Hong Kong
Has anyone ordered any parts from this company recently?
(Topic ID: 90620)
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All American Odd Ball
A.A. Amusements, 1988
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Berkeley Heights, NJ
Quoted from charsiufan:
Has anyone ordered any parts from this company recently?
Recently or not, if you're not 'Murican or the occasionally lucky Canadian, I'd look elsewhere. If you've already ordered... good luck.
http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/search?s=1&q=mad+amusements#results
I must be one of the lucky ones 
Never had a problem and ordered from them numerous times. From what I have heard on pinside, the wheels seem to fall off on international orders.
I have bought from them with an overall great transaction. There was a defective set of reproduction pieces but they sent me new ones with no problems. However: as Blackjacker has already pointed out, there has been many a thread about purchases going outside of the USA. I would strongly suggest you view a few and decide if this is the route you want to go or not.
Quoted from Foo:
No worries unless you are non US. Then I hear there might be problems.
OP's location is listed as Hong Kong...
Oh this doesn't look good. Yes, I placed an order in March of around $500. Still hasn't been shipped. I get a vague reply from 'Mike' at MAD over email usually 1 to 2 weeks after I send it. Last email I had was May 2nd requesting I cover some extra charges (which I've agreed to do) but nothing since then. Have called their office multiple times but its always voicemail.
Guess I should have done a search on this forum first! Any advice on how to complete this transaction or is this simply dead money?
Orleans, ON
I initially paid by PayPal when I placed the order. Mike said there was $60 extra shipping so I had to wire the full amount to him. He did refund the PayPal order. He has confirmed he has received the wired money but since then radio silence...
No, hasn't sent anything. Said the amount received was US$25 less than I wired across. I did pay all bank charges on my side but figured what's another $25 - so agreed to pay it. He did say he would give me details of his bank so I could argue it out with them but I know that wouldn't get me anywhere.
He said he would send me a Paypal invoice for $25 but that was two weeks ago and he hasn't responded to any mails or calls since then. This does follow a pattern though but I'm getting tired of chasing every step of the way. I was in New Jersey only a couple of weeks ago so was trying to get it shipped locally but he wouldn't send me Western Union payment details saying this 'raised a flag'. He also did at one point cancel the order because I had complained about his service but reinstated it when I pointed out I'd never made any comment on his service either good or bad.
Found this article - http://www.state.nj.us/lottery/multimedia/photos_singin_event.htm - given he's won $40k on the lottery maybe he's having some R&R somewhere a bit sunny! I assume its the same Mike Ducker as the pasty looking chap on the second row who speaks of his coin op business in Brick, NJ.
Initially was via Paypal (around $450) when I placed the order on the site. It does state that there may be extra charges for International orders which is fair. Mike cancelled and refunded the Paypal order in full and asked for the $450 and extra shipping charges to be wired to his bank account.
for starters he shouldnt have cancelled and refunded. why cant he accept paypal, especially when you are paying the extra charges anyway ?.. then you have to go to the effort of doing a wire transfer. would have been a lot more secure at your end, going via paypal.
you still have the receipt from your bank for the transfer though yes?
Got this note from Mike early April - this was in response to my note asking him for the wire transfer details.
"As mentioned in the original email, the entire amount for the parts and
shipping needs to be paid with either Western Union or a bank wire
transfer. We can not accept Paypal or credit cards through Paypal due to
the value of the order, as mentioned in our shipping terms and in the
email below. Your entire Paypal payment will be refunded.
The 2 shipping options for your order are:
- USPS EMS Express (Averages 5 business days to arrive to your country
from when the order ships; not including customs clearance): $118.90
- USPS Priority International (Averages 10 business days to arrive to your
country from when the order ships; not including customs clearance):
$109.95
Please confirm which shipping method you prefer and we will send you all
of the details that you will need to make the bank wire transfer.
Thanks,
Mike"
you have a receipt from your bank for the wire transfer?
i would keep emailing him. requesting for items purchased and paid for, to be sent.
Two weeks later hearing nothing from him he sends me this:
"I apologize for the delay. We had numerous issues with our webmail after
an automatic update and we were unable to access email for nearly 4 days.
We are working as quickly as possible to catch up.
Please let me know if you prefer to use a bank wire transfer or Western
Union and I will send you all of the details to make it easy to pay.
Thanks,
Mike"
I asked a couple of times for the payment details and he replied:
"As previously mentioned, both a bank wire transfer and Western Union can
be done online without going anywhere. The information required for each
type of payment transfer is unique and personal. We serve over 9000
customers and handle orders and inquiries in the order that they were
received. We will simply cancel this order outright since you seem to be
unhappy anyway."
