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Quote: (Originally Posted by Kickback) Where are the Universe and Wreckers comics? Where are the plates? Where is Skywarp? Just wait for "Where is Sentinel Maximus?" ... anyone remember the exact quote as to when they'd be shipping out? Note: This thread can be found (No Longer Available). ++++++++++ (my response) I...usually keep my mouth shut about these things, but as it's getting so close to the con, and I have not recieved a response to some of my e-mails...I thought I would share some of my concerns here. :-) Consider if you will the possibility that, after this year, otfcc(or rather, 3H) will no longer be in existence. As it is a type of sheltered corporation, LLC(limited liability corporation) or what-have-you, they could go belly up, and we would not have the means to get anything back, as the people who are part of the corporation are not the corporation itself. Theoretically, under this scenerio, if they go under, the 'president' of 3H as well as the employees, et all could get off scott-free; they have the money, but we have no product. Now, before you go off on a tangent, note this is not a condemnation of the man; in the past, I have recieved my items from him after the convention(prizes for the art contests, posters from previous dinners, etc). I of-course do not recall if this was at the time that 3H was still 3H, or it had become 1H by this point(I believe it had) so I can't comment on that one way or the other. My point being, what I have outlined above is merely a possibility, *not* what I think would necessarily happen. For the record, like everyone else here, I have joined the fanclub to no benefit, and I have yet to recieved the comics I have ordered. I try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt; the man has come thru on occasion, and I have hopes that he will again. Unfortunately, with everything that has gone wrong in-sequence, I fear that the simplest solution to the entire fiasco is what I have outlined above; 1H dissolves, and we are left berefit of cash, and items. Theoretically, there are things that could be done from a legal standpoint, should this particular scenerio play out in any form. Assuming this post doesn't get truncated, I'll outline a few of these theories below: Possibility 1: The first, most obvious solution would be that Glen makes this type of announcement(everything's gone to heck, we are dissolving, etc), and two weeks after the con, we all get refund checks, and everything folds. This would be the ideal situation, I am sure, for a number of people, and would allow Glen an exit strategy that is above the board, ie keeping everyone happy. Whether this is going to be the viable option, I can't say for sure, but some indicators point to this being our answer. - The potential problem: for the record, there is a pattern emerging that, for those who have requested a refund as early as May, they were told to wait until two weeks after the convention, as they are 'gearing up' for otfcc, thus don't have time to cut a check. The issue I see with this is that it takes all of a few minutes to cut a check; therfore, there must be *some* reason, for good or for ill, that this stalling technique was used. Maybe we'll get stuff, or maybe... Possibility 2: As stated before, an announcement is made that things are going into the crapper, etc. We are told that we all get refunds(in 'two weeks') but...and this would be the kicker- we don't. The company dissolves, and because of the way things are structured, as well as missing the window of opportunity for countersuit, we are left holding the bag, while the culprits escape. Possibility 3: An announcement is made that things are just fine, that we'll all get our plates, toys, etc very soon (ie, 'in two weeks') and that we should just hang on, as next year is going to be 'even better'. -sub-answer a: this is a stalling technique, and things go into the crapper as outlined in possibility 2 -sub-answer b: this is true, and we actually get our stuff, and otfcc/3H returns as normal next year. Possibility 4: Glen, Jon, and Karl all kiss and make up, and next year we have an absolutely huge humdinger of a convention, were everyone is happy, the animals dance, the smurfs sing, the skyblue waters flow, hamms the beer refreshing, etc, etc, etc... Suffice it to say, I have no opinion whatsoever as to which of any of these possibilites is likely, or even if what *does* eventually happen is on this list at all. There are still a few unknown variables. What I *can* say is this: it is felt that certain person or persons have not been completely honest with us. If they had, then a lot of this speculation would not have taken place. As much as some may want to come right out and say that we have been lied to/decieved, that is not a statement I am willing to make at this point. I do have my opinions. But I keep those to myself :-) Things to consider in the future, to avoid any worrying on your part: pay everything with a check. Get a signed, dated reciept. When mailing things, send it certified with signature return reciept. They key in any endeavor is to generate as much paperwork as possible, so that, should the time come, you can turn all this stuff over to an attorney for him to work his magic :-) I've learned some hard lessons over the years, so when/if the time comes that things might go wrong, I know that I have all my ducks in a row. I don't plan to be screwed over in life. When problems occur, I have a solution. So I'm not worried. I'm sure everything will turn out fine. How about you?
