PA. Attorney General files complaint against Internet Hobbies

[SfanGoch]

As posted by Roy Chow at Missing Lynx, owners Dale and Diane Bruner are subject of a lawsuit filed by the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General. The complaint alleges that the defendants consistently failed to deliver products and failed to refund consumers’ money, violating the Commonwealth’s Consumer Protection Law. Included n the lawsuit are the numerous front operations they operated such as Hobby Wheels, Hobby Rails, Hobby Book Depot, Red Star Hobbies, Military Model Depot, Model Airplane Depot, Model Railroad Depot, Model Ship Depot, Gundam World Online, www.takom-military.com, Model Kit Closeouts, and Model Train Closeouts.

It took long enough for these skells to be charged for the scam they ran for years.

Attorney General Shapiro Files Complaint Against Online Hobby Shop, Warns of Holiday Shopping Scams

[Nacho Z]

Wow!!  I’m pretty sure that I had placed an order with Internet Hobbies a number of years ago, when they were relatively new. I didn’t get my order and I got the run around for a bit.  I honestly don’t remember how it went down but I did get my money back. Might have been PayPal? Anyhow, I stayed away from them from the point on.  It is a shame that there are people like this out there.

[espo]

Nice to see someone is taking legal action against some of these predators. 

[MrObsessive]

It never seems to fail this time of year, you've got a lot of these sharks circling the waters to see who they can bite next. Seems as though these jerks have been doing this for some time, so it's EXCELLENT they finally got snagged.

On a more off topic note, I have to give our AG here in PA a HUGE load of thanks for coming to an excellent resolution to this case involving myself and a bunch of others.  

[SfanGoch]

Internet Hobbies, and its various offshoots, has been ripping off customers since 2000.

[forthlin]

I'm usually careful who I buy from but the Hobby Wheels site looked legit & I was stupid enough not to look up their reviews. I ordered a model on Feb.19 & never got it. No answers to emails or phone calls since then. I filed for a refund from my bank, emailed the BBB & wrote a letter to the Pennsylvania Attorney General to try & help put these scammers out of business.

Edited March 15, 2022 by forthlin
Add extra

[Erik Smith]

Does anybody know what the real dead is with these folks? Do they actually fulfill any orders? Do they have anything actually in stock? Or is it just 100% take money and hope people won't be willing to fight for their money? They do put a lot of effort into their website(s), it appears. Maybe they should just direct that toward a legitimate business.

[vamach1]

6 minutes ago, Erik Smith said:

Does anybody know what the real dead is with these folks? Do they actually fulfill any orders? Do they have anything actually in stock? Or is it just 100% take money and hope people won't be willing to fight for their money? They do put a lot of effort into their website(s), it appears. Maybe they should just direct that toward a legitimate business.

Sounds like you should stay as far away as possible from them.  Many reputable companies have “stores” on Ebay and at least you have some protection if a deal falls though or an item is damaged.  Plus if you use a credit card you are protected as well.  As a seller Ebay of course charges high fees but small sellers probably want the global reach instead of relying on Facebook marketplace or similar free sites where it’s more of an honor system.  Ebay is not foolproof but if the deal sounds too good to be true it’s probably best to steer clear.

[SfanGoch]

Internet Hobbies; track record for actually delivering purchases was/is extremely sporadic. You'd make out better playing Three-card Monte.

[CabDriver]

2 minutes ago, SfanGoch said:

Internet Hobbies; track record for actually delivering purchases was/is extremely sporadic. You'd make out better playing Three-card Monte.

That game's hard - I played it a bunch in Times Square and never won a single time! ?

[keyser]

They have minimal overhead, and pass the savings on. 

[SfanGoch]

Back in '77, I got into a fistfight with the shill on the corner of Sixth and W. 44th. He wouldn't let me walk away with the double sawbuck they let me win. They were banking that I was greedy and would keep playing.

[Mike C.]

6 hours ago, SfanGoch said:

You'd make out better playing Three-card Monte.

Immediately made me think of this old CD.

 

[sjordan2]

The online scams for diecast cars are rampant. They offer models like the hugely expensive Amalgam products for as little as $59.95. I got screwed last year by one Facebook seller and PayPal has never resolved it. I've reported these criminals to Facebook many times, but they never do anything about it.

[Ace-Garageguy]

20 hours ago, keyser said:

They have minimal overhead, and pass the savings on. 

How do we do it? Volume, volume, volume.

[SfanGoch]

 

[lordairgtar]

On 3/16/2022 at 4:55 PM, SfanGoch said:

 

Milwaukee had their own version...TV Lennie.

Could not find a commercial where he gave away bicycles with a purchase. He would yell Get a bike get a bike get a bike

Edited March 19, 2022 by lordairgtar

[The Junkman]

The SF Bay Area also had a electronics/bike giveaway store.  Matthew's TV and Stereo "Top of the Hill, Daly City".  At one time it was the largest distributor of bicycles in the entire Bay Area.  Maybe they should have switched product-they've been LONG out of business.

Edited March 19, 2022 by The Junkman

[Rodent]

11 hours ago, The Junkman said:

The SF Bay Area also had a electronics/bike giveaway store.  Matthew's TV and Stereo "Top of the Hill, Daly City".  At one time it was the largest distributor of bicycles in the entire Bay Area.  Maybe they should have switched product-they've been LONG out of business.

I remember that. My folks had a pretty good antenna, and channels 36 and 44 usually came in pretty well in the Sacramento area. Of course, as young boys, we all thought that Carol Doda was working for the wrong one of those two stations....

[carrucha]

12 hours ago, The Junkman said:

The SF Bay Area also had a electronics/bike giveaway store.  Matthew's TV and Stereo "Top of the Hill, Daly City".  At one time it was the largest distributor of bicycles in the entire Bay Area.  Maybe they should have switched product-they've been LONG out of business.

I remember those TV commercials from the 1980's.

[Mike C.]

The TV show American Greed did a whole show on Crazy Eddie. He got indicted on fraud charges.

[lordairgtar]

12 hours ago, Rodent said:

I remember that. My folks had a pretty good antenna, and channels 36 and 44 usually came in pretty well in the Sacramento area. Of course, as young boys, we all thought that Carol Doda was working for the wrong one of those two stations....

What station? I thought she was a stripper from the bay area.

[SfanGoch]

KGSC-TV, the "Perfect 36".

 

[Rodent]

What Joe said^^^ 

And she was a stripper before that.

[NYRich72]

On 3/15/2022 at 3:49 PM, SfanGoch said:

Back in '77, I got into a fistfight with the shill on the corner of Sixth and W. 44th. He wouldn't let me walk away with the double sawbuck they let me win. They were banking that I was greedy and would keep playing.

I'm a native New Yorker (originally from Brooklyn) and your story should serve as a warning. It's not unusual for the mark to be allowed to win the first round. As you found out, trying to walk away with your winnings can lead to all sorts of nasty stuff, especially if the dealer has a few buddies in the crowd for backup and to keep an eye out for the NYPD (who don't seem to care about this stuff any longer). At least you got to tell the tale but many others haven't been quite so lucky.