Are these for-pay d&d tables a scam?

I joined a pay to play group that was supposed to start yesterday evening. When I logged on at the scheduled time No one else joined, i waited a half hour. I messaged the dm and haven’t heard back. This is my first time using roll20 so I’m not sure what is going on.

I would recommend that if you want to get in a game that is pay to play, I would go for the games that offer the first game free and then pay for further games. That way you can make sure people will show up and the DM is some one that will fulfill you requirements.

I'd recommend any of them that hold a session 0 before having you pay. It does wonders for the first session if you've meet everyone already. What game did you join btw? If the DM is a flake who is just taking cash then I'd like to know. Also if be happy to work something out with you, just cause one guy's an a spoiled apple doesn't mean he needs to ruin the whole lot.

A shame to hear something like this happen. Be careful what kind of groups you join in - especially if it is pay to play. Ask for references, audio recordings or other proofs that the service is legit before accepting one. Further, as Dulton said, demand a session zero before you pay for anything. On the flip side, I also was on the other end of this situation. I am a premium DM and my very first group that wanted to run a game with me did not show up for session 0. I already bought the campaign, prepped the first chapter and everything. It's the nature of the beast dealing with people on the internet. It is hard to keep them accountable if they are jerks. All the more reason to be extra careful.

Hello all, I have moved this post to the Specific Use & Questions forum. However, please note that  Roll20 is not responsible for any payment transactions and cannot enforce any private arrangements. With that said, these types of post typically devolve pretty quickly. As such, I am going to close this thread.  There are some good suggestions above. Please use them to help you with any future games you may join. It may also be beneficial to reach out to the DM for help.  Good Luck.