Back in march i attended the SCG Dallas tournament. There I made a deal with the Featured alterer Brian Ace Byrd (his website is http://www.acesalteredart.com/ ). The full value that was given to him was 80$. I was notified that he was backed up, so i didn't think anything of it after 2 months passed. I then tried contacting him again. So far, i haven't gotten a word from him. There are several others who are trying to get their cards back. Some of them have given him several dual lands and power nine. He has disabled posting on his wall and deleted all comments concerning the cards. I'm posting this as a warning and also i would like to know if anyone else has had dealings with Brian. I thought that going with a card alterer that's featured at an SCG would be the safest route, I guess I was wrong.
Also, not sure if this is the appropriate place to post this.
Hey Drizzt_522, sorry you got burned by Ace, I know Starcity has cancelled all his upcoming events and some of their members have been making posts about getting in contact with him. Best thing you can do is email starcity regarding it and ask them to get back to you if they do get more info about him.
For what its worth I want to apologize on behalf of the alter community, I know a lot of us respect both the Mtg and alter community enough to never consider pulling something like this. I know sometimes freelance workers in general can fall off the face of the earth for a time and then come back due to personal issues as well, hopefully this is the case with this guy.
In the future most alterers have some ability to give you a receipt, either through whatever payment program you're using like Paypal or Square or just the traditional paper receipts, otherwise get as much contact info from us as possible. Sorry again for your experience DX.
Hey Drizzt_522, sorry you got burned by Ace, I know Starcity has cancelled all his upcoming events and some of their members have been making posts about getting in contact with him. Best thing you can do is email starcity regarding it and ask them to get back to you if they do get more info about him.
For what its worth I want to apologize on behalf of the alter community, I know a lot of us respect both the Mtg and alter community enough to never consider pulling something like this. I know sometimes freelance workers in general can fall off the face of the earth for a time due to personal issues as well, hopefully this is the case with this guy.
In the future most alterers have some ability to give you a receipt, either through whatever payment program you're using like Paypal or Square or just the traditional paper receipts, otherwise get as much contact info from us as possible. Sorry again for your experience DX.
Please contact Jared Sylvan (Jared.sylva@starcitygames.com) and he will do his best to help you in this matter. My apologies for Ace and his behavior!
- Ben Bleiweiss
- General Manager, StarCityGames.com
@ oneiros: unfortunately, and this is my fault as well, i wasn't given a receipt. I didn't pay in money, i paid in a large card trade (however i had taken off several $ on the card value since he was taking cards instead of cash, the real amount would be well over $100). Also my ride was pressuring me to hurry up. I, unfortunately, am too trusting of people. So any legal action is probably not a route I can take. I do have private messages that prove that there was a deal, but i doubt they hold any weight legally. My main objective with this thread was as a warning. I'm hoping that if enough people are aware of his actions, that he will get caught when he tries to sell the stolen cards.
@Ben i have sent a message to starcitygames.com yesterday ( i waited until july, because his girlfriend stated on her wall that they would start doing alters in july, its july now and they aren't responding to anyone, i was really hoping this whole ordeal was a misunderstanding). I haven't received a reply yet. Also, please note that i don't blame starcitygames, i realize this has nothing to do with your company.
Sounds like typical junkie behavior to me. Those text messages do "hold weight", any documented communication verifying the deal as long as it contains details referencing said deal holds weight. You don't need a lawyer for small claims court btw.
This guy used to play at my LGS. I remember something happening and he had to hold off on alters for awhile. let me see if I can dig up some info or find a way for him to contact you, or something.
I did't really know him personally so I don't know how much help I'll be.
UPDATE:
This is from our local M:tG group on facebook:
rumor mill stated he ran into some kind of personal issues a while back. health or the like-wise. then i heard he and his ol'lady were on the run because there are quite a few people who want their money/cards back and several are pressing fraud charges. postal fraud = federal charges = federal PMITA prison! =D but, like i said, its all rumor mill and no one knows for sure because they fell off the grid.
You got robbed. There are posts on the alter facebook group and on reddit as well. He's stolen from many people. I suggest calling SCG and then getting on a list somewhere of people that he has stolen from.
