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Nice sting operation, drag0n! I can’t believe this guy travels so far, but I guess BS is a lucrative business. Did you dress up for the con? I have a vision in my head of you busting this guy in L cosplay since you’re dusting off the detective skills :bigsmile:
I’m sure no one in this thread is saying that Bodine has anything to do with this scam artist. I certainly did not mean anything of the sort. This guy just got some of her work, possibly off ebay, and is weaving his lies around them.
I’m sure none of the regular/long time members would think that at all,, but there are always new members who haven’t had time to get to know people and I’d hate to see someone’s reputation damaged. That’s all.
Life is beautiful.
Nice sting operation, drag0n! I can’t believe this guy travels so far, but I guess BS is a lucrative business. Did you dress up for the con? I have a vision in my head of you busting this guy in L cosplay since you’re dusting off the detective skills :bigsmile:
Oh that would be AMAZING! I wasn’t in cosplay at the time, but that would have been awesome to bust him as L! Snacking on treats and ice cream and sarcastically being like “Ooooh…. club member you say… interesting?”
Oh and also, I don’t for once second think Bodine has a stitch to do with any of it at all! What I think is he won her items possibly off ebay (because I KNOW I had seen them before and it might have been ebay honestly) and is intentionally taking advantage of gullible collectors by feeding them mis-information to make profits. What I am interested to know the MOST is, if they are indeed Bodine’s, and they ARE from ebay… if Bodide could trace the sale/feedback/paypal transaction to find the buyers ebay account and see how many other PYOs from how many other artists he may be doing this with. If he is traveling so far who knows how long he has been doing this and with how many other peoples pieces… not that I think he would be selling much for the prices he was asking.
Got a busted Windstone?
drag0nfeathersdesign@gmail.com
*OPEN for repairs**SEEKING GRAILS*
Arc-en-ciel Emperor
Siphlophis Male Dragon
Calypso Hatching Empress
Ivory Moss Sitting Baby Kirin
Tattoo Mother Kirin
Emerald Tabby Male Griffin
Tie Dye + Orion Hatching Royalty
Indigo Rockfish + Flame Tabby Little Rock Dragons
Dragon Quail + Obsidian Frost Old Warriors
Betta Sun Dragon + Male Dragon
Dreamscape, Orion, Poison Dart, Fireberry, Spangler + Tigerberry DragonsIt is my work.From now on my work will be signed with Michelle Ward and dated.
I worked for him four weekends when he went to the cons and I had sold him a few Windstones during the 9months I worked for my sister at the mall here.His store was directly across from hers.Most folks seem genuine when you first meet them,especially when met on common ground but time tells all tales.I cannot do anything about what he is doing except go to the mall and raise a little hellion but we all know where that would get me.I,in no way,shape or form had any idea he would do this and if I did,I would not have given him the time of day.I also did not know at first they were going to the cons with him.They were in the store.When some of his personal life misdeeds started coming to my attention I QUIT! I took my things out of there and never looked back.I am sorry that he is doing these things and he does need to be called out on it.I have informed Ms.Melody and I am sure this is not the first time something like this has happened to them.I know I can paint,not as good as many and better than some but for me to boast myself like that?No way.And for anyone that knows me well knows this.As for the rest of the folks,please be aware of what some con people do.He is an old salesman,a con,a bit confused and has a terrible memory.I am in no way making excuses here,just explaining.He travels to as many of the cons as he can and has for many years and will continue to do so for as long as he can so be aware.Old dogs don’t change bad habits.I am just sorry he got me caught up in it not to mention Windstone.So buyers beware.Learn about Windstones and other art before investing and remember there are many con-artist out there.They are out to make as many dimes as they can and anyway they can.If anyone has any questions about any Windstone,if you can,jump on here and ask.I know someone will always come to your aid.
I wanted to thank you guys for having faith in me and for believing/knowing I didn’t know about nor have anything to do with his lies.I am sorry if it brought anyone grief and keep up the loyalty to Ms.Melody and Windstone. 😉Every act matters.No matter how small💞
(Wanted......Brimstone Lap)
Male Hearth....one day🤞Dream on.There was never any doubt from those who know you that you had anything to do with this scam.
