"PMC Games on Ebay - Scammer or Bad Businessman?" Topic

I highly suggest not doing business with PMC Games. Back in April I purchased one building from them and then won several other auctions a few days later.

I received the first building but never received anything of the second group. They kept saying it could take a while to arrive. After 12 weeks they said they would send the items once more. Once again they never arrived.

I was told that it ws impossible to get tracking information. Wouldn't you think if you we're any type of actual businessman you would require tracking information for international shipping. I was told that it can't be done for airmail. The UK doesn't have tracking? Another international carrier to the US doesn't have tracking?

Once I complained I would have thought that he would have been in contact with me about the items to see if they have arrived. I never have heard anything. Obviously he makes buildings or I wouldn't have received anything but is certainly a very bad business to deal with or running a very complex scam.

It is too late to do anything about getting my money back because of the time limit but I am going to contact Ebay about him to at least let them know of his bad business practices.

I have purchased from them twice and never had any problems.

I have bought resin buildings and hand made fields with out any problems . Royal Mail air mail small packet doesn't offer a tracking service . To pay for ''international tracking/signed for'' costs a lot more .

I am a repeat customer and have had good transactions and communication from them.

This has me worried. I also bought two buildings from them way back in April. I paid for surface shipping (I'm in the USA) and they never arrived. Martyn at PMC said he would send me replacements by airmail, and they never arrived either. I was also told that there is no tracking availae for shipments to the USA.Now Martyn has said he'll send me a small package of "freebies" as a test to see if it gets through. PMC has excellent feedback on Ebay, so I wonder whether this is some sort of problem with the mail.

If anyone has any insight on this I'd appreciate hearing it.

Royal Mail do offer a tracking surface to the US, airmail and land.
Unless the address in the US is a PO Box, in which they do not as the USPS said they would no longer agree to collect signatures at PO boxes on behalf of the RM.

I send things via the Royal Mail each day and have done for years, signed for and not.

I was told that it can't be done for airmail.

Technically, "Airmail" has no tracking.

"Airmail – Recorded Signed-For" does though ( at least it gets a signature on delivery but no tracking information) but costs more.

"Airsure" is trackable (but more expensive again)

So, to the letter of what he says, that "airmail" is not trackable, he is correct.

"Tracking" and "Signed-for" are obviously two different things.

/Dee

International Signed For does have limited tracking to certain countries, according to Royal Mail:

link

However it is £5.15 GBP on top of the airmail postage, and most customers just don't want to pay for extra postage costs.

Be aware that Royal Mail have periodically re-routed some things we sent by airmail to surface mail. That's annoying.

This again seems to me to be a problem with the US end of things – I have ordered from these guys loads of times with no problems.

I have had so many problems sending stuff to the US that I have now stopped.

I think a key thing here to note is that a UK seller must replace missing goods or offer a full refund regardless of how the order was sent.

Sending things signed for or not signed for makes no odds, the customer must either get a full refund or be sent replacement items.

So it does not matter to the customer how they were sent, if they do not arrive, nor does it affect their legal rights to a refund or replacement.

It is very much not a case of buyer beware if they choose unsigned for.

I was not given a choice to have tracking or signed for at any cost. I know that I have ordered a lot of things from the UK, both on EBay and other places and have never had an issue like this. Not one other item has ever not arrived. I once even ordered some items from Russia and received them with no problem,.

I have had some items arrive before items ordered the same day from the US.

The other thing I found odd was that he told me airmail could take up to 12 weeks. I could understand surface mail but air? And of course that is past the window to file a dispute.

I would also figure that there has to be some other shipper besides Royal Mail available. The UK isn't a third world country. If Royal Mail may change it to surface without telling you then use another carrier.. To me keeping a customer happy is more important than trying to save money on shipping especially if the item didn't arrive once.

I have sold items on EBay before and have lost money on transactions because something cost more to ship than what was calculated when I sent the invoice. Since it was my fault I ate it but I received good feedback.

I'm out $100 USD USD because of this.

I don't think it is really a scam, way to elaborate, and the fact that he gets good feedback, but I do think it is a poorly run business.

I have ordered multiple time from them (postage to Finland) and everything has arrived safely, quickly and without problem

Note that shipping from the US to the UK works similarly. It costs over $11 USD to get the Registered Mail upgrade that allows international tracking – neither the USPS nor Royal Mail offer it as a free service, and in some cases it isn't even an option unless you upgrade to a more expensive base shipping technique.

I have had several orders with him and have had no problems.
I hope this is not a trend.

I'm currently having the same problem my self. He just said he will resend using airmail, so we will have to see what happens.

Very odd. I have bought loads of pmc stuff on ebay and its arrived fine every time. This seems to be a specific overseas issue reading the "me too's" above.

