Don't do Business with this guy

[LottaBalata]

I decided that I didn't want to look at my Rife 2-bar with all of that crappy looking blue. Did some searches and decided to go with a guy on Ebay. . .

http://hilltopgolfworks.com/putter_r...g_black_ox.php

This is his website.

I did a "buy it now" auction on Jan 13th, and still have not received my putter yet.

hilltopgolfworks & wildwilly911 are his Ebay user id's.

He seems like a nice guy, but if you check his feedback under hilltopgolfworks, you can plainly see what his problem is. He takes much longer than he claims (his auction said a turnaround of 3 or 4 days).

So, if anyone gets the urge to refinish some clubs, putter, maybe even a gun, GO ELSEWHERE.

Chet


PS, I contacted Ebay today. . .the guy I spoke with on the phone pretty much said I should contact my local authorities. . .If I don't receive my putter by the end of the week, I will for sure.

Also, if you're wondering why I waited so long to file a complaint. . .I called him at one point, he said he just got back from the hospital, "You almost lost me last night! Had an intestinal growth removed, it was the size of a grapefruit." --This is what he told me one day when I called for an update. Its hard to file a complaint against a guy that supposedly, just nearly died. I've heard elsewhere he's had health issues, but does anyone really know if its true. I can't say I really believe the guy now.

He has supposedly shipped it out twice in the last week 1/2. It really shouldn't take that long for a package to get from Wisconsin to Indiana.

This sucks

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[MGP]

I can't say for sure what the deal is but that guy hangs out on wrx and is a pretty respected member in the clubmaker forum. He was selling hydraulic shaft pullers that quite a few people there bought and were happy with. I suspect he's not lying but of course I don't know for sure.

Just another point of reference.

 

[eclark53520]

Got an address?

I'm up for putting in some work....

Sucks man, hopefully it will work out for you though...better late than never, but then again, better never late...

 

[LottaBalata]

Got an address?

I'm up for putting in some work....

Sucks man, hopefully it will work out for you though...better late than never, but then again, better never late...

HILLTOP REPAIR
E8562 HWY 54
NEW LONDON WI. 54961
phone 920-359-0939 or 920-982-2290
[email protected]

MGP, I got on WRX today. . .I decided I was planning on posting this thread on all the sites I use.

wildwilly - GolfWRX.com

Here's a thread at WRX. . .Others have had similar problems. Also people are receiving crappy merchandise (pullers?). . .

It seems that over the last couple months his reputation has been questioned a few times. He told me over the phone they removed a grapefruit sized growth from his intestines. . .I'm wondering if it was actually his brain.

After hearing all the crap he's fed me in the last couple weeks, I'm probably going to call my local police at the end of the week if I don't get the Rife back.

 

[MGP]

After reading all that, even if he's a great guy I don't think I'd be ordering anything from him anytime soon.

 

[Wi-Golfer]

Sssmokin is less than 45 minutes away from there, Zaphod is a just a bit further & as Jake mentioned he is close too. About 2 hrs or so away from me. Let's all go & beat him up:beach3:

 

[LottaBalata]

Sssmokin is less than 45 minutes away from there, Zaphod is a just a bit further & as Jake mentioned he is close too. About 2 hrs or so away from me. Let's all go & beat him up:beach3:

LMAO. . .this the first thing about this situation that I've had to laugh about. I would certainly like the situation resolved, just make sure you get my putter or a replacement payment before you beat him down!! J/K of course, but man, it just sucks.

 

[LottaBalata]

PUTTER FINALLY RECEIVED TODAY!!

I still wouldn't do business with the guy, but he did manage to finally get my putter back. The job he did wasn't great by any means either.

 

[Rockford35]

If you want something done right, don't try and get it cheap. Get it done right.

If you try and cut corners and get burned, it's hard to be on that side of the fence.

Just sayin'.

R35

 

[LottaBalata]

If you want something done right, don't try and get it cheap. Get it done right.

If you try and cut corners and get burned, it's hard to be on that side of the fence.

Just sayin'.

R35

Not sure how purchasing an ebay buy it now is cutting corners. I will admit, $60 wasn't much. . .the whole point of my topic was the fact that the guy describes a 3 or 4 day turnaraound. He had it for over 3 months, tried shipping it on 3 or 4 different occasions. . .He was the one screwing up the shipping. ????? WTF Rock?

 

[Rockford35]

WHat I'm saying is that $60 is super cheap for this service. Normally, stripping a head is around $60 on it's own, plus the Oxide/petina work afterwards, and shipping costs to boot. So, you get what you pay for.

When I first read this thread, I just shook my head and moved on. But when you get burned by not sending this to someone who doesn't have to advertise on Ebay, like Black Oxide Services, (who advertises 4-5 week turnaround, I might add), what do you expect?

