[Vermont]

I am new to this Forum so I apologize to anyone I may have affended by posting my problem in other threads (I see it has been removed). Fine! I am only trying to warn people that Shopmaster is a financially unstable company. BUY AT YOUR OWN RISK!

I ordered and paid for my machine back in October to take advantage of the "CHRISTMAS TIME!-Get your order in before Oct. 31 for delivery before Christmas- this will be your last chance" special. Well, needless to say, JT slipped on that delivery date and still didn't have the machine at the end of the first week in January. Once the machine did arrive, it was going to be another week or two for JT to prep the machine and then at least another week for delivery (that puts it into February). How long am I expected to wait? He roped me in with his false advertising on his website.

So, I demanded a refund and have not received my money to this day (03/05/10). JT told me around the first of February (I had to call him again) that he doesn't have any money but he does have my machine If I wanted it. I told him that I was no longer interested in the machine (especially after reading in this forum how much effort is required to make them work). I am not interested in a machine that is not turnkey.

I don't buy into JT's story that he doesn't have the money to pay me back. He is operating a business on OPM and surely must have some money in a savings account or have enough credit to pay me back, given his age and number of years he has been in this business. He makes a lot of claims on his website that have become apparently false?

JT I know you are reading this. I have been more than patient waiting for MY money. I am going to give you one more week to get the money in my hands before I come after you through the legal system. The fact that you have never called me back when I asked you to is pretty good evidence that you have no intentions to willingly pay me back. I guess I'll see you in Court.

[mikeyr]

Well some of this is out of JT's hands, he buys from overseas and if they slip the time frame, he slips, so you have to be flexible with him on that part. Money is money, I understand those concerns and I had the same concerns about his company being viable before I purchased. That is why I did research before buying.

I bought my machine from Shopmaster on the afternoon of Feb. 9 (2010, a few weeks ago), it shipped on Feb. 10 and arrived on Friday Feb. 12 mid-morning. Everything went exactly as promised by JT, I used the lathe the next day on Saturday.

[Vermont]

Well some of this is out of JT's hands, he buys from overseas and if they slip the time frame, he slips, so you have to be flexible with him on that part. Money is money, I understand those concerns and I had the same concerns about his company being viable before I purchased. That is why I did research before buying.

I bought my machine from Shopmaster on the afternoon of Feb. 9 (2010, a few weeks ago), it shipped on Feb. 10 and arrived on Friday Feb. 12 mid-morning. Everything went exactly as promised by JT, I used the lathe the next day on Saturday.

Is that a fact! You paid for your (my) machine on 02/09/10 and received it within 3 days! Thank you for sharing this with me.

Where's my money ($3,495) JT? Your BBB rating is an F for good reasons. Buyers BEWARE!

[mikeyr]

it was not your machine, it was a machine he had in stock, not anyones machine.

[Vermont]

I am new to this Forum so I apologize to anyone I may have affended by posting my problem in other threads (I see it has been removed). Fine! I am only trying to warn people that Shopmaster is a financially unstable company. BUY AT YOUR OWN RISK!

I ordered and paid for my machine back in October to take advantage of the "CHRISTMAS TIME!-Get your order in before Oct. 31 for delivery before Christmas- this will be your last chance" special. Well, needless to say, JT slipped on that delivery date and still didn't have the machine at the end of the first week in January. Once the machine did arrive, it was going to be another week or two for JT to prep the machine and then at least another week for delivery (that puts it into February). How long am I expected to wait? He roped me in with his false advertising on his website.

So, I demanded a refund and have not received my money to this day (03/05/10). JT told me around the first of February (I had to call him again) that he doesn't have any money but he does have my machine If I wanted it. I told him that I was no longer interested in the machine (especially after reading in this forum how much effort is required to make them work). I am not interested in a machine that is not turnkey.

I don't buy into JT's story that he doesn't have the money to pay me back. He is operating a business on OPM and surely must have some money in a savings account or have enough credit to pay me back, given his age and number of years he has been in this business. He makes a lot of claims on his website that have become apparently false?

JT I know you are reading this. I have been more than patient waiting for MY money. I am going to give you one more week to get the money in my hands before I come after you through the legal system. The fact that you have never called me back when I asked you to is pretty good evidence that you have no intentions to willingly pay me back. I guess I'll see you in Court.

