Complaints Against Erica Fettig  Collector's Cove

Logansport, Indiana 46847

ccovesales@usa.com.

If you have questions about the complaint,
please contact the person who it was filed by.

February 10, 2000
Complaint filed by: Ltb3105@aol.com

her name is Erica Fettig and the business name is
"Collector's Cove"
524 E. Broadway
Logansport, Indiana 46847
tel. # 219-722-4236
email address is ccovesales@usa.com.

Her "handles" are "ccovesales" on Up4Sale (now closed down) and on Ebay it was "yobeanies" and "clltrscove" where she was suspended. I bid on an auction on Dec. 16, 1999.....buddies Maple and Brit, were to arrive on Jan. 31, 1999 with guaranteed refunds if they didn't arrive.....well, they didn't and she mailed REFUND CHECKS to some people even though they paid with CREDIT CARDS so as not to leave a paper trail with Visa or MasterCard!! I sent her a POSTDATED CHECK which she swears she sent to me on Feb. 4, 2000.....to this date, I still haven't received my check back. Now, I'm hearing from others who also have bid on MY auction and OTHERS on both Ebay and Up4Sale on the same items and all were on presell auctions! Some people bid back in November and still haven't received anything. I am in contact with two persons who I have told to email you with their stories. One is from my auction and the other is from the auction in November. I just heard from this Erica and she still swears up and down she has sent the check and why don't I put a stop pay on it if I don't believe her??? Why should I pay $25.00 to do that? Doesn't Ebay have insurance to protect the bidders? I thought we were insured up to $200.00, less a $25.00 deductible..........I also wrote to "Safe Harbour" on Ebay which also investigates fraud and filed an internet fraud report. ..we had to WAIT until the expected delivery date...auction was Dec. 16th on mine.....due date was Jan. 31st.....don't you think that's pretty clever to do it that way so now Ebay can't help us???.....anyway, who cares if she sent refunds....this type of thing shouldn't be allowed........this is what they call "float a loan" or borowing people's monies short term and then paying them back (well, sometimes paying them back!). Isn't this type of business illegal...especially since she had so many auctions for the same items and didn't deliver on ANY of them? Also, the fact that she's sending refund checks instead of credits to their credit card accounts should send red flags all over the place that she's trying to cover her tracks because she knows the credit card co's wil be wondering "what in heck is she doing refunding so many people's money????"These presells should be outlawed by ALL auctions.....Thank you for any assistance you can provide.......hope this info is satisfactory enough now. Laura Bowe P.S. the amount of my check was $204.00.....two sets of buddies @ $51.each.

Laura sent me a post dated check for the amount of the Brit and Maple buddies. The auction guaranteed shipment of these items by January 31st or the bidders would receive full refunds. Laura contacted me shortly after the 31st and I told her that we were unable to fulfill her order. She then asked me to send her her check back, which I sent to her via 1st class mail on the 4th of February. I totally understand her concern that she has not received the check back yet, however, there is simply nothing I can do for her. I sent the check back to her. It was never cashed as she can simply confirm by calling her bank. That it is lost in the mail or whereever, I can do nothing about, because I didn't write the check, and I have no records with which to trace it. I have told Laura all this, and I even told her that all she has to do is stop the check so noone can cash it. Laura has lost no money from this deal, so I don't understand why she would call it fraud. Anyways, I understand she is upset, but I don't know what to do. There is no way to trace it from my end. I have NEVER heard of it costing $25 to stop a check. It shouldn't be more than like $7. Has she even notified her bank to see if it was cashed? Again, the check was sent, and that's all I can do. I am working on getting the other people's refunds to them and I have notified them of the situation. Why that is of concern to her I dunno.  Thanks and if you have any further questions, please let me know...I'll be here for about another half hour and then I'm off work until Tuesday at 10am EST. Have a good one. Erica Fettig   Collector's Cove

The whole point of this situation is not just getting my check back, which I did, TODAY, and is postmarked February 9th.....she said she mailed it on the 4th.....doesn't take 5 days for mail to get here. The point is that she has held all these different auctions under different aliases....some people even received their refunds BEFORE the due date of Jan. 31st so she KNEW before then that she was unable to come through with this.One person whose supposed to send you their story bid in NOVEMBER and hasn't received anything yet......you must be anxious to hear from her!! And I work for a bank......it does cost $25.00 nowadays.... Erica is living in the past...it may have cost $7.00 ten years ago!! Isn't there something we still can do? I can't remember who it was, but someone has the Logansport police, FBI and the post office on this case......Thanks for helping me, Laura Bowe
P.S. So she mailed it the 9th, not the 4th, and today is the 12th!! So according to her, we have a 5 day difference here, and she quoted the Bible "as God is my Witness" she mailed it the 4th!!