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(begin relevent reply string) (Originally Posted by cardcounter)
The stuff about an saving receipts for a lawyer if you need one sounds good but when i do the math your talking about a hundreed and fifty dollars worth of stuff. And we have recieved some stuff like the first magazine and i received the second printing of the comic so it could amount to even less that that. I don;t know if that small amount of money is worth filing a lawsuit. I live in the great North(Canada) and while i don't know the law i think yopu have to pay to take someone to small claims court here and you don't get that money back. I don't knowif it works that way in the states or that if i'm even right about Canada.That being said i'm still holding faith that i'll get them in due time. (my response) I'm speaking more in a general sense; ie, I've found that as I go thru life, I am apt to keep all correspondence and reciepts when I am dealing with any type of transaction. In my line of work, I tend to document a lot :-) That has been a big help whenever I go to court; with my timelines of incidents and detailed documentation, my interests tend to be well-protected. That's why you don't see me on the talk shows, complaining that my plumber ripped me off, or that my house was built on a cemetary, or some such foolishness. When people know you are an above-the-board operator, they tend to operate above the board themselves. It's all about keeping people honest. As you go thru life, even the good people among us can be tempted. I simply make sure that doesn't happen on my watch. Now, since you asked... One would presume that, in the case of 1H not honoring their contracts, this would be treated as a class-action lawsuit. You would then take your 150 dollars, and multiple that by 600 or so people :-) Could be more, could be less. I'm not in a position to say. Think of it as a small version of the tobacco lawsuits, or if you prefer, the advertisement you see on tv all the time for mesotheleoma. In this scenerio (refer to sub-answers in previous posting), a class-action lawsuit could be brought, not only against the defunct 3H/otfcc as a corporation, but also against the people in the corporation as well. This puts into play not only the corporate assets of 3H, but the personal assets as well. Tack on lawyers fees, court costs, etc...well, a smart man, having that all hanging above his head, would be inclined to do the right thing. One would hope, anyways. The difficulty (and that's for the lawyers to sort out) is that, should the person decide to take the weasel way out, whether there would be any assets left in the corporation itself worth going after. If not, step two is to go after the personal assets of the parties. Should that be blocked as well, option 3 would be to name Hasbro in the suit, and dip into the corporate largess (which would be the initial attraction for a law office in the first place, but you have to follow the steps). Now obviously, there would be a possibility for a countersuit, or more likely Hasbro not having any responsibility over the mess, even though they are affiliated with 3h/otfcc...but that is something for the courts to decide. It would be a long drawn-out legal battle that would absorb all the time and money of the president and employees of 3H. The obvious conclusion one could come to is that it's much easier to be above-the-board than it is to risk years of legal foolishness. It's not a matter of what was delivered; it's a matter of what was *promised* and not delivered. And yes, if people were wondering, there is ample time for all of this to come together as outlined. The legal beagles are good at that sort of thing. There is no weaseling out of a contract because one time frame or another has expired. I can go into even more detail about that, but this post is getting long again. I apologise. I'm...wordy. :-) I don't know if that helps, or if I've just muddied the waters further. In any event, if the parties involved are not already aware of the potential disaster that could befall them, perhaps someone should advise them. I don't know. As I said, it's not for me to say one way or the other. I'm merely making an observation. The presumption is that the hiring of the PR guy is to ease them thru the transition from where they are now to where they will be after the convention (for good or for ill). The problem is, it's too-little, too-late...there are too many things that have gone wrong for any kind of action to work well. Or, stated another way, someone obviously isn't doing a good enough job, if we can already ask these kinds of questions :-) I feel for the other people involved...should things go the way some anticipate, the ship will go down with all hands aboard. That's not the kind of thing I would want hanging over my head. I suppose that might be why certain types of e-mails aren't answered...there's no good answer for it, it doesn't matter, what's there to be done about it, etc etc etc. Perhaps they are demoralized. If they are, I don't blame them. It is potentially a sad, sad situation to be in. In the end, we'll all know what will happen in a few weeks. In my mind, the only two variables at this point are: 1)whether the customers will be satisfied in any fashion...and 2) how 'they' will dress up the situation and assign the blame when it all comes out :-) As for who the fandom will blame...well, I suppose that's a story for another day. It will be interesting to watch the next couple of weeks unfold. I have my hopes...but I also have my cold hard facts and documentation to back me up :-) I hope you do too. "It's a funny world we live in. Are you just visiting this reality, or are you here to stay?"
Fred. Please insert witty line here. |
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--- In autocon@yahoogroups.com, "grandmasterspecter" > I've been signed up in the fan club for a year becuase I thought it > would be useful to stay in touch and find out info. > > In classic glencon fashion, In that year I have received... > > Exactly one magazine, that wasn't all that interesting. > > When (if) I ever get skywarp, I'll be selling it (don't collect non > transformables) so if that's all you want, I'm sure we can work > something out.v > > On a related note: Which will happen first: OTFCC 2005, the receipt > of the 2003 dinner exclusive plate, the receipt of issue 2 of the > collector's club magazine, or the receipt of Sentinal Maximus? > > GMS - (even my pateince is starting to wear thin, and I've never met > Glen...) > > --- In autocon@yahoogroups.com, "Maz" > > Hey guys > > > > Has anybody here signed up for the OTFCC fan club to receive that > > Mega PVC figure of Skywarp? > > > > That thing looks quite nice, but it's $50 for European residents and > > it's just a year long. > > > > Also, they're calling that line "Legends of Cybertron". I'm pretty > > sure EvilGrin's copyright on that name has gone by now. Is there any > > way I can make sure without contacting EvilGrin (because I'm pretty > > sure I can't!)? > > > > All the best > > Maz |