Horror Movie Empire shenanigans (was: Blue Underground BDs $10 each)
05-24-12, 05:26 PM
#751
DVD Talk Gold Edition
re: Horror Movie Empire shenanigans (was: Blue Underground BDs $10 each)
Maybe they should bring back the Blue Underground sale. Make it a biannual sale. Better yet make it all year long to match the amount of time it takes to get your order or a refund.
05-26-12, 03:34 PM
#752
DVD Talk Special Edition
re: Horror Movie Empire shenanigans (was: Blue Underground BDs $10 each)
This couchcutter seems like a nice guy, but I have no idea why he'd get involved in this. Now he's co owner of a business that has a horrible reputation across the whole internet. Any potential new customer who googles the site's name will immediately find countless results saying 'SCAM' & 'RIP OFF' and most likely decide to order elsewhere. He just boarded an already sinking ship.
He's started posting on the cult labs forums, trying to smooth things over with people. He seems very eager to make things right, and I commend him for that. However, with comments like:
&
It's not that comforting. Basically they have no money, and the only way to pay people is to sell more product (unlikely) or get a loan, which is hard to do, considering Demetrios has already been declined for one (which Couchcutter also admited to).
P.S. I am so happy I didn't notice this thread until a week or so into the sale when people where already starting to have issues. If I had found it sooner, I may have placed an order too.
He's started posting on the cult labs forums, trying to smooth things over with people. He seems very eager to make things right, and I commend him for that. However, with comments like:
We are stocking the store out of pocket, and at this moment it is only to make the money back that was stolen from you all.
Demetrios is also attempting to get a shady-ass, extremely high interest loan to get you all squared away. As most of you know, it isn't easy to get a line of credit in post-housing bubble America, but it's worth a shot.
P.S. I am so happy I didn't notice this thread until a week or so into the sale when people where already starting to have issues. If I had found it sooner, I may have placed an order too.
Last edited by Bob_Bobbson; 05-26-12 at 07:12 PM. Reason: Fixing some grammar
05-30-12, 04:28 PM
#753
re: Horror Movie Empire shenanigans (was: Blue Underground BDs $10 each)
It's all bullshit, in my opinion. On the other forum, he's asking for everyone's suggestions on handling the situation. Why the hell is that anyone else's problem to figure out? He's admitted that there are no funds available to fill these orders, so it's flat out theft at this point. If HME had pulled this same thing with a local business, he would be sitting in jail right now.
Then this new owner mentions that if it was a scam, Demetrios would have gotten 30K at the most, which would make him an incompetent scammer. Yeah, like plenty of crooks haven't done more for a lot less. What a fucking train wreck. I have no reason to believe this will ever be handled to anyone's satisfaction.
Then this new owner mentions that if it was a scam, Demetrios would have gotten 30K at the most, which would make him an incompetent scammer. Yeah, like plenty of crooks haven't done more for a lot less. What a fucking train wreck. I have no reason to believe this will ever be handled to anyone's satisfaction.
05-31-12, 08:26 AM
#756
Member
re: Horror Movie Empire shenanigans (was: Blue Underground BDs $10 each)
This couchcutter seems like a nice guy, but I have no idea why he'd get involved in this. Now he's co owner of a business that has a horrible reputation across the whole internet. Any potential new customer who googles the site's name will immediately find countless results saying 'SCAM' & 'RIP OFF' and most likely decide to order elsewhere. He just boarded an already sinking ship.
He's started posting on the cult labs forums, trying to smooth things over with people. He seems very eager to make things right, and I commend him for that. However, with comments like:
Quote:
We are stocking the store out of pocket, and at this moment it is only to make the money back that was stolen from you all.
&
Quote:
Demetrios is also attempting to get a shady-ass, extremely high interest loan to get you all squared away. As most of you know, it isn't easy to get a line of credit in post-housing bubble America, but it's worth a shot.
It's not that comforting. Basically they have no money, and the only way to pay people is to sell more product (unlikely) or get a loan, which is hard to do, considering Demetrios has already been declined for one (which Couchcutter also admited to).
P.S. I am so happy I didn't notice this thread until a week or so into the sale when people where already starting to have issues. If I had found it sooner, I may have placed an order too.
He's started posting on the cult labs forums, trying to smooth things over with people. He seems very eager to make things right, and I commend him for that. However, with comments like:
Quote:
We are stocking the store out of pocket, and at this moment it is only to make the money back that was stolen from you all.