But just in case, like Scathach said, some who have never dealt with you are wondering, let me tell you this about Bodine: I once bought a fledgling from her that got lost in the mail on its way to me. So Bodine promptly bought one from the store and had it sent to my address. Fortunately, the original one eventually made its way back to her, but she did end up loosing money in this deal. But she never hesitated.
I will also jump in here for any new forum members who may be wondering…did she know??
Bodine (Mimi) is an amazing woman with a heart of gold. She is kind, considerate of others, honest and generous of spirit and heart. She would NEVER be party to any of this sort of thing and it broke my heart for her to see that this con man is using her art this way. She has become an incredible friend to me over the past year and has helped to encourage me to start painting. If it were not for her I would have never picked up a paint brush and PYO and tried to see if I have any talent at all. I give full credit to her for encouraging me to see that though I had never painted anything before, I had a modicum of talent hidden inside.
Mimi is one incredible lady and I do not want this man to tarnish her in any way. If anyone new to the forum or in general needs references I am sure that there would be a long list of people out there to tell you that Bodine is a great person, honest with sales, giving in a way I have never seen before and prompt with any and every payment/purchase.
This man makes me so angry with his “USE” of Bodines work for his own personal gain and that he is using her name to scam people is disgusting to the enth degree. Despicable man with no character or integrity at all.
Don’t let this dishearten you Bodine. Those who know you and care about you know without a doubt that you had nothing to do with the scam this @$$hole is pulling. I hope windstone pulls his ability to sell windstones. He does not deserve to represent this company in any way shape or form.
Huggs Mi, Ya know I love ya! 🙂
Hey All! I was going to post up when I got back from the con last night, but I fell asleep as I was booting my laptop up on my lap last night!
I spotted the booth while walking around on Friday and was saw the Intense EmPea male (not a special run, just the first batch or so when the Empea dragons first started coming out. I was hoping it was a decent price, but thought, wait, I wonder if it is the guy someone had mentioned. While I waited for him to become available to talk, I took a couple photos of the dragons, just in case. He had:
1 white young dragon
1 empea hatchling
1 peacock fledgling
1 gold male dragon
1 gold mother dragon
1 empea male dragon
1 pyo keeper (looks like one by bodine, but didn’t see the signature)
1 pyo phoenix (by M. Ward)
So, I finally got to talk to the guy. He said he was Windstone’s official rep, though he didn’t have a shirt or anything, but assured me he was. He told me the empea male sold in his gallery for $265 (box and all, so I could mail it back to Windstone Editions, who would repair the piece for me if I ever needed that should something happen to the piece). He said it was a very rare piece that was only be sold as a small, special run that was only available for members of Windstone’s Collector’s club. I overheard him tell someone he was selling some jewelry to while I was at the booth that he now lived in Mississippi. I wasn’t in costume, so didn’t want to press too much further until we got more information.
I told drag0n and her boyfriend right after this and called up someone to see what other information I might need. I told her I recognized the pieces as looking to something I thought might have been by Bodine (we thought it might have been bought on ebay and he was reselling). drag0n, her boyfriend, and I planned on visiting the next day and ‘playing dumb’ to see what information we could get out of him from multiple visits.
I was in cosplay the next day, so went back and after perusing his jewelry (some of the jewelry was legit stone, but the mystic topaz he tried to sell me was a fake stone. (Just to note, I do have a legit sapphire pendant I got from a gem show once for $25… not saying it is high quality, but it’s pretty, so you can get some stones really cheap, but not necessarily top quality :P.). I asked about the phoenix and he started going in stating that it was a OOAK piece from a company called Windstone Editions that normally sells for over $300 in their gallery, regularly sold for $600 or more ebay, but I could buy it for $265. I did get to see the bottom of the piece that it has the signature ‘M. Ward’ and the title of the of the piece that was something like ‘Leodora’ or something similar. I asked him what Windstone Editions was and he stated that they were the premiere fantasy investment pieces, that the white young sold for $84 originally (which is true), but now that it is retired, it sells for over $1800 on ebay (a secret keeper might, but a young?). He went on with other prices for some of the other pieces (he never talked about the gold pieces at all). I was able to get a business card. Again, he stated that he was Windstone’s representative.
