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Kickstarter "Successful Failures"

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Re: Kickstarter "Successful Failures"
« Reply #50 on: February 21, 2014, 12:38:15 AM »
 

Don Boyer

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Has anyone ever been prosecuted?  It seems like there would be a mountain of proof.

The wheels of justice are relentless, but a tad on the slow side...  It's taking time for some prosecutors to catch up to what crowdfunding is, never mind the fraud aspect.
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Re: Kickstarter "Successful Failures"
« Reply #51 on: March 01, 2014, 09:30:27 AM »
 

BiggerDee

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It's not card related, but you have got to check out the extremist actions from the creator of this Kickstarter "successful failure"! Unbelievable!!

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2014/02/28/kickstarter-fail-john-campbell-burns-comics-rather-than-sending-them-to-donors/
 

Re: Kickstarter "Successful Failures"
« Reply #52 on: March 01, 2014, 10:17:50 AM »
 

bhong

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It's not card related, but you have got to check out the extremist actions from the creator of this Kickstarter "successful failure"! Unbelievable!!

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2014/02/28/kickstarter-fail-john-campbell-burns-comics-rather-than-sending-them-to-donors/

That is just crazy ......  :o . It just leaves me speechless and a bad taste in my mouth for Kickstarter projects.
 

Re: Kickstarter "Successful Failures"
« Reply #53 on: March 01, 2014, 12:05:18 PM »
 

Don Boyer

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It's not card related, but you have got to check out the extremist actions from the creator of this Kickstarter "successful failure"! Unbelievable!!

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2014/02/28/kickstarter-fail-john-campbell-burns-comics-rather-than-sending-them-to-donors/

That is just crazy ......  :o . It just leaves me speechless and a bad taste in my mouth for Kickstarter projects.

That guy needs his meds adjusted.  He's hairy b@t$hit crazy.
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Re: Kickstarter "Successful Failures"
« Reply #54 on: March 02, 2014, 12:30:16 AM »
 

PurpleIce

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It's not card related, but you have got to check out the extremist actions from the creator of this Kickstarter "successful failure"! Unbelievable!!

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2014/02/28/kickstarter-fail-john-campbell-burns-comics-rather-than-sending-them-to-donors/

That is just crazy ......  :o . It just leaves me speechless and a bad taste in my mouth for Kickstarter projects.

That guy needs his meds adjusted.  He's hairy b@t$hit crazy.

Couldn't this guy be sued or something??
 

Re: Kickstarter "Successful Failures"
« Reply #55 on: March 02, 2014, 12:54:08 AM »
 

bhong

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Couldn't this guy be sued or something??

With any lawsuit, it's ultimate the question of is it worth it. It's just to too expensive and considering the guy has pretty much no money left, it'd be a waste of money to end up getting nothing back at all.
 

Re: Kickstarter "Successful Failures"
« Reply #56 on: March 02, 2014, 04:25:37 AM »
 

Don Boyer

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Couldn't this guy be sued or something??

With any lawsuit, it's ultimate the question of is it worth it. It's just to too expensive and considering the guy has pretty much no money left, it'd be a waste of money to end up getting nothing back at all.

Suing is an option, though not likely to be rewarding in any sense of the word.  However, getting the state's Consumer Affairs people and the Attorney General's office to pursue him for fraud - that might work.  It works best when you can gather into the fold as many complainants as possible to give the fraud added weight.  An AG might pass up a loss of $10 or $20 from one person, but when you start hitting the thousands in dollars lost and the defrauded are counted in the hundreds, it's much tougher to ignore.  Defraud enough people, particularly over state lines, and the case could become Federal - and even if it doesn't, if he's taken in a certain dollar amount in his fraudulent activities, the case could wind up on the level of a felony offense and carry jail time.
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Re: Kickstarter "Successful Failures"
« Reply #57 on: March 02, 2014, 05:13:56 AM »
 

agera94

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I've been waiting on my loop cuts card clips for quite some time. They were successfully funded, however 7 months later - it hasn't jogged my memory up until now - nothings turned up and loop cuts website, the kickstarter user loopcuts, and robert butler have disappeared.
If I were an eskimo, I would build my igloo next to a supermarket.
 

Re: Kickstarter "Successful Failures"
« Reply #58 on: March 03, 2014, 12:03:24 AM »
 

Don Boyer

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Sounds like a case worth pursuing - if you can get together enough KS members who also backed his project and received nothing.  You should be able to continue posting on the KS project page, right?  Organize and file complaints.
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Kickstarter Thieves
« Reply #59 on: April 15, 2014, 03:09:10 PM »
 

Fringe Doktor

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I'm one of many who have been burned by two projects by Alex Willis in Philly - the 1616 Deck and the Victorian Adventure Deck.  I have a collector friend who is out over $300 to this guy for the same projects.  He's "escaped" with over $17K for these decks!  How many of you are in the same boat, and what did you do about it?

AND - how do we get ahold of this idiot?  Surely SOMEBODY must know him.  He went to great lengths to make it seem like he had the cards "in hand".

I'm brand new to the group - sorry if this has been hashed out before.
(Homer Simpson voice)  Mmmmmmmmm - playing cards....
 

