MGM Purchase News?

Hello guys,

First of all I do not want to sound inconsiderate, as i understand what MGM is going through. I also understand that many of you have had great experiences with him but this is my first purchase from him, my first ukelele purchase to be completely honest, and am becoming more worried as time goes on. I would like to know if anyone has gotten their purchases in the past days and how did you know. Did he message? Did you message? The reason why i am stating this is because there is absolutely no way i can get in touch with him. I already posted in the thread "MGM-please read this" but it was after his reply, and i cannot make sure he's read the thread ever since. I also posted on his board, but he never responded. I've tried to send him a message but his inbox is full. Once again, i am not insinuating that he has been dodging me or anything. I am simply worried because there is no way of me contacting him. His previous posts also state that he lost all info. So the reason why i've posted this thread is because if he hasn't read my posts, how can he send me my ukelele? I would appreciate any info, as I am becoming more and more worried. I understand many of you will tell me to wait patiently, and trust me, I'm trying. As stated, any info would be appreciated.

-thank you

I don't receive by Pono MC bought in April'11 too. I trust in MGM, but I don't receive any tracking number yet. MGM said here in UU he don't have my USPS tracking number,.
Without tracking number, I make an Paypal claim. Here in Brazil, order by USPS have a delay about 45 days to arrives, and sometimes I need to send the tracking number to the Foreign Customs make the tax insurance... If I don't receive my uke in this 30 days since last week, I want to receive my money back...

Without tracking number, we have a problem.

MGM is one of the best. Normally, there is virtually no wait time to receive an order. As you are aware, there have been some problems recently. My advice would be to wait, because I'm sure he is trying to resolve them.

SoulSacrifice, I'm sharing your same concerns. I do not want to sound crass, I understand that he is going through some tough times, but I paid for my Uke on the 11th of april, and have yet to hear anything. If it wasn't for this board I would never have heard about his illness. WHen I purchased from him, he said it would be a delay of about two days. I offered to pick it up, i live about 10 minutes from his town. He said i could not because he was moving his inventory, then i basically heard nothing. I kept emailing and any information I have gotten has been from this board.

So while I understand you are having tough times Mike, when you are dealing with Money, it's different. I don't have 120$ to just throw away. I have even asked that if he could not ship soon then to just refund.

At the end of a day it is a business transaction, and if you cannot fill my order just give me my money back. I'm at my wits end with this!!

SoulSacrifice said:

... First of all I do not want to sound inconsiderate ...

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But you certainly are succeeding.

elgooch808 said:

... I do not want to sound crass...

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But you do sound crass.

I would say to anyone who is winging and complaining: get over it. Deal with your business concerns in the normal way. This forum is not the place to opening complain about another member. You seem to be questioning Mike's honesty and integrity. I am certain that you will get your goods or your money back - just wait.

Ken Middleton said:

But you certainly are succeeding.



But you do sound crass.

I would say to anyone who is winging and compalining: get over it. Deal with your business concerns in the normal way. This forum is not the place to opening complain about another member. You seem to be questioning Mike's honesty and integrity. I am certain that you will get your goods or your money back - just wait.

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First of all, i am not questioning his honesty or his integrity. I know that if he could he would have sent it. What I am questioning is can he send it? Also, i am a college student and will be finishing the year shortly (next month). Sending the ukulele to this address (after i have ended) would be useless and would cause trouble for both of us. As stated i have not heard from him, so how can i tell him this. His AOL is not working and his inbox in this website is full. How do you suggest i contact him? This forum is the LAST OPTION many of us have. What do you suggest is a normal way to deal with a business concern, because i would like to know (regarding MGM)?

Also, many people seem to have a lot of trust in MGM, and judging from his reviews, he deserves it. However, it's a lot different when YOU are the one waiting and YOU are the one who paid MONEY. If you are in fact waiting for an order then i offer my apologies because i don't know your circumstances just as YOU DO NOT KNOW OURS, which means neither me nor you the right to say whether someone is just whining or if there's some underlying circumstances.

