is unjust. I hope people can see things from my point of view and hopefully "he who shan't be named" will have the decency to at least share his side of the story with the community

[quote name='Heavyd814life']I'll just auction the 4 i have left on eBay and when i get 20 $10 cards at the end of the month, i'll do the same.[/QUOTE]
Problem solved. STFU.

[quote name='Heavyd814life']That's fine and i understand everything you've said. My question is: why am i being singled out when there are other users selling XBL and PSN Cards? Give me a valid reason and i'll understand - i'm a very reasonable person.[/QUOTE]
How do you know the other people haven't already been contacted about theirs? They could have sent their picture to whichever mod requested it, they were satisfied and a note was made somewhere. I don't think mods have ever requested that a picture be posted in the thread, just something sent to them so they see you have physical cards. Does a picture mean that they are legit? Not necessarily but at the least they know they weren't obtained through a credit card scam via Amazon or some other retailer. There was a big issue with that particular method when Amazon first started selling Xbox Live codes.

I'm not sure when all this started, but sometimes it can take a few days for the mods to get back to you. A lot of times before anyone will comment on the who/what/where/when/why they'll get more details from whoever sent the ban down.

[quote name='Jobbercho']Problem solved. STFU.[/QUOTE]

Here come the neanderthals who have nothing constructive to say - wondered why it took this long. Well done - would you like a cookie?

[quote name='JP']How do you know the other people haven't already been contacted about theirs? They could have sent their picture to whichever mod requested it, they were satisfied and a note was made somewhere. I don't think mods have ever requested that a picture be posted in the thread, just something sent to them so they see you have physical cards. Does a picture mean that they are legit? Not necessarily but at the least they know they weren't obtained through a credit card scam via Amazon or some other retailer. There was a big issue with that particular method when Amazon first started selling Xbox Live codes.

I'm not sure when all this started, but sometimes it can take a few days for the mods to get back to you. A lot of times before anyone will comment on the who/what/where/when/why they'll get more details from whoever sent the ban down.[/QUOTE]

I'm willing to bet everything i own that i am the only one that was asked to post a picture. How on earth do you hand down a ban without contacting the person you are banning? No ultimatum, nothing. He didn't ask me to send HIM a picture of the cards, he wanted me to post it for other traders to see. I don't see any threads in which the other people selling XBL and PSN cards have posted pictures which leads me to believe that i'm the only one who was asked to do so. He sent me a pm asking me to post a pic, i said i'd be more than happy to send him the physical cards if he bought multiple $50 cards to which he replied - and i'm paraphrasing here - "i question the origin of the cards so i won't be buying any from you". That was about a week ago. After seeing that pm i said fair enough, and just went about my business. Yesterday i bumped my thread because i only had 4 cards left - hours later when i logged on, my tradelist had vanished and i'd been handed a trading ban. No emails, no pms, nothing. If he told me he wanted a picture just to make a note somewhere i'd have asked him of others had been asked to do the same. If his response was "yes", i'd have readily complied and this wouldn't even be an issue. But that is not what happened and here we are...

[quote name='GBAstar']Wow that's smart. So we are assuming that because someone snaps a picture of a lot of PSN cards that makes them anymore or any less legit?

I could grab 20 empty cards of a shelf and snap a picture. That doesn't mean they are legit and loaded.

Someone has been playing too much LA Noire[/QUOTE]

Hahahaha

I think a lot of people got ripped off the last time a guy came through with a bunch of MS Points, so they're just trying to nip it in the bud just in case. I mean, as many as you're selling, you're practically running a business.

I would love to see the other side of this story. Unfortunately, we won't, all the posts will likely be deleted and we will all be banned for viewing the thread.

