I received an Indefinite Restriction on my Ebay account after 16 years of selling with 100% feedback. eBay told me I was selling counterfeit items (which I was NOT). I had an attorney trace the origins of the items and they found them to be 100% legitimate. After my account was restricted buyers began to open disputes because they got messages my listings and selling privileges were removed which made the suspicious. Ebay immediately closed the disputes and refunded the buyers without consulting me. These buyers received a full refund without ever returning the item or any messages from me. My paypal account balance is close to NEGATIVE $1000. I contacted Ebay several times to speak to managers which never rarely called me back. They told me there was nothing that they could do and that the seller has NO protection in this instance.
Source: http://www.paypalwarning.com/indefinite-restriction-16-years-ebaypaypal/
Not a GameStop employee here, but the friend of a former one.
They'd just gotten a shipment of Pop Vinyl figures, and I was there looking for some particular ones that were a bit harder to get my hands on. Dr Who, Kingdom Hearts, a few blank ones for customs. Stuff like that.
In walks a few kids. No problem. Me and my friend, the actual worker here, converse. Lets point it out. My friend is an 8/10 girl, but I'm gay, so she was always open to talking to me. Manager knows me too, so nothing was wrong with us chatting. It wasn't busy, and I'm a paying customer.
The kids looked around, picked out a few items, and seemed to talk amongst themselves. One of them seems to be looking for something, so my friend, being the great person she is, goes up to help him. She asks what he was looking for. Kid #2, the one looking for something, asks where the Switch games are. Friends points them out. Kid #1, who was behind her now.. slaps her ass.
Needless to say, parents were called, and they were forced out. My friend's still working there, but she tends to not leave the front desk as often as she would before.
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/bicr5z/gamestop_employees_of_reddit_what_are_some_of/em016d5/
One of the hottest trends on YouTube right now is ordering these random mystery boxes from complete strangers on the deep web and opening them on camera. I don’t know why I didn’t realize a clear majority of these videos are fake and staged for their scare factor, but I didn’t. I thought it was a great idea and hopped on the bandwagon to claim my YouTube stardom that I desperately longed for.
For those who don’t know a lot about the deep web, it’s simply a part of the internet that isn’t accessible from your basic Chrome, Firefox, or Explorer search engines. You must download the encryption program Tor and the Tor browser for starters. It’s not illegal to access this part of the internet, but since it is anonymous, a great deal of illegal actions happens here. The possibilities are endless.
I grab my laptop I’ve had since I graduated in 2011 and download the required programs. I prefer to use my laptop over my desktop in case of viruses and such. My 7-year-old laptop is a little more disposable.
I had a little bitcoin phase a few years ago when it was blowing up, so I had a little saved already. It wasn’t much, only .1 Btc which translates to roughly $632 usd, but it was enough for what I was looking for. After the downloads were finished, I opened the browser and started my journey at the Hidden Wiki website. They provide a lot of useful links to get you started on the deep web. I scrolled through the warnings and gist’s of what it was and found the links I was looking for.
“Almost forgot!” I muttered to myself as I grabbed the duct tape from my desk drawer.
I cut a tiny square piece off the end and placed it over my webcam. Call me paranoid, but I’d rather be safe than sorry.
I clicked on the first link and waited what seemed like forever for the page to load. It was another very plain page with a list of popular websites that you could scroll through on the side. I continued my search through the web links until I found a page dedicated to mystery boxes. I wanted to find one around $500 so people knew I meant business on my channel. These were relatively small, staying around the .0125 to .05 bitcoin range. I was worried about being scammed. I decided to continue my search after a quick bathroom break.
When I came back, I noticed my cursor was off to the side and was able to click on a link that must’ve matched the background color of the web page because I couldn’t see it. I indulged in my curiosity and hit the link.
I was taken to a pitch-black page with small white texts near the top.
“I’m selling one random package to any brave enough to receive it for only .12 btc obo.”
“Only one huh?” I thought to myself, “I’ll shoot my shot.”
I hit the small payment button and was asked how much I’d like to spend. I entered .1 btc with fingers crossed. The payment went through without any hesitation and I was instantly met with a chat box asking where I’d like my package sent. I know this wasn’t a good idea and I regret it to this day, but the other YouTube channels used their own address often, so I thought nothing of it. I gave them my home address.
