“No matter how cynical you get, it is impossible to keep up” -Lily Tomlin
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8/28/18 Newsletter
This is the thread that prompted "Am I Icarus?" Which raises the question, "Did Icarus lurk?"
Spoiler:
Got a little news for you.
First, a quick sorry and thank you. i started answering emails today while out away from the warehouse. Holy cow you guys have been busy. Sorry for not being super present lately. I honestly can't keep up with the emails, but I am going to work on solely that tomorrow. All the messages, all the emails...knock em out.
also, Thank you to those that sent messages and have inquired on my well-being. Its very much appreciated. June....
Ok so we built a bunch of boxes for replacements but I need a list to check off to make sure we don't send out duplicates because as I started going through the labels I found like 20 duplicates. It will happen inevitably because we got back some pretty terrible counts from DHL and our numbers are just thrown off. SO- If you still need a box for June, send an email or reply to this one with the subject (JUNE LIST) also if you still need a refund and don't have an active dispute, send one with the subject as (REFUND). I will search specifically for those subject lines. Last, if you need a waterbottle replacement from the drug free one, put (WATERBOTTLE) in the subject, and include anything else that needs replacing. I honestly don't know how those got in there, but I am sorry for the mistake.
I am going to knock those out first thing in the morning and likely through lunch. and we can be rid of June for good this time. Either way I had all the boxes put off to the side and we resumed labeling July. About 300 have been shipped, and about 600 need to be labeled. Its only taking this long because we have to sort everything by size after its already been packed so we always double check the sizes every few boxes just in case, and mistakes still happen but its not too many. August will be labeled while its being packed so it will be so much faster.
Ok, that stuff out of the way, some questions.
If you're trying to catch up, how are you going to be able to ship shop items on time?
Jessica is helping to get all of the shop items out on Friday with me.
Is August still a big box or is September bigger now?
I think that September is bigger but not for the reason the customer asked, because it was posed in a pretty weird way. Its just bigger because I had more fun with September than August. I got to make a serial killer bar glass, and a pogo the clown shirt. I mean, it got pretty weird in here while doing research for some of the hidden things in the designs, but August is still a great box. and yes September is sold out. If you try and renew while in sold out mode, you will be moved to the next box instead.
Am I Icarus?
yeah, I'd say that's a pretty good description J.
Are the other King Items in production?
Not the shirts because we had a few to sell, and now we have a bunch of disputes so I don't want to buy a crazy amount of shirts in the wrong size. The pins, yes. I will ask for some pictures. No Idea where they are in production because that is easily replaced and not my biggest concern. I know several people who do good work and can get them done fast if anything should happen to this shipment so rest easy on that, not that anyone is super concerned.
Are we not going to respond to comments anymore?
No that's crazy. We are not going to answer questions in the comment sections anymore though. That adds way too much confusion.
Am I ever going to take responsibility for being so far behind?
I thought I had. Maybe it wasn't clear enough because my messages are so confusing. I am sorry that we got behind. I used to love doing this job and interacting with everyone, and creating for you, but that stopped when I was admitted (until I got deep into Sept. box). I was behind a few weeks and with the luck of a dumpster fire, a series of events created all of the delay. Have I lied? Absolutely not. Regardless of what some people want to think, I have tried to give the most accurate timeline I could. There's tons of theories swirling around, and there is no credence to them. Yeah I may have put out a statement that was confusing, but I didn't lie to anyone. We've just had horrible luck and I haven't been a very happy person. The non-productive threats and demand that I get don't help so I tend to not handle that well either so I am sorry. I am Icarus, but I think I am leveling out. At least I hope so.
Thats all I got right now. EMAIL me some more questions for the next update if you have them.
(IF YOU FILED A DISPUTE THERE'S A CHANCE IT WONT WORK, BUT THATS NOT ME ITS THE SYSTEM).
Here's the 9/05/18 newsletter...
"Working on extra funding?'"
Spoiler:
Just a bit.
Sorry for the lack of updates I have been trying to get this all straightened out so I have something to tell you.
So the disputes are currently beating me up. So I am still working on July but its slower going than I would like, only 600 have gone out. I know you're tired of hearing excuses, but I am sorry.
