Well, it’s not looking too good. No contact from Tony and no returned email. I did call the phone number listed on his website only to have some woman answer saying “no English”. Come on, has this guy folded for sure or just taking an intermission. Off to the bank tomorrow and a few phone calls to the BBB. Kitepool, got a phone number before I start looking? Much thanks.



:Edit: Just in under 10 minutes I get a phone call from Tony.

I will retract my statements upon you upholding what you had said per the phone conversation Tony. Thank you.

Hey Tony,

I hope you see that this is a good group of guys !

I think that you have room to do some damage control on this site without folks jumping all over you.

The kite business is a tough business. A few on this site are involved in small kite businesses so I think we generally understand the struggles.

I invite you to tell us your side of the story !
Honesty is the Best policy and the Customer isn't always right !

well, I'm have heard from enough riders they folded up....wishin kite biz owners the best of luck!

Quote:

Originally posted by snowbird Hey Tony, I hope you see that this is a good group of guys ! I think that you have room to do some damage control on this site without folks jumping all over you. The kite business is a tough business. A few on this site are involved in small kite businesses so I think we generally understand the struggles. I invite you to tell us your side of the story ! Honesty is the Best policy and the Customer isn't always right !

I agree two sides to a story and I don’t like to judge based on one side. Tony sounded very sincere and wanted to make things right. This is all I have to say on this subject until next week.


Todd

keeping my fingers crossed for you....He sounds like an hard working guy...

Sorry to hear about people getting screwed like that , yeah there are struggles in business.But you are either IN your business or you'll be OUT of business. Your customers ARE your business.
You are either in business to make money and serve your customers the best that you can, or you are in business to screw people over:flaming: . It's the lack of communication that is the most damning evidence. An honest businessman would call or e-mail if there was a problem. And if they keep having "negative feedback" there is usually a reason , and it ain't a good one. But we have the right to tell each other about shady dealings It helps to keep 'em honest. Word of mouth can travel round the world nowadays in less than a day

GOOD POINT, weldngod! I personally appreciate anyone letting me know who might cause me frustration and a loss of my money as opposed to who will service the customer and give me a reasonable business deal! Honesty pays!!!

Anyone has the ability on an open forum like this to tell their side of the story. There could be hardship, or all sorts of reasons that things could go sour. Honest communication shows you care.

Lobo :singing:

yea i would rather pay more to work with a honest dealer rather than get a good deal and risk getting ripped off. support your local kite shop or pkf members.

Don't let him string you along,
buying time so that a dispute with Pay pal or your Credit Card Company is useless. Call BBB now
I got the number for the Federal Trade Commission from them
and never did bother with the BBB claim cause they told me to go to the BBB website to file a claim.

Also, I wish I could find my phone #'s on all this,.
Call the supplier of your product to check up on his
track record with them
for me itwas Windzup for Ozone products.

Biz means you swollow your pride and work. Take care of your customers....I bet he feels shi$%y but cmon....

BBB will try to contact the company, and if you file a report it will put a blemish on there recored if they don't already have many...

:flaming:

Well there you have it... I am the new victim of Tony J Maninha owner of Bestkites. No bar, no chicken loop and of course no contact.

Filed with the BBB and contacted my bank, anything else? I hope you are reading this Tony and everyone else who may google bestkites. Hopefully it will slow down futher people that may fall victim to thieving ways.


You sir are a thief. How pathetic is that? Oh, and when I talked to you let's set something straight... I'm not your buddy nor pal, I am a paying costumer who should have received there items as promised by YOU!

Keep the freebie and offer it to the next person.

Businesses have been made by "word of mouth", and a few have been destroyed by WOM. Sorry about the burn,thanks for bringin it up though, save the next man all that crap.

Sorry you got burned, Todd. Thanks for going ahead and sharing the saga with us anyway.

Lobo

Quote:

Originally posted by snowbird I think there is a BIG lesson to be learned here. :!: :!: :!: SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL SHOP / BUY LOCAL :!: :!: :!: The internet is a sketchy place to buy and sell kites. If you don't have a local shop there is a list of good sellers on this forum . Both for new and used gear. Folks that have shops NEED our support. They have overhead and too much competition. At least buy from folks you can check out through the community. Buying from strangers has it's risks ! Selling to !

I am going to say I have bought almost every kite I have over the internet. I can not say that anyone has ripped me off in that time except UPS(brokerage fees). If I bought from only from my local shop I could buy a two line training foil or a toy. The guy who tries to open a land kite shop in Vancouver is going miss miss more than a few meals before bankruptcy. The good kites that are for sale locally are from fliers who have small businesses repping for European companies. The only reason that these fine kites are available is that they are able to sell on the internet. If people like Pablo, Ricardo and Solaris can not sell not kites over the internet to stores or to individual buyers, kites like PKD, U-Turn, and Sky Country would not be available except by ordering over the internet from Europe.

