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Save A Life: Naughty Dog fan leather smith fighting cancer (Last stretch ~1.1k left!)
- Thread starter kubus
- Start date
As nice as it is that there's a raffle, I wish it had been done after they sent out that big wave of overdue orders... I also thought it was odd how people's facebook posts asking about their order statuses were deleted. That doesn't look good. They've claimed they will be shipping out their orders after the fundraiser, which I hope is the truth... I really don't want to feel like a dick for having to file a chargeback for something that's over 2 months late.
Mister_Bubbles
Member
What the hell?
I am also starting to get concerned that this is some big fucking scam. It is almost four months since I placed my order for a backpack and buckle, and I know that it is to help David but I put that money down at a time when I don't have much to spare in the understanding that I would be getting actual products in recompense.
My own damn backpack got stolen last week and I could really do with that replacement >_<
What the...? They really deleted facebook posts? Geez.
Yeah, I definitely understand the concern. It's been brought up before. I know they've been overwhelmed, but it's really unfortunate that it's taken this long. I do believe they'll finally deliver once the raffle is over, so let's just wait and see a few more days.
Mister_Bubbles
Member
I sent them an e-mail and actually got a response this time. I know if I had received a mail like this earlier (say a couple of months earlier...) I would have felt a lot less uneasy about the whole situation, so here it is, and hopefully it will put some of the rest of GAF's minds at ease as well:
Thanks, it does help a little bit because they still haven't replied to my last mail in over two weeks. I ordered because I wanted to help this guy but also because I wanted the stuff I have ordered.
The way they handled it so far was really bad. There is no communication at all and I only get information from this thread. I was not pissed when they didn't made the initial shipping date but they at least could have told it about it. And now they apparently have more problems, why don't they send out mails to their customers so they could understand the problems?
Not saying anything will just lead to people cancelling, which leads to less funds raised.
The way they handled it so far was really bad. There is no communication at all and I only get information from this thread. I was not pissed when they didn't made the initial shipping date but they at least could have told it about it. And now they apparently have more problems, why don't they send out mails to their customers so they could understand the problems?
Not saying anything will just lead to people cancelling, which leads to less funds raised.
Mister_Bubbles
Member
It has been very badly handled. Maybe I am being too cynical, as I know that they have all been helping their friend, but to think that they couldn't find the time to manage any shop orders, e-mails of communication, or, really, anything at all over the last four months is hard to fathom.
I hate that it makes me feel pissed off and jaded, as when I first placed down all that money to help David I remember feeling really positive about the whole thing.
I hate that it makes me feel pissed off and jaded, as when I first placed down all that money to help David I remember feeling really positive about the whole thing.
I'm so sorry about all the confusion and lack of communication everyone. I feel partly responsible because I opened this thread, which led to a lot of Gaffers donating and placing orders. I had no idea it would end like this.
I do believe that this is not a scam and everyone will get what they ordered or a refund (in worst case scenario).
I'm not sure what the deal is with the facebook messages being deleted. I also received an email that said they are being targeted by hackers and trolls, but I can't really imagine why anyone would do that.
I feel sad that there's been a lot of negativity around the campaign recently. I do think they will pull through and sort things out, but I have to agree that things could've been handled better. The lack of communication is very damaging and makes it really hard to get the last donations. It's so sad though, we're really nearly there. Just 1k left...
I'm really looking forward to reaching that goal now, not just so David can get his treatment but also so that the people who fought to get him on his feet again can finally be rewarded. Because damnit, everyone of you guys and gals who donated, bought stuff and spread the word really deserve it.
I do believe that this is not a scam and everyone will get what they ordered or a refund (in worst case scenario).
I'm not sure what the deal is with the facebook messages being deleted. I also received an email that said they are being targeted by hackers and trolls, but I can't really imagine why anyone would do that.
I feel sad that there's been a lot of negativity around the campaign recently. I do think they will pull through and sort things out, but I have to agree that things could've been handled better. The lack of communication is very damaging and makes it really hard to get the last donations. It's so sad though, we're really nearly there. Just 1k left...
