Hollywood Heat
Gottlieb, 1986Quoted from Gornkleschnitzer:Next-day air, internationally, when every transit service is massively bogged down due to the Covid situation. On his own dime, with only your word that you'll send the other parts back, when you are evidently a first-time customer.
How self-entitled can you get??
That’s exactly what I was thinking. Patience man PATIENCE
Lets just say if the op owned a CJ7 like the one I am working on, he would run out of patience and sources for parts, and people willing to sell him parts, before he would even get any of the right parts.
I ordered from them and got top quality stuff. Got stuck in customs for a bit. I ordered waaay ahead because they are made to order and things like this typically take time. I think he offered you a good solution. Call customs and try to get it released or be patient. Sorry.
As someone who sells parts online and ships all over the world as well as someone who buys a good bit online I fully understand buyers frustration when something doesn't arrive in a timely manner. However as a seller all a person can do is ship in a timely manner. Once shipped delivery time is TOTALLY outside of the sellers control. Typically if I ship something to someone and they ask "where is my package" or "why is this taking so long to get to me" my answer is to send them the tracking number and tell them "once shipped delivery time is outside of my control".
It is amazing how many people think sellers can contact the Postal Service or other shipping companies to "find out where a package is or why it is taking so long to be delivered". Buyers & sellers can get 100% the same information from shipping company (or post office). And that information is what ever shows up when you pull up the tracking number.
How is a seller a "bad seller" if there is a delay in shipping caused by customs or the shipping company (or a package gets lost)? That isn't the sellers problem - that is an issue with the Post Office or shipping companies service. What is so hard to understand about that?
So, to be clear, your issue is that he didn’t kiss your ass hard enough and go way into the red to get you your parts - while everyone else in the world is quagmired in the middle of a pandemic and waiting months for international mail on slow boats and stuck in customs containers - and then had the gall to talk to you like you were being a little bit of a Karen? I’m surprised he answered you at all, what with the tenacity of the nut speedbagging you were dealing him.
Of course, I could be wrong.
Quoted from Gryszzz:This.
They are straight up thieves and I wouldn't give em a fuckin penny. Blatantly stole artwork from a Pinsider and told him to kick rocks. Fuck them. I don't need any part that bad.
Thieves.
Uh OH now we have a new shit show! Tell em like it is Gryszz! 
Like everyone else here I can only say good things about Retro, their products and the service I've received from them. I've bought loads with them and other suppliers, never an issue. It does sometimes take time for shipping here to Australia, so would imagine its the same for the states but like other people have said the issue with customs is completely out of the sellers hands.
Did you get tracking information with your order? Most of my orders I got tracking and it shows when the item arrives at the port and is handed over to customs.
But yeah covid... sucks for everyone. I would not be blaming any sellers.
Quoted from Isochronic_Frost:On topic, Retro Refurbs is garbage
Pete blatantly steals artwork and regularly tells copyright holders to take a hike. He doesn’t give a shit who owns the rights to anything he produces and he has stolen alt designs from pinsiders and sold them for full profit.
Quoted from Gryszzz:This.
They are straight up thieves and I wouldn't give em a fuckin penny. Blatantly stole artwork from a Pinsider and told him to kick rocks. Fuck them. I don't need any part that bad.
Thieves.
Quoted from Gryszzz:Point in case. Pinsider Malenko and his alternate, and vastly superior, translite for SFII, was who I'm referring to. But thanks for speaking up. Any others get their shit stolen by this jizzmopper?
Quoted from Gryszzz:This motherfucker is a fucking thief. What else ya need to know?
As far as I can tell you are both referring to the Street Fighter II translite from several years ago, yes? Can't remember where it was posted but wasn't it revealed that Malenko actually stole the artwork from an artist on DeviantArt and then slapped the Gottlieb logo on it, which he was then selling on here without license from Gottlieb or giving any credit to the guy from DeviantArt?
That was a shitty thing to do, but typical of the angry mob hypocrites on here who do nothing but whinge, much like the OP.
If Pete did copy that translite then surely the issue with with the DeviantArt guy and not this other Pinsider?
I know that he's got several other artists and producers working with him for different projects and that all get license fees or some kind of royalties so I really don't know where your strange ideas come from. Actually had one of his guys design something custom for me on 2 occasions and they said Pete is good to work with.
Quoted from Meri-cah:I ordered from RetroRefurbs on May 19. Shipped May 29. Still stuck in customs in NY. Emailed USPS but no reply. I’m sure it’ll get here when it gets here.
