Is Cinemek Scamming Me?

[Robert Ruffo]

I agree... at this point you're not going to do any good. Contact a lawyer, contact the Washington State Attorney General's office, contact the BBB... but repeatedly posting in a forum like this only starts to make you look bad. If he hasn't refunded your money or sent you a unit yet, continuing to post about it on DVXuser probably isn't going to change that. AND... since this is now a legal matter and no one knows the full backstory other than the two of you, there is the chance this could come back and bite you in the arse.

I disagree. Other companies, such as Cinevate and others, have excellent business practices. Reading this thread is a warning that is very useful to all users here.

 

[Robert Ruffo]

For what its worth over the years I've noticed that a lot of decent people in small businesses don't handle owing people money very well even though their intentions are honorable. Maybe they feel guilty - who knows. While you do need to be firm its a good idea to not always jump to conclusions that they are trying to rip you off.

I worked for a young producer many years ago who ran out of money on a low budg shoot and I let him use my credit card to get through the day. He couldn't afford to pay me back and didn't answer my phone calls for 2 -3 years. I was patient though and for the last 20 he has been my most loyal client. I've made far more money off that transaction than I ever would have by calling him names.

I'm glad this had a happy resolution.

I don't think they are TRYING to rip you off, I do think at soem point your head can get below sea level - and then you don't know what to do. Sometimes just leaving people hanging becomes the only solution that does not require your moving into your car.

 

[Robert Ruffo]

Yeah - thing is it's always said 3 week lead time, for as long as I can remember.
So there is still no indication on the Cinemek site that the manufacturing is on hold... no info about manufacturing issues, etc.
And anyone is still able to place an order on their site.

Which theoretically means that orders are still being taken - yet from what Jonathan has said himself here it sound as if they cannot currently meet the orders they have.

Seems like asking for trouble to continue to take orders without giving your customers any sort of warning as to what is going on -

Maybe I'm mistaken in that - but from what I've seen on their site I don't think so.



Agreed - it does happen, and no one should judge a company for having problems.
But it's how those problems are dealt with that is important.

I agree. Taking more orders at this point is not honest. I would buy an adapter from him (I want to own all the good ones - they each have their plusses) but only directly cash-for-product, or off a well-reputed second-hand seller.

 

[DC]

. . . the meeting I held . . .

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=153005

It was a great time for all who attended. A few G35's were sold and acquired directly at that meeting, and I was one of those happy buyers. It is my opinion that Jonathan Houser is NOT a scammer. He's a decent, friendly and inventive guy with some great products. The difficult situation that developed with Cinemek over this past year was very unfortunate. I'm not trying to make excuses for him though. Above all, it sounds like things are finally turning around for the better.

Maybe it's even time for another meeting? And perhaps Houser might want to attend again with a fresh batch of G35's when they're ready?

Sounds good. I'm down!

Well alright then! We'll wait until early 2010 (when at least 10 G35's are physically present to be sold). Just get at me when you're ready, Houser, and we'll do it up again like last time. I'll make the announcement in due time. So, anyone in the LA area (or who wants to travel here) will FINALLY be able to fork over some cash for a REAL G35 in hand.

 

[csuchorsky]

I had the same issue, but avoided the headache by doing a charge back. Someone mentioned doing a charge back on a different post and it saved me $1600 and the hassle that this whole forum is about. The problem with charge backs is that you usually have 60 days to report it though. So if you order a product with an estimated delivery date, it doesn't show up, and your emails go unanswered, do a charge back.

 

[William5]

I posted on the previous thread "G35 Does it exist?". I made my order in August 2009, and finally got the money back through chargeback last Friday (1/15/2010), despite all the waiting and frustration, part of the delay was due to my credit card bank not issuing the chargeback immediately.

I have had some communications with Jon, and he tried to refund me directly but somehow it didn't come through. The best way is to chargeback directly and make sure your bank does indeed issue the chargeback action immediately and not just a warning that has a grace period of 1-2 months or more.

 

[Austinv]

for the record Cinevate has amazing customer service.

 

[Solomojo]

Paid for my G35 in april 2009. Still waiting. After numerous pushed dates of deliveries, Jon Houser said my G35 would be sent out the last week of december. Still nothing. Have contacted him on DVX and Cinemek. Still waiting. Promised a discount for the wait. Still waiting.

 

[Retrospective]

Paid for my G35 in april 2009. Still waiting. After numerous pushed dates of deliveries, Jon Houser said my G35 would be sent out the last week of december. Still nothing. Have contacted him on DVX and Cinemek. Still waiting. Promised a discount for the wait. Still waiting.

Wow, I was afraid to order based on the experiences I read here and on their forum. I guess I'd rather save the money for something that's for sure.

 

[justints]

Seriously?

Seriously?

Hey everyone. I ordered a G35 from Cinemek on August 28, 2009. After a month of waiting, I sent Cinemek an email asking them when my adapter would be shipping. No reply. Two months went by and after more emails, still no reply. I then emailed J. Houser personally, and he finally replied back telling me that they were having machine shop problems and my adapter was only delayed by a few weeks. That was 5 WEEKS AGO!!! Cinemek has had my money for over four months now, and STILL no G35! Is Cinemek scamming people out of their money? Should I forget about ever getting a G35 and try and do a chargeback on my credit card? I don't know what to do.

Honestly, good luck to you. We ordered a G35 a year ago. We had issues with it. We sent it back. We did not receive a new unit. After months of calls and emails we decided to cut our losses - we sent this to a collection agency.

We just, today, received a whopping $150 from these guys. Seriously? We paid over a thousand dollars for this DOF adapter over a year ago and we are now getting a $150 refund for it? Unfortunately the answer is yes. I've got a book load of documentation of this "transaction" should anyone be interested in a good bit of comedy. Is this a scam? I would not say its a scam, but its certainly a shame on them.

I would highly recommend looking elsewhere for a professional DOF adaptor solution.

- J

 

[Robert Ruffo]

for the record Cinevate has amazing customer service.

Yes. It could not be better.

 

[Austinv]

Let me promote one more time! I own Cinevate rails, the build is great, the upgrades are awesome and most of all the best customer service. I called them with some questions about the rails, if they would suit this adapter better or that one, asked about the build, etc. They answered all the questions and then asked me for a phone number to answer the rest. 2 hours later the rest of the answers. I PLACED MY ORDER INSTANTLY!

CINEVATE HANDS DOWN HAS THE BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE EVER! I WISH I HAD A BREVIS!