&
Quote:
Demetrios is also attempting to get a shady-ass, extremely high interest loan to get you all squared away. As most of you know, it isn't easy to get a line of credit in post-housing bubble America, but it's worth a shot.
It's not that comforting. Basically they have no money, and the only way to pay people is to sell more product (unlikely) or get a loan, which is hard to do, considering Demetrios has already been declined for one (which Couchcutter also admited to).
P.S. I am so happy I didn't notice this thread until a week or so into the sale when people where already starting to have issues. If I had found it sooner, I may have placed an order too.
05-31-12, 08:15 PM
#757
DVD Talk Special Edition
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re: Horror Movie Empire shenanigans (was: Blue Underground BDs $10 each)
My patience finally paid off. I spoke to Demetrios at Texas Frightmare and he was actually very apologetic. My Zombie BU blu arrived today. Both of my orders are now filled. (I still won't ever order from him again, though)
06-04-12, 10:05 PM
#759
DVD Talk Special Edition
re: Horror Movie Empire shenanigans (was: Blue Underground BDs $10 each)
basically Demetrios got his merchant/paypal account pulled and then a new "owner" came in and probably setup payment options so more money could be taken.
maybe?
maybe?
06-07-12, 01:05 PM
#760
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
07-27-12, 02:10 PM
#762
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re: Horror Movie Empire shenanigans (was: Blue Underground BDs $10 each)
07-27-12, 02:27 PM
#763
re: Horror Movie Empire shenanigans (was: Blue Underground BDs $10 each)
I'm still trying to figuring out why sales weren't stopped, and second, just where all the money went. The article still doesn't explain much and the writing is all over the place.
07-27-12, 11:21 PM
#764
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re: Horror Movie Empire shenanigans (was: Blue Underground BDs $10 each)
I must admit that I was extremely shocked when, earlier this week, completely out of the blue, I received a shipping notification for the one title I ordered. I never contacted them. I never posted here. I figured $7 (or whatever the cost was) wasn't worth the frustration to me. I read the filmrant explanation and internally called BS myself, but maybe there's some truth to it. I'm eager to see if others start receiving packages in the near-term. Don't give up hope just yet! I received my DVD yesterday in the mail, brand new and sealed. It had a sticker with a number 25 on it -- no idea what that meant.
07-28-12, 09:11 AM
#766
DVD Talk Limited Edition
re: Horror Movie Empire shenanigans (was: Blue Underground BDs $10 each)
I honestly think he believed that if he kept losing money and digging himself into a hole that he'd eventually start to turn a profit.
07-28-12, 09:48 AM
#767
DVD Talk Platinum Edition
re: Horror Movie Empire shenanigans (was: Blue Underground BDs $10 each)
I think he spend all the money on the orders he full-filled. I got Zombie thru amazon from HME. At the time I got it, it was going for 18.99 on Amazon and a lot of people got amazon shipments from HME. That adds up fast......... Plus his free shipping killed him too. Just figure the shipping cost for all the international orders.
07-28-12, 01:47 PM
#768
re: Horror Movie Empire shenanigans (was: Blue Underground BDs $10 each)
Well, I'm glad things are starting to turn around. A good warning for those who are selling as well as those are BUYING when sales like these are posted on DVD forums.
07-28-12, 02:03 PM
#769
DVD Talk Hero
re: Horror Movie Empire shenanigans (was: Blue Underground BDs $10 each)
What never made sense was how the situation was handled by HME. If they couldn't fulfill orders, just cancel everyone's orders and explain the situation to customers. Who really knows where the money went for several months instead of refunds.
08-03-12, 02:12 PM
#770
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Join Date: Sep 1999
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re: Horror Movie Empire shenanigans (was: Blue Underground BDs $10 each)
The drama continues and it looks like CouchCutter is now out:
http://horrormovieempire.com/latest-update
Hello everyone,
I’ve got a new update and you’re not going to like it. Yesterday, at 7am I got a text from Demetrios that said he was having a baby and that almost everyone had been emailed about the status of their order if it had not been processed. I haven’t been able to get in touch with him since.
On one hand, something horrible may have happened. I sincerely hope that is not the case. But even if it were, I would still be out of the HME business.
The day progressed, starting with a few tweets from people that had heard nothing. “Well, that’s interesting…”, I thought. As the day goes on and I collect roughly 40 emails from people that have heard nothing and I get an idea… Demetrios is not being completely honest with me.