I'm really looking forward to reaching that goal now, not just so David can get his treatment but also so that the people who fought to get him on his feet again can finally be rewarded. Because damnit, everyone of you guys and gals who donated, bought stuff and spread the word really deserve it.
Maybe there were spammers/trolls posting things, but honestly I never saw it. What I did see were a couple people's totally normal and justified posts simply asking for when orders might be shipping out and roughly when to expect them. And those posts are no longer on the site. From an outside viewer, this looks like they want to either cover up or quiet any questions about them not fulfilling orders on time.
This is exactly the problem I was facing. I purchased several items, at the time seeing on the site there was a ship date of somewhere around January 25th. When I had to send three separate emails to get a response (ironically only getting a response once I posted a facebook message which has since been deleted), how is a customer supposed to feel? If they had at least sent a blanket email like the one Mr Bubbles got above to everyone, then at least we would've have some idea of what the heck is going on. But when there's nothing but vague promises of "soon" and then nothing afterwards, people will get nervous.
That said, I am still sticking with it because his items looked so damn cool... it's just unfortunate that I had wanted to give one of those items as a gift and now it's well past that person's birthday. Also, to be honest, if they're still so behind on everyone's orders, they really shouldn't have made products available for purchase again on their site until they had caught up... I have a feeling this is going to happen again to the next wave of buyers.
I completely agree with you and I've sent out an email asking if there's any possibility of them sending out a mass email to everyone with outstanding orders with some info on the current state of things. I think this would help tremendously (and should've been done before).
I'm really glad everyone's really patient with this, thank you for that. I understand that this is very frustrating for those who are being kept in the dark and I really hope that something can be done about that very soon!
Mister_Bubbles
Member
Indeed. It took a pretty scathing e-mail on my part to get a reply, but once a channel of communication has been opened I've had a continued back-and-forth with a couple of people on their end. I suggested (just in case it hadn't actually occurred to anyone) that someone spend an hour or so just collating all the e-mail addresses of people who had placed an order and sending a mass e-mail out to that effect, and they said:
So I get the impression that the people who are running this just were not prepared to have to deal with all this kind of stuff and found themselves out of their depth.
Hopefully a mail will be sent out to everyone who placed orders.
RicardoNeftali
Member
I actually bought a bag thinking they were being offered because the first wave had shipped and they had new stock (possibly from cancellations). The fact is they never reached out to my question about time frame for shipping and finding out they never did ship out that first batch makes me incredibly nervous about ETA on my own. The whole lack of communication does feel shady.
That all said the bag is awesome and I want to support David so I'm holding off on cancellation or anything like that but this whole situation could have been handled better. It doesn't take that long to type out a mass email. I mean this post took all of 5 minutes.
AbandonedTrolley
Member
Yeah I've been holding on too, not in a rush for the items from my donation but would be nice to receive them. Hopefully once this is all completed then they can get the stuff out to those that have ordered them.
If I don't get the items then fair enough I won't be putting in a claim back as I saw the donation as exactly that, a donation, the items were a little bonus.
If I don't get the items then fair enough I won't be putting in a claim back as I saw the donation as exactly that, a donation, the items were a little bonus.
Yeah, they could handle the whole thing better, but I can't bring myself to ask for a refund. The point of buying one of the products was to make a donation, I would feel really bad doing that.
So I will try to keep quiet and hoping that David gets better. When he recovers from this (I know he can!), then I will be concerned about my "purchase".
So I will try to keep quiet and hoping that David gets better. When he recovers from this (I know he can!), then I will be concerned about my "purchase".
7 hours ago
No donations in a while now
I'd love to donate again but I get paid once a month and I still have to wait another week to get paid. It seems the surge of donations a few weeks ago was the big push. People either can't afford to donate again or have donated many times at this point.
Mister_Bubbles
Member
7 hours ago
No donations in a while now
Have there been any updates since then, or has it all gone quiet again? The last update on the donation page was a month ago.
