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Congrats panzer...glad you and your buddy got hooked up...i tried to get on the tss order page and it's closed...
I was going to ask Daniel if he would mail me some termis and i would pay him when they arrived...
Ahhhhh....
Oh well...
If anyone who actually received their order wants to part with 3 or 4 I'd be willing to work something out

Wow i just read through all 11 pages, im just going to comment on this so i can follow it. I hope this guy gets what he deserves.

lionofjudah wrote:
Congrats panzer...glad you and your buddy got hooked up...i tried to get on the tss order page and it's closed...
I was going to ask Daniel if he would mail me some termis and i would pay him when they arrived...
Ahhhhh....
Oh well...
If anyone who actually received their order wants to part with 3 or 4 I'd be willing to work something out

Why on Earth would you knowingly do business with someone you see ripping so many people off? Especially since, it appears, he even tried ripping you off once, already.

Eric

People should really approach this kind of thing like building conracts. You pay half when you order and then the rest upon delivery.

If it arrives late then you subtract a suitable amount from the final payment.

 A Town Called Malus wrote:
People should really approach this kind of thing like building conracts. You pay half when you order and then the rest upon delivery.

If it arrives late then you subtract a suitable amount from the final payment.

If i remember correctly, Daniel has taken half up front, and run regardless. Other than that though, I agree, pay a chunk when you start to give incentive to both parties to actually pull the trigger, and half upon final delivery/receipt.

Edited by Manchu.

 A Town Called Malus wrote:
People should really approach this kind of thing like building conracts. You pay half when you order and then the rest upon delivery.

If it arrives late then you subtract a suitable amount from the final payment.

If you did want to pay like a building contract then you would pay 30 to 65 days after the end of the month that the work was completed/goods received (if you're doing it properly anyway). What you are suggesting is the reason why so many people find building work such an unsatisfactory process as they are instantly out of pocket and expecting the supplier to hit the ground running but already having half the money they have incentive to start other projects not finish existing ones. Similar to Mr. Bonders MO no?

This boring interlude was brought to you by a bored Surveyor.

Howdy,

I am coming in late to this conversation....

I should have googled Third Stage Studios - a LOT of comments out there from unhappy customers!

I ordered a Paladin kit via Third Stage Studios website on July 16th, after seeing a reference to it from someone on BoLS. The site indicated that the kit was discontinued and from another manufacturer, and that he only had a few (4?) in stock. I paid for it immediately via Paypal.

After 2-3 weeks, I contacted the owner regarding the status of delivery - I also included the transaction details from the Paypal payment. He indicated that he was still waiting for parts from France (?), but that he could ship the kit without the head. After another week, I contacted him again, and he said that he could send the kit with an additional weapon and an alternate head (one from the kit that he advertised on his website). The proper head was in the mail from France, and he had the delivery status of it. I indicated that the extra weapon and alternate head was fine, pending the arrival of the proper head. He said that he should be able to send the head "soon".

The kit was sent and arrived around the 17th-18th of August. The alternate head is ugly, but does fit the kit. The resin is cheap but OK, but the cast is poor - LOTS of bubbles and defects. I am thinking more and more of making it into a large terrain piece....

After another 2-3 weeks, I contacted him as to the status of the proper head. He indicates that the package from France is on its way and that he should have it "soon".

He has answered all but 1 of my emails in a timely fashion - as to the veracity of anything he says, I have NO idea. One of his replies (after a 2 week lull) was odd - he had confused me with another customer, and promised that the kit would be there "soon" with alternate/extra pieces.

I contacted Paypal - since I used my Mastercard as a funding source, the helpful and charming customer service agent (Lisa) says that I have up to 180 days to initiate a charge-back. This is something that the community should know - You can have more than 45 days to initiate proceedings depending on source.

I will give him another week (the 9 week mark after payment). After that, I will seek a charge-back unless he and I can reach a suitable arrangement (probably a partial refund).

I also saw that some eBay seller with private feedback was selling these kits in July. One of my friends wanted to order one, but told me that the communication with the seller was VERY odd and that there were problems getting parts from, you guessed it, France.

Lessons for me? Google the names of companies you have never heard of. Check the gaming fora. Call Paypal.

I notice that the Third Stage Studio site is down....

Ken

When was the last time you heard from him?

