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Actually - yeah! Marty, will you be offering the original Alien at some stage?I'd love both!
LONG POST ALERT
It appears as if tempers are flaring and people are getting offended unnecessarily. Plus Marty’s had some serious, life threatening health issues, and that’s adding to the stress of being behind on orders.
I’ve got no money tied up in this, but I ordered a head from Marty back in 2010/2011 and had a great experience with a great product, and it would be criminal for anyone to not have this incredible piece (especially if they paid for it!!!). I spoke with Marty on the phone a few times back then and had some great conversations with him about the alien head, props, movies, etc. and he seems like a great guy who obviously does great work here.
So here’s my take on the situation—from the posts on this thread, pnag expressed interest in the bust in late January 2013 and began to make payments, and then inquired about shipping to Ireland. February through April pnag expressed excitement at Marty’s progress pics. In May pnag asked about shipping costs to Ireland to which Marty did not reply. In July pnag expressed concern about not hearing from Marty and others had not heard from him either. In August Marty posted that he had some health issues and was back and working on his outstanding projects. In September pnag was excited about new pictures Marty had posted and was excited about it getting closer to being done. In October pnag expressed concern about not hearing from Marty. In November pnag expressed concern about not hearing from Marty and losing $600. In December many people who apparently ordered heads in the same batch as pnag also were concerned of Marty’s absence—both for his well-being and for their product. In January Marty is back after a bad health scare and being laid up. Wants to get back on track with orders. Pnag wonders why Marty hasn’t been responding to his emails but has apparently spoken with/emailed other people, but appears to be excited that work will resume and product will be shipped out soon. Pnag suggests a list to give people their statuses. Pnag then expressed concern about receiving product and Marty says he will work with him and get him a head or a refund. Pnag then sees head from failed ebay transaction and says he would take that one, which upsets Marty. Today tempers seem to be running high and Marty and pnag start to go back and forth over payment and shipping—pnag says he hasn’t been sent a head and Marty seems to say he has and that pnag is trying to ruin his reputation. Says he won’t sell him a head. Which brings us up to date I think.
So Marty, it appears from the posts here that pnag is genuinely excited about your (awesome) product and was concerned (but patient) about the length of time it was taking. When you fell of the radar he, along with others, were understandably concerned (for both you and the product). I think this is understandable given the fact that we are faceless names to each other on a computer across the country or world, and large sums of money are involved. Anyone would be a little concerned at this point. But after you came back pnag (and everyone else) seemed excited again that everything was back on track.
From the posts on the thread it seems pnag was concerned, and perhaps offended, that the communication was not as good as he had hoped and that you seemingly didn’t remember him or the transaction, which is understandable. I interpreted his asking about the eBay head was simply to expedite him getting his product, perhaps not realizing that you wanted to sell that to get funds to help with your materials. I don’t think he intended at all to put one over on you—that’s certainly not what it seemed to me. You had said that you would make sure he got his head or a refund, yet then you said that you weren’t selling him a head and that he was trying to ruin your reputation. Marty, man, I didn’t read ANYTHING like that in his posts. It just seems like he’s a guy who was super excited about this awesome piece, and hasn’t gotten what he paid for and is worried that he’s going to be out $600. (and don’t forget an angry wife—we all know how bad that is). I can only imagine the amount of stress that you have been under with this illness and hospital stay, not to mention the pressure of making these beautiful Alien heads. But I think you are way overreacting here.
And remember, pnag is not the only one who has expressed concern here—but he seems to be the most vocal. Perhaps pnag’s persistence was bothersome to you or something. But that doesn’t mean he is trying to trash you or your reputation.
Marty, you said “Its going to take time, but I know I can rebuild the relationship I’ve had with yourselves and dozens of past customers. I’m eager to hear some feed back on this.”
OK, here’s some feedback. I don’t think there is any malice or deception going on here. I think this is a horrible misunderstanding brought on by time, lack of communication, and a terrible illness. I think everyone is on edge—understandably so—and needs to take a few deep breaths and relax. We’re all in this together sharing a common interest and common goals. I would implore you guys to cool down a bit and approach this like professionals. This can still turn into a great situation.
Since this has felt like I’ve written a speech or a paper I’ll end with a quote.
“One thing I truly admire about this community is the kindness of strangers. There's lots of trust involved with sending often hundreds of dollars to people you've never really met. The fact it works at all gives me faith in humanity and our ability to trust one another as a community of individuals of similar interests.
Through it all I worried that after serving members of this forum and building their trust over the years, that I may have lost all trust I spent years building up. “
--Swampdonkey, 2013
This can still turn into a great situation, guys!!
They smoothed it over already and he admitted he got jumpy and apologized. (See a few posts above)
No more issue....
So problem was avoided and all is good again
They smoothed it over already and he admitted he got jumpy and apologized. (See a few posts above)
No more issue....
So problem was avoided and all is good again