[quote name='docvinh']I think a lot of people got ripped off the last time a guy came through with a bunch of MS Points, so they're just trying to nip it in the bud just in case. I mean, as many as you're selling, you're practically running a business.[/QUOTE]

As i've said, the reasons for possibly restricting someone who sells as many PSN Cards as i do have their merit. I understand them completely. The issue is that i've been banned from trading - and essentially branded a scam artist and a cheat - with no prior warning and no explanation. I hope people understand what i'm protesting here. I'm protesting the fact that you can be banned just like that without so much as a courtesy pm explaining why you've been banned. If i had been asked to stop selling the cards because my sales are eerily similar to a case in the past where people were scammed, i wouldn't have had an issue at all. Instead, a trading ban tag has been attached to my profile and that tag carries a lot of weight because the banned party is essentially labeled a cheat and a scam artist. I am neither of those and that is why i take such serious offense to the way this has been handled. I wasn't warned that further transactions would result in a ban, i still haven't been told i've been banned, and no one has taken upon themselves to explain the decision. All traces of my tradelist have been removed and anyone who sees a post of mine in any of the forums will likely jump to the conclusion that i've scammed someone. Is that fair? Don't i have a right to come to my own defense? Don't i have a right to question my accusers and demand an explanation? You want to nip it in the bud you do so by asking me to stop selling them, not by putting a trading ban on my profile, thus damaging my reputation as an upstanding trader

I'm in agreement here, and I actually bought one of the cards from him a week or two back - no problems whatsoever. To join in on the discussion, why'd they have to put a trade ban on him? IMO, that should only be for when CAGs complain about someone ripping them off. It should be a 3 strikes and you're out type of system, trading time-out for first offense - and possibly second - and then a ban if you've done it 3 times. Never should anyone be banned just because a mod suspects them of selling/trading something that may have been obtained in a shady manner. Just tell the guy not to sell any of them on here anymore. Heck, make it a rule across the board if you're that worried about it, no more selling PSN cards or MS points. There's no reason to just throw a ban on his name, especially without any warning or giving of an ultimatum, if that is indeed how this went down. Seems to me someone has been treated unfairly and this needs to be rectified ASAP.

[quote name='Mixer236']I'm in agreement here, and I actually bought one of the cards from him a week or two back - no problems whatsoever. To join in on the discussion, why'd they have to put a trade ban on him? IMO, that should only be for when CAGs complain about someone ripping them off. It should be a 3 strikes and you're out type of system, trading time-out for first offense - and possibly second - and then a ban if you've done it 3 times. Never should anyone be banned just because a mod suspects them of selling/trading something that may have been obtained in a shady manner. Just tell the guy not to sell any of them on here anymore. Heck, make it a rule across the board if you're that worried about it, no more selling PSN cards or MS points. There's no reason to just throw a ban on his name, especially without any warning or giving of an ultimatum, if that is indeed how this went down. Seems to me someone has been treated unfairly and this needs to be rectified ASAP.[/QUOTE]
3 times? Great name a game you want I have it for half what anyone else is selling it for just go ahead and send me some paypal and I'll ship it right out!

[quote name='Jobbercho']Problem solved. STFU.[/QUOTE]

Good job at making an absolutely useless post, and no, that doesn't solve the problem.

[quote name='Mixer236'][...] To join in on the discussion, why'd they have to put a trade ban on him? [...] Never should anyone be banned just because a mod suspects them of selling/trading something that may have been obtained in a shady manner. Just tell the guy not to sell any of them on here anymore. Heck, make it a rule across the board if you're that worried about it, no more selling PSN cards or MS points. There's no reason to just throw a ban on his name, especially without any warning or giving of an ultimatum, if that is indeed how this went down. [...] [/QUOTE]

The bolded part pretty much sums it up perfectly. If anyone from the administration team felt something shady was going on then they simply should have said to stop selling cards until proof is provided - or face a site ban.

There is absolutely zero legitimacy to Heavyd facing a trading ban. It doesn't stop him from trading, it simply tarnishes his reputation. Frankly, it's spiteful and misleading. He hasn't cheated anyone, he should not be labelled a cheater. If a moderator feels he has broken site rules, then he should be banned from the site. The fact that there was no warning makes it even worse. Very poor communicaton IMO.

I love CAG. I jump on here daily for one reason or another. Although my opinion probably means very little; I am very disappointed with how this has been handeled. I have been involved with Heavyd in a few gameshares now and he is far from a cheat and should not be labelled as one. I hope this all gets sorted out.

[quote name='ShockandAww']3 times? Great name a game you want I have it for half what anyone else is selling it for just go ahead and send me some paypal and I'll ship it right out![/QUOTE]

I knew someone would point out the leniency I offered...

