Swindled

John.H · Feb 15, 2019

I Love my Sparky so I thought I would purchase another to teach and fly with my Grandkids.

Well it happened! On Feb. 6, an individual was selling his almost new Spark package with a lot of extras here on this forum. And I have not yet received any communication or the drone from him.
I made the purchase with Paypal, so I'm hoping I will get my money back. Lesson noted. Never happened before, first time for me.

pmshop · Feb 15, 2019

Glad you used PayPal

Andre Levite · Feb 15, 2019

That's awful

Hopefully PayPal will reimburse you. If not maybe admin of Forum can work with police to provide IP address or other identifying info.

I'd be hesitant to buy from newly joined member for fear it's a fake account. Was that the case with your "purchase"?

This is extra upsetting because I buy used equipment regularly. And I'm currently looking to sell my "spare" Spark.

So sorry to hear of your hassle. I hope it works out in your favor

pmshop · Feb 15, 2019

Just love the idea that I am not the only "Spare Spark owner"

PhantomFandom · Feb 15, 2019

Good morning,

So sorry to hear about your situation. I am always super careful about either buying or selling! When it comes to drones I have always insisted on local sales only. Not only does it protect you against being swindled, but buying a drone is not like buying a chair. I believe the test flight is very important.

When it comes to this forum, yes as @Andre Levite said, I would always deal with long-standing members. It gives you some level of confidence.

I hope PayPal straightens this out quickly and gets your money back to you. You should be fine since PayPal is always very good at protecting the buyer.

BTW @John.H , where are you located? Updating your profile with location would help.

John.H · Feb 15, 2019

How do you add loc: and web: ??

Spark 317 · Feb 15, 2019

John.H said:
How do you add loc: and web: ??

Click your avatar on the top right of the page and it will bring up a menu with multiple items.

I believe the changes are made in the Privacy or Preference ab.

BigAl07 · Feb 15, 2019

John.H said:
How do you add loc: and web: ??

Go here and add LOCATION
https://sparkpilots.com/account/account-details

BigAl07 · Feb 15, 2019

Spark 317 said:
Click your avatar on the top right of the page and it will bring up a menu with multiple items.

I believe the changes are made in the Privacy or Preference ab.

It's listed under Account Details under the Settings tab

desert spark · Feb 15, 2019

In Just the last week or so I noticed a Mavic Pro for sale. Not a bad deal but the seller had only one post on the forum. That sent up a red flag for me.

Arabak58 · Feb 16, 2019

John.H said:
I Love my Sparky so I thought I would purchase another to teach and fly with my Grandkids.

Well it happened! On Feb. 6, an individual was selling his almost new Spark package with a lot of extras here on this forum. And I have not yet received any communication or the drone from him.
I made the purchase with Paypal, so I'm hoping I will get my money back. Lesson noted. Never happened before, first time for me.

Hello John,
I feel sorry to hear that.i myself was a victim of this guy.He was selling a tello and i bought it from him,sent him the money through paypal but he never sent it to me.after contacting him through text msg,he said i had the wrong number and he blocked me.in the meanwhile he posted a spark for sale but this time with a different phone number,i tried to make people know about this guy but could not post anything on this forum.I got my money back and i hope you will do too...

Arabak58 · Feb 16, 2019

Andre Levite said:
That's awful

Hopefully PayPal will reimburse you. If not maybe admin of Forum can work with police to provide IP address or other identifying info.

I'd be hesitant to buy from newly joined member for fear it's a fake account. Was that the case with your "purchase"?

This is extra upsetting because I buy used equipment regularly. And I'm currently looking to sell my "spare" Spark.

So sorry to hear of your hassle. I hope it works out in your favor

Andree,the guy himself suggested to me to get paid through paypal so we both be safe.he was so kind in the first place.mine was a $65 can.my mistake was i paid the amount as a (friend) not as goods (by mistake)so paypal wanted me to contact my bank so they can open a case through paypal,but all worked fine at the end,

John.H · Feb 16, 2019

WOW! Scam artist.

I contacted this forum, PayPal, and my credit card. There all working on it.
Thanks,
John

nyjumpee · Feb 16, 2019

desert spark said:
In Just the last week or so I noticed a Mavic Pro for sale. Not a bad deal but the seller had only one post on the forum. That sent up a red flag for me.

Yeah. . I SAW that. .immediately thought it was a scam as when someone asked what accessories it came with, he just listed the specs again. . ."RTH button, 4k camera, . ." etc. . .Red Flag for sure. . .

skipper20 · Feb 16, 2019

desert spark said:
In Just the last week or so I noticed a Mavic Pro for sale. Not a bad deal but the seller had only one post on the forum. That sent up a red flag for me.

What sent up the red flag? Was the seller's one post the post he used to advertise the MP for sale? I've made an offer for an MP for sale on the Mavic forum and I'm curious if it might be the same person. Thanks

Scott 41 · Feb 16, 2019

I TOO was swindled, 99% likely the same guy because your description of the items for sale is the same. With me he used the name Michael Bouika with number 7577942259. I also found his ad on this forum also paid through paypal which was HIS suggestion. On February 9. Vanished MINUTES after payment went through.

Can the administrators of this site take some action?

Also I would like us to get in touch. If this guy can be tracked down he is probably guilty of federal mail fraud for interstate crime (he’s in Virginia). PLEASE get in touch with me! If emails can be exchanged through this site great!