eBay's Greed is Boundless

Just received eBay’s new fee structure, designed to “reduce your upfront costs.”  Listing fees reduced .05 – that’s 5 cents.  Final value fees – eBay’s cut when the auction ends, increased “slightly.” How about over 50%!!!  For the first $25.00 It was 5.25% - now it’s 8.75%!!!!  Store items went from 10% to 12%!  Why the first $25.00? That’s the average sale price on eBay.  Remember, PayPal grabs another 3.5%.  Since my average sale is $18.00, this “cost reductions” will increase my costs on eBay by an average of 40%.

Wow! Thanks for the savings!

Kenosha County Keystone Cops

I don’t know if it’s quotas, the cop’s wife was caught, er, pleasuring a neighbor, myopia, not bothering to open his eyes, or a budget problem – but this ass just had to give someone a ticket. Not really a big deal, but if Kenosha County, Wisconsin, is so hard up for money, why resort to issuing invalid parking tickets?

Simple scam – ticket an out of state car with a $10 fine. Want to fight it? You have to show up in person to schedule a court appointment. Then show up again for court. We’re talking Wisconsin – the ticket was issued in an area that really seems more like the Appalachians.

Individual towns don’t have jurisdiction for even issuing parking tickets, invalid or otherwise. Kenosha is 40 minutes N.E. of Wilmot (where this messed-up ticket was issued.) That’s over two hours from Chicago – and they know it. Who is going to drive round-trip, twice – that’s four hours, and spend $50 in gas and $10 in tolls – to fight a $10.00 ticket? Nobody. And that’s why they do it. Bend over – here come the Kenosha County Con Men!

I was skiing at Wilmot Mountain, parked in a clearly marked parking lot. I was given a ticket for parking in a "fire lane" - even though I was nowhere near a fire lane. I was one of about 200 cars parked in this VALID parking area. Maybe they need to give eye exams or marriage counseling to their cops.

eBay Vero

Wow. I’m so pissed at them. eBay cancelled one of my auctions a month ago because some jerk-off at Becker / DeVry complained about some books I was selling.  I followed procedures, sent in the legal documentation proving I could legally sell these books, and eBay accepted the paperwork. As per federal law, they gave Becker / DeVry three weeks to file documentation to discredit my right to sell the books. They did not.  So eBay allowed the item to be relisted.  Since I followed procedure eBay guarantees that 1) the auction will not be ended again, 2) Becker / DeVry cannot file a complaint on the same item again, 3) the auction will continue unimpeded.

Yet here I am – eBay cancelled the relisted item. This means that eBay broke federal law by ending the item after I filed a counter-notice, and Becker / DeVry violated federal law by filing a second, false complaint. They also committed perjury. Anyone want to sue ‘em?

Cloverfield Sucks

The trailers alone should have warned the masses away, yet this POS took in $45 million – setting a January record. Just goes to show how gullible people can be. This “Fake-Umentary” supposedly shot by ordinary people during a monster attack on the Big Apple has some of the worst reviews by people who actually watched it. Number One – it is NOT GodZilla. That would have been interesting.

Did I see it? Nope. I spoke to friends that saw it. Every single one of them thought it was a total waste of time. “Soundtrack? What soundtrack. I’ve heard better from a garage band.” “How come all those New Yorkers have L.A. accents?” “Why was Stanton Island on the wrong side of the bridge?” “Give me a break. Skyscrapers are falling and people are running TOWARDS them? Didn’t the director or writers see the footage from 911?” “Where did several fully armed platoons come from? Mechanized divisions? Dispersed throughout the city in under 5 minutes?! This is supposed to be modern day USA. Hell, those troops are overseas!”

STAY AWAY. Don’t fall for the hype!

Epson Printers are Disposable Garbage

I remember when – actually, it’s difficult to remember when – Epson Printers used to last forever. Or at least a few months past the warranty. No longer. Our last three Epson printers died within 90 days of the warranty end. My recent printer, an 1800 – produced excellent quality prints. 8 individual color cartridges, oversized prints, brilliant colors.

The problem – Epson is known for its truly terrible printer drivers and cheaply made products. How many printers require a reboot of the PC and power-cycling the printer to clear a jam? Just one – Epson. Who makes ink cartridges that are disproportionately expensive for the quantity of ink provided. Yep, Epson. They have actually settled a class action suit because of the overpriced / poor quality / under supplied ink! With Epson, you’re paying about the price of Gold for ink. That’s right - about $500 an ounce! I’m done with Epson for good. They are truly disposable pieces of crap. Mine is in the garbage where it belongs. See photo.