Anyone dealing with JT should be very weary about what he tells you. He is a liar. He told me he did not have the money to pay me back, but yet, he sold and delivered a machine within 3 days when I had to wait months. And he did not reimburse me from that sale.

JT I am not going away until you pay me back.

[Vermont]

it was not your machine, it was a machine he had in stock, not anyones machine.

A machine he had in stock? Come on! It sounds like you think it's ok that JT is hanging on to my money (for his business use) after I cancelled my order on 01/06/10? It's OK - the longer he waits to pay me the more it is going to cost HIM.

[mikeyr]

read my previous posts on other threads, it was NOT your machine! it was a older machine he had in stock.

I am not going to get into this, its not OK that he holds onto your money but is it ok that you have had a change of heart and canceled the order ? look at it from both points of view, you got cold feet and changed your mind because of some perceived quality issue that you don't even know if it exists for real or not with the machine you would have received. He has a right to be upset, a right to hold your money NO but as with everything on the net, there are 2 sides to every story.

I am done with this bashing, all I originally wanted to do was show that for every bad story there is a good one and that your bad experience does not explain how he has stayed in business many decades, he can't be as bad as you think and I was very pleased with my transactions with him, so pleased I even sent a Thank You note last week and that is not something I do very often, only the second I can remember sending.

[bowman1964]

not sure what really happened,
but i have a question to ask.

did you order a full cnc,ball screw machine in the beginning?
and only pay for the machine upfront like we all had to?
and then decied to back out because of the problem getting it in a timley fashion?

depending on what you were told i could see you getting mad.no one knows what you were told but you and him.

i know for a fact he was upfront with me and actually told me once it might be best for me to buy something else before i placed the order.what would make someone tell a customer that. if he was trying to just collect the money and run. i really thought he was tring to be as honest as he could with me. i have been in retail going on 30 years now and i am honest as i can be with my customers. things do happen and you have to be straight with the customer and hope he understands. most people appreciate that, but some get mad and you cannt fix it.
I always look at things from the other side.so i understand your anger to a point.
but think about this.

ok what if you were him.
someone calls you and places an order for a machine valued over $6000 in base machine and add on's. like the cnc,ball screws. he pay's you the upfront amount of the machine.and you get a container order together and place it with your supplier.you wire transfer the money you gathered less your profit.
then after you wait for your supplier you find out the shipment missed a needed fumigation papers required to load on the boat. a simple thing. but this happens durring the week of christmas.BOOM you are them backed up till first of the year. 2 weeks gone. then get loaded and you wait another 2 weeks to come across the big water. all this time customers are calling you. you are strapped thin money wise and watch as company after company fold up and close all around you in this tough economy, worst since the depression. you struggle to make it and hope it arives as quick as it can. in the time being you have payrole and everything else. you hope the machine arrives as quick as possable to keep your cash flow moving. now it is feb and conatainer is in at port. wait a week in customs and it arrives. you order the other half of the machine componants. VFD drives,steppers drives,cnc gecko drive, and ball screws. which all have to be paid for up front.
ok things go south. stepper motors are wrong, reorder them wait till the wrong one get back and they reship the correct ones. 2 more weeks go by, customers are calling and you cannt do anything till the order get there.
finally you have everything and just need to ship. so you expect the customer to pay the remainder and you ship. the remainder is any profit you would normally have i am guessing.
then you end up with a customer who has decieded to cancel. now what do you do?
i dont know what you could do but be honest with him.

now i dont know what actually happend, but i call every week and just on what i heard him tell me i can put together this possable cause.

i am sorry things went south, and to be honest i dont have mine in hand yet, and who knows i may not recieve it.
but i am hoping mine ships today and within a week i hope to have mine.
i will keep everyone informed on its arival.

[billmiller]

I purchased one about three weeks ago and it is in route. It is destined to deliver Tuesday. It should have the VSD, DRO, 4 axis cnc, Ball screws, Mach 3 software, standard accessories, and powered rotary table installed and ready to go. $5,500.
I was in contact with JT a month earlier telling him what I needed and what my expectations were. He was more than helpful, honest in discussing how he operates.
I go out of my way to communicate with people so things like this don't happen.
sorry about your luck.

