Re: Problems with Matsuo?
Hello everyone,
I am a bit sorry that my first message on these forums has to deal with a complaint - but it's the only way I have found to get myself heard in a way that is respectable enough both for Matsuo and me.
So here is my story. I contacted Matsuo now more than 2 years ago to have a Pulse Rifle built for my girlfriend, who was also a huge Aliens fan.
It started through the Aliens Legacy forums:
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original thread where I asked for advice regarding which prop maker to contact.
- Matsuo and me exchanging several PMs after he was strongly recommended to me on the forums.
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alternate link in case it does not show up)
It eventually ended up with me sending $900 to Matsuo over Paypal so that he could start working on a Pulse Rifle, and buy the parts he needed.
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alternate link in case it does not show up)
As you can see, this was in March 2013 - 2 years ago.
We then switched to e-mails for communication, and every month, I was doing a quick catch-up to see how things were moving along.
Flash forward to September 2013 - i.e 6 months later. Despite checking up with Matt every month, no visible progress had been made (because of previous orders that had to be honoured, I was told; and then of other issues, some of which he mentioned in the previous pages of this thread).
Since I was also starting to go through tough times (= a family member that got badly ill, and whose treatment to pay for turned out to be a lot - so we had to split it between me and other members of my family), I just asked Matt if I could get a refund.
He agreed to it, but it never came through, despite the monthly e-mails I kept sending him afterwards.
He explained me his tough situation at length, which I can sympathize with; but in the meantime, I also was going through tough personal and financial times and it did not feel like I myself was getting much mutual support or sympathy from Matt. I started to get a bit frustrated, and he eventually told me that because he did end up buying the parts, it would be easier for him to just send me a pulse rifle. Tired of it all, I said yes (even if money was more important to me because of the treatment to pay for, I figured I could always sell the Pulse Rifle after getting it). However, I warned him that if I did not see anything by March 2014 (i.e. a year after the original order), I would have to go on forums and let everyone know - or maybe even consider creating a blog relating the whole story, and pushing it through SEO and Google Ads using the "Matsuo", "propmaker" and "pulse rifle" keywords.
Mean, I know - and in the end, I did not do it, cause I am probably nicer than those threats I uttered in order to get my money back to pay for my relative's treatment.
That was in December 2013.
Since then we haven't exchanged any more emails.
And I did not receive any Pulse Rifle.
Life took over, my relative's health got worse (he died recently, eventually), and therefore I did have to leave all this on the side for some time.
Flash forward again.
A month ago, I broke up with the longtime girlfriend this pulse rifle was meant for (and I also moved abroad, partly to cope with it).
So here I am now: $900 short, no pulse rifle, no nothing left.
Will the RPF community help us resolve this long standing issue so that both Matt and I can move on with our lives?
PS: I did not include the email and PM logs, out of respect for Matt and his privacy (as those exchanges were not meant to be public).
But if needed, I can produce them and send then via PM to anyone who would be willing to act as an arbiter.