Is anyone else recieving Spam/Mass-E-mails from Gameused1/Sheffield11/Aaron Bragg?

[spartakid]

Just curious if anyone else is recieving what appears to be spam-like
e-mails from Vipsportsgems/Sheffield11/Gameused1/Aaron Bragg? The format appears to be that of a mass e-mail. I know this is against forum rules and I suspect this is where he's getting the e-mail addresses from. Just curious if others on this site are recieving these e-mails. The one I'm referring to (although certainly not the first) was send about fifteen minutes ago. It appears that this member has been called into question before regarding multiple accounts, so some action should probably be taken. Ricardo

[sportscentury]

Just curious if anyone else is recieving what appears to be spam-like
e-mails from Vipsportsgems/Sheffield11/Gameused1/Aaron Bragg? The format appears to be that of a mass e-mail. I know this is against forum rules and I suspect this is where he's getting the e-mail addresses from. Just curious if others on this site are recieving these e-mails. The one I'm referring to (although certainly not the first) was send about fifteen minutes ago. It appears that this member has been called into question before regarding multiple accounts, so some action should probably be taken. Ricardo

His name is Anthony Bragg (unless Aaron is one of his aliases). Has he not been banned yet? I haven't received any spam from him, but I've had his various email addresses blocked.

[spartakid]

Check that, you're right it is Anthony. It just appears that this person has broken many rules, but no action has been taken by the moderators (or so it appears) to rectify the problem. Ricardo

[newyork2]

I received emails from him, but only after I made purchases from him. I think he just simply has a mailing list of anyone who he was has ever emailed with. I dont think it is spam, just a list of items for sale to previous customers. Have you ever ever emailed him or bought anything from him before? That would explain it.

[jetersbatboy]

I received emails from him, but only after I made purchases from him. I think he just simply has a mailing list of anyone who he was has ever emailed with. I dont think it is spam, just a list of items for sale to previous customers. Have you ever ever emailed him or bought anything from him before? That would explain it.

Same here!!! I don't mind but, he gives better price in his email, then on eBay!

[BULBUS]

I have purchased from him in the past too and now receive emails. I don't mind, he has some nice stuff. Plus, its only once in a while with the emails.

-Chris

[ChrisCavalier]

Hello Everyone,

This member, along with two others, has recently been banned for rule violations. As a side note, spamming GUU members with unsolicited emails is also a rule violation that will be dealt with by the administrators. If you receive these type of emails from anyone here please let us know and we will deal with the situation.

[spartakid]

I would just like to point out that I never asked or requested to be on a mailing list, which I thought is what usually constitutes a mailing list. (for example I REQUESTED to be on the Tiger's mailing list and get e-mails from Marc). I just assumed that he was using e-mails from here and sending mass e-mails out. It also appeared to me that we was clearly using this site as a platform to promote his business, which I thought was against the rules, but he was doing it so indiscreetly, maybe it's not. The only reason that I brought it up was because it didn't appear to be the first "problem" that he's had on here. Ricardo

[ChrisCavalier]

It also appeared to me that we was clearly using this site as a platform to promote his business, which I thought was against the rules, but he was doing it so indiscreetly, maybe it's not.
Actually, here is the fourm rule in that regard:

No Advertising or Website Promotion. Please do not post any messages anywhere on this site that are primarily for the promotion or advertising of any website, item for sale (other than in the 'Collector to Collector Classifieds' section as per its rules), forum, email address, business, multi-level marketing activity or other entity without prior approval from Game Used Universe.

Again, we don't like to ban members so we often issue warnings first, etc. That is probably why it didn't happen as quickly as you might have expected.

[the3lads]

I bought some stuff from him also. Not sure how I got on his e-mail list, but his prices were good.

[allstarsplus]

I have about 5 companies sending me stuff daily and 1 is Sports Intergrity. Anyone know who that is?

I use my DELETE button a lot. LOL

[ChrisCavalier]

I bought some stuff from him also. Not sure how I got on his e-mail list
To be very clear, as per our privacy policy, contact information for GUU members is NOT shared with anyone. However, people can get email addresses from people who publicly post their email addresses on internet sites or from some companies that do sell their lists.

As for GUU, we do not approve of sending spam emails to individuals who have not agreed to receive them. If it is deemed that a GUU member is sending unsolicited emails to other GUU members without the receiving members consent, the member sending the email will face administrative action.

[Masimen]

I have done business with Anthony in the past and have always been happy. Whether or not he is in violation of the rules of this forum is one thing, but I don't really consider his emails spam. Just my 2 cents.

