SD Studios - What does Steve Dymszo owe you?

Like I mentioned before: I have been refunded in full. I also got a blueprint from Artifactory for free a while ago. I'll consider this as the rent on the amount he had for over 3 years.

But all the excuses he mentions in the mail to Darth Clayton just doesn't make sense:

I can only refund people as money comes in. I can't really make it appear out of the blue,

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The money CAME out of the blue! People payed it to him, getting nothing in return. If I don't pay the loan of my house, I can't tell the bank: "just wait a bit longer, I can't make the money appear out of the blue!". If I tell them that, they sell my house, and I'm homeless. Simple as that.

SD doesn't have much in sales for the last couple of year

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Always the same excuse. People here DON'T CARE where the money comes from! For all we know, Stephen took the money to start Artifactory Replicas. Well, take the money out of Artifactory then! Or take the money just from your own personal account! Stephen decided to stop with SD Studios, not his customers! This is a non-argument he should stop using!

If I was a "thief" I would have spent the last two years blowing everyone off and ignoring every e-mail

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That's EXACTLY what he did. Stop communicating. I got refunded only because I started to contact people who were resellers of Artifactory Replicas stuff, and those people started to ask annoying questions to Stephen. I also started to post negative feedback on amazon, where his Artifactory stuff is sold too. Before these actions, Stephen indeed ignored all my e-mails. Not one, not two, not three, but ALL my e-mails.

I know that doesn't help you, but everyone wants to be the next guy to get refunded, so how do I decide who gets what???

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Again, Stephen takes an attitude as if all this happened without him being able to do something about it. It's almost as if it happened to him without him knowing. It's strange that he still doesn't realize that HE took the money of dozens of people, thousands of dollars in total, without delivering. All he does is inventing excuses, but all he should do is apologize and put all his effort in findign money to refund everybody.

And as far as the neuralyzers are concerned: who still believes that they will actually be finished in the future? I don't...

But to conclude: yes, I've been refunded in full, but I'm afraid I'm one of the lucky few, and dozens and dozens of people are still waiting, and might wait forever. I'd advise everyone in the US that is on the list, to take legal action. If you don't, Stephen will get away with this...

It sounds to me like he's only refunding the people who make the most trouble for him. If you're quiet and don't make waves, you will get nothing.
The choice really is yours. How badly do you want your money back?

Well I am sick & tired of Steve's BS! I have put some things in motion, and we will see what happens. Here is what I have done so far today.

1. Contacted David Maloney HOR of PA who visited Steve last year.
2. Contacted the Boyertown Police Dept
3. Contacted a lawyer firm in Boyertown

Will keep you posted on what I hear (if anything). :unsure

Wow, that's really concrete action. I hope other people here will join you and you will get results. Good luck!

I think his e-mail is quite sincere.
Steve did have to put the funds into the materials to make the project, which he has pictured here in the past. So he has not just stuffed the money away or spent it all on other things.
Multiple people have noted here that he is paying them back, slowly, as noted in the e-mail so I think he is being up front on that as well. $ 16,000 is quite a bit of money outstanding, I doubt most anyone here jut has that as pocket money sitting around for an emergency, so yes, he is going to have a hard time paying it back quickly.

Yes, the squeaky wheel usually gets a reaction first. a good quote that applies here.

Did he screw up on this project, absolutely. His point that he is trying to make amends also should be taken to point. While I absolutely understand the frustration here, I also see him trying, albeit slowly, to get this fixed which is much better than other past problems with members here who HAVE just decided to disappear and ignore the issue.

As noted in the past, try to work with him, you might be pleasantly surprised at the outcome. Don't be afraid to become that squeaky wheel either. Persistence pays off for situations like this.

Every one here needs to realize there is a chance still at a win win scenario. Both sides can still settle this and I would push for such, by the means you feel are needed.
But I would suggest still working at settling it out.
The other options are a win/loose in which one side may get something/nothing and the other one or both gets burned. Frankly, i always recommend going for a win/win with mediation.

TomVDJ said:

Wow, that's really concrete action. I hope other people here will join you and you will get results. Good luck!

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Unfortunately, that won't happen. Most people are lazy and unmotivated, simply unwilling to do any real work as they feel they shouldn't have to. Steve is betting on this. Don't believe me? Why is it the only people that have received a refunds are those that took REAL action.
So those of you that are sitting back waiting for others to do something (for you) and would prefer to just moan and complain about how Steve stole your money, I'm actually laughing at you.

And so is Steve.

tripoli said:

I think his e-mail is quite sincere.
Steve did have to put the funds into the materials to make the project, which he has pictured here in the past. So he has not just stuffed the money away or spent it all on other things.
Multiple people have noted here that he is paying them back, slowly, as noted in the e-mail so I think he is being up front on that as well. $ 16,000 is quite a bit of money outstanding, I doubt most anyone here jut has that as pocket money sitting around for an emergency, so yes, he is going to have a hard time paying it back quickly.

