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Username: benstylus     Name: (name) Email: (email) |
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Location: Henderson County, Kentucky, United States  Recent Ratings: excellent [100.0%] [10 ratings] Overall Ratings: excellent [99.9%] [267 ratings] Trades: with 269 Different Traders (489 total trades) [+8 pending] Offer Response Time: 6.7 hours (0.3 days)  Last login: on 4-Jul-2009 at 5:59pm Subscriber: since 8-Sep-2005 Member since: 6-Sep-2005  http://gametz.com/user/benstylus.html Incidents Reported: 4 | Page Hits: 30 today (515 in the last 30 days) Deal Preference: Trade, Buy or Sell Offers: send an offer or view previous offers | ||
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 | Favorite Links: UK:Resistance SegaFans Game Tribute | Interests: Sega Likes: sailorneorune  Dislikes: scalpers, douchebags, thieves, idiots, and lazy people |
| Quote: With Sega, all things are possible. | ||
Comment (last update: 23-May-2009 6:52am) (yes, it's long enough now that I need one) 1 - Trading Rules 2 - Problem Resolution 3 - The Summer's Eve All-Stars (a.k.a. the Douche List) 4 - Everything I Ever Needed to Know I Learned from Video Games 5 - My Favorite Traders 6 - Five Absolute Truths About Gaming 7 - Game of the Year 8 - Quotable Quotes 9 - Useful Statistics I have a few "common sense" rules that you must agree to before trading with me: Do not pend a trade until you have the items to be traded in your possession. I don't want to trade for anything "pending in" or that your friend has available. Get the stuff first, then we can talk. If you can't get the items until after you pend the trade, then find someone else to trade with. Inspect the items being traded before you pend. Sometimes people have something listed as excellent, and once the trade is pended they tell me about some problems with it. It's not that difficult - do a final review of your items before you pend them. If you're unwilling to inspect your items, then I am unwilling to trade with you. Do not send cash under any circumstances. I will not agree to a trade if you are sending cash. Send a check or money order instead. If you insist on sending cash, I insist that you not trade with me. Delivery confirmation is REQUIRED for US trades. The only exception is if you're sending a check or money order because those can be traced. If you're sending any physical goods, you'd best get the confirmation. It costs all of 18 cents for first class mail if you print the label with USPS' free Shipping Assistant software, and it's completely free for priority mail. If you aren't willing to get delivery confirmation, please do not trade with me. I am not interested in playing the game of "whoever has less trades sends first." If you have a gold star ranking or higher, I don't mind sending at the same time, otherwise I may ask you to send first. I have a  ranking, and I feel this is enough of an accomplishment to have earned myself the right to send at the same time, even if you have far more trades than me. If you feel like "throwing your trader weight" around and insist that I send first, I will decline your offer without hesitation.
Clean up your BTRs. I will not pend a trade with anyone who has an active BTR, regardless of how great a deal you are offering or whether you are sending first. If you have a BTR, it means that you have other business you should take care of first before you pend any new trades. And now, a few other bits of information that you may want to know: I can usually only ship on the weekend. My current job has me working during regular post office hours, and so I can usually only ship on weekends. If you can't wait until Saturday, then please do not trade with me. I ship worldwide, but I don't falsify customs forms. Goods being traded are no different than goods being bought - Just because you are not paying money for it does not make it a gift. The value I put will generally be what you pay for it if you're buying, or for trades I will use the going eBay rate or approximately 80% of the original MSRP (whichever is less). Also, international shipping rates have skyrocketed, so please don't be offended if I decline a trade offer that would normally be a fair deal - once the shipping is factored in, the cost can often be more than it's worth. Even if you take every precaution, something can still go wrong. In the interest of fairness, here is how we will work out problems if you trade with me. First off, YOU MUST HOLD ON TO ANYTHING YOU RECEIVE FROM ME UNTIL THE TRADE IS COMPLETED. I will do the same. This also means that you should not click "I have received" until you have physically inspected anything that has been sent to you. When you mark received, that is your way of marking that you have