I waited over a month for the box to come in. 36 days to be exact. It arrived directly on my front porch and was wrapped numerous times in red tape. I set my camera on the tripod and adjusted it to show me and the box on this small wooden table. I draped a sheet in the background, so it looked a little more “professional”. I collect some gloves and scissors, so I can bang the video out in one go.
Hey everybody, welcome to tonight’s vlog! Boy do I have a surprise for you.
I continue my monologue mentioning how I got the box and how much I paid.
Without wasting further time, lets open this deep web mystery box!
I grab the scissors and cut along the red tape. I make sure my gloves are on tight and I rip the box open. My brow furrows as I see just one book. Without saying a word, I take the book out of the box. I was pretty pissed I spent over $600 on a book.
Well folks, looks like we got us a dud. These pages better be made of gold!
The outside of the book was old and tattered, and it smelled of mildew and mold. I cracked the book open to the first page and glanced over the contents.
It’s an old photo album. Smells of old rot. Let’s look at these pictures.
I show the camera a view of the pages contents. It has four pictures on the first page. All labeled by days. The first picture said day one. The second day two, and so on. The pictures were taken with an old Polaroid camera. There were pictures of airplanes, random suitcases, couple of taxi’s, and some pretty shady motels.
Looks like someone’s old travel photos.
I continue flipping through the pages. Every day was a different photo of nature or cars or trains. Day 18 held the oddest photo yet. It was just of a mask, handcuffs, a gag, and a bottle of some sort of drug it looked like.
These people have one hell of a fetish!
I try to keep the video interesting.
I zoom into the picture with the camera, so everyone can see it. Around day 32, things started getting weird. There was a picture of a house, but not just any house. It was the house I grew up in, my parents’ house.
My hand covered my mouth as I gasped for air.
How is this..
I’m unable to form a sentence. I’m at a loss of words.
Day 33, I turn the page and see a man and a woman handcuffed and gagged. I immediately expel the contents of my stomach as I see my own mom’s scared and crying face and my dad, face first in a pile of what looked like black tar.
Day 34, this photo is taken inside what looks like a vehicle. I focus my gaze to the dash board where a small photo is barely visible. It’s an old school photo of me. They’re in my dad’s truck.
Day 35, another house but this one much smaller. The photo is too blurry to make out the details. My hands are trembling and all I can hear is my heartbeat pounding in my ears. I flip to the last page.
I immediately throw the book to the ground and run to the window. I jiggle the hatch frantically and throw it open. Without hesitation I jump out and run to the neighbors. As I’m running I turn around for a brief second. What I saw haunts me to this day.
A tall, hooded figure stood in my room, looking at me through the window. He stood motionless, before lifting his hand and waving.
I screamed for my neighbor who hurried me inside and called the cops. I sat and just cried. I cried out of fear for my life. I cried for my parents. I cried because it was all my fault. My lack of common sense got my parents killed and I will have to live with that forever.
If you access the deep web, DO NOT release any personal information. Even if people on YouTube do it. Most of it’s not real. And always check your boxes. It would’ve saved me a lot of trouble if I would have noticed the box I received had no tracking sticker on it. It was hand delivered.
Source: https://old.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/95xq21/i_actually_bought_a_mystery_box_off_the_deep_web/
Here's one woman's horrifying experience as good justification on why this should not even be sanctioned by Etsy:
Just recently, as stated in announcements, Etsy made sellers able to add their real name to their profiles. In the announcement they state....
"Using your name on Etsy can help people you know in the real world recognize you, and can establish credibility and engender trust.
Using your name on Etsy is a way of saying, "With my real-world identity, I stand by my work and my activity in the Etsy community."
This has caused a lot of issues with some sellers and I'm one of them.
I'd like to share with sellers my personal story and perhaps you can understand why some sellers (such as myself) sell under pseudo-names and prefer NOT to have their real names published.
--
A few years ago, I dated a man who was handsome, charming and terrific in many ways. During the time we were dating, he began to use methamphetamines. Because of this, I broke things off with him.
He stalked me. Threatened me. He broke into my home more than once and the second time, he beat me unconscious on the bathroom floor.
He was sent to jail.
In jail, he met a queer man who liked violence and forced sex. He hired this man, once the man was released, to come pay me a visit. This man busted down my locked front door. When I fought back, he beat me to near death. I died on my kitchen floor while my sister was waiting for the paramedics to arrive. I was revived there as well.