All in all, this is not a thread meant to criticize MGM, simply to know any news regarding other orders so that WE may figure out what to do. So please, keep this post simply as that. Do not criticize other comments or badmouth MGM, as i am sure he is honest (honesty and being able to send all ukuleles at a time like this have no relation to one another). Simply post what your situation is, whether you've received, how long have you been waiting, or how you contacted him. Also please, do not post about old purchases (before problems), as the situation is now different and i understand that when he was able to, his work ethic was exemplary.

Mike if you happen to read this, please understand that I myself (as i can only speak for myself but am sure others feel this way as well) do not question your honesty or integrity. But please, let us know your progress so that we may know how the process is moving along. As you may understand we've waited a long time (myself over half a month). We just want to know if our orders are to be completed and an approximate date. My situation in particular is either provide me with a refund, or please send me the ukulele. As i stated i will be out of school sometime in the following month and will therefore not have the same address.

No matter the business transaction, i wish you a speedy recovery and many more years of uke-happiness because i understand you are a great fellow.

Once again, to all who post, do not attempt to trash MGM's reputation (not that anyone has), criticize other's comments, but simply state your circumstance.

-Thank you

Ken Middleton said:

But you certainly are succeeding.



But you do sound crass.

I would say to anyone who is winging and compalining: get over it. Deal with your business concerns in the normal way. This forum is not the place to opening complain about another member. You seem to be questioning Mike's honesty and integrity. I am certain that you will get your goods or your money back - just wait.

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Ditto, Ken.

One of the most giving members of the ukulele community, Mike Aratani, is undergoing serious and possibly grave health issues. There's no foul play here. Ric

I bought a $400.00 uke on 4/15 (seven days after it was listed and Mike was already ill and was offering some sale prices), and it was delivered 2nd day air yesterday late. I picked it up today, dropped it at my apt. and then went to work. I finally got to it after dinner, it's a very nice used custom and Mike put it in a great case for me. It didn't fit in the first case he tried it in so that held it up (I think it may have been in his collection or was a trade in or the like), and he eventually found and put it in a Ko'olau case for me that even matched the uke. I believe he's friendly with the owners of Ko'olau and may have had to get one from them, because he has liquidated so much so quickly.

What you can do is forward your eBay email saying you are the buyer of the particular item, and include all your contact and shipping info, and also either copy and paste your PayPal payment receipt into the email or forward the PayPal email with the same contact info. He appears to be answering email in a sporadic manner. It may or may not work.

ALSO, you can go into your eBay account and click Buy- Won/Purchased link on the left, choose the item on the next page, it will take you to an "Ended" page, click on the photo (upper left) of the item and then you will be on the item page. Click the "Ask seller a question" link at the very bottom of the page, then on the next page the first topic, "Where is my item?" Then fill in the query box and send it. As MGM has been able to access some email I used that to give him my info and he was able to answer me on that. He can't ship through eBay or PayPal now which makes it a lot harder.

Ken Middleton said:

But you certainly are succeeding.



But you do sound crass.

I would say to anyone who is winging and complaining: get over it. Deal with your business concerns in the normal way. This forum is not the place to opening complain about another member. You seem to be questioning Mike's honesty and integrity. I am certain that you will get your goods or your money back - just wait.

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Well I would say to you that most of us have tried to deal with our business concerns in a normal way, but apparently this board is the only way to get any kind of reponse from mike. He certainly does not respond to emails or Ebay messages. Any information I have gotten from Mike has been on this board.

I understand that Mike has a very good reputation on this board and overall. I understand that he is held in high regard, and I understand that he has health issues. But business is business, and I have been waiting. I do not think anyone's intention is crucify Mike, only to get info. I certainly think that if you (Ken) were the one out money with no product to show, you might share in some of our concern.

elgooch808 said:

... but apparently this board is the only way to get any kind of reponse from mike ... business is business, and I have been waiting ... I certainly think that if you (Ken) were the one out money with no product to show, you might share in some of our concern.

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Do you think he is going to deal with your claim with more understanding if you complain about it openly on this forum? This forum is really not the place to air this sort of grievance. When you have been a member for longer than a couple of weeks you may come to understand this.

