The Energon Pub

The members over at TFW have recently had a problem with a user on their site known as Hybrid Prime. He scammed over 36 members out of $10,000 in Transformers merchandise. The whole thing has become a mess and we've been asked to make everyone aware of the situation over here.

When buying in the forums please make sure you are careful. If the deal is too good to be true then it probably is. Always exercise caution while buying and trading on the boards. It is a great way to buy stuff and help out others, but there is always the one person that is going to try and ruin it for everyone. Please be careful and use your better judgment while deciding on your purchases.

Could you also post that TFSource is having problems with the credit card info being stolen again? It needs to be stickied or something.

Same here. When I order my second HyperHobby Rodimus from TFsource, My card was trying to be charged. I have since had to cancel the card. From now on I'm going to use Paypal.

bvzxa wrote:Same here. When I order my second HyperHobby Rodimus from TFsource, My card was trying to be charged. I have since had to cancel the card. From now on I'm going to use Paypal.

I would never pay with anything but Paypal on the internet in general, unless you really trust the site. Doing anything less is just asking to get ripped off. I have been using it since 2004 and I have yet to be ripped off.

gambit020480 wrote:

bvzxa wrote:Same here. When I order my second HyperHobby Rodimus from TFsource, My card was trying to be charged. I have since had to cancel the card. From now on I'm going to use Paypal.

I would never pay with anything but Paypal on the internet in general, unless you really trust the site. Doing anything less is just asking to get ripped off. I have been using it since 2004 and I have yet to be ripped off.

Problem is, credit cards will provide you far more comfort and safety than PayPal will. A CC company will dispute the charges and fight tooth and nail for you.

PayPal will knuckle under to anyone with enough force and leave you footing the bill.

This is one of the reasons why people prefer to use credit cards over PayPal. Not to mention, most websites of TFSource's supposed caliber are supposed to be able to handle credit cards without worry. They give you a false sense of security, really.

BBTS, on the other hand, they not only give you the sense of security, they also back it up.

TFSource never received any business from me, and it doesn't look like that will change any time soon either.

So is TFSource safe if you use Paypal? Anything else to worry about regarding that site?

Treetop Maximus wrote:So is TFSource safe if you use Paypal? Anything else to worry about regarding that site?

One or two people have complained about odd charges on their PayPal account, but it's generally safe. However, due to their shady business practices involving FansProject's Shadow Scythe, and this being the SECOND time they've had credit card problems of this exact nature, I wouldn't give 'em a dime of my business.

Curt's in no hurry to get it fixed either. He has responded to one or two people asking about this situation, but that's about it. Authorize.net is the company responsible for handling their credit card transactions, but it's been said it's a subdivision of Visa and I sincerely doubt Visa's ripping off their own customers.

Funny thing is, millions use Authorize.net and no one seems to be complaining. It's only when you keep your card info and use it on TFSource that this problem arises. It also happened over at PSN with the PS3, but their servers were hacked.

TFSource's have not been.

Autobot032 wrote:

Treetop Maximus wrote:So is TFSource safe if you use Paypal? Anything else to worry about regarding that site?

One or two people have complained about odd charges on their PayPal account, but it's generally safe. However, due to their shady business practices involving FansProject's Shadow Scythe, and this being the SECOND time they've had credit card problems of this exact nature, I wouldn't give 'em a dime of my business.

Curt's in no hurry to get it fixed either. He has responded to one or two people asking about this situation, but that's about it. Authorize.net is the company responsible for handling their credit card transactions, but it's been said it's a subdivision of Visa and I sincerely doubt Visa's ripping off their own customers.

Funny thing is, millions use Authorize.net and no one seems to be complaining. It's only when you keep your card info and use it on TFSource that this problem arises. It also happened over at PSN with the PS3, but their servers were hacked.

TFSource's have not been.

Damn. They have a product I want. I appreciate the help. Thank you!

Treetop Maximus wrote:

Autobot032 wrote:

Treetop Maximus wrote:So is TFSource safe if you use Paypal? Anything else to worry about regarding that site?

One or two people have complained about odd charges on their PayPal account, but it's generally safe. However, due to their shady business practices involving FansProject's Shadow Scythe, and this being the SECOND time they've had credit card problems of this exact nature, I wouldn't give 'em a dime of my business.

Curt's in no hurry to get it fixed either. He has responded to one or two people asking about this situation, but that's about it. Authorize.net is the company responsible for handling their credit card transactions, but it's been said it's a subdivision of Visa and I sincerely doubt Visa's ripping off their own customers.

Funny thing is, millions use Authorize.net and no one seems to be complaining. It's only when you keep your card info and use it on TFSource that this problem arises. It also happened over at PSN with the PS3, but their servers were hacked.

TFSource's have not been.

Damn. They have a product I want. I appreciate the help. Thank you!

No problem. Like I said, PayPal should be fine. I mean, one or two complaints does not a problem make, but I just wanted to you know the whole deal before jumping in.

