it looks to me, by reading their BBB report, that the company has tried to resolve all the complaints, so not sure why the BBB report is taken as negative..am I missing something?

From the BBB report: "Our file contains a pattern of complaints from consumers who report problems obtaining refunds."

It's good that they've addressed many of them, but it's a high number of complaints for a small company. But like I said, that may be the nature of this sort of business.

Doesn't change the fact that the owner threatened a dissatisfied customer with a lawsuit, just for expressing his opinions online.

I'd be leery of any company that used the phrase "work from home" and would definitely avoid one that required me to pay them money in order to "work for" them.

I have a friend who looked into a company (don't now the name) that supposedly payed you to create software models, but first you had to buy their $450 modeling software. He was smart and checked them out on the web first, nothing but piles of complaints.

"If it seems too good to be true, it is. Do your research first, and do it right."

According to the story he thought he did it right before sending away for the kit. I find it astonishing that when we are so set in seeing a good oppurtunity. We fail to realize the detrimental situation our decision will cause.

Detective Lester Freamon does not approve!

How much of a market can there be for doll house miniatures?

@cmdr.sass: You might be surprised. Some hobbies seem like a niche but have thousands of practitioners. My Mom has a friend who used to do this stuff and her handiwork was amazing. Me, I go for plastic models (aircraft etc).

It looks like Kristopher sent some tiny goons to rough up tiny June Cleaver in that photo there. She may want to change her name and relocate to a tiny new dollhouse in the suburbs of Phoenix.

You'd be surprised... some items can actually cost more than the full-size version.

@Buran: Hmmm... looks like I didn't type fast enough.

"Yes, Mr. CEO, I think we should close that manufacturing plant in that 3rd world nation, as we can have a lower cost of goods sold by utilizing bored housewives as our labor force. While we will have to deal with making up kits of components and shipping, and the unpredictable nature of having no idea when any of them will send back any completed items, let alone any items that are suitable for resale, we will have a far superior product as a result of using people who want to 'work from home' regardless of their manual dexterity or assembly skills..."

Come on, anyone who falls for this sort of come-on is paying a "gullibility tax". They got off cheap if all it cost them was $55.00 to find out that they were duped.

To my knowledge, the only "work from home" opportunity with a sure-fire basis for an expectation of profits would involve the manufacturing of methamphetamine,
and it has the minor problems of being both illegal and dangerous.

The devil is in the [tiny] details.

@djanes1: SIGH. That's exactly who I thought of when I saw this post (even though his diverse talents are obviously put to better use elsewhere). Gonna miss him.

I've been collecting doll house miniatures for over 30 years, and I assure you, there is a hugh market for doll house miniatures, and they aint cheap!

@jfischer: Yeah, that's exactly what the guy said in his original posting, having the guts to sheepishly admit he didn't investigate enough. Not sure why you feel the need to beat him up some more.

IMO ANY "work at home" business that requires you to buy a kit (or buy anything first) is a BIG warning sign that its a scam.

I fell for this shit once when I was young & stupid.... never again.

I had an issue with a company once and decided to do a little more research into filing a BBB complaint. I found something very surprising and frustrating. On the BBB listing almost everyone has very negative ratings. Retailers in my area that had stellar products and services were coming up with an "F" rating. Their site is rather misleading due to the fact that most people don't go out of their way to compliment a business the way the do to report their indiscretions. Their rating system is too vague without more specific information about the customer's complaint. It probably be revamped for our blogosphere world we've created.

$55 sure does seem like a ridiculously high "deposit" for a couple of sheets of paper with some printing on it.

@plustax: The ratings are worthless and it seems like some local BBBs don't use them. Note how it's a 13-level scale of relentless excellence. Only when you get to D (rung 2 from the bottom) do they do they recommend general caution.

Personally I had trouble finding an F company. The worst company I've dealt with is only at a D (a recent drop from their previous C). This is despite the fact that their primary business model is to charge you for things you didn't order.

angieslist.com is a great alternative to the BBB if it's available in your city - Consumers leave detailed reports - good or bad, and I've had lots of luck finding good service there (but then I still double check with the BBB usually....).

Teh Interwebs :-) :-) :-)

that website looks like a scam itself...horrible layout!

Streisand Effect FTW!!

I suspect Kristopher Buchan is a moron operating out of his garage.

Mr. Buchan Is being a bully. If only was he smart enough to realize how potent the consumerist is. Threatening people with law suits over personal postings about your company service these days is as good as posting a "STAY AWAY" warning to all customers. Vote with your feet.

What the original message said was little more than that they should know better. With -that- reaction, sounds like someone has a guilty conscious.

That's a common scam among those work at home/build stuff for us companies. They reject what you make. In the end you are their customer. You'd have better success buying your materials directly from a online craft store, building it, and then selling the stuff yourself at eBay.

The condom box kit made my day.

Pity Kristopher Buchan didn't use some of his newly-acquired google-fu to discover how frequently that "legally bludgeon complaints into sweet, sweet silence" tactic backfires.

How soon before this story becomes the highest search result in Google? Watch out, Ben! You might be libelous.

They should know better than to sweat the small stuff...

