Sovereign Indy gear, updates/info

[Kuzeh]

What difference does it make what I say? You're just trying to start **** because of the Che thread and your inability to act mature about it (proof's in your posts there). Based on that, it's safe to say that whatever my response, it'll be followed up with more BS from you. If I say yes, you'll say I'm a liar just trying to justify my posts here. If I say no, you'll say I'm just starting **** and have no right posting here. Bottom line, it's really none of your ****ing business is it? Given that, what I will say is I have an Indy with no jacket. So go harass someone else.

Wow...
Where did that come from?...
You didn't take your meds or something?...
Relax bub...

I just find it funny how you like to call down people for "smearing ****" over the boards when that's basically your modus vivendi... "bub"
Listen, I'm all for positiveness and against excessive negativity but people have the right to raise the questions... wether you like it or not...
So if somebody wants to complaint about not recieving stuff they've paid for months ago, well... to put it in your own words... it's really none of your ****ing business is it?

Shawn does amazing customs and accessories, but he handles his business poorly... that's a fact! ...

Anyway... 'tis the season to be jolly!!
Relax, drink some hot cocoa and Merry Christmas!!

 

[thenammagazine]

See? What'd I tall ya?

 

[Murderofcrows71]

Well my stand was to keep quiet but with all the discontent flying around here I had to add my two cents. I can fully understand those who are upset and haven't gotten the items they have ordered. I also know that if you have never placed an order with Shawn before and didn't know about the wait, you'd be P.O.'d. Fact is most people who have been into customizing for a while like me have had dealings with Shawn for years, and knew of the wait before any order was placed. Those that didn't, now you know, I can assure you he always comes through with his stuff. Is it right to have a customer wait this long, or to take the money before the item is ready? That I'll let you guys continue to argue about, just remember his main aspect of his business isn't making 1/6 accessories such as belts, holsters, whips and jackets (which are made by the way of a material that he has to painstakingly make himself) but making entire figures including the whole body on some. For anyone who has ever made an entire custom figure from scratch, it takes quite a while. That said apparently there exists an issue with customer service and wait times that has been an issue and if he wishes to continue his business he will need to address.

 

[MaulFan]

Nam and Kuzeh, settle down guys.

I know it might seem nice if commentary in here were just about the Indy stuff, but in a situation like Shawn's making for himself here, any thread to do with him is going to get comments regarding anything he's doing for members, it's just unavoidable at this point and a futile move that just leads to pointless arguing trying to make it happen. The situation's ugly enough, let's not going after each other about pointless stuff to, let's just focus on getting Shawn's attention and getting some resolution to things.

 

[MaulFan]

Well my stand was to keep quiet but with all the discontent flying around here I had to add my two cents. I can fully understand those who are upset and haven't gotten the items they have ordered. I also know that if you have never placed an order with Shawn before and didn't know about the wait, you'd be P.O.'d. Fact is most people who have been into customizing for a while like me have had dealings with Shawn for years, and knew of the wait before any order was placed. Those that didn't, now you know, I can assure you he always comes through with his stuff. Is it right to have a customer wait this long, or to take the money before the item is ready? That I'll let you guys continue to argue about, just remember his main aspect of his business isn't making 1/6 accessories such as belts, holsters, whips and jackets (which are made by the way of a material that he has to painstakingly make himself) but making entire figures including the whole body on some. For anyone who has ever made an entire custom figure from scratch, it takes quite a while. That said apparently there exists an issue with customer service and wait times that has been an issue and if he wishes to continue his business he will need to address.

Well spoken, but I think is unaware of or just missed the core frustration here.

People don't want to wait long for things these days, true enough, but the main concern, as with most customizers who take money before having product ready, is communication, being available and known you're still around getting work done, because Howes set a precedent here for taking money, losing communication, and running off, so people want to know you're here and aren't off with their money and they're never to get their item or money back.

A second issue, also with communication, that I see here is people getting some false hopes, I see people getting told it's in the mail or almost done and then weeks/months pass and still no sign, so they get wondering, why don't I have it yet, and with no communication of any kind, again, it gets people fearing the worst.

The third thing is that Shawn's selling on eBay. However it happened, he says he can't cover production and shipping without new sales, but it's not settling well with people because the image that's coming off is eBay buyers are getting stuff and pretty quickly and people paying months ago can't even hear from him.

It sucks what Howes did to this site, but bottom line is, anyone selling any service at this website now has to walk on eggshells with communication or things get ugly.

 

[thenammagazine]

As I stated the last time this situation happened, allowing a Howes-ish cancer to spread only enables it to spread moreso throughout the forums into other areas where it isn't warranted. While it blows off steam for the one who's waiting, all it's proven to do is insight non-stop bashing across all the other forums and forces the customizers into further reclusion which makes matters even worse. How is that helpful?

 

[Deckard]

Nam's right, it isn't doing anything to ?????, but heres what is.

I have created a new ebay name. I will be buying anything Shawn puts on ebay and not paying for it. When I get enough negative feedback that its closed, I will open a new one and do it again. When I get my items, I will let Shawn sell on ebay again without interferance.