She owes me 113.70.....I know you are looking at the case that I and a few others have reported. I purchased from Ebay on a Dutch Auction a set of Maple and Britannia Buddies from Collectors Cove of Logansport, Indiana. I used my Master Card to pay for this purchase. I dont see what the problem is here. If they are being so honest about everything....what is so hard about crediting my credit card???? Why do they want me to wait for a refund check in the mail. She ran 3 seperate auctions on Ebay...PLUS a few on Up4Sale....nobody has received their merchandise....and now we have to wait HOW LONG for her to send a check in the mail?? Not to mention all the scripts from the Bible she attaches with her emails. Why would anyone change names and go from auction to auction to auction trying to sell something they know full well they arent going to get in the first place?? Changing their names each time and all that?? Because....they are using our money for months and then running other auctions to try and pay us back.....Only thing I can figure. Many people on my auction are quite upset about all this. Please get back with me and let me know what you can do about this. I have not received a refund nor a credit to my credit card. Thanks Traci Erickson

GRRR...why aren't these people asking me? What is her name? A big bunch of refund checks are being sent out today when I get off work at 3pm. Her check should be in there. For anyone who asks why I don't credit credit cards, it's because it's easier to keep records with checks...checks have carbons and they all stay together, and credit card receipts are too small and awkward to organize. I need this lady's name because I'm not familiar with her account. Thanks and have a great day, Erica

February 15, 2000

I found her. Her check is one that has not been written yet. We're hoping that all of these checks will be all sent out this week. As I said before, there is about 20-30 checks going out today as soon as I get off work. The rest will be worked on as I can. I do understand how customers can get impatient, and I know they want their money yesterday, but I have a store to run, by myself, while watching my 18 month old and my 3 year old, plus I have to answer all emails and all phone calls, not to mention my outside commitments to my church and my daughter's activities. These checks really are at the top of my list, and I am doing my best to get them out, but it's really really hard. Tell her that I will get it out asap, and I appreciate her patience. Erica Collector's Cove

Why can't somebody stop this kind of illegal borrowing? A lawyer who also bid on this presell is supposedly starting her own investigation...these presells were for Brit and Maple buddies......impossible to get that many abroad......they only come 6 to an order once a month........there are more than 30-40 people involved in all these presells.......did she really think she was going to fill all these orders??? I don't think so by NO stretch of the imagination!! This is a "borrow from Peter to pay Paul" scheme........I work for a bank and we see it all the time with checking accounts, too........people open several accounts and "float" checks all over the place to cover one account to the other........same thing with presells..........

Like so many others, I bid on a pre-sell auction run by covesales on Up4Sale...The delivery date for these buddies was 1-31-99..I sent my money promptly via a postal money order.. To date I have not received the buddies nor a refund.. I have written to covesales many, many times most of the time I receive no reply.. I have also sent them a letter of demand for my refund of $156.15... my reply to that was basically I have to wait my turn and when they come to my account they will refund... That was over a week ago... Still nothing..A very frustarting situation, and unfortunately I am not alone...Thanks for listening.... Ella Willis

I bid on presale for Maple & Britannia Buddies..Delivery 1/31/00..Will not answer emails and is very rude..No Buddies and No refund. She has to be stopped..Pat Wilson

