Tarotfinder not delivered, vanished.

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 05 Jul 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Cerulean	05 Jul 2004
The formerly reliable Tarotfinder on ebay, also known as Laura Barber reported on the 23rd of May she had terrible weather damage, but she would be able to ship items out. She was acknowledging my 25.50 payment for a French tarot. It's never come and it's been over 40 days since the promise to deliver. She has since cancelled her ebay member listing and not responded to polite emails from myself and Squaretrade, the conflict resolution service for Ebay. I don't know if this helps others. I am sorry for her circumstances. I only dealt with her once before and she had a week delay in shipment, which she attributed to being with her fiance and she wrote back, asking me to understand. I shrugged that off, but never chose to deal with her again. It turns out she changed her ebay identify since then, so if I had known she was 'tarotfinder,' I would have not bought through her. As Tarotfinder she had 99.3 percent great ratings. I should be lucky it was only one of many purchases. Of course, since then, I've' not gone through ebay and I've paid more to find storefronts through abebooks.com and amazon.com or checked alidastore.com and tarotgarden.com. Best wishes and hope your deals are going much much better. Cerulean Mari P.S. I'm filing with the suggested 'Safe-Harbor' area of e-bay, which also delivers a message to paypal in regards to my original payment. I kept the original email from the seller and forwarded the information through Safe-Harbor--maybe I'll have good news to report. Ah well, guess I'm one of the few goofs out there that got duped...

Le_Corsair	05 Jul 2004
That's too bad, Mari. I had Tarotfinder marked as a favorite seller; I never bought anything, but the stuff she had for sale was always the most interesting or desireable stuff. I hope that things work out for you. Bob :THERM

Umbrae	05 Jul 2004
First there was ‘Flojo’. ‘Flojo’ got in some kind of trouble. So she stopped doing the E-Bay thing, and came back as ‘Flojoliv’. Trouble reared it’s ugly head, and she had to stop the E-Bay thing, and then she came back as Tarotfinder. Same person, same habits. She is known in some of the tarot ‘circles’ ..she has developed a history, and a reputation of getting in trouble with E-Bay, sellers, and purchasers; disappearing and then reappearing under a different name. Perhaps not the trust worthiest in business (there is factual evidence of failure to pay and failure to deliver, and making untrue statements), or perhaps she has a very long streak of bad breaks - whatever - her history is disturbing to say the least. I expect she’ll soon return with a new ‘handle’. Like they used to say…don’t play with the buboes. :smoker: edited to correct grammar and spelling

Cerulean	05 Jul 2004
Actually this is just what I needed for awareness. If the moderators want to move this thread to talking tarot to alert other buyers, then that's fine. I thought I was the silly bozo. Unfortunately, I guess I don't move in tarot circles enough to know. I'm not being sarcastic, I do want to thank you, Umbrae, for letting me know. I am figuring now that she or he priced many tarots just under the amount that ebay will not be involved--and she can string you along just enough so paypal/other deadlines pass. The other name used via email was Laura Barber. Regards, Cerulean Mari

Gerbear	05 Jul 2004
Yes Laura Barber, nee Fitzsimmons, is tarotfinder, and yes, she has recurring problems. I paid for my Genovesi, and waited and waited. Finally, she wrote a long letter apologizing, and promising a free deck, for my patience. Two weeks later, my Genovesi showed up. It must have been her last delivery. Now, a good friend of mine has lost her money on the Eingeweihten deck. She is no longer registered on ebay, and all of her communication links are dead. She lived in Benton Harbor, Michigan, so if she pops up again, beware.

mercenary30	05 Jul 2004
I am only a couple of hours away..... If you want, I can go break her legs or something... ;)

rota	05 Jul 2004
I've dealt with her, and always felt she had the best of intentions. I have the sense that, while she meant well, the ordinary details that go with taking care of an ongoing business were more than she could easily handle.

Gerbear	05 Jul 2004
Quote: Originally posted by rota I've dealt with her, and always felt she had the best of intentions. I have the sense that, while she meant well, the ordinary details that go with taking care of an ongoing business were more than she could easily handle. Exactly!! Her intentions were always good as far as I could see. She had grand dreams for tarotfinders, but the details of running a business, and maintaining a customer base, seemed to escape her. Unfortunate, and now perhaps too late to recover the trust of the tarot community.