Re: Kickstarter Thieves
« Reply #60 on: April 15, 2014, 05:56:26 PM »
 

DarkDerp

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Hey there Joe. Head on over to the Introduce Yourself thread, and let us know a little about you. Let us give you a proper welcome.
I like to call paper coatings a finish. It makes Don happy.
 

Re: Kickstarter Thieves
« Reply #61 on: April 15, 2014, 09:02:30 PM »
 

RandyButterfield

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I'm one of many who have been burned by two projects by Alex Willis in Philly - the 1616 Deck and the Victorian Adventure Deck.  I have a collector friend who is out over $300 to this guy for the same projects.  He's "escaped" with over $17K for these decks!  How many of you are in the same boat, and what did you do about it?

AND - how do we get ahold of this idiot?  Surely SOMEBODY must know him.  He went to great lengths to make it seem like he had the cards "in hand".

I'm brand new to the group - sorry if this has been hashed out before.

Actually Alex used to be a VERY regular poster here on Discouse (http://www.playingcardforum.com/profile/ManMadeGames/). He used to post a few times a day, but hasn't at all in a long time - pretty much since his Decks started to get past delivery dates.

I remember having a pretty heated debate with him last year on a thread about freelance rates. He was proud that he found a foreign Artist who would charge some ridiculously low hourly rate of $15, or something like that. I couldn't find the thread though.

Good hunting!

Randy


EDIT: I just found the thread I was referencing above. It's not $15 an hour, it's actually $25 per image that he's proud of!! (http://www.playingcardforum.com/design-development/my-new-line-of-christian-decks/msg71747/#msg71747)
« Last Edit: April 15, 2014, 09:15:16 PM by RandyButterfield »
 

Re: Kickstarter "Successful Failures"
« Reply #62 on: April 16, 2014, 01:40:25 AM »
 

Don Boyer

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I merged this topic with an older one that deals with the same subject.  Doktor, I suggest you check out the previous posts.

What it boils down to is that Kickstarter will do NOTHING, other than to tell you to contact the local authorities.

You may be able to bring a case against him if you can present your evidence to his state's attorney general's office.  You could try it in your own state, but it seems to make more sense to pursue him using his own state's AG.  I haven't checked for updates in a while, but another person, I think the guy in charge of the Founders deck debacle, was being pursued in New York by the AG here after said AG received enough complaints.

Gather together other dissatisfied backers and get them behind this - it will lend a LOT more weight to the issue and make the AG more inclined to pursue a fraud case when presented with dozens if not hundreds of victims.

Be prepared for the process to take months, if not years.  Nothing moves quickly through the courts anymore, at least not in New York.  Also consider that receiving the full amount of your investment is very unlikely, though there is a chance you'll get some portion of it back if the AG is successful.  It will largely depend on the con man's available funds and assets which can be liquidated.
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Re: Kickstarter "Successful Failures"
« Reply #63 on: April 16, 2014, 11:01:48 AM »
 

BiggerDee

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Fringe, I've been robbed by Alex as well. Go to Kickstarter and search for "Founders cards". Read the comments from backers. I had a bad feeling about these and didn't pledge for them, but I keep up with this project based on the fact that it is the one most likely to generate legal action. It's pretty far along in the process, so it will be the bellweather as far as what backers of other failed projects can do, and the results that we could expect. Those backers have been whipped into a frenzy for a long time, and I hope that they are successful because that will pave the way for others like us to pursue deadbeat criminals/thieves like Alex.
 

Re: Kickstarter "Successful Failures"
« Reply #64 on: April 16, 2014, 01:01:25 PM »
 

Fringe Doktor

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Thanks for the info everyone.  I'm not so concerned about making MY $ back as I am having someone locate this guy and put the screws on him to do something.  He can hide behind Kickstarter and the legal system, but there's got to be a way to make his life hell through the internet and literally through personal contact (not physical!).

 I'm sure my friend isn't the only one who funded for much more than I did.  Those are the people that should be made whole, even if it's just knowing that this guy won't be a part of our fun-based "society" again.  I would assume he has (had) a passion for this hobby to get to the point had did in these non-projects.  He should be ostracized and feel the loneliness!
(Homer Simpson voice)  Mmmmmmmmm - playing cards....
 

Re: Kickstarter "Successful Failures"
« Reply #65 on: April 16, 2014, 02:36:07 PM »
 

BiggerDee

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Your points and concerns are valid because although I don't think that it will ever be widespread, someone will look at the projects and realize that he/she could pretty much take money for free, without much in the was of repercussion. Something has to happen at some point to make this possibility an option with only a remote chance of happening, instead of the easy liklihood that it is currently. There's not much, if anything, in place to stop fradulent creators today, and that's very scary.
 

Re: Kickstarter "Successful Failures"
« Reply #66 on: April 17, 2014, 07:57:24 AM »
 

Loop Cuts

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I've been waiting on my loop cuts card clips for quite some time. They were successfully funded, however 7 months later - it hasn't jogged my memory up until now - nothings turned up and loop cuts website, the kickstarter user loopcuts, and robert butler have disappeared.

Hey Agera94, Please check your KS account if you haven't already.  I just saw this message and you should have a tracking number, or the clip by now for that matter.

Thanks