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A tape cheater is someone who negotiates a trade, agrees to send tapes and then never sends the tapes. Tape cheaters will usually scam more than one person.
Be aware that sometimes tapes do get lost in the mail. If you never receive tapes from someone, that doesn't necessarily mean that person is a tape cheater. If you don't receive tapes from someone and they insist they sent them, have them send a second set of tapes by registered mail. If you never receive the second set, odds are the person is a cheater
Generally, I am first made aware that someone may be a cheater by a club member. Usually the club member (I'll call them X) will tell me that person Y had agreed to send tapes but never did. Person X usually will have tried to contact person Y by e-mail several times before writing to me.
After person X writes to me, I will write to person Y and tell them that the tapes must be sent within two weeks. If person X doesn't receive the tapes within two weeks, person Y is removed from the club and placed on the cheater list.
If you feel that you have been the victim of a tape cheater, I want to know about it; if the person is a cheater, I need to know so I can remove them from the club. If they are not club members, I still would like to know about them so other members can be warned. There's not much I can do about cheating that occurs with a non-club member, but there is value in knowing who they are so other members don't get cheated by them!
When a person asks to be removed (and remember, this does not happen often), I will let the club know who the person is and will put a a skull and crossbones graphic next to their listing on the club page. That notation means that person must make at least five trades with club members in good standing. The trade must be one where the "cheater" sends the tapes first. These cannot be trades for costs. They must be trades for tapes.
What this means is that when a club member elects to trade with the "cheater" you must inform me when the trade has been successfully completed so that I can know that the cheater has complied with the rules. After I've received notification that five trades have been made, I will remove the person from the cheater list and will put an exclamation mark graphic on the club pages that indicates the person has successfully complied with the "rehabilitation program." That special notation will be removed at my discretion.
Additionally, the cheater must also send the tapes agreed upon to the person they originally cheated. In order for this to work, I will need the person/people who were cheated to let me know who they are when I send the names of those on probation to the club.
I also want everyone to know that when I send the name(s) of people who want off the list, if a club member has a reason as to why that person should stay on the list, I will consider that strongly.
This section is under construction.