# Who of you dealt with NegaTiveXero?



## _fred_

I'm having trouble with this guy. Sent the money for the amp, but it's been almost two weeks and he never gave me the tracking number. He hasn't been on the board ever since, and his cell phone is set on automated reply.

Before taking any action, I thought I'd ask here first, cause the guy appears to have a solid reputation here (3000+ posts, itrader feedback, etc).

Sevenstring.org - View Profile: NegaTiveXero

*Update as of December 28. Got the amp. But still no word from Nick?*


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## JJ Rodriguez

I bought some computer shit off him a couple years ago and he was great to deal with 

He's been a member here for years, and I've never heard of anyone having a problem with him. He could just be MIA for personal reasons. Did he say he shipped the amp?


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## _fred_

JJ Rodriguez said:


> I bought some computer shit off him a couple years ago and he was great to deal with
> 
> He's been a member here for years, and I've never heard of anyone having a problem with him. He could just be MIA for personal reasons. Did he say he shipped the amp?


Yeah, he did. He said so on December 3, but he never sent me the tracking number. I call him up every day, but he doesn't pick up the phone. I got thru a couple of days ago, but he couldn't talk because he was at work. He asked to call in a couple of hours (very early morning my time), I got up and called, and same story again - he just doesn't answer. 

I understand he's been a respected forumite long before I came here, so before taking any serious action, I'm just giving some air to breathe. 

Hey, I'm in rough times myself, but at least he could notify me or reassure that everything's ok. At the moment, I have no idea if he shipped the amp or not.


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## zeal0us

Hey Fred,

I believe he shipped out three pieces of gear that day... which, if I'm not mistaken, were a power conditioner to California, an Intrepid to me in Florida, and your Mesa to (Soviet) Russia 

He's been fantastic to deal with. I was a little edgy too when I didn't see him online since the ship date, but my item arrived safe and sound. He must be completely swamped, but for what my assurance is worth: your gear is most likely on it's way. 

NGD coming up!


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## Jzbass25

I've had it take many weeks for customs to process an item.


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## SamSam

I've read that it can take a very long time to recieve packages from outside of Russia, in some cases up to 3 months. Although I can't remember the source...


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## JJ Rodriguez

If you're calling EVERY day too, maybe he just doesn't want to talk to you. I probably wouldn't want to pick up the phone either  This is one reason I probably wouldn't ever ship anything to a country like Russia. Not anything against you personally, but overseas shipping is probably going to take a long ass time, not to mention customs and shit involved.

As for tracking info, maybe there wasn't any  Hell, when I get tracking info from the US (I'm just in Canada) it usually doesn't update until the package is out for delivery. Did you pay him extra for a trackable service? How much he charge you for shipping?

I'm not saying no contact is your fault, but it could be a possible reason if you're trying to contact him every day. Some people just don't like that. I'd agree at the very least he should say "There's no tracking info, it'll get there when it gets there" but that's just me


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## _fred_

zeal0us, thank you for the only reasonable answer in this thread.

JJ Rodriguez, I'm a professional gear reseller. I've shipped more than 300+ items from US including about 200+ expensive tube amps (from 5150 to fucking Two Rocks). I probably know more about US shipping than most of you guys. I always use trackable service and pay extra for it. 

Thus said, I really can't see any sense in your post. I only want the tracking number, what's wrong about trying to reach your seller to get the info? 

Let me get this straight. So you're ok with NOT providing your buyer with shipping info or at least picking up the phone ONCE and saying: "hey calm down dude, your amp's on its way"? Damn, I wouldn't want to deal with someone like you..


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## JJ Rodriguez

No need to get all defensive and shit dude. I was more commenting on the fact you were calling him EVERY day. That would get annoying to anyone.

When I ship stuff out, I ALWAYS provide info. If you'd actually read the last sentence of my post I agree with you that he should contact you. I was providing a possible scenario.

No need to get all pissy. We are all aware you buy a fuck ton of shit and re-sell it. I'm glad you know more than all of us combined and have an e-penis 100 ft long.


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## Leon

Nick rules. This thread does not.


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## Leon

Opening it back up. No speculation, guys. Anything less than chill, and it'll be a month nap


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## _fred_

Thank you.