Anyway, as has been mentioned, the BBB "system" is very faulty. My understanding is that an "attempt to resolve" is more or less the company clicking a button that says: "Yes, I did something." That something could amount to a letter to the complainant saying "tough cookies." There's no follow-up to ensure that the concerns were actually acted on in an appropriate manner, just that they were acted upon. Someone could verify this, but I'm pretty sure the "BBB resolution" issue is a lot less consumer-friendly than one might think...

@jfischer: It's not a Consumerist thread without someone blaming the victim...but the victim already blamed himself...

*watches laws of the Consumerist universe implode*

Seriously, no one deserves to have a crime committed against them. That's why it's a crime; you're not supposed to do it.

And now we're posting about it on The Consumerist! See how that works, Tiny Details?

I propose a new "See how that works?" tag for when ridiculous libel and slander claims end up generating more bad PR for companies (especially for ones most of us hadn't even heard of before).

How is there even any doubt this is a scam. Any employment opportunity that is asking you to pay them is a scam.

The real story is that this guy is trying to intimidate people into not saying anything. Maybe the victim should talk to their state consumer protection or consumer protection in that state it operates out of. Wasn't there an ebay scammer who finally got arrested by the feds last year? Isn't this mail fraud? I bet if they investigate they will find that nobody has ever been paid by this guy.

amazingly a lot of people collect doll house stuff, it sells on Ebay all the time. My favorite craft store has 2 aisles of miniature items for doll houses..not into it myself, but a lot are@cmdr.sass:

@jfischer: ah yes, it's always those kind of minor problems that get ya.

I have used the BBB to intercede for me once before. I play on a game site that gives tokens for playing, and I actually won $50 on a weekly drawing. The site sent me the email to verify who I was etc, and then I waited 3 months (they said could be 8 - 12 weeks)I emailed the business to tell them I hadn't received my winnings and they said they checked my account and discovered that I was using software to cheat on the games because I had a high score on a word game. I told them I don't know how to use that kind of sw and I know a lot of words, because I read a lot. I finally gave up on them and filed with BBB. I got an email from the site saying "we've reconsidered your account and you will receive your check within 2 weeks" and I actually received it! I guess they figured if I took the time to contact BBB maybe I wasn't a cheat

i don't understand how this could be taken for anything but a scam. the website looks like it was created with the yahoo page editor circa 1997.

and how could this business model make money if it wasn't a scam? people are paying $55 for the supplies to begin assembling miniature steno notebooks... and condom boxes?! it's kind of hilarious!

@bohemian: "Any employment opportunity that is asking you to pay them is a scam."

I don't think that can ever be reiterated enough. I also appreciate that Consumerist call buyers "customers" instead of the more usual "employees"! My aunt just got a computer and I spend lots of time making sure she doesn't buy into all this work-at-home garbage... there's a surprising amount of it.

Good for Stephen for doing research (even though it was a teeny bit late) and hopefully he doesn't give in to the silly libel threats.

As the author of the original story, I want to thank Chris Walters and the good folks at the Consumerist for running with it. The unexpected vote of confidence really made my day.

@nytmare: Customer diligence is indeed the name of the game with work-at-home opportunities.

@Tansis, jfischer, bohemian: Your assessment is completely correct. My wife was excited and I wanted to believe that she could make us some extra money working at home. I'll admit; my initial research wasn't thorough enough, and I paid for it.

@nequam, Jaysyn, Rectilinear Propagation: LMAO :D

I truly appreciate all of the consideration this is receiving. Hopefully, Kris Buchan will see this and realize that coming after bloggers with baseless legal threats will only make things worse.

Best regards,
Stephen Ward

After looking at that page, I'm curious about something: do miniature manufacturers have to pay some sort of premium or license to use trademarked images and designs in the products they're reselling?

Like, Lifestyles condoms. Or any of the book covers, which are copyrighted images.

Isn't part of the definition of libel "false, inaccurate statements"? Defamatory isn't enough, and right now they're not doing a very good job to prove the statements are false or inaccurate. Or at least that's how we definied it in journalism.

You'll hear from our lawyers, our tiny, tiny lawyers!
"And Trust me, I know a lot about links" Apparently not.

@Rectilinear Propagation:

I propose a new "See how that works?" tag for when ridiculous libel and slander claims end up generating more bad PR for companies (especially for ones most of us hadn't even heard of before).

I'm no lawyer, just an undergrad Chemistry student with a little background in political science, law and high school education, but apparently, Kris and his lawyers know nothing about the concept of libel...

The TRUTH (as in not receiving payments as agreed as Stephen claims) isn't libel, it's a DEFENSE AGAINST LIBEL.

If anything, Stephen should be initiating a lawsuit against Kris and company in small claims court for withholding payment! Perhaps some additional charges to tack on if his family and his lawyer can think of some more.

@LoLoAGoGo: The real problem that Mr. Buchan would have in substantiating a claim of libel is that Stephen's actual posting is almost journalistic in its neutrality. He posts that he found information from a number of sources that gave him reason to doubt Tiny Details, links to those sources, and says he's canceled his order and encourages others with a bit of caveat emptor.

If Buchan's attorney suggested he has a good case for libel, Buchan either hasn't given him all the information or he's an attorney of the "My Cousin Vinny" variety.