The rest of the people using PayPal have no complaints. I'd say you should be perfectly safe using it to make a purchase.

gambit020480 wrote:

bvzxa wrote:Same here. When I order my second HyperHobby Rodimus from TFsource, My card was trying to be charged. I have since had to cancel the card. From now on I'm going to use Paypal.

I would never pay with anything but Paypal on the internet in general, unless you really trust the site. Doing anything less is just asking to get ripped off. I have been using it since 2004 and I have yet to be ripped off.

I use paypal when on ebay...but if you want a quicker resolution, use a CC.
And I have been using Paypal since 2001, when they were a separate entity from eBay, and they were not that good. I caught them double charging me when I made ebay payments so many times. Also if you were not a Premiere member you couldn't even call them back in the day. I know alot about Paypal bub (I'm an Advantage member now)...so CC for me.

Now to the situation. My CC had expired when I was purchasing some toys from TFSource. I did not know, so they had called me, I spoke to Nicole on a Friday when I my 15min break. Got everything and gave her the updated expiry and verification info. After that by Thursday I got a charge from Eforcity, for $9.50, and then a flood of charges in the $1500. I have special provisions on my card for transactions over a certain amount they have to call me, and this happened when I spent $800 at Best Buy earlier this year. So they alerted me when these trumped charges came through, so all but the other charges got declined except the $9.50, and that was immediately removed and refunded.

So You really can't paypal everything, but you have less of a chance of getting screwed using Paypal in a sense, than with your CC or bank card. Just that not everyone excepts Paypal. All in all I was panicked, but not spooked. If the security is laxer, I will just stick with BBTS and use TFSource with Paypal.

I've just been scammed by Hybrid Prime, sent him 2x MOSC RTS Jazz and 1x MOSC Windcharger. Was supposed to receive a MOSC Cliffjumper and Prowl.

I'm new to the hobby, and this was my first trade ever, so kinda sucks. Also, I'm based in the UK, so despite having his address details, I doubt theres much I can do to retrieve my figures.

Cheers,

KK

kurttkrueger wrote:I've just been scammed by Hybrid Prime, sent him 2x MOSC RTS Jazz and 1x MOSC Windcharger. Was supposed to receive a MOSC Cliffjumper and Prowl.

I'm new to the hobby, and this was my first trade ever, so kinda sucks. Also, I'm based in the UK, so despite having his address details, I doubt theres much I can do to retrieve my figures.

Cheers,

KK

You are right that does suck! ALWAYS check someones feedback before you do any kind of business with them and its cool to be able to get the figures you want,but dont fall into the price traps set by SCALPERS who try to convince buyers that a $12.00 figure is worth $30.00 or higher.Be patient,and the prices usually go down to affordable levels or you can find HONEST people to do business with.

swampflight wrote:

kurttkrueger wrote:I've just been scammed by Hybrid Prime, sent him 2x MOSC RTS Jazz and 1x MOSC Windcharger. Was supposed to receive a MOSC Cliffjumper and Prowl.

I'm new to the hobby, and this was my first trade ever, so kinda sucks. Also, I'm based in the UK, so despite having his address details, I doubt theres much I can do to retrieve my figures.

Cheers,

KK

You are right that does suck! ALWAYS check someones feedback before you do any kind of business with them and its cool to be able to get the figures you want,but dont fall into the price traps set by SCALPERS who try to convince buyers that a $12.00 figure is worth $30.00 or higher.Be patient,and the prices usually go down to affordable levels or you can find HONEST people to do business with.

That is a tough thing to do. Especially when people are IMMATURE and like to be DISHONEST by trickery. Good thing there are others out there though that are willing to do the homework to keep others from being screwed by members who claim to be honest. One guy in particular just tried to do this. He got mad and started calling people names rather than defending himself honestly. Even now he claims he is being HONEST, but sweep your local TJM and Marshalls before you resort to a price hike. If the sweep fails, then feel confident that you got the best possible price available.

Another tip is NEVER agree to a purchase for cash or money order. You need to be backed up in case someone tries to take your money and run. Giving someone cash first in a transaction is ballsy thing to do, especially to sellers who like to brag about how HONEST they are. Usually they are the crooks.

gambit020480 wrote:

swampflight wrote:

kurttkrueger wrote:I've just been scammed by Hybrid Prime, sent him 2x MOSC RTS Jazz and 1x MOSC Windcharger. Was supposed to receive a MOSC Cliffjumper and Prowl.

I'm new to the hobby, and this was my first trade ever, so kinda sucks. Also, I'm based in the UK, so despite having his address details, I doubt theres much I can do to retrieve my figures.

Cheers,

KK

You are right that does suck! ALWAYS check someones feedback before you do any kind of business with them and its cool to be able to get the figures you want,but dont fall into the price traps set by SCALPERS who try to convince buyers that a $12.00 figure is worth $30.00 or higher.Be patient,and the prices usually go down to affordable levels or you can find HONEST people to do business with.

That is a tough thing to do. Especially when people are IMMATURE and like to be DISHONEST by trickery. Good thing there are others out there though that are willing to do the homework to keep others from being screwed by members who claim to be honest. One guy in particular just tried to do this. He got mad and started calling people names rather than defending himself honestly. Even now he claims he is being HONEST, but sweep your local TJM and Marshalls before you resort to a price hike. If the sweep fails, then feel confident that you got the best possible price available.