He seems to have disappeared again...

i have been in contact with daniel as he saw my post re: wanting to get a kit. For the comment about why would I want to deal with him, I am wanting to complete my TS army and havent really had luck with my termi attempts.
Daniel contacted me last wek and said he would send me kits free of charge. I have received a tracking number and will post upon arrival of kit.

Long time lurker and found this thread after purchasing about $150 of true scale terminators in April. After waiting a VERY long time and several emails back and forth, I realised something was amiss and googled to see if anyone else had issues, thereby finding this thread.

Suffice to say I was disappointed. I am in the UK and thought that the international issue and relatively low value of the order would mean that little would happen.

I was outside the 45 day period and highly frustrated with Paypal. I sent TSS several strongly worded emails and initially he offered a full refund and another package with the terminators to be sent (bearing in mind this purportedly would be the third such package, the other two said to have been sent by him earlier)

Eventually, after several further emails and no refund, he sent a package with a tracking number provided. I was able to track this and two days ago the models arrived in full (albeit it is clear they are from the end run of casting when the moulds were on their way out). Shipping for this package was considerably greater than the $6 I paid.

I wanted to say that although I don't know anything about any previous actions by any ebay users or commission artists that people might think are one and the same as Daniel Mandelbaum, ultimately I did get my models. I am not happy with how long it took or how much I was forced to pester him, but I am content.

For my part, I would consider it simply fairly poor customer service and not anything criminal or even such that there was a repudiatory breach of contract. I am a lawyer and deal with criminal matters all the time, including fraud. My dealings with him had the hallmark of someone who was not set up to deliver the professional performance expected of him, rather than a deliberate criminal conspiracy from the outset.

I realise that I am also completely unaware of any previous history or any past dealings anyone might have had with Daniel Mandelbaum or suspected aliases, but I would counsel extreme caution against internet detective work.

If any UK users have been left high and dry, I would recommend reporting the matter to your bank or credit card company. Failing that, report it to the National Fraud Authority via ActionFraud if you consider it to be a crime. If enough people make a complaint someone in the NFIB will investigate it eventually.

Just want to say that I did receiveTSS trues scale terminators today. Daniel and I have reached an amicable understanding and I hope that others will have satisfaction as well. He did say he had shuttered TSS and would not be reopening.

Hey Daniel,

If you are following your usual MO, you will be entering hibernate mode soon and probably asked these two guys above to come on here and let us know that you actually sent models.

Doesn't change a thing. If you think a handful of vaguely 'satisfied' customers will change all you have done to this community think again. We will always, always be watching for you from now on.

Sincerely,

MajorTom11.

ps Inquis. Jaeger and lion of Judah, glad you got your stuff. Don't take the above as any kind of accusation, RedStarOne/Matt Bonder/Damien/TSS/LordSerpius/Susan/Daniel Mandlebaum is certainly not above manipulating people to come post on here in an attempt to lessen/diffuse the impact of his crimes... just long enough to pop back up pulling the same stunts 6 months later with a new alias.

He is not to be trusted under any circumstances, he has done all this before and showed up to rob people again.

OK I've updated this on my first post and here.

I've got to move on below and on the first post these changes have been made.

V/r,

PanzerTC

Edited portions follow here:

Elements changed - Title change and update.

Former Title – Mon, 06/Aug/2012 12:04:41 PM Subject: Has anyone else been ripped off by Three Stage Studios - True Scale Terminators?

New Title – SAT 29/SEP/2012 Subject: Has anyone else had problems/issues/complaints with and or about Three Stage Studios - True Scale Terminators?

UPDATE

I have dealt with all kinds of professional and personal things as fast as I could. I have updated this to avoid anymore drama or emails concerning this post. I’m not going into any lengthy details - but this will hopefully be my last post on this. I’ve stated before I have no time for drama or threats of lawsuits. I’m too busy doing important stuff in the real world. My hobby is supposed to be my escape from it – not the reason I hide in real life work.

