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Made in us
Fresh-Faced New User




Hi all-
I placed an order with Chapterhouse Studios in November and haven't heard anything. The last thing I want to do is start a Paypal claim and am trying to be hopeful, but need some indication that he is still in business.

Has anyone heard from Nick or received an order recently?
   
Made in se
Longtime Dakkanaut






It seems to be down in any way except the homepage being up and payment going through. :(

You'll get your money back if you make a Paypal claim but there's no business going on.

A similar thread from late last year:
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/705980.page#9014207

We've seen no life signs since then.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2017/01/04 21:24:35


   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut





USA

 Zywus wrote:
It seems to be down in any way except the homepage being up and payment going through. :(

You'll get your money back if you make a Paypal claim but there's no business going on.

A similar thread from late last year:
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/705980.page#9014207

We've seen no life signs since then.


Basically this.

According to that post, or maybe some other one, those at ChapterHouse no longer produce anything because it 'was a side project' and now the founder(s) have a full-time business.

They'll gladly take your money though, just won't give you anything.

Shadowkeepers (4000 points)
3rd Company (3000 points) 
   
Made in au
Norn Queen






That certainly is a roundabout way of saying they won the battle but lost the war.
   
Made in fi
Locked in the Tower of Amareo





 Frankenberry wrote:
According to that post, or maybe some other one, those at ChapterHouse no longer produce anything because it 'was a side project' and now the founder(s) have a full-time business.

They'll gladly take your money though, just won't give you anything.


Which shows lack of ethics the guys had in the first place...If they had any in the first place they wouldn't still be taking money if they don't intend to fulfill orders.

Bleah. Good thing world got rid of them.

2024 painted/bought: 109/109 
   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut






Los Angeles

tneva82 wrote:
 Frankenberry wrote:
According to that post, or maybe some other one, those at ChapterHouse no longer produce anything because it 'was a side project' and now the founder(s) have a full-time business.

They'll gladly take your money though, just won't give you anything.


Which shows lack of ethics the guys had in the first place...If they had any in the first place they wouldn't still be taking money if they don't intend to fulfill orders.

Bleah. Good thing world got rid of them.


At this point, I'd have to agree. How hard is it to deactivate the Paypal/Shopping Cart features on the site to prevent new orders from generating?

Its been over a year now and the site is in zombie mode. Kill it, ChapterHouse. Kill it with fire and be done with the that portion of your business. Why keep a dead site around that can only garner ill will from the people who get fooled into thinking ChapterHouse is still active and fulfilling orders?
   
Made in us
Did Fulgrim Just Behead Ferrus?





Fort Worth, TX

Does he even have control of the site anymore? Just wondering.

"Through the darkness of future past, the magician longs to see.
One chants out between two worlds: Fire, walk with me."
- Twin Peaks
"You listen to me. While I will admit to a certain cynicism, the fact is that I am a naysayer and hatchetman in the fight against violence. I pride myself in taking a punch and I'll gladly take another because I choose to live my life in the company of Gandhi and King. My concerns are global. I reject absolutely revenge, aggression, and retaliation. The foundation of such a method... is love. I love you Sheriff Truman." - Twin Peaks 
   
Made in ca
Fixture of Dakka




 Tannhauser42 wrote:
Does he even have control of the site anymore? Just wondering.


We still think it's in his name. If anything he could have came on Dakka to say he doesn't own it, or he can't cancel it or anything. Then if this ever happens someone would say so. Doesn't matter if he owns it now or not. It's his name that is being dug into the mud now.

Agies Grimm:The "Learn to play, bro" mentality is mostly just a way for someone to try to shame you by implying that their metaphorical nerd-wiener is bigger than yours. Which, ironically, I think nerds do even more vehemently than jocks.

Everything is made up and the points don't matter. 40K or Who's Line is it Anyway?

Auticus wrote: Or in summation: its ok to exploit shoddy points because those are rules and gamers exist to find rules loopholes (they are still "legal"), but if the same force can be composed without structure, it emotionally feels "wrong".  
   
Made in us
Decrepit Dakkanaut






New Orleans, LA

That's a shame. Ah, well.

I liked a few of his shoulder pads.

DA:70S+G+M+B++I++Pw40k08+D++A++/fWD-R+T(M)DM+
 
   
Made in jp
Fixture of Dakka





Japan

 kronk wrote:
That's a shame. Ah, well.

I liked a few of his shoulder pads.


well i guess you have to go here now
https://mastercrafted.co.uk/product-category/infantry-components/shoulder-pads/standard/

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2017/01/06 08:29:29


Squidbot;
"That sound? That's the sound of me drinking all my paint and stabbing myself in the eyes with my brushes. "
My Doombringer Space Marine Army
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Imageshack deleted all my Images Thank you! 
   