True, twice should probably wind you up in a ban... Since we are going on the honor system, that is. 3 strikes and you're out just sounds better though.

[quote name='Mixer236']I knew someone would point out the leniency I offered...

True, twice should probably wind you up in a ban... Since we are going on the honor system, that is. 3 strikes and you're out just sounds better though. [/QUOTE]

Great response...This might be one of the best things I've read in a thread. Well done taking a bit of sarcasm and maturely responding to it.

Did you PM a mod and ask?

[quote name='Heavyd814life']I won't even bother selling any more cards here unless someone i've dealt with in the past sends me a pm and requests one. I'll just auction the 4 i have left on eBay and when i get 20 $10 cards at the end of the month, i'll do the same. It'll take me forever, but i'll get pretty darn close to retail value on each one and i won't have to deal with people who exercise power just because they can. I'm not a cheat, i'm not a scammer and i demand an apology from the genius who thought it was ok to attach this scarlett letter to my profile, giving everyone the impression that i've scammed (an)other CAG(s). I can't even get a gameshare together because everyone will assume i'm an unsavory character and that really is unjust. I hope people can see things from my point of view and hopefully "he who shan't be named" will have the decency to at least share his side of the story with the community[/QUOTE]

I'm not the mod who banned you, but I can tell you that nobody was exercising their power. Like it's been mentioned previously in this thread, there have been times when people on CAG have been scammed. XBLA/PSN cards purchased with stolen cards and trying to be sold here. This was a preventative measure, whether you like the answer or not. I understand why you are upset, but understand that we are trying to keep the people who trade on the site safe. This isn't a witch hunt. Post a picture of your cards and get this mess over with.

[quote name='Trakan']I'm not the mod who banned you, but I can tell you that nobody was exercising their power. Like it's been mentioned previously in this thread, there have been times when people on CAG have been scammed. XBLA/PSN cards purchased with stolen cards and trying to be sold here. This was a preventative measure, whether you like the answer or not. I understand why you are upset, but understand that we are trying to keep the people who trade on the site safe. This isn't a witch hunt. Post a picture of your cards and get this mess over with.[/QUOTE]

Second best thing I've read on this thread.

[quote name='Trakan']I'm not the mod who banned you, but I can tell you that nobody was exercising their power. Like it's been mentioned previously in this thread, there have been times when people on CAG have been scammed. XBLA/PSN cards purchased with stolen cards and trying to be sold here. This was a preventative measure, whether you like the answer or not. I understand why you are upset, but understand that we are trying to keep the people who trade on the site safe. This isn't a witch hunt. Post a picture of your cards and get this mess over with.[/QUOTE]

A preventative measure would be to ask me to post a picture of the cards or face a trading ban (an ultimatum). A preventative measure would be to warn me against selling anymore cards. A preventative measure is NOT *suggesting* that i post a picture of the cards and then banning me a whole week later (a period during which i sold more cards and a week during which there was ZERO communication whatsoever between the mod and I). A fellow mod bans me - thus tarnishing the reputation i've tried to maintain since i've been here - and then you telling me to just post the picture and get it over with makes it painfully obvious that you are missing the point.

A preventative measure would be to ask EVERYONE selling XBL and PSN Cards (and i'm referring to the people who sell them at more of a discount than i do) to post a picture of their cards as well. You claim it isn't a witch hunt but what you fail to realize is that singling out a person on the pretext of safeguarding the welfare of other traders is the definition of the words "witch hunt". I don't want to be a dick, i just want the person responsible for this to send me a pm admitting that he acted hastily in issuing a full trading ban without even communicating with me.

You view my feedback and you'll see that i've sold PSN cards from this same source of mine as far back as April of this year. I've never had a single complaint leveled against me.

I wasn't given a single warning, i wasn't sent a single correspondence regarding a possible ban and i wasn't sent a single pm after the fact. My feedback obviously wasn't looked at and the fact that i'd have to deal with people i'm conducting trades with and people with whom i have ongoing gameshares wondering what i'd done wrong didn't really matter to the mod. If this isn't a classic case of someone having carte blanche to act however they please then my political science professors are morons.

