Beware ebay seller predalien64 and House of Shadow Wolf LTD

stevenlramga

Active Hunter
I hate to put a company out there like this, but this has gone on since Oct 15. House of Shadow Wolf LTD is a company that produces replica armor for renaissance and medieval reenactments. They also produce several replicas of various Star Wars blasters including the EE-3. I came across them on ebay on 15 Oct 2010, and purchased one of their replica EE-s blasters. This was before I realized others on here made them - newbie mistake! Their auction page on ebay stated that the blasters were sometimes held at the post office because they resembled real firearms, and that shipping might take 30 days because of this. At the time it seemed plausible that this could happen. However, on Dec 3, 2010, when I had not received my blaster, and the tracking information stated that the post office had yet to receive the actual package (only the electronic shipping info advising them to expect the package) I sent predalien64/House of Shadow Wolf a message through ebay inquiring as to why or what had happened. I received a message back 2 days later that they were looking into it. After two weeks of waiting, I sent another message, again through ebay, asking for a refund, since it was becoming evident that this blaster was never going to arrive. They sent me back a long message with a story about a virus that destroyed all of their computer systems, and that they couldn't refund until they verified that the item was lost or stolen at the post office, and that things take longer around the holidays. I accepted this because if I were running a business, and had sent an item, and someone claimed they had not received it, I would want verification as well before refunding money. As of 6 January 2011, I had still heard nothing back on this issue, and sent another message through ebay requesting a refund. Again, a reply today that they were looking into it, and to please be patient. I contacted ebay directly this afternoon only to be informed that I have 45 days after a payment is sent to file a claim. Same goes for PayPal. So I got the phone number for their business, and have only been able to get the voicemail. I have left 3 messages over the last three days and gotten no response. Ebay advised me to file a complaint with the FBI Internet Crime Center.
The purpose of this is to inform all of the good members of TDH what is happening at this point and to beware if you intend to purchase a blaster from House of Shadow Wolf LTD/predalien64.
 
Oh man! My immediate reaction to anyone who tells me their computer was "fried" is to AUTOMATICALLY request a Paypal refund immediately. There are so many good people out there that are over-shadowed by these a-holes, it just steams me. Was it a bank transfer or did it come from a CC, because you can ALWAYS call your credit card company and tell them what happened and request a chargeback. I have done this in the past. Good luck and thanks for the warning!
 
Sorry to hear that, man. As safe as Ebay would have us believe their services are, there are surprisingly many scams and false advertisers out there. just a few weeks ago, I found that I had been cheated out of $30 I had paid for a set of akatsuki rings. I'm currently working to get my money back.

Best of luck, dude, and thanks for the headsup.
 
Oh man! My immediate reaction to anyone who tells me their computer was "fried" is to AUTOMATICALLY request a Paypal refund immediately. There are so many good people out there that are over-shadowed by these a-holes, it just steams me. Was it a bank transfer or did it come from a CC, because you can ALWAYS call your credit card company and tell them what happened and request a chargeback. I have done this in the past. Good luck and thanks for the warning!

Yep go the credit card reversal, sorry to hear this, goodluck
 
Sorry to hear this too. My rule is that if the seller doesn't ship out in 7 days I reverse the payment thru Paypal and if they give tracking like this guy did then I watch it closely and if the post office like in your case did not receive say within a week of postage, hit Paypal up for a refund, for international transactions it is so much easier for the seller to trace an item than you and the seller is usually motivated by the fact that you will get your money back if they don't chase it down because paypal freeze those funds while in dispute. Don't fuss around with anyone more than 2 weeks if you are not 100% sure the item is in transit. When/if the item turns up then release the funds from paypal and all is good.
 
This is dissappointing, as I had ordered resin E-11 parts from them about 1.5 yrs ago for my TK, and received the parts within a week. But things change, and it's unfortunate.
Good Luck getting it all straightened out!
 
Man I swear those names are very familiar. Somebody's gonna chime in and remind me where I've heard them before. sorry for your loss.
 
I should be recouping my money from this on Monday. I sent them another message advising them of my intention to contact the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, and within 5 minutes got a response that I would have an answer by Monday. Since the blaster is definitely NOT at the post office, I expect my money back on Monday. And for the record - this is twice I've gotten burned by purchasing things outside of TDH. Recommendation for everyone - stick with TDH for your Boba Fett items.
 
Thanks for the warning.
I to am new to the costuming game outside of 15th century re-enactment and was looking at their site with a view to buying some parts.
Time to look elsewhere.

Craig
 
SOUNDS JUST LIKE WHAT HE DID TO ME!! I am currently persuing him for armour purchased in June. We got all the same excuses (post office, holiday, computer virus, etc.) . I actually called the post office in MN and verified that he lied about that one. Anyway, after requesting a refund twice, he offered to comp a free piece of armour for "our patience". Finally received purchased item in September. We have yet to receive the "free" item as the excuses started all over again. He just simply stopped emailing back. Too much time has passed for the claims to be filed. Thanks for your advice about the FBI. I will give it a try.
 