Election 08 - Time To Buy Votes

Well, the Republicans are running scared. So it’s time to roll out the “tax rebate” for all tax-paying Americans. Baby kissing no longer works. The cost is an estimated $150 billion – or the bill to run the Iraq war for 6 months. Where is the money coming from? Nowhere. It will be tacked on the national debit. “See, we ‘publicans care about you poor people. Here’s some free money, yall. Now vote Republican!” Why? It worked for the Democrats, so now the Republicans are a taking a page from their play book. What I find amazing is how Bush defines middle and low income families. Those making $100,000 and under. EXCUSE THE HELL OUT OF ME?! $100,000 a year is now middle income. Maybe in the Bush neighborhood, but if the Republicans would read their own statistics, they would see how far North of the target they are. Try less than HALF that amount.

BUT if the rebate was only for families that made $50,000 annually or under, the Republicans would find few sympathetic votes. They need the votes of those making that magic $100,000 target. As we in Chicagoland say, vote, and vote often.

Starbucks. Venti Nada to Taste and quality

Starbucks. Most people love ‘em or hate ‘em. I can take ‘em or leave ‘em. More of the LEAVE 'em part. I’ve given up ordering my favorite drink – that hot Coffee Caramel concoction – Venti Skimmed Caramel Macchiato. The past four I purchased – at $4 a pop – were swill. I dumped them in the parking lot. My next visit, I complained about the quality and un-drinkability of the gunk, and asked why they can never taste the same! “Oh, Sorry.” That was it. No offer for a replacement.

So now I purchase the Caramel Apple Cider. Even sweeter, and they can’t screw it up. Usually. They have a problem making it any temperature apart from lukewarm. The menu displays “HOT” – make the damn thing HOT! I’ve also stopped ordering their coffeecakes – They are usually hard and crusty. You’d think for $1.90 each, they could keep them fresh! So Starbucks in Oak Lawn at 95^th and 52^nd, get your act together. McDonald’s has better coffee for ½ the price. You have a Dunkin Donuts 75 feet away. Corporate sales are down. Customer loyalty is worse than your coffee.


There was a time - back when this branch first opened - that the customer felt welcomed. Now we’re left with the impression that we’re a pain in the ass. Five years ago, the manager would say “Wow, I’ve seen you here every day this week. Have a coffee on me.” No longer. How about them totally forgetting to make the coffee I ordered – numerous times. Because they were too busy gabbing with each other.


At least once a week – back when I used to visit there daily – they would suffer a melt-down and it took 20 minutes to get a drink. We’d be offered a coupon for a free drink. But “You’ll have to wait for the manager – the coupons are locked in the safe.” God forbid a lowly employee could keep a customer happy. We have to WAIT for a manager to make an appearance. None of us deigned to wait around another 15 minutes. That's probably another reason to keep those magical-golden-tickets locked away - nobody will wait for 'em! The only decent employee, and she’s been there a long time, is this 20ish blonde girl – no idea what her name is. She IS polite, friendly, and makes the customer feel at home. The rest of the employees need to learn from her. Or take a hike.

McDonald’s will soon be offering a dedicated coffee counter with their own “baristas” – let’s just call ‘em coffee jockeys. Can you can say “Starbucks sales take a HUGE nose dive?”

Acronis Software RipOff

Acronis used to make some great software. I’ve shelled out a couple of hundred bucks for their Disk Director Suite and TrueImage Backup. My PC – like many of the ones made today – uses SATA drives. SATA is the new generation of ultra-fast, huge capacity drives. Nowhere on the package or website is this mentioned: Acronis software does not support SATA drives! As soon as the software installation is completed – not during, no pre-test – after – you receive a warning that the software “has detected unsupported hard drives” – it won’t do anything. The program runs, but you’ll just keep receiving an error that “No HDD detected” and that’s it. Since the software has been opened you can’t return it.

Acronis? Lousy tech support. When they answer support emails (about ½ the time) it’s “this will be addressed in the next version” – yes, but I paid for this version! “sorry” OK, next versions come out – version 11. Guess what? SAME PROBLEM – when I email them with a question they respond “This will be corrected in version 12.”

Can you say rip off? Fraud? Lost customer? Go to GenieSoft – cheaper, faster and better backup software. And they actually work with new technology! Acronis supports near obsolete technology and antiques. The company needs to go the way of the Commodore computer and for the same reasons – they are obsolete and don’t work!

Free pet food - Something nice for a change

Yes, I occasionally have nice things to say. A friend emailed me this information.

Have a dog or cat? How about some free food from Purina? No strings. Nice deal.

