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Hi Everyone,

I am back in civilization. I am only too aware that there have been problems in my absence. I will post in detail tonight.

I am home for good this time and I will ensure each and every issue is addressed.

Will post in detail this evening with info on what's been going on and what I propose to do about it.

Thanks,

Simon

It'll be interesting to hear your plans and how your going to counteract the bad press you've gotten lately. I look forward to hearing what you've got to say.

Simon, I hope everything's OK. I'm one of the folks who ordered while you were MIA, and unfortunately had to pursue PayPal to redress the situation (i.e. get my money back).

Anyway, as I said on the other thread, I like your product and hope everything works out well for you.

Hi again,

Firstly, let me apologise for all the problems and the lack of communication over the few months.

I know it has been mentioned in the past, but for those who don't know, I work in the visual effects industry and have been away from home for most of the summer trying to get a troubled production back on track.

Anyway, I'm home after a further 7 weeks to an even bigger mess than last time.

I thought I had straightened out all the problems before I went, but it seems it has gone from bad to worse.

When I started The Manufactorum, it was supposed to be a fun extension to the hobby, a service to the community and if it made any money, that was a bonus.

I think I can honestly say that in the first six months or so it achieved two of those goals, but certainly not the last.

This summer, however, due to my extended absences, it has failed spectacularly across the board.

The money side of things is not an issue in any way, and I can assure you that refunds will be forthcoming.

As to a service, what can I say? I know that I would not have put up with some of the nonsense that has gone on if I were a customer.

It's not a lot of fun either. I've come back to over 1,000 emails and 22 private messages. Even allowing for the fact that many of the emails will be nonsense, it will take me some time to go through them all.

So, bear with me a little while longer while I get through the mess. If you have an outstanding order, you will receive BOTH a refund and the product.

To the handful of people who have filed PayPal claims and received refunds, I will still be sending out your orders.

I have a number of packages that have been returned to me, I will endeavour to figure out what has happened with those as well.

It is going to take me some time to sort all this out, but I will do everything I possibly can to make sure everyone is, if not happy, at least satisfied that I have done everything I can in the circumstances.

I will start going though things tomorrow. If you need to email me in the next couple of days can I ask that you help me out by putting the word "Order" and the date (MM/DD)as the subject line, e.g. Order 09/18 if you placed an order on September 18.

Let me have your Dakka ID as well as email, and feel free to include a phone number.

For those who are sceptical, I think you will find plenty of people here on Dakka willing to vouch for the fact that I have ALWAYS gone the extra mile when there have been problems.

Simon

Thanks for the update.
You had forewarned us of your up-coming work. I have family in the industry, and hear stories of long hours and longer weeks.
Personally, refund or goods are fine. I'll drop the details over as listed.

Ah geez... what did Geo feth up now?

Glad to hear from you. Email(s) sent to info at themanufactorum dot com

Glad to hear you popped back in again. I'm running out of magnets.

I'm not going to belabor you with another order on top of all the others you have to catch up on. It sounds like a nightmare, but do post an update when you have your backlog sorted out. I WILL be ordering from you again.

I had an order back in June that did not get filled. Simon gave me a refund as well as sent out the product. So I am happy and would order again. I would like to see an update in this thread when you are caught up so you dont get overloaded before you can resolve all outstanding orders.

I will have to check, but I did order in the last couple months.

I did open a paypal dispute, probably started it a little to hastily. Had I waited a week it would have been fine!

Can't wait for it to get sorted, I really need to get my tanks built! Not that I have been waiting on you, just been REALLY lazy and busy.

Good to see you back!

Glad everything is alright. Seemed like you had fallen off the earth there for a while.

Hey man, as i have not ordered anything in this time, i dont knew about this... I hope you got averything running well in future, i really want some magnets too... (flying bases anyone?)

Is your email stilll the info at themanufactorum.com on the website?

Hey everyone,

Just posting here to ask if anyone knows the status of the Manufactorum shop? Are orders being processed? I have e-mailed and pm:ed Simon, but not reply yet.

andli wrote:Hey everyone,

Just posting here to ask if anyone knows the status of the Manufactorum shop? Are orders being processed? I have e-mailed and pm:ed Simon, but not reply yet.

Same...I guess he's gone dark again.

I don't mind him going AFK for work, but he really should put up a notice on the store website so people know what to expect.

He contacted me and told me he'd refund my money and send the product as well. I thought, "great!" and went along my merry way and accidently let my paypal dispute auto-close.

So, now I'm really hoping that he's coming back at some point (although he hasn't responded any any emails or communications since then)...

$30 is a relatively inexpensive reminder not to trust people from the internet, I guess...

Luckily paypal dispute went through and I got my money back.

He said he was gonna fulfill all orders, refunded or not, but not sure if he ever did. I am not angry that I didn't (since I did get a refund), but I would have paid to get the kits.

His instructions are amazing at least.

I also disputed now, since I have very little hope of this going through in a near future. :(

I placed an order on the 3rd of January and haven't heard anything. I should have checked here on dakka before ordering the magnets. Time to place an order somewhere else I guess. I was really looking forward to getting the Land speeder kits. Don't know where to get all the items in that kit (like the ball bearing, acrylic rods and the steel sheets).

I really appreciate the tutorials on the site and will definitely follow those instructions when I'm magnetizing my Predator and Land speeders.

And I agree about putting a notice on the site. Or just shut it down indefinitely and leave only the tutorials.

I placed an order on the 8th of January. I was going to magnetize a land raider but I guess I won't be doing that for a while...

So is the manufactorum still dark? It's a shame, his instructions are so good.

Necro thread GO!

So what's happening with The Manufactorum?
I'd like to get some magnets and having everything in nice kits with the ability to buy tools from the one place sounds great.

So anyone know if it's operational or not?

Still down. I assume if its ever going to be back up, he will let us know.

Be nice if someone could pick up where he left off. I don't have the capital to do it, but he was doing a great service to the people who wanted to magnetize a few things, and didn't want to buy 100 of 5 different types of magnets.

Hi guys, I am alive and back home and (once again) picking up the pieces.

I have to go do some tax stuff for a couple of hours but will post again this evening with a proper update and to discuss where we go from here...

Regards, Simon


Automatically Appended Next Post:
So, here I am once again, apologising for all the problems that have been a recurring issue over the last year.

Clearly, things can't continue as they have been, and the question is what to do about it.

I have considered just calling it quits and closing the site down, but I'm reluctant to just give up for a number of reasons, not least of which is that no-one else out there offers any kind of alternative. I also have a considerable investment in time and money, although "investment" is something of a misnomer as it is clear that this is not an enterprise that stands any chance of ever making a profit.

My job has evolved somewhat recently to where I'm hopeful that my time commitment there will be a little more sane - I've been working up to 120 hours a week over the last year, so that would help!

However, I would like to get back to what I really enjoy, which is designing the kits, and find someone reliable to help with picking, packing and shipping orders.

So, if anyone knows someone in the West San Fernando Valley - I live in Winnetka - that would be interested in working a few hours each week part time, I'd love to hear from you. Perhaps I'll make a separate post about this elsewhere.

Cheers,

Simon

Anyone here anymore from Simon? I'm still out an order from last September and I'm still hopeful about getting some magnets

I know he is still thinking about continuing the store or not.

I just received my kits from him, and I am more than happy. The tools really look awesome, I can't wait to use it.

Try messaging him on here, he should get back to you.


That all being said, I would love to help, but the commute to cali is a little far for me!