Issues with VBCore.com
 

Bleh

I've been looking for someone to do me a design for my forum for sometime then came across Vbcore.com

After viewing an impressive portfolio, I decided to contact them, but got no response for a month
So I then posted a request for a custom skin on vbulletin.org (I believe) or on here and he sent me a PM offering his services

To cut a long story short, he agreed to do a skin and said it'd cost $1000 ($1031 total)
I paid him via paypal and couldn't get back in touch with him, im's to his MSN identity went unanswered and emails to his msn and vbcore address went unanswered to

I then found out he's apparently scammed other people and there's posts about it on vbulletin.org and another forum
There's also a vbcorewarning.us site setup FOR people who've been scammed
Not only that, the portfolio apparently isn't even work he's done, it's stuff he's bought to REsell?
This sent alarm bells ringing and I proceeded to reverse the transaction via Paypal
As soon as I did that, he emails me saying the skin is being designed and he asked why I Reversed the transaction
After various emails going back and forth, he said this

Any comments? :(
I never signed any contract or agreed to one, so I dunno where I stand?
If paypal DONT reverse it, I assume I can reverse the credit card transaction TO paypal, no?

---------------------------------------------------------

Had a longish conversation with him tonight, he won't issue a refund, he's adamant that I trust him and because I wont, i will lose 1k, according to him

http://www.uoforums.com/vbcore.rtf

Our convo

He claimed he'd not started the skin, yet later on said he had
He also claimed to Paypal the following

"Buyer should be ok with cancelling this, we have discussed it :)"

Which isn't true, we hadn't discussed it because he never replied to any of my emails OR Im's and the only time he contacted me, was AFTER i put in the dispute and after he submitted that reply, so how have we discussed it?

What annoys me is he claims we had an agreement and a contract, which we did not
The only agreement we had, was that he'd to a skin for 1k and it'd be ready by January 2006
Now he's claiming because I voided it, he's going to keep the 1k and I know why, check out the section in that conversation where he says he needs it for christmas :/

Dammit, i've tried SO hard to find someone to do me a skin, now I may lose $1000.

and why did you just post this here? you've already ranted on vBulletin.com..enough is enough.

As a warning for others?
FYI, no one's forcing you to read it.

there's already been a warning for others on this site..get over yourself..you were dumb enough to get ripped of the money, so get over it..you never pay anyone on the net the whole amount before delivery, common sense.

Where ?

Great attitude, I hope others are as sympathatic when you have a problem.

Really ?. How many companies that trade on the internet will send you items you order without taking your money first ? How many items on ebay have you received before paying for them ?

https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?p=783161

I dont plan on having a problem, as I dont purchase anything that doesnt have a 100% good rep..like vBulletin..havent baught any skins from anyone without an extremly good rep..like eXtremePixels..so, i dont plan on something anytime soon..i do research beforehand.

I don't really know, as I don't use eBay, and refer to my comment above.

I don't think anyone plans on having problems, but they happen :(.

True..at the least, before full payment, you should be shown a live demo on the developers site..most, if not all, companies have demo's of their products that they sell.

Wel, i've had me 2 cents in :p

- Tyler

Be nice.

They had/have a live demo, which is why I assumed they were "good to go"

Noted..

They had the skin you were planning to buy up and on a demo forum?

I got a partial refund, so i'm short some $300

wtf why are you paying $1000 for a skin in the first place?

What would you consider a good price for a custom skin?

I bet a commercial services directory would have helped to prevent that!

/me runs and hides after jab at large hornet nest

@ tyler, what a stupid reply!

jesus the fella may of lost $1000 all he wanted was someone to be trustworthy and make him a skin i do agree that he might of beena little silly in giving this guy money in the first place, but he has made the mistake and will learn from this and if he wants to rant then fine i would want to kill this guy!

the propper ansswer is scammers are scum of the earth and we must protect ourselfs and be careful in whatever online business we do!

hopefully deimos you get your money back m8y and next time becareful pal

Regards
Mickie D

Cheers Mickie

I know I was stupid to trust someone with $1000, that's my own fault and I admit it
I wasn't looking for sympathy when creating these two threads on VB.org and VB.com, I just wanted to post a warning for others and to confirm that other warnings posted here and elsewhere, are warranted.

I appreciate the support though, thanks.