No matter, we are working on some extra funding to get these out and once that immediately happens I even have some family that is helping me get everything out for free (on my end). I am not giving up, or folding. When all of the funds were filed it held up a pretty large amount of funds and negatively impacted production and our ability to get stuff out.
I would just ask that you not file any more so we could get caught up. Just an ask, as a small business.
IF YOU WANT, THERE IS AN INFO CARD FOR JULY ON THE VERY BOTTOM OF THIS EMAIL. IT IS PROBABLY ONE OF MY FAVORITE BOXES BESIDES SEPTEMBER AND I PROMISE WE ARE WORKING TO GET IT TO YOU. SO, SPOILER WARNING.
Also my parents started their horror company Horror Bees. Their first month is "The Blob (1988)" and then "Piranha (1978)" and "Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)" for November and December respectively. They have a few months already on their site, but the calendar is already planned for a year, and year two is still being pitched to studios but I think they may be done soon. Anyways if you like horror movies, check it out, if not please don't take any drama their way.
horrorbees.com
"One day you're going to figure out that everything they taught you was a lie."
According to his Instagram he is "taking a break" from Facebook, that is all. So I guess he deactivated his FB page instead of deleting it. The closer we get to the next election, I'll probably do the same.
He is taking a break from social by updating Instagram? That sounds like bullshit to me.
Originally Posted by ICry4Oy
According to his Instagram he is "taking a break" from Facebook, that is all. So I guess he deactivated his FB page instead of deleting it. The closer we get to the next election, I'll probably do the same.
So for the Salem's lot book, whats the deadline to file a dispute without being left holding the bag?
I looked at my invoice and I paid through PayPal on 4 April - so I had to make a claim through PayPal by 1 Oct - 60 days. I placed my claim on 4 Sept - already went up the chain, sent nocturnal reader an email - didn't get a reply (imagine that) and waiting for payola decision - let you know what happens
Wanted:
Gunslinger s/l #344
Drawing of The Three s/l #344
“A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.” Wayne Gretzky
So for the Salem's lot book, whats the deadline to file a dispute without being left holding the bag?
I looked at my invoice and I paid through PayPal on 4 April - so I had to make a claim through PayPal by 1 Oct - 60 days. I placed my claim on 4 Sept - already went up the chain, sent nocturnal reader an email - didn't get a reply (imagine that) and waiting for payola decision - let you know what happens
That's why I went ahead and filed mine. Figured I'd get it in before the deadline - and the inevitable filing for bankruptcy.
So for the Salem's lot book, whats the deadline to file a dispute without being left holding the bag?
I looked at my invoice and I paid through PayPal on 4 April - so I had to make a claim through PayPal by 1 Oct - 60 days. I placed my claim on 4 Sept - already went up the chain, sent nocturnal reader an email - didn't get a reply (imagine that) and waiting for payola decision - let you know what happens
That's why I went ahead and filed mine. Figured I'd get it in before the deadline - and the inevitable filing for bankruptcy.
Plus if we all start putting in similar claims I think that helps in the overall judgment/decision from PayPal
Wanted:
Gunslinger s/l #344
Drawing of The Three s/l #344
“A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.” Wayne Gretzky
We're processing your refund and your money will be available on September 11, 2018.
The original purchase was April 4, 2018.
Refunded to
PayPal balance
Transaction ID
xxxxxxxxxx
Seller info
The Nocturnal Reader's Box http://www.thenocturnalreadersbox.com
Note from The Nocturnal Reader's Box
90.64 USD; 20180906T205652.493 GMT Credit has been processed and claim is now closed. Please refer Dispute ID PP-D-13884030. Thank you.
Refund details
Refund total (includes tax and shipping)$90.64
Total$90.64
Wanted:
Gunslinger s/l #344
Drawing of The Three s/l #344
“A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.” Wayne Gretzky
This is the thread that prompted "Am I Icarus?" Which raises the question, "Did Icarus lurk?"
Spoiler:
Got a little news for you.
First, a quick sorry and thank you. i started answering emails today while out away from the warehouse. Holy cow you guys have been busy. Sorry for not being super present lately. I honestly can't keep up with the emails, but I am going to work on solely that tomorrow. All the messages, all the emails...knock em out.
also, Thank you to those that sent messages and have inquired on my well-being. Its very much appreciated. June....