As of today, I have no indication that the amp has in fact been sent to me. My numerous attempts to contact Nick failed. The deadline for Express shipping has just finished.

I'm giving him one last chance to respond and tell me what the hell's going on before I take action with paypal. 

This makes me very sad. If you I trust a respected forumite, then who the hell can I trust here??


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## djpharoah

FYI - Nick was recently hospitalized and thus his absence. Doesn't give him a free pass but just so you know. BTW - this info was shared with me by someone who also purchased something from him.


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## _fred_

djpharoah said:


> FYI - Nick was recently hospitalized and thus his absence. Doesn't give him a free pass but just so you know. BTW - this info was shared with me by someone who also purchased something from him.


Is this info 100% true? Cause I actually got thru to him a couple of days ago and he seemed to be doing fine. He was busy at work, so he asked me to call him back later. Obviously, he never picked up the phone since then.

If he's in trouble, it's not like I won't understand. Hey, shit happens. But lying that he actually sent the amp and then not responding to PMs, e-mails, phonecalls - that's bullshit, man.


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## djpharoah

_fred_ said:


> Is this info 100% true? Cause I actually got thru to him a couple of days ago and he seemed to be doing fine. He was busy at work, so he asked me to call him back later. Obviously, he never picked up the phone since then.
> 
> If he's in trouble, it's not like I won't understand. Hey, shit happens. But lying that he actually sent the amp and then not responding to PMs, e-mails, phonecalls - that's bullshit, man.


As for the validity of that I have no idea man. Like I said it was just info shared with me.


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## BigPhi84

I bought a guitar off of him and the process was very smooth. Yeah, the guy doesn't have the best communication, but his is a stand up dude. I wouldn't hesitate to do business with him again, even after reading this thread.


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## highlordmugfug

I've traded with Nick and he was a real cool guy. If you don;t have the tracking number, yeah that sucks and I agree that he should get it to you, but my experience with him was very positive.


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## _fred_

I see that he has a rep around here, that's why I started this thread. 

I don't know.. Paypal, to pull or not to pull?


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## cyril v

I'd say give it another week before making a decision, maybe there was some unforseen delay with shipping that was out of his hands? I know it sucks because you paid top dollar to get it to you fast and with tracking, but you do have 45-days to request a refund and if it shows up right after you get a refund that would screw him over even worse. If it turns out he didn't ship it with the method you wanted and thats whats causing the delay, you can request a partial refund for the difference in shipping. good luck


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## _fred_

um.. well he did tell me that he shipped it, didn't he? That was on December 3. If he sent it with cheaper service it will get here in minimum 1 month.. I'd say even 2, given the upcoming holidays. So you see.. why the dilemma

If I get the money and then the amp, I will send the payment back. I have no intentions of screwing someone, given that I resell amps. My reputation's worth much more.

But at the moment, I have to get my client an another amp like that. And pay out of my own pocket for it. So you see how this is turning into a fucking preX-mas nightmare for me 

any more suggestions? I'm running out of time


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## rew

I bought a pod xt from him for my brother and haven't heard anything or seen it since. That was on 11/30. He has not been on the board and has not replied to an email I sent politely asking if he even sent it. I am also starting to worry if it will ever come. His communication was fine when it was about him getting money but stopped when it was time to uphold his end of the bargain. Anyways I hope he is alright health-wise, I could understand the delay with an excuse like that.


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## _fred_

I have waited long enough. I'm filing a claim tomorrow. Let God be the judge to this man.

or paypal in our case.


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## rew

^ same here


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## _fred_

I wonder why this thread doesn't spark the same interest as the thread about LAMetalShop?


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## DDDorian

Probably because NegaTiveXero has been a regular for years with a good reputation and LAMetalshop clearly showed up with the sole purpose of scamming people? Come on dude, drop the attitude.


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## _fred_

Drop WHAT attitude? I haven't received the amplifier, a guy didn't receive his POD and I got a PM from an another forumite who never got his item from NegativeXero quite some time ago either! What do you expect me to do.. play all cool? How many deals have to go wrong before you guys stop defending him? 
This is bullshit man. 


Doesn't anybody live close enough to him to check him out or something?