I hope that Tony is not in too much financial difficulty and if he is that he finds his way out soon. I have never met the man, nor have I done business with him. I will give him the benefit of the doubt, and say he probably started his shop with the best of intentions. He probably worked very hard to try to make a paying venture out of something he loves to do - a dream we probably all share. He is obviously trying his best, the Haka did arrive, which at the moment may not be great. He may have other things on his mind in these uncertain times, perhaps losing a house or a business, maybe his family to ice his cake.
Maybe we could all stop baying for his blood like a pack of jackals for minute, those of us who are of a forgiving religious bent could mention him in their prayers. I am sure that in the coming years financial uncertainty some of us may leave more than a few unsecured creditors shafted.
I am sorry for those who may lost money, but I am pretty that sure that Tony has lost or is in the process of losing a lot more. All he did was try to make a living selling kites. If you can not make a go of selling in a market the size of LA, you have to have internet sales. That internet shop is someones local store.

sorry to rant
S

Quote:

Originally posted by Scudley Quote: Originally posted by snowbird I think there is a BIG lesson to be learned here. :!: :!: :!: SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL SHOP / BUY LOCAL :!: :!: :!: The internet is a sketchy place to buy and sell kites. If you don't have a local shop there is a list of good sellers on this forum . Both for new and used gear. Folks that have shops NEED our support. They have overhead and too much competition. At least buy from folks you can check out through the community. Buying from strangers has it's risks ! Selling to ! I am going to say I have bought almost every kite I have over the internet. I can not say that anyone has ripped me off in that time except UPS(brokerage fees). If I bought from only from my local shop I could buy a two line training foil or a toy. The guy who tries to open a land kite shop in Vancouver is going miss miss more than a few meals before bankruptcy. The good kites that are for sale locally are from fliers who have small businesses repping for European companies. The only reason that these fine kites are available is that they are able to sell on the internet. If people like Pablo, Ricardo and Solaris can not sell not kites over the internet to stores or to individual buyers, kites like PKD, U-Turn, and Sky Country would not be available except by ordering over the internet from Europe. I hope that Tony is not in too much financial difficulty and if he is that he finds his way out soon. I have never met the man, nor have I done business with him. I will give him the benefit of the doubt, and say he probably started his shop with the best of intentions. He probably worked very hard to try to make a paying venture out of something he loves to do - a dream we probably all share. He is obviously trying his best, the Haka did arrive, which at the moment may not be great. He may have other things on his mind in these uncertain times, perhaps losing a house or a business, maybe his family to ice his cake. Maybe we could all stop baying for his blood like a pack of jackals for minute, those of us who are of a forgiving religious bent could mention him in their prayers. I am sure that in the coming years financial uncertainty some of us may leave more than a few unsecured creditors shafted. I am sorry for those who may lost money, but I am pretty that sure that Tony has lost or is in the process of losing a lot more. All he did was try to make a living selling kites. If you can not make a go of selling in a market the size of LA, you have to have internet sales. That internet shop is someones local store. sorry to rant S

If he's having problems then fine, I understand. However not making any attempt to email or call a person is uncalled for. Running from the problem won't fix it and at this point makes me want to dig more into the person who promised so much only not to deliver. At a last ditch effort Tony said that I would have a tracking number yesterday and guess what, that never came so what does that say? Back peddling at its best.


Tony, I sure hope you didn't gamble all of my money on shooting pool! I'm not after your blood but you have my hard earned cash that I worked for and this was not for you to steal thinking you would get away with.

People will be knocking at the door soon and it won't necessarily be the financial department.

I agree with skidmarks. Tony could have garnered support and understanding all along the way by communicating with those that had placed orders with him. I sent him an email and he responded within hours about a fraudulent chargeback against him. This is someone stealing his hard earned money. But taking peoples money and not sending their order and then not answering calls or emails is not the behavior of someone needing compassion.

his money woes do not give him the right to take others money with no intent of providing merchandise! That jerk has had plenty of chances to call ,e-mail, post on forum ,u2u etc. He has taken the other path, the one scurvy rats take when they got your loot. I am beyond feeling sorry for this spineless weasel I agree he is stalling for time, so you have no recourse.( that is what he thinks )Report him to your credit card co. for credit card fraud and mail fraud.report him to post master general. the charges against this guy could be 1 Taking money under false pretenses 2 mail fraud 3 credit card fraud 4 the law about when you take a business and use it for illegal purps. Rackateering I think . Nobody needs to give him any time, he has had his time . Let me spell it out for you R-A-T that is what he is pure and simple. Any businessman worth his salt, would call, e-mail,write a letter if there was a prob,he didn't! That is what weasel type rodents do best (take the money and run) so lets don't coddle him folks.