Just how long have you been waiting? He has asked if people would just be a little patient.

If I had the same concern as you I would not bitch about it in public. If I were as impatient as you are, I would call him. His phone number is on his website. However, I'm not, so I would wait a few days longer.

Ken Middleton said:

Do you think he is going to deal with your claim with more understanding if you complain about it openly on this forum? This forum is really not the place to air this sort of grievance. When you have been a member for longer than a couple of weeks you may come to understand this.

Just how long have you been waiting? He has asked if people would just be a little patient.

If I had the same concern as you I would not bitch about it in public. If I were as impatient as you are, I would call him. His phone number is on his website. However, I'm not, so I would wait a few days longer.

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Well obviously you are not understanding our purpose, and only wish to come to Mike's defense, when nobody is attacking him. It's been two weeks by the way, as stated by someone else if I it can't be shipped I understand just looking for a refund.

But of course, in typical "message board elitist" fashion, you have to attack the fact that I've only been a member of this forum for a few weeks. As if my credibility as a human being is soley based on the length of time I've been a member of the UU forum.

So this isn't the place to complain about business deals gone wrong (which I still don't think anybody was), but it's ok for mike to peddle his wares on this board, which is how i found his Ebay store to begin with. He posted saying he was having a sale.

You can continue to call me impatient, and what have you, but it is what it is...

elgooch808 said:

So while I understand you are having tough times Mike

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Possibly on his deathbed too, Elgooch808. Mike's liver issues have never been hidden. They've certainly escalated recently. A huge majority of us pray/hope for Mike's speedy recovery. Trash Mike all you want, Elgooch808. If that's your tenet, realize that you're part of a miniscule minority. Mike will make good with you, when he's able. There's way too many of us who know Mike for his veracity and generosity. Ric

Ric,

I am not trashing the man. I really want to make that clear. I dealt with him because of all the good things I heard here, and because of the abundace of positive feedback on his ebay page. I am merely upset about the situation. This is the only place i can get any information. I did not realize that his health issues were life threatening, so apologies and well wishes to him. I will continue to wait for the situation to be rectified in silence. Thank you very much for the info ric!

Ken,

I gotta admit, you stated what most of us feel. I've avoided any comment on any of this issues pertaining to "MGM read this", but I thought I'd share in your sentiments.

I can certainly understand the frustration of recent business transactions with Mike. If any of you who have made purchases haven't noticed, Musicguymic on eBay is no longer. Of course, I do recall an earlier post by Mike himself recommending that if you had a purchase to get a refund from PayPal - I'm not quite sure why you would wait for him to ship an order that he doesn't even know you made, knowing that by his own admission, he can't see anything? What would you do if you bought a Toys 'R Us gift card, and they closed down? How would you handle that business transaction? If you answer that, I think you'll get the jist of what Ken is alluding to.

If any of you can't contact him, there's a reason that I know why. Without getting into details, his ISP as well has his phone company are, well, part of the variable in the communication equation.

There's more than a handful of us that are close to Mike and have gotten to know him well, no matter that he's earned a reputation as a standup guy. What most of us may not know is the details, and sometimes, bad things happen, and right now, they are. Is business his top priority? From a business perspective, it should be. Personally, and this is very personal, it shouldn't be. No offense elgooch808, but there are more pressing issues on his plate than a $120 instrument. If this does offend you, then I apologize for my statement, but not for what I feel should be Mike's priorities. Is he going to lose business and customers because of his current situation? I'm sure he will; its to be expected. My hope is that he makes a comeback, like he did when I first met him years ago, and years before I coined him "MGM" on FMBB.

Trust me when I say posts like these are like kicking a beaten man down. Dare I say, shame on you, BUT, I really have no basis to say that because most of you weren't where I was the other weekend with my 2 boys, helping him out. You simply wouldn't know. He asked me to bring my boys over to help him, and said he would pay them for their labor. Very generous guy, but I couldn't, and wouldn't take his money, so I offered to pay them instead. The response from both of them was, "You don't have to pay us, daddy, we understand you're just helping your friend and you needed us to help too." They're 12 and 13 years old. They get it. I hope those that don't get it, somehow, someway, will.