I know how he is so all along the way, I have checked and double checked with him to an extent that I *thought* I was being hard on the guy. Long story short, he was obviously fudging the numbers I was seeing / he was telling me.
Now, of course I saw the possibility of something like this. But I was so committed to the August 1st deadline, I honestly ignored a lot of the warning signs of his behavior. “Just get him over this hump and he will grow”, I thought. Though he is a sweet dude, I can’t do business with him. I don’t believe even this is out of maliciousness. Again, there just wasn’t enough money involved, and I do know that he spent all of my money on orders. To be honest, he just has too much other stuff going on in his life that he prioritizes over his business. He could still grow out of that some day, but not with me.
Anyway, if Demetrios ever talks to me again (he’s pretty nonconfrontational and I wasn’t being nearly this civilized in text and voice messages), I would still love to help him get the rest of you paid back. As for me, I’m fucking broke and I have to distance myself from Demetrios and cut my losses. lol
I still feel obligated to restore those of you that haven’t been set right, just because I said I would. I’m going to try to figure out a way. And again, if Demetrios will work with me, I will assist him in getting it done. But I can’t even look at people’s orders without D talking to me. I am completely cut off.
I’m not going to tear down the website I built for him, I’m not going to go after him for the thousands of dollars I spent on this mess. Again, I evaluated the risk and took it. When you put yourself out there, you risk getting hurt, end of story.
I’m sorry folks. I tried my ass off. I feel both embarrassed and betrayed for getting involved, I feel like I let a lot of you down by not sealing the deal… I alluded to leaving HME if the deadline wasn’t met. Not only was it not met, but I was left out to fucking dry yesterday. I thought everything was good and got hit with a bunch of unsettled accounts. Yesterday was an awful day.
I would still like to get into retail if anyone knows anyone, and I will be selling certain exclusive items I had negotiated for HME over at the new Couchcutter.com that launches next week (I didn’t build a new cc despite HME, lol. I’ve been working on the new CC for 2 weeks).
Sincerely,
David Anthony
couchcutter.com
@couchcutter
I appreciate CC's efforts in trying to deal with this criminal, but it's not looking so good for those of us still waiting.
http://horrormovieempire.com/latest-update
Hello everyone,
I’ve got a new update and you’re not going to like it. Yesterday, at 7am I got a text from Demetrios that said he was having a baby and that almost everyone had been emailed about the status of their order if it had not been processed. I haven’t been able to get in touch with him since.
On one hand, something horrible may have happened. I sincerely hope that is not the case. But even if it were, I would still be out of the HME business.
The day progressed, starting with a few tweets from people that had heard nothing. “Well, that’s interesting…”, I thought. As the day goes on and I collect roughly 40 emails from people that have heard nothing and I get an idea… Demetrios is not being completely honest with me.
I know how he is so all along the way, I have checked and double checked with him to an extent that I *thought* I was being hard on the guy. Long story short, he was obviously fudging the numbers I was seeing / he was telling me.
Now, of course I saw the possibility of something like this. But I was so committed to the August 1st deadline, I honestly ignored a lot of the warning signs of his behavior. “Just get him over this hump and he will grow”, I thought. Though he is a sweet dude, I can’t do business with him. I don’t believe even this is out of maliciousness. Again, there just wasn’t enough money involved, and I do know that he spent all of my money on orders. To be honest, he just has too much other stuff going on in his life that he prioritizes over his business. He could still grow out of that some day, but not with me.
Anyway, if Demetrios ever talks to me again (he’s pretty nonconfrontational and I wasn’t being nearly this civilized in text and voice messages), I would still love to help him get the rest of you paid back. As for me, I’m fucking broke and I have to distance myself from Demetrios and cut my losses. lol
I still feel obligated to restore those of you that haven’t been set right, just because I said I would. I’m going to try to figure out a way. And again, if Demetrios will work with me, I will assist him in getting it done. But I can’t even look at people’s orders without D talking to me. I am completely cut off.
I’m not going to tear down the website I built for him, I’m not going to go after him for the thousands of dollars I spent on this mess. Again, I evaluated the risk and took it. When you put yourself out there, you risk getting hurt, end of story.