received, inspected, tested, and are satisfied with the stuff you got. If a package is lost in the mail and there is a valid tracking number (meaning the courier has it on record that they have physically received the package), we will split any loss 50/50. If it happens, we will discuss whether this should be solved by one person sending the other a check for the difference, sending some items back, etc. In the event that we cannot come to an agreement on how to handle the situation, we will send an email to the moderators and we both agree to abide by their decision. If no tracking was purchased or the tracking number is not valid (meaning the courier has no record of ever receiving that package), then the sender is 100% responsible for the loss. (NOTE: For international packages, the cost of tracking is astronomical, so we will split the cost of a lost package 50/50 on those regardless of whether tracking was purchased.) If the package arrives and there are lost or damaged items due to poor packaging, it is the sender's responsibility to replace the missing or damaged items - either by sending replacements (either an identical item or an agreed upon substitute), or a dollar amount agreed upon. If such arrangements cannot be made, then we will send each other's items back and cancel the trade. What constitutes poor packaging versus good packaging? Well, if you just stuff everything into a thin manilla envelope and mail it off, that's a sure fire recipe for disaster. For most games with hard cases (plastic Genesis cases, DS cases, DVD-style or jewel cases, etc.) a bubble mailer is usually sufficient packaging. For games with cardboard boxes (such as Game Boy Advance, Super Nintendo, and later Genesis games), bubble envelopes are considered poor packaging, as they offer little protection against crushing. If you unfold and flatten the cardboard boxes before you send, that's a little better, but sturdy boxes are strongly preferred. If you are using boxes, please make sure that the box is sealed with packing tape. Interlocking the four flaps on the opening of a box is not sufficient protection. When sending games in boxes, please make sure to include sufficient packing material to cushion the items during their voyage. Newspaper is a plentiful and inexpensive source of packing material. You can crumple it to make a cushion liner at the bottom of the box, wrap the items in sheets of if, and add another crumple cushion on top before you seal the box. Plastic grocery bags also work well as packing material. Re-using boxes that someone else has sent you is fine, so long as the boxes are still sturdy. Please do not re-use bubble mailers (except maybe as supplemental packing material), as they are not as protective the second time around. If there are lost or damaged items that are not due to poor packaging, but due to rifling or theft, then we will split the loss 50/50 the same way as outlined above. HERE IS A LIST OF PEOPLE I HAVE FILTERED. IF YOU ARE ON THIS LIST, I WILL NOT DEAL WITH YOU. ANY OFFERS YOU SEND WILL BE DECLINED WITHOUT FURTHER EXPLANATION. Feeb (Brad Stephens) - added 10/11/2008. He's so incredibly hateful and antagonistic towards religion and anyone who believes in it, to the point where he himself exemplifies the worst fringe elements of current religions (such as the hatred that the Westboro Baptist church spreads). I've asked him several times to cool off, but he seems more adamant than ever. Hopefully one day he will come to a realization that religion isn't all evil, but no matter how good an organization, there will always be evil people in it. I will be happy to unfilter him if and when he acquires that knowledge and stops spouting his hate. invisibleink (Neil Wheeler) - added some time in 2008, but i forgot when. Jjust all around annoying in the forums, repeating the same lame joke that wasn't funny in the first place. He's also a closet homosexual. Meaning he likes to have sex with closets, but only if they are the same sex as him. At any rate, his posts aren't worth reading, and so I've filtered him. metsfan718 (Philip Reding) - formerly phillycool345, added 2008/02/27 for being an offensive numbskull who wants people to believe he's a tough guy from Harlem when he's really just an idiot white boy (probably Irish) from an upscale neighborhood near there. Probably has latent homosexual tendencies too from the way he likes to throw around the word jerk. He also tried to screw over Forgotten_Freshness one time, which in and of itself is reason to avoid him. OldSchoolGamer (Mason Flinn) - re-filtered June 2, 2008. First BTR filed June 10, 2007. Mason sent me a Wii that was "damaged in shipping" and was so lazy and unhelpful when I tried to file the insurance claim with the USPS that the time period expired. He freezes whenever things