The website is ...... also I filed a claim with the Better Business Bureau. I have been emailing back and forth with Liz, who assures me her "contact" at the Twin Cities Postal Hub has located the package, and I will have it in my hands by Saturday, and if not they will refund my money. If I want a refund after I get it, apparently I have to wait to receive it, and then return it. Which to me is a crock of B/S. We'll see if it shows. If not, the Better Business Bureau and the FBI/IC3 should handle it. Hope you get yours back too!
 
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I had the same thing happen with a Biker Scout blaster. Within 7 days of the auction ending, the USPS shipping info read that a label had been created. After 2 weeks with no package, I inquired and didn't get an immediate response - only after I filed a Paypal claim 40 days or so after purchase did I get the blaster 7-10 days later.
 
That is exactly the same excuse he gave us. He had no idea why how it ended up at the "lost and found" and sat there forever until his "contact" found it. There were no stickers indicating it was where he said (as the post office told me it should have a red sticker on it if it had been in the lost and found). There were yellow pencil markings on the outside of the packsge that anyone could have done, not neccesarily the post office. He is unethical in his business and I intend to file the same complaints you have with BBB.
 
Latest update on this - I had to work overnight last night, and when I came home this morning, lo and behold, the blaster had arrived! As for the box - it had "Temp Hold" written on the side in yellow grease pencil, similar to what carraboo described in post #15. It also had some pen markings that stated "Release TH 1/10/11" and a scribbled signature beneath it.
In my morbid curiosity, I opened it. I have read somewhere else on here that the claims of this being cast from a real Webley were false. So I looked at the thing. The receiver had rollmarks and stamps on it in the correct spots for a Webley to label the Model Number as well as the line of rollmarks that identify the serial number. However, certain other rollmarks were missing, such as the arrow that points to the left side of the hammer. Now I'm not claiming to be a master armorer, but I do know a few armorers that do custom work and have to put serial numbers and rollmarks on the weapons they make, and the process isn't hard. In addition, had this been cast from a real Webley, the rollmarks would not have been deep due to the processes that were used to put serial numbers on weapons in 1916 (the original year of manufacture for the Webley). These marks were clear and defined, and similar in depth to what is found on more modern weapons. My instincts tell me that this was a recast from someone else's kit, and they attempted to make it look different by referencing pictures and recreating the rollmarks that they could find.
Aside from this, when I pulled out the blaster, it had a flat black spray paint job, and around the "wiper blades" on the front, the paint was still tacky and in some places wet. Now again, I don't claim to be an expert on this, but it seems to me that had this item really been in a post office for the past three months, that paint would have been dry. My gut on this tells me that they forgot or lost my order, and had to find where they filed my shipping label, and send another one to me. When you combine this with the box info above, it definitely looks that way.
So as for the rest of the predalien/House Shadow Wolf Blastech EE-3 build:
1) The trigger housing was too small. Possibly came from a different flare gun, because there was a distinct seam (or should I say GAP) where the cast trigger housing had been attached. The trigger was also the wrong shape and in the wrong place, also lending to my theory that it was cast from a different piece.
2) The hammer looked like they may have traced the original in wood, and made a silhouette style cutout, and then recast that in resin. Definitely too large for an original Webley.
3) The scope rings and scope were definitely nowhere close. It looked like a modern .22 long rifle that has a flared eyepiece, but a straight objective lense.
4) The rings that separate the sections of the barrel (i.e. - behind the wiper blades and before the receiver) looked as though they had been cut from plywood and then cast into resin. You could see the distinctive grain of plywood on them.
5) The barrel tip had another of these rings and then a small cone attached to the end of it for the muzzle. Best way I can describe it was it looked like a tiny traffic cone.

I apologize for not having pictures of all of this, but I already repackaged this hunk of **** in its box in anticipation of a return shipping label to send it back. It wasn't until after I had repackaged it that I thought about my camera.

Bottom line, though, is that HSW/predalien64 has an inaccurate, cheap product that he apparently cannot send out or keep up with. So again, buyers beware of this seller on ebay, and online. I figure if it happened to just me, then maybe it's a fluke. But since it happened to others, and there are way too many similarities (the markings on the box, the virus story, etc), then this guy is more trouble than he is worth. I for one am sticking with the sellers on this site from now on (with the exception of possibly finding found parts like a real MQ-1, or a Glenross expansion screw). I recommend everyone do the same.
 
He did the same thing to me me with an E-11 i ordered before i found the 501st. Took about 3 months and the same excuses about losing it in the mail etc blah blah blah. Definately a shady dealer.
 
Do us all a favor mightytank....report him to the Better Business Bureau so he has registered complaints against him and possibly loses his license to do business.
 
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