[yanks12025]

Chris,
Are you going to ban yourself soon then, because i know for a fact in the past i have rcieved emails from GUU about the upcoming auction or cowboy items, and i never remember signing up for that stuff. It's the same with what he did but he added us because we bought stuff from him, while for you we signed up for this website. So how are your different then him.

[ChrisCavalier]

Chris,
Are you going to ban yourself soon then, because i know for a fact in the past i have rcieved emails from GUU about the upcoming auction or cowboy items, and i never remember signing up for that stuff. It's the same with what he did but he added us because we bought stuff from him, while for you we signed up for this website. So how are your different then him.
Hello Brock,

Contrary to your attempted comparison, we provide a service here for collectors that choose join our site of their own volition (for many their membership is complimentary) and those that join our site receive emails from GUU as updates of what we are doing. Any member who joins our site is also given the option to opt out from receiving emails from us at any time. In fact, any person can opt out of receiving emails in the registration process and they also have the option to opt out of receiving emails in any of the emails sent from us. We do not send spam emails to people who are not members of GUU.

I hope that clears up any confusion.

[sportscentury]

Chris,
Are you going to ban yourself soon then, because i know for a fact in the past i have rcieved emails from GUU about the upcoming auction or cowboy items, and i never remember signing up for that stuff. It's the same with what he did but he added us because we bought stuff from him, while for you we signed up for this website. So how are your different then him.

It's easier to list the GUU rules Bragg has followed than the ones he has broken ... the former is a much shorter list. If your post is about your dislike for GUU emails, then please disregard my post ... but if you are arguing that Bragg should not have been banned, then I suggest that you run a GUU search on him (and his various userids) and read all of the threads. I, for one, became very tired of the chronic game playing and rule violations. Based on the multiple threads and the emails I've received about him, I have to think I am far from alone. Even if he never spammed a single person, he deserved to be banned for repeatedly violating other GUU rules.

[yanks12025]

Chris,
You cleared everything up, did not know their was a opt-out from recieving emails.

[Mr.3000]

Chris certainly does not need my support in any decisions he may or may not make. But, he clearly made the right choice here.

Thank you Chris.

[aeneas01]

Chris, Are you going to ban yourself soon then, because i know for a fact in the past i have rcieved emails from GUU about the upcoming auction or cowboy items, and i never remember signing up for that stuff. It's the same with what he did but he added us because we bought stuff from him, while for you we signed up for this website. So how are your different then him.

you know, i really don't understand posts such as these. or posts demanding that moderators respond to emails. or posts intended to circumvent the forum's "for sale" rules. i mean good grief.

how about demonstrating just a little bit of respect for the guys that maintain this great forum, at their own expense, free of charge. and how about demonstrating just a little bit of respect for the spirit of this board - a place where collectors meet to discuss game used items, where new friends are made, where invaluable information is freely shared, where questions are asked and answered and where great pieces are proudly displayed. honestly, is this really too much to ask? is this really that difficult to understand?

am i suggesting that those that maintain this forum should not be asked hard, valid questions? of course not. in fact there have been some great, respectful and productive debates between forum members and administrators in the past. but when i read flippant remarks such as "are you going to ban yourself soon..." it makes me want to beg administrators to allow me to join their ranks just so that i can personally ban such unappreciative posters. and when i continue to come across those intent on taking advantage of this forum, that continue to try and find the means to use this board as their own personal storefront, i feel the same way.


end of rant.


...

[mvandor]

you know, i really don't understand posts such as these. or posts demanding that moderators respond to emails. or posts intended to circumvent the forum's "for sale" rules. i mean good grief.

how about demonstrating just a little bit of respect for the guys that maintain this great forum, at their own expense, free of charge. and how about demonstrating just a little bit of respect for the spirit of this board - a place where collectors meet to discuss game used items, where new friends are made, where invaluable information is freely shared, where questions are asked and answered and where great pieces are proudly displayed. honestly, is this really too much to ask? is this really that difficult to understand?

am i suggesting that those that maintain this forum should not be asked hard, valid questions? of course not. in fact there have been some great, respectful and productive debates between forum members and administrators in the past. but when i read flippant remarks such as "are you going to ban yourself soon..." it makes me want to beg administrators to allow me to join their ranks just so that i can personally ban such unappreciative posters. and when i continue to come across those intent on taking advantage of this forum, that continue to try and find the means to use this board as their own personal storefront, i feel the same way.


end of rant.


...