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## JJ Rodriguez

The 2 are completely different. I have no doubt that something fucked up has happened to Nick, whether that means hospital, whatever. It's not the same as someone coming here for the sole purpose of scamming people which is clearly what happened with LAMetalshop.

I could be wrong, but if any other long time member here didn't ship something out and basically what happened with you and Nick, I'd have no doubt about them either, and I'd hope people thought as much of me if something fucked up happened and I didn't ship something out and dropped off the face of the planet.

We're not saying it doesn't suck, or don't try to get your money back, just that Nick isn't a scam artist like this other fucker.

If someone came and called a buddy of yours a thief, you'd probably be kind of upset too.


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## DDDorian

I'm not saying you don't have a right to be pissed at not receiving what you paid for but dropping comments suggesting that people aren't interested or attacking people for giving a member with an established rep the benefit of the doubt isn't going to get you anywhere.


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## _fred_

I'm not trying to get anywhere, I was hoping some local buddy of Nick would come up and help me solve this issue.


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## JJ Rodriguez

Solving the issue is getting somewhere 

I don't blame you for being pissed dude, it definitely does suck you didn't get your shit.


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## HighGain510

_fred_ said:


> I'm not trying to get anywhere, I was hoping some local buddy of Nick would come up and help me solve this issue.



It sounds like you have resolved your side of the issue already, you filed the claim, he probably can't defend it (or maybe not even respond, in which case you win by default) if he didn't ship it as he won't have a tracking number to give them. It sounds to me by how big a deal this is to you that maybe you should think twice about brokering deals for other people.  Then you won't have to worry about being out all that money because someone didn't ship it to you.


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## Valserp

I have bought a Mesa Single Recto from Nick in September and it still hasn't arrived. No joke.
He HAS provided me with substantial evidence of the shipping(pictures of the customs form and the receipt).
The shipment got botched up twice. First time they damaged the packing in the post office. The second time - it was shipped to Belgium, instead of Bulgaria(according to tracking). It went back to the USA and has been reshipped to me on 6th of December. I hope to God that it's only being delayed because of the crazy holiday shipping.
Throughout the whole transaction, though, Nick's communication did leave a lot to be desired. He would never notify me of any updates, until I asked.(For instance, if he says "I'll go to the Post Office tomorrow and let you know what happened". 2 days after I PM him back "Well, did you go?". THEN he would actually update me with "Ya, I was there yesterday etc. etc." Lazyness, I guess.

So, what I'm trying to say with this huge block of text is that he seems honest(to me) but communication is definitely not his thing.


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## 7 Strings of Hate

reading this, you guys got a point. long time member or not, this behavior is unacceptable.

if i was in the hospitial, i'd have someone conduct my biz for me. even in the bed, i'd ask my wife or family to log on, give them my info, and make sure my stuff got shipped ect.


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## JJ Rodriguez

If you're in a hospital bed, sometimes you aren't in any condition to communicate anything.

I'm not saying it's okay for him not to ship stuff, but calling him a scammer is a bit much.


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## _fred_

JJ Rodriguez said:


> If you're in a hospital bed, sometimes you aren't in any condition to communicate anything.
> 
> I'm not saying it's okay for him not to ship stuff, but calling him a scammer is a bit much.



I have already said it a couple of times, yet for some reason you're ignoring the fact that I did get thru to him a week ago and he sounded just fine, but wasn't able to talk, because he was at work.

You see.. it just doesn't compute.


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## JJ Rodriguez

It's fucked up. I just don't get why the dude would buy/sell probably thousands of dollars worth of shit here, then decide to all of a sudden rip like 2-3 people off.

That doesn't compute with me  Any word from your PP dispute yet?


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## _fred_

Yeah man, I hear you. You know, I log on to to the forum every morning expecting this guy to respond to the thread with something like: "sorry guys, I fucked up, will resolve all issues asap", but it's just not happening..

dispute is started, I've got 20 days to wait for his response. I can escalate this to a claim now, but I don't know.. I'm still giving this guy a chance.

Hey Rew! Did you start a dispute, or have you actually escalated it to a claim already? Let me know.


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## Valserp

Good job to all you guys who neg-repped Fred for having a perfectly legit concern!


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## JJ Rodriguez

It wasn't the concern, was his attitude in spots that got him the neg rep. This is hardly the place to bitch about neg rep, and if you feel that way you should just positive rep him and leave it at that.