It's Guaranteed not to get there anytime before then, or your money back.
Why should the vendor lose money on a transaction when shipping and customs is entirely out of their control. You didn’t like the response when you made a ludicrous request?
Quickly, find a mirror in your home. Now, take a good look and slap yourself as hard as you can.
I cannot imagine having to work in a large customer service department and have to interact with these nitwits on a daily basis. Entitled, whiny bitches.
Quoted from ferraristyle:All Im saying is if it was my business i would run it different. Its not, so run it how you want, but this is my experience I am posting about and if others were in the same boat you would probably feel the same way if you got sent the emails i was sent.
I know covid has this all messed up but to say things like...
"Thanks your dissappintment really helps...its not really the case of what you believe....we are not a charity".....and ultimately "go buy from someone else"
is no way to handle customer service from someone that its your first time customer.
My issue is not in the delay, Its with the wording of the response.
Here is what was sent to me by another company where I have been waiting even longer (since May 15)....
"If your order has still not arrived, we are happy to assist you however we can, including ordering you a free replacement order if necessary. Please reply to this email and we’ll continue holding your spot in the queue for a response from one of our Customer Success representatives"
That is why they call it customer service.
No doubt it will get here, eventually. Understand thats not my complaint. It could have been handled differently from a first time customers perspective.
Not all small businesses can just give away free shit just because you can’t wait. If he sent another, guess what it would take just as long to arrive!! Literally in the middle of a pandemic it amazes me threads like this exist. This forum is literally the definition of first world problems.
Quoted from Ripper:Malenko actually stole the artwork from an artist on DeviantArt and then slapped the Gottlieb logo on it
So here's the cliff notes of what actually happened:
I made an ALT translight for *MY* SFII machine. (I did a lot more than just slap a logo on it)
I posted pix, people wanted it, got a friend to print them. I made no money.
Magically RetroRetards sells a clone of it almost immediately.
I message Pete he says he'll sell the 3 he printed and then remove them from his website.
Its been years and he's still selling them.
I dislike him for lying to me, more than I dislike him for stealing my idea (and blatantly infringing on other people's copyrights)
That being said, the OP in this thread is off his rocker if he thinks any seller would do what he's asking.
Interesting on the copy right stuff. I have looked at the website to buy stuff but never pulled the trigger.
To the op, I have a tendency to discount people that only show one side of the argument. Only posting the responses from the supplier does not represent the full story, especially if one is getting angry. No way can the supplier help what is happening once it leaves their establishment.
Quoted from Malenko:So here's the cliff notes of what actually happened:
I made an ALT translight for *MY* SFII machine. (I did a lot more than just slap a logo on it)
I posted pix, people wanted it, got a friend to print them. I made no money.
Magically RetroRetards sells a clone of it almost immediately.
I message Pete he says he'll sell the 3 he printed and then remove them from his website.
Its been years and he's still selling them.
I dislike him for lying to me, more than I dislike him for stealing my idea (and blatantly infringing on other people's copyrights)
That being said, the OP in this thread is off his rocker if he thinks any seller would do what he's asking.
Hmm. Since we're living in the era of FACT CHECKING I've had to go dig up some old posts from the SFII topics to find out whats going on here. Seems like you did actually just rip someone else artwork AND infringed on copyrights and trademarks:
ce4f79eee91d5ea4d1435ede13c769a67d69d945 (resized).jpg
malenko2 (resized).jpg
maleko1 (resized).jpg
So evidently you had ripped off someone else work and were selling it on Pinside illegally. I see multiple violations:
Street Fighter characters (IP infringement)
Street Fighter logo (trademark infringement)
Gottlieb logo (trademark infringement)
Capcom logo (trademark infringement)
Reproduction of artistic works (copyright infringement)
Not only that but by selling them on Pinside you also put the ownwers of this website in jeopardy?
Sorry man, I don't want to get into an argument with you but neither you or Retro Refurb did the right thing. The difference is you lost all credibility and showed yourself as a hypocrite and a liar. Calling out other people for doing the same thing you are doing.
Someone here earlier pointed out the "entitled generation" and I think that very much applies in this case as well.
Quoted from Isochronic_Frost:On topic, Retro Refurbs is garbage
Pete blatantly steals artwork and regularly tells copyright holders to take a hike. He doesn’t give a shit who owns the rights to anything he produces and he has stolen alt designs from pinsiders and sold them for full profit.
Pete/Retro Refurbs is a scam artist scumbag, just not for the reasons OP has mentioned.