It's a d-bag thing to do, but so is what he's doing. So thats the way its going to be.

 

[screamager]

goos for you. I was thinking about doing the exact same thing. why should he be allowed to continue with this farce.

 

[thenammagazine]

Nam's right, it isn't doing anything to ?????, but heres what is.

I have created a new ebay name. I will be buying anything Shawn puts on ebay and not paying for it. When I get enough negative feedback that its closed, I will open a new one and do it again. When I get my items, I will let Shawn sell on ebay again without interferance.

It's a d-bag thing to do, but so is what he's doing. So thats the way its going to be.

That's awesome! It's also counterproductive if he's using the cash from those sales to mail off what's already been ordered. So doing that only further prolongs anyone owed getting the products they paid for if he ain't got the money to ship. Sucks, but he's created the perfect pickle.

 

[MaulFan]

The trouble is, without word from Shawn, there's a lot of room for speculation.

With all these sales, you'd think, even if not everyone, more reports of received stuff would be occurring here if these eBay sales were helping to complete backlog work.

He needs to communicate with this site, not necessarily address every PM and email as that's time consuming, but at least some sort of contact to know he's around and what's going on, that or have everyone think he's a crook or this or that, can't take money, offer goods, not deliver, sell the same things to other people, cut off communication, and not expect some backlash.

People panic less if they're given less reason to do so.

 

[thenammagazine]

The trouble is, without word from Shawn, there's a lot of room for speculation.

With all these sales, you'd think, even if not everyone, more reports of received stuff would be occurring here if these eBay sales were helping to complete backlog work.

He needs to communicate with this site, not necessarily address every PM and email as that's time consuming, but at least some sort of contact to know he's around and what's going on, that or have everyone think he's a crook or this or that, can't take money, offer goods, not deliver, sell the same things to other people, cut off communication, and not expect some backlash.

People panic less if they're given less reason to do so.

I don't think that'd work any better. Even though Josh does that in his thread, some of the **** idiots post in there makes me embarrassed to be a freak.

 

[MarfMaster]

Just thought I would renew the faith of the people still waiting for their stuff. Got my whip and jacket today...gogo headless Indy!

 

[MaulFan]

I don't think that'd work any better. Even though Josh does that in his thread, some of the **** idiots post in there makes me embarrassed to be a freak.

Yes, some of it, there's no settling, but it's like a school of frenzied sharks, sure a little chum may not feed them enough to get them to disperse, but they might be a little less ravenous. Anything is better than nothing. That's the biggest thing that fueled the Howes mess, the lack of communication and failed attempts to make contact, with no product delivered and eBay sales of things that people here should have gotten first. It sucks but that set a precedent and left a mark on people here that cannot be erased and people selling services just need to realize the buying community here is no longer as it once was and you have to do things different to work with the new climate or you can find yourself in a pickle where before you might have been ok.

 

[mfisher]

forces the customizers into further reclusion which makes matters even worse. How is that helpful?

I have to respectfully disagree here Nam... i think the problem is that some people stumble into these boards, see really good looking custom work and throw their money at the customizer.. only to find out later that they won't get what they paid for in any reasonable amount of time... people need to know UP FRONT what they are buying into...what is dangerous is for people to just praise and praise guys like this which would give potential customers a misleading picture of what kind of person they are dealing with.... these guys need to be 100% up front with their customers and tell them outright, " I will NOT be sending you ANYTHING for at least a year after taking your money".... if he openly said that there would not be an issue.. what he does, however is promise customers otherwise... that is a contract violation and legally actionable... furthermore the surfacing every few months and making false promises of " hey my new business model is going to remedy all of these problems and I will even have a phone number you can contact me with ".. only then disappearing again and leaving customers in the dark is simply shady, dishonest and disgusting.... then he compounds the situation by selling the same stuff on ebay to new customers, taking their money, meanwhile people that paid MONTHS ago are still without... that's just bordering on criminal... so this is helpful by getting the word out to others that sending this guy money is a gamble and you will NOT be getting any kind of professional service.... This will NOT however force any HONEST customizer into "reclusion" because anyone who deals in good faith can do so without hiding from the board.. ( hiding is something this guy apparently does regularly ).. you have to remember he didn't start on this board.. he showed his wares on other boards.. did the same to members there and was subsequently RUN OFF.. so all he has done is come here and done the same to this community.. which is frustrating and actually sad... in the end I still admire his talents.. but when you seriously, SERIOUSLY mistreat your customers by flat out lying to them and taking their money then your talent is unfortunately drowned out by your actions.... I would love nothing else than for Shawn to surface.. STOP taking other people's money and make good by either REFUNDING ALL outstanding orders or filling them NOW and starting over.... if all the customers got together and sought legal representation he could actually be in serious trouble over this... anyway, the guy has talent.. but he is either SERIOUSLY unorganized and sloppy or a flat out lying thief and a fraud... at some point the admin here do need to step in and do something... they are knowingly letting him defraud members of this board by using this as a platform to collect money then not following through... by them not stepping in and doing anything is treading in dangerous waters.. but anyhoo... again.. I have no beef with you Nam.. but I do believe that spreading the word on dishonest business practices is ONLY helpful in the end.. when someone cheats, others need to know... hiding it only makes it MUCH worse..