start to get tough - essentially he's a ticking time bomb and I'm sure he will be the recipient of another BTR before too long. Mine was his sixth. BTR taken down June 22, 2007 since he finally paid the repair cost of the Wii. Since then, he has just continued to live his responsibility-free lifestyle, collecting sealed and expensive games when he can barely even afford his rent, pirating everything else, and just playing the role of the stereotypical hot dog-addicted, weed-smoking, overweight gamer and anime fanboy living with his parents, with no friends, and with no prospects for the future. His attitudes absolutely disgust me every time I see him in chat, and so now that he's finally paid Noid the $400 he owed him, I think it's time to filter him, as doing so will probably reduce my bile production by at least 25%. Organization_XIII (Chris Johnson) - added 2008/04/06 for constantly being antagonistic to everyone in chat as well as being a horribly blind fanboy. He's been at it for a long time, and I should have filtered him long ago, but I was hoping his latest suspension might kick some sense into him. I guess I was wrong. RLeav20717 (Frank Leavitt) - added 2007/12/14 for gratuitously scalping "new" Wii systems that he took Wii Sports out of to scalp separately (and being a smug little prick about it, emphasis on little prick). He made his scalping post with the sole intent of starting a flame war. Guess what, douchebag? You've been extinguished. Sheesh (Chris Zinda) - added 2008/02/06 for being an arrogant, self-absorbed, self-righteous condescending douchebag who spends half his time saying "why me" and the other half concocting conspiracy theories about an imaginary GameTZ "clique". He's, delusional, paranoid, and smells bad (but really, that last one is the only one that's his fault since he won't wear deodorant). Also, he's more concerned with pushing his extremist political agenda here than trading games. And worst of all, he LOVES to hear himself talk. His wife goes out and makes the money so he can stay home and be a bum. Overall, he's the GameTZ equivalent of ants at a picnic. Annoying as fudge, but completely and utterly powerless and harmless. And yes, Sheesh, you really are filtered. Doesn't mean I can't see your idiocy when people quote you, though. SirStallion / ShadowChemist / Tonto / whatever name he is going by this week (Vernon Okemau) - added 2008/01/27 for just being all around pervy and useless. Being pervy isn't so bad in and of itself, but when you let it seep into every aspect of your life like Vernon does - including posting gay Phoenix Wright porn in random GameTZ forum threads... well a line has to be drawn somewhere, and Vern finally and permanently crossed it. TMNT (Daniel Reed) - added 2007/12/24 for thinking the fecal fountain of words he spouts is "Real Talk" and getting defensive and attacking anyone who disagrees with his point of view. On the internet. Making "controversial" (i.e. retarded) statements behind the relative anonymity of the internet is the very definition of a Troll. He needs to grow a pair. Please note that I do not bear a personal grudge against any of you, but unless your attitudes or behavior change significantly, I just don't want to deal with you, or read your posts, or see your chat messages, or any of that. If you think you have changed and don't believe you deserve to be filtered anymore, then let me know and we'll see about it. Sum41rcks1 (Tyler Forte) - added 2008/01/03 for practically begging me to sell him my copy of Metroid Prime 2. After reviewing his bio and seeing his cancelled trades, I told him to shove off, but he came back and said he REALLY wanted it and wouldn't cancel on me. Well, he didn't cancel the trade... but he declined the offer I sent him without any explanation. This festering twit isn't worth your or anyone else's time. syntaxcoma (Jason Wabiszewski) - BTR filed March 28, 2008. I loaned him $95, and he was supposed to pay back $104.50 within a month. The month has passed, he's stopped responding to my emails, and apparently he's having trouble getting his story straight, as the one he told me isn't the same as the one he told Pyramid_Party. syntaxcoma had gotten in touch with me and we agreed to have him pay back in installments, so I took the BTR down. After sending one payment dropped out of contact for a while, and so I've had to re-file the BTR. TooShort4 (Jordan Lindsey) - BTR filed April 20, 2008. Loaned him $20, and he was supposed to pay back $23 within a month. It's now 2 months later, and my requests over the last two weeks for any word on repayment have been ignored. He also hasn't logged onto the site for a few days so he may have just decided to take the money and run, as it were. Congratulations - for just $20 you've managed to throw away