Tiny Details
It seems like I’ve been doing a lot of posts like this lately. I don’t like to think my wife and I are suckers, but man it seems like we’ve been getting ripped off a lot in recent memory. I can’t help but think that honest, legitimate businesses just don’t exist anymore. They’ve been driven to extinction by money-grubbing scam artists out to milk you for every cent they can.
My most recent bout came with a company named Tiny Details based out of Syracuse, NY. My wife was interested in earning some extra money for us from home, a prospect that I found very appealing. What with our son and all, it’s really not feasible for her to go to work, so finding her a way to draw income at home was ideal.
I found Tiny Details while researching along those lines. I considered the link pointing to it to be more legitimate than most (and trust me, I know a lot about links). The site seemed a bit unprofessional, which should have been a big tip-off, but I didn’t find anyone saying anything negative about it. My wife was very excited at the prospect, as much as she loves arts and crafts.
Unfortunately, I didn’t do my research as thoroughly as I should have. It wasn’t until after we had bought a kit for my wife that I came across these Tiny Details customer complaints and some more recent warnings about Tiny Details. I also managed to find the Tiny Details Better Business Bureau report. I’m ashamed to say that I missed such glaring stop signs. I guess I must have been dreamy eyed over their false promises rather than incredulous as I rightfully should have been.
At any rate, I’ve cancelled our order and plan to seek reimbursement through whatever means necessary, up to and including legal action. I don’t expect them to make it easy; companies like this never do. I fully suspect it’s money that I’ll never see again one way or another, in which case I’ll take it as $55 worth of valuable education: If it seems too good to be true, it is. Do your research first, and do it right.
For my past exploits into consumer dissatisfaction, feel free to check out Fine Print Thievery, Advanced Internet Technologies, AT&T Prepaid Phone Card, and my review of Fandango.
Following the last email that I included in the comments below, I received a constructive response from Mr. Buchan. As promised, here is the excerpt from that email explaining Mr. Buchan’s side of the story:
We’ve had more than 55,000 home assemblers since 1999. With that kind of volume, there are going to be people who are unhappy. Our complaint volume is extremely low given the volume of business that we do.
Miniatures are not for everyone, that’s for sure. Just the same, if we didn’t buy miniatures from assemblers, we’d have nothing to sell. At the moment, we’re in both major wholesaler’s catalogs as well as directly market to numerous doll shops. I personally attend three major wholesale miniature shows per year to sell our product. We’re not illegitimate as you seem to portray. In fact, I invite you to come visit our offices, store, and warehouse here in New York.
I certainly don’t want anyone to leave angry–there’s no need for it. At the same token, I don’t want to give away materials, postage, and employee time to people who can’t or don’t make a saleable product. Dollhouse miniatures are precise–they need to be accurately made. Anything that’s not gets sent right back to me to replace for our vendors.
Mr. Buchan goes on to encourage anyone who has any issues to contact him directly at kris@tinydetails.com.
If you are considering doing business with Tiny Details, I encourage you to weigh all the facts and decide the truth for yourself. Many online sources (including me) cite negative experiences. However, it could be that we are merely the vocal minority. I personally feel open-minded enough to accept that possibility, and I hope that each and every person who reads this will have the consideration not to leap to judgment in either direction.
August 6th, 2006 at 5:48 pm
I would have to agree with you on your take on Tiny Details. I worked for them in the month of June 2006 and only on last Friday the 4th of August did I hear back from them. They didn’t accept my kit and they didn’t send me the razor blade and glue to fix them. I think that they are out there just to keep their customers $55 deposit. Now, I am trying all that I can to get that $55 back.
August 9th, 2006 at 8:28 pm
Is there a ligitimate assembly at home job site out there?
September 20th, 2006 at 11:46 am
Thank you for saving me $55 and a big headach!
September 20th, 2006 at 1:19 pm
I dealt with Tiny Details in July of 05. My story is the same as most everyone elses. I got shafted and my Kits werent accepted. I wanted to get in my car and go to Groton and pay a personal visit to the gentleman who ran this company. I was out my 55.00 deposit too – The projects are incredibly difficult and you can’t satisfy these folks when you do your work and mail it to them
September 20th, 2006 at 2:01 pm
I’m glad I could help, Sal. Amanda, E.S, I’m sorry to hear of your bad experiences. Believe me; I feel your pain. My wife and I were unsuccessful in getting our money back. I myself am happy to move on with my life and consider it a $55 lesson in consumer skepticism. Always remember the old adage: Caveat emptor. Let the buyer beware.
As for your question, Pat, I would avoid the whole venue if I was you. Tiny Details is by no means the first scam I’ve heard of; the whole industry is supposedly ripe with them. My recommendation would be to find employment outside the home if possible. The only success I’ve ever had with earning money at home was with this website, and it’s certainly no way to get rich quick.
October 3rd, 2006 at 10:41 am
Thank you very much for your info. I was seriously considering this company.
March 16th, 2007 at 12:38 pm
Hi….thanks so much for this information…you know what.. I agree that there are no works from home that an help you at all…I paid for a Tiny Details kit yesterday 03/15/07 of tje tiny magazine racks (made out of wood) and as soon I saw this web I called the Tiny Details company and cancelled the order…I also called the bank and posted a stop on the transaction..afetr reading all this I desided I would not take that risk…thank you very much for saveing me $59.85 hope to hear from you if there is any news about work athome jobs, cause I have a 4 1/2 month baby and I would really love to do something at home to spend more time with him..
Thanks a lot..!!!!!!!!!!!!!