Shipping takes time, and I’ve had a package from France sit in customs about a month before they pushed it though, and it was just a plastic ramp. US customs is full of toddlers who rip your shit apart.
Are there any examples of this? I have purchased stuff from them before unaware
Quoted from Gryszzz:Point in case. Pinsider Malenko and his alternate, and vastly superior, translite for SFII, was who I'm referring to. But thanks for speaking up. Any others get their shit stolen by this jizzmopper?
Jizzmopper! this is now my word of the month.
Quoted from Ripper:Hmm. Since we're living in the era of FACT CHECKING I've had to go dig up some old posts from the SFII topics to find out whats going on here. Seems like you did actually just rip someone else artwork AND infringed on copyrights and trademarks:
[quoted image]
[quoted image]
[quoted image]
So evidently you had ripped off someone else work and were selling it on Pinside illegally. I see multiple violations:
Street Fighter characters (IP infringement)
Street Fighter logo (trademark infringement)
Gottlieb logo (trademark infringement)
Capcom logo (trademark infringement)
Reproduction of artistic works (copyright infringement)
Not only that but by selling them on Pinside you also put the ownwers of this website in jeopardy?
Sorry man, I don't want to get into an argument with you but neither you or Retro Refurb did the right thing. The difference is you lost all credibility and showed yourself as a hypocrite and a liar. Calling out other people for doing the same thing you are doing.
Someone here earlier pointed out the "entitled generation" and I think that very much applies in this case as well.
Ah so I see you’re going to ignore the fact that we just PROVED Pete stole artwork and lied, and instead make up some bullshit and not even attempt to have sound legal framework.
There are works on DeviantART that the creator can allow others to download and use under Creative Commons.
If Malenko produces a couple and doesn’t profit off them, that’s purely and totally legal, similar to how rethemes and homebrews don’t get hit with Cease and Desist letters because there are little clauses allowing personal use and artistic freedom without needing copyright.
Instead Mister “Entitled Generation” turned out to be the worst offender of being a hypocrite and liar and downvotes another who doesn’t agree with his blatantly untrue defense of a thief.
Here’s the ORIGINAL THREAD that Pete freaked out in and admitted that he doesn’t give a shit about IP and copyrights and told Rick to take a hike, and got his account on Pinside banned because he has about 3 brain cells left. https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/cabinet-decals-from-retro-refurbs
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/cabinet-decals-from-retro-refurbs/page/2#post-3666071
He disclosed he also gets these printed in some Far East country purposefully to avoid getting shutdown by copyright holders.
The guy is really a class act!
Ok so I've just skimmed through several pages of those links and I don't see Pete or anyone else from Retro freaking out? It's page after page of people praising his products with good feedback. Oh and that Malenko guy pops up to bitch about his shitty translite that he stole off DeviantArt. Actually every Retro Refurbs topic I've seen has at least one post from Malenko crying like a baby over this same repeating issue. For gods sake man, just move on. No one cares about your translite anyway.
Those topics are from nearly 4 years ago and I don't see any of the Williams games on his site. Maybe they worked things out with Rick? From what I see he sells hardly any original decals now, its all SideBlades and alternative translites.
But do you have proof that the artwork in question was licensed under Creative Commons? What about the trademark infringements? And how do we know Malenko was selling them for 0% profit? Regardless of profit margin, it's still a violation. I think you're very confused.
Sorry dude but your argument holds no weight whatsoever. In a time of a major worldwide crisis and business going under, all I see from you and the OP of this thread is attempt to cancel and trash someone else's business because you can't grow the hell up. Seems like the majority agree.
Quoted from pipes:This thread makes me want to buy something from Retro Refurbs.
I reken the SFII translite is a good choice 
seems really popular 
Got the cabinet decals for my Firepower a few months back. Shipping took a few weeks but it was worth the wait. Also with any existing machine there really isnt any "original" alternate artwork. Its all just a rip off or variation of whats already out there.
"Hey you stole my picture that I drew that looks exactly like that other picture someone else already drew!" 
Quoted from Ripper:Hmm. Since we're living in the era of FACT CHECKING Not only that but by selling them on Pinside you also put the ownwers of this website in jeopardy?
Quoted from Ripper:Oh and that Malenko guy pops up to bitch about his shitty translite that he stole off DeviantArt. Actually every Retro Refurbs topic I've seen has at least one post from Malenko crying like a baby over this same repeating issue. For gods sake man, just move on. No one cares about your translite anyway.