There was another guy that appeared to be sharing the same booth who was selling some nice corsets (he went by another website though). He was not very knowledgeable on the art stuff the other guy was selling, but he did say that that the brown emp went for just under $300 before it retired, but one sold for like $900-1200 on ebay (which has happened). Not sure if he just knew about that from the other guy (maybe he was fed that information) or what, but he didn’t seem to know much about the other pieces.
When I met up with drag0n and her boyfriend that evening, she showed me the video that her boyfriend took while at the booth with his flip phone. He managed to get the guy on camera and captured part of their conversation (somewhat faint with crowd noises, but it’s there). She got a much deeper story from the guy with further details that I did and got some of that on film.
It was interesting to hear the information we got from 3 separate visits and what he stated about the different pieces. While a seller can sell something for whatever price they want, the misinformation, like being able to send pieces for repair back to the factory, can cause confusion to collector’s who aren’t knowledgeable about Windstone and cause headache’s for the company and misrepresent the company and product. I’m sorry to hear that bodine’s pyos appear to be getting used and misrepresented in this way as well. 🙁
It’s just sick that someone would do that to anybody let alone both the artist and the customers. I DO recognize that PYO Keeper from ebay, and the Phoenix looks familiar too. So not cool at all.
The space next to the gold female makes it look like he had another (or more) piece that probably sold hence the “gap” on the shelf. Wonder what it was….
*EDIT* **The PYO Keeper kind of looks like “dark forest” from her pyo gallery…hmmm.
Recently married to the ever lovable BiPolarBear (little John)
www.weaselsoneasels.com | www.facebook.com/weaselsoneaselsAs seen on This is Life with Lisa Ling on CNN (2018) !
Always open for pyo commissions, repairs and fine artwork! Email me for current prices! awier(@)weaselsoneasels.comI worked on the video all morning and sent it to John a few minutes ago. The roar from the crowd in the background made it hard to understand in some spots so I put captions on it when they guy was talking so he’s easier to understand.
I didn’t can’t the bulk of his lies on tape cause shaun got spooked and stopped recording, but I did get him talking about M.Ward being the lead painter.
I thought he quoted the Em pea Male higher to you sib, but other then that I got everything else in there I think.
I don’t know the rules for recording people without their permission, so for now I am keeping the video just between John and I.
Got a busted Windstone?
drag0nfeathersdesign@gmail.com
*OPEN for repairs**SEEKING GRAILS*
Arc-en-ciel Emperor
Siphlophis Male Dragon
Calypso Hatching Empress
Ivory Moss Sitting Baby Kirin
Tattoo Mother Kirin
Emerald Tabby Male Griffin
Tie Dye + Orion Hatching Royalty
Indigo Rockfish + Flame Tabby Little Rock Dragons
Dragon Quail + Obsidian Frost Old Warriors
Betta Sun Dragon + Male Dragon
Dreamscape, Orion, Poison Dart, Fireberry, Spangler + Tigerberry DragonsI can’t believe what some people will say and do to try and rip people off for their own personal gain! Would it not be better to call this guy out on his BS and tell him to his face he’s lying and shouldn’t be making up stories and inflating prices like that? Maybe if someone said something in front of other people, just maybe he would be embarrassed enough to realize he’s been caught and to stop the nonsense. The problem is the longer he goes on without anyone saying or doing anything, the longer people will be scammed by him and that’s not right! Hopefully Windstone revokes his rights to be a distributor of anymore of their products!
Looking for rainbow or pink & teal grab bags!
wonder if someone showing the website on say an Ipad or something live right there would embarrass him enough?
4 things I'm looking for:
1. Mother Meerkat
2. production color Sitting Young Oriental dragons to be made in more colors besides VF, Brimstone would be awesome!
3. Female Griffin – Siamese with White
4. September Raffle Prize 2022 AHD Male GriffinThis is the dealer I met a GenCon. Once I saw the display, it clicked.
Looking for Blue Fawn Baby Kirin
Sanguine Oriental Test Paints, kinglet
Sun Dragon Koi #3Thanks to all, especially Dragonfeathers, for jumping on this. They have been a Windstone dealer for quite a while, but I sure don’t want to have him spreading this kind of B.S. and deceit. I see on his site there is a list of conventions that he goes to. An extensive list which I will copy below, just in case he is still doing it, and so, if you guys attend these, you can have some fun with it. Tell him, “Oh really? She’s my sister-in law, I’ll let her know what you had to say” I mean, what the hell, lying to liars is totally OK, right? Meantime, we will decide how to handle it from here.