[quote name='Heavyd814life']I don't want to be a dick, i just want the person responsible for this to send me a pm admitting that he acted hastily in issuing a full trading ban without even communicating with me.[/QUOTE]Sorry, you are acting like one, as well as a spoiled child who's not getting their way, stomping their feet and pulling a temper tantrum. And there's no going to be any PM that you're looking for, so you can be unfulfilled in that respect.

See, first off, you PM'd me out of the blue and brought up the issue of all of these "fake sellers" that suddenly appeared, though it was blatantly obvious that we can figure out where mass amounts of PSN card codes showing up on eBay and other random sites we've never heard of. We've been through this before with XBLM card codes, XBLA game codes and the like. There's more than a few situations we've had to deal with, so don't assume you're just the first one.

[quote name='Heavyd814life']Hi. I just thought i'd ask you mods to be watchful of these foreign sellers listing $50 PSN Cards at less than 80% the retail value. I don't want it to sound like sour grapes, but i get my stock to sell on Ebay and sometimes here from distributors/wholesalers in Maryland and Texas and i find it hard to believe that anyone with legitimate cards can hope to turn a profit at the prices at which some of these sellers i've seen have had the cards listed. I just don't want fellow CAGs to run into trouble with Sony in the future should these cards be counterfeit or something. Just thought i'd make you guys aware of this.[/quote]

That just made yourself more visible than normal and your feedback was eyeballed by me to see how much you've been doing. The majority of your feedback was from card sales of Amazon GCs, XBLM card codes and some PSN card codes. Theoretically from this "distributor" you've mentioned previously. After a while, it looked like it was nothing more than a lot of PSN codes, just in line with the rise of them on eBay.

I made this comment in your TL after I noticed the significant increase of PSN cards being sold:

[quote name='shrike4242']More eBay PSN cards? Yay.

I can't see that this bottomless pile of $50 and $20 PSN cards would be nothing more than the ones currently on eBay of questionable origin. Also curious how the OP warned me in a PM about the very same situation. [/quote]

You then PM'd me back with the following PM, with my response:
[quote name='shrike4242'][quote name='Heavyd814life']I kinda resent that. I actually only have a handful of $50 PSN Cards and 10-15 $20 PSN Cards left. I get my cards from a friend who works in distribution in Maryland. I'll take a pic of the PHYSICAL CARDS i have if you agree to buy a couple of them upon seeing that these aren't some random codes from God-knows-where that people on eBay are selling [/QUOTE]I'd recommend putting the pic of the cards in the trade thread, regardless. That way, there's no question you're not selling codes from eBay or other possibly questionable places.

I won't buy any of the cards, thanks. Not interested, since I'm more than a little skeptical of the source. Obviously, a nice pic in your OP showing the cards with your CAG name attached to them will obviously prove you're right.[/QUOTE]

Never received a response to the reply, so it appeared you weren't acknowledging the request. Followed up with another post in your TL, requesting the pic again:
[quote name='shrike4242'][quote name='Heavyd814life']pm coming your way[/Quote]
Still waiting on posting that pic of all the physical cards you have to prove they're not questionable eBay cards.[/quote]

Your reply was another attempt at trying to get me to buy your cards, which again I passed on:
[quote name='Heavyd814life']Commit to making a purchase for multiple $10, $20 or $50 cards and i'll make a video of me scratching off the physical cards and sending the codes to you in a pm - better yet, commit to buy and i'll mail you the cards free of charge. If you want $10 or $50 cards, you'll have to wait until the middle of the month when i have more available - in the meantime, you're more than welcome to any of the the 4 $20 Cards i have available[/quote]

What does my purchasing of your cards have to do with anything? Were you looking for some validation by having a mod purchase one or more of them, so it would make it look OK?

You then abandoned your TL and started posting randomly in the PSN code thread, again avoiding my request.

I don't understand why there's such an issue with what seems to be a simple request that you can't take care of without my purchasing your cards, which I already declined once?

Since you kept choosing to not reply to my requests, I assumed you weren't listening and needed something more direct to get your attention.

[quote name='shrike4242']Since you kept choosing to not reply to my requests, I assumed you weren't listening and needed something more direct to get your attention.[/QUOTE]

It worked!

