Charles, I'm telling you, you're going to be billionaire with all of us waiting for your video :)

Quoc

Finally got a response
 

Hi Rob - well I have an update for you. I actually finally received an email from John today. Here's the email;

Our phone lines are down due to the rain. We got your last payment and will be shipping out your rig shortly.
We will contact you with a tracking number.
Thank you
John Gardner
Animagique

It looks like he's still in business and I'm looking forward to receiving the IIa. Hopefully it will be soon. I'll keep you posted. I hope you get your new webbing to get your rig operational again - three months is a long time. I know Animagique is a family owned business and it's probably a side gig for them, but man, contact us customers and let us know what's going on with orders and parts. A quick response is all that is needed from them to give a status on an order.

Hi All,

I purchased a Magiqcam on the 12 Jul. 2005, and I am still waiting, it would
be nice to get a "real" firm answer from John, on a "real" shipping date...

It seems like a nice product, Hopefully I will receive it very shortly.

Cheers
Sean Morris
SYD/AUST

Damn - 6 months waiting for this - furgetaboutit!
 

Hey Sean,
I won the IIa on ebay. Made 3 monthly payments. Trying to get in touch with magiqcam is IMPOSSIBLE!! Their customer service number on their web site is DISCONNECTED. I've been trying to email them. I did receive one email from John on Dec. 1st and I've responded 6 times - no reply. I'm going to ask for a refund - it's a good thing I put it on my Master Card each time I made a payment. This way I might have a chance of getting my money back. I would suggest to anyone who's interested in getting a Magiqcam - BEWARE!! Their customer service sucks and I don't believe they are in business any longer. No more Magiqcams on Ebay, no more customer service phone number, no more replies to emails. I wish you good luck on receiving yours.

Cancelled my Magiqcam IIa order, unfortunately
 

After sending 3 monthly installment payments for the IIa that I won on ebay back in September, I've decided to cancel it. I'm not one to complain but John at Magiqcam just doesn't communicate at all with his customers. I just called my credit card company to dispute the 3 installments and get my money back. Here are my main reasons for cancelling:

1) No communication - I sent about 12 emails inquiring about my order and called 3 times. I received 2 emails that just described an "excuse" for why he didn't contact me. Mostly they were "having problems with the phone company" and another, "heavy rains made their phone inoperable" - meanwhile John has a cell phone which I called and left messages on also. He could have called me on his cell.

2) On 12/1 the email also stated that he received the final payment and will be shipping the rig with a tracking number shortly. I responded asking him does he have an estimate when the rig will be shipped. One week later, no reply.

3) After I called his cell phone and talked to I believe was his wife, she told me to call customer service which I did. The customer service phone number was disconnected and no longer in service!

4) I received an email from him immediately today, 12/14 after I called my credit card company to dispute the purchase - why couldn't he return reponses that quickly when I was inquiring about the IIa? Geeezzzz..

5) I was trying to be nice about this, and all I was receiving was excuses. How does he intend to stay in business with terrible customer service?

So - what turned out to be a good price for something that I was really excited about getting just turned out to be one big headache and aggravation.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a stabilizer rig under $2,000 that works well with a DVX100a? Thanks and happy holidays.

Well, on my side I'm still waiting for my 500$ bucks...

As most people knows here, approx. the same story for me, apart that I did pay only 500$ and was supposed to pay the remaining on the shipping date.
Of course, no communication and so on (even what I would call lies: he told me twice, 2weeks apart, that the stuff were just coming out and just needed to be assembled... I guess he forgot he already tried that excuse).

Anyway, I also did cancel after all this mess and I'm still waiting for my money back. You are fortunate that you could just cancel it (and somehow I am fortunate that I only paid 500$).

So, my advice for your rig... I would say do what I did: buy the steadicam Flyer. Yes that's a lot more expensive but you will receive it within 1week (if you buy it on B&H Photo for example), and their customer service is really good. What is somehow funny is that, because of the 3months wait I had with magiqcam, I end-up having enough money to buy the steadicam.
If you paid in 3 months, I guess you are less fortunate, but really, really, I would advise you to just wait and buy the Flyer.
By the way, when I received the Flyer and I used it, I realize how important the tripod is. I don't recall that the magiqcam come with a mounting tripod. And quite frankly it must be a pain to balance the rig without it. And I don't talk about docking the sled to rest... The Flyer also come with a nice 7'' monitor.

So again... I really suggest you just wait 6 more months, and then break your bank account (this part is quite painful...) to buy the Flyer.

Hope it helped,
Quoc

Hi Jim,

Well my story is simple, I paid in full, with good faith that I would receive my magiqcam in a reasonable time frame, still waiting no magiqcam as of yet.

It was a large chunk of money for me to outlay with shipping etc, currency conversion..that's not the issue, but when you give someone money
"upfront" without any hassles and you get no feedback, it kinda @#$! you off.