MeeWah	05 Jul 2004
Stumbling on this thread seems quite synchronistic so I am asking if anyone here has ordered from Tarot Planet or knows anything about it: www.tarotplanet.com I had been searching for The Alchemical Tarot for a while & saved the funds for it. It turned up as being available at Tarot Planet. Although I have not heard of Tarot Planet & could not determine where the site is based, I took a chance & ordered the deck. I received an e-mail acknowledgement of the order & payment bearing the name & e-mail address of an individual. I have not received the deck. Were I not distracted by real life intrusions, I would have followed up on it sooner. An e-mail inquiry resulted in no reply, so another was sent. The order is now over two months old. What irks me the most is that I had some misgivings & it could have possibly related with this particular site as well as being an unfamiliar retailer. I usually obtain decks via exchanges, from Tarot Garden & occasionally, from Wooden Horse Books. I do not know what recourse is available, but the least I can do is give a heads up to ye all. I also appreciate hearing about the experiences of others, with which I sympathize. I do not intend to do business again with other than the tried & true.

Le_Corsair	05 Jul 2004
Quote: Originally posted by rota I've dealt with her, and always felt she had the best of intentions. I have the sense that, while she meant well, the ordinary details that go with taking care of an ongoing business were more than she could easily handle. Best intentions? Isn't there an old cliche' about that particular road, and where it leads? :( Bob :THERM

MeeWah	05 Jul 2004
Btw: forgot to indicate a third e-mail sent to the contact provided on the Tarot Planet homepage was returned for "user does not exist".

TheLovers2	06 Jul 2004
Mercenary30 - Funny! This is a very helpful thread. Helps to know what not to do. I think I'll stick to my usual sources. I don't have the time or money to waste - not that anyone has. It is a concern. When you're looking for a deck and you see it advertised with a good price, it's soooo tempting to go for it.

Kissa	06 Jul 2004
I dealt with Laura about two months ago. I got an Amazing Fortune Telling book from her. It was listed as "shrinkwrapped" or something but was not. So i e-mailed her and told her i was disappointed but would nevertheless leave a positive feedback as she was fast and friendly (i did mentioned in the feedback that the cards were not sealed as described though). She answered very nicely that she was sorry and she has the habit of using ready descriptions for items she sells regularly. The book was $25 i bought it with the Buy-it-now option, it is used but in good condition. I am very careful with sellers who have changed id, i didn't know about tarotfinder. She had so good reviews! I am sorry for you Mari. What was it you were after? Maybe i could help? I have some connections to France... Kissa

Kittaine	06 Jul 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Cerulean Ah well, guess I'm one of the few goofs out there that got duped... Few?? FEW?!?! Don't kid yerself, Cerulean! If there were a club for all of us who had ever been duped by anything or anyone to do with ebay, we would be a whole country unto ourselves. My sympathies. :(

SongDeva	06 Jul 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Cerulean If the moderators want to move this thread to talking tarot to alert other buyers, then that's fine. I thought I was the silly bozo. Unfortunately, I guess I don't move in tarot circles enough to know. Mari, you're one of the smartest people at AT. How are you the "bozo" is this woman purposely changed her ID for the very purpose of misleading buyers? Please. The bozo title applies only to her. Or maybe to Umbrae, who refuses to give me all his decks, but I digress. I believe it is through her that I got my Dreampower deck. I now consider myself lucky that my transaction went smoothly. Sd

