Came here to Tap My Helmet for a Bad Shop

[Klaus]

Howdy folks,

I'm out of California and recently purchased some goodies from one of your local recycling shops out in Akron.  I'm a rider and mechanic out in sunny California and got the run-around for over three weeks from Madman Cycles which resulted in the refusal of a refund and a very bitter fellow rider out here in California who will never do business with them again.

 

I don't support bad shops like Madman Cycles and want to warn other riders about supporting bad shops.  You can choose to patronize them, picket them, or continue on with your daily lives.  Maybe they're kind to locals, but they just don't give a flying f*ck about other Americans out of arm's reach. So here's my story:


Madman Cycles sells parts locally and have a huge ebay selection.  Their prices were pretty decent and they had a direct line which I thought was safe.  We discussed a discount when the money was sent as a gift, which I later came to regret: I was a little concerned sending the money as a gift but explicitly said over the phone "as long as it gets shipped out within the next day or two, I don't need a tracking number."

Over a week later I hadn't received anything.  No tracking number.  No package in the mail.  No phone call.  No text.  So I called them.  He said his phone was out of service and he'd have it sent out immediately.  This was cutting it close as I had a supercar rally to go to and needed the parts I ordered in order to properly compete.  But I'm a trusting person.  

Another week passed.  I failed to place in the rally because I never received the parts I ordered.  At this point, I didn't even need the parts anymore.  It didn't matter.  So I called again.  Same guy picks up and I tell him off the bat I just want a refund.  He proceeds to tell me how it must not have been sent out yet.  It wasn't on their list of things to send out.  I guess almost $300 doesn't put you on the list with Madman Cycles.  That isn't pocket change, that's some serious money.  I text him and tell him I want a refund.

He says he "can't issue a refund".  He says it's not possible.  At this point it's clear he doesn't want to issue a refund. So I take a photo showing it's possible.  He ignores it and responds telling me why it hasn't been shipped out and I text him again that I just want a refund.  He texts me a picture of a package.  I call him immediately, he doesn't pick up.  I text him saying NOT TO SEND IT OUT, I DON'T WANT IT ANYMORE.  He complains to me "how he had to drive an hour to get to the post office." Pardon my French, but what a scumbag.  Paypal won't fight it because it was sent as a gift.  I have some written drafts which I'll be sending in to Ohio's Better Business Bureau within the week to file an official complaint.

 

So basically imagine going to a steakhouse with your lover, your motorcycle.  It's a special occasion and you're willing to spend whatever it costs to make her happy.  You order two of the best meals on the menu.  They're going to cost you some serious dough but it doesn't matter.  An hour later and you stand up to leave, the waiter runs up to you and tells you your order just went in.  Another hour later you stand up to leave and ask for a refund because you had to pay in advance.  The waiter refuses to give it to you.  Another hour arrives and your steak arrives cold.  You don't even want it anymore.  You demand a refund and the waiter tells you it's already been made, you can't get a refund anymore.  You demand to talk to a manager and the manager just stands there, listens to your story, doesn't say anything, and walks away.  I wouldn't go back to that restaurant, would you?

- Klaus

[Bubba]

Sounds like you encountered a bad apple, alright.  The tip-off SHOULD'A been when the shop owner revealed to you that he's shady enough to want to dishonestly screw PayPal out of their seller's fee.  I've had some seller's request that I mark the transaction as 'GIFT' and that's at the point I said "Nevermind….Thanks for your time….Good bye."  Only way I do that is if the seller is personal friend or acquaintance and I know who I'm dealing with.

 

Sorry for your inconvenience, but chalk it up as another important life lesson learned.  Hope you get satisfaction with the refund request.

 

And BTW, thanks for 'steakhouse' parable.  Now I'm hungry, and it's only 8 o'clock in the morning….

[max power]

Thats f-ed up, but now you know.

Don't send paypal as a gift to someone you don't know.

[YSR_Racer_99]

Are you out of California? 

[Gixxus Christ!]

I had never heard of madman and I'm in the akron area. Doesn't ebay tell you not to do business directly with ebay vendors? Why didn't you perform the transaction through eBay where you have recourse? Gift payment should have been a red flag. Idk who you dealt with but nowhere in akron can you find a location that's an hour away from a post office. I've had to deal with out of state mail order parts companies before and it is a total pain. It took me like 8 months to get a used clutch once, and I had to threaten to take them to court.

[Josh1234]

that sucks that you got taken, but hopefully you learned a lesson, too, about sending money as a "gift."

 

Thanks for taking the time to post; it gives the rest of us a heads up about a shady shop.

[ReconRat]

It happens. Long time ago I did the reverse. Ordered handlebars from a fabrication shop in California. Before Internet. Months went by, all contact ignored. My father was out there on business and dropped in there. (Stern Navy officer) They sent it immediately. Kinda put me off on buying anything from small shops.

 

edit: funny thing is, a few months later, I'm living in California for a while. I should have gone over there and checked it out.

 

edit duex: Madman Motorcycles is listed as 2079 S Arlington Rd, Akron, OH 44306

(330) 724-2883

Facebook says it's a KTM dealer

 

Edited July 22, 2014 by ReconRat

[Bad324]

I wonder if Madman is the new name of the joint I got a couple parts at way back when for my first 600RR. They had a shitty reputation then too

[Gixxus Christ!]

Oh that's the old holeshot ktm, right under the freeway overpass, I know exactly where they are.

[Tpoppa]

I've bought parts from them off ebay.  But I paid and picked up in person.

[Klaus]

UPDATE FOR EVERYONE!

I've held off on actually opening the box because I am still struggling to get ahold of Ohio's BBB and just wanted to send it back unopened.  My curiosity got the better of me and I opened it to find out that this story gets bad to worse.

Not all of the items I ordered were even in the box.  

The items that actually were in the box were all f*cked up.  

WHAT THE F*CK.  None of this was damaged in shipping stuff, this was damaged going into the box and wrapped in newspaper.  We had talked over the phone and agreed upon fully functioning throttle bodies, a fully functional fuel pump, a gauge cluster, and a rectifier.  The gauge cluster was missing all together.  The throttle bodies had their secondary butterflies removed, the return spring disconnected (That would have been a GREAT test drive if I hadn't noticed), presumably with an equally disfunctional STVA (which was the only reason I needed the throttle bodies in the first place), and a bent, unattached fuel float.

This isn't an issue of "you shouldn't send paypal as a gift" ... This is a f*cked up shop that's just ripping people off.  What scumbags.  The name on the box says "Kevin Marino" ... Here's some pictures for all your viewing pleasure.

Stay away from Madman Cycles and their Sh*tbag Ethics and Business Practices


- Klaus

Edited August 6, 2014 by Klaus

[snot]

Kevin Marino ? Wonder if its the same as the Starboyz.

[Casper]

Kevin Marino ? Wonder if its the same as the Starboyz.

Google: kevin marino starboyz madman cycles

[Gixxus Christ!]

There's your problem.

[Josh1234]

I would've video'd opening the box.