DO NOT BUY anything from AV123

[Mac11700]

What really is disturbing about this whole thing is Mark could have been furiously selling off everything on Craig's list years ago to pay for whatever he was taking the raffle money for, but only now will he part with his personal possessions when his *** is truly on the line and as the very last resort. I would hope that selling your stuff wouldn't be the last resort above stealing from charity, but there you go.

He actually could have faced the storm better on the MFW-15 and not spent what he told me he supposedly did on doing the repairs and paid off all of the raffles and a-lot of what he owed everyone else.($380k)Had he done that,I doubt he would be where he is at right now.Sure folks still would have been screaming about them,faulty products but you know what they say Hindsight is 20-20

Mac

 

[gonk]

He actually could have faced the storm better on the MFW-15 and not spent what he told me he supposedly did on doing the repairs and paid off all of the raffles and a-lot of what he owed everyone else.($380k)Had he done that,I doubt he would be where he is at right now.Sure folks still would have been screaming about them,faulty products but you know what they say Hindsight is 20-20

Mac

The MFW-15 probably didn't help his bottom line any, thanks in large part to bad decisions. He could have invested some thought and money into QA on his electronics (something that should have been done in the first place when buying Chinese-built electronics at a bargain-basement price) so the problem was caught sooner, or stopped selling subs with bad amps, or stopped shipping replacement amps that were from the same batch and equally prone to failure.

I wouldn't trust the numbers he offered to you, though, or let the MFW-15 bear any appreciable blame in the whole mess. For one thing, the MFW-15 wasn't even a napkin sketch when the raffle thefts started, so he had plenty of opportunities to properly pay raffles or not even start additional raffles before that particular batch of bad amps entered the equation. For another thing, I wouldn't be surprised if his debts stand well north of that $380k number - especially if you combine personal debts (such as the raffles, RSL-II betas, private business deals, and transactions like the one that spawned this thread) with AV123's debts (SAC and whatever other suppliers, designers, and partners they've stiffed over the last decade).

 

[gonk]

What really is disturbing about this whole thing is Mark could have been furiously selling off everything on Craig's list years ago to pay for whatever he was taking the raffle money for, but only now will he part with his personal possessions when his *** is truly on the line and as the very last resort. I would hope that selling your stuff wouldn't be the last resort above stealing from charity, but there you go.

Excellent point - although it assumes he wasn't buying this stuff with raffle funds...

 

[MinusTheBear]

Maybe we will see Schifter on the new season of Pawn Stars?

 

[SteveSatch]

Steve, aren't you owed some stuff or are you hoping that discretion is the better part of valor.

No, neither AV123 or MLS owe me any money or products. I do have a tiny ($25 or so) of av123 credit still, and if someone was going to let their credit go unused, I would have used it on an open box x-sub I see they have. Better than letting it go to waste : )

 

[droht]

Maybe we will see Schifter on the new season of Pawn Stars?

I'd love to see the "old man" negotiate a deal with him.

 

[Mac11700]

I'd love to see the "old man" negotiate a deal with him.

Wouldn't be nice, I think mls would want a "Man Hug" and the Ole' man would kick his ***.

Mac

 

[Chu Gai]

What really is disturbing about this whole thing is Mark could have been furiously selling off everything on Craig's list years ago to pay for whatever he was taking the raffle money for, but only now will he part with his personal possessions when his *** is truly on the line and as the very last resort. I would hope that selling your stuff wouldn't be the last resort above stealing from charity, but there you go.

Well that's true but it wasn't in Mark's personality. As all of us have discovered during Raffle-Gate, the dishonesty was far more pervasive as evidenced by his welching on any number of issues.

The thing with the raffles, is Mark never thought he'd be caught. For starters, he probably threw not only his wife off but others at the company by making a charitable donation on behalf of AV451 to Ballet Nouveau of $7,500 in late 2005. As we've all discovered, something happened to $22,500 of the monies raised for that cause, but he'd already established a reasonable enough cover on the home front.

Mark tripped himself up when he ran out of bait like natural disasters where he could sandwich in other causes. No more tsunamis and hurricane Katrinas were a problem. If only there'd been a Haiti or Chile earthquake earlier. Something substantial that would've saturated the TV, radio, newspaper, magazine, and web sources was needed. When that didn't happen, he found personal disasters that he could exploit. Unfortunately for him, people checked or knew what was given or received. All that coupled with the large business problems he was having, fractured his loyal followiing.

The problem with selling off what he owns back then, and it now seems he's selling off what his wife owns too (I presume those rings were for his wife and not something else), is that he'd have to take a loss, it was a slow process, and it would raise suspicions on the home front. Generally speaking, most raffles generated a lot of money very quickly. Some even closed after a day or two.

