** BST Warning - Brandon Brown **

[shammus]

Unfortunately we've recently had to revisit an issue that has come up several times in the past concerning Brandon Brown making good on deals he agrees to in our BST section. None of the moderators, myself included, enjoy having to call people out on the main board. This case is certainly no exception especially given that we feel Brandon has good intentions at least when he first agrees to a transaction. However, it's been brought to our attention, that even with several warnings and a couple of prior bannings/reinstatements, deals are still continuing to go sour on Brandon's end. We've decided to go ahead and ban/remove Brandon from the BST section at this point, however he will still be allowed to participate on the main board.

This is not in any way a personal attack on Brandon and we're certainly not trying to pick on him. Part of what we try to do as moderators is communicate to the public when things aren't working right in a particular situation. So this will hopefully serve as a heads up for any deals that might already be in the works or underway in the near future.

Regards,
Brian

[V117collector]

Maybe it would be a good idea to put this issue to a community vote before banning a member. Let’s get all the facts from all parties before making any rush decisions…

[shammus]

Why post? Heh, well, how else would we let the community know we were banning him?

In all seriousness, like I said above, this sort of a post serves as a headsup to those already dealing with him as well as those that might in the near future. When members of the community aren't upholding their end of the bargain, others have a right to know about it so they can react accordingly.

Edited to say...Actually, we have brought this up publically before. Like I said...not the first time.

[calvindog]

Are there any accountants on board to compile the vote totals?

Will speeches for and against banning be made prior to the vote?

Will Robert's Rules of Parliamentary Procedure be utilized?

I have never had a problem with him coming through on a deal. Just closed another for the 3rd time with him today. He was short on $ so he asked about cards for a trade and we agreed to a $ and a few cards. Not even close to the guy I just got a stiff one from.

[David Atkatz]

Originally Posted by calvindog

Are there any accountants on board to compile the vote totals?

Will speeches for and against banning be made prior to the vote?

Will Robert's Rules of Parliamentary Procedure be utilized?

What Brandon needs is...

...a good defense attorney!

[jabiloxi]

I think he is a good guy, I have had deals with him that have gone well, and also had some that fell through. I still feel he is a good member that may get ahead of himself a bit and in this hobby and in this economy that is pretty easy to do. But I had no idea that others were having problems, and that definitely would have been appreciated information.

Anyways, I am sure that the moderators are doing what is in the best interest of the board and for the legitimacy of the BST. Maybe in the future we should look to set up some sort of visual deal tracker, where both parties agree to a deal and post it publicly on the Forum somewhere. That way it would be easier for us to keep an eye on.

[V117collector]

Originally Posted by shammus

Why post? Heh, well, how else would we let the community know we were banning him?

In all seriousness, like I said above, this sort of a post serves as a headsup to those already dealing with him as well as those that might in the near future. When members of the community aren't upholding their end of the bargain, others have a right to know about it so they can react accordingly.

Edited to say...Actually, we have brought this up publically before. Like I said...not the first time.

Brain, please don’t take my posts personal!!! As a board member I find this topic interesting as too what transpired. I would like to learn more about these incidents or any other banning. More info is needed--> was there any money lost?

[Bamacollection]

I had one deal with Brandon that was extremely slow and involved several excuses, but in the end he finally made the deal good.

[Adam]

Originally Posted by Bamacollection

I had one deal with Brandon that was extremely slow and involved several excuses, but in the end he finally made the deal good.

Same for me (I think we did just 1 deal together with a few cards involved). I note as well that he came off as a nice guy, and I am sure he is. But the B/S/T needs willing and able sellers and willing and able buyers . . . timely receipt of payments and timely receipt of items is critical.

[Reginald Marsh]

I have bought and sold Brandon cards and never had any problems.....GASP-are you serious a moderator wants to ban someone........Noooooooo- it can't be.

I hope when it goes to vote that there is no paper chad problems.

[Adam]

Originally Posted by V117collector

Maybe it would be a good idea to put this issue to a community vote before banning a member.

That would be a logistical nightmare.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by V117collector

Maybe it would be a good idea to put this issue to a community vote before banning a member. Let’s get all the facts from all parties before making any rush decisions…

We did put this issue to a vote in a community. The community was 4 moderators and it was immediately, easily unanimous, with the information we have, to not let him participate on the B/S/T pages indefinitely. It's for the well being of the whole community. Brandon is still welcome to participate and be a part of the main forum if he chooses to.
None of us moderators enjoy this part of the gig....regards

[shammus]

Brad - no worries at all! To give you a little backstory, we sincerely believe Brandon is a good guy. He's never stolen any cards or money, he's pretty much guilty of just one thing - committing to deals and then never sending payment and oftentimes, not communicating a reason why. In addition to other things, this drags a transaction out weeks if not months all the while the seller is wondering if he's ever going to see the money. Not a good thing to have on our board.

Reginald - your assessment of Ebay is not exactly accurate. Slow payers and shippers (especially those that never send payment or communicate why) receive negative feedback. Eventually, if you get enough of those and have enough people complaining about you, you get booted off. That's what happened here. This is not a one-time infraction that we're booting him off for. It's happened many times over the course of the past year or so. He's had plenty of warnings, chances to make good, banishments and then reinstatements and on and on. And still, we have the same issues and people writing us with their complaints. I think at one point, or maybe a few points, we did discuss this very situation on the board to determine a course of action. At some point, we have to go to the next step for the good of the community as a whole, and this, unfortunately is the next step.

[Jacklitsch]

I'm not real sure why it was necessary to "out" Brandon in this manner.

Might it just have been better to ban his use of the BST and leave it at that.

[daviddbreadman]

I like the idea someone generated earlier, perhaps a "feedback" board where each member has his name in a thread that deal makers can post on. I realize there are a lot of members here and first thought its that it would be a large amount of data but it seems many of the same names on the B/S/T.

Has anyone ever thought to ask Brandon why he has a hard time paying immediatly or in a timely fashion?????? I have not seen one person who has mentioned this reason. Does anyone know other than me???? I will not disclose his personal life but I think someone should ask him.

[kcohen]

To summarize, if you post defamatory information about someone online....

I have re-read the initial post and see nothing defamatory.

Ken