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Hello everyone,

First off sorry for the long post...the worst thing has happened and I'd like to hear any advice or tips on the situation.

I had pledged for a mixed brick of Olympia playing cards by Steve Minty for $135. and received a tracking number in the middle of December along with everyone else who had pledged. The tracking number stated delivery confirmation on the 30th of December around 12pm which I was not home for. When I got home at around 4pm there was no package in sight . I checked every entrance and conceivable place where the postman could have placed the package. I never thought about the occurrence of theft because I have pledged so many decks in the past and received them all thus far. (check out the decks I have backed https://www.kickstarter.com/profile/1002089496" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) Naturally I waited a few days because sometimes the postal carrier would scan the items before delivery as a way to save time and end up not being able to deliver the item that day. This has happened to my sister and brother in law on several occasions (they live with me as well). After a few days I called USPS and asked if they had the package laying around or could talk to the postal carrier who worked my route and they stated that he said he made the delivery but could not give me details about the exact location, or address only that they said "they delivered it".

My next move was to open a case through USPS customer service and contact Steve through kickstarter about the situation. USPS gave me a case number and said it would take a few days to look into the matter. I messaged Steve to confirm whether or not the address he sent the package to was correct and if he handled the shipping personally or if it was through another service. USPS came back saying that they could not do anything because the carrier claimed it was delivered and the tracking number showed delivery confirmation as well although they admitted that it does not show the actual address anywhere on the tracking site only the zip code. They advised me to ask the seller to claim the insurance and I corresponded back and forth with Steve in order to do so. Again USPS denied the claim of insurance on the grounds that the tracking shows delivery confirmation.

As of Friday 22nd, Steve has stopped responding to my emails seeking a way to work this situation out. I understand that this is a sticky situation and that Steve is not at fault for the initial delivery problem, however I have offered to pay again in order to work something out and receive my pledge reward but have not received a response yet.

The only thing I can think of is to give Steve a few more days to respond and if I do not hear anything try to file a dispute through my CC provider.

Does anyone here have a similar situation or any advice on how to proceed?

Thanks in advanced!

If you received a tracking number, that email should most likely have your address listed. In that case, I would assume Steve mailed it correctly then it's really between you and USPS.

I think if it was a deck or two maybe Steve would have just re-shipped it. But It would be hard to expect Steve to bite the bullet and send out a brick (I'm sure from his view he shipped it correctly).

Just wondering, how much did you offer to pay again? It wouldn't be unreasonable to ask Steve to sell you the brick at cost though.

Thanks for the reply 4.of.Clubs, of course I do not expect him to send me a whole brick free of charge and I stated in my first post that he is not at fault for the missing shipment. I do however expect a certain level of service and communication for aiding in the realization of his project. I did not state a specific amount, I just asked that he work with me and that I was willing to pay. If he does not respond, then I have no way of working out what he is willing to charge to resend the decks.

I have yet to hear back from him and I hope he is not dodging my emails however throughout the whole ordeal he did seem rather hesitant to even deal with the situation as I had to constantly hound him several times in order to get a single response. I also had to find his personal email when he stopped responding to my kickstarter messages.

Its been nearly a week since I messaged him and I messaged him again the day before yesterday. I don't want to be "that guy" who blows up his alternate emails and leave messages all over his other kickstarter project pages, etc.. What do you think 4.of.Clubs?

Again thanks for the reply!

Let it go. You were robbed and that sucks, I hate that feeling, sorry. It sounds like you are harassing Steve now. You probably came across with different intentions than you think. Just buy a deck or two instead and from another source. It's not his responsibility to help.

ecNate wrote:Let it go. You were robbed and that sucks, I hate that feeling, sorry. It sounds like you are harassing Steve now. You probably came across with different intentions than you think. Just buy a deck or two instead and from another source. It's not his responsibility to help.

ecNate, Do you even listen to yourself. "Let it go!" Is that your solution?

The guy pledge $135 and never got the goods. What if that happen to you. You'd be in the same boat and would look for reimbursement or some sorta rectification to the problem.