Cerulean	06 Jul 2004
Kind offer from Kissa about the French deck, that was sweet, and I laughed when I read Kittaine's comment...and others, including SongDeva. No, Umbrae is not a bozo, too full of integrity and quite smart. He also had a magic, well-worn cape that I had the virtual delight to cast my eyes on---I expect pictures from Great Britain after August to be posted with his aforesaid cape. His response actually made me realize we should post such threads to the public forum for buyer alerts. I hope MeeWah eventually does get her items. Best wishes on good buys-- it does only take one or two to spoil a good thing. Dealing with people here in trades is much nicer--we know what it feels like to want a deck! Best wishes, Cerulean Mari

truelighth	07 Jul 2004
I usually just lurk on AT, but after seeing these posts, I feel I do have to respond to them in defence of Tarotfinder, Laura Barber. Yes, she has all the good intentions and she really wanted to make this work. It was her dream and she has really tried over and over again (even after being kicked by Ebay several times, she didn't unregister herself). I know she has a lot of personal problems, as she is a friend of mine. And I am afraid her personal problems have gotten into the way of her Ebay dealings. As a matter of fact, I am also unable to reach her at the moment and I am very worried about her health and circumstances. I am not sure, but she might even be on the street for all I know. Because in the long time that I have known her, she has NEVER disappeared on me. So I do understand that there are a lot of angry customers and that have lost their money. That is not nice at all and it should not have happened. But I just want to say, she is not a con-artist of a scammer. She does have incredible bad luck and lots of problems. And right now, I am pretty sure she is in big trouble in her personal life.

gregory	24 Apr 2005
"The formerly reliable Tarotfinder on ebay, also known as Laura Barber reported on the 23rd of May she had terrible weather damage, but she would be able to ship items out. She was acknowledging my 25.50 payment for a French tarot. It's never come and it's been over 40 days since the promise to deliver..............." I had a bad experience with her too after many many good ones, and I agree with truelighth that something must have happened to her; I had built up an e-friendship with her, and she had a lot of personal problems. BUT - if the French deck you were looking for was the Patrick Jeau or the Manouche, they could be bought from www.variantes.com in Paris a few months ago - that's where I got mine. And cheaper than Laura's prices were, too ! If they don't show up on the website, ask - they ordered mine in for me. They're VERY helpful. La Librairie l'Inconnu, 84 Rue du Cherche-Midi, Paris is another good source of the unusual, but they don't have a website, as far as I know. Anyone will pay my fare, I'll go collect..... (I'm only in the UK)

NightWing	25 Apr 2005
Put me on the list as well, of those that ended up very unhappy after (trying to do) business with "tarotfinder". What I paid her for was a "mint condition deck". What arrived was a soggy and useless lump of decaying cardboard, in a plastic bag from the Post Office and with a note from them as well saying, "Received in this condition". Her response was essentially "sorry". So she kept my $45.00 US. and I got zip. E-Bay was less than helpful, so I won't be using them again for anything. Thanks, tarotfinder. I'll be keeping an eye out for you.

tarotbear	25 Apr 2005
Yes, but eBay is a corporation, too. If someone dupes their buying public and comes back under yet another name to 'do it all over again,' I would think ebay would be interested in breaking the cycle. After all, it's their reputation, too. Anyone can have a streak of bad luck; creating one is another story.

Rusty Neon	25 Apr 2005
truelighth wrote: But I just want to say, she is not a con-artist of a scammer. She does have incredible bad luck and lots of problems. And right now, I am pretty sure she is in big trouble in her personal life. If the vendor doesn't have the energy to package the decks for shipment and she isn't a con-artist or a scammer, how difficult could it be for her to send refunds to those persons to whom she hasn't shipped out decks?

truelighth	25 Apr 2005
Rusty Neon wrote: If the vendor doesn't have the energy to package the decks for shipment and she isn't a con-artist or a scammer, how difficult could it be for her to send refunds to those persons to whom she hasn't shipped out decks? I wasn't gonna really post in this thread anymore. But after this post, I kinda feel compelled to respond. I have finally found out what happened to Tarotfinder. She has been in a hospital for many months with no access to a computer and there was nobody who could take care of her business for her. That is also why nobody heared from her and why she hasn't shipped out any refunds.

Kissa	26 Apr 2005
I had a very good experience with her. I just bought a deck on ebay and i was pretty hesitant as the seller had many negative feedbacks at a certain period. When i read her "about me" page, she explained why she got them, she too was in hospital for several weeks after an accident. I realised it can happen, with the internet-based relationships and e-trade, you are very dependant on technology and if you don't have access to it for one reason or another, many misunderstandings can happen. I wish that Tarotfinder lands back on her feet and somehow finds a way to deal with her former customers' insatisfaction. Warm blessings, Kissa

gregory	26 Apr 2005
It IS easy enough to look up past identities on e-bay. All Laura's are still there for all to see. (unless she has even more than I dealt with....)