Visit http://www.purinaoneresults.com/

Home mortgage crisis scam

I recently read the proposed plan the Bush admin has for solving the “mortgage crisis” – basically stick every American with a $4,000 bill for bailing out scam artists. It’s estimated that 90% of these “poor victims of unscrupulous predatory lenders” lied on their applications, forged documents and committed perjury when applying for their loan! Yet here we are bailing them out, and in many cases, rewarding their criminal behavior. It’s simple. Let them lose their homes then throw them in jail for fraud. That way they have a new home – and a new bunkmate.

Now, sure, some were taken advantage of - very few have been found that fit that bill. The rest fall in-between the two extremes. They don’t have the brains God gave a cabbage. Why? Who in their right mind takes out a loan with negative equity? In other words – and this is clearly written in the contract – they will owe more on the loan than the original amount after the loan term is over. You borrow $100,000. After 10 years of payments, you’ll owe $120,000. How else do you think you can take out a loan for $100,000 and pay just $250 a month?!? That does not even cover the interest. If you are that friggin’ stupid, you deserve what you get. Don’t come whining to me or expect the government to bail you out. Ahh, but it’s election time, so the gutless wimps in Congress need your vote. What better way than to buy your vote with a few free home mortgage payments?! Let’s reward the crooks, idiots and morons. Makes sense – since the current administration preaches “intelligent design” and considers evolution a theory. They ignore evolution and help the shallow end of the gene pool advance and procreate by rewarding a criminal act (fraud) that should have people on the street or in jail.

Come on – this just proves that common sense is a thing of the past. Feel free to lie on a loan application. The punishment? A pat on the back and government help. Too stupid to read your loan agreement? The consequences? Lowered interest and free mortgage payments. This explains why we really do NEED those warnings on hot coffee, liquor bottles, toothpaste, toilet paper and everything else. The IQ of the average person in this country must be dropping faster than, well, these twit’s credit scores.

Rent or buy Idiocracy – the movie by Mike Judge. It’s looking more accurate every day.

iPower Web - another spam lover

I continuously receive spam for sites hosted at iPowerweb.com – I’ll follow all their directions and forward the spam with mail headers. Inevitably, the spam complaint bounces back. Why? Because the website advertised in the spam (and the one they host) is blacklisted by their own mail servers! In other words, they refuse to accept any mail if the mail contains the domain name pittbullseminars.com! Isn’t it common sense – if you consider a site to be a spammer – to the extent that you actually blacklist them you would stop hosting the scammers? Especially after hundreds of complaints from SpamCop and Castlecops (two major anti-spam organizations.)

Two more spams for the scammers at pittbullseminars arrived today – more get rich quick scheme BS. At least they name their seminars appropriately – pure BULL. Save your money and avoid scammers like this!

eBay bans best payment service

eBay makes around 50% of its profit from PayPal. All told, between eBay and PayPal, you’ll shell out around 10% of the money you get for selling your item! 10%! So of course eBay is going to protect PayPal – it’s their cash-cow. Now along comes Google Checkout. It’s just as easy as PayPal, costs less, is more widely accepted and overall a better proposition than PayPal. This scares the crap out of eBay, so they BAN Google Checkout from eBay. eBay considers it to be a “questionable and unsafe” service. Unsafe for eBay’s bottom-line. There are rumors of a restraint-of-trade suit – I’d love to see someone put eBay in their place. Google has the means and the money to do so.

So what if you say “Hey, it’s my business. If I want to accept Google Checkout, then I will!” Nope. If you try it, eBay will ban you for life. No appeal, no recourse. Don’t believe me? Check out their accepted payments method page! (http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/accepted-payments-policy.html )

“Payment Services not permitted on eBay: AlertPay.com, anypay.com, AuctionChex.com, BillPay.ie, ecount.com, cardserviceinternational.com, CCAvenue, ecount, e-gold, eHotPay.com, ePassporte.com, EuroGiro, FastCash.com, Google Checkout, gcash, GearPay, Goldmoney.com, graphcard.com, greenzap.com, ikobo.com, Liberty Dollars, Moneygram.com, neteller.com, Netpay.com, paychest.com, payingfast.com, Payko.com, paypay, Postepay, Qchex.com, rupay.com, sendmoneyorder.com, stamps, Stormpay, wmtransfer.com, xcoin.com”

Google - Spammers call it home

Google, that mega-corporation, is also the friendliest service on the web for spammers. Many email scams require two things: an email address to send the spam, and a website or email address for the “customer” to use. Google makes money selling ads. They are an advertising giant – that’s why they are so successful. Look at the spam you receive. A lot of it will have URL’s that look something like http://scamgoeshere.google.com/ – Google pops ads on that page then forwards you to the scam website. Next, gMail, Google’s free email service, is used to collect spam replies. You know the type – “reply to request information” or “Reply to order” etc.

