I really don't know where to begin so I guess the beginning is as good a place as any. Some time ago I made a purchase from a hobby shop through eBay. I liked the product selection and the general tone of the place. I did more business with him and even received several phone calls from the owner which I enjoyed. It’s rare that a business owner makes any attempt to get to know customers, especially those from far away. Eventually I felt I had struck up a sort of friendship with the guy and trusted him. He helped me out with advice, parts, and pricing. Early in 2009 things still seemed to be going OK, but suddenly it changed. Promises of replacement parts for kits I needed and was told he had and would send never arrived. Parts I needed to complete builds we spoke about at length and even jointly found online were never ordered as promised. Some items I did get I later found were defective or didn't work as advertised. Messages left at the web site and emails sent to both addresses I had been given went unanswered over months. I finally stopped ordering. There were other issues as well that I won't bother mentioning. I recently needed some NATO paints and his shop was the only one that turned up in a Google search that had them in stock. Because I was still owed some stuff I had paid for or a refund I tried once more and left a message at the site asking if I could have the nearly 6 month old order credited towards purchase of the paint set I needed or if I could get a refund. I summarized what had transpired in that request. I did get an answer and did get the paint set I wanted for no additional charge which I appreciated. The issues I had with his shop I kept private and didn't publicly air them or post about them and intended to keep things that way until I read his most recent newsletter. If you get it, yep, I'm the Evil Jim in the email that was used to show what crass heathens some of his customers are and what a swell guy he is, rising above it all.

Prior to the newsletter we had a lengthy email exchange, all of which I saved, and thought everything was worked out. There were some misunderstandings, one of which was the bad Fruil tracks I got were not for a Panzer I as is in the selected excerpt he published in his newsletter, but a Hotchkiss set which do come in left and right sides according to the package as are the PZ I Fruil tracks. The Panzer I was the kit with the missing parts that I never got as promised I was going to be sent back around February.

What bugged me was what was not that he printed what I had written. Hell, I stand by every word! What bugged me was out of an exchange that my word counter showed to exceed 4200 words, everything I was unhappy about with products and service were left out! Even in our post email/pre newsletter phone conversation he said I shared equally in the problems I had with him because I didn't call him on the phone. I conceded that I didn't call, but I don't think it's 100% of the customer's responsibility to repeatedly check on every aspect of the business they buy from to make sure they are holding up their end. And then I saw my own words carefully selected and turned on me I just couldn't believe it! Talk about one-sided! All the gripes about issues I had, especially with the service I was getting, and his responses, some quite snide, and my detailed explanations had been laid out in excruciating detail and supposedly solved before he blindsided me! Adding insult to injury was his newsletter came out a full week AFTER everything is supposedly explained and solved! I see now he freaking USED me to his own ends! Well it was either respond and get it out of my system or kill something!

So, now it's out! Those of you who get his newsletter will know what I am talking about. Those who don't, well I'm not naming names or his business. I resisted the temptation to post the complete unedited transcripts (except for the names removed) of the complete exchange because I think nothing would show my point better. I don't want to use this Forum to attack him even though I am more defending myself than attacking anyone. I just needed to have my say so as well and hope this is the appropriate part of the forum for it. I hope I haven't offended anybody or violated any rules.

Well, I guess it certainly isn't a place to do business with again or in the future.
We all learn from experiences like this.

I likely don't do business with this shop but I probably wouldn't do business if I knew who we were speaking about.
I like to think I can learn from other peoples experiences but so little information concerning who, what and where is presented here I could likely be doing business with these folks and not even know since I usually dump all newsletters without reading them.

It is a shame that shopX saw fit to cherry pick from your communications to make himself look good.
C.

Although trying to make himself look good was probably his intention, it backfired.
Anyone who runs a business will have customers that may not be their favourite to deal with, but that's part of running a business. To publicly air it the way he did really makes him look bad, at least to me. A big part of my purchasing is based on customer service, you treat me well, you will get repeat business, treat me badly (or anyone else) without warrant and I won't be back. The fact that Jim was having so many issues with his orders makes it all that much worse.