1) Terminators have shown up. They were sent relatively fast. If someone wants I'll post pics of them.
2) Angelo is squared away – no issues with Daniel/TSS.
3) Tracking about the new knight kits on Ebay and other buyers.
4) The community has my thanks for the support and advice you have all given me.
5) To those of you still working with Daniel/TSS – good luck.
6) It is clear there are and will be issues about this subject. As I stated in some of my other posts – what I expected to hear when I posted this – turned into a rather long and convoluted entry.
I no longer feel as though my time and trust has been ripped off. I will not do business with Daniel again, but he is square with me and Angelo.
I wish the rest of you the best of luck and will continue to monitor the post.

V/r,

PanzerTC

Yet, he has been threatening you with lawsuits if you don't change the language of the post. Ridiculous.

Daniel, your bullying a single poster on Dakka means nothing. Soon the authorities near you will have all the evidence they need to come after you with real law action- not the blustering you always do when cornered.

As shown by all the posters in this thread, you have scammed many people as "Three Stage Studios", and are following your usual MO as Tom said above.

Absolutely zero people are being fooled into thinking you are legitimate by convincing the OP to edit his post- in fact, quite the opposite.

To the OP- next time, just block his email address. I did so a long time ago and haven't regretted it since. It's very easy to simply add a filter to block any new email address he adds.

 RiTides wrote:
Yet, he has been threatening you with lawsuits if you don't change the language of the post. Ridiculous.

Daniel, your bullying a single poster on Dakka means nothing. Soon the authorities near you will have all the evidence they need to come after you with real law action- not the blustering you always do when cornered.

As shown by all the posters in this thread, you have scammed many people as "Three Stage Studios", and are following your usual MO as Tom said above.

Absolutely zero people are being fooled into thinking you are legitimate by convincing the OP to edit his post- in fact, quite the opposite.

To the OP- next time, just block his email address. I did so a long time ago and haven't regretted it since. It's very easy to simply add a filter to block any new email address he adds.

This X 1000.
Never give up, especially when you're in the right. And especially when it comes to dealing with Daniel.
He likes to threaten to silence and to tell you what you want to hear to stall.

Maybe we need to start a new thread, dealing with Daniel in general, not just TSS?
We could have a list of all of his past scams, ebay accounts and current schemes. And make it a sticky!

Speaking of his Feebay accounts, looks like he screwed over some folks with the "double.your.bits" seller account.
But then should I be surprised? It is Daniel after all. Showing his true colors, yet again.

Not sure if it's helpful at this point, but had an issue with Three Stage Studios as well. Plenty of "let me take care of that for you," not any actual items.

Have you been refunded yet, deadairis?

Anyone happen to know where Daniel/TSS is located? I've found some Knight Titans on craigslist and wanted to lessen my chances of dealing with this sort of mess.

Thanks!

Houston Texas iirc. His info is somewhere in this thread, or on one of the linked police reports.

Plano(Dallas), Tx.

grazer wrote:
Anyone happen to know where Daniel/TSS is located? I've found some Knight Titans on craigslist and wanted to lessen my chances of dealing with this sort of mess.

Thanks!

Where on Craigslist did you find the knight titans?

Eric

 MagickalMemories wrote:

grazer wrote:
Anyone happen to know where Daniel/TSS is located? I've found some Knight Titans on craigslist and wanted to lessen my chances of dealing with this sort of mess.

Thanks!

Where on Craigslist did you find the knight titans?

Eric

A great question! Could you post the original link grazer?

Ken Winland wrote:
Howdy,

I am coming in late to this conversation....

I should have googled Third Stage Studios - a LOT of comments out there from unhappy customers!

I ordered a Paladin kit via Third Stage Studios website on July 16th, after seeing a reference to it from someone on BoLS. The site indicated that the kit was discontinued and from another manufacturer, and that he only had a few (4?) in stock. I paid for it immediately via Paypal.

After 2-3 weeks, I contacted the owner regarding the status of delivery - I also included the transaction details from the Paypal payment. He indicated that he was still waiting for parts from France (?), but that he could ship the kit without the head. After another week, I contacted him again, and he said that he could send the kit with an additional weapon and an alternate head (one from the kit that he advertised on his website). The proper head was in the mail from France, and he had the delivery status of it. I indicated that the extra weapon and alternate head was fine, pending the arrival of the proper head. He said that he should be able to send the head "soon".

The kit was sent and arrived around the 17th-18th of August. The alternate head is ugly, but does fit the kit. The resin is cheap but OK, but the cast is poor - LOTS of bubbles and defects. I am thinking more and more of making it into a large terrain piece....

