This is
long overdue and I apologize for getting to this sooner but wow, the launch of
the magazine had a few challenges.
The Guideto the World Famous Super Monsters in the first issue of Toy-Ventures does not have an author name attached because like all good projects, it was a collaboration and a product of people being very generous with their time and information.
Corey
LeChat- for just coming in and giving everything such incredible flourish.
Steve
Moore- Steve caught a few things that would haunt me forever.
The Guide would not exist however if I didn't have these incredibly generous men who shared their collections, knowledge, and photographs to create this guide.
Raymond Castile
Andrew
Williams
Heath Smith
Mike Jimenz
Rob Pyatt
Clay Sayre
Matt Jaycox
Sylvain
Emery
Steve Leach
Dwayne Pinkney
And finally Shannon Stewart, who egged me on in February built the FB group to house this project and convinced me to make this happen.
I can't tell you how much this project meant to me and how the energy and support everyone put into it raised my spirits.
You all might collect monsters but you're superheroes to me.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you.
Just a quick one this week (I have magazines to ship) about the various AHI monster knock offs I've picked up this year, I'd like to introduce you to the Midnight Monsters and hey another Krazy Kreep!
Toy-Ventures Magazine is available right now here: http://www.megomuseum.com/odeon/store/products/ Mego Knock Off Headquarters Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Megoknockoff/
Attn: Daniel H. Schulman
President of PayPal
Dear Mr. Schulman,
My name is Brian Heiler, I am writing to you today as the owner of a small start-up business who is in need of your help.
During the Pandemic shut down, I like a lot of other people found myself without employment and I decided that this would be the time to launch my dream business, creating niche publications.
Over the next few months, I and several collaborators created a publication I was very proud of, so much so that I threw caution to the wind and spent my much-needed funds to create it.
The dream became a nightmare when, on my launch date, I discovered PayPal was allowing me to take orders but not allowing me access funds to pay for postage or to pay for the other services involved.
I could not access my funds until I provided some proof that my business was real.
My business FYI has had a PayPal account for almost a decade.
I have sent document after document on that list and they've all been rejected with no explanation.
Your customer service has been nearly impossible to speak to, one person just coldly told me to "Just go buy stamps" another person reminded me "they're busy" and it would be a ten-day wait.
I have sent the requested documents several times and spent over $200 (that I don't have) getting the documentation PayPal demanded and woke up today to find it was again rejected for no explanation and again, the email asked for the document I already provided.
This dream project is now a nightmare, I can't ship the orders yet people keep ordering (giving PayPal my money), I can't do my press release campaign because I don't know if PayPal will keep my money indefinitely. No one will speak to me or answer my questions.
The stress has now caused negative effects on my health and I have taken a leave of absence from my job.
All I want is to speak to someone at your financial institution today to advise as to how I resolve this manner in a reasonable time.
I hope that your financial institution can honour this reasonable request from a small start-up business that cannot survive to wait.
Yours Sincerely,
Brian Heiler
For the last couple of years, I've been buying a collection of Knock-Offs and this month, I get to explore strange new worlds with the cast of "Space Trek" but this band of interstellar explorers sure are wearing some familiar cloths and actually some familiar heads too.
Yes Space Trek is another in a series of a toyline inspired by the left overs of another, much more well known one and in this case it's the Mego Star Trek line and The Ideal toys Star Team series. It's Knock-Off-A-Rific!
Also, there is a major update about Toy-Ventures magazine, it's a good one.
So happy to share these photos sent to me by my friends at Thompson Printing.
Toy-Ventures magazine is almost here!
Some updates, Shipping will likely begin next week, I will post an update when I have confirmation.
US Contributors- Your copies will be shipping from within in the US itself vis USPS.
Canadian and European Orders- I'll be shipping your orders from here but I'm prepped and ready to go.
Digital Orders- Expect an email with a link in the next week or so.
Extra copies will be available for sale on my website, ebay, etsy and more. I'll post links when they're live.
The main page for Toy-Ventures Magazine is right here.
Thanks, everyone for your support, it means a great deal.
Brian
