Saturday, Jun 05, 2010 at 16:33
sorry about the above post being wrong,had been sent a few between mates and posted the wrong one.this was posted eslewhere earlier today.
The news is not good. Angella P/L T/As The 4WD
Shop (4H) voluntarily appointed Vince & Associates as Liquidators. We have not traded in the past few weeks and were not in a position to trade, pay, refund or comment while such discussions were being held.
Before GFC we were rocking. GFC hit and it wasn't so much people not spending at the time but the USD falling to 50c that drove prices through the roof (look at Hi mounts - we sold 15 a month and then 1 per 3 months) and it was the price hikes that killed sales by a half. Then in Sep last year ebay changed it's search criteria to best match and that halved our sales yet again. We resized - smaller factory and dropped some good staff saving $25K per month and had been making good progress. But some 2 weeks ago we were suspended by ebay due to lower star ratings and that pretty much screwed us. The boys resigned and immediatley upon returning from OBC (we left early) I made the first appointment with the liquidators and reported that I was no longer able to pay my bills. It's against the law to trade in this predicament.
To set the record straight I have nothing to do with 4x4store or with Johnno in cranbourne. Stuf4blokes was an attempt by my sales guys to get some sales happening while I was away. They did a good job, they only listed product we had in stock and every sale was honoured. I withdrew all active listings in that store when the liquidators said I shouldn't continue trading. So that store is now inactive but by choice.
Also, I have heard rumours that Cliffhanger is off - This is a rediculous claim. Cliffhanger is on more than ever (it's my only job right now) and in fact we are considering having a second cliffhanger for 2011 in Sep/Oct and have already begun talks with CCDA and our major sponsors.
So where to from here? Everything is in the hands of the liquidators and no amount of begging or harrassement can change anything I'm afraid. Please remember that it is the business entity that is being wound up at this stage and not the person Steve Hobbs yet. I do have things like an old comp car and yes these are being sold to go towards debt relief but not by the liquidators as they are only engaged in the business assets.
There are not that many customers affected. What I suggest is that if you paid with Pay pal or via Credit Card then you seek refunds through their buyer guarantees straight away. If you can not then please send me a PM and I will make sure the liquidators are aware that you were not capable of getting a refund. No guarantees but it's the best I can offer right now.
Ebay have caused me a huge amount of grief of late. My advice to ebay buyers and sellers is to watch those star ratings - they can put sellers out of business. I'm sure that even the angriest customers wouldn't want to delibereatly bring this on and cause so much pain for so many innocent people.
For every supplier and customer affected by this there is a hard lump in my throat and a great deal of regret and remorse. Given that I know a lot of people and my business life and social life blend together I am finding this very hard to come to terms with. Many of my suppliers and customers are my friends (or were).
The Liquidators are :
Vince & Associates
email : kwright@vinceassociates.com.au
Ph : 03 9793 5588
They know me as Angella P/L.
Regretfully,
Hobzee
FollowupID:
689848