I'm sorry you were singled out Jim.

Jamie

Thanks all. I'm glad this was received in the spirit I posted it in. I worried about it after putting it up. I won't be doing any more business with him, not just because of his poor service and all the rest, but when we spoke on the phone he didn't say anything about his plans for the newsletter. I would have given him my most sincere OK to print it, IF he agreed to print the whole thing. I decided to print the edited exchange here. The only edits are I deleted the original messages that were included in the back and forth responses so they wouldn't be duplicated over and over and waste space.

My original message from 8/10 left on the shop's web site:

I have had 3 bottles of LifeColor Rotbraun paint that I have paid for on order since last March, order number 205. I have also emailed to both email addresses I have, at hotmail and at gmail, as well as used this contact feature multiple times asking about the order and never received an answer. Among those correspondences I also mentioned that the bottle of XXXXXXX I ordered and received didn't work with the Fruils -also purchased from you which I later determined had two bags containing the same side track links. I followed the instructions to the letter using the XXXXXXXX including cleaning the Fruils with mild detergent and scrubbing with a soft brush, rinsing thoroughly and allowing them to dry for a day before treating them, The 15 second soak and rinse did nothing. After allowing them to dry for a couple hours I tried again with a 30 second soak. I repeated this again and again increasing time with zero results until out of frustration i let them soak overnight. That produced some corrosion like a dirty car battery terminal and a very slight darkening. At the time I ordered it XXXX told me there was none left but it was possible that a bottle could be filled from the empty barrel and what was left around the shop. I assumed that was what happened, but I never got a response on that either. I was also told that some parts I needed for a Tristar Panzer I ausf A, a hatch specifically, were there at the shop in a partial kit and it was going to be sent to me. Six months later, no hatch arrived nor was there any further mention of a hatch. I had also requested 4 sets of MG 13 metal barrels which were quoted and for which I was told were ordered. Like with the hatch and other parts I was promised, no barrels, no follow-up. I found the barrels I needed and bought them from XXXXXXXXX after having a build wait unfinished for almost 3 months because I never heard anything back. I saw you started carrying them, but things worked out because I paid about 60% less than the XXXXXXX items. Since all that I have been back a couple of time and started to order some things, but didn’t. I don’t fully fault you for the delay with LifeColor paint. I have been having less trouble buying it from a seller I found in the UK. His prices are low enough that even with shipping it’s cheaper than about anybody domestically for individual bottles, especially since I have been buying 24 bottles at a time. For some reason he doesn’t carry the sets. Anyway, I started out as a pretty enthusiastic customer. Having run a small business myself I try to be as understanding as I can. I know first hand that sometimes things don't always go as swimmingly as we’d like. At this point I figure my disappointment in the XXXXXXX is just a lesson learned. The same sided Fruils, well I know to check first before I open and clean everything up. I bought a second Tristar Panzer I ausf A kit to get the hatch and a few other pieces I needed, and I bought my 8 MG 13 barrels elsewhere and got a better price and finished my model. That all brings me to my current situation: I need the LifeColor CS02 NATO/MERDAC paint set. If you have one in stock, can I get the order for the 3 bottles of LifeColor Rotbraun plus the shipping cancelled and the amount credited toward purchase of the NATO set? If the NATO set isn't in stock can I get the aforementioned order cancelled and get the money refunded to me? If you do have the set in stock and I can get a credit towards it by canceling the March 31 order, please send me the balance, including postage, I would owe you. I would pay it via PayPal or however you want. You should have my email address, but to simplify things it is: [email protected]. My name is Jim Hand, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. Thank you.

Response back from the owner on 8/11 to my email. My original message was attached at the end but deleted here:

Your Nato is on the way Jim. Sorry for the problems. I have never had anyone say bad reviews about the XXXXXXX till now. It would be nice to have it sent back for testing, but that would put you out more money and I dont want that to happen. I did not realize that a pz I a has different side track links.Well after building 6 panzer I's I just learned some'n new and have to do a lil further and deeper research to see this for myself. I would have to agree with you at this point to use XXXXXX and your overseas modeling rep for any further lifecolor,barrels,friulmodel track and modeling needs. I do thank you for giving us a chance to try to meet your modeling needs. Thank you.

