I agree and think Baron is clearly over his head. My last deal was a bit of a mess with some compensation parts thrown in later.
He has done so many great deals for people on the list that we need to cut him some slack.
Baron's Ebay alter ego Banana Brain did something close to 5000 transactions last year with 98% satisfaction (not especially stellar but not bad either) with the same complaints. But Ebay is brutal if you don't deliver.
Add to that the retail shop and move to the US, complaints of medical problems, and you just have to hope life gets better.
Joe Bender-Zanoni Great Notch, NJ
If you look at his oroboyz@aol.com wrote:
> Here's the deal. (...in my highly speculative opinion)
>
> They are great, sincere, enthusiastic folks who FAIL TO COMMUNICATE!
>
> And who have gotten in over their heads..
>
> Just like a few other CR sellers, they promise more than they can deliver, out of optimism and naivete, not dishonesty. But then, when they are waaay behind and unable to deliver as promised, instead of communication, they have dodged it all, thinking they "would catch up soon and everything will then be OK."
>
> So a few of you have had a bad experience.
>
> My advice, keep cutting them some slack and they will eventually come through. Remind them nicely and things will be OK. Get abusive (as you may think you have the right) and things go to hell in a hand basket fast...
>
> I am telling you folks, it just ain't easy being a retailer! :)
> Dale Brown
> cycles de ORO, Inc.
> 1410 Mill Street
> Greensboro, North Carolina 27408 USA
> 336.274.5959
> http://www.cyclesdeoro.com
> http://www.classicrendezvous.com
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Nipponcomet@wmconnect.com
> To: cgallegro@charter.net; Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
> Sent: Tue, 2 Jan 2007 6:13 PM
> Subject: Re: [CR]Baron and Cecile Corpuz
>
> sorry for the bummer craig...as a former bicycle shop owner i would say that
> there are some basic tenets that apply to all business(men,
> people,women)....be they sellers over the internet or at a bricks and mortar
> operation....when
> i first read the lengthy email the "baron" posted to this site about bringing
> a container of parts to america (lots of goodies mentioned) i was skeptical of
> what he claimed he woulld be able to do...i think he started off on the wrong
> foot... w/ grabbing people to help him load the container deep into the
> night, he himself suffering injury...his description of the "help" sounded to me
>
> that he didn't really know everyone all that well and he was rushing to jam
> everything in to meet a deadline. he didn't paint a very organized picture of
> his
> move w/ tons of valuables, many seeming to be bundles of tires but lots of
> small stuff...who knows if everything actually made it into the container, and
> maybe those are parts he is scratching his head over now and can't deliver...he
> himself could have been a victim of a swindle, discovered long after the
> culprits vanished into the night...BUT, that does not relieve him of his
> obligation
> to be forthright w/ us...of those that have said they have just given up i am
> curious....did you place an order, send money, and not receive your
> goods???...or did you place an order, and merely have not received your goods???
> there
> is a hugh difference between the two that is not being made clear enough for
> me to cast this couple to "bicycle hell"....are they old, confused, and basicly
> overwhelmed w/ the job they signed up for???...or are they selectively
> ripping people off for 50 bucks here and 50 bucks there???... that i would like
> to
> know so that we can take a chance w/ them or not,#1 based on whether they are
> stealing money, or #2 are poor business people who lose email addresses, don't
> return email inquieries, but generally would fall into the organizationally
> challenged catagory but good meaning...i've had to deal w/ a few stinker ebay
> sellers over the years but mostly people want to keep their feedback at or near
> 100%....for us i think that if their are those among us that don't treat us
> right, they should be identified after going thru channels ( another job for
> dale)....personally i like to look at and handle the goods before i lay my
> mostly
> nonexistent cash on the barrel head....or, at least have the right of return
> w/ full refund if something arrives thru the post that isn't quite right or as
> described.... otherwise why let anyone offer goods to each other at this
> forum....it's one thing for people here to get worked up over frame angles and
> what they mean, and quite another to misrepresent sale items, collect money
> from one another, and refusal to make good on an item someone wants to return
> for
> refund but can't. either we adhere to basic good business practice w/ one
> another or i say let the buyer beware, tuff if you get ripped here at the CR
> forum.....who wants that??? what's bad for one is bad for us all...if the
> "baron" gets support here it's from someone who has gotten his stuff...that
> does'nt
> count, that's what he's supposed to do!!!... but if people here are actually
> sending $$$ and hearing nothing back but excuses than that should be known to
> us all....it takes the "baron" to bring out other stories that i've heard,
> we've all heard, off list, about those among us that behave poorly. i'm not an
> angel and have bought my share of things that seemed priced too low to be true (
>
> i didn't say hey, you know you could get triple for this. leastwise not
> before i bought and took home a super deal )...so what ARE we talking
> about???...did he take your money and give you an excuse instead of what you
> ordered?...or
> is he just an irresponsible ebusiness man? i for one, would like to know
> before i fall prey to a stinker. charlie flaherty baltimore maryland usa