I usually charge somewhere in the $100 to $400 range for a custom skin (The $400 range would be a skin heavy on graphics, flash, and/or template modifications.) $1000 for a custom skin is pretty ridiculous regardless of how good the designer is.

Also, in the future you might want to consider using some form of escrow for larger transactions like that. Paypal is horrible when it comes to paying for "virtual" work. Especially when there is a large amount of money being exchanged. With escrow you might lose a little bit of money in fees, but it will save you a lot of the hassles and headaches that you've already experienced.

i have to agree with you there.

the only reason i see vbulletin NOT wanting to do it is because it would make them seem liable if something went wrong. but it's nothing a disclaimer can't handle.

and $1000 is way to high unless it has alot of custom flash elements to it.

an average price to shoot for is between $100 for something simple up to $600 for something more graphically intense. some people might say that is way to high also, but if you want a quality original design, your gonna pay for it. skinning an original theme can be tedious at times.

sorry to hear you were ripped off Deimos, i know the feeling

It's an awkward situation to be in really, because a skinner will not start a skin for you without at least a deposit to cover his work if you change your mind. But then you could argue. Whats stopping him from even ripping that off and doing a runner.

What you need is a 3rd party to act as a holder who both sides can trust. So the skinner knows the 3rd party or middle man has his money to go ahead and create the skin, without him getting it until the work is actually finished. To cover both party's involved. once finshed the transfare of money and skin can be dealt with by the 3rd party who take a small handling charge from the buyer. Thats one method that could be put in place.

I also feel sorry for you, $1000 dollars is a lot of money by anybodies means. Wow, I can't believe you paid that for a skin. Thats a lot of money when you look at some of the great skins already being sold out there for like $40-$60

Correct me if I'm wroing, but isn't that the same thing as escrow? Either way that is the best way to do things when you start getting into larger sums of money. My usual rule is that for any job that is over $500 I use escrow to make sure things happen as they should.

I agree, it should be done by an escrow type service.

I've been speaking to a guy who also apparently got scammed out of $600, due to the same reasons I listed, i.e ,he took the money and didn't get back in contact
He's been advised to fill out a fraud report by the police and anyone else who's been scammed as well.

If you have his name and/or phone number you could always just reverse search it to find out where he lives, and then call his local police and have them deal with it.

Luckily, the credit card company reversed the whole amount, so I got a refund.

He sent me an MSN calling me a "scammer"..........for taking my own money back? lol

Two others who were pursueing legal action with he CLAIMS he's sorting out refunds for as well.

I guess the part that makes me angry, is he's allowed to post on both here and Vb.com and scam others, nothing will be done about him.

I was hired to work there, and never got paid. Highly recommend nobody to go. :(

This guy is a complete idiot (VBcore), he scams me and others, then sends me this MSN message

How did this conversation take place?

How? MSN, the messenger program
He sent me an MSN message out of the blue

vBcore does make some nice stuff when they do, but honestly all I have heard from them is problems. I have also heard that they aren't that good of clients either, hearing that the owner did not even pay the full amount the designer and him agreed on for the skin design currently on vBcore.

I do like their designs, hope they pick up their problems. :)

I remember talking to him several months ago. He is jerk, but I can't comment on his credibility.

I recieved the same message via AIM from him asking if I needed an VB work...

aghh i was about to go ahead with vbcore! He was asking $350 for a simple (no heavey graphics and no flash) design.

Thank GOD i read this thread before advancing on...

phew... thanks Deimos for starting this thread. It does help others :)

He tried to scam me for big bucks, I did a paypal chargeback and was refunded.

Tried to scam me aswell and paypal fully refunded me.

Wow this is so insane, I totally feel for you guys and wish there was a way to stop him. I have heard from a lot of people that he has scammed them. Like TalkVB above (great guy, great designer).

[edited by Princeton ... promotion not allowed]

Hmm thanks for the heads up was about to go forward with vbcore ill think twice now :)

Amazes me with all the chargebacks and scam reports, Paypal let him use a paypal account.
Just proves that money talks, they really couldn't give a damn
But saying that, can he not be banned from the VB forums now? :/

yea well he is a very effective manipulator. File a claim in small claims court for it. you just need his address and contact info which follows. i am sending mine in tommorow. he is a real thief

(Personal Info Removed)

You got burned to eh? If you paid via paypal with a Credit card, reverse it.

Why do you give out his personal info?
Wouldent it be better to ask fore a pm from you if someone wants it?