My reply on 8/11 back to the owner from his response to me:

Hi XXX. One of the emails I sent about the XXXXXXX had photos pasted in it. I still haven't installed them so if you want to see what soaking overnight did, I can snap some photos. As I said, when I ordered it you had just come back from some show and had sold out of it. You said there may have been enough left in the bottom of some containers to fill a bottle of it which is what I assumed you did when it arrived with the other items I ordered from you. Since it was essentially from the bottom of the barrel, so to speak, I figured it may have been not correctly proportioned chemical-wise which is why it didn't work. I saw the article on Armorama right before I used it. I sent the emails about it within a few days, maybe a week after that review came out. I didn't lady about it or post anything bad because I'm not that way, but I did contact you about it as I described. I lost my hard drive about a week ago or I could forward you copies of all the emails.

As to the Fruil tracks, these were the first Fruils I ever bought and built and were for a 39H Hotchkiss, not a Panzer I. I had the Bronco German Observation Vehicle kit, CB35003 based on a captured and converted Hotchkiss tank. It said on the Fruil box that the tracks were for right and left sides. It contained two stapled plastic bags containing the links and the roll or wire between them. We had discussed these tracks once before during one of our extended telephone chats because I told you what a joy it was to assemble the T-34 Fruil tracks I bought from you (along with a PE detail kit for an SU 122 I was building) compared to the Hotchkiss set since I had to drill out fewer than a dozen of the T-34 tracks compared to having to drill out almost all of the Hotchkiss links. You said it sounded like a bad set of tracks and that rarely a set like that gets out. I had never done a set of metal tracks before so I had no way of knowing if the Hotchkiss set was bad because I had nothing in my experience to compare to. I had opened up the individual bags one at a time and cleaned and drilled the links. Hardly a one had an open hole where the wire went in. The only way to tell which was the supposed to be the open side was that the closed end had a rounded nub on the end of the link. The open end was flat. I put each set of prepared links in separate pill bottles and wired them together doing one side at a time. I followed your advice of only doing short runs at each session spreading the assembly out over a few days to keep from going insane. I didn't discover that both lengths were the same side until I fit the assembled lengths to the tank to adjust the length that I discovered that both were the same. In relation to the tank, looking at it from rear to front, with the pads facing in the correct direction the open sides of both lengths was on the left. In other words, the wires were to the inside on the right track and the outside on the left track. Since I had already assembled them I didn't consider returning them. I didn't think it was catastrophic because I figured lots of mud would hide it.