I believe John should be a gentleman and true to his word, and to be fair, deliver or refund the money, it's that simple.... no hard feelings

I do hope John comes around before Christmas with my magiqcam, I don't
feel like booking a flight to US to sort out this mess.

Cheers
Sean Morris

A dude in Italy has contacted a lawyer here in the states
 

Hi Sean -
I feel for you bro since you paid in full and you're over seas. I just received an email today from a guy in Italy who's having the same problem and he's contacted a lawyer in the Boston Mass. area. He asked me if I wanted to join with him in his fight to get our money back. Here's his email (minus his email address)
--------------------------------
Hi, i saw that you bought from magiq cam a steadicam i bought one and paid in july but never received it. i'm italian and I have taken a lawyer in Boston. if you want contact me, you don't have to pay.
my e-mail is ******@yahoo.it or ***@*******.it.
I send you his contact.
sorry for disturbance, have good day
sorry for my English
----------------------------------
Since I paid using my credit card, I MasterCard and I currently have a dispute in progress with Magiqcam. If you want, I can send you his email address and you can contact him if you would like to join him in his fight to get your money back. It states that "you don't have to pay" so you may want to contact him to get more info. Good luck Sean. It seems like Magiqcam is going down for the count - too bad for John. But that's what you get when there's no response to find out where the heck your order stands after paying big hard earned bucks for and it seems that we here are on a real tight budget so this is a big chunk of money for us. Keep me updated....

Flyer looks awesome
 

Hi Quoc -
Thanks for the info about the Flyer. It looks awesome and everyone that has it raves about it. Big bucks though. I might save some money over the next 6 months to get it. What's your opinion on the Varizoom Prolite? It's half the cost of the Flyer. Do you think this is a good rig for the money? Also - see my post above to Sean about a dude that contacted me from Italy. He's hiring a lawyer from Boston to try to get his money back from Magiqcam. If you want I'll send you his email. It seems like he's trying to gather a group of magiqcam buyers who never received the product. Thanks again.
Jim

MagiqCam - new owner?
 

I recieved an email from Animagique today. They say they are sorry it is taking so long and will be trying to ship the rig next week (heared this story few times already). The most important thing is, that the email is subscribed as follows:

Nate Goldstein (New Owner and Manager of Animagique)

I hope that this is not just another part of Johns marketing strategy, and that there is someone named Nate Goldstein in head of Animagique. Hope this guy will try to sort their orders ASAP.

(Since I found this information very important, it was posted also on HBSboards)

Had a simalar reply martin, fingers crossed, I really dont want to cancel my order seeing as i've waited this long already.......

Anyone else recieved similar email?
Or does anyone know this Nate Goldstein and confirm that he really exists? :)

Website gone too
 

Seems magiqcam also recently took down their site...
www.magiqcam.com

I finally received an answer from John. He said he was going to send me a check. We'll see...

Quoc

Hi Quoc,

How is your flyer going?

Regards
Leigh

Those of you who have posted to this thread may be interested in the following:

http://ag.ca.gov/consumers/consumer_complaint.htm

My Flyer is flying good ;) , especially since the gimbal was fixed.
I didn't have much time to practice lately though, because I moved to a new house. Hopefully, I'll have more time when I get back from Christmas vacations.

Quoc

If you google magiqcam you get this...
 

http://www.filmwareproducts.com/MagiqCam/MCSIIA.html

I went to that site, inquired about it, a very nice gentleman answered and gave me 2 phone numbers both of which I will not give out. One was for the business the other was a cell phone. I did call the cell phone and the man that answered, denied ever knowing anything about Magiqcam. Somethings not pretty here. The gentleman who works at filmwareproducts did say they have some of the magiqcam products in stock but would not be receiving anything until next year.

Directly From Nate Goldstein
 

I have not asked for permission to post this but I'm sure it's not going to cause any problems:

The original owners of Magiqcam encounted some opportunities, and ended up in somewhat of a back log of orders. Mr. Goldstein the Fabricator of the rig has been filling orders to the best of his abilities. They are indeed still in business, just under new ownership.

I myself am very interested in this stabilizer but found myself with an opportunity my self to possibly get a different one at half the original cost. I am in such a quandry I do not know what to do.

So for what its worth, keep your eyes and ears open for the Magiqcam, its gotten decent reviews so far, just give them a chance to get back on track. Good luck Mr. Goldstein, give'm hell!!!

It is to bad that a company like that seems like to be in a sort of trouble. I have ordered the Magiqcam IIA about 2 years ago. Had many emails with John, nice guy and quick response via email. Also normal available thru telephone calls.
Received the Rig complete with case and low mode. About one year later the communication seems a little bit out of order. Long waits for reply and sometimes no answer via telephone. During that period there were several customers with big problems, like the famous Gimbal problem.. !!!

Mine advise is :

- If you are running a serious video business, invest in other stabilizer products. I know, there are several out there.. many of them costs a lot more then the Magiqcam.

