Below is my current understanding, for my own reference, and to help other returning and new users.
Collated Information
beserkfan AKA gutz• Had a fire-sale of his collection
• Sale suffered from several issues:
• Items sold twice
• Items sent to wrong recipients
• Items mislabelled
• Many users not receiving what they brought
• Many payments made through non-refundable channels of payment
• These channels officially not for commerce, but for sending money (ex. PayPal Gifts)
• May imply malicious intent on the part of beserkfan
• May be, as he claimed, simply because of issues with his PayPal
• Fallout
• beserkfan claims to have financially suffered from this fiasco
• beserkfan is banned from selling again on this site
• beserkfan has been inactive for several months now
• Many purchasers did not receive their goods
• Many purchasers were unable to get refunded due to the use of non-refundable channels of payment
• Potentially, many users have 'profited' by receiving, and keeping, goods that others purchased.
IvanIvanovich AKA Ivan, lysol• IvanIvanovich was at this time a Global Moderator
• Was holding three concurrent group buys
• RS84 - 80% Kit Keyboard -
Link • PBT Dark - PBT Cherry Profile Keyset -
Link • Miami Nights - GMK Doubleshot keyset -
Link• Group-buys dragged on for a long time
• IvanIvanovich continually claimed that he was 'busy' and that the GBs would be fullfilled
• GB Purchasers contacted suppliers, who confirmed that no orders had been placed
• GMK said that the order process had come to an 'abrupt end' -
Link• By this time, the PayPal refund limit was long-gone
• This was taken as a sign of IvanIvanovich's malicious intent - to delay until refunds were impossible
• The GBs were never fulfilled
• RS Keyboards offered a choice between a one-time discount or a 10 free boards raffle to all RS84 GB Participants -
Link • User redbanshee is currently negotiating the organisation of the raffle on behalf of the GB participants -
Link• Users considered legal action but costs and logistics were too difficult to pursue this course.
• Fallout
• IvanIvanovich lost Global Moderator standing
• IvanIvanovich has not been active for many months
• His account has been left active in the hope that he will at some point return to apologise
• Almost all GB Participants received nothing for their money
• Estimates at the amount of money lost range from $17,000 to $40,000
• Triggered site-wide discussion on the effectiveness of the GB system
• Led many users to question if Group Buys were ever a safe way to purchase goods, considering such a high-profile betrayal
Original Post text:Sorry for bringing up what appears to be a painful topic, but in the time that I've been much less active on geekhack, it seems that there's been a lot of drama surrounding these two GH users, whom I remember being well respected. Could anyone who understands the context / chronology of these events please enlighten me as to what's gone terribly wrong while I've been away. Thanks.