Rogerbee
Super Freak
That is a nice sculpt, another where the hat looks just right.
1/6 Indy Customizations: Image Thread
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Returned home from our vacation to have a few nice surprises waiting for me at home! Taking a quick moment to drop some pics! Definitely will be seeing a lot more in the near future!
Sculpt: Waruna
Paint: Kjun Art
Loving these sculpts! I think I have my two new favorites!
Sculpt: Waruna
Paint: Kjun Art
Loving these sculpts! I think I have my two new favorites!
Congrats! I still have mine, unpainted. Don't need it any more since I have Waruna's. As great as Merek was for the community, it's a shame he went out the way he did.
Oooh, gossip, do tell. I don't know the story, but I'm always wary of those who appear from nowhere and inundate themselves quickly... the candle that burns twice as bright type thing...
I believe someone paid him a large sum of money for a bunch of custom stuff (I think it was a mix of Han solo and Indy stuff as Merek was active for both) that supposedly got lost in the mail. It was an international sale and the guy unfortunately paid friends and family if I'm remembering correctly. Merek didn't get a tracking number and threw away the postage receipt so there was no proof anything actually being mailed. Merek basically threw up his arms saying "sorry but I don't have the money to reimburse you" and walked away.
I mean, if I was someone looking at patterns, he seemed to be one that would spend a lot of money on high end custom stuff/services but then end up selling it almost just as fast. But, seemed like a good guy regularly trying to help. I mean, for my part, he appeared to do the best he could with both ROTLA and TLC Siberian custom clothing runs as well as his efforts with the Andrea sculpts. So, I don't think he's all bad just bad timing and bad actions ruining what was a pretty helpful member of the community.
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Most of the customizers who left the boards under unfortunate circumstances have a similar story.
Most things don't end well. That's why we like movies.
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Yeah Im an admin in the One Sixth Indiana Jones group on Facebook where this all transpired. Here is a screen shot of our disclaimer after the fact:
Here is Rajiv's post laying out his side of the story. Unfortunately Merek didn't stick around in the group to combat much other than paraphrase "my bad" for not getting the correct tracking number. Running and hiding really isn't a good look when things like this happen imo.
Here is Rajiv's post laying out his side of the story. Unfortunately Merek didn't stick around in the group to combat much other than paraphrase "my bad" for not getting the correct tracking number. Running and hiding really isn't a good look when things like this happen imo.
what a mess...
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Yup
Oh man, I remember drooling over that 1/4 Indy every time it came up and would’ve been all over it if I had the funds. Shame to hear how that all ended up…
Rogerbee
Super Freak
Very impressive!Returned home from our vacation to have a few nice surprises waiting for me at home! Taking a quick moment to drop some pics! Definitely will be seeing a lot more in the near future!
Sculpt: Waruna
Paint: Kjun Art
Loving these sculpts! I think I have my two new favorites!
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Rogerbee
Super Freak
It's really saddening that something like this has happened. Even before this, no matter how tempting the item might have been, I would have walked away if I had seen F&F only as a payment option. Friends and Family is just that; it's "Here's that gas money I owe you!" It is categorically NOT for paying for high-value items. They are Goods and Services, as that is what you are paying for. I don't know what fees are imposed when this method is used, but the seller should either wear them or incorporate them into the price in order to recoup them.
In the past, whenever I have bought items on FB, and no method except Paypal has been specified, I've always paid G&S, and nobody has complained. Going forward, I think it should be a general rule within One Sixth Indiana Jones that ANY item for sale must be paid for via G&S without exception.
thedarkknight
Super Freak
Asking for a goods and services purchase as friends and family is also a violation of PayPal terms of service and they will freeze your account if you are caught. Sometimes, they will ban you.
I won't do business with anyone who asks for friends and family. If they are willing to weasel their way out of paying PayPal fees (for the service PayPal is providing), why would they be honest in their dealings with you?
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Alot of scammers (buyers) will pay G&S then turn around a falsely open up claims that the item recieved wasn't what was supposed to be sent. So a lot of times I will request F&F because I dont trust people, but I know I'm on the up and up. I also ship items fully insured so if the post office does **** up and my package is lost they pay the buyer back. I'm not out the item and money.
I remember one time when Dane / Marfmaster sold a custom Iminime Man with No name to a buyer and the buyer opened a claim that he sent newspaper in the package and nothing else.