Made in in
[MOD]
Otiose in a Niche






Hyderabad, India

yeah file the claim and everyone else STAY AWAY.

Damn shame.

 
   
Made in gb
Ridin' on a Snotling Pump Wagon






Sad thing is, this debacle is likely to be his legacy.

Could've gone down in the books as a Pyrrhic victory against The Evil GW. Now risking going down as 'that arse who took people's money and did nowt'.

I'm hardly a fan of the chap (saw him post, very arrogant) or his wares, but there's no enjoyment in seeing someone self destruct.

   
Made in us
Decrepit Dakkanaut






New Orleans, LA

 Jehan-reznor wrote:
 kronk wrote:
That's a shame. Ah, well.

I liked a few of his shoulder pads.


well i guess you have to go here now
https://mastercrafted.co.uk/product-category/infantry-components/shoulder-pads/standard/


Danka!

Edit: Damn. No tactical, HS, or FA shoulder pads. Some of those are very nice, though!

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2017/01/06 12:46:52


DA:70S+G+M+B++I++Pw40k08+D++A++/fWD-R+T(M)DM+
 
   
Made in us
Terminator with Assault Cannon





Florida

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Sad thing is, this debacle is likely to be his legacy.

Could've gone down in the books as a Pyrrhic victory against The Evil GW. Now risking going down as 'that arse who took people's money and did nowt'.

I'm hardly a fan of the chap (saw him post, very arrogant) or his wares, but there's no enjoyment in seeing someone self destruct.


Couldn't agree more. Really takes the sweetness out of that 'win' with this poor handling of the site after.

SickSix's Silver Skull WIP thread
My Youtube Channel
JSF wrote:... this is really quite an audacious move by GW, throwing out any pretext that this is a game and that its customers exist to do anything other than buy their overpriced products for the sake of it. The naked arrogance, greed and contempt for their audience is shocking.
= Epic First Post.
 
   
Made in us
Ultramarine Terminator with Assault Cannon






Chapterhouse is dead and gone and [MOD EDIT - RULE #1 - Alpharius]... Cheers! I'll celebrate to that news.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2017/01/06 18:47:49


 
   
Made in us
Decrepit Dakkanaut






New Orleans, LA

So much hostility in this thread!

He's just like, some guy, you know?

Taking money and not sending out your gak is an donkey-cave thing to do, yes. But for the GW/ChapterHouse civil case, this guy was the bad guy?

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2017/01/06 14:56:18


DA:70S+G+M+B++I++Pw40k08+D++A++/fWD-R+T(M)DM+
 
   
Made in gb
[DCM]
Moustache-twirling Princeps





Gone-to-ground in the craters of Coventry

The CHS Facebook page has been dead since April 2016.
The internet domain of chapterhousestudios.com is paid up until 30-jul-2017. We'll know for sure when that expires.

6000 pts - 4000 pts - Harlies: 1000 pts - 1000 ptsDS:70+S+G++MB+IPw40k86/f+D++A++/cWD64R+T(T)DM+
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"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw (probably)
Clubs around Coventry, UK 
   
Made in gb
Ridin' on a Snotling Pump Wagon






 kronk wrote:
So much hostility in this thread!

He's just like, some guy, you know?

Taking money and not sending out your gak is an donkey-cave thing to do, yes. But for the GW/ChapterHouse civil case, this guy was the bad guy?


Prior carries no water. There's many businesses that used to be decent folk, but became money grabbing oiks.

If he can't / doesn't want to continue, he should've taken the site down.

That he hasn't is somewhat suspicious.

   
Made in us
Decrepit Dakkanaut






New Orleans, LA

I'm not doubting that he's a jerk now. He is taking money and not sending gak. Yes, that makes him a jerk.

But a lot of the posts here are calling him the jerk in the Chapterhouse/GW suit.

DA:70S+G+M+B++I++Pw40k08+D++A++/fWD-R+T(M)DM+
 
   
Made in us
Decrepit Dakkanaut






Omadon's Realm

 kronk wrote:

But a lot of the posts here are calling him the jerk in the Chapterhouse/GW suit.


That was sinister GW of yesteryear, we all seem to have forgotten their carpetbombing of C&Ds to tiny indy companies as a daily ritual. Alan Merrett's flying monkeys in the legal team carrying threats of legal woes to the far corners of the land. Chapterhouse were just the one company to not back down over them.




