Bicycle Army Men -- Kickstarter COMPLETE!

[walrus]

It really is a shame Adam is getting rude to his backers. It seems to be the attitude of last resort for KS scams. With so many questionable KS projects I always felt alright about dealing with Adam. Now, as his responses go the way of Alex when he was dodging questions I have lost all confidence of Adam. This also puts Russ who has worked hard making a good name for CCC in a bad place.

[badpete69]

Walrus

What is ruder is that he went on an expensive honeymoon with both my money , your money and everyone else who pledge on the Army deck. What a deadbeat and still no update. I want my refund

[Russell]

What is ruder is that he went on an expensive honeymoon with both my money , your money and everyone else who pledge on the Army deck.

You have access to his bank statements? I'll ask Adam to look at that, thanks for the heads-up!

[badpete69]

Boy it took you at least 1 minute to come to the defense of your deadbeat friend....Face the facts Russell right now he has no excuses, doesn't come and give updates and you are the only one defending him...Did you help him defraud all of us?

[Russell]

I'm not defending him actually. He needs to post more updates about how the artwork is coming along, we can all agree on that.

Your statements are wrong and full of shit. He did not use KS money to take his honeymoon, it was payed for before his Kickstarter project even started. He also has not defrauded you. You will get the decks you pledged for.

[badpete69]

I know that the truth hurts Russell..The only thing you are doing is alienating yourself from everyone else....You can't even look at the facts

Supposedly there was a potential patent of the little army men which Adam uses only on the tuck box...That should take about 25 seconds to remove not 6 months

Adam has all our money right? Did you forget that little fact or are you too blind? Anyway just drop it you are only digging yourself into a hole

[Russell]

Are you smurfing dense? I AGREE WITH YOU ON YOUR OPINIONS!

[Russell]

What I can't stand are people flat out lying or making stuff up, which you have done constantly in this thread.

[badpete69]

Sorry was replying to the screw you that you had just posted and now deleted And now I am very clear of mind... And I know for a FACT that I am not lying hehehe. Stop defending the deadbeat please it's getting old

[Russell]

Read the words I have typed above.

You said Adam "used KS money to take a honeymoon". - Lie.
You said Adam "defrauded" you. - Lie, he WILL deliver the decks.
You said "it is hard to give the money back when he spent it". - Lie.

and again... I am not defending him. He needs to post more information about where things are.

[Russell]

Sorry everyone for the public outbursts. Pete and I have moved this to a private conversation.

----------------

Back on Topic:
The late delivery of the Army Men project.

[CBJ]

Do you two need a time-out??

[vmagic]

Russell, since you are partners with Adam, can you perhaps tell him to give us some updates?

[cosmicsecret]

i'm also waiting for updates...very sad to be left in the dark for so long ;-(

[walrus]

It is a little convenient how Adam had this extravagant honeymoon after which this fiasco came to be. Of course we do not know if he used Armymen funding to back his honeymoon but I can certainly see how people would make that connection. Russ, the above conversation is just more evidence of the bad situation Adam put you in. He certainly tarnished the company that you worked hard to build up. If you and Adam still speak you should suggest he come here and address the concerns many have voiced here. His silence only fuels speculation on things like the KS honeymoon.

[CBJ]

I have to agree. Another month without a KS update is insulting.

And to put it in perspective... The Bicycle Army men was funded on Oct 15th

All of these other decks have been funded printed and shipped since around then...


Oct 4 - Deck Of Extraordinary Voyages
Oct 7 - Vanda
Oct 11 - Bicycle Call Of Cthulhu
Oct 17 - ritual
Oct 28 - Medusa
Oct 31 - Bicycle Necronomicon
Nov 1 - Pedale
Nov 2 - Bicycle Black Tie
Nov 5 - Bohemia
Nov 29 - Postumo
Dec 1 - Bicycle Apocolyptica
Dec 7 - Bicycle Allure
Dec 19 - Bicycle UrbanPunk
Jan 1 - Bicycle 8-bit (4 decks)
Jan 17 - Bicycle Lumberjacks
Feb 1 - Confidence Deck
Feb 6 - Bicycle Divine <-------- 72 days ago.