Ok so we built a bunch of boxes for replacements but I need a list to check off to make sure we don't send out duplicates because as I started going through the labels I found like 20 duplicates. It will happen inevitably because we got back some pretty terrible counts from DHL and our numbers are just thrown off. SO- If you still need a box for June, send an email or reply to this one with the subject (JUNE LIST) also if you still need a refund and don't have an active dispute, send one with the subject as (REFUND). I will search specifically for those subject lines. Last, if you need a waterbottle replacement from the drug free one, put (WATERBOTTLE) in the subject, and include anything else that needs replacing. I honestly don't know how those got in there, but I am sorry for the mistake.
I am going to knock those out first thing in the morning and likely through lunch. and we can be rid of June for good this time. Either way I had all the boxes put off to the side and we resumed labeling July. About 300 have been shipped, and about 600 need to be labeled. Its only taking this long because we have to sort everything by size after its already been packed so we always double check the sizes every few boxes just in case, and mistakes still happen but its not too many. August will be labeled while its being packed so it will be so much faster.
Ok, that stuff out of the way, some questions.
If you're trying to catch up, how are you going to be able to ship shop items on time?
Jessica is helping to get all of the shop items out on Friday with me.
Is August still a big box or is September bigger now?
I think that September is bigger but not for the reason the customer asked, because it was posed in a pretty weird way. Its just bigger because I had more fun with September than August. I got to make a serial killer bar glass, and a pogo the clown shirt. I mean, it got pretty weird in here while doing research for some of the hidden things in the designs, but August is still a great box. and yes September is sold out. If you try and renew while in sold out mode, you will be moved to the next box instead.
Am I Icarus?
yeah, I'd say that's a pretty good description J.
Are the other King Items in production?
Not the shirts because we had a few to sell, and now we have a bunch of disputes so I don't want to buy a crazy amount of shirts in the wrong size. The pins, yes. I will ask for some pictures. No Idea where they are in production because that is easily replaced and not my biggest concern. I know several people who do good work and can get them done fast if anything should happen to this shipment so rest easy on that, not that anyone is super concerned.
Are we not going to respond to comments anymore?
No that's crazy. We are not going to answer questions in the comment sections anymore though. That adds way too much confusion.
Am I ever going to take responsibility for being so far behind?
I thought I had. Maybe it wasn't clear enough because my messages are so confusing. I am sorry that we got behind. I used to love doing this job and interacting with everyone, and creating for you, but that stopped when I was admitted (until I got deep into Sept. box). I was behind a few weeks and with the luck of a dumpster fire, a series of events created all of the delay. Have I lied? Absolutely not. Regardless of what some people want to think, I have tried to give the most accurate timeline I could. There's tons of theories swirling around, and there is no credence to them. Yeah I may have put out a statement that was confusing, but I didn't lie to anyone. We've just had horrible luck and I haven't been a very happy person. The non-productive threats and demand that I get don't help so I tend to not handle that well either so I am sorry. I am Icarus, but I think I am leveling out. At least I hope so.
Thats all I got right now. EMAIL me some more questions for the next update if you have them.
(IF YOU FILED A DISPUTE THERE'S A CHANCE IT WONT WORK, BUT THATS NOT ME ITS THE SYSTEM).
Here's the 9/05/18 newsletter...
"Working on extra funding?'"
Spoiler:
Just a bit.
Sorry for the lack of updates I have been trying to get this all straightened out so I have something to tell you.
So the disputes are currently beating me up. So I am still working on July but its slower going than I would like, only 600 have gone out. I know you're tired of hearing excuses, but I am sorry.
No matter, we are working on some extra funding to get these out and once that immediately happens I even have some family that is helping me get everything out for free (on my end). I am not giving up, or folding. When all of the funds were filed it held up a pretty large amount of funds and negatively impacted production and our ability to get stuff out.
I would just ask that you not file any more so we could get caught up. Just an ask, as a small business.