Think back if you will as to where MLS was or soon would be when these raffles were running? Remember the California GTG? He went and shortly was off for Khabarovsk. If he'd ebayed or craigslisted a watch before his trip what would his wife say? "Honey, why are you selling a $24,000 watch for less than half of what you payed? What's the money for?" And what would he reply? "Well baby, I'm going to Khabarovsk and I need the money because I'm boning someone who's 20 years younger than you and I want to drink vodka, go to hockey games, and buy her a few things."

 

[Chu Gai]

Ahhh, the LS-4

On 4/12/10, AVSales introduced the LS-4 to the marketplace.

However, on December, 2007, all of us read this:

Here it is - The LS4 Raffle for BNC & The Children's Hospital (Denver) - Please Read

The LS4 Raffle #1 for BNC & The Children's Hospital (Denver)

Good Morning All…

This is really THE BEST time of year for me in many ways… I love the parties, the spirit, and the energy that Christmas brings…

This year has been a challenge in many ways for me – but through it I’ve grown stronger and “happier” as a person. Part of this relates strongly to all of you – and the help we have given many… Thank you…

I spoke with Santi the other day after Danny and I finally decided on the details for the new LS4… This is going to be one INCREDIBLE Loudspeaker in many many ways… I’ve ordered a set for myself – and I plan on giving a set to my partner Walter Liederman for his late Christmas present. Walter has been a super resource for me this year – and he has taught me a lot. I love The Wally Man.

In any event… Santi and I are going to build some KILLER LS4’s in a custom finish to test the market… These will be produced with our lovely Satin Black covering the front baffle area – and some select Palisander (done in Rosa Satin) for the “body”… This speaker will be just about 56 inches tall and everything else will be just like an LS6… We are going to make 6 pairs of these…



I’ve decided that we will raffle off two sets for good causes… Set One is for Ballet Nouveau Colorado. You can find their data here should you choose to.

www.balletnouveaucolorado.org/

YES, my Granddaughter Gracie dances for this company – so please understand my special attachment…

As well… I came back in contact with The Children’s Hospital (Denver) a few days ago after the car crash that Lynn and Gracie were in. I simply love this entire organization – and while difficult memories are associated with this (involving my Grandson Paul Anthony Johnson Jr. aka The Little Man) I always marvel at the INCREDIBLE dedication of the Doctors, Nurses and Staff… They simply ROCK… They are found here:

www.thechildrenshospital.org/

It’s time for Santa to do some “special stuff” for these tremendous organizations. Therefore, we are going to RAFFLE…

I’m setting these two Raffles up as follows:

Each of these Raffles is for a beautiful set of LS4’s as described above… Delivery time is roughly 70 days from now…

150 tickets each @ $50 dollars… After LS4 Raffle #1 is closed and we have chosen a winner – we will do it all over again for LS4 Raffle #2.

As always simply log onto Pay Pal to make your payments… This can be found at www.paypal.com

Entering this e-mail address accesses my account…

mlsav123@mac.com

That’s it… just follow the prompts…

As always allow me to thank each and every one of you for your help. This is a very special Community and I’m proud as can be to be a part of it…

Happy Holidays One and All…

Love and Hugs…

mls

Yeah, that was one long a$$ thread but you can't access it anymore on AV451's website. The raffle never closed. The speakers never were made or shipped, and when on 8/25/09 NicholasKL asked what happened, MLS, AV451 Flounder, replied,

This was answered elsewhere - but to be sure there will be no further raffles until the previous ones (underfunded) are completed... This is totally on me - and the underfunded raffles must be completed first...

I've spoken of this before - and recently this one came up again... Please allow me to perform on my promises...

Thanks and all the best...

mls

Yeah, with a little bit of luck, you'll be performing alright. In prison and on your knees.

 

[The Ninja]

Mark and Kyle.

Sean, who from AV123 showed up at the courthouse?

 

[The Ninja]

Mark seemed in fine health.

Did not notice a watch.

Magistrate...

Mark was very cordial. Too cordial actually. After, he tried to talk to me about a new biz deal and that pissed Sarah off to no end. Me too but I am way to Fing nice. You should have seen the look on Mark and Sarah's faces.

Hi to Mark and Kyle that I expect are reading this...

The suit is against AV123 directly. The registered agent is Suzanne. She did not appear.

Absolutely!! Also,

• was he acting all sick like?
• what kind of watch was he wearing?
• was this before the magistrate or was there an arbitrator?
• did he act all nice and stuff?
• in the end, is this a suit against MLS or MLS as a representative of the company?

