My correspondence with RedFrog. Should be noted they seemed to have forgotten I purchased 3 games from them a couple weeks ago,and had tons of communication swith them about the messed up shipping charges.
My first message to them about TZD issue. Please keep in mind,I have had prior dealings with Redfrog,am not happy about those obviously since I was charged $22.39 to ship 3 PS1 games,their rude replies,selling items not in their own hands under one location,and also the fact my name and email account along with my fellow members was posted freely on the net. My messages to them are obviously meant to put them on the spot,and can be considered rude in manner and wording.
My message 1:Dear redfrogusa,
"As Turbo Zone Direct (TZD), We are the only recognized distributor in the world with the largest stock of factory sealed Turbo Grafx games available!"
Awesome lol,well let me just state this. As a member of the largest/greatest TurboGrafx and PcEngine community in the world,Pcenginefx.com NEC console community, I can assure you our members are not going to be happy with the fact Steve at TZD held out good stock before you bought them out,only sold the sucky titles to us on the main web page, and finally sold everything to you so you could trow the good titles on ebay and keep the junk stock on the web page still. TZD as a reliable and fair Turbo seller died long ago. You shouldn't even bother with using the name anymore,it wont help boost sales. TZD doesn't exist any more,and also,Steve still owes my friends credit card $130+ in chargebacks for undelivered items,so I guess you do too now since you lay claim to the namesake.
Redfrogs replies to this:
He did not hold out good stock, he had very few titles available. I don't know how Steve could owe your friends money for chargebacks because the definition of a chargeback is that you received your money back without receiving product.
I appreciate your concern, and if you had an issue with him, it is extremely unprofessional to contact us with your issues about a company that we acquired and state that because you are a member of said website, TZD died a long time ago?
AND:
And another thing, a lot of the "stock" you are seeing was not all acquired from Steve. I worked pretty hard to acquire numerous titles from various sources, and we have more games from other sources than from the TZD Stock you are referring to. Just trying to set the record straight, but TTI never had ANY Working Designs stock like we have, just as an example.
MY response to these replies:
The charge back is in temporary status while the credit card company reviews it,and its from charges TZD, AS A COMPANY, made and didn't deliver the goods on back in NOV.TZD did have some Working Design titles in stock back when I was a frequent customer. I purchased Parasol Stars this way. TZD also sold non-TTI related items like imports too.Whenever they were able to get ahold of new stock they would sell it,Pc-Engine or otherwise. You should probably do your research before you send me any kinda replies. Yes TZD is dead. Your company,employees,company policy and style are all Redfrog driven,and don't resemble TZD before they went to shambles. All you own is the name of a company that went out in a pathetic sort of way. We also know Steve was not listing items for sale,due to hoping to have a large enough A+ stock to sale when they wanted to sell the company name and be done with it. No one in their right mind would have just bought a ton of Shadow of the Beast and Power Golfs.
Redfrog repllies again:
When a chargeback is made b the consumer, the money is refunded to the consumer. We have no part or knowledge of this transaction. We take over the company name and information. If you have any issues with games, we will be happy to assist you.
As far as you telling me to "do our research", you do not own pcenginefx.com, nor do you have any right to speak on their behalf. Second, when TZD did sell these games, they had few in stock, and they disappeared from the website completely. We have archives for each website update, and Steve was not hording items like you say. You have no knowledge of what we plan on doing with the company, knowledge of us as the buyer, or anything else other than your own blanketed statement saying what you "think" is happening with everything.
I lived in California for a long time, I've been collecting TG stuff for a long time, and the company has their own plans with the website that are not strictly related to TG items exclusively. I don't appreciate you making assumptions on things you don't know at all.
MY reply:
I never once said I owned PCEnginefx,did I?
Can you even read? Is everything you say spat out before thinking about your answers? I clearly stated I am a member there,and now that it has been made clear to most all members there that RedFrog is the current owner of the name and stock,and people have seen how many negatives you have gotten in a month,each month,and how your ebay id will list stuff not even in your hands,thus creating different and outragious shipping charges on auctions. So far the majority members there are very displeased with your buying out TZD. The opinions stated are not positive,you'd be a fool to think they are. Its not just my own personal feelings being expressed.
AND:
Also,everyone knew Steve was holding back. He must not have informed you he was holding in-house auctions to TZD customers and randomly selling items not listed on the site. Seems you really do know alot less then you should.
Redfrogs reply to this:
You stated "we" at PCEnginefx.com are angry, ticked, insert adjective here. I would not suggest that we learn to read because I am paying attention to that site you realize. I don't have to post on there to see what people say, and you seem to have a personal vendetta against everyone. If you copied and pasted what YOU initially wrote us, no one would be on your side in any of these matters. You don't speak for the majority of the members, and again, we have not announced any plans for anything to you or anyone else. I honestly don't feel there is a need to considering the way I am being approached with this, but our ebay account? Unless you sell in volume like we do, you do not understand how difficult it is to keep up with the mass quantities daily. A retail store like GAmestop probably has a 94% positive rating in retail. They also deal on ebay, we have 99.3% with 13000+ positives not including the multiples of orders from the same people to make it 15000+ positive, but why you are angry for us listing 7 of our own games on eBay is beyond me.