IF YOU WANT, THERE IS AN INFO CARD FOR JULY ON THE VERY BOTTOM OF THIS EMAIL. IT IS PROBABLY ONE OF MY FAVORITE BOXES BESIDES SEPTEMBER AND I PROMISE WE ARE WORKING TO GET IT TO YOU. SO, SPOILER WARNING.
Also my parents started their horror company Horror Bees. Their first month is "The Blob (1988)" and then "Piranha (1978)" and "Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)" for November and December respectively. They have a few months already on their site, but the calendar is already planned for a year, and year two is still being pitched to studios but I think they may be done soon. Anyways if you like horror movies, check it out, if not please don't take any drama their way.
horrorbees.com
His story changes with every newsletter. I was looking back at some older ones and the July 9th email says June is finally being shipped and July is all set to go but he just has to wait 6 days. And it's now Sept... Also I believe it's been confirmed that he lied and no July boxes have even been shipped out yet. I highly doubt the fb page is going to reappear or that we'll even get another update. Hopefully I'm wrong though. Wish I paid with PayPal because my cc won't refund me the King box yet, have to wait for NRB to be given enough time to respond and I just hope they don't go bankrupt in the meantime.
“No matter how cynical you get, it is impossible to keep up” -Lily Tomlin
Posts
10,597
Country
Gender
Originally Posted by Br!an
8/28/18 Newsletter
This is the thread that prompted "Am I Icarus?" Which raises the question, "Did Icarus lurk?"
Spoiler:
Got a little news for you.
First, a quick sorry and thank you. i started answering emails today while out away from the warehouse. Holy cow you guys have been busy. Sorry for not being super present lately. I honestly can't keep up with the emails, but I am going to work on solely that tomorrow. All the messages, all the emails...knock em out.
also, Thank you to those that sent messages and have inquired on my well-being. Its very much appreciated. June....
Ok so we built a bunch of boxes for replacements but I need a list to check off to make sure we don't send out duplicates because as I started going through the labels I found like 20 duplicates. It will happen inevitably because we got back some pretty terrible counts from DHL and our numbers are just thrown off. SO- If you still need a box for June, send an email or reply to this one with the subject (JUNE LIST) also if you still need a refund and don't have an active dispute, send one with the subject as (REFUND). I will search specifically for those subject lines. Last, if you need a waterbottle replacement from the drug free one, put (WATERBOTTLE) in the subject, and include anything else that needs replacing. I honestly don't know how those got in there, but I am sorry for the mistake.
I am going to knock those out first thing in the morning and likely through lunch. and we can be rid of June for good this time. Either way I had all the boxes put off to the side and we resumed labeling July. About 300 have been shipped, and about 600 need to be labeled. Its only taking this long because we have to sort everything by size after its already been packed so we always double check the sizes every few boxes just in case, and mistakes still happen but its not too many. August will be labeled while its being packed so it will be so much faster.
Ok, that stuff out of the way, some questions.
If you're trying to catch up, how are you going to be able to ship shop items on time?
Jessica is helping to get all of the shop items out on Friday with me.
Is August still a big box or is September bigger now?
I think that September is bigger but not for the reason the customer asked, because it was posed in a pretty weird way. Its just bigger because I had more fun with September than August. I got to make a serial killer bar glass, and a pogo the clown shirt. I mean, it got pretty weird in here while doing research for some of the hidden things in the designs, but August is still a great box. and yes September is sold out. If you try and renew while in sold out mode, you will be moved to the next box instead.
Am I Icarus?
yeah, I'd say that's a pretty good description J.
Are the other King Items in production?
Not the shirts because we had a few to sell, and now we have a bunch of disputes so I don't want to buy a crazy amount of shirts in the wrong size. The pins, yes. I will ask for some pictures. No Idea where they are in production because that is easily replaced and not my biggest concern. I know several people who do good work and can get them done fast if anything should happen to this shipment so rest easy on that, not that anyone is super concerned.
Are we not going to respond to comments anymore?
No that's crazy. We are not going to answer questions in the comment sections anymore though. That adds way too much confusion.
Am I ever going to take responsibility for being so far behind?
