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Hey! It's me here, Beauty266, again, this time trying to tackle a less serious
issue for Whyville. As most of you know, the famous Elmo(tm) part has been restocked on two
occasions recently. He is the cutest little fellow and we all love him. And want him.
Many people got a chance to get this practically limited edition toy from Akbar's.
Others didn't. For those other people who didn't, there are only a few choices as to what
you can do to get this adorable creature.
Choice #1: Beg your friend who has a few (one of the lucky) to give you one.
They might even want you to pay. This is okay because they'll probably let you pay
over time if you don't have the clams right away and you know that they won't
scam you. Best way to go.
Choice #2: Beg a person who isn't even your friend on Whyville. Put on little
crying faces and tell them why you really want an Elmo. Maybe they will take
pity on you and give you one. It's a safe way to go, although it's much less
effective.
Choice #3: Look for people who are selling Elmos. Bargain with them and try to
get a fair price. Ask if they will send first. They probably won't, so try to
get them to accept that you send them half the clams you are going
to pay, then they send the Elmo, then you send the rest of the clams.
Number three is
a very unsafe way of getting an Elmo. Most people will scam you and this choice
is the main reason I have written this article. I have been scammed twice.
Recently, I did choice one and my friend is going to send me an Elmo as soon as
I pay
her off. But I am impatient and wanted one sooner AND I wanted another Elmo to
go along with the one she is sending me. Oops.
I will give you an account of what
happened those two times I was scammed and what you can learn form them now that
you and I know what fates await you once you try to buy an Elmo outside of Akbar's....
First Scam: I go to the beach and there are many people selling. I ask one girl
if she is selling
hers. She says yes. I ask how much for it and she says that it is 80 clams. We
agree that I will send 40 clams first and then she will then the Elmo and then I will send the rest of the clams.
I send my 40 clams. I wait for 10 minutes. No
Elmo. I y-mail her. She says that I'm not getting it and that there is nothing I can do.
What you can learn from that: If a person only has one Elmo, don't try to buy
from them. They probably want that one Elmo and they're most likely running a scam. The
Elmo is just a ploy to get you to trust them. Also, a slightly similar
scam happens if the person isn't even wearing an Elmo. Not one! How would you know they
even own one? You don't! Make sure they put it on and show you. Also ask them if
they have more than one.
Second Scam: A girl comes onto the beach and says that she is auctioning
one of her Elmos. She has two and I can see them.
She is auctioning at WASA, she says. I go. The long and short of it is that I won the auction
and she accepted my bid for 80 clams. She agreed that I send 40 first, then she'll
send the Elmo, then I'll send the rest.
I send the 40 clams. I wait 10 minutes. I y-mail her. She still hasn't y-mailed me back.
I decide that I'm just going to
pay off my friend as quickly as possible and maybe ask her if I can buy two.
What you can learn from that: Well, there isn't much to learn other than the
fact that you shouldn't try to buy face parts from other people you don't know
unless they are pretty much a head full of face parts. And even then, be
doubtful. You almost surely know
they won't scam then because they probably don't need all that stuff. So here is
my advice. Buy from people you know or buy from Akbar's. You never know what
you're getting into with a complete stranger.
Signing off to dream of my Elmo,
Beauty266
Editor's Note: Just wanted to share two things.?? One, I believe this was written before the brand-new Trading Post came out last week.
:-)?? The Post should make it impossible for scams like this to happen --
never trade parts without using the Trading Post!!!
Two, I hope everyone understands that Elmos and Scooby-Doos and other face
parts that are based on famous artwork, bands, etc. aren't owned by Whyville.??
That means, we may have to officially get rid of them, or get sued by the owners
of the original artwork.?? City Workers are looking into exactly what the
laws allow us (and more specifically, what they allow YOU) to do with things
like Sesame Street's Elmo.?? It might be a different enough work of art that
we're okay.?? Or it might not be.?? But maybe the company will be okay
with it.?? Or maybe they won't.?? We just don't know yet.?? The
internet is a new, weird place, where a lot of laws haven't been totally figured
out yet!
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