We also have a sponsor who does putter work just like this.

Next time, spend the extra $40 and get it done right.

The fact that he advertised 4 day turnaround seems extremely naive on your part. A simple check of any of the other options out there would lead anyone to believe that this claim of 4 days is 1) bullshit and 2) going to result in a terrible end product. Hence why I moved on when I first read this thread....

Just my 2 cents. Carry on...

R35

 

[eclark53520]

Just remember...hindsight is always 20/20...

 

[LottaBalata]

I researched the guy. . .did some googling. . .he was a member on WRX, guys spoke VERY HIGHLY of him.

Considering the economy and my money situation, spending $120 on a $200 putter didn't make much sense to me.

His percentages on Ebay "were" great, up until about a month after I made my buy it now purchase.

I will admit, I was looking for something less expensive.

But, once again this all has to do with the seller not holding up his end of the bargain.

Excuse me, for not making the most expensive choice. I didn't go into the situation with a vast amount of knowledge. Only spent about 3 hours researching on the net.

I was simply posting up so people would be cautious. . .

 

[Rockford35]

I researched the guy. . .did some googling. . .he was a member on WRX, guys spoke VERY HIGHLY of him.

Considering the economy and my money situation, spending $120 on a $200 putter didn't make much sense to me.

His percentages on Ebay "were" great, up until about a month after I made my buy it now purchase.

I will admit, I was looking for something less expensive.

But, once again this all has to do with the seller not holding up his end of the bargain.

Excuse me, for not making the most expensive choice. I didn't go into the situation with a vast amount of knowledge. Only spent about 3 hours researching on the net.

I was simply posting up so people would be cautious. . .

I never hinted that you should have used the most expensive choice.

But, looking back now, wouldn't using a group outside of a Auction site be a better choice? I think it would. From the sounds of things, you're going to have to redo your putter to make it look perfect anyways, no?

I had my putter sandblasted and worked. I created a dialogue with the guy for two weeks beforehand, made sure what work was being done and the timeframe involved. I had seen 30 or 40 peices of his from the last few months and went to him based on his work alone. Price was obviously a consideration, but so was messing it up in my garage or having someone with little experience doing the work.

I don't look for guys to change the oil in my car or service my furnace on Ebay. Same difference.

You mention knowledge. You know have alot more than you did going in. And if you can pass that on to others in your situation, that's great.

Don't think this is a personal thing, cuz it's not. You got burned. And that blows. But, someone mentioned hindsight. Looking back, do you think you made the right choice?

I would blast that guy on WRX, by the way. Especially those that recommended him to you if that's how he works. That's total horseshit if that's the case.

R35

 

[LottaBalata]

I never hinted that you should have used the most expensive choice.

But, looking back now, wouldn't using a group outside of a Auction site be a better choice? I think it would. From the sounds of things, you're going to have to redo your putter to make it look perfect anyways, no?

I had my putter sandblasted and worked. I created a dialogue with the guy for two weeks beforehand, made sure what work was being done and the timeframe involved. I had seen 30 or 40 peices of his from the last few months and went to him based on his work alone. Price was obviously a consideration, but so was messing it up in my garage or having someone with little experience doing the work.

I don't look for guys to change the oil in my car or service my furnace on Ebay. Same difference.

You mention knowledge. You know have alot more than you did going in. And if you can pass that on to others in your situation, that's great.

Don't think this is a personal thing, cuz it's not. You got burned. And that blows. But, someone mentioned hindsight. Looking back, do you think you made the right choice?

I would blast that guy on WRX, by the way. Especially those that recommended him to you if that's how he works. That's total horseshit if that's the case.

R35

I'm sure as heck not sending my putter off to someone else. I said the job wasn't the greatest, didn't say it needed to be re-done. I'm not an absolutist, not a perfectionist, I wanted a Rife with some flame-torch finishing with some red instead of blue.

I messaged him on Ebay for a couple weeks. Checked out his website, where he had posted pics of more than a few very nice refinish jobs. In all honesty, his reputation just recently started going to hell, and of course, I was in the middle of it. From his ebay feedbacks, and his website, he certainly didn't look unexperienced.

Looking back, of course I wish I would have went with someone else. That's the whole point of hindsight. But I merely went with a seller who offered a slightly less expensive job. My problem with the guys is based on the fact that he "supposedly" shipped it to me on 3 or 4 diff. occasions, he told me a few times that he'd email a Trk#, etc , etc, . . .No Rock, I didn't go with the same guy you did. But my choice was not quick and unresearched like you'd like me to say it was. I'm not going to send of my favorite club to some hokey hick I found in 5 minutes on Ebay.