Remember Those Motown Coasters--------Well Let Me Tell You My Story

[daviddesper]

About three months ago [[late November/early December) someone on here shared a link to a fellow who would custom-make coasters, you know as in drink coasters. Some samples were shown that featured some of our favorite Motown artists.

Well I thought this was a wonderful idea, so I set the wheels in motion to order some for a friend, hoping that they would arrive in time to be used as a Christmas gift. Well, today is the first of March, and I have yet to receive them, so I am reaching out to you guys almost as a last resort to see if anyone has any suggestions or can possibly help.

[[WARNING: THIS WILL BE A LONG STORY SO SKIP IF YOU ARE NOT INTERESTED IN THIS TOPIC.)

I knew the gentleman was in England and I am in the US, so that has of course been part of the problem. But in most of our e-mail exchanges, which is the ONLY means of contact I have with him, he has seemed quite pleasant and sincere, but yet no product has been received.

On December 6th, I e-mailed him a description of what I wanted, he said he could make them, so I sent payment through Paypal. It had to go through as a "Paypal gift" as opposed to the traditional merchant credit card payment.

Well I received a response from Paypal indicating that the payment had been sent, but that the funds would not be "available until January 6th." I assumed the reason for that had to be either the international nature of the transaction or the fact that I had a very inactive, almost dormant, Paypal account, or perhaps a combination. Whatever the case, I received acknowledgement of the payment and in one of the early e-mails he sent me, he indicated that he received the payment notice as well.

At that point, I e-mailed back and asked him if he would have to wait until after the payment cleared before he could send the coasters. I told him I would understand if that was the case, but I just wanted to find out if Christmas delivery was still perhaps a possibility. He did not reply to that particular e-mail.

I waited patiently until January 6th, the supposed clearance date, and I got back in touch with him to ask when I might expect shipment. He sent back a one-sentence answer indicating that he had been out of town and that he would check in to it.

I have e-mailed several more times, usually waiting 10 days to two weeks between them, and he has replied two or three more times. He told me point blank in one e-mail that he had made them in December and that he would check down at "the unit", whatever that means, and see why they had not been shipped.

Then in the most promising e-mail I have gotten yet from him, he told me about three weeks ago "I found your coasters and they will ship this week." But here I am today, and still no coasters. I e-mailed him again about 3 days ago and so far no answer.

My purpose for bringing this up on here is to find out if anyone has ever received any coasters from him or if anyone else is experiencing anything similar to what I am. Also, since I know that we have a large number of British members on here, maybe it is possible that some of you even know this guy personally or know of his company and maybe I can get some help that way.

Since it will soon be three months since my initial contact with him, I think I have been very patient. Any information or suggestion will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Philles/Motown Gary]

You're not alone, David. I never got mine, either. To make matters worse, after the first two false mailings which presumably got lost in the mail, I foolishly sent this lying jerk additional money to cover Expedited shipping with Insurance to ensure safe delivery this time. He even promised to put a special surprise in my package. Again, they never arrived. He's a hustler and he's taken all of us for a ride. I would report him to eBay, but we bought the Motown memorabilia off-site, which is out of eBay's jurisdiction. All we can do is hope that this rip-off artist chokes on every last cent.

[TomatoTom123]

Oh guys, I am sorry to hear this. I remember these coasters well... in fact I was talking to the guy via email and I very nearly bought some, but held off in the end. He seemed genuine. Damn.

[TomatoTom123]

About three months ago [[late November/early December) someone on here shared a link to a fellow who would custom-make coasters, you know as in drink coasters. Some samples were shown that featured some of our favorite Motown artists.

Well I thought this was a wonderful idea, so I set the wheels in motion to order some for a friend, hoping that they would arrive in time to be used as a Christmas gift. Well, today is the first of March, and I have yet to receive them, so I am reaching out to you guys almost as a last resort to see if anyone has any suggestions or can possibly help.

[[WARNING: THIS WILL BE A LONG STORY SO SKIP IF YOU ARE NOT INTERESTED IN THIS TOPIC.)

I knew the gentleman was in England and I am in the US, so that has of course been part of the problem. But in most of our e-mail exchanges, which is the ONLY means of contact I have with him, he has seemed quite pleasant and sincere, but yet no product has been received.

On December 6th, I e-mailed him a description of what I wanted, he said he could make them, so I sent payment through Paypal. It had to go through as a "Paypal gift" as opposed to the traditional merchant credit card payment.

Well I received a response from Paypal indicating that the payment had been sent, but that the funds would not be "available until January 6th." I assumed the reason for that had to be either the international nature of the transaction or the fact that I had a very inactive, almost dormant, Paypal account, or perhaps a combination. Whatever the case, I received acknowledgement of the payment and in one of the early e-mails he sent me, he indicated that he received the payment notice as well.

At that point, I e-mailed back and asked him if he would have to wait until after the payment cleared before he could send the coasters. I told him I would understand if that was the case, but I just wanted to find out if Christmas delivery was still perhaps a possibility. He did not reply to that particular e-mail.

I waited patiently until January 6th, the supposed clearance date, and I got back in touch with him to ask when I might expect shipment. He sent back a one-sentence answer indicating that he had been out of town and that he would check in to it.

I have e-mailed several more times, usually waiting 10 days to two weeks between them, and he has replied two or three more times. He told me point blank in one e-mail that he had made them in December and that he would check down at "the unit", whatever that means, and see why they had not been shipped.

Then in the most promising e-mail I have gotten yet from him, he told me about three weeks ago "I found your coasters and they will ship this week." But here I am today, and still no coasters. I e-mailed him again about 3 days ago and so far no answer.

My purpose for bringing this up on here is to find out if anyone has ever received any coasters from him or if anyone else is experiencing anything similar to what I am. Also, since I know that we have a large number of British members on here, maybe it is possible that some of you even know this guy personally or know of his company and maybe I can get some help that way.

Since it will soon be three months since my initial contact with him, I think I have been very patient. Any information or suggestion will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Hi david, I believe there is a mechanism on PayPal through which you can file a case against the seller, arguing that you never received the items. I used it once... luckily the seller was just ill [[which was why he wasn't responding) and he refunded me. However, I’m not sure what bearing sending the money via ‘PayPal gift’ has on the matter... do you know why it had to be sent like this?

Anyway, I do hope this resolves itself david... These things are incredibly frustrating!!!!

[booty]

Guys, As far as I am aware, Paypal gift payments are just that, gifts of money and not for purchasing! I think you need to report this to Paypal ASAP.

[daviddesper]

Although I am most appreciative of all this information, I guess it saddens me all over again, because I guess I still had a tiny bit of faith that he would come through. The person that we need to hear from the most on here is the person that posted the information in the first place, because I don't think it was the guy who allegedly makes the coasters.

Is it possible to go back and find a thread that old? I have not tried yet.

[TomatoTom123]

Hi david, here is the original thread about the coasters: https://soulfuldetroit.com/showthrea...otown-Coasters

and this one was yours: https://soulfuldetroit.com/showthrea...otown-Coasters

[johnny_raven]

I'm sorry to hear about the troubles people have had with this coaster guy. I had 2 sets of coasters made 10-12 years ago through Photacular.com. Unfortunately, they are no longer in business. But there are other online sites where you can create coasters and other items. Here is a pic of my coasters anyway ...

[lockhartgary]

Although I have nothing to add in the way of doing any business with this person, my heart goes out to you.

Looks like he has a Facebook page; last post seems to be from November of 2017.
https://www.facebook.com/statesidesoul/

If I were in the market for coasters, I'd make them myself after reading this thread. Seems fairly easy to do.