

Bad Trader Alert - Swuntly and potentially CEnterPound

Discussion in 'Beer Trading Talk & Help' started by cbeer88, Jul 4, 2012.

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  1. Please be cautious dealing with users Swuntly and CEnterpound.

    First off, I apologize profusely to CEnterpound if I am off here, but the similarities are too much to let this pass without immediately letting the community know as other trades may already be in progress. I privately put this out to a couple of other vets and they also agreed this seemed like too much to not go publicly with immediately. But I certainly welcome him responding here to explain things. If he's a good egg he'll understand why I posted this.

    This is long and complex, but here we go…

    BA user Swuntly was in my NOOB BIF back in May. I received a message from his friend (under Swuntly's account) right before the shipping deadline in late May, saying that Swuntly was in a car accident. (legs/ribs, non life threatening) After a couple of back and forth messages, his friend guaranteed he'd have a box out shortly to cover for Swuntly. He never responded back with contact info, and that was the last I've heard from him. Swuntly never logged in again, and was unresponsive to emails/phone calls. The box never arrived. Two weeks ago I sent his target a box so as not to give somebody a bad first BIF experience, so at this point Swuntly owes me a box which is 5 weeks overdue. 6 weeks laid up in a hospital without being able to respond to an email or phone call is a little far-fetched, but I've been willing to give him the benefit of the doubt until now.

    In the meantime, I've been in contact with another user who was left hanging in a trade by Swuntly, 'weaksauce'. We've gone back and forth about a few oddities over the last few weeks. Fast forward to today, and weaksauce messaged me about a curious user called 'CEnterPound' who has posted a couple of FT:ISO's that include a few rare midwest releases that happened to be the exact same bottles that weaksauce had sent to Swuntly. 23 year old brand new west coast trader with identical midwestern rarities in their cellar? Suspect…

    So we dug further, and curiously enough, Swuntly and centerpound share the following things in common:
    - Same exact birthdate, down to the day
    - Same exact location (San Diego)
    - centerpound began his forum activity on 5/26. Swuntly ceased logging into BA on 5/26. (BTW, 5/22 was when I received my message from his friend)
    - Both have eerily similar all-grain homebrewing questions in their history, right down to message formatting

    Basically, there is a lot of evidence here that they are the same person, and this whole accident thing was a scam. I really do hope I'm wrong, because if not, this is stooping pretty low. Everybody should also now be very cautious about trading to San Diego to anyone without a long history, as who knows how deep this rabbit hole goes. The centerpound account was created a year ago, so there is nothing saying there aren't numerous older accounts sitting around for when the time is right.

    Again - I really hope I jumped the gun here, but if I'm right, I hopefully saved a few of you from getting burned.
  2. Rempo

    Rempo Initiate (0) Indiana Jan 18, 2010

    Sounds like you're probably spot-on.
    smutty33, aasher, Mavajo and 4 others like this.
  3. Sorry to hear it. You are one of the BA's I trust the most with all you've done from the community and the way you worded this proves to me why. Hopefully more is uncovered but thanks for the heads up.
    aasher likes this.
  4. HomeBrewed

    HomeBrewed Savant (355) Minnesota Dec 10, 2006

    You've definitely done your due diligence detective...Good looking on letting the community know about this
  5. yamar68

    yamar68 Initiate (0) Minnesota Apr 1, 2011

    BA has shown me that there really are a lot of awesome people out there. It has also shown me that certain people are just naturally dickholes.
  6. this thing is more common than people suspect:

    fyrekrakker05 -> urownnitemare / alldeybrewin
    stubone / raidersfan4ever -> rampage1
    schmoopsbeer -> popinbottles

  7. Etan

    Etan Advocate (745) Wisconsin Jul 11, 2011

    I think we're dealing with a criminal mastermind here...
  8. jeonseh

    jeonseh Savant (485) Indiana Oct 14, 2007

    Appreciate you bringing this forward to the community and doing the due diligence to back it up.
    AleWatcher likes this.
  9. If we do have something here, it sounds like a case for the bad traders list.

