HERO RESTORATION - BOOKS NOT BEING RETURNED 20 20

[Flanders82]

On 6/9/2023 at 8:08 PM, WolverineX said:

Ugh, did anyone else have troubles with him before you?  Or is this a sudden change?  Seems like a lot of people have sent stuff to him.

Shouldn't CGC be made aware of this since he advertises himself as an authorized dealer? I know that some may say it's a bit naive suggesting CGC has business ethics, but haven't they refused to associate with certain comic book restorers in the past?

Edit: I removed my statement saying there may been a theft and a crime commited by the business owner. If contacting the business directly doesn't lead to a satisfactory response, I would still contact the insurance company. 

Edited June 19, 2023 by Flanders82

[thehumantorch]

On 6/9/2023 at 6:41 PM, NP_Gresham said:

Sent him the book in 2019

After numerous calls and emails I get an email in 2022 saying “Your book is started and I will send you updates as it goes along

Then nothing. 
 
At this point I know it is gone. And spending Lawyer money is a waste of time. If he filed for bankruptcy then it is all over. He becomes immune.

Oh well expensive lesson

That's awful.

[NP_Gresham]

I should have taken pictures of the book, but the boardie who sold it to me had one.

For what it is worth, a 1.8 trimmed on all sides. Seemed worth the flier, oh well guess NOT

 

[Sauce Dog]

Lots of stuff going on in this thread, lots of it outright bonkers wrong, so I'll try to shed some light on it. I've used Mike for restoration a few times, specifically as trade for my services as his web developer on a few projects. I've never met him in person, but have spoken with him over the phone regarding the business.

He had MAJOR issues with the staff, including some of the senior staff that was causing billing issues and racking up massive hours for work they were doing while not finishing the work on time and to quality (my book was one of the ones impacted), and thus had to be let go leaving him without key roles that he now has to also juggle personally. This all came right after he was able to expand and open the new location, which caused a countless amount of issues - both financial and stressful, culminating in his heart attack that left him unable to work for weeks. This impacted many projects, mainly the long term major restoration projects (one of which is mine that has been with him since 2020), and as a result he is no longer taking on ANY restoration work - the only work being taken on is pressing which can use to keep the lights on while catching up on everything else. The brand new equipment all purchased for the new location was a huge investment, much of it custom built for it, and has to be liquidated just to keep afloat (I know this because he offered it to me, but unfortunately while I would have jumped at the chance I live out of the country and also in a smaller apartment that can't fit a massive suction/wash table of my dreams). Likewise, due to him having to take on so many key roles and financially strapped he is unable to train new people for the roles. Between a rock and a hard place. Oh, and he also got royally screwed over by his other web developer that was hired after I did initial work (and then I later came back to help salvage the damage done)

He has already been threatened with lawsuits by at least one client wanting their book back, which I cannot get into, but will say yes it is justified to be angry but there is zero theft going on (I never hear of any other stuff like the AF15 in this thread before, maybe it was before my time?) - sure you can be pedantic and say not mailing things back in a timely manner is theft, but he is simply overwhelmed and cannot manage the planning of both pressing, packaging up / scheduling returns himself that well (there are other things impacting this which I once again do not feel I have the right to disclose - suffice to say though once I learned about them everything made sense why returns were not happening as easy as one would expect).

It sucks lots of our books are super late and delayed, but he is actively trying to do right and get books done and back to clients. Nobody has lost their books or been ripped off, they are just stuck in bog of someones worst misfortune of their lives. He is trying to restructure the business in order to only pivot to pressing (this is where I come in, I have been helping Mike with web work for years now) but even that is a slow grind due to just trying to keep his head above water (he also has another surgery coming up which he has been prepping for and delaying things...so big major work has been pushed to be picked back up this fall)

The dog eating chickens most likely is true, I know he raises chickens as well as a hobby...and my parents lost many a chicks as well to the family dog.

 

Edited June 24, 2023 by Sauce Dog

[NP_Gresham]

On 6/9/2023 at 8:08 PM, WolverineX said:

Ugh, did anyone else have troubles with him before you?  Or is this a sudden change?  Seems like a lot of people have sent stuff to him.

He pressed about 500 Bronze for me about 8-9 years ago. Got a lot of 9.8’s. 
But pressed drek does not translate to handling high priced books responsibly

[Flanders82]

On 6/9/2023 at 8:31 PM, Sauce Dog said:

Lots of stuff going on in this thread, lots of it outright bonkers wrong, so I'll try to shed some light on it.

