Stalker! Please help....

[meonhoc]

Shoppers, let's just call them shoppers!

Not only shoppers, they are active players. Active players need more active players, that's what this game is about.

If the poor farmer buys too much, they will stop when there is no coin left and will learn to control their budget better. If the rich farmer buys things, they probably worked out a strategy which keeps them going on: find someone selling what you need and stick to them.

I agree with Tiggerr, all you can do is to make they think your shop is not worth visiting anymore, then they will leave by themself. No active players want to be sticked forever with inactive/uninteresting farm.

If you old followers also leave because they can't buy any good stuff anymore, why do you think they followed you in the first place? It seems you only count on your followers to buy your stuff. Why is that, can't you not have more neighbors via Game Center? This could change your game experience for the better.

Last month when I got a shopper like this, I changed my habit to this:
- do not restock my shop after that person visit
- split what I want to sell into smaller quantities and list them at different times (to give everyone a chance to visit my shop)
- sell things that person cannot unlock yet
- sell vegetables/ carrot pie/ popcorn/bread/muffins/cornbread (Don't know why I have trouble buying those so I stock a lot and resell from times to times)
- always save dairy/sugar related product to help with boat, you won't see this much in my shop unless I have too much and need to make barn space
- if I need to sell expansion item, prefer selling in small quantities

Result? Unfollowed me a few days later.

[express01]

first come first served is my philosophy. Everyone has the right to buy whatever they can afford to buy and in whatever quantity offered, provided that they come first

[Janilee]

Tigg already beat me to what I was going to say but unless stalker has insomnia, at SOME point, they sleep or heck, go to work. Find out when they don't come around and sell in that window. Try that.

IME, as someone who has moderated other forums for many years...the people who are really annoying on the Internet often don't go to work. They're often on disability, don't have jobs or family responsibilities, and can spend a ridiculous amount of time on the Internet. And can be way more obsessive about it than the average Joe.

If you get one of these types as a stalker, er, customer, they'll be around 24/7, or close to it.

I agree with the person who said SC should get rid of the last helper tab. The drawbacks outweigh the benefits. It discourages people from helping.

[MsPacheco]

If a certain customer buy the items you have put up for sell really bothers you, try re-naming your shop to "HayDayShopper (or whatever their name is), please don't buy from me any more."

It's worth a try. Maybe they just thought the items you had in your shop were for sell for anyone.

[Tiggerr129]

IME, as someone who has moderated other forums for many years...the people who are really annoying on the Internet often don't go to work. They're often on disability, don't have jobs or family responsibilities, and can spend a ridiculous amount of time on the Internet. And can be way more obsessive about it than the average Joe.

If you get one of these types as a stalker, er, customer, they'll be around 24/7, or close to it.

I agree with the person who said SC should get rid of the last helper tab. The drawbacks outweigh the benefits. It discourages people from helping.

Now Janilee, I am on Disability and don't work..... Anymore. I have a family but they help me put more than I do them, especially since I got sick. I can spend a ridiculous amount of time on the internet but I don't think I fit the description you have set forth. Let's not put labels on folks without walking in their shoes first. Now if you want to see people who play 24/7 go lurk over at Clash of clans. Those kids post so much they can have four pages in an hour. And a lot of them are under 25 as evidence by one thread from a while back asking how old each of them were.

[Bears4kris]

If you belong to a neighborhood let them know when you premium items are for sale in your shop.

[rachrabbit]

Actually, this isn't the first time this has happened to me. I once had someone who kept buying all my stuff hour after hour and selling boring stuff didn't work because he/she took it all. Just when I thought that person was gone, he/she came back again. I am not even sure why keep attracting people like that. I don't even put all my goodies out for sale at once. I split them up. This experience is the last straw for me. I have been burned too many times. Helping through the dd is no longer an option.

Actually, I do agree that we need to do away with the last helpers tab. People know that the helpers have no control over them so some just decide to do anything they want. It's like being anonymous on the internet makes some people do or say things they otherwise wouldn't in real life. The mentality is if I can get away with it I would.