Also.. Oct 15th (when the ArmyMen was funded) was the last time Adam posted in this thread. -- 186 DAYS AGO!
And the last time he posted on this forum was Jan 21st. -- 88 DAYS AGO
and the last KS update was on Mar 6th. -- 34 DAYS AGO


I think this problem could have been corrected way faster than 186 days. And.. to not post in this thread since the day it reached funding makes EVERYONE suspicious.


Russell, I'd like a full refund. And, I encourage everyone to demand the same thing.


CBJ

[badpete69]

Good note Jay... It's nice to see the timeline laid out

[vasta41]

A refund is all I ever wanted. ASAP

[MagikFingerz]

Add me to the refund list.

[walrus]

I think in this situation you guys have a better chance of becoming Pope than you do getting a refund.

[Oswin]

I think in this situation you guys have a better chance of becoming Pope than you do getting a refund.

I love this sentence

[badpete69]

i second that Oswin... I am glad the community came out and we all agree on the same thing

[BMPokerworld]

I think in this situation you guys have a better chance of becoming Pope than you do getting a refund.

Of course they have a better chance silly. Sea mammals can't be elected Pope!!!

Thanks!

[walrus]

At least I am Catholic. I assume you are a heathen which is anybody who is not Catholic.

[vmagic]

It's all good that everyone wants refunds, and I do too, and not for just this project but also a couple others. However posting that here will get us nowhere. I suggest everyone here to report his project to Kickstarter and/or Amazon and put pressure on them to do something about it. I'm doing that for this deck, as well as the Asylum, Ultraviolet, and Core. Getting tired of them not getting their acts together and keeping their end of the bargain.

[walrus]

It's all good that everyone wants refunds, and I do too, and not for just this project but also a couple others. However posting that here will get us nowhere. I suggest everyone here to report his project to Kickstarter and/or Amazon and put pressure on them to do something about it. I'm doing that for this deck, as well as the Asylum, Ultraviolet, and Core. Getting tired of them not getting their acts together and keeping their end of the bargain.

True, but this is a form of therapy here.

[minion1835]

It's all good that everyone wants refunds, and I do too, and not for just this project but also a couple others. However posting that here will get us nowhere. I suggest everyone here to report his project to Kickstarter and/or Amazon and put pressure on them to do something about it. I'm doing that for this deck, as well as the Asylum, Ultraviolet, and Core. Getting tired of them not getting their acts together and keeping their end of the bargain.

kickstarter will not do a thing, I complained about the "Asylum Playing Cards" and I got an email from kickstarter saying "there is nothing we can do".

[Fluffykitten]

Walrus

What is ruder is that he went on an expensive honeymoon with both my money , your money and everyone else who pledge on the Army deck. What a deadbeat and still no update. I want my refund

HE DID WHAT!!!!

oh im pissed, there were about 6 really cool decks out at that time and had i known he was a sleaze ball i would have backed a different project.

[Fluffykitten]

I'm not defending him actually. He needs to post more updates about how the artwork is coming along, we can all agree on that.

Your statements are wrong and full of shit. He did not use KS money to take his honeymoon, it was payed for before his Kickstarter project even started. He also has not defrauded you. You will get the decks you pledged for.

i feel like this has really shaken my faith in CCC and i dont think its fair to you, but there it is.

its like this Russel, say he didnt pay for the expensive honeymoon with our money, lets say everything he said is true. ok, where does that leave everyone who gave him money? he needs to do more than just new updates he needs to issue FULL accounting of where every dime went, a full apology for his actions (or lack their of) as well as any proofs can provide that his story or why he has our money is true.

it is like i told him in the update: lets say everything he said is true, he still made they choices he did about lack of updates as well as being rude. and he still refuses to admit that he chose that path and that he was wrong and he needs to do better. even if all these things are true and they are all beyond his control, its no excuse for how he has reacted to it. he has no control over what some other company does, but he has full control over how he reacts to it and right now his reaction to it is VERY VERY VERY poor. and i can only judge whether i will get my decks by HIS actions.

I have a new rule, only back 2nd or 3rd projects. i figured that i was able to buy the americana deck on ebay and it was real so it should not be so hard for him to just provide product again. i was wrong.

lest you think i am gullible however, i dont believe his story. not for a minute. why? he has not given me any reason to believe him. honeymoon or not. and his actions are such that, if someone told me, he used our money to fly to the moon, that person would have more credibility than adam does. but again, his lack of credibility is due entirely to his actions. he CAN fix that, he has thus far chosen not to.