    -on my profile as always-
  10. AleWatcher

    AleWatcher Advocate (720) Illinois Jan 25, 2009

    Thanks for posting this!
    I certainly hope no one else gets suckered in by this guy!
  11. AleWatcher

    AleWatcher Advocate (720) Illinois Jan 25, 2009

    I always thoughts schmoopsbeer was kind of a douche, but I didn't hear anything about him bailing on any trades?! Did I miss something?
  12. i'm aware that he has been slow / uncommunicative on a few, but i don't know if he has been written off as a bad trader just yet.
  13. AleWatcher

    AleWatcher Advocate (720) Illinois Jan 25, 2009

    He actually threatened me when I asked him about some questionable circumstances involving a few of his trades... And he informed me that he works at a record company "signing bands" and makes more money than I'll "ever dream of."

    (his words, but typos and punctuation corrected by me).
  14. It takes a special kind of bad trader to dick over a BIF. Sorry about that cbeer. I really enjoyed the locals BIF you ran.
  15. Pahn

    Pahn Advocate (695) New York Dec 2, 2009

    sounds like mental problem a la bitzy. don't mean this sarcastically either. it's pretty rare for non-fucked up people to say shit like "i make more money than you'll ever dream of."

    it's one thing to go nuts on the internet and say dumb shit in a thread... but some people have real problems that go unnoticed until they have weird social breakdowns.
  16. thats what you get for the avatar you use. Hey-O
    Ungertaker and Centennial like this.
  17. LambicKing

    LambicKing Advocate (650) Florida Apr 13, 2011

    Thanks to cbeer88 for taking, what I'm sure to be, a significant amount of time digging for similarities/accuracies to put out to your fellow BAs. Goes without saying, but the rest of us should take the OP as an example of what we should always do, if not already. This Swuntly/name of the week guy is a prime candidate for the bad trader list...if he still even uses those aliases or identifies himself from SD from now on.
    AleWatcher likes this.
  18. you're not the first person that has been threatened over ba. :)

    and in asking around, i've been told by his friends that schmoops might be a pathological liar.
    gjoker321, mrbubbler and AleWatcher like this.
  19. gkatsoris

    gkatsoris Initiate (0) Jun 27, 2007

    please add them all to the bad traders list if you get some time? I def cross check it before committing to trading with anyone.
  20. jp7161

    jp7161 Savant (335) California Dec 22, 2011

    I just completed a trade with CENterpound and everything went off without a hitch. I received two Beat's and sent out two 375 cantillon's along with some extras in exchange. Fair trade. He shipped fast, but I did have him ship first.

    Not saying it's not the same guy, but I literally just finished a good trade with him.

  21. Yeah, I know he's had a few legit trades. Swuntly had a bunch too. (ironically, he had as good of a history as you can hope for in a NOOB BIF) My hunch is his MO is to get a few easy trades in to build up a rep, then run away on multiples and/or a good score.
  22. BTW, both user accounts are now gonzo. I'm guessing some basic IP matching or something on the backend was done to confirm...
  23. weaksauce

    weaksauce Savant (305) Ohio Sep 2, 2010

    This story is right on. Swuntly and I completed a trade that involved a beat, silva stouts and others. I had him ship first and everything went well. We set up a more casual second trade where I sent him some Midwest stuff (6x 22oz, 6x12ox, and a growler) and he would send a box with some stuff from local breweries he knew I was interested in. I've done this with a few other partners and everything has gone well. I'm a pretty generous guy and just like to try new things, so I would be happy to get anything back in return. I sent my box and he confirmed delivery, communication was great until my stuff was delivered. After that, there was a mysterious accident and I got an email from his roommate Scott. I have not heard a thing since.

    I noticed the user CEnterpound recently, and the similarities are crazy as cbeer88 has mentioned. Same birthdays, registration and activity on the other site, etc... The thing that pushed me over the top here was the same brews being listed for trades minus some other things that I sent like Dark Lord and fresh IPAs, almost everything from our trades that I sent multiples of (Flossmoor pre DLD beers, BA Boris, BA Black out, behemoth and more. Again, I'm sorry CEnterpound if this isn't the case, but it is hard not to think so. Also its tough to be a member for over a year with no activity and suddenly starting trading the day the other user disappears. The other odd thing is Swuntly's account was active even after his accident, viewing trades, etc... until the day that CEnterpind started using the account.
  24. weaksauce

    weaksauce Savant (305) Ohio Sep 2, 2010

    Well thanks Bros! I'm glad to at least see this thing cleaned up to prevent others from making the same mistake.
  25. Will definitely do - seeming more and more like a slam dunk, but I'd love to hear something from the accused first...
  26. His work on the last Transformers film is what slowed up our trade, but he came through. :)
    smutty33 and Skye1024 like this.
  27. millah

    millah Aficionado (130) Minnesota Nov 22, 2008

    Like others, this guy (schmoopsbeer) strung me along for quite awhile and I regret not outing him as ultimately the bottles he sent (when given an ultimatum) didn't satisfy the agreed upon trade. Complete douche.
    gjoker321 and AndyAvalanche like this.
  28. TomTwanks