AbandonedTrolley
Member
No, nothing here, also nothing of the apparent update for the raffle on Facebook.
Mister_Bubbles
Member
Sent another e-mail yesterday, here's the reply I got this morning:
AbandonedTrolley
Member
Sent another e-mail yesterday, here's the reply I got this morning:
Oh wow! Well thankfully it seems as though things are better for him then. Hopefully the update will give more insight to what's been happening lately.
AbandonedTrolley
Member
Latest on their Gofundme page.
Not sure if they hit the target although they obviously got enough for the actual operation, I would think that $1,000 (Based on $45,000 raised) might be negligable in terms of the aftercare, but I could be very wrong. Hopefully after the scare they recently had David is on the road to a full recovery.
The Last Wizard
Member
No, I was talking to Michelle for like two days over email and thought I'd finally get some info and then she never replied. That was over a month ago and still nothing. I'm emailing her right now and hopefully I'll hear something. It's ridiculous how I can't even get details as to why it didn't ship back in January, also how people who ordered after me got their stuff first. This whole thing is infuriating...
RicardoNeftali
Member
I haven't received a response to a single email I've sent yet (this includes giving them over a month to respond to even one) And I've noticed everybody who has been responded too always gets generalities and no specific and actual ship date.
I am willing to accept that they had a big emergency as the truth for the most recent lack of communication but I am really disappointed with the lack of clarity, organization, and transparency that they have shown and really wish they would start talking in specifics, especially on the shipping situation.
I am willing to accept that they had a big emergency as the truth for the most recent lack of communication but I am really disappointed with the lack of clarity, organization, and transparency that they have shown and really wish they would start talking in specifics, especially on the shipping situation.
Mister_Bubbles
Member
Yeah, this is what worries me.
AbandonedTrolley
Member
The best I had was back on the 8th Feb when I was told
But I've had nothing yet.
The Last Wizard
Member
So I got an email this morning and was told they'd found some volunteers to helps with communications and shipping orders out and that they would start shipping next week. Also that they'd post an update in the next few days.
Mister_Bubbles
Member
I feel like they've been saying that exact thing for the last few weeks...
I'm starting to find it hard to believe that these orders are indeed ready to ship... I mean if that was the case then you'd think they'd at least try to get some of them out to people... I'm really starting to think that it's either a) they scamming people or b) they took way more orders than they could handle and are stalling til they actually finish them.
RicardoNeftali
Member
My concern is that the bolded part is true, that they simply don't currently actually have the stock to ship but they really wanted to hit their goals and essentially used this as a preorder, I don't think it was a scam in the sense that I do believe they fully intend to fill the orders, simply that they misrepresented the size of their actual stock.
As an update I also received a reply that said shipping info would be sent when they shipped and planned ship date is next week.
Here's hoping.
GavinUK86
Member
Just so you all know, I'm not fully aware of everything thats been going on with this. I heard about the guys troubles at first and that's about it but I recently had someone contact me who was pretty upset with how they're being treated in regards to the communication between David, his girlfriend Cortney and the people who donated to help.
I'm just going to post here what I was sent. I've scanned through it all to make sure it's not full of crap and it all seems to hold up pretty watertight. This person has obviously done their research. I just feel they should be given the chance to voice their concern.
** From someone called Z:
"I've been suspicious of David Vigil since last year when another fundraiser for his cancer appeared again. I jumped on board for the first campaign in 2012 to help his cause and I felt nothing but relief when I heard it was a success. The weird thing that bothered me was that we were left in the dark about so many things and we're simply told via text from a third party on David's condition only it wasn't by "Jackson" last time, it was by a girl named "Cortney Kitchen" see link for reference and details.
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/help-save-the-vigilante
You will also notice the same pictures from that campaign are used on the current campaign.