Yes, the squeaky wheel usually gets a reaction first. a good quote that applies here.

Did he screw up on this project, absolutely. His point that he is trying to make amends also should be taken to point. While I absolutely understand the frustration here, I also see him trying, albeit slowly, to get this fixed which is much better than other past problems with members here who HAVE just decided to disappear and ignore the issue.

As noted in the past, try to work with him, you might be pleasantly surprised at the outcome. Don't be afraid to become that squeaky wheel either. Persistence pays off for situations like this.

Every one here needs to realize there is a chance still at a win win scenario. Both sides can still settle this and I would push for such, by the means you feel are needed.
But I would suggest still working at settling it out.
The other options are a win/loose in which one side may get something/nothing and the other one or both gets burned. Frankly, i always recommend going for a win/win with mediation.

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Are you being SERIOUS? :facepalm :facepalm :facepalm

Yeah, I had the same thoughts as tripoli the first year, even the second year, but after 3 years I really don't believe that Stephen is actually planning on finishing these. I'd much rather want a neuralyzer instead of a refund, but I just don't believe that they will ever be finished. That's why I did everything to get a refund from Stephen. In the beginning I asked politely, even proposed a payment plan, but when Stephen's communication stopped completely, I went after him and Artifactory Replicas, trying to damage his reputation so bad, that he lost money because of my actions (and I believe he did, some people who sold his props and I contacted, stopped their relationships with Artifactory), and I guess that's also the ONLY reason he contacted me again and decided to refund me. Like Funky Jedi said: Stephen won't take action for people that don't cause him trouble. Why should he? If he really had good intentions, he would communicate about this. The complete radio silence is only a sign that he thinks that people will forget about this in the end.

Absolutely. What part of this is so hard to believe?

You can't squeeze blood out of a turnip. I think he is caught behind and cannot finish due to tight resources by his own error. He screwed up and now the question becomes how can he make amends. I have known Steve for over 20 years, he is not one to walk away from a situation like this.

If he does get pressured to try to handle everything at once, everyone together may find themselves loosing on this one. Again, reverse the perspective and think about it. At this point, I would be pushing hard any way possible but I also would know that he is in a tough position and that makes it difficult for both sides.

I also know Steve has a great prop collection and you should be able to work something out if you cannot quickly reach a solution on a cash refund. So pursue it with that knowledge.

Steve's 'story' seems pretty straightforward to me. The way I see it, IMO, it goes something like this.

Factory Entertainment, as license holders for MIB, gave Steve the full monty and brought his Neuralizer run to a screeching halt. Can't blame them.

Steve somehow gets the idea that a good income can be made by selling replicas, in their majority religious artifacts and $600 moon golf club replicas. (terrible idea, but that's my personal opinion). He sticks all his available cash into the project, and gets other 'investors' to participate. The project doesn't take off as expected.

From all the hoo-ha of "I'm going to launch a new company, more news soon !" etc etc on here ........ silence. This was waaaaaaaaay before the **** hit the fan on the Neuraliser run thread.

Because the cash was gone and the run could not be completed, even if he wanted to.

Bad luck (possibly tinted with a pinch of payback), coupled with bad judgement.

2 people on here picked up on this and asked my opinion. My advice was to get the hell out of the run urgently as I had done. One listened, while the other, unbelievably, continued to 'defend' Steve, and much later on, came back to planet earth to join in the screaming.

That is why I kept my mouth shut at the time.

No matter what, Steve was their 'hero'. And that member was most definitely not the only one.

To those who don't do anything concrete about this to get their money back, I am shaking my head like never before and may soon ask you to donate to the "I like props give me your free money" fund.

Or at least, cut your losses and follow this advice :

tripoli said:

I also know Steve has a great prop collection and you should be able to work something out if you cannot quickly reach a solution on a cash refund. So pursue it with that knowledge.

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Exactly. And now that Steve is behind and does not have the means to pay back in cash, how do you try to recover.
This is a negotiation now to recover your funds. Everyone has a breaking point and knowledge of the person you are mediating with can make the difference in if and how you recover your funds. Knowing BOTH perspectives gives you a better chance of doing so and we know here there are many people trying to do so at once.
Frankly, again, Steve has an incredible collection, he wants to work with people, he is at heart a very good guy and does not want to walk away from this. He has props from his past work, don't be afraid to ask, list your own prop interest, research the secondary market for what you would have to sell to make up for the amount if needed, learn about who and what assets he has to recover your cost.

You can debate how this happened but it won't change the past. Now you have to look at how you are going to deal with this. Pursue it with common sense and knowledge. Be persistent.

I don't have a horse in this race as I didn't order or pay for anything from him, but honestly I don't understand how anyone should think his inability to pay them back or provide the items they paid for is their problem. It's his problem.