[Vermont]

bowman1964,

Your points are well taken and I apprecite your input. There seems to be a lot of people who think JT is a man of integrity so I will back off for now. However, JT needs to call me so we can figure out a solution. Not once has he initiated a call to me. I have a huge problem with people who run their businesses on Other Peoples Money (OPM) and don't have anything to back it up. Had I known this when I first ordered the machine, I never would have sent the money. I am not a Bank.

[Vermont]

Billmill,

Sorry about my luck? Since you are such a good communicator maybe you can communicate me a refund!

[lowpull]

Vermont, I dont have a dog in this fight, but it seems you are like a trapped dog, biting everyone who gets close to you. When the thread first started I had some sympathy for you, but after your last response to billmill, it evaporated.

[Vermont]

Vermont, I dont have a dog in this fight, but it seems you are like a trapped dog, biting everyone who gets close to you. When the thread first started I had some sympathy for you, but after your last response to billmill, it evaporated.

Sorry you feel that way but, I am not looking for sympathy. I am looking for a resolution and hopefully make others, who are interested in doing business with JT, aware of how he does conduct his business.

Billmill's response looks and feels like a slam towards me for having poor communication skills. My situation has nothing to do with luck.

Thank you for your input though.

[joeybagadonuts]

Vermont,

Why not take delivery of the machine and sell raffle tickets.
You may even make a profit.

JoeyB

[billmiller]

Luck goes hand in hand with attitude, so does communication. Understand, the more you rant, it really sounds like someone is spitting in your food when you keep demanding fries with your order.

Maybe you should start over and truely be cathartic and tell us how it all began? Think of it as laying the ground work for your big court date.

Realize though some of us will pat you on the back and some of us will tell you to man up because we really dont know what happened or how much experience you have with purchasing things over the internet.

Asking the right questions can save you thousands and sending back your order WILL cost you a few hundred. It is apparent for who you are, you made a poor decision. I was giving you the benifit of the doubt by saying l"uck" even though am a sarcastic prick.

I did some homework and am taking a chance like yourself by giving my hard earned money to some I dont really know.

My homework told me that for the cost, this machine and this company was a good fit for me. Other wise I would have bought a base model Smitty with no bells or whisles. for twice the money

I put in perspective, from the homework I did, that I am willing to be patient so I get a DRO,4 axis, CNC, mach 3, rotary table and ball screws machine that will serve my needs.

For the money, I am willing to wait, tweek, and problem solve a little because I have purchased similar equipment at used machinery surplus stores that give no guarantee at all.

Look at it this way, You are still going to get a machine delivered that is better than Harbor Freights. Other wise you should have bought a HF or paid a little more and got a Grizzly if you were at all concerned.

[Vermont]

Luck goes hand in hand with attitude, so does communication. Understand, the more you rant, it really sounds like someone is spitting in your food when you keep demanding fries with your order.
...

Thanks for that lecture. I definately needed that! Anyway, still waiting for JT to initiate a timely resolution to our problem. I can do this indefinately. It has only been a couple days now and look how many people have seen this thread.

[joeybagadonuts]

Vermont,

What do you think about the raffle idea?
I would donate a few bucks for a ticket.

JoeyB

[Vermont]

Vermont,

What do you think about the raffle idea?
I would donate a few bucks for a ticket.

JoeyB

I think its a good idea but I'm not going to initiate it. However, I would accept $3,300 (which includes the 5% re-stocking fee) if someone wanted to bail out JT.

Thank you for the suggestion.

[joeybagadonuts]

Vermont,

$3,300.00 might be a little high, there is one up on eBay right now.
http://tinyurl.com/yfo4fzm
Lightly used ones go for about half of what you are asking.
JoeyB

[gmfoster]

Vermont,

$3,300.00 might be a little high, there is one up on eBay right now.
http://tinyurl.com/yfo4fzm
Lightly used ones go for about half of what you are asking.
JoeyB

What are you talking about. From what he has said his is still in the warehouse and JT hasn't shipped it. From what I have gathered it isn't "lightly used" it hasn't even been shipped.

Actually there is no excuse for JT to back down as he has always promised 'Satisfaction" but rarely delivered. I bought a tool post from JT and it was so far from what they told me over the phone I never even considered spending any real money with him. He lated denied in a public forum even selling anything to me. Its still in the box downstairs.

I don't think you can be seriously think that he ought to settle for less than half.

And I would advise anyone thinking of buying to do a lot of reading as I suspect the happy owners is on the order of 50 percent.