After another 2-3 weeks, I contacted him as to the status of the proper head. He indicates that the package from France is on its way and that he should have it "soon".

He has answered all but 1 of my emails in a timely fashion - as to the veracity of anything he says, I have NO idea. One of his replies (after a 2 week lull) was odd - he had confused me with another customer, and promised that the kit would be there "soon" with alternate/extra pieces.

I contacted Paypal - since I used my Mastercard as a funding source, the helpful and charming customer service agent (Lisa) says that I have up to 180 days to initiate a charge-back. This is something that the community should know - You can have more than 45 days to initiate proceedings depending on source.

I will give him another week (the 9 week mark after payment). After that, I will seek a charge-back unless he and I can reach a suitable arrangement (probably a partial refund).

I also saw that some eBay seller with private feedback was selling these kits in July. One of my friends wanted to order one, but told me that the communication with the seller was VERY odd and that there were problems getting parts from, you guessed it, France.

Lessons for me? Google the names of companies you have never heard of. Check the gaming fora. Call Paypal.

I notice that the Third Stage Studio site is down....

Ken

It seems the Craigslist post has been deleted by the user.

I believe that I am the one that he "confused" you with. I had a very similar order to yours and have gone through all the things that everyone here are talking about. Tomorrow I will be contacting my bank to see about getting the funds back. I have never had any issues with anyone ordering on the internet or Ebay and being a pretty laid back guy was probably a bit naieve. I last heard from him on 9/27 and then nothing.

Maybe someone more skilled at it can look to see if Google managed to cache the Craigslist post.
Any information you can provide on it?

Eric

Howdy!

You must be the one!

I have emailed him several times over the last 3-4 weeks, with no answer. When he last wrote, he said that he was still waiting for the missing head from "France". He indicated that he was willing to refund $10.00 for the replacement head, and then ask for S&H when the correct head arrived.

No further word, and no refund.

I just contacted a gentleman from the UK. He is currently selling Knights on eBay, and I asked about the chance of him selling individual parts. He said that he no longer sell parts separately, as someone from the US was recasting the stuff and selling it. I wonder if there is any connection...

Cheers,

Ken

clintbeaver311 wrote:

Ken Winland wrote:
Howdy,

I am coming in late to this conversation....

I should have googled Third Stage Studios - a LOT of comments out there from unhappy customers!

I ordered a Paladin kit via Third Stage Studios website on July 16th, after seeing a reference to it from someone on BoLS. The site indicated that the kit was discontinued and from another manufacturer, and that he only had a few (4?) in stock. I paid for it immediately via Paypal.

After 2-3 weeks, I contacted the owner regarding the status of delivery - I also included the transaction details from the Paypal payment. He indicated that he was still waiting for parts from France (?), but that he could ship the kit without the head. After another week, I contacted him again, and he said that he could send the kit with an additional weapon and an alternate head (one from the kit that he advertised on his website). The proper head was in the mail from France, and he had the delivery status of it. I indicated that the extra weapon and alternate head was fine, pending the arrival of the proper head. He said that he should be able to send the head "soon".

The kit was sent and arrived around the 17th-18th of August. The alternate head is ugly, but does fit the kit. The resin is cheap but OK, but the cast is poor - LOTS of bubbles and defects. I am thinking more and more of making it into a large terrain piece....

After another 2-3 weeks, I contacted him as to the status of the proper head. He indicates that the package from France is on its way and that he should have it "soon".

He has answered all but 1 of my emails in a timely fashion - as to the veracity of anything he says, I have NO idea. One of his replies (after a 2 week lull) was odd - he had confused me with another customer, and promised that the kit would be there "soon" with alternate/extra pieces.

I contacted Paypal - since I used my Mastercard as a funding source, the helpful and charming customer service agent (Lisa) says that I have up to 180 days to initiate a charge-back. This is something that the community should know - You can have more than 45 days to initiate proceedings depending on source.

I will give him another week (the 9 week mark after payment). After that, I will seek a charge-back unless he and I can reach a suitable arrangement (probably a partial refund).

I also saw that some eBay seller with private feedback was selling these kits in July. One of my friends wanted to order one, but told me that the communication with the seller was VERY odd and that there were problems getting parts from, you guessed it, France.