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## rew

Paypal claim filed. Can't wait to get the money back!


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## zimbloth

I've had many dealings with NegativeXero, both with trades and sales, and it's always been smooth sailing. For what that's worth. That doesn't mean someone can't one day choose another path, but I have to say I'm surprised to hear this. Very unfortunate. 

I hope his health improves and you can get your money back (or the item you paid for).


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## I_infect

I had problems shipping to Russia before. Customs suck... UPS told me straight out that it takes 3-4 months to get through everything IF everything clears ok. In my case the guitar eventually got there A-OK but it was a horrible long experience, and I won't ship international again because of it. Too risky for both buyer and seller. I have no opinion on the forumite mentioned but based on my experience I give the benefit of the doubt.


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## _fred_

I don't know what to find more amusing: your lack of elementary knowledge about shipping and your whining about it, or the fact that this is a thread about a forumite who hasn't communicated nor sent out the items after people sent their payments. NOT about shipping problems. 

Complete logic fail.



rew said:


> Paypal claim filed. Can't wait to get the money back!



Right. I'm escalating mine as well then. Good luck to you bro!


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## JJ Rodriguez

So Paypal protects you even outside of eBay? I never thought it really did much unless you were paying for eBay goods, or an online store checkout, something like that. Of course, you can always dispute the credit card charge.


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## MaxOfMetal

JJ Rodriguez said:


> So Paypal protects you even outside of eBay? I never thought it really did much unless you were paying for eBay goods, or an online store checkout, something like that. Of course, you can always dispute the credit card charge.



That's the beauty of PayPal, they protect ALL transactions.


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## JesseTheMachine

MaxOfMetal said:


> That's the beauty of PayPal, they protect ALL transactions.



I dunno, I had a problem on here with a guy from California not shipping a Kahler bridge to me for months, and I went to Paypal to see what I could do and they said basically I was SOL.

Luckily for me the guy pulled through in the end, but I'm just saying they don't always protect your transactions I guess it depends what it is.


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## zeal0us

JesseTheMachine said:


> I had a problem on here with a guy from California not shipping a Kahler bridge to me *for months*...


 
PayPal covers buyers' asses upto 45 days after transactions.


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## I_infect

_fred_ said:


> I don't know what to find more amusing: your lack of elementary knowledge about shipping and your whining about it, or the fact that this is a thread about a forumite who hasn't communicated nor sent out the items after people sent their payments. NOT about shipping problems.
> 
> Complete logic fail.
> 
> 
> 
> Right. I'm escalating mine as well then. Good luck to you bro!




Wow what's up with the attitude? I've done countless tranactions actually, and shipped all over the world, with Russia being the ONLY problem area, from both buyers and shipping problems, So I doubt my shipping knowledge is elementary. Russia is the reason I won't ship international AT ALL because of impatient buyers like this, like you. 
I was giving perspective from a seller's point of view, not a buyer who is complaining that their item didn't get there in a week, or is possibly abusing the Paypal system to get something for free when it's conveniently 'lost in the mail'. Problems with a buyer/seller is one thing; not receiving an item due to delays is another.

As far as the neg rep you left me, it looks like you got 3 in return. Treat people with some more respect around here please or GTFO. I'm sure the mods will agree; causing problems only gets you a free ride back to Harmony Central.


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## MaxOfMetal

JesseTheMachine said:


> I dunno, I had a problem on here with a guy from California not shipping a Kahler bridge to me for months, and I went to Paypal to see what I could do and they said basically I was SOL.
> 
> Luckily for me the guy pulled through in the end, but I'm just saying they don't always protect your transactions I guess it depends what it is.



Every transaction is different, and in some cases if you don't file a claim promptly, or you do so improperly (which to them looks like abuse of the system) then you'll sometimes be SOL. As in they won't be able to help you. 

As helpful and secure PayPal is, it shouldn't be used a crutch to fall back on when doing shady deals. It's not 100% full proof. Look at it as a little added insurance and paper trail. If you want 100% secure, there are a few online Escrow services that offer even more protection.


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## robotsatemygma

I dunno... I'm very hesitant about any transaction via here or ebay. The way I look at it is this... it's a gamble. 