HOLMES	26 Apr 2005
truelighth wrote: I wasn't gonna really post in this thread anymore. But after this post, I kinda feel compelled to respond. I have finally found out what happened to Tarotfinder. She has been in a hospital for many months with no access to a computer and there was nobody who could take care of her business for her. That is also why nobody heared from her and why she hasn't shipped out any refunds. how did you find that out i am curious, snale mail? could she not have snail mailed her clientale to let them know what happend? telephone? on the other hand with no one to do business for her, she must of lost her house, her job, her car, everything of any value as the bills built so some deals already paid for must of been on the least of her mind. :O(

Cerulean	26 Apr 2005
Because on ebay tarotfinder is not listed as a member of the community as of April 26th 2005. Is she using another alias that links back to her original ebay names? I am sorry, I do not want to risk what happened to me in 2004. My choice is not to recommend nor buy from her--and if others say she is on ebay, and people bought from her in 2005 with good results...I'm not certain what else to think or say at this point.

gregory	26 Apr 2005
She's not on e-bay at all just now. If you check her id using "find member" you'll find her whole e-bay id history and the fact that she is no longer registered. Ebay are quite good at figuring out who is signing up and is someone who had previously been barred..... (addresses, phone numbers, bank info etc...) You think she was bad, try tangoshoes......

Clau	26 Apr 2005
Umbrae wrote: First there was ‘Flojo’. ‘Flojo’ got in some kind of trouble. So she stopped doing the E-Bay thing, and came back as ‘Flojoliv’. :smoker: Well, for what it's worth, "Flojo" is Lazy in Spanish.......no wonder.... You better check your spanish before buying anything you guys... ;)

truelighth	26 Apr 2005
HOLMES wrote: how did you find that out i am curious, snale mail? could she not have snail mailed her clientale to let them know what happend? telephone? on the other hand with no one to do business for her, she must of lost her house, her job, her car, everything of any value as the bills built so some deals already paid for must of been on the least of her mind. :O( I found out because she send me a letter, yes. After months and months of silence. Like I said, she is a friend of mine and so I was glad to finally find out what had happened. She is still recovering and trying to get back on her feet after a real ordeal. She also told me that she is trying very hard to gather the funds to repay her dupped customers and is feeling very ashamed about the whole business.

Cerulean	26 Apr 2005
1. She can email me or pm me through this forum. I lost $25.00 in May 2004. Others have posted their problems, but they can add their amounts and note of the original tarot title. Mine was originally Tarot Yumi, a French import that I bought through the "Buy it now" option. It was under her e-bay "alias" or name of Tarotfinder. I remember this was after I bought plane tickets for family members to attend my grandmother's funeral and budgeting for taxes. I was recovering from illness, but still had to work full-time to keep things together. Since I was the only wage-earner in the household at the time, twenty-five dollars back to me or that lovely deck really would have been welcomed. Of course we all run into sad places and want to make up if we can...so I welcome her spirit of wanting to reimburse us. Best regards, Cerulean

gregory	27 Apr 2005
Can we all say we have never let anyone down when we've been ill ? I'm just glad to know she's OK; I have so many decks I bought from her with no problems at all, I will be glad to deal with her again if she gets back into business. I was luckier than most, as I did get my money back at the time, but if I hadn't I'd let it go now - and before anyone asks, no, I'm not rich and smug; I'm broke and the washing machine just packed it in. But I haven't been in hospital lately. For that and much else I am grateful. She very likely has the decks she failed to send anyway - why not hope for those and draw a line? Worse things happen on e-bay and elsewhere. She's a nice lady who had a really horrible time. I'd rather that than someone who misdescribes stuff JUST carefully enough that you can't send it back !