I actually used to be the king of putting my foot in my mouth, but I thought this was remedied years ago. I'm glad you've provided an update, so I can stop making assumptions. That being said, I don't know him or you, so my advice about contacting the insurance company remains the same, especially if I paid him $3200 four years ago and didn't have my money or my property back. 

Edited June 10, 2023 by Flanders82

[Nick Furious]

On 6/9/2023 at 9:55 PM, Flanders82 said:

if he has an active insurance policy,

I would give 10 to 1 odds against an active insurance policy.  

[Sauce Dog]

On 6/9/2023 at 11:51 PM, Flanders82 said:

I actually used to be the king of putting my foot in my mouth, but I thought this was remedied years ago. I'm glad you've provided an update, so I can stop making assumptions. That being said, I don't know him or you, so my advice about contacting the insurance company remains the same, especially if I paid him $3200 four years ago and didn't have my money or my property back. 

Yeah I honestly think the solutions for many involved here, in order to feel secure in their property, will be different depending on the circumstance - so I am very hesitate to give out suggestions on what else to do beyond 'keep waiting' (which I know isn't much good to those already frustrated with the experience) but totally get that reaching out to insurance might be ones best option. I do recognize that my situation is very different from other paying customers though, as everything I have out with him is being done in exchange for past work rendered (so I technically don't have money invested at this point, only time, and one book he still has in his possession that I have received slow updates on and know it is being worked on when possible)

Edited June 10, 2023 by Sauce Dog

[Kamenliter]

On 6/9/2023 at 11:31 PM, Sauce Dog said:

Lots of stuff going on in this thread, lots of it outright bonkers wrong, so I'll try to shed some light on it. I've used Mike for restoration a few times, specifically as trade for my services as his web developer on a few projects. I've never met him in person, but have spoken with him over the phone regarding the business.

He had MAJOR issues with the staff, including some of the senior staff that was causing billing issues and racking up massive hours for work they were doing while not finishing the work on time and to quality (my book was one of the ones impacted), and thus had to be let go leaving him without key roles that he now has to also juggle personally. This all came right after he was able to expand and open the new location, which caused a countless amount of issues - both financial and stressful, culminating in his heart attack that left him unable to work for weeks. This impacted many projects, mainly the long term major restoration projects (one of which is mine that has been with him since 2018), and as a result he is no longer taking on ANY restoration work - the only work being taken on is pressing which can use to keep the lights on while catching up on everything else. The brand new equipment all purchased for the new location was a huge investment, much of it custom built for it, and has to be liquidated just to keep afloat (I know this because he offered it to me, but unfortunately while I would have jumped at the chance I live out of the country and also in a smaller apartment that can't fit a massive suction/wash table of my dreams). Likewise, due to him having to take on so many key roles and financially strapped he is unable to train new people for the roles. Between a rock and a hard place. Oh, and he also got royally screwed over by his other web developer that was hired after I did initial work (and then I later came back to help salvage the damage done)

He has already been threatened with lawsuits by at least one client wanting their book back, which I cannot get into, but will say yes it is justified to be angry but there is zero theft going on (I never hear of any other stuff like the AF15 in this thread before, maybe it was before my time?) - sure you can be pedantic and say not mailing things back in a timely manner is theft, but he is simply overwhelmed and cannot manage the planning of both pressing, packaging up / scheduling returns himself that well (there are other things impacting this which I once again do not feel I have the right to disclose - suffice to say though once I learned about them everything made sense why returns were not happening as easy as one would expect).

It sucks lots of our books are super late and delayed, but he is actively trying to do right and get books done and back to clients. Nobody has lost their books or been ripped off, they are just stuck in bog of someones worst misfortune of their lives. He is trying to restructure the business in order to only pivot to pressing (this is where I come in, I have been helping Mike with web work for years now) but even that is a slow grind due to just trying to keep his head above water (he also has another surgery coming up which he has been prepping for and delaying things...so big major work has been pushed to be picked back up this fall)

The dog eating chickens most likely is true, I know he raises chickens as well as a hobby...and my parents lost many a chicks as well to the family dog.

 

Thanks for all this background. It gives me a bit of hope; it would have helped if the communication on his end was more transparent; I’ve heard good things and bad aside from books not getting returned. A good friend of mine got some books back not long ago that he said seem to have not been cleaned at all; a number of posts in that vein on Facebook as well of books coming back that didn’t seem to have any work done to them. 
 

That might be the result of these subpar new hires. I sent him a few books in 2018 and they were retuned in a timely manner and looked good to my eyes at the time. As I’ve now been pressing and cleaning my own books I’m more discerning.

Well, let’s see. His message from earlier today said he was packing them up. Tomorrow I hope to have that tracking # confirmation. 