Your hoping the person on the other end is honest. They are hoping you're honest yourself. Don't gamble money you're not comfortable with losing. Simple as that. 

Fred does have some fuel on his end... the seller is being shady. A simple here's the tracking number pm, call, email, whatever... done. He's withheld his end of the bargain and it's in the hands of a shipping company. Him simply withholding that information is fishy, and EXACTLY WHY I will never do a high end purchase direct with a civilian. 

But Fred also needs to understand that shipping internationally can take awhile. Members have said it... it can take MONTHS! Shitty because his protection time frame will be null by then. 

Like I said, it's a gamble. Don't bite off more then you can chew.


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## Fred the Shred

There is one thing I can assure you guys: being in Portugal, I've never had anything take more than a matter of days to arrive to its destination, and this does go both ways. Last time I received a guitar from the US, it took it 4 days to arrive to the customs office, 2 more for inspection so they could get the invoice confirmation (works for ebay, stores, whatever it is that clearly states the selling price inequivocally) and voilá - it was home.

Even if it did take longer than anticipated for whatever reason (being held indefinitely by the local customs, or something along those lines), a tracking number allows you to know its location at any time. I've done business with people all over the globe without a single problem so far, and even when there was a delay with processing a package, the buyer knew what was happening all along and there was no suspicion whatsoever of foul play.

These businesses are indeed prone to some doubt - even if the man is not to blame, where is the tracking info? Or an explanation to his buyers in which he describes the existence of a problem? If people have no data whatsoever that may help them trust the other end of the bargain will be respected, I find it normal that they become restless. This whole matter is hardly related to some guy in an island lost in the far reaches of Asia hoping to get US gear in a couple days, but of people who have no idea whatsoever if what they bought ever left the buyer's home in the first place.


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## I_infect

It is pretty expensive to ship international. I have shipped to Australia, and generally it's gotten there within a week at a cost of $80 usd, with the guitar disassembled(bolt on neck removed for safety and a smaller box). There are size restrictions for packages for many countries. Hungary and Russia- when I shipped there both turned out to be fraudulent, in one case the package returned round trip in 6 months. For express shipping with tracking 9.9 times out of 10 the shipping with insurance and tracking included is $300-$400 dollars. Australia, Brazil, Canada, and Mexico I never had any problems with. After dealing with Russia and getting burned more than once I stopped shipping international period.

What you are now seeing, especially on Ebay are these 'brokers' who have a US shipping address, and then have someone at that US address ship it out to the customer's country. The reason you are seeing this is because of these shipping problems, Paypal only gives you 45 days to file a dispute, but in many cases actual deliveries take longer than that, so by the time it is delivered, the seller has already lost his money and gear. Also by the time Paypal runs a check on a credit card internationally, it comes back 'stolen' or 'unauthorized'(this is of course after the item was shipped). If international shipping was as easy as its supposed to be, there wouldn't be these 'gear resellers', 'brokers', or whatever friendly term we want to call them.

As I stated in my first post in this thread, I have no experience with negativexero other than sharing this forum, so I can't or won't give opinion on him as a person, only sharing experiences as a seller.


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## rew

Unfortunately this isn't a shipping issue. It's a case of dealing with a seemingly reputable member of this forum, paying him for things he's selling, and then never hearing from him again once that happens. 
I live in the same country as him, and I still haven't heard from him since I last asked if my payment went through almost a month ago (to which he said yes). I did not harass him or get impatient too quickly. The only think I've done was send a polite and simple PM on the 13th, though he hasn't been on here since the 3rd so I sent him an identical email soon after that. No response to that either. 

I believe that I did all the communication that is necessary, so I hope I can pull out cleanly. I hope he isn't in a hospital bed somewhere unable to say anything about this. 

So the point of my post (and I think the initial meaning of this thread) is to see if anyone might know what's up, and for everyone to just be forewarned about this guy, Fred and I are having a tough time dealing with him, not because of international shipping or anything, but because of bad (absent) communication.


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## MaxOfMetal

This isn't the first time this has happened, where a somewhat respected forumite falls to the wayside. Often leaving a few people with the shaft. 