My story continues...

I learned today that I recieved my missing kite
only by the good graces of the NorthAmerican distributor,
Windzup
And I owe them both HUGE props
and money..

also today I got an E-mail from Maninha
informing me that he will be
placing an order with Ozone next week
ok
so that means
Just Pay them puh-lease!

the worst case scenario is
I pay Windzup AND
Tony STILL has my $550

and then I take it to a Judge.

Hey Freshy Skidmarxx..
what did you order ?
bar and chick loop..

what make? Flexifoil? Ozone? Globerider?

WHY, why must this continue?


Here is the rest of the story… After calling Tony and telling him my intentions he called promising me my order within a few days. Yes you guessed it, no package so I called Tony Friday night. Another song and dance later he promised a tracking number on Monday, yes you guessed it again no show on the tracking number. Final straw I called the Sheriff to make a complaint along with other contacts that I won’t disclose. One last final call to Tony with updated info that he needed to be aware of he picked up for the first time EVER! Another song and dance Tony tells me that he refunded my money as of yesterday sending it back the same way he TOOK it, electronic transfer. I was about a mile from the bank so I told him I would check and call him right back. Again, you guessed it no money. I was furious at this point and called him back. A little tap dance here, tap dance there he tells me to wait a couple of days. Well, it took less than 12 hours to TAKE my money I should expect the same right? His reply to that was to hang up on me. He did call back to apologize for hanging up stating that it was a incoming call that he couldn’t miss. My guess would have been that it was his next victim or the Sheriff’s office.

So, I wait a couple of days and guess what?? He finally sent my refund; I can’t believe my eyes when I saw the online statement. Along with that he sent a copy of the receipt proving he sent the money to my email. After previewing the receipt I notice the send day and began to do the math. From the time stamp he sent the money on Tuesday morning at 8:12 A.M. California time. Wait a minute….. Tony told me that he sent it YESTERDAY! It didn’t take long to realize after my initial call at 11:05 A.M. Eastern Standard time that it only took Mr. Tony Maninha a matter of seven minutes to send the money instead of the day before. More lies and you can better believe that I got the promise of a “freebie” and yes that was laughable because of course it never showed.

Now I sit with my new card that just came today after canceling the last one, I keep getting these phone calls. Yes, you guessed it, Mr. Tony Maninha himself calling me for the last 4 some days. What comes around goes around Tony… I can screen my calls too! When I called him back he stated that he was calling the wrong number, yeah right… Just leave me alone. I have a good amount of background information on you that I don’t think you want to be aired out. Maybe I should pass it on to the other victims whom you still owe; I’ll have to think about that one.

Sorry for the long rant



Now, is there a list of local vendors? Thanks for information.

glad to hear that you got your money back...

THANK YOU FOR THE LONG RANT....IT'S MUCH APPRECIATED AND VERY IMPORTANT!

venting is always nice.

Quote:

Originally posted by WELDNGOD you will be blogged worldwide jerkoff!!We got your number and were passin it around (reference about your mom deleted)!

Funny enough he must be covering tracks because two sites now have deleted post :ticking:


Thanks for the kind words everyone else, I was looking into reputable vendors and can't seem to search. Anyone have luck with A Wind Of Change out of Vegas?

yes! A-1

WeldnGod is this your IP?

IP Address : 70.174.89.31 [ ip70-174-89-31.hr.hr.cox.net ]
ISP : Cox Communications
Organization : Cox Communications
Location : US US, United States
City : Newport News, VA -
Latitude : 37°08'63" North
Longitude : 76°49'14" West

Quote:

Originally posted by WELDNGOD yes! A-1 look what I found at http://www.aboutus.org/BestKites.com read closely

I guess I'll take the Boner for Beginners steal for $400 Bob


I'll see if I can get my voice mail recordings up tonight and you can hear his babblings.

Negative on that scudley

Thank YOU TONY!!!

well I've got the kite
all the money is were it
belongs
I apologize for getting
Rude

But/And I would do the same exact
things in the same exact ways
if such a complicated thing came up again.

Now I have to chase $$ that a pool customer
owes me, almost $500
Single Moms can be
really a gamble to deal with it begins to seem...


LIKE 5 MonTHS of
I gotta blood infection,
the checks in the mail,
I'll useeither of your selfstampedaddressed envelopes
I'll drop it off,
I'm in the city till six,
bunyanyanyanya nyaaaaaaaaa!
she sounds like a downs-syndrome case on cocaine
when she speaks
I had to learn how to read text messages
probably cause she realizes that she sounds
like a FREAK!

whoops,..
sorry.



Tony is a cool guy
and I'll kite with him anytime
I did learn that he had some
Day-non-kite-Job dilemma
and only wish him the best of luck
in his continued career

cheerio!