Another tip is NEVER agree to a purchase for cash or money order. You need to be backed up in case someone tries to take your money and run. Giving someone cash first in a transaction is ballsy thing to do, especially to sellers who like to brag about how HONEST they are. Usually they are the crooks.

You have a valid point,but EVERYONE should ALWAYS CHECK FEEDBACK FIRST to determine who is honest and who is not and as it states in the rules,"It is recommended that you only purchase from people who have been an active member on the website for some time" because people who are dishonest eventually get caught.I'm not saying that applies to everyone,but the truth always comes out and if a person is dishonest,they wont last on this website.

That was the thing with Hybrid Prime, he had pages and pages of excellent feedback over on TFW2005. It's almost as if one day he decided to 'go rogue' as it were, and scam loads of people.

When I agreed the trade with him, his feedback was good. Not much you can do in the situation!

kurttkrueger wrote:That was the thing with Hybrid Prime, he had pages and pages of excellent feedback over on TFW2005. It's almost as if one day he decided to 'go rogue' as it were, and scam loads of people.

When I agreed the trade with him, his feedback was good. Not much you can do in the situation!

Unfortunatly,thats part of what you have to deal with when you buy,sell,or trade online and I know what you are going thru because I've gotten ripped-off before but it doesnt happen that often on TF websites that are monitored with a professional attitude and the crooks always get weeded out sooner or later.

kurttkrueger wrote:That was the thing with Hybrid Prime, he had pages and pages of excellent feedback over on TFW2005. It's almost as if one day he decided to 'go rogue' as it were, and scam loads of people.

When I agreed the trade with him, his feedback was good. Not much you can do in the situation!

Just like in my field. A guy is an accountant for 10 years and everyone and their mother has nothing but nice things to say about the guy. Then, all the sudden he has watched one too movies and thinks he can get away with something like this. What a SOB. I hope you guys find the worm who did this, find the most jagged transformer ever produced (maybe a dinobot, like Snarl!), and shove it straight up his.....well, you get the point.

Again, that is why cash and MO are relics tht have no place in online business. You need to be backed up, either by a credit/debit card or a payment service like paypal. I had a guy a few weeks ago that make a stellar offer to me for some universe stuff I wanted, but he would not accept Paypal. The transaction ended there.

Autobot032 wrote:

gambit020480 wrote:

bvzxa wrote:Same here. When I order my second HyperHobby Rodimus from TFsource, My card was trying to be charged. I have since had to cancel the card. From now on I'm going to use Paypal.

I would never pay with anything but Paypal on the internet in general, unless you really trust the site. Doing anything less is just asking to get ripped off. I have been using it since 2004 and I have yet to be ripped off.

Problem is, credit cards will provide you far more comfort and safety than PayPal will. A CC company will dispute the charges and fight tooth and nail for you.

PayPal will knuckle under to anyone with enough force and leave you footing the bill.

This is one of the reasons why people prefer to use credit cards over PayPal. Not to mention, most websites of TFSource's supposed caliber are supposed to be able to handle credit cards without worry. They give you a false sense of security, really.

BBTS, on the other hand, they not only give you the sense of security, they also back it up.

TFSource never received any business from me, and it doesn't look like that will change any time soon either.

This is true about the credit cards and in some cases if the sellers are honest,they will accept money orders.I used to use Paypal and ended up getting shafted by a dishonest seller who would only accept paypal,got my money,then dissapeared and paypal never re-imbersed me although the sales were recorded.I guess it depends on the seller's honesty.

swampflight wrote:

Autobot032 wrote:

gambit020480 wrote:

bvzxa wrote:Same here. When I order my second HyperHobby Rodimus from TFsource, My card was trying to be charged. I have since had to cancel the card. From now on I'm going to use Paypal.

I would never pay with anything but Paypal on the internet in general, unless you really trust the site. Doing anything less is just asking to get ripped off. I have been using it since 2004 and I have yet to be ripped off.

Problem is, credit cards will provide you far more comfort and safety than PayPal will. A CC company will dispute the charges and fight tooth and nail for you.

PayPal will knuckle under to anyone with enough force and leave you footing the bill.

This is one of the reasons why people prefer to use credit cards over PayPal. Not to mention, most websites of TFSource's supposed caliber are supposed to be able to handle credit cards without worry. They give you a false sense of security, really.

BBTS, on the other hand, they not only give you the sense of security, they also back it up.

TFSource never received any business from me, and it doesn't look like that will change any time soon either.

This is true about the credit cards and in some cases if the sellers are honest,they will accept money orders.I used to use Paypal and ended up getting shafted by a dishonest seller who would only accept paypal,got my money,then dissapeared and paypal never re-imbersed me although the sales were recorded.I guess it depends on the seller's honesty.

Maybe in the past, but Paypal's buyer protection program is excellent. I have had to file a cliam a few times before and they gave me my money back both times. As long as you are in the right and not trying to scam them they are very much on the side of the buyer. A little too much, actually.