As for the high cost of that case, how is Alan Merrett, Director of Intellectual Property, these days?





 
   
Made in us
Posts with Authority






 MeanGreenStompa wrote:
 kronk wrote:

But a lot of the posts here are calling him the jerk in the Chapterhouse/GW suit.


That was sinister GW of yesteryear, we all seem to have forgotten their carpetbombing of C&Ds to tiny indy companies as a daily ritual. Alan Merrett's flying monkeys in the legal team carrying threats of legal woes to the far corners of the land. Chapterhouse were just the one company to not back down over them.




As for the high cost of that case, how is Alan Merrett, Director of Intellectual Property, these days?


At a guess, Merrett is glad that he had a golden parachute.

I kind of doubt that he is really hurting, though.

The Auld Grump

Kilkrazy wrote:When I was a young boy all my wargames were narratively based because I played with my toy soldiers and vehicles without the use of any rules.

The reason I bought rules and became a real wargamer was because I wanted a properly thought out structure to govern the action instead of just making things up as I went along.
 
   
Made in us
Ultramarine Terminator with Assault Cannon






 MeanGreenStompa wrote:
 kronk wrote:

But a lot of the posts here are calling him the jerk in the Chapterhouse/GW suit.


That was sinister GW of yesteryear, we all seem to have forgotten their carpetbombing of C&Ds to tiny indy companies as a daily ritual. Alan Merrett's flying monkeys in the legal team carrying threats of legal woes to the far corners of the land. Chapterhouse were just the one company to not back down over them.


Chapterhouse was mostly in the wrong and the case against them legitimate. I believe that those who felt GW was in the wrong for even filing suit are simply ignorant (and I mean that in the literal sense, not as an insult) to the world of product manufacturing and the need to keep a strong hold on ones IP.
   
Made in us
Enigmatic Chaos Sorcerer




Tampa, FL

The usual argument I saw was that chapterhouse was "stealing GW's aesthetics" and that automatically made them thieves who should have been put in their place.

- Wayne
Formerly WayneTheGame 
   
Made in us
Posts with Authority






 oni wrote:
 MeanGreenStompa wrote:
 kronk wrote:

But a lot of the posts here are calling him the jerk in the Chapterhouse/GW suit.


That was sinister GW of yesteryear, we all seem to have forgotten their carpetbombing of C&Ds to tiny indy companies as a daily ritual. Alan Merrett's flying monkeys in the legal team carrying threats of legal woes to the far corners of the land. Chapterhouse were just the one company to not back down over them.


Chapterhouse was mostly in the wrong and the case against them legitimate. I believe that those who felt GW was in the wrong for even filing suit are simply ignorant (and I mean that in the literal sense, not as an insult) to the world of product manufacturing and the need to keep a strong hold on ones IP.
One ENORMOUS problem with that argument.

Third parties making parts for existing products - from toy soldiers to tractors - is legal, and is, in fact, protected by law.

This is why you can go to Midas and buy mufflers for your Toyota.

It is why you can get etched brass airplanes for your Tamiya models.

And labeling what those third party parts as to what they can and should be used for is likewise legal.

People think that GW was 100% in the wrong because GW was 100% in the wrong.

And GW had a man in charge of IP that had no freakin' clue how IP or IP law works. (He did not know the difference between Copyright and Trademark, for the love of mud!)

The Auld Grump

Kilkrazy wrote:When I was a young boy all my wargames were narratively based because I played with my toy soldiers and vehicles without the use of any rules.

The reason I bought rules and became a real wargamer was because I wanted a properly thought out structure to govern the action instead of just making things up as I went along.
 
   
Made in se
Longtime Dakkanaut






 oni wrote:
 MeanGreenStompa wrote:
 kronk wrote:

But a lot of the posts here are calling him the jerk in the Chapterhouse/GW suit.


That was sinister GW of yesteryear, we all seem to have forgotten their carpetbombing of C&Ds to tiny indy companies as a daily ritual. Alan Merrett's flying monkeys in the legal team carrying threats of legal woes to the far corners of the land. Chapterhouse were just the one company to not back down over them.


Chapterhouse was mostly in the wrong and the case against them legitimate. I believe that those who felt GW was in the wrong for even filing suit are simply ignorant (and I mean that in the literal sense, not as an insult) to the world of product manufacturing and the need to keep a strong hold on ones IP.

Weird how the ruling (before the later settlement) went mostly Chapterhouse's way then. Almost as if GW was the party mostly in the wrong.

   
Made in us
Ultramarine Terminator with Assault Cannon






Yes... Odd indeed... It's a wonderful thing that we're all lawyers here and root for the underdog regardless if they're wrong.