On the LifeColor paint, there seems to be a pretty universal problem here in the States with getting them. Every discussion about LifeColor on any forum all have the same complaints: they are great but seldom in stock. If they are in stock it's the less in demand colors. The places that sell them have either limited selection or all the place sells is sets. A good example is XXXXXXXXX. You and XXXXXXXX are about the only vendors that come up when looking for LifeColor paint in Google's shopping search. I don't know if XXXXXXXX cater primarily to the airplane/naval model builder set, because while they carry a lot of the individual colors, for some reason do not carry the 4 main German Armor camo colors at all as individual bottles. They do sell the sets though. Like most ZZZZZZZZZ sells only sets which seem perpetually out of stock. It's hard to buy a $30 set when all that's needed is one or two colors. I got in a bind with the Trumpeter Schutzen Tiger because the thing is so freaking huge I didn't have enough paint left to finish it and I don't like to paint different brands of paint over each other unless I know there won't be a reaction. All progress on that build came to a grinding halt when I was totally out of Rotbraun and olivgrun. Although I like LifeColor paint more than any other color I have ever used when I use up what I have, that's it. I can't justify going on a world-wide search for the stuff. I went through eBay looking for LifeColor paint and messaged every seller looking for dunkelgelb, olivgrun, schokoladen braun, and Rotbraun that was in stock. Only one seller had them but was able to supply me with 6 bottles of each and assured me he seldom ran out. I think the total for those 24 bottles and shipping was about $110.00. Other than an M543A2 resin wrecker kit that's all I have gone overseas for. I in no way blame you or any of the other vendors for problems getting this stuff. Apparently they marketed world-wide without the ability to supply the demand for the product. It's a shame because I think they are closest to real colors. Speaking of which, if you could work out a deal to stock and sell it, there's a book I got a few months back called Wehrmacht Heer: Camouflage Colors 1939 to 1945 by Tomas Chory. They had somebody in the US that was distributing the book but when I tried to contact them them I wasn't able to get a response. There still don't appear to be many places that sell it, certainly no hobby shops. The author is in Czechoslovakia and I was able to get an English copy through him after nothing turned up from his English distributor on the East Coast. It's a first rate book complete with color pictures of original WWII German equipment for reference and a fold out with squares of paint samples in the back like what you see in an auto paint book. I think it's an essential addition to any German armor modeler's library. It's hugely informative and is an easy read. I think it would be an excellent addition for a shop like yours since it's very focused on German armor and military equipment paint. Picture of the cover is pasted below. The contact email is [email protected] It's a big book as you can see the edges lopped off where it was larger than my scanner.

Picture of the book deleted for this post. Email continues below.

Lastly, thanks for working out a deal with me on the NATO paint. XXX, I know you talked to a lot of your customers, me among them, and I enjoyed talking to you the half dozen times we spoke. Our conversations were great and we solved all the world's problems several times. The interest you showed in helping me with everything from the missing parts to IDing the correct MG barrels I needed -originally I was looking at MG34 barrels- and all the rest of the things you did made me feel like I was more than just a customer, but I was also a friend. It was obvious you were the kind of person who loved what he was doing enough that he took it to the next level and had an enthusiasm that was contagious. It is rare to find people like that and I told you as much. You sent me a sample of your weathering powder before you marketed it and told me to hold off on buying XXXXXXX when you were getting ready to come out with the XXXXXX. When an order was late you always threw in a little freebie like a decal set or something as was the case with the star antennas I bought from you on eBay and the mix-up where you double shipped me the Morser-Karl and another barrel instead of the Maus barrels I ordered. You cut me a heck of a deal on the 17.5 cm barrel for the Schutzen Tiger and talked me out of the Tamiya Jagdtiger opting for the Dragon kit instead. having seen the Tamiya kit contents that was sage advice. You got on online with me and helped find the MG 13 barrels I needed and made sure I knew to get a MG 13 and an MG 13K barrel for each set. You explained the hierarchy of quality from Dragon from the Cyber-Hobby line to the soon to be released Orange Box kits. Then all that suddenly stopped. No more phone calls about follow-ups for parts I was looking into, no response to direct emails or inquiries sent through the site. There was the extended backorder with the paint, a news release that some stock had arrived and old orders would be filled and still nothing. It was like you'd disappeared from the face of the earth. I'm not naive enough to think I'm your only customer nor are you beholden to me to check my every whim and fancy and I didn't want to act like was your only customer and demand immediate attention. I know damn well that even my own world doesn't revolve around me! I decided to stay patient, but it was obvious something had changed.

Then, a couple of months ago I got a few PMs from Armorama members who knew I was one of your supporters asking about you. I also read a few comments that were about the XXXXX and they weren't really complimentary. The PMs I got were about the lack of answers to emails, stuff not getting shipped, things arriving that were ordered from you but were delivered with return addresses from other hobby shops, and other things. I couldn't offer anything more than I don't know and I haven't spoken to him in some time. I didn't add anything to the conversation because I don't speak of things that I don't know about. I couldn't help but wonder about those things because other people were having similar experiences to mine. I know you addressed a lot of this in some recent newsletters. But even those stopped for a month or so as I recall which added to the mystery. Regardless, I am glad all seems well with you and the XXXXXX. I didn't mean to offend or anger you. I can only state what's on my mind and some things had been simmering there for awhile. I didn't intend to make it sound like I was not going to do any future business with you. I stated, perhaps not too clearly, that I backed off because I wasn't sure what was going on and I didn't understand how I fell from being a valued customer to a non-entity. I know in this economy things are especially tight for places like hobby shops and I wondered if it meant you were going out of business or something. I hoped not, but in the absence of any communication and not seeing any definite activity, all I could do was hunker down and keep scanning the horizon for signs of movement. Apparently, you are still alive and well. And that's good. So don't be pissed at me, OK? - Jim

