Plurk Junkies FFB and Sucky PayPal

It’s been an interesting week after garnering 9 other teams to form a Fantasy Football League. After ESPN dumped our original draft time because all 10 teams hadn’t registered 60 min before the draft. We attempted to create a faux team to act as a placeholder for the missing team, but because we didn’t finish creating that placeholder until 55 min before, ESPN dumped it our draft. So I scrambled to get a new time, but ESPN wouldn’t allow me to

1. choose a new time that same night, or
2. solidify a new time without getting votes from 5 other Team Owners.

So we chose a new date and time, then I asked everyone to get on there and vote. Some people were missing the page in their account that has the voting/polls. Some people could vote for that date and time, no problem. Some could not: they were told that time was taken, even if people after them voted and didn’t get the same error. One person wasn’t able to log in at all.

After a few more issues, I finally got fed up and created an entirely new league through Yahoo, though I wouldn’t have a few nice things that were included in the ESPN version (primarily the Stat Tracker). Yahoo likes to charge $10 for that. No thanks! Best part? I was able to get a comparable draft time (only 30 min later than what we were trying to get on ESPN). Hopefully I can stay awake long enough. I’m considering a nap after the kids go down for the night.

So I get it set up and send off the emails and the invites. So far, so good. No complaints–in fact, people are excited because they can upload their own images if they so choose. Yay! A few hours later, I log in to see how many teams have gotten in there and signed up, and right at the top of my login page is a promo from Revolution MoneyExchange, an online banker that is essentially a PayPal competitor. If I sign up, they will pay for me to get the Stat Tracker and Draft Kit, and will also put $10 in my new account. Hmmmmm….

I do some research and find that they are legit, they don’t charge fees the way PayPal does (all transactions between RME users are free), and they’re owned, in part, by Uncle Ted Leonsis (among others). This is a total win-win-win for me:

• I got free Stat Tracker and Draft Kit on Yahoo to help make up for my earlier bumbling with ESPN
• I got $10…and who couldn’t use free $10?
• I now have a very viable alternative to PayPal, whom I am incredibly disgusted with after I got ripped-off by an unsavory seller and PayPal chose to find in favor of said seller instead of protecting me, the buyer. Moral of the tale? Do not believe the whole “Buyer’s Protection” bologna. They will protect that seller so that they don’t have to refund those fees. Total conflict of interest since they stand to gain if they find in favor of the seller…no third-party arbitration as one might expect when disputing shady seller and his shady products. I won’t even get into the obnoxious rate their fees are at right now. Argh I hate them!

But I digress. So I’m extremely happy to have an alternate online bank. As of right now eBay really doesn’t accept them, but if you’re an online seller, this gives you a cheaper alternative for receiving payments from your buyers. Interested? Click on the green button over on the right…no…a little left of there…uh, no. Right above the weird guy holding onto his leg. There you are.

So, in summary: Plurk Junkies are now on Yahoo, we have the Stat Tracker, and PayPal can bite my butt.