Jaz
6sided.net – why aren't you on it?

I have done plenty of orders with PMC and have found that single items are usually sent almost immediatley but they need reminding when multipule items are won, each time I was told they were sent but replacements would be sent. No suprises that each time only one lot ever arrived, I now know only to bid one one item at a time…

Mick

I'm a happy UK customer, so it looks to be an USA overseas issue; maybe someone is building up a stock in customs or they are just sitting there waiting to be investigated?

It doesn't seem to be too unusual to have problems between UK and U.S. delivery this year…. My last two orders from the UK "Went missing" after well over 6 weeks and I gave some poor bastard at the post office a very stern, near abusive, talking to and they magically showed up the next day. (I had intended to be nice, but the previous time it had happened I learned that "Nice" gets you nowhere with our locals. You need to breath down their necks like a vicious animal ready to rip out the jugular vein and use demanding tones if you want any close to a real result.)

My mother has had similar problems as an Ebay seller with items vanishing at one of the tracking points, especially ones going to Canada. They go to a certain sorting center in Illinois then never leave. She had to refund over $70 USD last month alone due to USPS incompetence. Between all that plus my unusually large(And therefore expensive) order from Khurasan being "Delivered" september of last year(But mysteriously not being in the mailbox.) I am not very happy with the U.S. mail system as of late…..

I have had problems with delivery from UK this latest month. Very slow delivery times. Before it took about a week from UK to Sweden the teo latest order have taken more than a month. So it might be the postalsystem.

I think PMC should replace your 'lost' items. I've ordered from the Uk many times over multiple years and I've never had the misfortune of having an order go 'missing'? I usually have to wait 3-4 weeks for an order to reach me in Canada when it's coming from the UK.

I fully appreciate that ones opinions will undoubtedly be based upon ones own experience, but in my experience I have found Martyn at PMC Games to be a genuinely nice man, selling quality products at a good price, and have never had any problems with him, his products or his service.

Martyn has indeed been very polite and responsive to me and given all the positive feedback I have no reason to think the problem is any of his doing.

I'm more concerned about the state of shipments from the UK to the USA.

I've also had a problem getting an order of 15mm flags from GMB that would have come in an envelope instead of in a package.

And like a dummy I just ordered the new Battlegroup Kursk rules from Plastic Soldier Company in the UK instead of being reasonable and waiting for a US seller to get them in.

Keep your fingers crossed for me.

The other thing I found odd was that he told me airmail could take up to 12 weeks

Not really odd at all. We frequently find things can take anything from 1-16 weeks for things to arrive in the US, with no rhyme nor reason. We had one turn up back here after several weeks marked "uncollected", whatever that means. The customer was unaware of having been notified that it required collection anywhere. Other items just turn up, eventually, but we also get the occasional shipment just go missing altogether.

As I previously said, we periodically find airmail shipments are rerouted to surface (with no notification or compensation). Heightened US security and custom checks also seem to be partly to blame.

From my previous dealings it is more likely BADMIN rather than Scammer, but given the postal service across the pond it might be a puzzled Indian has just opened a parcel and found some rather attractive resin buildings!

Tally Ho!

I pulled out the email I got from Martyn 3 months ago, when he emailed me before I even thought the package was late:

"Hi [my name], just checking in to let you know your order should be with you shortly, if its not already arrived, if there are any problems with it please let me know and we will try to get it sorted for you.

Regards

Martyn

PMCGames"

So definitely not a scammer; maybe just a victim of the postal system.

As an example of postage charges- a 1kg parcel to the US costs £14.08 GBP, basic airmail. To add the 'signed for' service is as Geoff said £5.15 GBP- but that only provides tracking until it leaves the UK.

Using a broker service to find the absolute best price from another shipper yields the following best rate- UPS express saver service £20.95 GBP (this needs 4 copies of an invoice and a booked collection) The prices start at 1kg so that is their lowest price- for smaller packages Royal mail is still the cheapest option.

It does seem slow at the moment, it's been a while since we had an order go missing but a few have taken up to 4 weeks to arrive…

Paul
RPE

I myself have had about 10 packages sent from him buying off of Ebay… a few were quick, a few took awhile, up to 18 weeks or so. Its customs in both countries. The US Customs can delay packages for weeks, if they are backed up.

I think Martyn Wenn was a bad businessman who has become a scammer.

Like many I had a successful order with him but my much larger second order, placed in late 2011 has yet to be delivered. It is now almost April 2013. In that period Martyn has spun me along with lots of BS about fulfilling the order. At one stage he claimed he was about to send through a tracking number for the shipment. (That was almost 5 months ago). He has stolen my money and done nothing to remedy the situation other than to ignore my e-mails.

He is therefore a thief. Do not order from this low life unless you are willing to have your money stolen by a con-man.