[wombat]

On 6/9/2023 at 11:31 PM, Sauce Dog said:

Lots of stuff going on in this thread, lots of it outright bonkers wrong, so I'll try to shed some light on it. I've used Mike for restoration a few times, specifically as trade for my services as his web developer on a few projects. I've never met him in person, but have spoken with him over the phone regarding the business.

He had MAJOR issues with the staff, including some of the senior staff that was causing billing issues and racking up massive hours for work they were doing while not finishing the work on time and to quality (my book was one of the ones impacted), and thus had to be let go leaving him without key roles that he now has to also juggle personally. This all came right after he was able to expand and open the new location, which caused a countless amount of issues - both financial and stressful, culminating in his heart attack that left him unable to work for weeks. This impacted many projects, mainly the long term major restoration projects (one of which is mine that has been with him since 2018), and as a result he is no longer taking on ANY restoration work - the only work being taken on is pressing which can use to keep the lights on while catching up on everything else. The brand new equipment all purchased for the new location was a huge investment, much of it custom built for it, and has to be liquidated just to keep afloat (I know this because he offered it to me, but unfortunately while I would have jumped at the chance I live out of the country and also in a smaller apartment that can't fit a massive suction/wash table of my dreams). Likewise, due to him having to take on so many key roles and financially strapped he is unable to train new people for the roles. Between a rock and a hard place. Oh, and he also got royally screwed over by his other web developer that was hired after I did initial work (and then I later came back to help salvage the damage done)

He has already been threatened with lawsuits by at least one client wanting their book back, which I cannot get into, but will say yes it is justified to be angry but there is zero theft going on (I never hear of any other stuff like the AF15 in this thread before, maybe it was before my time?) - sure you can be pedantic and say not mailing things back in a timely manner is theft, but he is simply overwhelmed and cannot manage the planning of both pressing, packaging up / scheduling returns himself that well (there are other things impacting this which I once again do not feel I have the right to disclose - suffice to say though once I learned about them everything made sense why returns were not happening as easy as one would expect).

It sucks lots of our books are super late and delayed, but he is actively trying to do right and get books done and back to clients. Nobody has lost their books or been ripped off, they are just stuck in bog of someones worst misfortune of their lives. He is trying to restructure the business in order to only pivot to pressing (this is where I come in, I have been helping Mike with web work for years now) but even that is a slow grind due to just trying to keep his head above water (he also has another surgery coming up which he has been prepping for and delaying things...so big major work has been pushed to be picked back up this fall)

The dog eating chickens most likely is true, I know he raises chickens as well as a hobby...and my parents lost many a chicks as well to the family dog.

 

From what we know he is a liar and a thief. Unless you are calling others in this thread liars. None of what you said makes any difference. He has stolen books. Big deal you know him. That means absolutely nothing. Everyone goes through hard times. Does that mean you lie multiple times to people telling them your book is getting packed up and shipped? He has had that AF15 for YEARS. You think that is OK?

[Sauce Dog]

On 6/10/2023 at 12:08 AM, wombat said:

From what we know he is a liar and a thief. Unless you are calling others in this thread liars. None of what you said makes any difference. He has stolen books. Big deal you know him. That means absolutely nothing. Everyone goes through hard times. Does that mean you lie multiple times to people telling them your book is getting packed up and shipped? He has had that AF15 for YEARS. You think that is OK?

I'm just sharing what I know, as maybe the only person here that has direct line and experience with his operations. What you "know" is from others being disappointed and posting online, which is fair & valid, but that ain't worth much either on the internet nor does it paint anything close to a complete story (which I'm trying to offer some info to all here to fill some holes)

Him failing to get books out when he says so isn't necessarily lying, just horrible business practice and management. Still fair to be pissed at that, but I've seen no evidence of actual theft yet other than people saying things being super late counts as theft.

[wombat]

On 6/10/2023 at 12:14 AM, Sauce Dog said:

I'm just sharing what I know, as maybe the only person here that has direct line and experience with his operations. What you "know" is from others being disappointed and posting online, which is fair & valid, but that ain't worth much either on the internet nor does it paint anything close to a complete story (which I'm trying to offer some info to all here to fill some holes)

Him failing to get books out when he says so isn't necessarily lying, just horrible business practice and management. Still fair to be pissed at that, but I've seen no evidence of actual theft yet other than people saying things being super late counts as theft.