@ shrike4242

I see where you're coming from, but then again i don't. But i'm at least thankful you've chosen to respond.

I sent you and a couple of other mods the first pm when two people showed up in the trading forum, both selling $50 PSN Cards for $30. That was quite odd to me so i sent a pm to you guys - one of the traders was banned and the other didn't show up again and that was that. There were still about 5 people, myself included, selling PSN and XBL cards and all was well.

A couple of weeks passed and then you made this comment in my TL:

"More eBay PSN cards? Yay.

I can't see that this bottomless pile of $50 and $20 PSN cards would be nothing more than the ones currently on eBay of questionable origin. Also curious how the OP warned me in a PM about the very same situation."

This was to be our first interaction. I'd sold quite a few $20 and $50 Cards at this point (20 or so) and i could see how you would make that connection so i responded in my TL saying:

"pm coming your way"

This is the pm i sent you:

"I kinda resent that. I actually only have a handful of $50 PSN Cards and 10-15 $20 PSN Cards left. I get my cards from a friend who works in distribution in Maryland. I'll take a pic of the PHYSICAL CARDS i have if you agree to buy a couple of them upon seeing that these aren't some random codes from God-knows-where that people on eBay are selling"


As you can see from the except above, I tried to explain that a friend of mine who works in distribution sells me cards at a considerable discount - thus, i hoped, quelling your fears that these were cards from eBay. You responded to my thread so i assumed you might be in the market for a couple of cards which is why I then went on to say that i'd take a picture of a couple of cards if you wanted to buy them - that way you'd know that the cards you were buying where legitimate and you'd be worry free.

I wasn't trying to pawn off some cards on you and i certainly wasn't trying to get some clout by having a mod buy cards i was selling. I really thought you might be in the market for a couple and all i was trying to say in that pm is that i'd take a picture of the physical cards (not all of my cards, but the ones i was going to sell you) if you committed to buy a couple of them.

Then your response:

"I'd ** recommend** putting the pic of the cards in the trade thread, regardless. That way, there's no question you're not selling codes from eBay or other possibly questionable places.

I won't buy any of the cards, thanks. Not interested, since I'm more than a little skeptical of the source. Obviously, a nice pic in your OP showing the cards with your CAG name attached to them will obviously prove you're right."

I've highlighted the word recommend because that's all i assumed this was - a suggestion. You recommended that i put a picture of the cards in my thread so no one questioned the legitimacy of the cards. That's just it though, no one but you questioned the legitimacy of the cards. A few buyers would send pms asking where the cards were from. I'd tell them they were from a friend who works in distribution in the mid-atlantic and that's all they needed to hear. You made it clear that you weren't interested in the cards because you were skeptical of the source, so i just moved on. This was our first interaction. Not once did i feel you were asking me to do something - more a case of you suggesting that i post a massive pic in my op of all the cards. That seemed to me like an utter waste of time since i wasn't having a hard time selling them so i just ignored it because i couldn't be bothered to prove anything to someone that wasn't even interested in my cards. You never once said, we need you to post a pic or you'll have to stop selling - you made a recommendation, you didn't give an order.

Anyway, about a week passed and you again posted in my TL - our second and final interaction:

"Still waiting on posting that pic of all the physical cards you have to prove they're not questionable eBay cards"

I looked at it this way: i saw no one else with trade lists where they were selling PSN or XBL cards were being asked to do the same so i didn't see why on earth i'd have to. Again, you didn't demand that i post a pic or face a ban - if you did, we'd have had this entire discussion then.

You say i needed something more direct to get my attention? How about a pm in which you stated you intent more clearly as opposed to the one line comment you left that read a lot like the first comment you left. I again assumed that you might be interested in purchasing a couple of cards so my response read a lot like my first:

"Commit to making a purchase for multiple $10, $20 or $50 cards and i'll make a video of me scratching off the physical cards and sending the codes to you in a pm - better yet, commit to buy and i'll mail you the cards free of charge. If you want $10 or $50 cards, you'll have to wait until the middle of the month when i have more available - in the meantime, you're more than welcome to any of the the 4 $20 Cards i have available"

I assumed you wanted some sort of proof before making a purchase and that's what i offered - proof for YOUR purchase. Maybe if you made it abundantly clear that i was in violation of some rule or that i needed to post a pic or else then it wouldn't have come to this, but you didn't give any authoritative instructions and i certainly didn't interpret them as such.