I thought I had. Maybe it wasn't clear enough because my messages are so confusing. I am sorry that we got behind. I used to love doing this job and interacting with everyone, and creating for you, but that stopped when I was admitted (until I got deep into Sept. box). I was behind a few weeks and with the luck of a dumpster fire, a series of events created all of the delay. Have I lied? Absolutely not. Regardless of what some people want to think, I have tried to give the most accurate timeline I could. There's tons of theories swirling around, and there is no credence to them. Yeah I may have put out a statement that was confusing, but I didn't lie to anyone. We've just had horrible luck and I haven't been a very happy person. The non-productive threats and demand that I get don't help so I tend to not handle that well either so I am sorry. I am Icarus, but I think I am leveling out. At least I hope so.
Thats all I got right now. EMAIL me some more questions for the next update if you have them.
(IF YOU FILED A DISPUTE THERE'S A CHANCE IT WONT WORK, BUT THATS NOT ME ITS THE SYSTEM).
Here's the 9/05/18 newsletter...
"Working on extra funding?'"
Spoiler:
Just a bit.
Sorry for the lack of updates I have been trying to get this all straightened out so I have something to tell you.
So the disputes are currently beating me up. So I am still working on July but its slower going than I would like, only 600 have gone out. I know you're tired of hearing excuses, but I am sorry.
No matter, we are working on some extra funding to get these out and once that immediately happens I even have some family that is helping me get everything out for free (on my end). I am not giving up, or folding. When all of the funds were filed it held up a pretty large amount of funds and negatively impacted production and our ability to get stuff out.
I would just ask that you not file any more so we could get caught up. Just an ask, as a small business.
IF YOU WANT, THERE IS AN INFO CARD FOR JULY ON THE VERY BOTTOM OF THIS EMAIL. IT IS PROBABLY ONE OF MY FAVORITE BOXES BESIDES SEPTEMBER AND I PROMISE WE ARE WORKING TO GET IT TO YOU. SO, SPOILER WARNING.
Also my parents started their horror company Horror Bees. Their first month is "The Blob (1988)" and then "Piranha (1978)" and "Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)" for November and December respectively. They have a few months already on their site, but the calendar is already planned for a year, and year two is still being pitched to studios but I think they may be done soon. Anyways if you like horror movies, check it out, if not please don't take any drama their way.
horrorbees.com
Originally Posted by Heather19
His story changes with every newsletter. I was looking back at some older ones and the July 9th email says June is finally being shipped and July is all set to go but he just has to wait 6 days. And it's now Sept... Also I believe it's been confirmed that he lied and no July boxes have even been shipped out yet. I highly doubt the fb page is going to reappear or that we'll even get another update. Hopefully I'm wrong though. Wish I paid with PayPal because my cc won't refund me the King box yet, have to wait for NRB to be given enough time to respond and I just hope they don't go bankrupt in the meantime.
I gave him the benefit of the doubt for more than a year and a half. No longer.
Some say they don't think he's intentionally lying. They are wrong. His lies are manifest.
He's had problems providing the boxes since at least early 2017 when I started purchasing them. He always blamed DHL. It became progressively worse. He started shipping all of the boxes late. He had excuses. He became confrontational with people who complained.
I believe (it's actually very obvious) he's been "robbing Peter to pay Paul." Peter's finally wised up and now he has no way to pay Paul.
He was counting on the King book to pull him out of the hole he'd dug himself. King wisely declined to be involved. Now people don't even want the unsigned special edition of 'Salem's Lot since he's been unable to deliver his monthly boxes and it's uncertain if he will be able to produce the book at all.
Add in Vincent's mental health issues and Jessica's lack of authority to operate the business. I'm not optimistic about the prospects.
"One day you're going to figure out that everything they taught you was a lie."
I never contacted NRB, but put in a request for a refund with PP this morning for two King books. Now: "We're processing your refund and your money will be available on September 13, 2018." That's less than six hours they took care of it.
I'm sure with all the complaints they have been getting they have NRB flagged and they're just giving out refunds automatically.
I also think it's pretty obvious they've been lying about a lot of stuff. I'm surprised there are still people that support them. I'll be shocked if July boxes even go out. I guess the question is are they going to charge current subscribers for October's box in the coming days. They haven't mentioned Oct or promoted anything which I think they normally would by now.