your ticket to reasonably priced games - nobody's going to trade with you here anymore. Enjoy shopping Gamestop and eBay from now on. Again, I don't bear a personal grudge against any of you either, but until you can regain my trust and reasonably prove that you can be reliably counted on, I will not be dealing with you. This section is dedicated to those little nuggets of knowledge that you get when you intersect the fantasy world of video games with the real world. This section is also a work in progress and more items will be added as I get around to them. 1 - If you're ever hurt, start kicking over trash cans looking for meat. Trash can meat is far less expensive than going to the hospital to be treated for injuries, and it always works. 2 - You should go to church regularly. It's nice to know when you're going to go up a level and instantly get stronger, smarter, faster and healthier. 3 - It's OK to walk into strangers' houses and search their drawers and cabinets for money and other useful stuff. a.k.a. "The List of Excellence." These people are the 10 best traders I have had the pleasure to deal with here on GameTZ.  Corona 
Forgotten_Freshness  - 19 TRADES
j_factor 
koster 
Lady_Ghaleon 
Neokitty - 16 TRADES
Norkusa
sailorneorune - 24 TRADES
Sana_chan5 
Starwave27 (whether you like them or not) I - Games are meant to be played. If you buy games just for "collection purposes," you're a tool. If you're not going to play a game, trade it to someone who will. Buying crappy games just because they are "rare" or "to complete a set" just encourages the development of more crappy games. II - Your games are NOT rare. I don't care how much a game goes for on ebay. If you think Final Fantasy 7 or Panzer Dragoon Saga are rare, you're a tool. The very fact that you can make a judgement of a game's value by looking at dozens of past ebay auctions indicates that the game is readily available - and that greedy douchebags want to charge too much, and impatient simpletons are willing to pay too much. III - Removing the shrinkwrap on a game is not akin to deflowering a virgin. Get over your sense of entitlement and your need to be "first." If you pay a premium price for a 0.16 mm thick piece of trash, you are a tool. Buying sealed games on ebay for twice as much as a used one in mint condition is stupid. IV - Scalping is for douchebags. If you take advantage of people and demand an exorbitant price for games you picked up on the cheap, you're a douchebag, plain and simple. Similarly, if you cave in to such douchebag sellers' demands, you're a tool. Rich fanboys make the internet suck. There are lots of games out there to choose from - if you can't find one you're after for a reasonable price, wait until you can or get a different game. V - Sega is the greatest video game company that has ever existed. Over the past 40 + years, they have innovated more and brought more to the gaming industry than any other company. There is no room for argument or disagreement. If you try to argue or disagree, you are a tool. Here is a list of the absolute BEST video games released in the US during any given year starting with 1979. That's the year I was born, so games released before that don't matter.  Maybe one of these days I'll start including imports as well - but most of the really great ones come out here anyway.
2009 GAME OF THE YEAR CONTENDERS: Klonoa (Wii) turd of the year contenders: None yet 2008 GAME OF THE YEAR: Valkyria Chronicles (PS3) Runner up: Professor Layton and the Curious Village (Nintendo DS) turd of the year: Jake Hunter: Detective Chronicles (Nintendo DS) 2007 GAME OF THE YEAR: Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo Wii) Runner up: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Trials and Tribulations (Nintendo DS) turd of the year: Carnival Games (Nintendo Wii) 2006 GAME OF THE YEAR: CLUBHOUSE GAMES (Nintendo DS) Runner up: Wii Sports (Nintendo Wii) turd of the year: Bomberman Act Zero (Xbox 360) 2005 GAME OF THE YEAR: ANIMAL CROSSING: WILD WORLD (Nintendo DS) Runner up: Donkey Kong Jungle Beat (Gamecube) turd of the year: Shadow the Hedgehog (Playstation 2) 2004 GAME OF THE YEAR: POCKET KINGDOM (Nokia N*Gage) Runner up: Blood Will Tell: Tezuka Osamu's Dororo (Playstation 2) turd of the year: Ping Pals (Nintendo DS) 2003 GAME OF THE YEAR: PANZER DRAGOON ORTA (Xbox) Runner up: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (Xbox) turd of the year: Big Rigs: Over the Road (PC) 2002 GAME OF THE YEAR: SHINOBI (Playstation 2) Runner up: Metroid Fusion (Game Boy Advance) turd of the year: Smashing Drive (Gamecube) 2001 GAME OF THE YEAR: PHANTASY STAR ONLINE VER. 2 (Dreamcast) Runner up: Phantasy Star Online (Dreamcast) turd of the year: Grand Theft Auto III (Playstation 2) 2000 GAME OF THE YEAR: JET GRIND RADIO (Dreamcast) Runner