I neglected my trade list for a couple of days because people were seeing that i had PSN cards available via my sig and i was selling enough that bumping didn't really seem necessary at all. Please note that during the two days that my tradelist went unbumped, i didn't bump my post in the code forum.

Then yesterday, i updated my post in the code forum and bumped my TL to indicate that i only had 4 cards left. A mod deleted my post in the code forum for some reason and i had to repost it. I believe it was you, but you didn't leave a note under reason for deletion - it just read garbage cleanup - and you didn't send me a pm. I just assumed it was an error and reposted and bumped my TL in the process. A few hours later, my tradelist was gone and i was banned.
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/member.php?u=16519

Just take some pictures, geez. People have gotten scammed here with people who sell multiples of the cards, so all Shrike is doing is trying to prevent that. You're making this a much bigger deal then it needs to be. If you don't like the terms, just don't sell things here, it's as simple as that.

[quote name='docvinh']Just take some pictures, geez. People have gotten scammed here with people who sell multiples of the cards, so all Shrike is doing is trying to prevent that. You're making this a much bigger deal then it needs to be. If you don't like the terms, just don't sell things here, it's as simple as that.[/QUOTE]

Seriously.

Shrike's reasons were more than good enough. I wish I could say I can't believe this is an issue, but honestly, with how people are I believe it.

I purchased one card from Heavyd recently and everything went smooth. I received the code quickly and it worked. I personally have no reason to not conduct business with him in the future.

cant you just walk into best buy and line up 20 cards and take a pic? doesnt seem like that would prove anything

[quote name='bredbu']cant you just walk into best buy and line up 20 cards and take a pic? doesnt seem like that would prove anything[/QUOTE]
But what if you don't have a digital camera to snap a pic of the physical cards in the first place? I'm too cheap to even spend the $30 on a Kodak brand camera from Kmart/Target/WalMart so I'd be ed to get 'proof' of my card(s).

[quote name='IAmTheCheapestGamer']But what if you don't have a digital camera to snap a pic of the physical cards in the first place? I'm too cheap to even spend the $30 on a Kodak brand camera from Kmart/Target/WalMart so I'd be ed to get 'proof' of my card(s).[/QUOTE]

Then you don't get to sell them? Or borrow one from a friend. Or take a normal picture and scan it in.

[quote name='IAmTheCheapestGamer']But what if you don't have a digital camera to snap a pic of the physical cards in the first place? I'm too cheap to even spend the $30 on a Kodak brand camera from Kmart/Target/WalMart so I'd be ed to get 'proof' of my card(s).[/QUOTE]

I concur with Cheapest here. I have run into this issue a couple times in the past myself where people have wanted to trade for a game or something I have had but wanted a pic of it before 100% committal, but I did not have a digicam or a way to provide requested pics. In the end I had to eat the loss of a trade, but didnt blame them for not wanting to do a deal without a pic.

[quote name='jax2001']Great response...This might be one of the best things I've read in a thread. Well done taking a bit of sarcasm and maturely responding to it. [/QUOTE]
I agree

Back on topic, both of you (Heavy and shrike) seem a little wrong so just try to keep any personal issues aside and stick to facts.

Heavy shouldn't have been banned so hastily. It doesn't appear he ever actually received a warning of any kind. I doubt that you have to as mods, but it would have been the right way to go about it imo.

Heavy you shouldn't have been dickish to shrike. If he wants to verify they're legit then just comply with the request. Yes you should have had a warning but you didn't. That sucks but again just post the pics he asked for. If you don't there's zero reason for you to be unbanned or have much sympathy shown.

Also realize that many people work for distributors and get things. I do. I can get many of a certain thing easily. If I do though I've still stolen them. I obviously don't know that this is the case here, but it's something to think about I guess if it is the case.

So there's my unasked for opinion having no idea what's actually going on with any illegally obtained PSN cards/codes.