Since that time, I've moved. I've made every piece of personal information that I can disappear from listings and searches and anything I couldn't delete has been made private. I have *paid money* to have profiles and info removed off sites that state they won't remove information.
Over a year later I'm still required to do daily physical therapy. My face and body are scarred for life and I will -always- have to do physical therapy for the rest of my life. Daily.
Not wanting my real name shared with the public through my shop does NOT make me less trustworthy than anyone else. Not wanting my real name shared with the public through my shop or profile doesn't make me any less credible.
Like everyone else, I have to make a living. I need the extra cash I make here on this site. Being the (nearly) invisible partner behind our Etsy shop makes me no less credible than anyone else here.
I am (and should be) insulted that Etsy has insinuated in their faq this is the case with the installment of this new feature. So are others. Maybe sharing -your- name isn't a big deal, but that doesn't mean it isn't a valid issue.
John had always been interested in the world of cryptocurrencies, so when he came across a new platform that promised high returns, he jumped at the chance to invest. He put in a significant amount of money, eager to see the profits roll in.
At first, everything seemed to be going well. The platform was easy to use, and John was getting regular updates on his profits. But soon, strange things began to happen. His computer would shut down on its own, and strange symbols and messages would appear on his screen. John couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched.
One night, while browsing the platform's website, John was redirected to a page filled with gibberish and strange symbols. He tried to leave the page, but his mouse wouldn't move, and his keyboard wouldn't respond. Suddenly, a voice boomed from his computer speakers, "You have entered the realm of the digital haunting. Your money is gone, and you will never leave."
Panicking, John tried to shut down his computer, but it wouldn't respond. The strange symbols and messages continued to appear on his screen, and the voice continued to speak. John felt as if he was being consumed by the platform, and there was no escape.
Days turned into weeks, and John became a shell of his former self. He was consumed by the platform and the strange forces that seemed to be controlling it. He was never seen or heard from again.
This story serves as a warning to all those who are tempted by the promises of high returns in the world of cryptocurrency. Always be cautious and do your research before investing in any platform, or risk being consumed by the digital haunting.
They have become all about the buyer and basically thrown their sellers to the wolves. It’s sad but I was a loyal customer and seller for 9 years and all of a sudden I got a couple months where these buyers were leaving me negatives and neutrals for things that made no sense. In fact 3 of the users were brand new and left me negatives only to message me back and inform me that they were sorry as they were new and didnt realize how ebay worked and as such wrongly left a negative! Ebay has refused to take those off even at the insistence of the BUYER! Then I had 3 others where I was left a negative or neutral BEFORE the buyer had even PAID! There was no transaction……how in the world can their be feedback left on something that did not happen (Of course because hey DIDNT EVEN PAY YET!) Once again EBAY refused to remove them. I worked through these issues that left me with restrictions and because on my review day I was 0.01% over the limits I was stuck dealing with an additional month of these restrictions! Guess what next day I get an email that my account has been restricted further and that ebay was going to have PAYPAL hold all funds for the transactions till they were proven to be complete……..I count on ebay to live as I had a back injury and cannot work a regular job so this is a major issue and as a result of them holding MY money I cannot ship out fast enough causing me to probably get more negatives for slow shipping!!!!! How can I ship WITH NO MONEY! And as they explain I can pay ebay thru paypal to pay for shipping but guess what I have no printer because mine was broken recently! I cant get it fixed because I have no money, Cant get money to fix it because they are holding my cash because of restrictions, Cant get my restrictions lifted until I get better feedback, Cant get better feedback because I cant ship items in a timely manner, Cant ship in a timely manner because They are holding my money because of restrictions! Its a vicious cycle that wont be broken because sellers are not protected. I have been ripped off by MANY MANY international buyers because the USPS and UPS can only track a package to the border and customs and once it leaves there your on your own. You cant prove it got there even with a reciept WITH their address on it the amount spent and date it was sent. So they can basically steal up to 4 high ticket items a year wihout being kicked off the site and they KNOW IT! I could go on for hours and hours on this subject as I have not even scratched the surface yet! It is quite pathetic that for the first 8 years I had no problems what so ever and now its a nasty mess and I am the one being attacked. Sad state of affairs and they just lost a great seller and buyer!