I'd like to shed a little light on the situation here. I'm a friend of Brian and his fiancée, tho I use the term kinda loosely because of the recent behavior. They had some personal issues that do need to be taken care of before he can get to painting again, but it most definitely does not excuse the way they are handling (or not handling) existing orders. I've been unable to get any response out of them in over a month, and it was sporadic for some time before that. I'm sad and kinda angry they are treating customers and friends this way. I'm out a good bit of money, a lot of cards, and apparently two friends. I'm going to continue to attempt to contact them and urge them to at the very least return everyone's cards.
My friend also got scammed by this person. My wife is an attorney and we are trying to see if there are people who want to file a joint lawsuit against this individual. If you have been scammed by Brian Byrd, please get in contact with me. Thank you
Also it looks like Starcity has updated their alterist agreement policy and is requiring that we give them more contact info than before, so kudos to them.
Contacted Starcitygames.com. Most of the people i talked to don't seem to know whats going on. Finally got to talk to someone that did. I asked for additional contact information or any information that can help me. He said he would email with some additional information. So far i haven't received any e-mails.
Back in march i attended the SCG Dallas tournament. There I made a deal with the Featured alterer Brian Ace Byrd (his website is http://www.acesalteredart.com/ ). The full value that was given to him was 80$. I was notified that he was backed up, so i didn't think anything of it after 2 months passed. I then tried contacting him again. So far, i haven't gotten a word from him. There are several others who are trying to get their cards back. Some of them have given him several dual lands and power nine. He has disabled posting on his wall and deleted all comments concerning the cards. I'm posting this as a warning and also i would like to know if anyone else has had dealings with Brian. I thought that going with a card alterer that's featured at an SCG would be the safest route, I guess I was wrong.
Also, not sure if this is the appropriate place to post this.
Then you guys are just stupid for giving someone your cards and money to some stranger.
Flame Warning in conjunction with following post. ~parinoid
Then you guys are just stupid for giving someone your cards and money to some stranger.
Golly, you are so nice! They have admitted that they made a mistake, so you calling them stupid is both inconsiderate and unnecissary. Honesty does not mean saying everything you think.
It is the best policy, and who said I had to be nice?
They gave there cards and money to a stranger, sorry but if you were stupid enough to hand off cards then you deserve to be called stupid.
They should of known from the sound of this that its a scam, this is mtg where any card worth its salt is going to get stolen, never ever hand over your cards cause your just stupid!
I love being as honest as I am even if it makes me look like an *******, Sorry if you don't like it.
There is a difference in being straightforward and being an *******. Stopping yourself from saying out loud some cruel thing that pops into your head is not a lie. It is a necessary kindness if you are to function in society.
I’ve heard nasty people use the honesty excuse my whole life, as though basic human decency is deceptive bull**** and they want no part in it. In their minds, being “honest” or “direct” with someone gives them license to offer unsolicited critiques of their failings as a person. If you can’t take it, their attitude implies, you must either be a liar yourself or be unwilling to face your flaws.
If the OP had asked if what he did was smart, then perhaps you would be justified interjecting your opinion, though I would hope in a more contructive manner. Truth is he did not, and even admitted to the fact that it was foolish, so your "honesty" is really just you being a jerk. Perhaps in the future you could respond in a way befitting the intent of the OP, because then even if you are using "blunt" language you still might be making a constructive statement. As it is nothing was added to this discussion by you calling another person stupid.
I wouldn't be so quick to call these guys stupid. When starcitygames attaches their name to someone, there's a reasonable degree of credibility that comes along with that. This is one reason why starcity can set the bar in terms of singles prices and still sell out, despite being higher in some cases than other stores. Starcity has a reputation in the magic community a being reliable professionals and so it's not like these guys were giving their cards to some joe at their lgs. Ace's behavior not only can result in legal actions if he doesn't return the cards and cash or do the work, as well as resulting in his exile from the mtg community, but leaves starcity with a black mark on their records in some of ace's customer's eyes. Hell, ben was in here trying to play damage control on behalf of scg and if this becomes a big enough ordeal, scg may pursue legal action as well, though i'm no lawyer and of course don't speak for them in any way, shape or form. But it wouldn't surprise me if there was a lawsuit in there somewhere. Point being, a mistake was made, but not so much an obvious one that I think it can be chalked up to sheer stupidity.