[Fluffykitten]

Scammy McScammerson is offering refunds, ONLY if you send SASE by July first.

not ok. likely not legal, and i just dont understand why he would add mail fraud to his list of missteps. clearly he is trying to limit the number of people asking for refunds. but we did a least get a confession from him that he used the money for his own gain before paying for any of the costs in the project and that his reason for not completing the project is that after the costs would require him to pay back what he stole from backers so instead he is going to keep as much of the money as possible (via his SASE scam). wow. but at least now it is much easier for people to file complaints with the relevant authorities.

lastly he is NOT offering refunds out of any sense of right and wrong, he is doing so only to protect the other company in his name. so my pitty for him ended the moment the words "SASE" and "paid my bills first" left his mouth.

from the mouth of Scammy McScammerson himself:

First, let me start by apologizing for my delay in keeping you informed of the progress of this project. I know that some of you have been concerned that I was not going to follow through or offer refunds, but that is not how I do business. My first concern is always with my customer. I will be honest, that my lack of response was due to my inexperience in handling something of this magnitude and my uncertainty in how to proceed.

A series of unfortunate events and poor management has resulted in this project not coming to fruition. I hate to say this, I truly do. It saddens me; I really loved this deck and wanted it to happen. After months of waiting around to find if I could legally create the deck I was finally given permission that by changing the name, the font and the plastic army figures I could produce the deck. So I start running the numbers again with all the new and most up to date costs. What I find is that with shipping, production, packing material and add-ons the total cost would be just shy of what was actually raised after all the Amazon and Kickstarter fees. These rising production and shipping costs have no longer made this project viable. I will therefore, be offering refunds to all that pledged on this project.

It bears noting that some of the money was already spent. As there should have been a profit I took care of some student loan debt that my wife and I have both accumulated. Yes, that was a poor decision. I should have held on to all the money until the decks were produced and shipped. I’ve been brooding on this subject for a month and it eats at me constantly, I can’t sleep at night thinking about this. I’m not telling you this for your pity I just want you to know that I am not a bad person. I never set out to “scam” anyone. My mother backed this project, my friends backed this project, and my co-workers and in-laws backed this project. I am embarrassed and shamed for the things that have happened. I started with the best of intentions. I let you down. I let my mother down who spread the word about this project to all her friends. I let my father down whose company I work for and represent, I let Russell, the founder of Circle City Card Company, down as he put his reputation on the line to give me support. And again I let all of you down.

Refunds
Yes, you may receive a refund. I want to make this right and that means I will offer a refund to any of my backers. Please note that I will not be able to refund everyone’s hard earned money immediately I will have to pay it back bit by bit. Due to the way Amazon and Kickstarter operate there is no way to just click a refund button and have the money sent back to the backers. There may have been a way soon after the money was collected but at this point that is not an option. Kickstarter and Amazon will also not be refunding the fees charged to me. In order to receive a refund you must send a self-addressed stamped envelope to:

Army Deck Refund Request
PO Box REDACTED
REDACTED, IN REDACTED

You must include your backer name used on Kickstarter, the amount you pledged and the self-addressed stamped envelope by July 1st 2013. Refunds will be processed in the order requests are received.

Other Notes
Honeymoon – Some have asked if all the money was spent while my wife and I were on our honeymoon. I assure you it was not. That trip was booked and paid for months before the Kickstarter campaign began with money that was received on our wedding day. The flight was paid for with frequent flyer miles and we stayed in youth hostels the whole trip. It was not the Grand Voyage some have described it to be.

Circle City Card Company – As I mentioned before Russell is the founder of this company. He helped me out as we’re both Indianapolis natives and I hurt him. I will no longer be involved with anything to do with the Circle City Card Company.

Final Thoughts
Again, I am deeply saddened for the way things turned out. I am also incredibly embarrassed for the way things have been managed. I will do all I can to make this right and dig myself out of this hole I’m in. I never wanted this to happen and I completely understand all your frustration.

Please accept my deepest and most sincere apology,

I want to thank all of you that believed in this design and supported me.

Adam