Wolf Mountain Gear Scam Ultralight Company.

[Bill3]

Please beware there is a purported ultralight merchant called Wolf Mountain Gear in Maryland. There is no website only a Facebook group. I along with many others were ripped off with unfulfilled orders and no refunds. I should have known better. Feel free to post a review on their Facebook site if you hate seeing fellow hikers ripped off.

[Gambit McCrae]

For what its worth from their FB page:






To my customers and others that are interested in our products,
I first want to apologize for how things are going here at Wolf MTN Gear. I feel that its best to suspend taking orders because I have realized that things have gotten out of hand. There are mistakes that I have made and I want to continue making gear. I thought that I could handle the work load by myself but I was wrong. It was never my intention to mislead anyone or not to come through. I have been working 14 ...to 16 hours a day but I just can't keep up with the demand.
What I am going to do is to fulfill the orders that I have currently and rework our business plan to be able to handle the work load. I am in contact with other gear manufacturers that will help us fill the demand once we are back taking orders. If at any time I feel that we are receiving too much order volume, I will again stop orders so that we can catch up.
I want to thank all of the valued customer that have took a risk and purchased gear from me. I am working to fulfill the orders in a timely manner and will still provide top quality gear. Again I am very sorry and apologize for the delays and lack of communication. I look forward to serving your backpacking gear needs in the future.
If you have any questions, please email me at [email protected]
Thank You,

[raysuf]

I interacted with them on a deal they had posted on Facebook . He seemed genuine, but offer was worded a little ambiguously and in the end I decided not to purchase.

I don't thing it's a scam. He's trying something new and working through the reality of small business.

I hope it all works out.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Hikingjim]

The guy's page doesn't add up.
He clearly has been way behind for awhile. Yet on sep 9 he posted a 15% off promotional sale for $165 850 fp quilts....
Why would any sane person do that if they can't fill any of their orders.

[capehiker]

He also only accepts the friends and family side of PayPal. Red flag!

[KCNC]

He also only accepts the friends and family side of PayPal. Red flag!

While this is a potential warning sign, many smaller entities go this way to avoid service fees.

Hope it all works out for everyone.

[Bill3]

He has lied to me repeatedly. He even emailed a fake label he created indicating my gear had shipped. Beware. Don’t be a patsy like me

[Gambit McCrae]

It could really go both ways. His message explaining being behind seemed honest, yet 12-14 hours seems like a possible stretch. He could have put the quilts on sale and they already be made...

He could have also posted the message in an attempt to buy more time for his fraudulent behavior.

I personally am not a fan of FB only businesses. Buy your domain, start a website, control the website and promote thru FB and other media avenues. I personally would not take a business seriously who is only on Facebook.

[KCNC]

He has lied to me repeatedly. He even emailed a fake label he created indicating my gear had shipped. Beware. Don’t be a patsy like me

Well, that's a different kettle of fish.

Also agree with Gambit. Registering a domain and building out a website these days can be done on a rudimentary basis for next to nothing. Then you can invest in website development as the business grows.

When we launched our eCommerce business it took us a year to get everything to a reasonably complete state and there were still details we hadn't considered. FB only doesn't indicate you're serious.

[MuddyWaters]

Where new biz goes wrong is when start using new orders to fund backlog, trying to stay afloat when managed poor.

If he stopped taking orders, that dont sound like case

[rocketsocks]

All that's fine and well, stuff happens, but the lack of communication is Bull****!

[HooKooDooKu]

It could really go both ways. His message explaining being behind seemed honest, yet 12-14 hours seems like a possible stretch. He could have put the quilts on sale and they already be made...
He could have also posted the message in an attempt to buy more time for his fraudulent behavior.

I'm going to lean towards 'fraudulent behavior'. I noticed that in the text you quoted where he owns up to his mistakes, he's NOT offering refunds for people who want to cancel their orders.

[Puddlefish]

Has all the hallmarks of things that people say when they're desperately trying to lure a few more people into keeping their business afloat. "We'll stop taking orders" while still taking orders. Too good to be true discount prices. Vague promises of future associations with other cottage manufacturers, who have earned your trust the right way.

Might have meant well initially, might even still mean well, but under-capitalized with no business plan beyond working 14 hour days is a recipe for failure. Not every talented craftsman can handle the financial aspects running a profitable business. I sure wouldn't send them my money through a non-refundable friends and family method, with no simple recourse for recovery.

Edited for grammar.

[HooKooDooKu]

He also only accepts the friends and family side of PayPal. Red flag!

While I can understand wanting to avoid service fees, he is behaving in an unethical manner if he is asking customers to pay via Friends and Family because he would be violating the PayPal User Agreement.

If you use your PayPal account to receive payments for the sale of goods and services or accept donations, you must not ask your buyer to send you money using the “send money to a friend or family member.” If you do so, PayPal may remove your PayPal account’s ability to accept payments from friends or family members.

[Slo-go'en]

It sounds like he's taking steps to correct the problem, but he needs to contact all the pending orders (like the OP) individually and give them an ETA based on when they made the order. A month, 2 months, 3 months? I'd guess he already spent most, if not all, the money taken in for materials, so doing refunds isn't an option. But if that's the case, he should let paid customers know that too.

[gpburdelljr]

On the Facebook page 10 people, out of 15 people giving ratings, gave a one star rating out of a possible five stars. I would never buy anything from a company rated that poorly.

[Bill3]

I learned today he has also scammed his main supplier and has not paid for materials. PayPal has locked down his account and the Maryland Attorney General Fraud Section has been contacted. This is a straight up Ponzi scheme.

[Bill3]

Your second guess is correct. He is running a Ponzi scheme.

[Slo-go'en]

Your second guess is correct. He is running a Ponzi scheme.

I'm more inclined to think it's more a matter of business incompetence then malicious forethought. But it doesn't really matter one way or the other if it's your money lost.

[Bill3]

You can be incompetent AND a crook. It’s not either or. I could send you a copy of the fake FedEx label for my orders he emailed me (and never shipped) to buy time. That is way past incompetence that is fraud. There are post on Backpacking Light and hammock forum with the same story. I’m not criticizing anyone for being more optimistic about human nature than me. But as you point out, I am one of the ones (along with his suppliers) who was ripped off. PayPal has frozen his account, AMEX is pursuing a fraud case, and some people are contacting law enforcement in Maryland.