While I generally agree with your post, Robert, it seems a tad naive to view the current GUU forums as some benevolent undertaking. They are very clearly intended to help GUU cultivate a pool of buyers and sellers for their auctions. Simply put, these days they're part of a marketing strategy for an auction business and I'm sure associated expenses show up under a similar heading on the GUU tax returns.

Not how the forums started out, sure, but certainly a fair statement as to their current status.

Not a criticism at all, just an observation.

Happy to be corrected by Chris if I'm wrong, but that's how it looks to me as a fellow businessman of 25 years.

[suave1477]

you know, i really don't understand posts such as these. or posts demanding that moderators respond to emails. or posts intended to circumvent the forum's "for sale" rules. i mean good grief.

how about demonstrating just a little bit of respect for the guys that maintain this great forum, at their own expense, free of charge. and how about demonstrating just a little bit of respect for the spirit of this board - a place where collectors meet to discuss game used items, where new friends are made, where invaluable information is freely shared, where questions are asked and answered and where great pieces are proudly displayed. honestly, is this really too much to ask? is this really that difficult to understand?

am i suggesting that those that maintain this forum should not be asked hard, valid questions? of course not. in fact there have been some great, respectful and productive debates between forum members and administrators in the past. but when i read flippant remarks such as "are you going to ban yourself soon..." it makes me want to beg administrators to allow me to join their ranks just so that i can personally ban such unappreciative posters. and when i continue to come across those intent on taking advantage of this forum, that continue to try and find the means to use this board as their own personal storefront, i feel the same way.


end of rant.


...

Aeneas before i start I want you to know I think your one of the best experts on this baord when it comes to the football helmets hands down.

So I do have a lot of respect for you when you speak.

But in this case I think your comment was a bit too generalized to forum members. You mentioned people posting on here for moderators to respond to there emails. Yeah that was me!! You mentioned about showing respect......... Where am I not being respectful. By asking for a response????
Your saying I should be grateful for having a forum like this to speak on. Ok I am. Does that mean we should all keep quiet and obey like sheep???
If there is going to be rules enforced and if the moderators want to continue having members then yes they should respectfull follow there own rules they enforce along with replying to there members.

My emails were not a debate or an arguement, just a simple question. Which only required a simple answer. So ver a weeks time to 4 Moderators sending emails twice. I did not get an answer till I posted here.

So I guess posting here my concerns worked.

Which since I see this way gets more results then contacting them directly. I would encourage more members to post there concerns here since it seems like they have a better chance of getting an answer.

[aeneas01]

While I generally agree with your post, Robert, it seems a tad naive to view the current GUU forums as some benevolent undertaking. They are very clearly intended to help GUU cultivate a pool of buyers and sellers for their auctions. Simply put, these days they're part of a marketing strategy for an auction business and I'm sure associated expenses show up under a similar heading on the GUU tax returns.

Not how the forums started out, sure, but certainly a fair statement as to their current status.

Not a criticism at all, just an observation.

Happy to be corrected by Chris if I'm wrong, but that's how it looks to me as a fellow businessman of 25 years.


so let's see if i understand you - the guu folks are interested in exploring business models, to make a buck. so that means the time and expense they spend to maintain this forum free of charge is the least they could do for us? and to top things off, they should also be held accountable for any issues we might have in terms of how they choose to run their joint? heck why stop there? why not demand that guu take out ad space to promote the forum's "collector to collector classifieds" section?

btw what on earth do line item expenses reported to the irs have to do with the price of rice in china? of course the expenses incurred to maintain the forum will be expensed by guu. why do you seem to think that this notion punctuates guu's indebtedness to forum members? because they're a business?

i guess i'm just thick - i mean i understand guu's game plan yet i don't feel guu owes me a thing. in fact i feel that i owe guu something in return for providing such an incredible place free of charge, a place where i can drop by whenever i like to learn and share. but, again, i'm thick.

as far as the forum not starting out like this, i would argue that it did. except it was the forum members using the model to buy and sell, free of charge, on someone else's dime, instead of the guu operators, no? but those days were fine and dandy?


suave1477:

i get what you're saying and i get what mvandor is saying but i just don't agree with your positions in this matter. to me altruism on guu's part is not a prerequisite for extending appreciation and respect - imo the guu guys work hard to maintain this forum and i just don't understand why it's so tough for some to follow what i think are very simple and fair forum rules. as far as your emails not being answered are concerned - isn't that an answer in itself? seriously. and if you thought your emails weren't getting through did you think the best way to coax a favorable response was to create a thread and demand (all caps) to know why you weren't answered within 24 hours?

the last thing in the world i want to do is stick my nose in where it doesn't belong but as a fellow forum member i just got tired of reading posts that struck me as being laced with very unappreciative tones. i just don't think these type of posts are fair to the guys that work hard trying to keep this a great place to visit.


