Scale Finishes

[crazyjim]

Somebody posted somewhere on this forum about Scale Finishes having a sale.  I never used the paint before so I figured $24 for 8 bottles of paint, what the heck.  So on August 18 I placed an order and paid via Paypal.  On August 22 I got an email that the paint was shipped with a 2 priority.  Cool.  The paint didn't get here so on August 28 I sent an email to Scale Finishes asking about the status of my order.  The quick reply was that he had to work double shifts, the movers showed up and paint will go out Thursday.  Here it is Saturday with update on shipping so I emailed again.  No reply this time.  He just refunded my money.  That was nice but I wanted to try the paint.

So guess what?  No matter how great Scale Finished paint might be, they'll NEVER see an order from me again!!

[GMCMAN52]

James must be really busy.... I have ordered from him before and it always took over three to four weeks for the product arrive to my door

But like you I placed an order by snail mail as that's the way he wanted as stated on his site ,that was Aug 14th.

Have not heard or seen anything from him yet......Good thing I'm not ready for his paint

 

[crazyjim]

I don't how busy he might be.  I get emailed a promise ship date and falls through.  Makes another promise and doesn't make that either.  Ready for paint or not, there's no way I'd wait 3 or 4 weeks for a bottle of paint.

You order August 14 and haven't heard anything?  Are you just going to sit and wait?

[GMCMAN52]

No I going to send him a email . The last time I did that's when He stated that the paint was in the mail still take a few weeks. since I waited for several weeks the last time I knew what to expect with this order...... I know that he's moving along with work it will take some time to complete my order or any one else.

So Yes I'll wait and see what happens from my email

 

[martinfan5]

All I can tell you is that the property he was renting got sold and was not given much of a notice to  vacate,  that is why he started the sale,  so I am sure you can understand how busy he might be with working full time, trying to find a new place live, pack  and then move

Please understand that I am not taking his side

Edited September 3, 2016 by martinfan5

[crazyjim]

I can certainly understand the points you make, Jonathan.  What I can't and won't forgive is promising to ship on a specific date and than not making that date.  And that happened not once, but twice.

It also been my experience that movers show up on a specific date and time.  Not just out of the blue as claimed.

Edited September 3, 2016 by crazyjim

[MrObsessive]

Fellas, I'm not knocking his paint as I hear it's quite good, but this is the chief reason I'd sooner go to my local paint jobber and have them mix up what would be a "touch-up" amount for a model. The one place I go to knows exactly what I need in fact as there are other builders in the area that he deals with that ask for the same thing.

The price is a LOT more reasonable as the paint is unthinned..............frankly more bang for your buck as you can do literally multiples of cars with just the touch-up amount. Now I know not everyone has access to such a service, but I'm just saying I do this to avoid headaches such as this.

Sorry you're having to deal with this Jim.........

[martinfan5]

Oh yes Jim, you every right to be upset , I would be too ,  my last order from him took a long time before he shipped it, so I understand. 

[crazyjim]

Actually I'm not dealing with the issue anymore because he returned my money that I didn't ask for.  I requested status on my order. 

[crazyjim]

But why does the guy promise ship dates and not ship, Jonathan?  Doesn't make sense to me to create a shipping label and then not ship the product.  Oh well.  I'll stick with Coast Airbrush.

[Ace-Garageguy]

It also been my experience that movers show up on a specific date and time.  Not just out of the blue as claimed.

But rental property CAN be sold out from under a tenant "out of the blue", and it's not that unusual. It happened to me some years back, and drove me to have to file for bankruptcy to protect my lifetime's possessions from being piled up on the street by the sheriff...because there was NO WAY I could vacate within the time frame I was allowed.

Rough carp can come right out of left field, even when you're doing everything you're supposed to be doing.

PS. I'm NOT taking sides here...just saying things happen, and different people deal with them differently.

Edited September 3, 2016 by Ace-Garageguy

[crazyjim]

Bill... the guy announced he was having a moving sale.  Does that sound like the move came "out of the blue"?

[Ace-Garageguy]

Bill... the guy announced he was having a moving sale.  Does that sound like the move came "out of the blue"?

You have a point.   

[Quick GMC]

I have never had to wait more than a week for paint from him, but it has been a while since I ordered. I have always had good service and communication. HOWEVER, sometimes good vendors get caught in situations they can't control and it puts them in a negative light. It's possible he realized he wouldn't be able to get the shipment out after he said he would ship a couple times. IMO, refunding the money was the next best thing he could have done, because if he hadn't you would be pissed about not having your money refunded on top of not having your paint 

I'm an online vendor for my industry. I have a great reputation. I butchered an order last week and it didn't go out on time, when I said it would. I ate the shipping cost and refunded it to the buyer. It put him in a bad spot because he needed stuff by a certain time to complete a job. It's a terrible feeling, it happens to every vendor at one point or another. 

Also, the word "promise" gets thrown around a lot. Did he literally say "I PROMISE" I will get this out to you by this date? I get that when a vendor says they will do something by a certain date it's generally taken as a sure thing, but sometimes things happen that are out of people's control. Your situation is unfortunate to hear about, but it's not the norm for him, I know that from experience. 

If you want to try the paint without ordering from him, I have a few colors I probably won't end up using. 

