Galileo Out of Business?

[kroywen]

I think he's gone out of business. He's taken his website down and doesn't have anything on eBay anymore.

Does anyone know whether or not Jon Rader is still making models?

[Takama]

after all the controversey sourounding Galileo. It would not suprise me.   

[postsaurischian]

Does anyone know whether or not Jon Rader is still making models?

He is, but I was told that it can take a looong time to get in contact with him. I'm still waiting for a model through Dan who's also waiting for a response from Jonathan (nothing paid yet). His work is beautiful though, so I keep on waiting.

[tyrantqueen]

Such a shame...he was really talented but seems like he wasn't a good businessman at all

[ataraxus]

He is, but I was told that it can take a looong time to get in contact with him. I'm still waiting for a model through Dan who's also waiting for a response from Jonathan (nothing paid yet). His work is beautiful though, so I keep on waiting.
[/quote]


i`m waiting near a year for 5 kits....5 emails or so are unanswered...looks like the same practice like these from Galileo....
i also think that`s pitty both are talented sculptors but how they did their business is unacceptable...

[ihatefeathers144]

I can't speak for Galileo, who seems to pissed quite a few people off by not answering emails, incomplete shipping, etc. He also seems to have gotten involved with Mexican politics if you go by his facebook page. But I can assure everybody that Jon Rader is going to make good on his open orders. Jon is a friend of mine & speak to him quite often. I have $500+ wrapped up with him & I KNOW I'm going to get my stuff. I feel for those who have also been waiting for months, perhaps longer, for their orders to be fulfilled. Believe me when I say Jon is NOT robbing anyone. Jon is extremely busy with work/school & finds very little time for anything else & it makes him sick to his stomach that he cannot ship in a timely fashion. I certainly can understand customers frustration but Jon is as honest a man that you will find & he will make good on his orders.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

He definitely had some business issues to work out. I can report his Geene Models page on FB is still there and he has no mention of closing shop on his personal page.

[Seijun]

This will be such a shame if he really is shutting down. I was in love with his work, more-so than any other paleo-sculptor, and I never got a chance to buy any of his models! I was really looking forward to his new 1:35 saurolophus as well.

[Simon]

The latest scuttlebutt from another dino-board is that the site is down due to technical difficulties having nothing to do with Galileo - it says the site should be up again soon ... we will see ...

[ataraxus]

I can't speak for Galileo, who seems to pissed quite a few people off by not answering emails, incomplete shipping, etc. He also seems to have gotten involved with Mexican politics if you go by his facebook page. But I can assure everybody that Jon Rader is going to make good on his open orders. Jon is a friend of mine & speak to him quite often. I have $500+ wrapped up with him & I KNOW I'm going to get my stuff. I feel for those who have also been waiting for months, perhaps longer, for their orders to be fulfilled. Believe me when I say Jon is NOT robbing anyone. Jon is extremely busy with work/school & finds very little time for anything else & it makes him sick to his stomach that he cannot ship in a timely fashion. I certainly can understand customers frustration but Jon is as honest a man that you will find & he will make good on his orders.

ok, i was too hard against Jonathan, my first order takes over a half year when i remember right and he added three extra kits. but now my second order is near a year ago and nothing is gone. he told me that he planned to give the molds to e professional caster who also ship it for him...
the point for me that i get no more answers, i can also not really understand why he made new models (Sue, Kapro, Cerato). he makes "hungry" for new stuff but is unable to ship this stuff nor to finish old orders...

[dgmilner]

I thought it might be helpful if I reposted this...

I over the years have had a number of bad experiences when purchasing dinosaur model kits or buildup services. (My most recent one was especially bad - the seller amongst other things by his own eventual admission lied about sending the kit I'd ordered.) So, I wanted to share some thoughts about avoiding such experiences and actions you can take if you do have them. I hope the information will be helpful to others, and would very much welcome any additional ideas that you might have.

To avoid running into trouble in the first place...

1) Purchase only from reputable sellers. My experience has been that there are more bad ones than good ones. How do you know whom to trust? Perhaps ask for recommendations on this forum. (I've had positive experiences pretty much only with Shane Foulkes, Martin Garratt and Dan's Dinosaurs, but there may very well be other good sellers. I certainly have not ordered from everyone.)

2) If you're thinking of purchasing a kit from a seller that you're not sure about, request to see a picture of the kit that would actually be sent to you before sending payment. Perhaps also request that some unique identifying mark that can be made out in the picture be placed on some piece of the kit.

3) If you're purchasing buildup services, request to see pictures of the completed kit before it is sent to you.

4) Request information about how the kit will be packed in the box. (I've a number of times received damaged goods.)

5) Request that a tracking number be sent to you when the kit is sent.

6) Pay via PayPal so you can file a claim if necessary. (See point 2 below.)

If you have had a bad experience...

1) Of course first contact the seller. (I often have had to be quite "persistent" in order to have the seller actually do what I'd paid him or her to do.)

2) If you paid via PayPal, file a claim within 45 days. PayPal does not pursue claims older than 45 days. See
https://cms.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/?cmd=_render-content&content_ID=security/report_problem. Note that filing a claim after 45 days is still worthwhile because PayPal will keep a record of the claim and take it into consideration when making decisions about future claims.

3) If the seller has a Web site, contact the Internet service provider (ISP) hosting the site. You almost always can find out which ISP is hosting the site at http://www.networksolutions.com/whois/index.jsp. Simply enter the domain name of the site to do so. Once you know the name of the company, go to its Web site to obtain contact information and let the company know about your experience. For example, if the host is HostGator, you can go to http://support.hostgator.com/articles/pre-sales-policies/security-abuse/where-can-i-report-abuse-and-or-spamming to report not only spam, but other abuses of its services, including but certainly not limited to fraudulent business activity. This reporting can in fact be effective - sites have been shut down.