I’m sorry folks. I tried my ass off. I feel both embarrassed and betrayed for getting involved, I feel like I let a lot of you down by not sealing the deal… I alluded to leaving HME if the deadline wasn’t met. Not only was it not met, but I was left out to fucking dry yesterday. I thought everything was good and got hit with a bunch of unsettled accounts. Yesterday was an awful day.
I would still like to get into retail if anyone knows anyone, and I will be selling certain exclusive items I had negotiated for HME over at the new Couchcutter.com that launches next week (I didn’t build a new cc despite HME, lol. I’ve been working on the new CC for 2 weeks).
Sincerely,
David Anthony
couchcutter.com
@couchcutter
I appreciate CC's efforts in trying to deal with this criminal, but it's not looking so good for those of us still waiting.
08-03-12, 03:14 PM
#771
DVD Talk Legend
re: Horror Movie Empire shenanigans (was: Blue Underground BDs $10 each)
I feel sorry for those who paid with Paypal - that money is gone forever. Still, can't those who paid with a credit card still file a claim?
08-03-12, 03:23 PM
#772
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
re: Horror Movie Empire shenanigans (was: Blue Underground BDs $10 each)
This whole HME thing has been too strange. I thought Demetrios wasn't even the person responsible for contacting customers anymore. Isn't that what Couch Cutter said in that interview? If he spent so much money on HME and was a partner, how come Couch Cutter is unable to even look at people's order without Demetrios? You would think that would be something Couch Cutter would insist on having access to when joining the business, considering the circumstances.
It just seems like there are some inconsistencies between that interview and this statement. Regardless, Demetrios has succeeded in extending the taint of his sale to someone else. I understand that he tried to help, but I don't think Couch Cutter looks particularly good after all this mess either. He would have been much smarter to do things behind the scenes as a silent partner. You don't want your name associated with HME, and now there will always be some link. I didn't know who the fuck Couch Cutter was before this, but I do now. What a mess.
It just seems like there are some inconsistencies between that interview and this statement. Regardless, Demetrios has succeeded in extending the taint of his sale to someone else. I understand that he tried to help, but I don't think Couch Cutter looks particularly good after all this mess either. He would have been much smarter to do things behind the scenes as a silent partner. You don't want your name associated with HME, and now there will always be some link. I didn't know who the fuck Couch Cutter was before this, but I do now. What a mess.
08-03-12, 07:23 PM
#773
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
re: Horror Movie Empire shenanigans (was: Blue Underground BDs $10 each)
I never understood why anyone with half a brain cell would somehow think that coming into a mess like this to be a business partner would make any sense at all. He never really made it sound like he did anything as simple as a google search to see how big a problem was, yet threw a bunch of money at it on blind faith.
08-04-12, 01:26 AM
#774
re: Horror Movie Empire shenanigans (was: Blue Underground BDs $10 each)
I do feel sorry for those who chose to stick it out and wait for their orders. Besides the total lack of communication, Blue Underground stating they have no affiliation with HME should have been enough of a red flag (and again, shame on BU for not taking responsibility for an endorsement posted on their own Facebook page.)
08-04-12, 02:38 AM
#775
DVD Talk Gold Edition
re: Horror Movie Empire shenanigans (was: Blue Underground BDs $10 each)
The drama continues and it looks like CouchCutter is now out:
http://horrormovieempire.com/latest-update
Hello everyone,
I’ve got a new update and you’re not going to like it. Yesterday, at 7am I got a text from Demetrios that said he was having a baby and that almost everyone had been emailed about the status of their order if it had not been processed. I haven’t been able to get in touch with him since.
On one hand, something horrible may have happened. I sincerely hope that is not the case. But even if it were, I would still be out of the HME business.
The day progressed, starting with a few tweets from people that had heard nothing. “Well, that’s interesting…”, I thought. As the day goes on and I collect roughly 40 emails from people that have heard nothing and I get an idea… Demetrios is not being completely honest with me.
I know how he is so all along the way, I have checked and double checked with him to an extent that I *thought* I was being hard on the guy. Long story short, he was obviously fudging the numbers I was seeing / he was telling me.
Now, of course I saw the possibility of something like this. But I was so committed to the August 1st deadline, I honestly ignored a lot of the warning signs of his behavior. “Just get him over this hump and he will grow”, I thought. Though he is a sweet dude, I can’t do business with him. I don’t believe even this is out of maliciousness. Again, there just wasn’t enough money involved, and I do know that he spent all of my money on orders. To be honest, he just has too much other stuff going on in his life that he prioritizes over his business. He could still grow out of that some day, but not with me.