I myself have sold the Magiqcam. I was afraid that someday during a important shoot something would break and with no service at all from the States from Magiqcam can costs maybe your good business name..

I have ordered now a Steadicam Flyer. Only 2 weeks from now it will be available.

Erik

(BTW I'm also known as Erik Brul.. with several comments on other Magiqcam topics.. )

I paid for a Magiqcam II on October 16 (On Ebay) I knew of some of the problems people had with late delivery time. So I wrote to John and stated that I have to have delivery for a shoot by November 21 2005. He wrote back that would not be a problem. So on Nov 14, I emailed John, and "No reply"..so two days later I wrote another email stating that I would be filing a claim on my credit card and would file a fraud claim to paypal and Ebay. John called me and said that delivery would be on time, however he said that he did not have a Magiqcam II, but instead had the newer model "SP1" I think it is called. and sure enough, on November 21, 2005. The Fedex truck pulled up to my house and delivered the rig. Everything was new and very well built. Sorry all you guys are having these problems. I guess I was VERY fortunate.

Has anyone ever had a run of bad luck...
 

I have. You have. We all have. Ever see its a "It's A Wonderful Life" I know Im pulling and grabbing at straws here. But don't kick a person when they are down. Help them up, let them know everything is ok! Be a good neighbor. Thats what being American is all about. I wish the best of luck to Animagique. I know they will come back and show everyone what they are truly made of. Like I sad before - Give'm hell Animagique, make your Magic!

To say the least.

People forked over money and the guy that cashed their checks shouldn't be "kicked"?

Uh-boy.

OK Maybe I didn't know the entire story
 

I was simply being optimistic about the situation. Yes there are 2 sides to every story. I usually side for the underdog. I guess, if that had happened to me, I'd be mad as hell too. Sorry if my comments offended, admittingly I can be naive once in a while. What ever happens, I hope everyone gets what they deserve in the end. Take that how you want.

Stepping off soap box, walking away, enjoy your Christmas, God Bless Us One and All! :-)

Sorry David, but maybe you didn't notice that a lot of the guys that indeed had problems sofar with Animagique live overseas and not in the US !!

In these situations the communication can only be done via email or phone. If i have lived in the US.. I maybe paid a visit to John to ask directly what is or went wrong.

Only one extra thought what I already mentioned in previous post.., what if you received your rig and after some use something breakes down.. ?

Erik

Good point!
 

If something should break, then your S.O.L. (sure outta luck). Ok I'll keep my nose out of where it doesn't belong. Humbly walking away.

Well, you're wrong, I had problem, and I'm living in the US, even in California, not so far from animagique if I recall correctly.
From the post from john Aston, the problem seems even worse than what I tought: apparently animagique was not even fulfulling in the correct order...
So... the more you scream (and threaten), the faster you get your rig?
Yeah... sure, what's a wonderful life...

Quoc

Well its nearly 2006!..and yet I have not received any response from either
Magiqcam or the "Mr Goldstein", Ill be contacting my credit card company
next week with a "serious" fraud claim and see what they have to say.

I have had enough.. Ho Ho Ho! Merry Xmas to all!

Regards
Sean Morris
SYD/AUST.

unbelievable
 

Well its 2006 and no response from Magiqcam or John, this is just unbelievable.

I cannot believe I got sucked into such a monkey ass-business.

No E-Mails, No Phone calls, No Responses..Its just joke!

I will be hiring legal advice on this matter, I am really fed up,
If it was 500 bucks id say @#% it, but its not it works out at
around 4,000 AUD with all the FedEX shipping and stuff.

I dont care if I need to spend another 5k refunding my money
frankly I believe this is fraud, you just dont take someone's
money and then pissoff..its a total joke.

How would Magiqcam like it if I took 4k from them?...

Cheers
Sean Morris
SYD/AUST
email: sean_morris@optusnet.com.au

MagiqCam recieved
 

Hi guys,

two days ago, I got note from our customs office that I recieved a package from Animagique. It took me half a year and a few days bonus, but I believe it is finally here. Nate Goldstein promised me to ship my rig before christamss and he did so, so I believe that this guy wants to play a fair game. Unfortunately, Animagique now "owns" their rig to many customers, due to it's previous behaviour, bu I believe that everyone of you will have to wait some time.

I will let you know when I get my hands on the rig personally.

Cheers,
Martin

Well, I don't want to sound negative, but I'm wondering if they are really focusing on all the late orders, or only on the one who scream on the forum to reduce the bad image they now have. After all, we recently got confirmation here that someone got his order fullfill faster because he put more pressure.

Yeah yeah, I know, I'm a conspiracy theorist ;)

And then, let's say they are really working on fullfilling the backorders. It means they will be very busy for quite some time, if you have any problem with your rig (in the middle of a production of course... otherwise that's not funny...), how long will it take to get the rig repaired? So my advice for any new prospective customers would be to wait 6 months to see how it goes.
That's my 2 cents...

Quoc