I replied saying I hadn't made any opinion of his service but it is now nearly May and I still don't have payment details and he responded:
"I sent 2 emails asking if you would prefer paying with a bank wire
transfer or Western Union so we can send you the appropriate details.
Your reply said to send the information for both, which is a bit awkward
and it raises a red flag on our end."
But no payment details. He reinstated the order and sent through the bank wire details which I paid. He did say he would be responsible for all bank charges his end but turns out I needed to pay another $25 to cover his costs. I have offered to do so.... nothing back since May 2nd.
Quoted from ledge:
you have a receipt from your bank for the wire transfer?
Yes, I have the transfer receipt...
well hes confirmed hes received your wired bank transfer. so the balls in his court to send out the items ordered. have you got an order no. or email confirmation for your order?
Quoted from freddy:
never an issue and gummy candy too yum yum!
I'd settle for just the candy at this point
Yep - order no #017671
As is on the wire transfer I paid in full ($475.50) and it shows I paid all the senders fees separately. He does state he'll pay all fees his end but appears not to be the case. He replied:
"We received a bank wire transfer in the amount of $451.50, which is
exactly $25.00 short from the total net amount that was supposed to be
sent. Here are the details from our banking statement:
04/29/2014 CREDIT WIRE TRANSFER INCOMING $451.50
Here is the information regarding this charge that was deducted from the
payment we received:
"Please make sure that the total net amount sent is $476.50. We have had
some cases where there is a processing or transfer fee deducted from the
amount sent to us, with is the sender's responsibility. If the sender
does not cover this fee when the funds are sent, the fee is withdrawn from
the total amount that we receive. There is a separate incoming wire
transfer fee, which we are responsible for. Any other fees for sending
the wire transfer are the customer's responsibility."
There is a $25.00 balance due for your order. This balance can be paid
with Paypal. Please let me know which email address to send the invoice
to. ***Please do NOT send a payment without receiving an invoice.***"
I haven't yet received the PayPal invoice. I've asked for it 3 times and called his office a few times too.
I'd settle for just the candy at this point
how many pinball machines have you seen in HK? how did you get your shadow?
Total seen: 1 (The Shadow) in over 20 years of living here. They are big machines, space is tight, there is no local support for maintenance and getting parts shipped seems to be a bit of a pain... So I was surprised to come across it.
It was advertised for sale in a local classifieds paper back in February and I thought ... why not.
I've since managed to track down another site member here who has 2 or 3 machines in HK and found out there is one arcade in Kowloon with 4 machines. Keep meaning to get over there to take a look.
never an issue and gummy candy too yum yum!
Freddy - are you offering to nudge this one over the line? I'll send you any gummy candies by way of thank you 
Total seen: 1 (The Shadow) in over 20 years of living here. They are big machines, space is tight, there is no local support for maintenance and getting parts shipped seems to be a bit of a pain... So I was surprised to come across it.
crazy stuff. I was guessing you shipped it. cool find.
Pinball News article with a spot that has some new Sterns.
http://www.pinballnews.com/sites/americanpool/index.html
Unfortunately all overseas orders with this manufacturer always seem to go the same way. To the original poster, unfortunately the only way to resolve this is to contact the appropriate authorities. That always seems to get him moving. At this point you will be luck to get a refund or the parts you ordered. I have been following a few of his overseas transactions where he ripped multiple people off. He always uses the excuse of his email was hacked or there is always some problem with the email. It's funny that his email seems to work fine for the US customers.
Whats nearly as bad as the man himself are the people who support him and continue to purchase from him when its clear he runs a shady business. Just because you get your order timely and he throws in gummy candies does not discount the fact that he screws overseas customers all the time. This is like having a person who abuses people in one country, but is nice to people in the US. Just because he is nice to a US citizen does not make him a better person or excuse him from his actions. If people stop buying from him, this would all go away. Never once does he come on to defend himself or explain why. If he truly won the lottery, that is a shame. No one is less deserving in my opinion.
Quoted from sanctumwear:
crazy stuff. I was guessing you shipped it. cool find. Pinball News article with a spot that has some new Sterns.
http://www.pinballnews.com/sites/americanpool/index.html
Yes this is the arcade in Kowloon I was referring to. I came across the same article and dropped a note to the editor for more details. I've been trying to get in touch with the management there to find out more about their set up and how they service machines etc. Will head down when I have a chance. I'd be amazed if there machines made them any money but they seem to update them regularly. My guess is its as must as a hobby as a business. Their rent in that location must be astronomical.
Quoted from doublestack:
Never had an issue, used them quite a bit for vids.
How do you get in touch?