HOLMES	27 Apr 2005
it is ok to ask for a pm or email for an personal touch that is within the customers right to say they want their money back, for perhaps they dont' want the deck anymore, or it is the principle of the thing. i would think that a third hand or fourth hand information on what happend is not enough for some and so closure can only come by personal contact for some people. could she not have snale mailed ebay themselves for them to let her customers know.? i guess it depends on the condition she had, and still suffering from. as it is a whole year. I hear what you are saying as well gregory for i am too loyal to my friends, i am trying to look at both sides myself :) perhaps truelight, you can ask your friend to give you a letter so you can forward it to cerleuan until she gets access to her computer.

Cerulean	27 Apr 2005
Others have identified in 2005 to this thread that they know Tarotfinder is around and either is still selling or intends to make good her debts. I will be very glad to have this resolved. I applaud the good wishes of those who believe that Tarotfinder is trying to do the right thing after a year. Those who are in contact with her, please alert her to this thread. I am certain all of us want to allow her the opportunity to please change the impression we have. All I have right now seems to be factual records of not receiving reimbursement or our goods, and reports of complaints. I only have seen records of unsatisfied customers left with this and Tarotfinder's various aliases--I have not seen any nor received any other fact. I wish you all the best, Cerulean

Umbrae	27 Apr 2005
Tarot4art is the most likely new handle, based upon assumptions drawn from known inventory and habits (modus operandi). Interesting name. It could either be ‘Tarot for Art’, or ‘Tarot Fart’.

gregory	27 Apr 2005
If you find Laura's user feedback on e-bay (search for member > tarotfinder) you will see a great many positive remarks about her, right up to June 2004. She has a rating of 710, with 1132 positives and a 99.3% rating, though she is no longer registered. That isn't "only complaints and poor feedback" really..... I have about 5 I bought from her on e-bay and 2 bought privately, and until about the time she must have become ill, never had a problem at all. I am really sad to see that even the people in this forum who have bought successfully from her in the past ("the previously reliable Laura Barber") can only find hard things to say. I hope she can make good for everyone - but if she's been in hospital for months, she probably hasn't the money - we can only hope she still has the decks.

gregory	27 Apr 2005
I don't believe that's Laura - unless anyone can prove otherwise ! Different name (as in real name), different address, different style of e-mail. Anyway, in case anyone sees anything they would like, I have bought from Tarot4Art - no problem. She doesn't describe her stuff well though. Laura always did.

Gerbear	27 Apr 2005
gregory wrote: I don't believe that's Laura - unless anyone can prove otherwise ! Different name (as in real name), different address, different style of e-mail. Anyway, in case anyone sees anything they would like, I have bought from Tarot4Art - no problem. She doesn't describe her stuff well though. Laura always did. It may not be Laura, and it would be a breach of ebay's rules if it was. However, the seller's last name is the same as Laura's maiden name, and she lives in the town next to where Laura lives. Could it be a sister? The descriptions may be sparse, but the style is the same. Perhaps one of those coincidences.

Clau	27 Apr 2005
Gerbear wrote: .....However, the seller's last name is the same as Laura's maiden name, and she lives in the town next to where Laura lives. Could it be a sister? The descriptions may be sparse, but the style is the same. Perhaps one of those coincidences. How do you know all this? Where do you find it? I searched for Tarot4art and all I get is their feedback score, no name, no town, no nothing. Can you help me?

Gerbear	27 Apr 2005
I had to send a money order for a deck that I won from Tarot4Art. That required a name and address. I've had many great deals with Laura, and hope she returns, but after making restitution for past mistakes.

gregory	27 Apr 2005
I still don't think it's her. And even if it were, has no-one in this forum any charity in their hearts ? Whoever Tarot4art is has 100% positive feedback and certainly treated me well. Can we not put Laura's recent past behind us and move on ? She served many of us well for years.....

Cerulean	27 Apr 2005
Should Tarotfinder ever decide to reimburse those who post experiences of nondelivery or faulty merchandise, I will link back with good news. People are welcome to post their own threads of support for Tarotfinder or also good experiences. My best regards and thanks for all your perspectives. Cerulean

The Tarotfinder not delivered, vanished. thread was originally posted on 05 Jul 2004 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.