I will be in his neck of the woods later this year. My understanding is that Martyn Wenn is in his 50's and his place of residence is 61 Harecroft Road, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, PE13 1RL, UNITED KINGDOM.
I would appreciate a heads-up on on any more information on this scumbag.

Cheers

I had a problem with PMC Games too. As it's a separate problem I've put it in a separate post. Sorry PMC Games, but that's how it goes…

ordered probably over $1,000 USD worth of his stuff, no problems, and the Royal mail is slow, but have had no problems. He is not a scam artist or a crook. I would be careful about calling someone a criminal on the internet without facts, that is how you get sued, fyi, not trying to flame or anything.
But it is funny how, when a problem occurs with any business, one is very fast to pull out the scammer or crook label.

He has stolen from me. He is a thief. Almost 1.5 yrs after taking my money he has not supplied goods and does not respond to communication.

Cound yourself lucky darclegion you have not been fleeced for a grand.

Cheers

I have lost $2,550 USD from the Castleworks company, and he did steal my money, so I know what it is like to be stolen from. And he is know in the New Jersey court system being sued by the state. The state tried to file criminal charges, but couldnt, so they sued him and fined him instead.

So I know what it is like to be stolen from.

Thanks for the heads-up on Castleworks. Tim Vawter was probably once legitimate but for whatever reason now sees fit to take money without fulfilling orders. Do these guys actually realise they have crossed the line? I'm sure they do but are in denial and have a vast array of excuses on hand to justify their criminal activity.

any more news on this as i was looking at the pmc buildings as a purchase – good thing i came here first..

It's very simple. If you give this guy money your taking a risk.
Anyone after this point that has read these statements and also on another thread have only themselves to blame if they get burned.

Bossman, I hope you kick his lying ass. Here in the US, every time his name is mentioned, people just roll their eyes. Seems like everyone has been ripped off by this scum. Still waiting for my order from October. Think it will show??

Bossman,
Couldnt agree with you more, he thinks he has done nothing wrong, etc…doesnt look at himself as a criminal. And he likes to threaten to sue you if you call him one. I dont have to say a word, the State of New Jersey knocking on his door for me, speaks volumes.

Anyway, PMC makes good resin (fragile) buildings, its a shame, he is sinking his own ship.

Maybe go to Miniature Building Authority. Same price range, cheaper shipping, and stronger resin casts.

Cheers,
Tom

I still have not recieved anything, either a refund or product. He needs to be sent to jail!

If there really is a black hole due to the postal service (more likely in the US than the UK simply because getting a parcel to an airport and onto a plane must be easier than getting it off and taking it to some place in a very large country) then I can appreciate a retailer getting hacked off with the product not arriving and the retailer having to refund the purchaser. It's not the purchaser's fault but neither is it the seller's.

Sorry you are having bad problems. I have not seen him on ebay, at least today…I was looking before I read this post. Maybe I over looked him.

Sorry your having bad luck with the order. I highly recommend MBA or GRAND MANNER.
those guys at Grand Manner are excellent.

Tom

tidesofwargaming.blogspot.com

Well he's still on ebay.

auction

I have won items on four seperate auctions over the last few years and all have been good .This looks like a case of bad luck and poor comms.
I am in UK ,so it does seem to be an airmail problem .

I've been told by an old gaming buddy that PMC are closing down at the end of the year due to retirement.Whether someone else is taking over I don't know.

Just to add another voice to this thread, which judging by the above posting may be moot.

I had a number of good transactions with Martyn before a shipment went awry in late 2012. One package of a two part shipment never arrived, however Martyn did offer to resend it as soon as they got more in stock. After following up with no further responses I checked ebay and sure enough there was my item. I contacted him about it but got no response. Fortunately it only cost me $39.99 USD. Shame b/c I get complements on the buildings all the time and they were much less $ than MBA!

I've been told by an old gaming buddy that PMC are closing down at the end of the year due to retirement. Whether someone else is taking over I don't know.

Just looked on e-bay and saw that a seller called "aylafred" is now selling the same buildings, among other items. I noted some recent neutral feedback on shipping times and P&P costs. Possible some suppler issues with these buildings?

I realized that this is old information, however I do live in the US and I have about a $1,000 USD invested in various PMC buildings as well. My wait time were usually extremely long, and when I checked the dates on the arriving packages they HAD been sent when I ordered them. The hold up had been the mail. In the end there was only one item that I never received. Waited for months, was told another would be sent, never got that and then Martyn stopped doing business in America.

I have purchased a few things including aome old PMC stuff through Aylafred. Again slow deliveries though not as slow as some of Martyns. Usually about a month.

Some good news however. The PMC line appears to have been purchased by Cavalier Games who are calling it Battlefield Buildings. It is already on their webpage!