Ran across when looking for their Facebook. Maybe someone already posted it. Says he has million dollar business and works with Stephen King. Hmm. "Through a bit of persistence, I managed to get a hold of Stephen King himself, and we’ve had the opportunity to work on a few interesting projects together including some custom book covers and exclusive releases."
Does anyone else read that as meaning that they never even had permission to publish the book? I had three on pre-order, and I’ve been giving this guy the benefit of the doubt, but I submitted my charge-back last night.
“No matter how cynical you get, it is impossible to keep up” -Lily Tomlin
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Originally Posted by Robert Fulman
Does anyone else read that as meaning that they never even had permission to publish the book? I had three on pre-order, and I’ve been giving this guy the benefit of the doubt, but I submitted my charge-back last night.
He received permission to publish 2000 copies of a "special edition" of 'Salem's Lot. None to be signed.
He seems to now be saying that it wasn't King, but Tyne the agent, who decided there wasn't enough money and that King wouldn't sign. That belies the email from the agent that states it isn't about the money, that Stephen would not sign on principle.
"One day you're going to figure out that everything they taught you was a lie."
“No matter how cynical you get, it is impossible to keep up” -Lily Tomlin
Posts
10,597
Country
Gender
I found it interesting that he claims, "Anyone that had been subscribed before December knows that the most we were ever late was a day or two before that. We almost ALWAYS went out on time and had very few if any errors."
The first email -5/05/2017 - I ever received as a customer was from Vincent apologizing for the box being late. The second one - 5/11/2017 - was his explanation of how it wasn't his fault. It was - I'm not kidding here, and I'm sure no one saw this coming - the shipping companies fault! I didn't receive tracking for the shipment until 6/04/2017. So the box was a full month late. Is a month still more than "a day or two?"
Spoiler:
Dear ghouls and boils,
For those in the last shipping batch we sent out, we wanted to send out an apology to you. Sorry. We have never been late shipping and will strive to never be late again, but sometimes it happens (Growing Pains) We are at a size now that makes it really difficult and likely impossible for the post office, especially here, to come pick up our packages. We shipped out 6 full pallets of boxes and will ship 12 more for June's box. Yeah, its a lot. We were unprepared when freight was going to be our only option.We had to wait for pallets, gaylord boxes, shrink-wrap, lids, and of course trucks to be ordered. When we finally got the last batch out, we were a day later that we intended to ever be, but what followed is not on us. We showed our various shipments arriving at the sorting facility in Memphis on Monday morning 9:47am to be exact. They went down after only sorting through 40 of that last batch for scheduled maintenance which we knew nothing about (Thats our bad). They only went back up Yesterday afternoon, and didn't update us until later last night .
Either way, all of this is to say that we are sorry and that its been a terrible week for shipping. Renewal is coming up for some on the 15th and others will renew on the 20th still. IF you do not receive your package by the time your "renewal email reminder" is sent and you are unsure about June's box. Message us and we can cancel your account with a partial refund to say sorry. If you are sticking with us after this error, than know that we will try and make sure that this never happens again. We don't do this job for the money. We truly love our book community!! That's why we do what we can to make sure that we have happy customers. I don't ever want a customer to have a bad experience with US. If you for some reason don't like an item or book in the box, thats cool. Thats why there are like a thousand genres and sub genres. Our feelings won't be hurt...its part of being a person. We listen to everything you say and try and do our best! We love you all!!
"One day you're going to figure out that everything they taught you was a lie."
There’s was a slight delay on PayPal end - or a new wrinkle for those just submitting refund requests:
Hello Chad Tarter ,
An eCheck payment from The Nocturnal Reader's Box was declined by the sender's bank. We will automatically try to process this payment again in 3 business days. It then usually takes 3-5 days for the money to be deposited into your account. Please do not ship items until you receive payment.
So if senders bank declined payment does that mean he’s filed bankruptcy or the bank wants their money too?
I’m going to make a call to PayPal this morning…
Wanted:
Gunslinger s/l #344
Drawing of The Three s/l #344
“A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.” Wayne Gretzky
Originally Posted by ICry4Oy
He became confrontational with people who complained.
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