...

[suave1477]

suave1477:

i get what you're saying and i get what mvandor is saying but i just don't agree with your positions in this matter. to me altruism on guu's part is not a prerequisite for extending appreciation and respect - imo the guu guys work hard to maintain this forum and i just don't understand why it's so tough for some to follow what i think are very simple and fair forum rules. as far as your emails not being answered are concerned - isn't that an answer in itself? seriously. and if you thought your emails weren't getting through did you think the best way to coax a favorable response was to create a thread and demand (all caps) to know why you weren't answered within 24 hours?

the last thing in the world i want to do is stick my nose in where it doesn't belong but as a fellow forum member i just got tired of reading posts that struck me as being laced with very unappreciative tones. i just don't think these type of posts are fair to the guys that work hard trying to keep this a great place to visit.


...

You said isn't that an answer in itself...... maybe your right, maybe that was there answer. I was just giving them the benefit of the doubt that they would go just a drop further to answer my email. But as you pointed out to me I shouldn't give them the benefit of the doubt and I should take things at face value.

Actually I did not demand anything I simply said I would love a response and I didn't put all caps - so i am not sure where your comment came from on this.

As far as creating a threead because I wasn't answered in 24 hours - I didn't do that either.
I sent all 4 moderators 1 (same) email each - I waited 24 hours and did not get a response.
(I thought GUU Forum rule of thumb here is to wait 24 hours for a response???)
Since I did not recieve a response in 24 hours I sent another email and waited over 5 days - Still no response

That is what prompted me too posting a thread!!

Aenas I have nothing against you and if you feel your content with the way things are or communications are because it is a free site and feel so appreciaive towards the moderators. Thats great and I am glad your in a positive mood.

But because something is offered to me for free doesn't always mean its great, especially when it comes free with rules and this "is being marketed as a place for collectors where collectors take care of each other" When it's not the case. So I didn't ask for money, I didn't ask for a new heart. I just asked for a simple question to be answered.

[mvandor]

so let's see if i understand you - the guu folks are interested in exploring business models, to make a buck. so that means the time and expense they spend to maintain this forum free of charge is the least they could do for us? and to top things off, they should also be held accountable for any issues we might have in terms of how they choose to run their joint? heck why stop there? why not demand that guu take out ad space to promote the forum's "collector to collector classifieds" section?

btw what on earth do line item expenses reported to the irs have to do with the price of rice in china? of course the expenses incurred to maintain the forum will be expensed by guu. why do you seem to think that this notion punctuates guu's indebtedness to forum members? because they're a business?

i guess i'm just thick - i mean i understand guu's game plan yet i don't feel guu owes me a thing. in fact i feel that i owe guu something in return for providing such an incredible place free of charge, a place where i can drop by whenever i like to learn and share. but, again, i'm thick.

as far as the forum not starting out like this, i would argue that it did. except it was the forum members using the model to buy and sell, free of charge, on someone else's dime, instead of the guu operators, no? but those days were fine and dandy?

Robert, you're far too bright not to get what I'm conveying. No one is doing us forum members "a favor" by operating this place, this forum is no longer a "for collector by collector" volunteer effort. It has evolved into a part of an auction house's marketing program.

Again, that's not criticism, it's just a reality.

Do I appreciate it's continued availability and management? Sure. Do I try and respect its rules? Of course.

And for the record, if I emailed 4 mods over a week with a question and didn't get a response, AT ANY FORUM I'm a member of, I wouldn't just post asking for a reply I'd get pissy about it because my time is valuable to me and I don't appreciate having to waste it.

[ChrisCavalier]

Robert, you're far too bright not to get what I'm conveying. No one is doing us forum members "a favor" by operating this place, this forum is no longer a "for collector by collector" volunteer effort. It has evolved into a part of an auction house's marketing program.
Michael,

I wasn't going to post on this thread because I think most people here simply want to enjoy the forum and get out of it whatever they need rather than read this kind of stuff. However, I do feel the need to clarify something about your posts since they are inaccurate.

First of all, I don't think the forum was ever intended to be a perpetual "volunteer" effort where people were going to spend their entire days without any compensation for running and moderating a forum. I personally couldn’t image asking that of anyone. In fact, if that were the case, the forum never would have been purchased as part of a business transaction. I would also wager that most online forums have some mechanism to allow those involved with its moderating to receive some form of remuneration (whether it be ad revenue or something else).