    TomTwanks Initiate (0) Ohio Apr 5, 2011

    Thanks OP for informing us with this. Tell him in words of my mexican co workers to "chupa mi pita vondeho"
    Chivalry and honesty is beyond BA now, and it's depressing.
    Centennial likes this.
  29. afrokaze

    afrokaze Advocate (620) California Jun 12, 2009

    Not that it means much, but CEnterPound messaged me about a beer I was interested in trading about a month ago then backed out of the convo for no reason... seemed weird at the time.
  30. wagenvolks

    wagenvolks Advocate (655) Texas Sep 23, 2005

    Bad traders have been around for almost as long as online beer trading has been around...nothing new under the sun. They are getting craftier, though, to which this thread attests. A moderated, evolving 'bad trader' list that is both visible and made aware to all is the only viable defense we have at this point.
    maximum12 likes this.
  31. jeonseh

    jeonseh Savant (485) Indiana Oct 14, 2007

    They were probably twins that lived together and shared a computer... Totally plausible ;)
  32. AleWatcher

    AleWatcher Advocate (720) Illinois Jan 25, 2009

    Can I just say;
    Let's all be very careful setting up trades with any NEW users in San Diego for a while! (especially accounts with July 2012 signup dates!)
    Duff27 likes this.
  33. wow, I was really close to setting up a rather big trade with popinbottles. Glad that didn't pan out!
    gjoker321 and franklinn like this.

  34. What bothers me about this one is the ruse and brazen intention. The vast majority of bad traders just get in over their heads and don't handle it properly or run away, or they do dumb stuff like pre-trade bottles they couldn't get, etc. i.e. they don't go into it expecting to screw somebody over.

    I realize the bros take a very hands-off approach to trading, and probably for good legal reasons, but they do have the power to make life very difficult for people who return under new handles. Slap an evercookie on users, and tag an account anytime somebody registers and/or logs in to a second account on the same machine. Then mods could cross-check the accounts against the bad trader list.
    aasher likes this.
  35. I think too many Ba's give the benefit of the doubt and don't inform the community until they are completely burned along with many others. Honesty, if someone seems shady with a trade chances are the trade is going to go bad and you should post it for everyone to see. If they are a good trader all it takes is a reply to diffuse the situation.
    gjoker321 and gkatsoris like this.
  36. black13

    black13 Savant (390) Oregon Apr 11, 2010

    I agree 100%. If someone is called out that is actually a good trader they will respond and their reputation will still be intact. The bad traders will just go away.
  37. gkatsoris

    gkatsoris Initiate (0) Jun 27, 2007

    freaking ehammond :D
  38. Romulux

    Romulux Initiate (0) Michigan Jan 28, 2008

    Alas, I too regret not outing the Schoopster! Although, with him being a rich and powerful music biz mogul. He may have may taken his private jet out to Michigan and hung me by my ankles, from a 20-story office building!

    Same story for me, delay/lie/delay/lie.......threaten him....POOF!... box arrives. Ended up with "a shell" of the original deal! I was just happy to end deal and get on with my life!

    Thought he had a certain beer but somehow he doesn't, now.This always led to an endless string of "give me a few days, to locate one", "Nope, can't get one". Ask about another beer and "Sure, no problem" and then (repeat cycle)

    Oh, his other favorite tactic was "consulting his tasting group". This maneuver probably bought him an additional, 3 days with every usage!
  39. queens1130

    queens1130 Savant (320) California Nov 21, 2008

    man, i had no idea. i recently contacted schmoopsbeer because i noticed that he was one of my followers. seems nice enough through convo, was going to meet up at eagle rock brewery tomorrow if i had time. guess i have to see for myself what his character is. money maker or not, people don't deserve that kind of treatment, we're all equals here
    AleWatcher likes this.
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