Is Bad Cat about to give up the ghost...?

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Re: Is Bad Cat about to give up the ghost...?

Post by dannyc » Wed Mar 11, 2015 3:11 pm

Jesse James wrote:It took someone reminding me of the Spotcat rage to remember why everyone hated BC haha. I couldn't even recall.

Melvin was not BC that I'm aware of. Not sure who he is, or if he's just a guy who goes by Melvin and is catching unnecessary flak? I dunno. But he didn't seem to have anything to do with BC unless it happened on another site or something.
He has nothing to do with it I was confused

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Re: Is Bad Cat about to give up the ghost...?

Post by Birddog » Wed Mar 11, 2015 4:49 pm

Melvin is the member of The Fighting 1/18th who provides updates on the Hiya Toy lines like the new 1/18 scale Alien figures.
Go Ugly Early in 1/18!!

Still waiting and wishing for a 1/18 A-10 Warthog.

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Re: Is Bad Cat about to give up the ghost...?

Post by Jesse James » Wed Mar 11, 2015 6:28 pm

Yeah I've chatted with Melvin myself... We have mutual friends. He's a cool dude.
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Re: Is Bad Cat about to give up the ghost...?

Post by p51 » Thu Mar 12, 2015 1:04 am

This message board used to have ads on here for Badcat, it wasn't much money they were giving and barely enough to even cover hosting costs. One day I got very angry message from Rob saying how he was upset that I was 'letting' other companies advertise on my board through posts (like Aviatornut). He felt that they were paying for complete control of store advertising on GPXD. That really ticked me off, that they felt they could throw a tiny bit of advertising money at this site and control who can advertise what. I flat out told him that he was way out of line and refused to take down all the posts he wanted removed. He threatened to terminate the advertising partnership, so I took the first step and ended it with him. I've never shopped again with them since that day.

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Re: Is Bad Cat about to give up the ghost...?

Post by toyktdlgh » Thu Mar 12, 2015 12:03 pm

I haven't posted in a while but i couldn't pass this topic up. A few years back they had a 1:6th scale R/C Hummer on their website on close out. It was cheap for what it was and was marked as being eligible for their shipping deal at the time. I forget the exact money amount but it was cheap enough for me to pop on it. I remember thinking that for the size it was a great deal but not thinking someone was getting robbed. Well the next day i got an email from one of the owners. It was probably Rob, telling me there was a miss advertisement with the ad and that they couldn't ship it to me for that. They wanted to tack on another $50! We went back and fourth on it and he eventually told me that he wouldn't honor it and that i was stupid if i thought that toy could be shipped for what i had payed earlier. I told him it was bad business not to honor an advertised price but he didn't care. I told him to refund my money and i literally NEVER bought another thing from them ever again.

Now i may have been more receptive had he tried to meet me in the middle or something but there was ZERO attempt on their part to take any financial responsibility for the issue. I'm sure after that i made the "black list". Up until that day i bought all my planes from them. I even payed more money just to buy from them because i felt like i got good service. I bet they lost a few thousand dollars in sales from me over the years after that. I even made it a point to NEVER refer anyone to them. Now i never bad mouthed them. As a matter of fact this is the first time i've mentioned this issue in public. It still ticks me off today how harsh those emails were that i received. I bet if i dig around i still have them someplace.

If you ask me it isn't 1:18th that killed them. It was those short tempers they could develop when dealing with customers. Its the exact opposite thing with a place like Aiken Airplanes. Those people are amazing. I remember a few years back my wife was looking for a FM PBY for my Christmas present. Those things sold out fast and are still impossible to find. She called everyplace and eventually called Aikens. The older gentleman fist said he didn't have it but after she explained the situation he said he would check the back room to make sure. He found one for her. 8)

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Re: Is Bad Cat about to give up the ghost...?

Post by Light.Inf.Scout » Thu Mar 12, 2015 12:16 pm

Agreed...I used them regularly for 2 or 3 years....then I had a really bad delivery experience...which turned into a really bad customer service experience. Never used them again....and made sure a couple friends in the hobby knew about it and they never used him again either.
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Re: Is Bad Cat about to give up the ghost...?

Post by Coreyeagle48 » Fri Mar 13, 2015 12:29 pm

Greetings:

I shopped with them over the years and really never had a problem with the exception of two major incidents that totally changed my opinion of them.

A few years back, he started carrying the Authentic Models line of airplanes after seeing me post positive reviews of them. He asked if he could use some of the pictures I had taken of the models to advertise the line on his sight in exchange for a $100 gift certificate to the store. I told him that was fine and he honored his word and sent the gift certificate. The only problem was at the time there was nothing at the store I wanted and they (probably Rob) foolishly made the gift certificate expire at the end of a few months. By the time I went to use it, it was expired and of course he had never told me it had an expiration date on it. I inquired and asked him if I could still use it and he basically said no. told him to take down all the pictures of mine off his site and he said he was allowed to use them because I said so and I was the dumb one for letting the gift certificate expire. I basically stopped dealing with them for good after that.