In any event, it might help you to know that the vast majority of people we help on the forum and outside of it (including the time it takes for us to moderate it) involves helping people who have not paid us a dime for what we do. Now, before you try to turn that into something it's not, we know the people we help appreciate what we do and we chose to do it without charging them for it. That is not a complaint on our part. It is what we choose to do and, based on the number of 'thank you' emails we get, we honestly feel most people appreciate our efforts to help them and the hobby in general.

As far as this forum being part of a marketing program for our auction house, we don't really need to spend all the time we do with the forum and helping people with their individual requests to run our auctions, etc. In fact, most of the people who buy in our auctions are not people who regularly participate on this forum. Yet, we still help those people even though they technically add nothing directly to our balance sheet. Again, before you try to make that comment into something it’s not, we know that going in when we help certain people and we chose to help them of our own volition. It is part of our overall goal to help collectors as much as possible and build our name in the hobby.

For some reason, you seem compelled to try to make people think this should be a volunteer effort and that those involved should be faulted for trying to make a living or run a business. While I wish I were independently wealthy and could spend all my time doing this simply for altruistic reasons, I, for one, unfortunately do not have that luxury.

The bottom line is that those involved with the site need to make a living. We have chosen not to go the ad revenue route but instead are working to build commerce platforms that help collectors from many of the pitfalls that exist in the hobby. If that doesn't meet your personal requirements that’s perfectly fine. However, I would respectfully request you refrain from making such comments without knowing all the facts.

Again, I think most members would prefer to focus on the positive things they can acquire by being part of the forum rather than reading threads like these. Therefore, if you would like to speak with me directly, my cell phone number is 925.413.1429. I will be happy to discuss this with you directly if you like.

[mvandor]

Michael,

I wasn't going to post on this thread because I think most people here simply want to enjoy the forum and get out of it whatever they need rather than read this kind of stuff. However, I do feel the need to clarify something about your posts since they are inaccurate.

First of all, I don't think the forum was ever intended to be a perpetual "volunteer" effort where people were going to spend their entire days without any compensation for running and moderating a forum. I personally couldn’t image asking that of anyone. In fact, if that were the case, the forum never would have been purchased as part of a business transaction. I would also wager that most online forums have some mechanism to allow those involved with its moderating to receive some form of remuneration (whether it be ad revenue or something else).

In any event, it might help you to know that the vast majority of people we help on the forum and outside of it (including the time it takes for us to moderate it) involves helping people who have not paid us a dime for what we do. Now, before you try to turn that into something it's not, we know the people we help appreciate what we do and we chose to do it without charging them for it. That is not a complaint on our part. It is what we choose to do and, based on the number of 'thank you' emails we get, we honestly feel most people appreciate our efforts to help them and the hobby in general.

As far as this forum being part of a marketing program for our auction house, we don't really need to spend all the time we do with the forum and helping people with their individual requests to run our auctions, etc. In fact, most of the people who buy in our auctions are not people who regularly participate on this forum. Yet, we still help those people even though they technically add nothing directly to our balance sheet. Again, before you try to make that comment into something it’s not, we know that going in when we help certain people and we chose to help them of our own volition. It is part of our overall goal to help collectors as much as possible and build our name in the hobby.

For some reason, you seem compelled to try to make people think this should be a volunteer effort and that those involved should be faulted for trying to make a living or run a business. While I wish I were independently wealthy and could spend all my time doing this simply for altruistic reasons, I, for one, unfortunately do not have that luxury.

The bottom line is that those involved with the site need to make a living. We have chosen not to go the ad revenue route but instead are working to build commerce platforms that help collectors from many of the pitfalls that exist in the hobby. If that doesn't meet your personal requirements that’s perfectly fine. However, I would respectfully request you refrain from making such comments without knowing all the facts.

Again, I think most members would prefer to focus on the positive things they can acquire by being part of the forum rather than reading threads like these. Therefore, if you would like to speak with me directly, my cell phone number is 925.413.1429. I will be happy to discuss this with you directly if you like.

Chris, unnecessarily long and defensive IMHO. Please re-read my posts, particularly the part where I emphasize I'm not criticizing GUU for it's marketing strategy involving the forums at all. But please, don't deny you purchased the forums as part of said marketing strategy to help promote the auctions and develop a customer base.

Nothing wrong with it that all, in fact more power to you boys, but we both know that's the present motivation for operating the forums.

Yes, we all benefit from it, and as I said, it is sincerely appreciated. But it's not an altruistic endeavor and really shouldn't be presented as such which, IMHO, was what Robert was doing.

Again, no criticism, thanks for keeping things available to all.