I’ve used Swaptree.com in the past for trading books, dvds and video games trying to get rid of junk. However, I realized that in the end all you’re really doing is accumulating an equal amount of shit. You’re never getting rid of anything.
I recently had some trades and was really lazy about going to the post office and mailing them off, well 15 days go by… and…
October 28, 2009
RE: Failure to deliver Swaptree items – Mail Fraud Report
Dear Alejandro Galaviz:
We have recently become aware that you have failed to deliver the items listed below to other Swaptree users.
At the time you created a user account on Swaptree, you were required to agree to the site’s Terms of Service. In addition, when you accepted the above trades, you agreed that you would ship the items promptly.
Obviously, agreeing to send an item and then not doing so is a breach of the site’s Terms of Service and Swaptree also considers your failure to ship items as an act of mail fraud under US Postal Service laws.
Attached to this email, you will find a Mail Fraud Report (Form 8165) prepared by Swaptree with your account information, that will be filed with the US Postal Service unless these issues are resolved immediately.
NOTE: Because Swaptree facilitates many three-way trades, DO NOT return the item you received in a trade. Because returning your item will not result in your trade partner getting the item they traded for, this will not resolve the issue.
For further information on shipping these items and resolving this issue, you should visit the Swaptree website. If you have any additional questions, you can contact Swaptree customer support by sending an email to fraud@swaptree.com.
If you do not reply to this notice or fail to send the above items, in addition to filing the attached Mail Fraud Report, information about these transactions may be released to other law enforcement agencies, as well to the appropriate credit reporting agencies.
We look forward to hearing from you and resolving this issue immediately.
Sincerely,
Swaptree Collections Department
USPS_Mail_Fraud_Report (as PDF, Click to View)
I started thinking to myself, “Oh Shit! I really need to get off my ass to mail this stuff off, they mean business!” I paused for a moment though, if there’s one thing I don’t like it’s any kind of threat against me. So I decided to read their e-mail again and then browse over their service agreement and wrote this response.
Dear Swaptree,
I must admit, I was excited to see your e-mail with the subject line of “MAIL FRAUD” in giant bold letters. I’ve never really been a part of any local or federal investigation and the thought of being involved is exciting to say the least. I am hoping that after this report is filed the Postal Service will contact me personally and then at that time I can ask them two things:
1. Why is it that the postal carrier never completely closes our mailbox on a rainy day, which in turn gets our mail wet? This is a constant problem.
2. Why is it that the postal carrier delivers our mail at the ridiculous times between 5 to 6 pm? Are you serious? The world was created in shorter time!
I’m hoping you can serve as a character witness for me when I pose these hard questions to the postal service when they arrive.
As far as the issue at hand, there was a 15 day delay in shipping the items out to complete the trades on Swaptree.com. I do apologize for the delay as I was side tracked with life. Please forgive me. Rest assured I have mailed both items mentioned in your fraud report to the appropriate parties.
Unfortunately, due to a lack of funds I am only using standard First Class Mail and will not be providing you with any tracking numbers or delivery confirmations of the sort. Do you realize what the cost of a gallon of gas is these days? It’s highway robbery, as are your postage labels that we can print off from your website! You all should be thrown in prison.
The truth in the matter is, Under Swaptree’s “Terms and Conditions of Use” Section 4.1 clearly states that, “Swaptree is not a middle man.” Your definition continues with, “As a result, we have no control over the quality, safety or legality of the items traded, the truth or accuracy of the listings, or the ability of traders to trade.” What I found interesting is that you also mentioned that, “We cannot ensure that a trader will actually complete a trade.” Which I must admit sounds a bit shady to me. Then I had an epiphany, I scanned over your .PDF fraud report to the US Postal Inspection Service and realized the following mistakes:
You clearly stated in your Terms and Conditions of Use that: “Swaptree is not a middle man.” If this is the case how is it that:
1. You are listed as the complainant.
2. Under “Details of Mail Fraud Complaint” the question asks, “Did you lose money?” In which you checked “Yes” and placed a value of loss at $60.00.
3. $60.00? Are you kidding me? Surely you must be using an inflated price manual because clearly:
Item #1: My Weight Loss Coach for the Nintendo DS is listed on Toys R’ Us for $19.99
Item #2: Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles Strategy Guide is on Google listed for about $15.99
If my calculations are correct the then total amount worth of the items I am to send are about $36.00, your clear inflation of the worth of these items also constitutes fraud in itself. Filing a false report is a serious crime as you very well know, but I’m sure you did as your knowledge of the law seems to be well shown here as you apparently are the victim instead of the actual recipients themselves. Another truth is that, Swaptree itself is not the victim here and is not out any money from your own pockets.
“Terms and Conditions of Use” Section 3. “Joining and trading items on Swaptree is currently free.“ Meaning the only stream of revenue you have are by advertisers. In english, you sell ads. (Please see http://snipurl.com/swxkd for clarification) So has Swaptree physically lost out on money here? No. Because simply you don’t make money in the first place off our trades, only advertisements.
Let me also mention two words: mens rea also known as intent.
Was it my intention to piss these people off by not sending them their items? No.
Was it my intention to attempt to screw people out of some junk I have piled up in a corner of my room? No.
I’m guilty, of being lazy. I know, a heinous crime right?
In closing, I’d like to mention that previously I had contacted you about issues I was having with trading. Trades would show available then when attempting to trade it would say, “the item is no longer available”. After approximately 22 angry e-mails to your customer support address and several tirades to your twitter account the issue was eventually resolved and I was able to trade again. I wanted to express my sincere thanks for taking your sweet ass time in resolving my particular issue.
However, God forbid if I am lazy and have other things going on and didn’t send the items in time that now I am apparently on the verge of becoming a convicted felon. Amazing how you choose what you what to respond to in a timely manner and what issues you want to blow off.
I’ve sent the items, finally. Please let me know if you have any other issues you would like resolved.
Regards,
Alejandro O. Galaviz
FORMER Swaptree.com User
P.S. Get bent.
I await their response. 
hehe.