I wonder if he'd like a DSMB bumper sticker or fridge magnet? If I can find the time, I'll make you a tshirt with the posterized MLS mugshot so's you can wear it to the trial!

 

[The Ninja]

Wow, thank you Chu. I had a very hard time with this and your post helps more than you know. My heart was racing so fast I did not bother going to the gym

What Sean did was not the easiest thing in the world. It's one thing to have lawyers or the Attorney General's office do the fighting for you. Sean had to stand up and come face to face with MLS. Let's not forget that Sean worked for the guy for a number of years. I'm sure there was even a time Sean felt they transcended the boss/employer relationship to something bordering on a type of friendship. Having to face that person in a courtroom wasn't easy for Sean because he had to deal with a wealth of conflicting emotions and realities. In a way, it's like a person confronting their abuser who happens to be someone they know.

Sean after all, is a decent human being. He doesn't go around stabbing people in the back. He doesn't screw his customers or suppliers. He doesn't buy fur coats or pay for boob jobs for Ms. Khabarovsk. He makes his living honestly.

What Sean did took guts. He manned up bigtime. He's also shown people that if you've got the facts on your side, you too can win. So, if any of you have something coming to you, take a page out of Sean's book and try and do something about it. MLS is just a man not some invincible person. He can be beat. The Longmont police showed us that. The AG showed us that. Jongaro showed us that. So did candyman. Now Sean is showing you that. Whittle the bastard down.

And Sean, I tip my hat to you (Celtics hat cuz I have hopes!).

 

[The Ninja]

When they shipped my speakers that I asked to be delivered unloaded (not built), they forgot (their words) to include all that stuff. 5 months later and still nothing. In court, Mark said I could have the stuff within a week. Why only once the law was involved could they do this?

Also one pair of cabinets are B stock and our deal is A stock so those have to be replaced except there is no more pali natural. Not much I can do about that now...

On the commissions, I am owed earned income for sales that I made that shipped after I left. I can't afford district court so this whole ordeal with small claims clears that for them as well. Not much I can do about it now.

I don't want to get into all this too much; it is almost over for me and I can't wait to put it behind.

Sean

Sean, if you don't mind me asking (or if i missed it in this GIANT thread, i apologize), but how did you come to be owed such goods? Did you buy them and get stiffed? Or was it something else entirely? (i'd thought i read they didn't pay you for work done or sales made or something, but there's so much speculation out there...)

 

[wshuff]

Sean, hope things work out for you and they come through as they are required to do.

Maybe you can add to your Ninja skills and learn to veneer.

Can't believe after everything MLS would talk to you about a business deal. I don't know if that is big brass ones, denial . . .

 

[wshuff]

Oh yeah, are you doing external x-overs for your speakers (don't remember if they are LS6 or LS9)?

 

[tonygeno]

When they shipped my speakers that I asked to be delivered unloaded (not built), they forgot (their words) to include all that stuff. 5 months later and still nothing. In court, Mark said I could have the stuff within a week. Why only once the law was involved could they do this?

Sean

You should have asked him this when he was being all chummy in court.

 

[gonk]

Thanks for the report, Sean. I can only imagine how frustrating and nerve-racking this has been for you.

Mark was very cordial. Too cordial actually. After, he tried to talk to me about a new biz deal and that pissed Sarah off to no end. Me too but I am way to Fing nice. You should have seen the look on Mark and Sarah's faces.

That's absurd! Takes a lot of nerve to even suggest such a thing...

When they shipped my speakers that I asked to be delivered unloaded (not built), they forgot (their words) to include all that stuff. 5 months later and still nothing. In court, Mark said I could have the stuff within a week. Why only once the law was involved could they do this?

Excellent question - probably related to why they couldn't get the order right in the first place, or why they felt it was acceptable to not pay your commissions after you left. Seems like someone has the business ethics of a black hole.

 

[Jed M]

Another satisfied customer:

http://forums.av123.com/showthread.php?t=43835

Since they will only erase it since they have no idea why somebody would post something so unfair and mean spirited, I thought I would save it for the world to see.

 

[ravingndrooling]

Thanks to those that brought MLS's bull$hit to light. I was one of the foolish that drank the kool-aid. I have since sold all of my MLS products and moved on. This thread has been the best entertainment I have had in a very long time! I don't get out much, I guess. LOL
I did say good-bye to MLS in his speaker forum though,


Do you think I held back too much? LOL

Thanks again
Raving

 

[wshuff]

Raving,

It would probably be best for you if you learned to really express yourself. You know, don't hold back.