March 17th, 2007 at 8:14 am
I’m glad to hear that you found my post useful, Aneth. It’s always gratifying to see someone avoiding a mistake based on one’s own advice. Unfortunately, I’ve given up looking for work-at-home opportunities; few, if any, seem much more legitimate than Tiny Details, and I just can’t bring myself to trust those that do. As I mentioned above, the only residual, home-based income with which I’ve had any success is through blogging, and it’s taken me more than a year to draw what little income I do from that. I wish I could be the bearer of better news, but it seems that earning money from home is far more difficult than ordinary work, much as the Tiny Details of the world would have you believe otherwise.
April 2nd, 2007 at 8:43 pm
I wish I had done a little research on the web before I invested money with this company – mine was with the Christian Miniatures which is as I understand the same company or part of the same company as Tiny Details. Anyway, I learned too late and am afraid I have lost $165 on this scam. I am fighting to get any bit of my money back but probably will not. What a shame for companies to make such enticing appeals and then to just shamelessly take our money. They were so nice on the phone – when they would answer it – but definately have turned out to be a wolf in sheep’s clothing. I feel so stupid for falling for this. I hope anyone reading this will heed the advice given on your site – don’t throw away your money to these people.
April 10th, 2007 at 4:15 pm
just wanted to say thanks for the advice. There are so many of these scams out there and there needs to be a good way to filter thru all the crud!
April 22nd, 2007 at 8:36 pm
Sent my completed set in over a month ago and have heard nothing. My sample was accepted, I sent the completed set in within the 60 days, yet, I’ve heard nothing. I have sent E-mails, left messages on the annoying machine…nothing. You know, it’s not the deposit that I paid that makes me so mad, it’s the fact that I made 100 stupid post-it note pads that were 1/4 of an inch square that makes me mad!!
April 26th, 2007 at 10:27 pm
No matter how hard you try, (and you will be trying hard, those things ARE tiny!!!!) even if you do it EXACTLY how they show you – they WILL NOT give you your money – they say it’s not “sellable” – BULL CRAP, my sh*t looked right. I spent HOURS on it!…. and don’t even think about getting your money back… whatever!!!!! RIP OFF people, rip off!!!!
June 14th, 2007 at 3:26 am
[...] Then there was a personal journal chronicling the “$55 worth of valuable education” from Stephen Ward. He must have Googled too, because the same WAHM comments and FIB threads were listed in his post as well. Plus, he included a link to what he found at the Better Business Bureau’s listing for Tiny Details. [...]
February 26th, 2008 at 7:46 pm
I recently received an email from Kristopher Buchan (kris at tinydetails.com) regarding this post. Here is the content of his email:
Naturally, I did Mr. Buchan the courtesy of a response. Here is the content my response email:
February 26th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
Just a few minutes after the previous conversation with Kristopher Buchan, I got another response from him. Here is the text of his response.
Naturally, I invited Mr. Buchan to point out the libelous material so that I could remove it. Here is the content of my response:
February 28th, 2008 at 12:19 am
“Tiny Details” Owner Sends Miniature Threats To Former Customer…
Tiny Details is a work-at-home company that pays hobbyists to make little dollhousey things. You buy the materials from Tiny Details for $55, make the assigned object(s), and Tiny Details buys them back. Unfortunately, many customers have complained ab…
February 28th, 2008 at 2:38 am
[...] I received an e-mail from a friend of this blog today who filled me in on an interesting online exchange between a blogger and the president of a company he blogged about. As it turns out, the post written by the blogger provides a less-than-friendly portrayal of the president’s company. [...]
February 28th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
After I’d had a chance to simmer down a bit, I decided to write Mr. Buchan another email offering a compromise in lieu of a pointless lawsuit. Here is the content of my email:
February 28th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
If I read the info correctly, there is a one year statute of limitations on libel in New York State. Assuming that’s where Tiny Details is registered as a business of course. I’d have to believe they’d file the suit in their state or your state, but you never know. Time Limits for Filing a Defamation Lawsuit: State Statutes of Limitation
February 28th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
Thanks for the info, David. Actually, I researched that when I first received Mr. Buchan’s email. Regardless of the statute, however, I’m sure there are legal work-arounds and loopholes that would allow him to file suit anyway. I feel much more at ease offering a compromise, from both a legal as well as a humanist standpoint.
March 14th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
[...] Blogger Stephen Ward and his wife contracted with Tiny Details to assemble some dollhouse pieces from their home. I am unclear on the exact details about “what went wrong” from his post, but if you scroll through it, what’s interesting are the two levels of response from Tiny Details. [...]
March 31st, 2008 at 8:47 am
Thank you for posting this. I just saw an ad for Tiny Details in the Classified section of my local newspaper, and was curious to see what the deal was. Now I know to stay far, far away…
October 4th, 2008 at 2:31 pm
Tiny details is a scam, They ripped me off 55.00 too. I cancelled the next day, after ordering they charged my credit card 3 weeks later. called them about it and they wont talk to me they keep hanging the phone up on me. dont do business with them diffently a scam.
October 13th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
[...] As a side note, I myself have been involved in an instance of the Streisand Effect. In July of 2006, I posted a critique of a business named Tiny Details on my old personal website. In February of 2007, Kristopher Buchan, the owner of the business, emailed me with threats of legal action unless the post was removed. Within two days, news of his threats had circulated on the Consumerist and several other blogs. We managed to reach a peaceful settlement afterward, but not before permanent damage had been done to Tiny Details’ online reputation. [...]
November 30th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
My good friend ordered products from Tiny Details, he sent back their own sample instead of the one they were supposed to have put together and they said to try again it was not put together with the quality they were looking for, I thought thats scam enough for me!!