If I pay for an item and it's not delivered, it's theft. This isn't a case of something being damaged or lost in transit, this is clearly a case of him taking someone's money and not giving them the item they paid for, or a refund if unable to deliver the item. I'm not so heartless that I'd never work with someone who is delayed in providing something, but seriously after three years with no attempt to repay the money since he's unable to make the item paid for? Not anyone's problem WHY he can't pay it back, it's still theft in my book.

The reality is that the situation exist so it does become those owed their problem. It's unfair but that again is the reality of the situation. It is what it is, now how do you deal with it.
Have you ever been overwhelmed in life? Steve is most likely at that point and you have to look at it from that perspective and how you deal with it because bottom line, most people at this point here are looking at how to recover their monies.

Again, perspective and knowledge from both sides gives you the best chance at recovering it and everyone here needs to be persistent.

I took a contract once on a project I wasn't able to make the timeline on. Once I realized there was no way I'd hit the deadline, I asked the client how they wanted to handle it. Was the deadline fluid? Could we extend it, and if so how did they want to renegotiate our terms. You don't wait until three years later to say 'Well I don't have what you paid me to make and I'm broke so suck it.' You don't ignore communication. It's unprofessional and the same as theft.

You don't need knowledge or perspective from his side. If he owes you and he hasn't said jack to you for three years, it doesn't matter what the situation is, what matters is how he's going to handle fixing it.

mistymills said:

but honestly I don't understand how anyone should think his inability to pay them back or provide the items they paid for is their problem. It's his problem.

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mistymills said:

You don't wait until three years later to say 'Well I don't have what you paid me to make and I'm broke so suck it.' You don't ignore communication. It's unprofessional and the same as theft.

You don't need knowledge or perspective from his side. If he owes you and he hasn't said jack to you for three years, it doesn't matter what the situation is, what matters is how he's going to handle fixing it.

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Agreed.

tripoli said:

The reality is that the situation exist so it does become those owed their problem. It's unfair but that again is the reality of the situation. It is what it is, now how do you deal with it.
Have you ever been overwhelmed in life? Steve is most likely at that point and you have to look at it from that perspective and how you deal with it because bottom line, most people at this point here are looking at how to recover their monies.

Again, perspective and knowledge from both sides gives you the best chance at recovering it and everyone here needs to be persistent.

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Disagreed.

While he may have some sympathy in the situation, in my books, he can solve all this by just putting his props on ebay and sell them in order to repay what he owes.

Nobody is asking him to starve his family to pay back people.

However, he can solve the situation as I described above.

If he doesn't, it's theft, and it denotes a character which yells of "I want my cake & eat it, so everybody I owe to can lump it ... while I can."

Pure and simple.

People are are making very good points.

At this point, I'd be content with consistent, honest, forthright, detailed updates and communication from Steve. His lack of communication is unacceptable.

DS Operative said:

People are are making very good points.

At this point, I'd be content with consistent, honest, forthright, detailed updates and communication from Steve. His lack of communication is unacceptable.

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Totally agree. If Stephen kept communicating, even about the slightest progress. Just a short weelky update, I'd probably be still in the run. His complete lack off communication is the biggest problem here.

I also agree with Alan. He might not have the money to repay everybody, but if he has such a great collection, then the right thing for him to do is put it all on eBay, and use these funds to repay everybody. But it seems that his own prop collection is more important than doing the right thing to all people here.

I agree with you Alan on your points, but I also accept the reality that all people don't function with perfect rational and this is the reality of the world. Its how you deal with such at that point.

"While he may have some sympathy in the situation, in my books, he can solve all this by just putting his props on ebay and sell them in order to repay what he owes."

Absolutely and as well the fact this has dragged out this far has left me shaking my head as well.

"I also agree with Alan. He might not have the money to repay everybody, but if he has such a great collection, then the right thing for him to do is put it all on eBay, and use these funds to repay everybody. But it seems that his own prop collection is more important than doing the right thing to all people here."

In my opinion as well, he should have taken this step long ago but he has not and he has to be pursued on this. Now it becomes how everyone recovers their funds successfully and as quick as possible.

Steve is still listing the contact email on the Artifactory site as info@artifactoryreplicas.com, but the contact for Artifactory refunds as SDSTUDIOS@aol.com. Does that mean that Artifactory customers requesting a refund are emailing the same address that SD Studios customers looking for refunds were also using?
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laellee said:

Steve is still listing the contact email on the Artifactory site as info@artifactoryreplicas.com, but the contact for Artifactory refunds as SDSTUDIOS@aol.com. Does that mean that Artifactory customers requesting a refund are emailing the same address that SD Studios customers looking for refunds were also using?
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Funny how a while back he was saying that these two companies are two separate entities and should not be involved in each other's previous business dealings. He even said he will not touch funds from Artifactory to fix SD Studios dealings. But he most likely used SD money to start that company.... and now it appears he is using SD Studios email to handle refunds from Artifactory. Makes me wonder if he isn't using funds slated for refunds to SD customers, to ensure that his new company's customers stay priority and are satisfied first before all those here.