Below is the excerpt from the shop's newsletter sent out on 8/17. Everything below this sentence until the last paragraph is directly from the newsletter:

I am still 174 email give or take a few behind and I swear I would like to kick the person off the face of the earth who invented emails! I hate typing and explaining myself to people when I know the voice is second best to watching a person body motions in person as they talk to me. GRRRRRRR here a short snip why. a part of a email that I got and my reply to it below

a couple of months ago I got a few PMs from Armorama members who knew I was one of your supporters asking about you. I also read a few comments that were about the Depot and they weren't really complimentary. The PMs I got were about the lack of answers to emails, stuff not getting shipped, things arriving that were ordered from you but were delivered with return addresses from other hobby shops, and other things. I couldn't offer anything more than I don't know and I haven't spoken to him in some time. I didn't add anything to the conversation because I don't speak of things that I don't know about. I couldn't help but wonder about those things because other people were having similar experiences to mine. I know you addressed a lot of this in some recent newsletters. But even those stopped for a month or so as I recall which added to the mystery. Regardless, I am glad all seems well with you and the Depot. I didn't mean to offend or anger you. I can only state what's on my mind and some things had been simmering there for awhile. I didn't intend to make it sound like I was not going to do any future business with you. I stated, perhaps not too clearly, that I backed off because I wasn't sure what was going on and I didn't understand how I fell from being a valued customer to a non-entity. I know in this economy things are especially tight for places like hobby shops and I wondered if it meant you were going out of business or something. I hoped not, but in the absence of any communication and not seeing any definite activity, all I could do was hunker down and keep scanning the horizon for signs of movement. Apparently, you are still alive and well. And that's good. So don't be pissed at me, OK? - Jim

My thought was horseshit and my reply was as follows.

Your Nato is on the way Jim. Sorry for the problems. I have never had anyone say bad reviews about the black4track till now. It would be nice to have it sent back for testing, but that would put you out more money and I dont want that to happen. I did not realize that a pz I a has different side track links.Well after building 6 panzer I's I just learned some'n new and have to do a lil further and deeper research to see this for myself. I would have to agree with you at this point to use Model Point USA and your overseas modeling rep for any further lifecolor,barrels,friulmodel track and modeling needs. I do thank you for giving us a chance to try to meet your modeling needs. Thank you.

After wondering about this customer I decided to make a phone call and hear his voice in person to see if our friendship had ended. The phone call I think made our friendship even stronger than before. Only time will tell. Then I get emails with questions like the following that make me want to take the north bound of a south bound jackass and kick him in his hangen balls.

1. Do you sell models?
2. Do you sell RC cars?
3. Have you posted ships on your site yet?
4. When are you going to have more models in soon ? ( UH? WHATS THAT MEAN???)

GRRRRRRRRR I am bald and taking prozack because of this, but yet I have to try to see it from their point of view and answer the email with honesty...
I prefer you to call me and if I dont answer its due to one of the following reason and I will call back asap.

1. I am pissing on a hot motar tube.

Rest of newsletter omitted.

No corrrections, alterations, or other editing has been done to anything above. The exchange is in chronological order with my initial contact at the top and the newsletter article at the bottom. It should be obvious why I felt chumped by what he used in the newsletter and then changed what he said and when he said it to suit his purposes. I Xed out all references to names or products to avoid any appearance of a personal attack. Because this seller is also an advertiser here I didn't want to jeopardize Armorama losing an advertiser. Some of you have figured out who it is either from your own experiences or because you get the newsletter. After trying to be more than understanding and willing to work with him I think I deserved better than what I got. Horsepucky indeed!