May 31 – June 2
A-Kon
Hilton Anatole
Dallas, TXJuly 4 – 7
Florida Supercon
Miami Airport Convention Center
Miami, FLJuly 12 – 14
Delta H Con
Crowne Plaza Houston Northwest Brookhollow
Houston, TXAugust 3 – 5
Anime Festival Orlando
Wyndam Resort
Orlando, FLAugust 9 – 11
Otakon
Baltimore Convention Center
Baltimore, MDAugust 15 – 18
Gencon
Indianapolis Convention Center
Indianapolis, INAugust 23 – 25
Mechacon
Hilton New Orleans Riverside
New Orleans, LAAugust 30 – September 1
AnimeFest
Sheriton Dallas Downtown
Dallas, TXSeptember 21 – 22
MUM
Allentown Fairgrounds
Allentown, PASeptember 27 – 29
Anime Weekend Atlanta
Renaissance Waverly Cobb Galleria
Atlanta, GAOctober 4 – 6
New York Comic Con
Jacob Javits Center
New York, NYOctober 20 – 21
Ocean Springs Renaissance Faire
St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church
Ocean Springs, MSI thought he quoted the Em pea Male higher to you sib, but other then that I got everything else in there I think.
He said he normally sold it for the high $300 range (like $365 or $385… I forget the exact amount). The $265 price is what he would sell it to me at the convention.
I can’t believe what some people will say and do to try and rip people off for their own personal gain! Would it not be better to call this guy out on his BS and tell him to his face he’s lying and shouldn’t be making up stories and inflating prices like that? Maybe if someone said something in front of other people, just maybe he would be embarrassed enough to realize he’s been caught and to stop the nonsense. The problem is the longer he goes on without anyone saying or doing anything, the longer people will be scammed by him and that’s not right! Hopefully Windstone revokes his rights to be a distributor of anymore of their products!
Some people have talked to this seller and tried to correct him in person in the past. He gets really defensive about it. drag0n and I were merely trying to get the information needed so Windstone can handle it if they need to on the misrepresentation of the pieces. Inflation of prices isn’t illegal. He can sell the pieces for as high as he wants as long as it isn’t against any contract Windstone has with their dealers. It’s misrepresentation that can be the problem as some of the information is false and could lead to confusion to uninformed customers later who for instance, might now think they can send their pieces back to Windstone for repair or that the pieces by bodine were done by Windstone’s lead painter or that a piece is a rare piece only available through the ‘Windstone Editions Collector’s club’.
John, sib found him first, I just merely recorded him. LOL! No thanks necessary, I actually had a bit of fun with it. I wish I could have gotten the REALLY juicy stuff on tape as well.
Also, I am not so much griping about the prices. People can sell their items for whatever they want. I really don’t care. It’s the “painted by the lead painter” garbage and the “send to windstone to repairs” which is troublesome. I almost busted out laughing when he was going on about sending broken pieces back to Windstone… I really wanted to be like ” Oh really? Is that why people send so many to me to fix? I didn’t realize Windstone took care of that directly. Guess I should be referring all my customers back to them. ” followed by a long “Duuuuuuuuuuuuh” while crossing my eyes and drooling.
Got a busted Windstone?
drag0nfeathersdesign@gmail.com
*OPEN for repairs**SEEKING GRAILS*
Arc-en-ciel Emperor
Siphlophis Male Dragon
Calypso Hatching Empress
Ivory Moss Sitting Baby Kirin
Tattoo Mother Kirin
Emerald Tabby Male Griffin
Tie Dye + Orion Hatching Royalty
Indigo Rockfish + Flame Tabby Little Rock Dragons
Dragon Quail + Obsidian Frost Old Warriors
Betta Sun Dragon + Male Dragon
Dreamscape, Orion, Poison Dart, Fireberry, Spangler + Tigerberry Dragons
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