Tigger - Ok so last night, I dumped a whole bunch of my wooly stuff for sale at max price and today morning, they were all gone. I didn't even place a single ad on them. Anyway, the good news is that so far this person has not bought anything. I guess he/she doesn't like the woolys as much as Tom and Greg. But I'm not sure if he/she is still there. Another good news is that so far, none of my followers have left. Some of them even bought a few sweaters. I'm just trying to get rid of my premiums as soon as I can because this person usually comes during the later part of the day. All my lower level machines are fully mastered so I can leave them idle. I just need to keep the soup kitchen, candy and sauce maker going. I have been making other stuff to use up my crops etc but I'm advertising them so this person won't even get a chance at all. I'm only leaving my wooly stuff in my shop for now and will do this for a few days at least.


Meonhoc - All this while, my selling style is exactly as you have described. I split my sales of goodies up, sell expansions in small quanitities and mixing the premium stuff with the common ones. Most of my followers now know better than to just come to my shop once. They usually return a while later to see if there are more goodies. I don't mind that as long as it's not the same person who keeps taking everything and always leaving an empty shop for the rest. I actually have a few Facebook friends who are also playing the game but they rarely buy stuff from me. I wish they would come more often. Lol.


Thank you all for your answers and suggestions. Hopefully this person will start flagging for help so that I will no longer appear on their last helpers list.

[Jlmlulu]

The same thing has been happening to me for weeks now. It actually was my previous neighborhood of which I left because a girl in their was such a taker. I constantly found myself helping her and never was a favor returned.

I'm level 50 and have always sold unique nice things in my shop I used to have 20 followers now I'm down to 10 because I can't sell as many nice things anymore. When someone is constantly buying out your shop it tends to get quite irritating. When I say constantly I mean for example today I decided to count and she bought out my shop 34 times. This in itself is irritating but what makes me really angry is when I'm trying to get help on my boat orders and somebody keeps buying out every single slot so I have to wait to advertise again. Not to mention people are much more likely to help your post when you have nice things in the shop.
This girl is not a follower friend and it's already been a month since I last helped her don't know how she is finding me.
I even changed my farm name to *****( name of girl)stop stalking me but this made it worse. Good luck to u sorry u have to deal with it I know it's not fun.

[Aishling]

Shoppers, let's just call them shoppers!

For every person who does this sort of following they are twenty or more who are just going about the business of playing a game. Attributing malicious acts to some one is harsh IMO and completely unnecessary.

sorry to sound like a mom here but how would one feel if some one read what you wrote and then called you names such as control freak or greedy and unwilling to share?

so many words that describe truly horrible things are being used far too casually. The R word in many online games to describe total victory over someone else. Isn't that just a lovely mind picture.

The word stalker is likewise being used to describe a somewhat innocuous and rule abiding behaviour here. I wonder how the mom who trembles at every sound outside her door because she is being stalked by an ex would feel knowing how easily such words are being used.

im sorry that the OP is feeling uncomfortable and I wish I could offer a solution.

Iwant everyone to have fun but not if it means that the rules get changed to accommodate such complaints. I like the way it is now. I love finding goodies as I look for trees to water or crates to fill. I buy stuff I need regardless of price. If I see 10 planks x 3 lots I would buy them all. I would assume someone is making space or shutting down their farm.

Btw anyone got some planks for sale I could really use some. J/K

[IBShel]

I too have experienced someone I helped randomly coming back and wiping out my stand many, many, many times a day. It's incredibly frustrating.

I dislike how the standard reply to this is "if it's up for sale, anyone can buy it". Yes, that's true, but there's also a point when that person becomes rude, selfish, and greedy. Why should that be tolerated? When has that become acceptable behavior?

I had to stop helping random farmers. That was the only way to stop the action. Every now and then a new follower may exhibit those behaviors and I easily delete them. Keeps me happy and my stand open to others who appreciate that other people exist in the world.

good luck!