Sorry to hear about this trouble Jim . You are a good person and a terrific friend to have which will take more then a news letter to convince me other wise .

Wow , that's a lot of typing !!!!!

I'm sorry to hear about this also, Jim.

Jamie stated it perfectly above, customer service is a big part of who I spend my money with. Thanks for sharing this with us

Yep....sucks Jim. I'm not surprised about this one though. In time, there will be more issues like this from "him." Actually, I'm sure there already are.

Mike

Without naming names or places, there are those of us on this website that have had run ins with this guy as well.

While I am not 100% sure I know who it is (but about 99.9%), when you add in Lifecolor paint (very few places in the US or Canada sell this by the bottle, usually only the paint packs) Sprue Bros is one, and I KNOW for a fact you wouldn't get that kind of crappy service from Gordon as he and his business are Grade A #1.

So that narrows it down quite a bit, the shop carries Lifecolor by the bottle, Fruili tracks, and some magical solution to weather those Fruil tracks.

Couple that with kits being sold with missing pieces and such, and those of us that know of this place don't have to be rocket scientists to know who it is. That shop actually advertises on this site, and doesn't surprise me that you got the run around Jim, this shop has a long history of it!

I'm the burnt out light bulb in the marquee, and figured it out, from Jim first post.

I smell a rat among us.

Good one

Just like Dave, I knew who it was from the first post.

Heheheheh. "DING! Fries ready!"

Good one Jeff.

Mike

Wow...never would have known this was happening. But I know exactly who your talking about, (I think Creading does now also)

To be honest, I have dealt with them before, and my experiences have never been negative. Only positive, but, thats me, I cant say the same for everyone.

Sorry you had to go through that Jim.

My initial dealings with him were good as well. The first let down other than delays and wrong items was when I needed a hatch for my Panzer I kit and mentioned it to him. He immediately said he had the same partial kit on his bench. I told him the parts I needed and he said they'd be sent right out. After nothing for a couple weeks I called him and asked about it and to order some Maus barrels. He didn't know what I was talking about with the hatch and then asked me to send him the kit number in an email. I scanned the instruction's front page and the part of the instructions that showed the parts I needed. Nothing. I did get a Morser Karl barrel and another barrel instead of the Maus barrels. When I called and wanted brass MG barrels for the same hatchless panzer I, 8 of them all together, he got on his computer while I was on mine and he led me to a site and showed me what I needed. He quoted me a price and said he'd order them. Again, months went by and one day while looking at his site thinking about buying the Life Color weathering sets, I see he stocks the MG13 and 13K barrels I needed, but they are almost 400% higher than I was quoted. They were a different brand, granted, but still. He could have called and I would have adjusted the order and still bought 6 of them. I messaged him through the site about them to see if he had inventory and if I could work something out. Nothing- no reply. I liked the Tamiya Jagdtiger kit that they had released and called to see if he had it. He talked me out of it and into the Dragon kit which I was glad I bought even though I did buy the Tamiya kit $20 cheaper elsewhere a month later. I asked about the parts again and it was once more like he didn't know what I was talking about, shifted gears and gave me a good buy on an aluminum barrel for the Trumpeter Schutzen Tiger I was building. Of course, then like most times, he had to rush off to a show or something. A couple times after telling me he was going out of town for shows or buying trips, he'd call the next day from the same number. I never said anything but filed it away. Along the way, except once, I noticed I wasn't getting the advertised discounts even though the orders exceeded the spending amount he set at the time or qualified in other ways. I know he kept tweaking the program and changing things so I attributed it to that. Again, it always goes back to that I liked him and always had a good time talking to him. Even the conversation we had before the newsletter came out I didn't rally catch on until after I hung up and thought about it that he got me to accept the bulk of the blame for all the problems I had doing business with him since last February. I start thinking, what other shop have I ever dealt with on a regular basis that had dropped the ball so many times, much less blame it on me? The answer was easy: none! I take some solace that I'm not the only one this has happened to. If you have no problems with him, that's good. Maybe the trick is to keep it all business and not get buddy-buddy with him. If things change, you know where to find a sympathetic ear(s)! Good luck!