Come on man. Telling someone over and over you are packing up their books is lying. People are posting they are getting books back that don't appear to have even been worked on. You don't think he stole their money? Let me guess. That is just being so unorganized he doesn't remember which books he worked on. He didn't do it on purpose, right? You say you have seen no evidence of actual theft. Why would you see it? Are you so embedded in his business that you would know that?

[Nick Furious]

My best guess on the delays is not that he is a thief but that he's trying to recover books that are missing.  Possibly taken by former staff members who were let go.  He sounds like a guy who has a skill, but should not be running a business of any significant size.  Taking full payment upfront, he likely used the float for cash flow and created a bit of a Ponzi scheme that collapsed.  When money runs out, the hole just keeps getting deeper and anything can happen.  Insurance payments stop.  Books go missing, they get used as collateral for loans, aggrieved employees take or intentionally misplace things...

[Sauce Dog]

On 6/10/2023 at 12:17 AM, wombat said:

Come on man. Telling someone over and over you are packing up their books is lying. People are posting they are getting books back that don't appear to have even been worked on. You don't think he stole their money? Let me guess. That is just being so unorganized he doesn't remember which books he worked on. He didn't do it on purpose, right? You say you have seen no evidence of actual theft. Why would you see it? Are you so embedded in his business that you would know that?

Once again, I'm not at liberty to explain some of the reasons why packaging and mailing books out doesn't happen on schedule (but the reason for it to me is very valid, and I am personally very sympathetic in this specific case, this doesn't help anyone here but for me I get it and can look past it on my books and invoices). 

I'm just telling you all what I know (well, what I can share comfortably at least with strangers), your frustrations are all valid though and should keep pushing to get your items back as however best way you think works for you.


 

[Sauce Dog]

On 6/10/2023 at 12:22 AM, Nick Furious said:

My best guess on the delays is not that he is a thief but that he's trying to recover books that are missing.  Possibly taken by former staff members who were let go.  He sounds like a guy who has a skill, but should not be running a business of any significant size.  Taking full payment upfront, he likely used the float for cash flow and created a bit of a Ponzi scheme that collapsed.  When money runs out, the hole just keeps getting deeper and anything can happen.  Insurance payments stop.  Books go missing, they get used as collateral for loans, aggrieved employees take or intentionally misplace things...

There is some truth here, and I will also add another 'possible' issue of cash flow: Not being paid in full at the start of a job, doing the work but it taking much longer than expected, and then the client NOT wanting to pay thousands of $$$ since it is late now and demanding the book back (either before completion or after fully complete, either way...work isn't paid for).

[Nick Furious]

On 6/9/2023 at 11:29 PM, Sauce Dog said:

There is some truth here, and I will also add another 'possible' issue of cash flow: Not being paid in full at the start of a job, doing the work but it taking much longer than expected, and then the client NOT wanting to pay thousands of $$$ since it is late now and demanding the book back (either before completion or after fully complete, either way...work isn't paid for).

True, unpaid accounts receivables is definitely another common way for a seemingly successful small business to run out of money.  Along with using the float to finance overhead and expansion.  

[wombat]

Now its all the customers fault for not paying. Just spin the wheel of excuses. We already have dog ate the chickens. I guess dog ate the books is next. 

[thehumantorch]

On 6/9/2023 at 10:14 PM, Sauce Dog said:

I'm just sharing what I know, as maybe the only person here that has direct line and experience with his operations. What you "know" is from others being disappointed and posting online, which is fair & valid, but that ain't worth much either on the internet nor does it paint anything close to a complete story (which I'm trying to offer some info to all here to fill some holes)

Him failing to get books out when he says so isn't necessarily lying, just horrible business practice and management. Still fair to be pissed at that, but I've seen no evidence of actual theft yet other than people saying things being super late counts as theft.

I can appreciate that you’re standing up for someone you know is struggling and I think we all appreciate the information you’ve provided.  
 

But holding collector’s property for years and failing to return it when requested would fall into the realm of theft to me.

[TheBook]

Just want to add my experience to balance things out.

I sent 50 books to Mike. (1) set of 25 books to Oregon and (1) set of 25 to NJ.

It took numerous phone calls and emails to all his staff over the course of almost 2 years to start getting the books back.

So far I've gotten back about 40 books. Still missing a few but after reading all the other stories I feel like I'm not doing too bad.

If you choose legal action or reporting to the local authorities I also suggest contacting the HERO offices on a weekly basis so that you cover all bases and give him a "way out".

I personally will keep emailing him and his "staff" for the other books and I suggest others do the same.

Hopefully everyone gets their books back. At this point he can keep the fees I just want my books.

Good luck y'all.

[Gaard]

Communication is key. To leave people hanging while you have their books (worth $1000s) is very bad.