4) Often the ISP hosting the seller's Web site will also be providing him or her with e-mail services, but this is not always the case. The seller may be using a separate e-mail service provider. If, for example, the e-mail provider is Yahoo, you can go to http://help.yahoo.com/l/us/yahoo/abuse/reportabuse/;_ylt=AkHLno5Mdd8OlrTRTPlxuv4HjSN4 to report abuse.

5) Does the seller have a Facebook page? See http://www.facebook.com/help/?page=204546626249212.

6) Is the seller making use of Twitter? See http://support.twitter.com/groups/33-report-a-violation#.

I can't speak for Galileo, who seems to pissed quite a few people off by not answering emails, incomplete shipping, etc. He also seems to have gotten involved with Mexican politics if you go by his facebook page. But I can assure everybody that Jon Rader is going to make good on his open orders. Jon is a friend of mine & speak to him quite often. I have $500+ wrapped up with him & I KNOW I'm going to get my stuff. I feel for those who have also been waiting for months, perhaps longer, for their orders to be fulfilled. Believe me when I say Jon is NOT robbing anyone. Jon is extremely busy with work/school & finds very little time for anything else & it makes him sick to his stomach that he cannot ship in a timely fashion. I certainly can understand customers frustration but Jon is as honest a man that you will find & he will make good on his orders.

ok, i was too hard against Jonathan, my first order takes over a half year when i remember right and he added three extra kits. but now my second order is near a year ago and nothing is gone. he told me that he planned to give the molds to e professional caster who also ship it for him...
the point for me that i get no more answers, i can also not really understand why he made new models (Sue, Kapro, Cerato). he makes "hungry" for new stuff but is unable to ship this stuff nor to finish old orders...

[radman]

Just made this my desktop:

https://www.facebook.com/mobileprotection#!/photo.php?fbid=442285892462902&set=a.236149006409926.64469.234431386581688&type=1&theater

Not sure what's up at the present, but hopefully G be will around for a long time, I've really enjoyed all of the models of his that I have acquired.

[Simon]

Galileo posted the following info on another dino modeling board earlier today:

"GUYS IM MOVING THE STUDIO TO A BIGGER PLACE WITH MORE POEPLE TO GAVE A BETTER SERVICE, THE SITE IS DOWN AND I AM WORKING TO RESTABLISH IT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. PLS BE A LITTLE PATIENT

I HAVE 10 000 000 OF THINGS TO DO PLUS WORKING ON THE SITE, BUT DON'T WORRY THATS THE BEST PART OF THE LIFE WEHN YOU HAVE THIS AMOUNT OF CHALLENGES.

IM BACK TO WORK.

PLS ANY QUESTION FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME AT :

[email protected]
https://www.facebook.com/galileo.hernandez.3
Twitter: https://twitter.com/galileoEscultor
wanna give me a call on skype: galileonmodels

Thanks."

[ataraxus]

the website is available.

[dutchdinolover]

I can't speak for Galileo, who seems to pissed quite a few people off by not answering emails, incomplete shipping, etc. He also seems to have gotten involved with Mexican politics if you go by his facebook page. But I can assure everybody that Jon Rader is going to make good on his open orders. Jon is a friend of mine & speak to him quite often. I have $500+ wrapped up with him & I KNOW I'm going to get my stuff. I feel for those who have also been waiting for months, perhaps longer, for their orders to be fulfilled. Believe me when I say Jon is NOT robbing anyone. Jon is extremely busy with work/school & finds very little time for anything else & it makes him sick to his stomach that he cannot ship in a timely fashion. I certainly can understand customers frustration but Jon is as honest a man that you will find & he will make good on his orders.

I only can wish you are wrigth about jon rader, I have invested 180 dollar for his camarasaurus and acrocanthosaurus, almost a year ago. Havent heard from him this last six months...   All my orders from galileo have arrived safely so far (5 times total).

[Argentavis]

I have ordered the 1:48 T-Rex on sunday, and galileo answered me that the item will ship this week.

[tyrantqueen]

I have ordered the 1:48 T-Rex on sunday, and galileo answered me that the item will ship this week.

I ordered his Suchomimus kit from his eBay http://www.ebay.ie/itm/270973967247?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649. After no communication for a week, I contacted him and he said he would ship it the following week. I don't know if it's been shipped for sure, I tried asking him if it has been shipped but I got no response

This was about a month ago.

I really wish he would improve his communication.

EDIT: I can no longer make a claim with Paypal or eBay since too much time has elapsed. I got fed up with waiting, and after 2 more emails, I went ahead and left Galileo a negative feedback. I never like doing these things, but I thought at least it might help warn new buyers I have no Suchomimus, and no refund either. I feel liked I've been robbed :X

My partner also purchased the same model on the same date as me, and has had the same results as me. He left a negative too. That's 2 people Galileo has ripped off.

[krentz]

To whomever makes their own kits and does their own shipping but is too busy to fill Odets in a timely fashion ( like me). I say this.  Wholesale. Let someone else take care of it. I've sold more through Dan and Urzeitshop than doing it on my own because I wanted all the profit. Thier good business practice will ensure more orders and more time for you to create. Best thing I've done !
DK

[DinoToyForum]

  I've split the off topic discussion into a separate thread here:
http://www.dinotoyblog.com/forum/index.php/topic,685.0.html