Andy (Rew), you have been very patient, and I feel you have the complete right to take the actions that you currently are. The same goes for you Fred. Though look at the way each of you are handling this. Andy has been nothing but pleasent, given the situation, and is being quite nice to others about it. On the other hand, Fred, you've just been a dick. Attacking others for simply sharing their thoughts and opinions, this is a forum after all.


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## 7 Strings of Hate

Fred the Shred said:


> Even if it did take longer than anticipated for whatever reason (being held indefinitely by the local customs, or something along those lines), a tracking number allows you to know its location at any time. I've done business with people all over the globe without a single problem so far, and even when there was a delay with processing a package, the buyer knew what was happening all along and there was no suspicion whatsoever of foul play.



fyi, in america, the tracking numbers quit following the package at our countrys boarders. i'v sent many things overseas and got tracking numbers, but it will only tell you where it is as long as its in america


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## Fred the Shred

Not to dismiss your statement in any way, but I've been able to follow tracking numbers all the way from the source. Every time a midway station was involved, that would appear on the tracking info. What company is in question here? Even USPS had such information available to me, so I am actually pretty surprised to read this.


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## 7 Strings of Hate

Fred the Shred said:


> Not to dismiss your statement in any way, but I've been able to follow tracking numbers all the way from the source. Every time a midway station was involved, that would appear on the tracking info. What company is in question here? Even USPS had such information available to me, so I am actually pretty surprised to read this.



USPS. i'v shipped a guitar, and tons of smaller items and was told everytime that the tracking stopped at our boarder.


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## JJ Rodriguez

Shipping from the US isn't consistent at all. I've had a 50 lbs tube head (the Dragon) shipped to me USPS, and cost like $50. In another state, USPS wanted to charge the guy $80 to ship me the GP3 (2u rack preamp) WITHOUT tracking. Sometimes tracking works all the way to my door from the US, other times, it doesn't update until I pick up the package. I don't even care about tracking the package on it's way to me (although it's nice), it's just good to have that confirmation that they DID ship it to you.

I don't know if it's different states, or different workers, or an ever evolving policy on the part of USPS and other shippers


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## hairychris

We have major problems shipping to Russia from my work. We find it easier to give stuff to people travelling over (up to and including file servers. Not ideal but it vaguely worked in the past.) to take through as baggage.

Obviously there seems to be other issues here but Russian customs is proper fucked up.


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## _fred_

*Ok people! A major update!*

This is a somewhat unexpected turn of events, but unbelievably - *the amp has just been received!*

Although, in my opinion, I had all the right to start a thread like this (lack of comms with a seller for almost a month in either way is still wrong), I do feel bad about this whole thing.

I will take advice from the moderators/forumites on how to end this matter properly and do some damager repair to Nick's reputation. I've already sent a message to paypal support to close the claim. If they don't, I will resend the payment back to Nick, when I get it.

Andrew, I hope you get your item. Looks like this guy in some trouble or something. I still can't explain several things that happened between us, but I did get the amp eventually. Hopefully, you will get yours.


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## JJ Rodriguez

Glad you got your amp dude. 

I wonder what's up with Nick though?


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## Fred the Shred

Considering he was quite an active member, I can't help wondering if the man's ok. 

As for the amp, I'm glad you got it. Let's just hope the Paypal claim gets shut down in time without further consequences for Nick.


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## _fred_

Yeah.. I hope he's all well and all his problems are temporary.

I've just cancelled the paypal claim. It shouldn't cause any damage to his rep.


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## DDDorian

Good to hear. I'll leave this open so that others who were having issues with items not arriving can add their two cents and if all ends well I'll bury this thread deeper than JJ's prom date.


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## JJ Rodriguez

Good luck man. They ain't ever finding her.


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## djpharoah

Glad it worked out


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## rew

I told my brother that there might be hope yet, but he hasn't gotten the pod yet. If it comes through, we'll cancel the claim. Glad to hear you got your amp, Fred!


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## _fred_

hey Rew! what's up?


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## rew

Still haven't got it. He emailed and said he's been out of town and busy and gave us a tracking number. The tracking number was something that just cleared customs in Australia. Then he said he accidentally gave the wrong number to us. I'm sick of this, I just want my brother to have a stinking pod that we paid for so he can get good tones and finally start recording. I got him all excited about it and everything


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