Anyway, if Demetrios ever talks to me again (he’s pretty nonconfrontational and I wasn’t being nearly this civilized in text and voice messages), I would still love to help him get the rest of you paid back. As for me, I’m fucking broke and I have to distance myself from Demetrios and cut my losses. lol
I still feel obligated to restore those of you that haven’t been set right, just because I said I would. I’m going to try to figure out a way. And again, if Demetrios will work with me, I will assist him in getting it done. But I can’t even look at people’s orders without D talking to me. I am completely cut off.
I’m not going to tear down the website I built for him, I’m not going to go after him for the thousands of dollars I spent on this mess. Again, I evaluated the risk and took it. When you put yourself out there, you risk getting hurt, end of story.
I’m sorry folks. I tried my ass off. I feel both embarrassed and betrayed for getting involved, I feel like I let a lot of you down by not sealing the deal… I alluded to leaving HME if the deadline wasn’t met. Not only was it not met, but I was left out to fucking dry yesterday. I thought everything was good and got hit with a bunch of unsettled accounts. Yesterday was an awful day.
I would still like to get into retail if anyone knows anyone, and I will be selling certain exclusive items I had negotiated for HME over at the new Couchcutter.com that launches next week (I didn’t build a new cc despite HME, lol. I’ve been working on the new CC for 2 weeks).
Sincerely,
David Anthony
couchcutter.com
@couchcutter
I appreciate CC's efforts in trying to deal with this criminal, but it's not looking so good for those of us still waiting.
http://horrormovieempire.com/latest-update
Hello everyone,
I’ve got a new update and you’re not going to like it. Yesterday, at 7am I got a text from Demetrios that said he was having a baby and that almost everyone had been emailed about the status of their order if it had not been processed. I haven’t been able to get in touch with him since.
On one hand, something horrible may have happened. I sincerely hope that is not the case. But even if it were, I would still be out of the HME business.
The day progressed, starting with a few tweets from people that had heard nothing. “Well, that’s interesting…”, I thought. As the day goes on and I collect roughly 40 emails from people that have heard nothing and I get an idea… Demetrios is not being completely honest with me.
I know how he is so all along the way, I have checked and double checked with him to an extent that I *thought* I was being hard on the guy. Long story short, he was obviously fudging the numbers I was seeing / he was telling me.
Now, of course I saw the possibility of something like this. But I was so committed to the August 1st deadline, I honestly ignored a lot of the warning signs of his behavior. “Just get him over this hump and he will grow”, I thought. Though he is a sweet dude, I can’t do business with him. I don’t believe even this is out of maliciousness. Again, there just wasn’t enough money involved, and I do know that he spent all of my money on orders. To be honest, he just has too much other stuff going on in his life that he prioritizes over his business. He could still grow out of that some day, but not with me.
Anyway, if Demetrios ever talks to me again (he’s pretty nonconfrontational and I wasn’t being nearly this civilized in text and voice messages), I would still love to help him get the rest of you paid back. As for me, I’m fucking broke and I have to distance myself from Demetrios and cut my losses. lol
I still feel obligated to restore those of you that haven’t been set right, just because I said I would. I’m going to try to figure out a way. And again, if Demetrios will work with me, I will assist him in getting it done. But I can’t even look at people’s orders without D talking to me. I am completely cut off.
I’m not going to tear down the website I built for him, I’m not going to go after him for the thousands of dollars I spent on this mess. Again, I evaluated the risk and took it. When you put yourself out there, you risk getting hurt, end of story.
I’m sorry folks. I tried my ass off. I feel both embarrassed and betrayed for getting involved, I feel like I let a lot of you down by not sealing the deal… I alluded to leaving HME if the deadline wasn’t met. Not only was it not met, but I was left out to fucking dry yesterday. I thought everything was good and got hit with a bunch of unsettled accounts. Yesterday was an awful day.
I would still like to get into retail if anyone knows anyone, and I will be selling certain exclusive items I had negotiated for HME over at the new Couchcutter.com that launches next week (I didn’t build a new cc despite HME, lol. I’ve been working on the new CC for 2 weeks).
Sincerely,
David Anthony
couchcutter.com
@couchcutter
I appreciate CC's efforts in trying to deal with this criminal, but it's not looking so good for those of us still waiting.
If it is posted of the internet..it must be true.right?