AND:
If you think holding 4-5 of each game is "holding back" then I'm not sure you understand the costs of running a website. He kept 1-4 of most games, not even ALL games, and these would sell out quickly if he took the time to have someone design/scan/insert image description in a shopping cart and pay someone for it to be sold almost instantaneously, and peole would of course be mad that was up if there were not multiple copies of each.
I still don't see how you assume I don't know about certain things with TTI. I lived in California for 10 years. I've known Steve since right around his original TTI days. I still keep in contact with editors from Turbo Play Magazine daily. Heck, I've been to Steve's old warehouse and his garage a few times way before this was an option to purchase. I am a buyer for this company, and we plan on selling stuff to the public so people can ENJOY these games and they are not sitting in boxes, as well as change the pricing structure on many things for the TG fans. WHy you assume to berate us on things you do not know, I have no idea..
MY reply:
I can simply assure you that TZD stock hitting ebay and you using the TZD name in the auctions is not pleasing to any of the members as of yet. If you are really reading the threads you'd know this. If you cared about this community,you would have upfront addressed us,offered the Turbo community,not the ebay community,the games. Lemme guess,your also best buds with Victor Ireland too lol. He has a ebay account also. So that you know,your best friend Steve went out in bad style,and his Nov sale was a farce. Also,he already had scans of items sold prior. Steve couldn't have been looking for accuracy,he sold my friend Keranu,a mod there at Pcenginefx, a semi broken TV tuner. Its condition was mis represented.For all your disgust in me speaking out as a member on the Pcengine forums,you sure are doing alot of speaking for Steve and why he ran the business the way he did. For someone not liking people speaking for others that sure is like pot calling the kettle black.
AND:
Also,since you are paying sooo much attention to the threads there,I am sure you saw my prior post from the other day about how I was planning to post every message you and I have with each other if the other members wanted to see it. Maybe you should pay better attention.
Redfrogs reply:
Why would we offer members the games at non ebay prices? SO they can be sold on ebay anyway? You are being nonsensical here. We're selling a small handful on eBay to test the market for some stuff, that's it, nothing more. You are referring to deals that were not made through us, so nothing is being misrepresented. It sounds like you are just angry to be angry. If you have most of the US games like you state, you'll be happy to know there are no Japanese titles being sold on the site, so if that was your main interest, there is nothing like that here.
Also, on a further note, we do not have any stock of Lords of Thunder, or Forgotten Worlds. I'm sorry you had a bad deal with Steve beforehand, and yes, I know Victor Ireland sells on eBay, but this is their right and our right to do so. If you don't want any of the games, and only want Japanese stuff, and you haven't really purchased anything, I don't understand why you are complaining in the first place about all this.
MY reply to this:
I never stated I own most of the US games released. I do however own most of the ones I want. I also have zero interest in purchasing from your company again,using the TZD name or not. I am a prior customer of yours. My opinions of your company are based on my experience with it directly. You clearly forget things quickly,which would explain how you think its ok to have so many negatives and neutrals a months. Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it. You clearly see it as justified to sell things not in your hands,and that charging over $23 to ship 3 PS1 games is justified pricing. Think about this,with all your negative feedback,you currently have a severely worse customer service rate then TZD ever did,so how do you think we as a whole in the Turbo community would miss this and would love to risk our money with you,Redfrog. Yes,I am angry with your company. You overcharged me on a prior deal,placed my email and name on the net openly,and are not for the Turbo community.
THE END
That is everything currently. They make some good points,but alot comes off as obvious lies,and they have no true valid defense for when I stated they disregarded the actual Turbo community in favor of the ebay one. Given their response,and my prior dealing with them,its obviously I will never do any kinda purchase with "TZD" again. Everyone here has their own opinion son this. I did however speak to Redfrog on this matter as a member of this community,as I do care for it. Its quite clear so far that Redfrog did not purchase "TZD" in the best interest of the Turbo community,for the love of it,for its best interest,ect.
Anyone here who talks to me personally knows it,knows deep down I am a good guy,even if at times I can be very volatile,and hates to see his fellow members here screwed over by anyone,but in the end you will all have to judge for yourself who you want to deal with and who not,and for that matter openly speak out to make it clear you do not like where Redfrog has currently taken the TZD name. I highly suggest you also express your opinions to Redfrog. I do not think it will cause them to change their direction for the good obviously,but will make them well aware you as a community here will not put up with the garbage,as a community.