[Nova-ss]

I know James personally. he is so busy with his move and job and scale finishes.I live right close to SLC here is UT.we belong to the same model club.when thing mellow out and he gets moved and life get easier again then he will get back to you.I've got orders to.he will fill them when he can.I know that doesn't get paint on your door step.but ever one had issue's in there lives...you never know what maybe happening in his life .he is a great person.let thing mellow out for him...we all need that at times...myself included. .......Chris

[Art Anderson]

I'll weigh in here:  I have ordered, and received, numerous bottles of paint from Jameston, with but one glitch, which was NOT his fault.  About 18 months ago, I ordered some paint for a pair of '54 Hudson builds, and that was promptly acknowledged, and shipped--Jameston even gave me the tracking number in an email.  As some may know, USPS contracts most of its surface mail to private companies, so here is the tale:

My package was delivered to the Post Office in Sandy UT, on the Friday before Memorial Day 2015 (all this is from the tracking report, which I accessed online).  It was delivered to the US Parcel Post facility in Denver on that Saturday.  On Tuesday, the day after Memorial Day, it was sent back to Salt Lake City!  A couple of days later, the package was sent BACK to Denver, where it sat for nearly a week, finally to be sent to Memphis TN.  A day later it was SENT BACK TO DENVER!  From Denver, it went back to Memphis, where it sat for a full week.  Finally, I read that my package had been sent out from Memphis, but no destination was given.  Another week goes by.  At last, my tracking report showed it was in Indianapolis (just 65 miles from me, but there it sat for several days.  Finally, it showed up at my doorstep (my letter carrier always brings my packages inside, upstairs to my apartment door.  Total ET? one day shy of FOUR weeks.

In all of this,Jameston offered to refund my money, but I refused, telling him that it wasn't particularly his fault.  He did tell me that it would be the last time he would use just basic Parcel Post--and indeed, my next paint order came by Priority Mail.

As Bill has stated, living (or for that matter, operating a business) in rental properties does carry the possibility of a sudden, unwarranted eviction.  So with this in mind, I am inclined to say give Jameston a break in all of this--I along with several other model car buddies have had nothing but positive experiences with Scale Finishes, and I'll be happy to order more paint from him as the need arises.

 

[crazyjim]

Lovely stories Christopher and Art.  I doubt that Jameston will ever get back to me and even if he did, I wouldn't waste a dime on his paint or service.  You may have noticed that I build quite a few models over a year.  They all require paint.  Nonw of the paint will be Scale Finishes.

[martinfan5]

Bill... the guy announced he was having a moving sale.  Does that sound like the move came "out of the blue"?

Did you stop and think for second that the moving sale came after he found out he had to move?

 

 

Edited September 5, 2016 by martinfan5

[Nova-ss]

Lovely stories Christopher and Art.  I doubt that Jameston will ever get back to me and even if he did, I wouldn't waste a dime on his paint or service.  You may have noticed that I build quite a few models over a year.  They all require paint.  Nonw of the paint will be Scale Finishes.

you get that option.if you choose not to that up to you.i will buy from him cause he is honest and knows his business.you have a great day.....Chris

[gtx6970]

The issue to me is being told it shipped ....even go so far as to provide a tracking # .....when be knew it hadn't. I dont care the issue.....imo thats a problem

[om617]

How can anyone provide tracking if the item(s) aren`t shipped thru the post office? Fake made up tracking number? Sounds fishy.

[Art Anderson]

How can anyone provide tracking if the item(s) aren`t shipped thru the post office? Fake made up tracking number? Sounds fishy.

Fedex and UPS BOTH provide tracking numbers for items shipped through them, as does USPS.  The tracking number would be on the receipt for shipping.

[om617]

Fedex and UPS BOTH provide tracking numbers for items shipped through them, as does USPS.  The tracking number would be on the receipt for shipping.

Yes i understand. But how can you provide tracking if items are not shipped? 

[MrObsessive]

Yes i understand. But how can you provide tracking if items are not shipped? 

 

If one purchases something from a seller on eBay for instance, the seller can have a shipping label printed out on their own which will generate a tracking number if the seller so chooses this option. It's then just a matter for said seller to physically take the item to the P.O to be delivered. Once the shipping label is generated, eBay is notified and the buyer is told that the item has been "shipped" even though the item may still be physically in the seller's home.

I know this as I've sold on eBay quite a number of times, and I've had shipping labels printed out on my printer with a tracking number affixed to it, and I've even had buyers email me after one day wondering where their stuff is!

[om617]

If one purchases something from a seller on eBay for instance, the seller can have a shipping label printed out on their own which will generate a tracking number if the seller so chooses this option. It's then just a matter for said seller to physically take the item to the P.O to be delivered. Once the shipping label is generated, eBay is notified and the buyer is told that the item has been "shipped" even though the item may still be physically in the seller's home.

I know this as I've sold on eBay quite a number of times, and I've had shipping labels printed out on my printer with a tracking number affixed to it, and I've even had buyers email me after one day wondering where their stuff is!

Thank you for the write up. I am suprised that the seller can generate tracking numbers before the physically takes the item to the P.O.

Then i would say Ebay have many honest sellers,still have in favour of being scammed on there. I have seen people getting angry at sellers

in the feedback section where they have bought model-kit parts and assumed it to be 1:1 real car parts