up: Skies of Arcadia (Dreamcast) turd of the year: The Sims (PC) 1999 GAME OF THE YEAR: SOUL CALIBUR (Dreamcast) Runner up: Sonic Adventure (Dreamcast) turd of the year: South Park: Chef's Luv Shack (Playstation) 1998 GAME OF THE YEAR: PANZER DRAGOON SAGA (Saturn) Runner up: Brave Fencer Musash (Playstation) turd of the year: Deathtrap Dungeon (Playstation) 1997 GAME OF THE YEAR: VIRTUA FIGHTER 3 (Arcade) Runner up: Medieval Madness (Pinball) turd of the year: Criticom (Playstation) 1996 GAME OF THE YEAR: NIGHTS INTO DREAMS... (Saturn) Runner up: Twinkle Star Sprites (Neo Geo MVS) turd of the year: Time Killers (Genesis) 1995 GAME OF THE YEAR: SHIVERS (PC) Runner up: Earthworm Jim: Special Edition (Sega CD) turd of the year: Batman Forever (Genesis) 1994 GAME OF THE YEAR: X-COM: UFO DEFENSE (PC) Runner up: Popful Mail (Sega CD) turd of the year: Shaq Fu (Genesis) 1993 GAME OF THE YEAR: FLASHBACK: THE QUEST FOR IDENTITY (Genesis) Runner up: Sonic CD (Sega CD) turd of the year: Night Trap (Sega CD) 1992 GAME OF THE YEAR: STAR CONTROL 2 (PC) Runner up: Golden Axe: The Revenge of Death Adder (Arcade) turd of the year: Sewer Shark (Sega CD) 1991 GAME OF THE YEAR: ZZT (PC) Runner up: Sonic the Hedgehog (Genesis) turd of the year: Time Traveler (Arcade) 1990 GAME OF THE YEAR: CRYSTALIS (Nintendo Entertainment System) Runner up: Super Mario Bros. 3 (Nintendo Entertainment System) turd of the year: Back to the Future II & III (Nintendo Entertainment System) 1989 GAME OF THE YEAR: THE GUARDIAN LEGEND (Nintendo Entertainment System) Runner up: Phantasy Star II (Genesis) turd of the year: Back to the Future (Nintendo Entertainment System) 1988 GAME OF THE YEAR: PENGUIN LAND (Sega Master System) Runner up: Anticipation (Nintendo Entertainment System) turd of the year: T & C Surf Designs: Wood & Water Rage (Nintendo Entertainment System) 1987 GAME OF THE YEAR: WIZARDS & WARRIORS (Nintendo Entertainment System) Runner up: The Legend of Zelda (Nintendo Entertainment System) turd of the year: Soccer (Nintendo Entertainment System) 1986 GAME OF THE YEAR: OUT RUN (Arcade) Runner up: Space Quest: The Sarien Encounter (PC) turd of the year: Chubby Cherub (Nintendo Entertainment System) 1985 GAME OF THE YEAR: SPACE HARRIER (Arcade) Runner up: Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo Entertainment System) turd of the year: Donkey Kong Jr. Math (Nintendo Entertainment System) 1984 GAME OF THE YEAR: TRADE WARS (PC) Runner up: Marble Madness (Arcade) turd of the year: Pac-Land (Arcade) 1983 GAME OF THE YEAR: KEYSTONE KAPERS (Atari 2600) Runner up: Gyruss (Arcade) turd of the year: E.T. (Atari 2600) 1982 GAME OF THE YEAR: BERZERK (Atari 2600) Runner up: Megamania (Atari 2600) turd of the year: Custer's Revenge (Atari 2600) 1981 GAME OF THE YEAR: MS. PAC-MAN (Arcade) Runner up: Galaga (Arcade) turd of the year: Pac-Man (Atari 2600) 1980 GAME OF THE YEAR: PAC-MAN (Arcade) Runner up: Warlords (Arcade) turd of the year: Battlezone (Arcade) 1979 GAME OF THE YEAR: ASTEROIDS (Arcade) Runner up: Deep Scan (Arcade) turd of the year: Space Invaders (Arcade) These are quotes from our very own GTZ users that I thought were humorous, revealing, inspiring, or just plain quotable. Jun 12, 2007 OldSchoolGamer: i usually eat lots of hot dogs since they are like $10 for a bunch Jun 12, 2007 OldSchoolGamer: i know now what caused me to have the ebay problem OldSchoolGamer: I sold too much at once OldSchoolGamer: overloaded myself benstylus: no, the problem was that you spent all the money before you shipped anything Dec 30, 2007 sailorneorune: Objection to you not taking your fish like a man! Jan 06, 2008 Richie: I used to teach handicapped people karate Jan 29, 2008 alexxb: I hope you grow some intelligents alexxb: I don't want to insult you because I am above that and your pretty pathetic imo Mar 1, 2008 OldSchoolGamer: i dissapoint alot of people May 8, 2008 benstylus: the only huevos in the Zinda family are quite firmly attached to Mrs. Zinda (though she's probably a hyphenated-Zinda, or possibly even kept her own name). Sheesh: Indeed, Shaun. She did keep her own name! benstylus: 
May 8, 2008 Sheesh: I don't use deodorant November 21, 2008 Storm_Trooper: 50 different traders, but I still have the silver star. What gives? crashNburn: Exchange rate, you need 65 Canadian trades to equal 50 American trades I'll add more as I hear/read more. Number of times I've been Goatse'd: 1 Number of times I've been Rick Rolled: 3 Number of times I've clicked on links like this: 9 | ||
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Forum Avatar | Signature may God plug you into his own TV and play all your classics Himself. After all, He named a book after you. | |
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| Username: benstylus Name: (name) Email: (email) |