I WOULD LIKE TO VOICE MY COMPLAINT REGARDING ERICA AND COVE SALES. I BID ON TWO AUCTIONS BY THE ABOVE SELLER, BOTH CLOSED ON 12/05/99. I PAID BY CREDIT CARD FOR PRE SALE ITEMS THAT WERE GUARANTEED DELIVERY BY 01/31/2000. I TRIED BOTH TELEPHONING AND E-MAILING THE SELLER. SHE DID NOT RETURN ANY CALLS OR E-MAILS. FINALLY I RECEIVED A PESONAL CHECK REFUNDING MY MONEY WITHOUT AND APOLOGY OR EXPLANATION. ONCE AGAIN I TRIED CONTACTING HER WITH NO AVAIL. THEN I BEGAN CONTACTING ALL OF THE OTHER AUCTION WINNERS WHO ALL HAD GONE THROUGH THE SAME EXPERIENCE AS ME. I COMPLAINED TO UP4SALE AND I PLACED A COMPLAINT ON THEIR AUCTION SITE. THIS WAS A VERY FRUSTRATING EXPERIENCE. THEY HELD ON TO OUR MONEY FOR TWO MONTHS WITHOUT ANY INTENTION OF DELIVERING THE AUCTIONED ITEM. I HOPE THAT YOU CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT PREVENTING THEM FROM REPEATING THIS IN THE FUTURE. THANK YOU, LISSETTE

I was a winner of one of Erica Fettings Pre-sell auctions for 2 sets of Malpe and Britannia Buddies Auction#4872288 on Up4Sale.com. The auction desription clearly states "These are guaranteed to be shipped mwmt's and tag protected by january 31st,2000. Nothing in the description was stated about a refund being given if she couldn't deliver the buddies by that date. This is the reason why I bid on this auction because it sounded like I was going to get the buddies. I have a copy of the auction, I printed out on my computer a couple of days after I won the auction! I paid for the auction with my credit card and got my refund by personal check. I had to sit and wait 12 days to see if the check was going to clear. It did, thank god. I also have other pre-sale auctions I won from Erica too. I bid on these auctions before I knew what type of business person she was. I want to put an end to Erica's bussiness scams.Hope this info will help you out.

There are many things which I am unsatisfied with in regard to the auction I won on Up4Sale (#4872288) from seller Erica Fettig; Up4Sale name: ccovesales; apparently d.b.a. Collector's Cove (as per her refund check). This auction was for one each of Britannia buddy and Maple buddy at a cost of $102.00 This auction was paid for by credit card (my fiance's) but the refund check was made out to me (albeit incorrectly spelled). I should not have been issued a check but rather his credit card should have been charged back. What about interest on the amount charged? Shouldn't that be refunded as well? The auction specifically stated "GUARANTEED DELIVERY BY JANUARY 31, 2000" It did not say if not deliverable, there would be a refund. It said guaranteed!!!!! There was NO mention of refund. How many people do you think would have bid if it said, "If not delivered.......refund"? Certainly not me! I confirmed the auction by e-mail on 12/18/99 and my fiance charged this order on 12/18/99 which is corroborated by his credit card statement. He was told that day, "Will run card through in the next couple of days. Will e-mail when sent." They ran the card THE SAME DAY. Is this why they wouldn't answer e-mails because NOTHING was ever sent? I e-mailed Ms. Fettig again on January 19, 2000 to confirm a shipping address, seeing as it was charged to my fiance's card and not my address as submitted to Up4Sale for registration. No response. I AGAIN e-mailed Ms. Fettig on January 28, 2000 asking about the status of the merchandise. No response....until January 31, 2000 when I went to the post office to find a refund check in an envelope. No note, letter, scribble - nothing to explain the check or an apology for being unable to deliver the merchandise. You know, just common courtesy. I get home to e-mail Ms. Fettig about the refund check to find a reply from her to my query in which addresses me as "Hi There" even though I sign my name at the end of all correspondence. She refers me to the auction description in reference to my asking when the merchandise will arrive. Well guess what? The auction description didn't say NOTHING about a refund it said GUARANTEED DELIVERY BY JANUARY 31, 2000!!! It should be noted that the check signed by Bradley Fettig was dated 1/25/00 and the envelope postmarked 1/28/00. So why the big HUSH-HUSH if they knew they weren't delivering any merchandise? Why couldn't they answer e-mails? I find this seller to be condescending, rude and without moral character. She guarantees delivery of merchandise and then does not deliver. She misrepresents her abilities/merchandise and misrepresents her terms of sale for her benefit (i.e. the refund). I am pretty sure I am beating a dead horse here. Has she broken the law? Hard to say. There is no mention of refund? The law is a double-edged sword and I don't want to be cut by it. But it seems the people who deserve to be cut are not hurt and instead hurt innocent bystanders such as myself and the other honest and sincere people who have bid on her auctions and paid in a timely fashion in good faith expecting the same treatment in kind. And what do we get?... This merchandise was a Christmas gift for my granddaughter; I cannot tell you how heartbroken I am not to receive these items. I don't know if there is anything within this monologue which will be useful to you. If I had to make a one-sentence phrase to submit about this seller it would be DON'T BID ON HER PRE-SALE AUCTIONS UNLESS YOU DON'T WANT TO RECEIVE WHAT YOU BID FOR.