I started to do some digging on this Cortney person, because I found it odd that she wasn't behind the campaign this time and instead it's this faceless Jackson person with 13 friends on a recently made Facebook account. I found that her and David have a wedding registry set up and are scheduled to be wed sometime this Summer.
http://registry.theknot.com/cortney-kitchen-david-vigil-july-2014-ca/4645328
I also found her Pinterest page that confirms her identity and it contains links to her twitter account and Facebook account.
http://www.pinterest.com/cknautical/pins/
https://www.facebook.com/cortney.kitchen.31
After doing some digging around there, I found what appears to be a personal Facebook page for David Vigil.
https://www.facebook.com/PSVigilante?fref=ts
If you scan David's page you will see it is private and the only option you have is a message button. The add feature is not there.
You will also see a post with David on what looks like an ATV with his future bride to be and if you look at the likes and comments you can put two and two together that he has friends and family commenting and liking it.
One comment is even from David himself.
Now this was posted February 10th and one would think that David could at least update everyone about his status personally since he has time to play around on his personal Facebook account. It was only 11 days before that status was up that there was a picture of him and his grandmother on the support page Facebook account.
I looked for a sign that his friends and family might know what he does for a living, but on his Facebook page I found an old link different from the one being used now.
http://vigilanteleather.com/maintenance/
Another thing I found funny is that the friends and relatives of David in no way shape or form attempted to promote David's cause.
Some of the profiles are public and I was able to scroll through them and not one of them mention or link the cause at all.
I find it extremely weird that the people David are the closest to do not even mention anything about donating to help fight his cancer battle.
Another strange thing is that I checked his Facebook name PSVigilante and I think I found his PlayStation ID as well and according to the play history he has been pretty active according to his profile.
http://psnprofiles.com/PSVigilante
Like I said I find it funny that David can't update people himself, but he's got time to do other things. People have been left in the dark and this is just like when I donated the first time and still haven't received my product.
We were promised video updates, instagram updates, and we're always left with sincere apologies about delays and not getting updated, I'm not buying it anymore. David couldn't fulfill orders from the previous fundraiser and I don't expect him to do it again.
I also found this link with people complaining about the shadiness of some items they were auctioning on Ebay to raise money for the last campaign.
http://collectorsedition.org/forums/showthread.php?t=9567
The person advertising for David there is Cortney, but she only refers to David as a "friend" there became an issue when someone did not receive what was listed and the account was banned.
The Ebay account links to a profile with 2 negative feedback claims saying that both items were a scam. You can see that here and please note it says that they use the paypal name Vigilante Leather.
http://feedback.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayI...sspagename=VIP:feedback&ftab=FeedbackAsSeller
I've been hoping that I am paranoid and overanalyzing things, and that all of what I've speculated on and found could be refuted because I can not imagine someone doing something as low as this. I can't forgive myself if this all wound up being an elaborate scam and I stood by and did nothing about it. I'm still hoping I'm paranoid, but I feel like asking logical questions will maybe bring David out to address things and provide proof other than false promises on products we were supposed to receive.
Thank you."
I'm just going to post here what I was sent. I've scanned through it all to make sure it's not full of crap and it all seems to hold up pretty watertight. This person has obviously done their research. I just feel they should be given the chance to voice their concern.
** From someone called Z:
"I've been suspicious of David Vigil since last year when another fundraiser for his cancer appeared again. I jumped on board for the first campaign in 2012 to help his cause and I felt nothing but relief when I heard it was a success. The weird thing that bothered me was that we were left in the dark about so many things and we're simply told via text from a third party on David's condition only it wasn't by "Jackson" last time, it was by a girl named "Cortney Kitchen" see link for reference and details.
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/help-save-the-vigilante
You will also notice the same pictures from that campaign are used on the current campaign.