Jim,

I appreciate you explaining your situation, I hope I dont get burned as well. I usually dont try to deal with just one shop. But when I have ordered from him, my orders have been small.

I think, that when one begins to be accused of thier actions, that they should come here and explain themselves to all of us.

We, as a community, are widely dispersed through out the country/world. Yet, we are such a tight community that everyone basically knows about everyone else. To try and bamboozool one w/o thinking the rest of us wont find out is foolish.

Im on your side Jim, lets go have a beer or whatever you drink !

Your not the only one. I would rather pay double the money on hard-to-find Blast stuff than buy it from sed company. Throwing in extras does not make up for having to wait months on one item. Especially when it happens more than once. Who knows maybe I'll get another pleasent phone call tonight from XXXXX because I am publicly "bashing" his company on Armorama .
Evan

thank god i saw this, i was planning on buying a bunch of stuff from "that" website, thanks jim you've saved my hard earned money. i think every here by now knows who it is right? if not, look to the right hand side ladies and gentlemen.

Hi again all. I appreciate the support and while I wish I didn't have company with my experiences, again, there's strange comfort in knowing it isn't/wasn't just me. Since apparently there are other people speaking publicly about him I'll go ahead and name him: It is indeed Tank Rats Depot.

I didn't like tap-dancing around his identity, but some forums are pretty heavy handed when it comes to bashing businesses because sometimes either side, merchant or buyer, can be unreasonable and difficult to deal with. I wanted to say something about my experience because I didn't want something I had written to be used out of context by a person/place to promote themselves and excuse their bad business practices. I knew from a few private conversation with people here and from some eBay sellers that there were issues with him going back for some time. Even though I am still a relative newcomer at Armorama I feel I am part of the community so I felt I had a responsibility to say something here. It was important to me to do it in as neutral a manner as possible so I wouldn't risk getting banned or the discussion getting locked out or removed. That hasn't happened, I hope, because I made my case pretty clear. It may be a bit long to read, my intent in having shown it all revealed the truth behind his self-promotion his attitude that problems are always the customer's fault.

Surprised.

As others have stated, I figured it out from your first posting. Had some dealings, more like run ins with him in the past. I guess some things never change. My money has been spent elsewhere since. Sorry you had such a rough go of it. Thanks for the update. "Q"

Jim hand..There are two sides to everyone who has a story to tell. ..I thought long and hard about this one...and reread my own side of this story. ..and as I stated in my email, they can be taken the wrong way if not carefull. So you win Jim Hand even though in the email your refering to I said quote unquote the problem you and I had made our friendship stronger..boy did I make a bad call on that one!!!...Tacfire...you need to keep your mouth shut son..I see you still havent learned. ..Was'nt it you who called me asking if we could put things behind us so you could trade a few items and I said Id rather not...I see you still like putting the knife in peoples back verbally. Wasnt it you tacfire who orginally screwed me in the back more ways than one? and then sent other people to me to buy items for you cause you knew better than to talk to me till I cooled off?- Have you even found a real job yet?. Viper...well...lets just say sorry I read what you wrote..It will change the future somehow im sure. Charles if we dont do business again..no problem I totally understand. Evan ....your like tacfire..I tried my best to give you the upper hand young man and make up for my wrong doings and you still put the knife in the back, but no worries son..I wont call ya on da phone...I know you just like to have your sayso in matters and put other people down to feel important..And Jeff Ive tried hard to think how you and I have ran across each others past and Im sure its not good. So I cant say anything good or bad.

maybe instead of hurling personal insults at people and being rude, you could KINDLY explain the whole story instead of telling people to "shut their mouthes" and ask them if they "have gotten a real job yet".