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Just for your information some of the cards have gone up on ebay under the name raineyalterations. You might keep an eye on that if this creep scammed you.
Not scammed people on ebay. Stole cards from people IRL then selling them on ebay. The last item sold is a mox emerald that was stolen (hasn't posted feedback yet).
Not scammed people on ebay. Stole cards from people IRL then selling them on ebay. The last item sold is a mox emerald that was stolen (hasn't posted feedback yet).
To anyone else who has been scammed by this guy, I just found my Mox Emerald that Brian altered for sale on eBay. The seller name is RaineyAlterations, which was, on August 11th, changed from xAlienYouthx. AlienYouth is what Sarah uses as a username for a lot of things, including Facebook.
Also, not sure if this is the appropriate place to post this.
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For what its worth I want to apologize on behalf of the alter community, I know a lot of us respect both the Mtg and alter community enough to never consider pulling something like this. I know sometimes freelance workers in general can fall off the face of the earth for a time and then come back due to personal issues as well, hopefully this is the case with this guy.
In the future most alterers have some ability to give you a receipt, either through whatever payment program you're using like Paypal or Square or just the traditional paper receipts, otherwise get as much contact info from us as possible. Sorry again for your experience DX.
My Alters:
http://photobucket.com/oneiros76
I do commissions woooeeeooo
My Store:
http://tinyurl.com/6p9n2vw
Please contact Jared Sylvan (Jared.sylva@starcitygames.com) and he will do his best to help you in this matter. My apologies for Ace and his behavior!
- Ben Bleiweiss
- General Manager, StarCityGames.com
@Ben i have sent a message to starcitygames.com yesterday ( i waited until july, because his girlfriend stated on her wall that they would start doing alters in july, its july now and they aren't responding to anyone, i was really hoping this whole ordeal was a misunderstanding). I haven't received a reply yet. Also, please note that i don't blame starcitygames, i realize this has nothing to do with your company.
I did't really know him personally so I don't know how much help I'll be.
UPDATE:
This is from our local M:tG group on facebook:
^Agreed
You should try and see if you can contact anybody else who has lost cards and see if they have any receipts or the like and take legal action
Mabbz on MTGO | Demgrinds on Twitch & Twitter | Helpdesk
My Alters:
http://photobucket.com/oneiros76
I do commissions woooeeeooo
My Store:
http://tinyurl.com/6p9n2vw
Then you guys are just stupid for giving someone your cards and money to some stranger.
Flame Warning in conjunction with following post. ~parinoid
Decks I play and stuff.
Legacy Burn
Modern Mono U Tron
Reprint Opt for Modern!!
FREE DIG THOROUGH TIME!
PLAY MORE ROUGE DECKS!
They gave there cards and money to a stranger, sorry but if you were stupid enough to hand off cards then you deserve to be called stupid.
They should of known from the sound of this that its a scam, this is mtg where any card worth its salt is going to get stolen, never ever hand over your cards cause your just stupid!
I love being as honest as I am even if it makes me look like an *******, Sorry if you don't like it.
Flame Warning. ~parinoid
Decks I play and stuff.
Legacy Burn
Modern Mono U Tron
If the OP had asked if what he did was smart, then perhaps you would be justified interjecting your opinion, though I would hope in a more contructive manner. Truth is he did not, and even admitted to the fact that it was foolish, so your "honesty" is really just you being a jerk. Perhaps in the future you could respond in a way befitting the intent of the OP, because then even if you are using "blunt" language you still might be making a constructive statement. As it is nothing was added to this discussion by you calling another person stupid.
Reprint Opt for Modern!!
FREE DIG THOROUGH TIME!
PLAY MORE ROUGE DECKS!
EDH: Grand Arbiter $tax, Freyalise Stompy, Mimeoplasm Death From the Grave
Reprint Opt for Modern!!
FREE DIG THOROUGH TIME!
PLAY MORE ROUGE DECKS!
ah, I get it.
Reprint Opt for Modern!!
FREE DIG THOROUGH TIME!
PLAY MORE ROUGE DECKS!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&hash=item337a8919a0&item=221099137440&nma=true&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&rt=nc&si=iu2m6gSErVIs1VC%252FKJ61mLqSS3w%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc#ht_500wt_943
eBay Item number: 221099137440