The other issue I had was shortly after he did his whole "Private Reserve" section. I bought a BBI Pearl Harbor Zero on Ebay and upon getting it shipped realized it was from Badcat Toys. Turns out, he was selling his private stock off on Ebay and trying to get inflated prices. I had paid a fair price for the Zero, but he sure didn't like I told everyone on Ebay Badcat toys had a userid and was selling old 21st stock through a false name. He tried to shut me up and it was interesting.

I agree with what others have said, although his alliance with 1/18 may have hurt his business, his way of dealing with people hurt it more. He was short tempered, always wanted to be right and never allowed you to state your case. It is a shame, his business could have been better and we might still be getting 1/18 exclusives had he been able to behave himself a bit better.

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Re: Is Bad Cat about to give up the ghost...?

Post by Jesse James » Mon Mar 16, 2015 4:38 pm

p51 wrote:This message board used to have ads on here for Badcat, it wasn't much money they were giving and barely enough to even cover hosting costs. One day I got very angry message from Rob saying how he was upset that I was 'letting' other companies advertise on my board through posts (like Aviatornut). He felt that they were paying for complete control of store advertising on GPXD. That really ticked me off, that they felt they could throw a tiny bit of advertising money at this site and control who can advertise what. I flat out told him that he was way out of line and refused to take down all the posts he wanted removed. He threatened to terminate the advertising partnership, so I took the first step and ended it with him. I've never shopped again with them since that day.
He mustn't look around at collectible sites often... They are LITTERED with advertising. It pays for everything any site does. Kickbacks are few and minimal for most people working on any collecting site, but people doing it for free rarely translates to continued effort.

That's some BS that he expected to give the minimum and get it all... No site operates that way. No site CAN operate that way. And no store expects it either. I've never encountered that, and I've been at this for over a decade now.
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Re: Is Bad Cat about to give up the ghost...?

Post by YT » Mon Mar 16, 2015 6:49 pm

Wow, karma..,
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Re: Is Bad Cat about to give up the ghost...?

Post by p51 » Tue Mar 17, 2015 2:01 am

Jesse James wrote: He mustn't look around at collectible sites often... They are LITTERED with advertising. It pays for everything any site does. Kickbacks are few and minimal for most people working on any collecting site, but people doing it for free rarely translates to continued effort.

That's some BS that he expected to give the minimum and get it all... No site operates that way. No site CAN operate that way. And no store expects it either. I've never encountered that, and I've been at this for over a decade now.
Exactly, I couldn't believe that he thought that with a little bit of monthly kickback that he could control that aspect of the boards. You pay big bucks for control like that, and yet he seemed to think I was being unreasonable!

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Re: Is Bad Cat about to give up the ghost...?

Post by [CAT]CplSlade » Tue Mar 17, 2015 4:56 am

One of the reasons my old place of work, Borders Books, went under is they changed their focus away from providing top customer service.

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Re: Is Bad Cat about to give up the ghost...?

Post by dannyc » Tue Mar 17, 2015 9:52 am

[CAT]CplSlade wrote:One of the reasons my old place of work, Borders Books, went under is they changed their focus away from providing top customer service.
Really my local borders always had great customer service and good deals I miss those days

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Re: Is Bad Cat about to give up the ghost...?

Post by Aviatornut.com » Tue Mar 17, 2015 12:11 pm

The hobby business is a tough business and it is hard not to get emotional when you perceive the customer being difficult. I am sure there is fault on both sides. I know I have made mistakes in my dealings with customers. I have had people steal from and lie about receipt of product and make unreasonable demands but all said in done I have NEVER met a greater group of people. I think the best place to meet like-minded Americans is at an airshow.
I am sad to see another hobby dealer gone and I feel bad for Rob because it is hard to lose your dreams. I wish him good luck in the future

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Re: Is Bad Cat about to give up the ghost...?

Post by granch » Wed Mar 18, 2015 2:56 pm

Foxholetoys seems also dead, nothing to be found after july, 2012? I liked his photogallery and sent many to him, and ordered some item with no trouble. :(

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Re: Is Bad Cat about to give up the ghost...?

Post by NWarty » Wed Mar 18, 2015 3:49 pm

Yeah, it's pretty much "Eff Rob/Onwu and the Horse he rode in on". Seriously, EFF that guy and good riddance. I've always had wonderful service with Aikens, Flying Mule, Smalljoes, Military Toy shop, etc.
Aviatornut.com wrote: I am sad to see another hobby dealer gone and I feel bad for Rob because it is hard to lose your dreams. I wish him good luck in the future
I won't lose a single ounce of sleep. People here and at 1/18th have detailed all the crap that he's done. Why in God's name would you even try to wish him well after all the junk he's pulled?

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