well, the first time I chose to do business with him I did not know anything better, he offered a good deal, I trusted him as a member of this forum and I took my chances. never did I expect to get here the 2nd time. the customs number he provided, when entered on the usps site only said: "First Class Mail International Small Letter sent on..." and that was all. No way to check the address or at least the country it was sent to and no further info wether it left the US and so on...

I concurr...I dealt with him a couple of times in the past....things went smoothly without problems. The last time I dealt with him however, it took forever to get some lugs and leg mounts for a Leedy drum I was working on. Something to the effect of three weeks! I'm in New Hampshire, and he is in New Jersey....couple of days tops by UPS Ground! So, after that last time, I know better now. Maybe he has too much going on, maybe he's spread a bit thin...either way, its not right to keep people hanging by not contacting them to let them know what is going on.

Sorry Tom, but you've dug this hole yourself, now you need to climb out on your own too. Hopefully the situations will correct themselves soon.

Sorry for not playing nice but this won't be the first time:

As a member of this forum for 3 1/2 years I think that it is high time that this member being discussed (VADRUMS) needs to be called out. Sorry Tom, but I bit my tongue after you gypped me out of 3 Ludwig downbeat lugs, then you screwed Blonkins for over a year I believe....and now this?

I personally bought some items from Tom, 6 downbeat lugs to which he showed me pictures of the lugs, but didn't mention that 3 of them were damaged. When I contacted him, he was less than helpful. Tom, if you personal life is affecting the fact that you can't conduct business in a timely manner, then stop!! This is the 3rd person on this forum that you have made wait/screwed/or just been very lazy about doing what's right.

David, I strongly urge that you consider not letting this person continue their membership here. I am all for your policies, but this is ridiculous. I am a fair person, but it's obvious that this person has not conducted themselves in a manner that is conducive to proper business and should suffer a penalty for doing so, in my opinion it should be termination of their membership. In my eyes, there is no way to stop them from doing business anywhere, but preventing him from doing business here and not letting this same situation happen to another forum member is the right thing to do.

Done....for now.

BBK

BBK....I have no real big problem with Tom, I did EVENTUALLY get the stuff I bought from him, but it was after repeated emails and badgering. Took about three weeks all together. And that was and will be the last time I have dealings with him because of it. It was almost as if he couldn't be bothered with even letting me know what was going on.

You guys can throw him off, but he could always come back under another ID, etc.....and its back to square one again...so is it worth it? Its just easier to inform others to be careful IF you have dealings with him.

:2Cents:

The reason he asks to send paypal as "gift" is so he can avoid the paypal fees for the transaction. Unfortunately at the same time you have NO RECOURSE from paypal if things go wrong like this. ALWAYS send it regular paypal and let him deal with the loss on the fees. At least you should have some recourse if things go wrong if you claim it as a purchase rather than a gift.

Lud, I personally don't care for him, as he is dishonest and doesn't conduct himself in a manner that I think is proper. Yes, he can come back under another name, and it could be back to square one, and yes, IMHO, it is worth booting him off, he did people wrong....three times that we know of. I like ya Lud, but if this was a forum that I was responsible for, fool me once shame on me, fool me twice, shame on you. I kept my mouth shut over my dealings with Tom that happened over a year ago easily, but then it was Blonkins, and now Fllx. Sorry Lud, but I think the Sheriff needs to lay down some law, or at least a Sticky on dealings with this person or any person in general on this forum.

Soap Box

I havve only had one deal with him. I'm sure you all remember the "white elephant" Ludwigs I bought. The 80s in Mahog Cortex in stadium thumper sizes. Anyway, it came with a very nice 20" Paiste ride, he offered me a fair deal, after I got it's worth from the proper experts here. Anyway, we made the deal, I provided him the tracking number and, per the terms of our agreement, I sent the tracking number. Because of an issue I was having with Paypal at the moment, I asked for him to send payment in the form of postal m.o. and the tracking number to be returned at within 12 hours of the tracking number for the cymbal.

The cymbal was delivered on time and I had to harrass him by email for days to get the tracking number on the check. It was three days after he had received the cymbal before the check went in the mail. Luckily I got paid, as I felt I had been taken. The only reason I sent the cymbal before the money was in place was because I had a good vibe from the forum about him. I probably would not have done it had I known others had trouble in their dealings with him. Later, he offered my me a nice looking snare for too much, and I am sure I could have negotiated a better deal, but something told me not to do it. Glad I didn't.

So, I agree, there needs to be something done. Whether it is banishment or a warning, I have no control. And now it another deal gone awry. I am not the quickest guy in the world, and I know it, but I stay in touch and let people know what I am doing, most of the time. Sometimes life happens, and we do get busy, but not for 6 months.

This reminds me, I have a strainer to send north...Sorry Salty.:o

All I can say is sorry to hear of the frustration and problem and a big thanks for the heads-up warning. If we`re all aware of his rep. then we can all be safe and cool without policing him out (my opinion)

Yeah you have been warned.....

My dealings were far worse. I kept pretty quiet about it because I liked this forum so much, and to be honest I felt like a bit of an idiot.

I too did business with him because I had no idea people had had problems with him.

I paid him by way of a bankers draft because he said he was having problems with his paypal.

Then I heard nothing. I mean absolutely nothing. I would email constantly....but nothing. MONTHS would go buy. I got hold of his phone number and started calling from london. He answered the first time and assured me the deal would be settled. NOTHING HAPPENED.

He then wouldn't answer my calls. MONTHS WENT BUY.

I started contacting the web master here who was great and offered some good advice. MONTHS WENT BUY.

I should also add that when the word got out my troubles, I got PM's from several other people who had problems with him.

I was convinced I had been duped and loved listening to family and friends giving it the old. "You should never buy things on the internet line".

Anyway after some great help from people on this site that I don't even know, enough pressure was put on Vadrums to finish the deal. IT TOOK 18 MONTHS.....COUNT EM!!!!

Ya know the worst part was simply not knowing what was going on. Just a simple email every now and then would probably have done the trick and I wouldn't have hassled anyone else about this.

I even stupidly sent him an email once I had the drums and said thanks. I heard nothing.

Rant over.... I feel better. 18 MONTHS!!!!!!

Blonkins.

Man, I wish I had that patience....You English are just so damn nice.....;)