Regardless of what seller you posted this about, I'd say this...
I spend my money where it's appreciated. Places that welcome my business, and treat me like a valued customer, not a hassle.
There are other suppliers. If you aren't happy with one, try another.
I don't disagree. This is a learning experience. I've dealt with some other suppliers and they were superb - parts shipped in 24 hours. Unfortunately none of them were able to ship the parts I now need. Mad had.them i on the surface appeared to be a bona fide organisation. If taking them at face value has cost me $500, so be it. All part of the learning experience.
And it benefits all the US customers. Easy to offer low prices and delightful gummy bears if you are getting subsidiaries from unhappy overseas customers who pay up and don't get their products.
I personally won't deal with MAD. At this point, he probably wouldn't sell to me anyways, as I've been vocal about how he treats his international customers.
I believe everyone I've seen post problems with MAD eventually got their stuff, so don't lose hope. But, in the future, if you need something and MAD's your only choice, post here on Pinside and perhaps someone can help you find it somewhere else.
Very strange. I have ordered from him for years with no issues. He should not accept international orders if he doesnt want to deal with it. I am now very leary about ordering from them in the future.
I recently placed an order. I got many updated emails. I received my order in a timely fashion. Once the order arrived everything was as it should be. The order was correct and well packed. I would do business with Mad in a heartbeat.
Quoted from TomGWI:
Just curious, when did you send the wire transfer?
29th April - take a look at the post above. I included the receipt. Mike did acknowledge he has received the funds.
It doesn't surprise me when someone new posts asking about MAD, but it constantly surprises me when people post again and again "never a problem" as if that negates that fact that so many have had serious problems with them. I'm sure Jeffrey Dahmer had close friends too, so he was OK.
Quoted from toddsvec:
It doesn't surprise me when someone new posts asking about MAD, but it constantly surprises me when people post again and again "never a problem" as if that negates that fact that so many have had serious problems with them. I'm sure Jeffrey Dahmer had close friends too, so he was OK.
I couldn't agree more! Every time something bad happens with this clown, all these people chime in saying they've never had issues. Just wait people, you'll see his true colors eventually.
There's a pattern here, folks!
If a vendor in Germany screwed you on a deal, you'd be on the forums in Germany, telling your story, and would be pissed if the fellow Germans stood up for them.
It doesn't shine a positive light on us Americans. 'Hey, I'm sorry you got screwed, but did I tell you I got mine?'
It doesn't shine a positive light on pinball. It doesn't shine a positive light on mankind!
It's simple.
If MAD wants business from outside the US, he needs to treat those customers like they are valued customers.
If he doesn't want the business, then he should just explain that, and not take it.
Earn our dollars, we will gladly hand them over for quality parts and service!
29th April - take a look at the post above. I included the receipt. Mike did acknowledge he has received the funds.
I couldn't see the hand writing.
And you haven't been able to contact him since or did he say your items shipped?
He says he placed the order in March and "still hasn't shipped". The fact he refunded the PayPal payment and required a wire transfer tells me a few things:
1. MAD knows a PayPal payment for items not received can easily be disputed and won, unless of course they ship in a method that's tracked, which is expensive. What they do is use recycled excuse after excuse to delay a claim, so the 45 days pass and it's too late. The customer is out of luck.
2. A wire transfer has no protection. It's like handing cash to a stranger, which in essence is what happened. There's no legitimate reason to demand a wire transfer over PayPal payment, except to skirt buyer protection and save PayPal fees.
I hope you get your order. Since you said you wired in April 29th, it's "just" been two weeks. But MAD has a history, and it's not a good one.
He says he placed the order in March and "still hasn't shipped". The fact he refunded the PayPal payment and required a wire transfer tells me a few things:
1. MAD knows a PayPal payment for items not received can easily be disputed and won, unless of course they ship in a method that's tracked, which is expensive. What they do is use recycled excuse after excuse to delay a claim, so the 45 days pass and it's too late. The customer is out of luck.
2. A wire transfer has no protection. It's like handing cash to a stranger, which in essence is what happened. There's no legitimate reason to demand a wire transfer over PayPal payment, except to skirt buyer protection and save PayPal fees.
I hope you get your order. Since you said you wired in April 29th, it's "just" been two weeks. But MAD has a history, and it's not a good one.
Thanks.
Never had a problem with MAD. Shipping costs are a bit steep, but other than that, they're good for some more unusual parts.
It doesn't surprise me when someone new posts asking about MAD, but it constantly surprises me when people post again and again "never a problem" as if that negates that fact that so many have had serious problems with them. I'm sure Jeffrey Dahmer had close friends too, so he was OK.
And they still keep on coming.
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