I thought so too until your newsletter came out. Funny how you didn't mention that you'd quoted me in our phone conversation that was supposed to have "made things right". Why is it on me to be careful or I would misunderstand what you wrote? It was you who wrote "bullshit" about what you quoted from me. There were things that led up to the part you quoted that certainly were not crap.

I just got home a little bit ago and heard the answering machine message you left. It's another case of you doing something and now you act like I'm the bad guy because what you did pissed me off because it was less than truthful. I spoke up about it here because I know people here get your newsletter. On another thing you said in the message, I don't get what you meant when you sarcastically thanked me for doing business with you and then went on to say you had lost money from knowing me. Our last deal was you sent me a $30 Life Color NATO paint set. I had a credit of $18 I think -it's been a long time ago- for 3 bottles of Life Color paint at $4.75 each plus the $2 or $3 handling charge plus shipping that had been on back order for almost 4 months. Hell! It's in one of the emails in the exchanges above!. When I asked if you had the set in stock I told you I would pay the difference. I still will if it's an issue!

The only reason this thread is here and this conversation is taking place is because of something you did! You took something from an email I sent you, printed it, commented about it putting it totally out of context! You then railed about it in your newsletter to make yourself look like you were doing the best you could and that you had to deal with "assholes" like me -my words, not yours, who emailed and messaged you about problems rather than call. You never told the full history of the problems I had nor did you acknowledge you had done anything to warrant any criticism. The whole "call me" thing to deal with problems makes no sense. If you don't want to deal with email and messaging through your website why have them? And why make how to communicate about problems the issue when it would be better to prevent problems in the first place. My point is you made promises to me you didn't follow through on. You didn't respond to messages and emails even though you provided them as a means to communicate. You didn't follow up about stuff on back-order for months that had been paid for! Every time we did speak on the phone and I asked about the promised parts and things you were supposed to order, you clearly didn't have a clue what I was talking about. Then you'd act like you remembered and come up with an excuse. The whole thing repeated with the next phone call. You told me you had so much going on you couldn't remember who the MG 13 barrels were for when they came in. Sorry, but I doubt so many customers want 8 MG 13 barrels in one order that you forget which one it was. Even the very first thing I ever bought from you, a couple sets of Tasca German antennas I got from you on eBay. It took almost 4 1/2 months for me to get them. The final story was you had an entire truck sized shipping container full of models and model stuff you were bringing back from China siezed by Customs and the antennas were in it. You had to wait until Customs cleared it before I could get my stuff. Maybe it was true, maybe not. I could go on but what's the point?

Please don't think I don't understand what a small business owner goes through. I ran a very successful motorcycle shop for a decade while working full time at another job. I know damn well how hard it can be to juggle everything from unexpected demands on time to back-ordered parts to no personal life. I never left any of my clients in the dark or holding the bag. They were paying me for my service and I was working for them, not the other way round. When it became too much to handle and my customers would have suffered for my inability to give things the attention they needed, I closed the doors. I certainly never expected them to call me for every little thing it was my responsibility to handle. And i certainly called them to keep them informed about every new problem I found, every delay, and anything that affected completion of the job I was being paid to do.

One last thing, I'm not "afraid" to call you as your phone message implied. Arguing with you to resolve nothing is just very low on my list right now and I have a lot going on. I have had some new serious health issues crop up and have quite enough stress dealing with those at the moment. I will be in touch.

Talk about horrible replies/apologies, I mean, we just got through the whole GREAT MODELS apology and not many were too happy with it, but, at least that could be called an apology. But this one takes the cake, im reading it, and I see just attacks being lobbed at people. Here was your chance/choice to make nice, on a WIDE OPEN forum read by MANY. It is these type of replies that have been known to hurt/kill a business. Sometimes, its wise just to bite the bullet and reply in a courteous manner. No one likes being in the crosshairs, but if you are, than thier must be a reason. And obviously Jim had an issue with certain things, none of which, if im correct were handled correctly by you (tank). Honestly, step back, take a breather and try it again if you havent lost too many people.