The amazing thing – Google REFUSES to accept spam reports. Online, via mail – even from the major anti-spam operations (CastleCops, SpamCop, etc.) That’s right – the World’s largest “free” internet service (Add it up – Youtube, Blogger, Google, gMail, etc.) refuses spam complaints! No other company is that arrogant. That’s why more and more ISP’s are blocking email that contain gMail addresses.

Craig's List- Scammer's Haven

Thar' be sharks in these here waters.....
A short while back I advertised a catfish for sale on Craig’s List for $75.00. I exchanged emails with several people. A couple of weeks later I received the typical fake check for almost $2500, with a note asking that I refund the overpayment via Western Union. Yea, right! In total the catfish offer hooked 11 scammers. One sent a check, the others did not follow through – but they were obvious. Two legitimate people, and the catfish found a new home.

I did a test ad for a house rental on a property I own. It ran for one week. 52 scammers answered that one! They were all almost identical: They will need the need the rental in a few of months. Can they send a certified check to hold the property. I could take the rental for the property out for the two months I’ll hold the house. Wow, what a deal – I’m supposed to really buy this scam. Here’s how it works – the “certified” check is counterfeit – but it’s so good it takes up to three months to bounce! After a month passes, the “tenant” cancels and asks for a refund. They negotiate a price, and expect a refund of $2000. The idiot who falls for this scam sends the refund check. A few weeks later the “certified” check bounced back. That great deal just cost the landlord $2000 for a refund, plus the lost rent on the property.

Had another listing selling some training manuals. This one only netted six scammers. No legitimate replies.

Another listing promoting a photography service. Three scammers. No legitimate replies.

It’s so bad on Craig’s List that they no longer accept free job offer posts. Why? Because over half the job offers were scams. Get rich quick schemes, pay advance scams, and more. They figure that a scammer won’t pay the fee (I believe it’s $25.00) – hopefully they are correct.

I like Craig’s List, but anyone using it has to be wary. They did not reply to any of the emails I sent concerning the massive amount of scammers and crooks on their service, nor did they reply to help requests or help offers. Eight emails sent. Eight emails received by them. Not a single one was replied to.

See: http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/10/ebay-craigs-lis.html

Fee In Case a Bank Gets Robbed: Bizarre Oak Lawn Ordinances

First Oak Lawn passed a questionable ordinance restricting the rights of landlords and holding the landlord accountable for any illegal acts of their tenants, now they want to pass a law charging banks a fee just in case they get robbed! Yep, here’s one for the bizarre book – every bank and branch in oak lawn would have to pay a fee of $500 per month for the right to be in Oak Lawn. Why? Just in case they fall victim to a robbery, Oak Lawn feels that the bank should pay the fees involved in solving the crime. Hmmmm. Hopefully I’m never robbed or mugged in Oak Lawn – I’d hate to get the bill for the police work.

Back to that landlord law – in a city where a minority has never held office and the city was censured for racist comments, they now pass a regulation that according to the city, "will make landlords consider more carefully who they rent their property to". Nothing changes.

Oak Lawn Illinois Traffic costs residents an extra $40,000 annually

Wow – since Oak Lawn revitalized downtown, traffic has become a nightmare. Let’s see – first the brainiacs at city hall planning closed off every through street between Central and Cicero, except for one residential side street. That quiet, community road is now a major thoroughfare – busses, occasional trucks, hundreds of cars now stream down this once quiet side street in an attempt to avoid the busier roads. It’s no longer safe for kids to play near the street during rush hours.

Plus Oak Lawn is constantly griping about costs and wasting money. Hmmmm. How do they justify having two squad cars / two cops directing traffic there in the morning and afternoon, for a total of 8 hours a day in labor costs. That’s a cost to the city of over $40,000 annually – when a couple of signs would do. How about “No Left Turn” and “Local Traffic Only.” Have those same two cops issue tickets for a few weeks and see how fast the side street is once again a quiet side street!

When I asked city hall about these problems, both via email and letter, they felt that answering a lowly resident was beneath them. But hey, elections are coming up!

Handicapped Parking Space Idiots

What’s with these total idiots who have to use handicapped parking spaces? When my mother was wheelchair bound or using a walker, I got so pissed when we had to wait for a space to clear out because some fat slob was too lazy to walk an extra 50 feet! Here’s an idea – when you hand out that handicap placard add a parking ticket book as well. See how many people still violate those laws when the $200 fines start piling up!