I am one of the bidders that did not get a refund or the buddies that Covesales had on Up4Sale. Some one else that also bid on them emailed me and said that I should email you if I did not get a refund yet. These people should be prosecuted......I hope we can do something about them. We have a lot of honest people doing business on the internet, we sure don't need crooks like these getting by with this. Thanks for anything you might be able to do Judie Melum Please let me know if there is anything I can do. They owe me $186,50 .

I also was cheated by her. I have emailed her and told her that I wanted my refund but nothing yet. I have waited long enough and my patience is gone. I will let our Corporate Attorney deal with this matter on Tuesday if my refund is not received. She just loves cases of FRAUD and hasn't lost one yet. Constance M. Konkel, C.P.M.

My name is Ruth Tate and I was an auction winner on two auctions on ebay several months back but never received any buddies or refund. I was given you email address by another person who had the same thing happen to her and she said you might be able to help. The auction # were 191083458 and 191084164. I charged both auction on my credit card. I was wanting to know if I could turn this over to my credit card company and they could help in this matter? Any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

I WAS A WINNER (ACTUALLY A LOSER) ON AN AUCTION RAN BY COLLECTOR'S COVE THAT ENDED ON NOVEMBER 2,1999. I PAID BY CREDIT CARD AND MY CREDIT CARD COMPANY IS GOING TO DO A VERY SLOW INVESTIGATION. I EMAILED ERICA LAST WEEK AND HAVE HEARD NOTHING FROM HER. I ASKED HER FOR A CREDIT ON MY CREDIT CARD BUT SHE SAID NO SHE IS SENDING OUT CHECKS. AS OF TODAY I HAVE NOT RECEIVED A CHECK OR BUDDIES. I KNOW THAT THIS IS A BIG SCAM. ANY HELP YOU CAN GIVE WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED. I CALLED THE POLICE DEPARTMENT IN HER CITY BUT THEY NEVER CALLED ME BACK. I WILL TRY TO CONTACT THEM AGAIN NEXT WEEK. THANKS  SHAWN (YYRKOON)

Hi I was given your name by a fellow pre-sale bidder who also did not recieve product. I however have also NOT received repayment of funds. Item was a pre-sale from collector's cove email address is ccovesales@usa.com. I bid on an aution of 3 pairs of brittania and maple buddies.Auction closed 12/16/99. Ship date was scheduled for 1/31/00. On 12/22/99 Erica of Colectors Cove in Indiana charged my credit card a total of $298.95. I to date 2/20/00 have NOT yet received a refund NOR the items bid upon. I called Erica twice. Leaving messages on her machine. I recieved an email on 2/8/00 saying that she was swamped with inquires about product and refunds and was going to try and get it out that week. I followed up with an email that friday asking if my check had been mailed. She responded NO it had not and she is just too busy to get to it. I'm sorry but I think that waiting over 20 days for a refund is beyond being patient. I know that all but 3 of us who had bid on the product received checks on the 31st when the bears were due to be shipped. SO if everyone else got their checks then what is taking so long to do mine.I really don't care of her personal situation.... she is running a business and I would like to know if I have a case here... OR at least can you help me get my funds returned to me. thanks Audra Dranzik

Thanks for sending the page to me. I would like to send the following message to everyone. Please post this to your site:

I am very disturbed by all this, and even though I know that it is useless to post a response to all this, I will, if only to satisfy my mind. Here is the truth, as God is my witness...We have been in the secondary beanie business since July 20, 1998. We had a really great business on the internet and at local fairs and shows. We did presell and in hand auctions for many different items, but mostly Ty products. All of this hatred and suspicion really started with the introduction of the Princess buddy. My husband was placing presell auctions on eBay under cleoraine@aol.com (our initial account had hundreds of ONLY positive feedback) Well, Brad placed the auctions for the new products and I told him that I thought Princess would be really hard to get, because at that time, the Princess beanie was scarce and expensive and we had no regular suppliers, we just went out and hunted for them. I told him he couldn't put auctions on for Princess buddies, and little did I know he already had. Not wanting me to get angry with him, he went ahead and closed the auction so I wouldn't know he had put them on. But, he made one little mistake that cost us. He didn't know that before you closed an auction that you had to bid on the items and win them back or else the auction bidders still win. When he canceled the auction, the 12 Princess buddies he had put on were up to $3.00 each. Well, when I finally found out what he had done, there were many angry people who were really getting at Brad for his mistake. He tried to explain to them that he had no idea he had to bid on them to make the auction void and he apologized that he made the mistake but that it was a mistake and he didn't mean it. Well, being as bidders are, they all banded together and left about 10 negative comments on our name and we got suspended from eBay. eBay was our livelyhood. It was how we survived and kept food in our kids mouths. Now it was gone and there was no way to get our account back, and believe me, we tried. We moved to other sites and even borrowed eBay accounts from family to try to keep going. But,the same 12 people found us and left negative comments when they had no right to, and we were kicked off other sites as well, not to mention our family members accounts too. It has spiraled from there. And even though those 12 people are long gone and have moved on, the wound they punctured has been reopened again and again down the line. We moved from site to site trying to keep our business alive. Through the months we got more and more contacts and were able to get beanies and other Ty products fairly easily. We no longer merely hunted the beanies, they were sold to us by larger dealers. In time our auctions became larger and larger and more and more and we only had minimal problems filling the orders. Then the Maples and Brit buddies were introduced.....'no problem! We can get them easily! Let's go big with this because everyone will want them.' So we did...we went big...we brought in alot of cash fast. Everything was great. We even opened our own store on September 1, 1999....Collector's Cove. Business was great, everything was great. Then it came time to fill the presales which were due to ship by December 15th. We had minimal problems filling the orders. A few of the products we had to refund, but, over all, we did pretty okay. At the same time, we had Maple and Britannia buddies due and we found out we couldn't fill them because they just weren't availble. We had to refund as promised in the auction. One woman, just one woman, would simply NOT accept a refund and BLACKMAILED us that if we didn't give her her Maple buddy by a certain date that she would contact everyone she knew and didn't know and tell them that we actually did get the buddies, but since the first auctions didn't go high enough, we went to other sites and sold them for higher prices and basically that she would destroy us. She called and emailed us several times a day, harassing us, and eventually she got her lies out. And the people believed everything she has spewed. I have since been harrassed, cussed at, threatened legally AND physically, slandered and defamed. I have also consistantly been made fun of because of my faith in God, and also called a liar because of it, and that I use my bible verses to make people think that I'm honest when I'm not. I also have people still holding their refund checks because they are so sure they will bounce and they don't want to be proved wrong! I have NEVER taken ANYTHING from any of my customers. Not money, not product, nor have I ever promised anything that I haven't made good on. Neither have I ever said that I am perfect, that I don't make mistakes, that I don't look at something and make the wrong decision, nor have I started an auction with no intention of getting the product.

Here is what I do claim:

I am doing my best to make everyone happy. I know that this is an absolute impossibility. EVERYONE WILL GET THEIR MONEY BACK FROM THESE INTERNATIONAL BUDDY AUCTIONS!! I don't want you to feel sorry for me. I don't even want your opinion. All I want is for the people to whom I owe money to STOP the harassment and the threats and the lies and trust that I WILL PAY YOU! Something to think about: What does a dishonest person do when he takes money? He runs, he hides, he evades everyone. Hmmm....I think you can figure out the rest. Thank you very much for listening, even if you don't take it to heart and may you NEVER have to answer to the accusations I'm answering to.
God Bless...
Erica Fettig
Collector's Cove
Logansport, IN

I too have been involved in the e-bay bid, #191083458, from Collectors Cove for the Brittania and Maple Buddies. I had ordered 3 sets which totalled $331.50 and have been told that I will be receiving a refund check because they are unable to fill the order. I have still not received my check and would appreciate whatever help you can give. Thank you.