I'll jump off my soapbox now, and return to the shadows of the Luthier's Lounge. . .

-Aaron

Guys, Aaron is right, Mike has a lot to deal with right now. He has shipped some stuff recently as he still is getting good feedback on eBay along with the negatives.

Anyhow, here's info from a post by MGM with a new phone # for contacting him. He was having a lot of trouble with his phone too as noted. He did it seems a lot of business online via his phone. It looks like he has a virtual keyboard by his typing. Please remember Hawaii time is 3 hours later than PST. Safer to call late your time than early!

Since the shop move i finally hawaii PHONE NUMBER 808-291-6069 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting**************808-291-6069******end_of_the_skype_highlighting YES ITS HAWAII TIME ZONE... NO TRY CALL AT 2am LOL tHE EMAIL IS THE SAME BUT THE 757 CODE NUMBR I S DEAD no FORGET mgm NE3W PHONE NUMBER 8082916069

elgooch808, thanks for catching my intent.

Livers, like kidneys, filter out toxic levels of nutrients out of our bodies. Mike's getting toxic levels of ammonia, as we post.

Since you have a cursory understanding now of liver disease, I'll fill you in on a personal note. I'm going on 62 years on this planet. I'm a retired USMC recon scout sniper and MCMAPS (Marine Corps Martial Arts Program Instructor). My lovely bride (of 36 years) is on dialysis, due to renal kidney failure. She's about 4 to 5 years out from a kidney transplant. I would glady forfeit my life right now, instantly, for her to be healed. I also pray and wish that you get your ukulele in a timely fashion. Having been close to destitute in my life in the far past, I also understand you are sincere in posting you do not have $120 bucks to spare. Take care, braddah and I hope you get resolve, soon. Master Gunnery Sergeant Ric Douglas, USMC Retired

Dare I say, shame on you, BUT, I really have no basis to say that because most of you weren't where I was the other weekend with my 2 boys, helping him out. You simply wouldn't know. He asked me to bring my boys over to help him, and said he would pay them for their labor. Very generous guy, but I couldn't, and wouldn't take his money, so I offered to pay them instead. The response from both of them was, "You don't have to pay us, daddy, we understand you're just helping your friend and you needed us to help too." They're 12 and 13 years old. They get it. I hope those that don't get, somehow, someway, will.

I'll jump off my soapbox now, and return to the shadows of the Luthier's Lounge. . .

-Aaron[/QUOTE]

ricdoug said:

Dare I say, shame on you, BUT, I really have no basis to say that because most of you weren't where I was the other weekend with my 2 boys, helping him out. You simply wouldn't know. He asked me to bring my boys over to help him, and said he would pay them for their labor. Very generous guy, but I couldn't, and wouldn't take his money, so I offered to pay them instead. The response from both of them was, "You don't have to pay us, daddy, we understand you're just helping your friend and you needed us to help too." They're 12 and 13 years old. They get it. I hope those that don't get, somehow, someway, will.

I'll jump off my soapbox now, and return to the shadows of the Luthier's Lounge. . .

-Aaron

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[/QUOTE]

I'm speechless, Aaron. Your young boys have wisdom beyond their years. Ric

ricdoug said:

I'm speechless, Aaron. Your young boys have wisdom beyond their years. Ric

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Thanks Ric. I'm trying to teach them (I have three) all the things I should've learned earlier in life. Must be the military in me - Hoooah!

Mike defines the term (for me) "A friend in need is a friend indeed." Hopefully they learn that what they give in life, they will receive (good, bad, whatever). Martial Arts is good for them as well, in helping them walk "like a black belt" - something you understand I'm sure.

Mike has always given. I'm confident he'll receive.

Aaron, I always view your posts as word. You and your boys are gold/platinum in my book. Carry on Soldier! Master Gunnery Sergeant (E-9 USMC) Ric Douglas