I started to do some digging on this Cortney person, because I found it odd that she wasn't behind the campaign this time and instead it's this faceless Jackson person with 13 friends on a recently made Facebook account. I found that her and David have a wedding registry set up and are scheduled to be wed sometime this Summer.
http://registry.theknot.com/cortney-kitchen-david-vigil-july-2014-ca/4645328
I also found her Pinterest page that confirms her identity and it contains links to her twitter account and Facebook account.
http://www.pinterest.com/cknautical/pins/
https://www.facebook.com/cortney.kitchen.31
After doing some digging around there, I found what appears to be a personal Facebook page for David Vigil.
https://www.facebook.com/PSVigilante?fref=ts
If you scan David's page you will see it is private and the only option you have is a message button. The add feature is not there.
You will also see a post with David on what looks like an ATV with his future bride to be and if you look at the likes and comments you can put two and two together that he has friends and family commenting and liking it.
One comment is even from David himself.
Now this was posted February 10th and one would think that David could at least update everyone about his status personally since he has time to play around on his personal Facebook account. It was only 11 days before that status was up that there was a picture of him and his grandmother on the support page Facebook account.
I looked for a sign that his friends and family might know what he does for a living, but on his Facebook page I found an old link different from the one being used now.
http://vigilanteleather.com/maintenance/
Another thing I found funny is that the friends and relatives of David in no way shape or form attempted to promote David's cause.
Some of the profiles are public and I was able to scroll through them and not one of them mention or link the cause at all.
I find it extremely weird that the people David are the closest to do not even mention anything about donating to help fight his cancer battle.
Another strange thing is that I checked his Facebook name PSVigilante and I think I found his PlayStation ID as well and according to the play history he has been pretty active according to his profile.
http://psnprofiles.com/PSVigilante
Like I said I find it funny that David can't update people himself, but he's got time to do other things. People have been left in the dark and this is just like when I donated the first time and still haven't received my product.
We were promised video updates, instagram updates, and we're always left with sincere apologies about delays and not getting updated, I'm not buying it anymore. David couldn't fulfill orders from the previous fundraiser and I don't expect him to do it again.
I also found this link with people complaining about the shadiness of some items they were auctioning on Ebay to raise money for the last campaign.
http://collectorsedition.org/forums/showthread.php?t=9567
The person advertising for David there is Cortney, but she only refers to David as a "friend" there became an issue when someone did not receive what was listed and the account was banned.
The Ebay account links to a profile with 2 negative feedback claims saying that both items were a scam. You can see that here and please note it says that they use the paypal name Vigilante Leather.
http://feedback.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayI...sspagename=VIP:feedback&ftab=FeedbackAsSeller
I've been hoping that I am paranoid and overanalyzing things, and that all of what I've speculated on and found could be refuted because I can not imagine someone doing something as low as this. I can't forgive myself if this all wound up being an elaborate scam and I stood by and did nothing about it. I'm still hoping I'm paranoid, but I feel like asking logical questions will maybe bring David out to address things and provide proof other than false promises on products we were supposed to receive.
Thank you."
Mister_Bubbles
Member
Shady. As. Fuck. :/
Necromanti
Member
So in 2012, he had a campaign for raising money to treat stage III stomach cancer (10-20% chance of survival), and a year later, another campaign was started to raise funds for treating stage II pancreatic cancer (5-7% chance of survival).
I don't know if that's a case of being extremely lucky to survive such odds, or being extremely unlucky to end up with multiple instances of very malignant cancers to begin with. It was more believable until that post above, though. I hate assuming the worst.
I don't know if that's a case of being extremely lucky to survive such odds, or being extremely unlucky to end up with multiple instances of very malignant cancers to begin with. It was more believable until that post above, though. I hate assuming the worst.
Shining Sunshine
Banned
These kinds of scams happen all the time. Not saying this one is for sure a scam, but I never put my money into individual fundraisers. I would only fund organizations with legit license.
Heck, I don't even get into any kickstarters. Everything is such a scam nowadays.
Heck, I don't even get into any kickstarters. Everything is such a scam nowadays.
Said picture: http://i.imgur.com/jBGtCT6.jpg
Sorry for doubting you guys. Thank you for the quick updates. I'm glad we've managed to raise $45,000(!) for David!
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