There's just that one little nagging bit... If Chapterhouse "won" as the Dakka lawyers proclaim, why isn't Chapterhouse still in business?

Hmmm... Oh well, time to move on.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
[/sarcasm]

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2017/01/06 17:18:25


 
   
Made in se
Longtime Dakkanaut






 oni wrote:
Yes... Odd indeed... It's a wonderful thing that we're all lawyers here and root for the underdog regardless if they're wrong

The only one playing lawyer here is you since you claim GW was mostly in the right despite most their legal grievances being dismissed.

Note that I have not made any personal claims to either side (which would be kinda silly since I'm not educated in american IP-law). But the verdict we did get (before settlement) gave Chapterhouse right in the majority of the points. Thus, per definition GW was the part mostly in the wrong. It seems you let your biases blind you to the actual facts of the verdict. I'm sure you'd want GW to have gotten the courts full support, won every point and taken CH to the cleaners. You wishing that doesn't make it come trough however.

Whether Chapterhouse is doing business or not after the trial is irrelevant and an attempt by you to muddy the question. While Chapterhouse is not selling stuff anymore (although for some reason the site is still up) that is not a legal question but one of business. They are not legally prohibited to sell the majority of items that was deemed compliant with IP-law. They just don't for some reason (well they ostensibly offer them for sale, but don't operate their business or send any product, which is what the thread is originally about). Perhaps it's a condition in the settlement, although it's stupid to not just remove the site then?

I also suspect that the owners of chapterhouse simply saw reduced business for their product since they honestly were of pretty low quality when compared to the likes of Puppetswar, Kromlech etc.and stopped caring.

This message was edited 5 times. Last update was at 2017/01/06 17:35:23


   
Made in gb
Infiltrating Broodlord






What's the point in going over old ground re the legal case? But yes, the context does look pretty different when they takes ya money and don't deliver your shoulder pads.



   
Made in au
Grizzled Space Wolves Great Wolf





 oni wrote:
Yes... Odd indeed... It's a wonderful thing that we're all lawyers here and root for the underdog regardless if they're wrong.
We're not all lawyers obviously, but back during and toward the end of the case there WERE lawyers posting (not in a professional capacity obviously) about their opinions. And you don't necessarily have to be a lawyer to make an informed decision on what is right and wrong. The fact the courts mostly sided with CH on many (but not all) issues shows they thought CH was partly in the wrong but GW was more in the wrong.

It's been a while but if I recall correctly *some* of GW's claims were valid but many were just stupid and the outcome of the case reflected that, with GW winning some of their copyright claims but losing a lot of others.

Chapterhouse had some products that were genuinely in the wrong, where they took a GW name and advertised a model as such.

But GW were also in the wrong using bully tactics and going after absurd claims, like claiming "Jetbike" and "Lizard Ogre" were infringements.

In the end I think customers lost out on that front because now we have to put up with bloody Orruks instead of Orcs just so GW have a unique name they can claim infringements on.

Other things CH was in the right, like being able to claim parts are "compatible" with a trademarked item is fine which should just be common sense. Basically they're allowed to make a head and say "this is a fantasy head that is compatible with Orruks" but they aren't allowed to say "this is an Orruk head".

I think GW's bully tactics and ignorance came across in some of the case summaries, with the Court noting GW did a very poor job of specifically identifying what CH were infringing on, which just reeks of unprofessional bullying.

There's just that one little nagging bit... If Chapterhouse "won" as the Dakka lawyers proclaim, why isn't Chapterhouse still in business?
Business go down the crapper for lots of reasons. CHS were ordered to pay $25k USD in damages, but GW were FINALLY called out on a lot of bs claims they were making against small companies which was a good thing.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2017/01/06 17:46:29


 
   
Made in se
Longtime Dakkanaut






 Hivefleet Oblivion wrote:
What's the point in going over old ground re the legal case? But yes, the context does look pretty different when they takes ya money and don't deliver your shoulder pads.


I wouldn't attribute the inactivity on malice, rather on incompetence/indifference.

When people file their Paypal claims, CH doesn't dispute. When people mail them about their offers, there's no lies of obfuscating replies trying to stall. There's just silence.

I highly doubt that the homepage is left open in a scheme to have people send in money and hope they forget all about it.

It's someone who's left a webstore up and running but just walked away from it. It's stupid and irresponsible from CH's side. It benefit's no-one and it inconveniences people, having their money bouncing around for a while. But it doesn't change the context of the legal case in any way.

This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at 2017/01/06 17:54:42


   
 
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