We also noted that Alex (as Yapiel) was the one who bid up that purple claw for $150 way back when then palyed dumb about it. He then contacted the seller off the side (after the seller tried to sell it to Jason for $150) and got it, giving it to Beligerant for free.
Remember, the seller relisted. I contacted the seller off the side for the BHS, not the first Purple Claw, he decided to relist and I agreed, since I felt bad for outbidding Doc and that it went for so high. But then Doc persuaded everyone not to bid the second time around. I am pretty sure this is how this went, I am almost certain from reading pervious posts. You can check for yourself. I ended up winning it the second time, under arforbes. I guess I didn't want people to know it was me the first time, I'm sorry.
(Edit: I explained more about this Purple Claw situation above on the second page of this thread)
So, we all talked about it and confronted Alex via PM's. He played ignorant and acted shocked and after quite a few stories and revisions later, ended up telling us that it was his brother's friend who had won it, but didn't pay for it, and instead paid the seller's fees for a positive feedback. He never did come fully clean with us. Why? I have no idea. He'll have to answer that himself.
I didn't want you guys to know I guess. I just felt guilty that I got caught with the two ebay names and all. I figured you guys would be flaming mad after the first BHS buy outside of ebay. I knew you all would be like, "Why the eff do you need another one!" I don't know, but I was caught in the moment. Just a pinheaded bid war I guess.
I then got an email from Ricardo (satan+) in Brazil, who just won the SHA on eBay (which, we had speculated to oursleves might have been Alex doing an auction again, but it wasn't). He said that he knew about Yapiel and that Yapiel lived in Alex's town and was selling him the BHS for $1000. He said Yapiel contacted him yesterday (not a month ago Alex) and wanted to know if he would buy it for $1000.
Well it was a month ago when Ricardo sent his last email to me and I have not talked to him since. He did contact me first with the offer of $990 plus $10 shipping back then. I figured he backed out and wanted to contact him again, which was a couple days ago
(like you said Johnny). I wanted to get rid of it since all this shizznit went down, and he made an amazing offer, based on what I had paid, so that is legit. Like I said, anyone here would have done the same if they received an offer like that.
I am glad to see that it was a legit auction after all, and not a total scam. However, I am very dissappointed that he refused to the very end to come clean.
I am very sorry I effed up again by not coming clean the first time. I guess I care too much about what people think about me and that is so close to the truth I cannot emphasize it enough. I felt that you guys were against me, and I am sorry. I should have just told you right off, but I did not, and I cannot change that. Again I apologize, but you guys had a right to know.
You can obviously tell that I care too much about what you all think of me. That comment by Doc Moore set me off because I did not want people thinking something that was not true, that I shill bidded the BHS auction and that it never changed hands. It certainly did. I just chose not to fess up. It's childish of me to have acted that way, I panicked and effed up once again.
People screw up, it happens every day. All I am asking is that you take the good he has done in this community and weigh it against the bad he has done. The good far outweighs the bad. And although I think he was a total pinhead for the whole Yapiel thing, he is still part of this board.
I did certainly screw up and learned a lesson. I just hope that I still have friends here. It was eating me up that I betrayed you guys, especially my long time friends, the administrators here like Johnny, Doc, Marty, Beligerant1, Ridureyu, Veers, Rokk, to name only a few. I am truly sorry guys...and to everyone else.
Alex
Edited by arforbes, 04 October 2005 - 11:15 PM.