Andgor —
There’s nothing like a good lesson. Well, except an expensive lesson. Or a lesson that can still make you go “oh yeah, that lesson” a full five years later.
My lesson is Andgor.
Ah yes, I was just a mere sprite those many years ago when I read on Slashdot a story about a concept that grabbed me by the throat: personalized action figures. The concept, so simple, so cool: send in a photo and this company would create a personalized action figure, a doll with a hand-sculpted head placed on a generic body, with additional possible custom features attached. What an amazing idea.
So I went to their page, with its flashy graphics and clear statement, and containing a bit more expendable cash that perhaps I deserved, I paid for a figure ($400), and, in what is now a laughable irony, an additional $200 for a “rush fee”, so that the figure would be ready for the wedding it was to be a gift for. In my money went, and then I sat back and waited.
And waited.
Well, the couple who I got it for has had two children since then. One of the kids and I chat every once in a while. I started, filmed, and finished the BBS Documentary in that time. I’ve moved three times. And here I am almost done with GET LAMP and yes, there’s no chance of my figure ever showing up. It has been 6 years.
Oh, I made my calls, my pleadings, my annoyed letters. I called the better business bureau. I even filled out a form with the Orlando Attorney General’s office. That money, my friends, is gone. Gone, gone, gone.
Many people have written about being ripped off by Andgor. They are scam artists. Pages like this one abound, but there are many others marveling over the idea of getting a personalized action figure. They marvel over the idea; they do not marvel over what they actually got.
AndGor Toy 254 Ronald Reagan Blvd Suite 223 Longwood, FL 32750 407-331-5890 All Emails: sales2@andgor.com customerservice@andgor.com orders@andgor.com info@andgor.com
So, the question is, why do I sit back and “take it”? Well, for one point, let’s be clear: the next time I’m in Longwood Florida, they are getting a brick through their front window. This is worth getting arrested for. I would love for them to try and get a judgment against me.
But until I get a chance to stop by and smash their window, I let this lesson, this painful lesson, bubble up to the surface of my thoughts every once in a while. Believe it or not, I’m a very trusting person. This little endeavor reminds me how there are people who, in the face of everything, will scam, scam and scam. They will hold their own and take advantage, and promise things they can’t deliver and steal from people. I’ve been a very lucky person, scammed very little in my life. Andgor stands as my biggest betrayal. It’s nothing compared to losing a home or a child, but it definitely sticks with me. And it reminds me how hard I should work, when doing business with people as a person who makes these films, to treat all people with respect and quick response. And to take the high road.
P.S. I am serious. I am going to break their window.
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Make sure to tape it when you do!
May I suggest that breaking the window is a high-risk proposition for you, without it being sufficiently annoying for them?
Remember, if the cops catch you breaking the window, they are obligated to arrest you, without regard to the fact that they really should be arresting the folks inside the building instead.
I would say that the optimal form of retribution would have the following characteristics:
1) Be perfectly legal.
2) Not cost you money.
3) Cost them money.
or
4) Land them in jail for fraud.
I assume that the relevant authorities in Florida aren’t being helpful at investigating these bozos? Which rules out #4, sadly.
Anyone else got any good thoughts?
Ohhhh…I just poked around their web site. According to the web site, they have a toll-free number! 877-4-AndGor
If that’s still live, you could call it regularly and ask for your money back. They won’t give it to you, but you’ll be wasting their money on the phone call.
How sucky suck. For years I participated in “tape trading” circles, where I would trade video bootlegs of concert videos with random Internet peoples. In just a few short years I built up a pretty healthy collection of videos. The entire system is based on mutual trust — “you send me a tape, I’ll send you one.” And consistantly, anyone requesting a Limp Bizkit video from me ripped me off. Every. Single. Time. After half a dozen times, I made anyone who asked for a LB video to mail me their video first. They never did. The irony of it all is that I really don’t like Limp Bizkit; I just ended up with a couple of their shows on multi-show tapes.
As for the whole action figure thing, I’m lucky. I don’t need to drop $600 — I pretty much look just like every Silent Bob action figure that’s ever been released.
I love pre-meditated bricks!!
That really stinks. Did you pay with a credit card that you could dispute a charge under the protection of “services not rendered” or items paid for but not received? I don’t see how they stay in business doing things like this. Are they unreliable just for their customized figures or all thier transactions? (I see some figures on their site I would like to order, but now, I think I would be foolish to.)
Quotation on a personalized figure.
These scammers got me for almost 400.00 too. Like you, I contacted the BBB (useless, in the long run), filed complaints with the FL attorney general’s office, and office, and contacted their county law enforcement. I spent about 30.00 additional mailing thick packets of my documentation to all of these people. I was never able to recoup the money and, because Andgor strung me along for a few months, it was too late for me to have my credit card company dispute the charges. This happened a few years ago and it burns me still.
I’ll join you in the brick throwing. By the way, the site’s still up, called “The All New Andgor,” and their location is now listed as: Black Ledge Estate, 198 Goodhill Rd, Oxford, CT, 06478, Ph: 203-733-5361. I’ll take a side trip there with extra bricks.