posted on March 16, 2005 08:31:50 AM
So, I've got a deadbeat who lives in the USA, bids on 3 items, and then bails on payment. He continues to send me messages via ebay's dispute to the point of threats. Anyhow, his last message was written in German and I need a transator to see exactly what it means. I know it mentions Goldilocks and the three bears, and when I went to a translation website it came back a bit mixed up. Here is his message and how the translation read:
"Goldlöckchen und drei Bären Grenzgänger
und der Feuerkelch Neben mir ist noch Platz Pu baut ein Haus"
"Goldloeckchen and three bears border crossers and the fire cup beside me are still place Pu build a house"
My main concern is whether this is a threat, considering it specifies travel, fire, and a house.
posted on March 16, 2005 08:59:12 AM
Pull his contact information and find out where he lives.
Be sure you save all your emails send them to ebay but I wouldn't wait I would report that right away. He just might be a nutcase but you never know now a days.
posted on March 16, 2005 08:59:14 AM
Sorry - my Swiss husband is visiting the Heimat now so he can't help. If it didn't come from US buyer I would guess it is an idiom of some sort - do you get the feeling that he may be a German living in US?
**********************************
"Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting "...holy sh@#...what a ride!"
posted on March 16, 2005 09:22:48 AM
Well, I reported it to eBay and to the FBI since it was across state lines and they would be the ones to investigate it.
In the meantime, I still need a better translation, so if anyone out there can help that would be great.
posted on March 16, 2005 02:22:16 PM
And they call ME paranoid???
Doesn't sound like a threat to me.
The story of the 3 bears , anyone remember it??
All Goldilocks does is whine because the porridge is too hot or too cold, the chairs are too big or to small. And SHE is the one who has intruded into someone else's (the Bears) space.
You will have to look at your transaction, to figure out what your buyer is talking about.
I hardly think that they intend to come burn down your house with a cup, lol.
Just sent it to my friend in London. He speaks fluent German.
Cheryl
"No drug, not even alcohol, causes the fundamental ills of society. If we're looking for the source of our troubles, we shouldn't test people for drugs, we should test them for stupidity, ignorance, greed and love of power." ~ P.J. O'Rourke
posted on March 16, 2005 04:26:37 PM
It is a list of 4 children books (German titles)
- Goldilocks and the Three Bears
- Harry Potter: Und Der Feuerkelch (Goblet of Fire)
- Neben mir ist noch Platz - roughly means "Beside me is still place" (you can find the title on Amazon.com)
- Winnie the Pooh: Pu baut ein Haus - Pooh Builds a House
posted on March 16, 2005 07:04:46 PM
Congrats - you just put Pooh on the FBI watch list.
~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~
If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
posted on March 16, 2005 08:38:57 PM
If you want to really mess with his mind send him an email saying that you are blocking him as a bidder on future auctions and add this little German tidbit at the end; Betreten des Grundstucks verboten, which translates to; Entrance to be strictly forbiden.
posted on March 16, 2005 08:50:17 PM
Know anyone who speaks Navajo? If so, have them type up a little response to him. Tell them to use all caps and lots of exclamation marks. The SOB will wind up in an asylum trying to figure out what it says.
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
posted on March 17, 2005 02:58:40 AM
Okay, someone beat me to it.
Goldlöckchen und drei Bären
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Grenzgänger
(literally: "cross-border commuters", but it's a book about two kids, one from East Germany and one from West Germany, who first meet when the Berlin Wall is torn down. They meet again aged 16 and go on a cycling tour together, but attitudes have changed...
der Feuerkelch
The Goblet of Fire (as in Harry Potter)
Neben mir ist noch Platz
(literally: "there's room next to me". It is the story of a Lebanese girl, Aischa, and her German classmate, Steffi, and how they become friends
Pu baut ein Haus
Pooh (Bear) Builds a House
Cheryl
"No drug, not even alcohol, causes the fundamental ills of society. If we're looking for the source of our troubles, we shouldn't test people for drugs, we should test them for stupidity, ignorance, greed and love of power." ~ P.J. O'Rourke
, but it's a book about two kids, one from East Germany and one from West Germany, who first meet when the Berlin Wall is torn down. They meet again aged 16 and go on a cycling tour together, but attitudes have changed...