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.