If Steve had a heart he would do whats right by him.

Zero, all I can suggest is to continue to bother Steve (like you have been doing) and if your not getting any resolution with Steve, then contact your credit card provider and explain the situation. Make sure you keep all correspondence you have sent and/or received from Steve. If Steve doesn't want to help you out, at least your credit card will credit you back for this transaction and they will take the appropriate steps to collect the funds from Kickstarter or go after Steve since funds are transferred to the creator 15 days after the campaign is over.

Thanks ecNate and Cardians for your thoughts on my situation.

ecNate, if it were a deck or two I could let it go and in a sense I have let it go by offering to pay all over again in order to receive my reward pledge but now Steve has stopped responding and I have a feeling he is not going to respond anymore to my requests. I feel that I have in no way come across as harassing, I have been very polite and tactful in all my messages with him. Maybe he just does not want to deal with the situation anymore?

Cardians, I have kept all correspondences and will give him a few more days and will send him a message or two until then. I don't want to have to contact my CC provider but will do so as a last resort. Even then there is no guarantee I would win the CC dispute.

In any case I think of it like this; I pledged money to a person who asked for help. They needed money because it was their dream to create something and they did not have the money to do so. Now I am asking for help. I am not asking for free decks, although that would be nice, I am just asking for him to work with me. If he wants to charge cost, that's fine.. If he wants to charge $135 again, that's fine. But in either case that would be him trying to work with me and we can agree or disagree and that would be that. Instead, he has chosen to ignore me because of some reason or another.

It's not Steve's fault, he has confirmation it was delivered. Perhaps he would have been interested in helping, but sending multiple emails, looking up personal email and sending there on top of it??? If I were him I would be less interested in going out of my way to help since he has no obligation to do so. My suggestion is to apologize for any possible real or assumed past allegations and demands, make it clear you just want an opportunity to buy in again since it's not his fault.

Doing a claim against credit card would be scamming the system and if they actually investigate it they will have 3rd party confirmation it was delivered and would have to assume it was stolen. As such the credit card company shouldn't take the hit and neither should they back charge Steve for it.

This does raise a good question for FUTURE projects - should Kickstarter creators give those receiving large value rewards the OPTION to select and PAY FOR adult signature delivery. If that was the case here you would have not had the problem, but I don't think it would be wise for them to force that and the cost on to everybody, just an option.

ecNate, I have stated before that it is not his fault, this we all know.

However from your point of view it sounds like you are suggesting that all backers in my situation should send one or two messages only, then if they do not get a response cease and desist then move on? It also sounds like your are suggesting that backers should not be helped, have no right to convey their problems and that project creators have no obligation whats so ever to their backers? That's total and utter rubbish.

No one would ever back you if you had that type of mentality. "Hey guys, I need help raising a few tens of thousands of dollars... but if you get frustrated, run into any problems or send me too many messages or emails I wont help you after, and don't even think about making any sort of demands because I have no obligation to you now that I have all the money and my project is a success".

If you read my post, I did make it clear that I was not looking for anything free and that I was willing to pay.

As far as the claim goes I have spoken to my CC provider inquiring about the situation. It is not a scam nor scamming the system. The facts from my point of view are, I paid and I did not receive. According to my provider, yes there is delivery confirmation but that alone is not proof that I received the package in my hands or in my possession, it is only proof that the carrier scanned a barcode. Based on the facts alone the rep said it is pretty much 50/50 chance and the majority of the time the CC will side with the purchaser because their obligation is the protection of the purchaser. The rep said that they have had situations like this before and usually it goes like this. The CC company will go after Stripe (the payment processor for kickstarter), then Stripe, depending on the facts will either go after the project creator or file a dispute with the USPS to claim restitution.

I got a reply!, apparently he sent an email two days ago to my gmail but I did not receive any email. He is willing to send me half a brick and an additional six at KS price plus shipping if I wanted to which I obliged. I asked for signature confirmation this time . I apologized for calling him unprofessional and I am glad things are getting settled finally. Thanks everyone for your input, I'll keep yall updated!