Hi my name is Nancy StLaurent I was told to drop you a line and tell you I also was on one of Cllctrscove auctions for maple and britannia buddies#191083458.to bad their are people like that out there.ebay is so much fun,but they kill the enjoyment of it all.I have been in contact with my postal inspector and he sent me papers to fill out,he also claims there is a combined effort of the postal service,FBI and ebay looking into the fraud on ebay.sure hope some thing can be done.thanks for listening Nancy

I won 4 auctions on up4sale for buddies. Signature, Kicks, Hippie, and Flippity for $40.25. The email address ccovesale@usa.com, no longer works.  Amy Smith

I was one of the individuals duped by Erica on her "too good to be true" presale auction of Maple & Britannia Buddies. I was very patient about the whole matter with her. (was just hoping that maybe I would get the mdse). I was told that I would get my credit last week.....guess what, NOTHING!!!! I left her a not so friendly voice message for her to call me and another email....still NOTHING!!!  She preaches about her faith in all her emails...quit telling us all about how good and decent you are and show us already. SHOW US THE MONEY!!!!!! Lori

I have received a credit to my credit card from collectors cove. I also got a letter from my credit card company saying they would be doing a credit for this also if the collectors cove didn't. Thanks for you help. Ruth

I also have been scammed by this individual. Just finished filing a fraud report and am in the process of sending out a trace on my postal money order "Erica" claims to have not received. I found your name as a point of contact in dealing with this individual through the member ratings on Up4Sale. Can you help with any of this mess? Thank   Marla

I won several presell auctions from Collector's Cove at the end of January of this year. I am supposed to get the buddies by April 20th or somewhere around that time. My credit card has been charged already for the amounts of $185.75 and $67.20. Do you think I can get a refund from this person? PLMK. Erika Lovingfoss

I FINALLY RECEIVED MY REFUND ON 2/28/00 FROM ERICA. I HAD REQUESTED A CERTIFIED CHECK OR MONEY ORDER 3 TIMES AND WAS TOLD THAT SHE HAD MAILED A PERSONAL CHECK. THAT CHECK BOUNCED AND APPARENTLY IT WAS NOT THE ONLY REFUND ISSUED THAT WAS MADE OF RUBBER. IF YOU RECEIVE A REFUND FROM ERICA IN THE FORM OF A PERSONAL CHECK, VERIFY THAT IT IS GOOD BEFORE YOU CASH IT, OR YOU WILL BE OUT MORE THAN WHAT SHE ALREADY OWES YOU. THIS DEFINATELY IS A CASE OF FRAUD AND I THINK THAT EVERYONE NEEDS TO BAND TOGETHER AND SEE THAT SHE GETS WHAT SHE DESERVES. CONSTANCE M. KONKEL

I have another bad trade again with amazon auctions. They sure don't  check their tarders out very well. The name is Erica Fettig with  Collector's Cove. I purchased $134-50 worth of the new buddies from her.  My check was cashed and I never received the buddies. I have sent her two e-mails and left two phone messages. The has never returned any of these attempts at these communications. Can you help me with this one? Janet

her name is Erica Fettig and the business name is
"Collector's Cove"
Logansport, Indiana 46847
email address is ccovesales@usa.com.

I received a check in the mail yesterday from Erica Fettig with a note that said the following:

Dear Customer,

As you may or may not know, I have had much financial difficulty due to lack of interest in Ty products, bad business decisions, improper management, and the loss of my wholesale sources. I had exhausted every possible option, and then a family member came to my assistance with a loan for the money I needed to fulfill my obligation to you. Please understand that it was my hope and intention from the very beginning that I would be able to fill your order. However, due to the circumstances, it is just not possible. Please acccept this refund check, with my sincerest apologies. Thank you for your understanding and I appreciate your patience through this process.