We're just talking in circles and you dont seem to care about facts/fact checking
Pete had a shop on here not me, so HE put the site at risk (your words)
My beef with Pete is that he gave me his word and didn't follow through. The rest doesn't matter.
And to note, the person was paypalling me as a thanks for putting up the colorization files FOR FREE for SFII and had nothing to do with the ALT.
You also seem to ignore that I said Pete shouldnt over night to the OP. <3
Quoted from Malenko:We're just talking in circles and you dont seem to care about facts/fact checking
Pete had a shop on here not me, so HE put the site at risk (your words)
My beef with Pete is that he gave me his word and didn't follow through. The rest doesn't matter.
And to note, the person was paypalling me as a thanks for putting up the colorization files FOR FREE for SFII and had nothing to do with the ALT.
You also seem to ignore that I said Pete shouldnt over night to the OP. <3
When did Retro Refurbs ever have a shop on Pinside?? I thought they only had their own website.
Either way, who cares man. It's done and dusted, and yeah at least we can all agree the OP is being ridiculous here.
Quoted from Ripper:omg lol and guess what just popped up in my fb feed....
https://www.facebook.com/retrorefurbsuk/
They are watching this thread it seems haha!
I see multiple violations:
Street Fighter characters (IP infringement)
Street Fighter logo (trademark infringement)
Gottlieb logo (trademark infringement)
Capcom logo (trademark infringement)
Reproduction of artistic works (copyright infringement)
haha!
GotBanned (resized).PNGQuoted from Ripper:omg lol and guess what just popped up in my fb feed....
https://www.facebook.com/retrorefurbsuk/
They are watching this thread it seems haha!
Yeah! And 50% off!
Gettem while they're hot.
Haha
I got some tron blades for them, they are nice, but I put them on too far from the back of the cabinet.. 
Oh well
Somebody needs to go to the Dr. and get a shot of perspective.
Nobody should be disagreeing that the vendors response was terse. He's human and entitled to have a bad day and seeing someone blaming him for something out of his control likely lit the fuse.
Lesson to be learned here. Text has no voice inflection. While the intent may be innocent the approach may come off harsh.
So, perspective wise there's a hell of a lot of worse things that could be happening to you OP. If this is the worst consider yourself lucky.
Quoted from henrydwh:Still ther, but I am not complaining!
ditto
That baywatch alternative is pretty good too. Covid or not, if I had a baywatch pin I would easily get that one.. wife wont mind one single bit.
Quoted from RWH:Gooone now
It's back! 
This is more of a general FYI statement regarding the current shipping situation as initially presented, and not any of the other issues being addressed in this thread.
I ship and order things both domestic and international on a regular basis, and even via standard US international mail. While it does vary from country to country, shipping is taking at a minimum 2-3 times longer than it did in pre-Covid days. I order regularly from Comet, and they are great in shipping same or next day at the very latest. What normally takes 4 or 5 days at most to receive, now typically takes between 14 and 21 days. This is not just a one time occurrence, but an every-time occurrence. Shipping to Canada, Europe, Australia, etc. is even worse. I've had packages recently that were apparently in limbo for 6-8 weeks before they were finally delivered. I also recently had a buyer in Australia who was purchasing about $100 in items, and he asked me to please send via FedEx since he too was aware of the USPS delays. When I quoted him $130+ directly from the FedEx site verses sub $30 for USPS, he decided he could wait.
During this time, I've filed about a half dozen tracking reports with the USPS. In every case, their response was basically that the item is in transit, but due to Covid-19 that these extended delays are to be expected. In every case, upon waiting long enough, the shipments did eventually reach their destinations. All of this to say that buyers need to be aware of and accept the extended shipping times, or it is on them to pay the extra fees if they prefer a quicker shipping method.
It was hard enough 3 years ago to make people happy, 100%, when I retired.
Something happened 3 years ago that changed people.
I shipped 6 packages in March, overseas. from Auctions. Last delivery received was last week.
One still stuck going to France, 97 days now approx.
Total BS because of "ME/Im Special".....86 emails, and 42 phone calls....Hours, because of similar situation.
To resolve the last issue, I had to write to Mr. Fields, Owner of Fedex. A Personal Secretary called back and solved.
34 of those calls went to Fedex with no help.
Quoted from Acronymicon:Mine has been stuck in NY customs for a week now; this thread is discouraging lol
We are victims of circumstance. Nyuck nyuck.
Mine was stuck in NY customs for about 2 weeks and just got notification it’s moving again stateside.
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