Lessons for me? Google the names of companies you have never heard of. Check the gaming fora. Call Paypal.

I notice that the Third Stage Studio site is down....

Ken

It seems the Craigslist post has been deleted by the user.

I believe that I am the one that he "confused" you with. I had a very similar order to yours and have gone through all the things that everyone here are talking about. Tomorrow I will be contacting my bank to see about getting the funds back. I have never had any issues with anyone ordering on the internet or Ebay and being a pretty laid back guy was probably a bit naieve. I last heard from him on 9/27 and then nothing.

Automatically Appended Next Post:
Howdy,

A current seller of the Knight Paladin;

Check out item #281009193175 on eBay.

Other 40K titan dealers;

(Warlord and Knight)

http://www.thetitanmanufactorum.com/shop/warbringer-commission/

(A good stand-in for a Knight)

http://dreamforge-games.blogspot.com/

Cheers,

Ken

Ken, I don't know if you'll find this post again, but that last link you put (Dreamforge) is a fantastic guy, and he's delivering on his promises. See here:

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/2220/469751.page#4980814

Honestly, with high quality stuff like Dreamforge's coming out, the market for Daniel Mandelbaum / Matt Bonder / Three Stage Studios / RedStarOne / Miniature Wargame Conversions's recasts, and even his legitimate casts that are made but never sent, will be few and far between.

Having tried to kep in contact with Daniel has been all but impossible. E-mails are all but non-existant. I had talked to him hours after I posted on here a bit back and had apparently coordinated him shipping me the three knights plus two additional cannon/chainsword arm sets with alternative heads.. After that I have only heard once from him...

tHIS HAS ALL BEEN OUT OF MY CONTROL. sTART THE DISPUTE AND GET YOUR KONEY BACK. i CANT UPLOAD FUNDS TO REFUND YOU AS MONEYPAK IS DOWN TO TO HURRICANE SANDY. eBAY WILL REFUND YOUR COSTS AND i WILL JUST OWE EBAY. i WILL STILL SEND THE ITEM

pLEASE EXCUSE THE CAPS AND TYPOS. iM ON A TINY PHONE.


On Thu, Nov 8, 2012 at 5:13 PM, clint beaver <clintbeaver311@hotmail.com> wrote:

This is the last time that i will attempt to contact you. If I don't hear from you shortly, I will go through my bank to get my funds back.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 22 Oct 2012 17:04:44 -0500

Subject: Re: Daniel Mandelbaum
From: susan.serpius.b@gmail.com
To: clintbeaver311@hotmail.com

Ive been working overtime shifts the last few days to cover rent this month. ill have them out at once.


On Sun, Oct 21, 2012 at 10:58 AM, clint beaver <clintbeaver311@hotmail.com> wrote:

I am still waiting for a responce about the three knights plus additional arms that are owed to me. Please contact me. I was very looking forward to having these assembled and painted for Adepticon in April. That way I would have a great item to talk about and tell where I got it from.




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2012 21:34:25 -0500
Subject: Re: Daniel Mandelbaum
From: susan.serpius.b@gmail.com
To: clintbeaver311@hotmail.com


I have told you I can send what I have in stock. I do not have the proper heads as they never arrived nor did some of the weapon options. There is little I can do about it except what ive offered time and again. To send what I have.






So, all I can gather is that this individual is everything that you all have been talking about here. Tomorrow I will be at my bank to get the funds back.

This is a guy who used his mother's identity to operate his scams and open several eBay accounts which he was still using after she died. What sort of person uses their dead mothers identity to run accounts selling stuff? You can't believe anything he says at all.

He is apparently still doing so- that email address is susan.serpius.b@gmail.com... Susan was his mother's name, and Lord.Serpius is the Dakka handle he used when he was posing as her (even uploading a picture of her as if it was his own).

What can you say at this point? The guy's a scammer, pure and simple, but knowing his name (Daniel Mandelbaum) and address means a lot towards shutting him down.

In the end, folks just need to file with Paypal within 45 days, or complain to their credit card... if someone wants to take him to court that'd be even better, but I just don't know that this guy is worth the trouble.

It helps that this is the third link in google when you search "Three Stage Studios"- hopefully it stays that way, as a warning to folks who bother to research it.