Luckily for Dane he reached out into the community about what to do and several others came forward saying the same guy did the same thing to them. He was able to prove his innocence and provide their stories as proof the guy was scamming. A serious headache and pita that I don't need to deal with in the hobby. I'm totally fine with not selling an item if no one feels comfortable buying from me. But I ain't dealing with that BS. Unfortunate but bad apples ruin the bunch. I dont sell stuff very often anyway. But just giving you examples of why people do request F&F. Sellers don't really have much of a recourse if you are dealing with a scamming buyer. Outside of possibly video taping the entire packaging, labeling and post office transaction in one uncut video, but who's going to do that?
^This, so easy for buyers to claim they didn't receive the item. He said/she said and ebay/paypal will just agree with the buyer in nearly all cases. I recently had a couple cases on eBay, in one the buyer clearly swapped out the item for their damaged version of the same thing. Same item from Hot Toys but it was very clear it wasn't the actual one I had sent.
As a seller I ask for goods and services on the basis I am insuring for the full amount. Trouble is buyers often don't want to pay import tax and want things marked down in value (which then means you can't insure for full value). If the buyer insists then I ask for payment as friends and family and tell them the package is at their risk because I can no longer insure.
Merek always seemed like a top guy but his version of events didn't add up (double tracking number issued, yet right that happened). He had no evidence of sending the package and he was getting out of the hobby. Sometimes the most obvious answer, no matter how unpalatable, is the answer.
Merek always seemed like a top guy but his version of events didn't add up (double tracking number issued, yet right that happened). He had no evidence of sending the package and he was getting out of the hobby. Sometimes the most obvious answer, no matter how unpalatable, is the answer.
chronosknight
Freakalicious
I recently was inconvenienced selling on eBay, and shipping USPS, when the USPS system assigned tracking #s that had already been used. I've normally had no issues selling but suddenly had buyers reaching out to me, angrily, to find out what was going on. Fortunately, those were for items under $100 and it all got sorted out eventually.
Duplicate tracking #s from the same seller though only point to one answer: the seller accidentally copy/pasted the same tracking # and has no means of finding the original since they tossed the receipt. Doesn't necessarily point to fraud but negligence isn't a palatable reason when dealing with such a valuable shipment.
There are likely two outcomes:
1. It will eventually be delivered to the buyer after some delay.
2. It will be returned to the shipper and the buyer will be reliant on them either returning the funds or re-shipping the item.
I've heard the back and forth about PayPal G&S vs F&F. Anecdotally, I've heard that one can still issue a chargeback through F&F and that there's no true seller protection. If this doesn't get sorted out in a reasonable timeframe I suggest pursuing that recourse to see if the funds can be retrieved.
But, yeah, I always pay G&S (even if the cost is slightly higher) to make sure everything is above board and that the seller has to act responsibly if there's an issue.
Duplicate tracking #s from the same seller though only point to one answer: the seller accidentally copy/pasted the same tracking # and has no means of finding the original since they tossed the receipt. Doesn't necessarily point to fraud but negligence isn't a palatable reason when dealing with such a valuable shipment.
There are likely two outcomes:
1. It will eventually be delivered to the buyer after some delay.
2. It will be returned to the shipper and the buyer will be reliant on them either returning the funds or re-shipping the item.
I've heard the back and forth about PayPal G&S vs F&F. Anecdotally, I've heard that one can still issue a chargeback through F&F and that there's no true seller protection. If this doesn't get sorted out in a reasonable timeframe I suggest pursuing that recourse to see if the funds can be retrieved.
But, yeah, I always pay G&S (even if the cost is slightly higher) to make sure everything is above board and that the seller has to act responsibly if there's an issue.
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Never pay using friends and family for big ticket items like this. Not even from an established seller.
cmiller99
Super Freak
I tried doing that once, it was such a hassle. Bloody phone kept falling over! You really need a second person there filming it for you.
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I think the thing that blows my mind most about this incident was that there wasn't any full insurance cover requested for a $3500 package being sold by a private seller, on top of paying with F&F. That is one hell of a risk to take, even with a totally honest, reliable seller who doesn't toss the postage receipt without sending a picture of it first. **** happens in the post, and if you're paying that much, the insurance isn't that much more.
I see the arguments for and against using G&S and F&F. As someone who's mostly a buyer I'm always happier with using G&S obviously, but either method can be exploited by scammers. I think the best thing to do is to be as aware as possible of how these e-commerce systems can be used against you and to always cover yourself with as much evidence as possible - be it videos, pictures, receipts (do NOT throw them straight in the bin, good lord), whatever. I film all my unboxings now just as a precaution - it's annoying, but it's worth it. Because no one approach will be foolproof. And if a transaction is too much of a risk, don't take it out of desperation or social embarrassment for being seen as flaking out.