 

[thenammagazine]

I'm not trying to make excuses for the guy. I think in a situation like this, burrying his ass in his work (both ebay and old commissions) and just getting the pieces out to those who bought them would do better than him popping in here every now and then. More people posting that they're receiving the pieces they ordered will refuel hope that those who've yet to get theirs still have them coming. To me, for those who're complaining, having him pop in with updates just seems like dangling that carrot even closer, only to pull it away again. Getting buried in work with minimal to no contact worked for Clinton during his impeachment trials, it can work for SS and help dig him out of this hole he's fell into.

 

[MaulFan]

people need to know UP FRONT what they are buying into...what is dangerous is for people to just praise and praise guys like this which would give potential customers a misleading picture of what kind of person they are dealing with.... these guys need to be 100% up front with their customers and tell them outright, " I will NOT be sending you ANYTHING for at least a year after taking your money"

I don't know Shawn personally, so I have no idea what's going on with his life and why he's behind on all the work, but I know with others who've fallen behind, it tends to be circumstances that were unforseeable that got them into their pickle. At the time orders got taken, the expected delivery was reasonable. That's the problem with customizing versus production. If a worker at Sideshow gets sick there are others to keep the production line going, if something happens to a customizer, there's no compensating for that and the work takes a hit. All it takes is honesty about the situation though, if you fall behind, don't try to look good in people's eyes or tell them what they want to hear be honest, don't say another week or whatever unless you can actually come through on that, otherwise, just working on it, as soon as I can have more information for you I will let you know, and then actually let them know. That's where this whole thing really got off track, Shawn started a thread saying email him to get info on where you fall in the work schedule, I'm not sure anyone heard back on that, I know I didn't. You shouldn't offer up something like that and not come through, it casts a bad image on ya.

I'm not trying to make excuses for the guy. I think in a situation like this, burrying his ass in his work (both ebay and old commissions) and just getting the pieces out to those who bought them would do better than him popping in here every now and then. More people posting that they're receiving the pieces they ordered will refuel hope that those who've yet to get theirs still have them coming. To me, for those who're complaining, having him pop in with updates just seems like dangling that carrot even closer, only to pull it away again. Getting buried in work with minimal to no contact worked for Clinton during his impeachment trials, it can work for SS and help dig him out of this hole he's fell into.

A sound idea, but that would require getting more stuff out to people than the current rate. If the work can't flow fast enough to be your "I'm here and working" message, then an actual one is needed periodically. Yes it cuts into work time, but like I said, that is what Howes did to people here, he created a need to know people haven't run off like him, so at some point, the people providing service, for better or worse need to say fine, I'll post quick that I'm still around. There's no winning, if you're not working on their stuff cuz you're posting, they're pissed it's taking more time, if you're working and not around, they think you've run off, I think for everyone though, action to squash the notion of running off is the better route of the 2.

 

[thenammagazine]

A sound idea, but that would require getting more stuff out to people than the current rate. If the work can't flow fast enough to be your "I'm here and working" message, then an actual one is needed periodically. Yes it cuts into work time, but like I said, that is what Howes did to people here, he created a need to know people haven't run off like him, so at some point, the people providing service, for better or worse need to say fine, I'll post quick that I'm still around. There's no winning, if you're not working on their stuff cuz you're posting, they're pissed it's taking more time, if you're working and not around, they think you've run off, I think for everyone though, action to squash the notion of running off is the better route of the 2.

The titanic difference being Howes never produced any work let alone got it into peoples hands for them to post images of it.

 

[MaulFan]

The titanic difference being Howes never produced any work let alone got it into peoples hands for them to post images of it.

Well he did enough to get support, he made his Joker and I believe one other head that got out into the public, I think if he hadn't come through on a few things he'd not have gotten the demands he did, but he had work to show and deliveries to back him up, his image as a hero was sealed here, it doesn't take much, people are really anxious to find ways to get stuff at this site now, anyone that could offer something and of the quality people want is quickly embraced, look how man threads that Z guy had going once people got wind of his sculpts.

 

[thenammagazine]

Well he did enough to get support, he made his Joker and I believe one other head that got out into the public, I think if he hadn't come through on a few things he'd not have gotten the demands he did, but he had work to show and deliveries to back him up, his image as a hero was sealed here, it doesn't take much, people are really anxious to find ways to get stuff at this site now, anyone that could offer something and of the quality people want is quickly embraced, look how man threads that Z guy had going once people got wind of his sculpts.

Yes, but after the 30th "Commission for Howes to sculpt _________" thread and nothing produced after those, you think people would've gotten a whiff that someone had **** in his pants and bailed.

 

[Cryoguns]

The titanic difference being Howes never produced any work let alone got it into peoples hands for them to post images of it.

Not entirely true (although I hate to defend Howes)... there are actually a handful of people who got their bald Summer Glau sculpts as well as the River Tam version. Likewise for a few of the House heads. Independant pictures have been posted of them. These were among the first of the fan-driven commissions where as the Batman/Joker heads were started by Chris himself.