Rob Lamb, GridGear Racing approached me via my website. On 7/8/08 He writes, "my name is rob and I would like to talk with you about your product! We have Nascar products and we would like to talk with you about selling your product to Nascar and racing fans."
He told me he has the patent on the car covers that look like race cars and NASCAR is using them without his authority. So since he has them in a bind, he has negotiated a NASCAR license and is authorized to add product to his list of items and sell them on the NASCAR store web site. Only catch, it costs $5,000 to add a product, but he would pay $3,000 and I would only have to pay $2,000.
I told him my wife was expecting soon, no way I could give cash or a check, but maybe a credit card it things looked good.
Sounded great, I told all my friends, co-workers, everyone who knows I've been working on the racing souvenir I invented and patented out of the garage for years. Knowing that as soon as the right person saw it, they would know that it would sell a ton.
This guy Rob Lamb, says NASCAR is selling more like QVC and now ordering close to resale cost, only adding a per unit cost, making their money there. And the best part he has a Purchase Order for 10,000 units at $3.00 lower than retail price. All I had to do is pay the $2,000 via. My credit card to his bank routing number, sign his agreement that profits him 35% and gives him exclusivity on selling my product.
Wow, I told him for a guy who sells a dozen a month via the website, it sounds like a dream come true, especially with two little boys, 6 and 4 and another little boy coming the first of December. Made notes of what I will pay off when I get that first $65,000 from the first order. Then house updates and how much is private school for the boys only if just for a few years with the next order Rob was talking about, the guy that loves the donut and would want 20,000 of them.
Rob Lamb was very persistent on the $2,000, right away, very hasty!"We agreed to a credit card"! He said. He was verbally disagreeable when I told him I would take $63,000 instead of the total $65,000 after the first order was placed, that was the only deal I would make.
He called me the next day and said he would agree that and would put it in the agreement but I needed sign it and send it back. NASCAR would not except a new product without it. I did sign and return the agreement. Days, then weeks went by with no call from Rob. I did get calls from raw material suppliers and manufactures of my souvenir with updates on pricing.
More weeks go by and more excuses from Rob on why nothing is happening with the Purchase Order from NASCAR. Just excuse after excuse, but he did tell me during one of our first conversations, if I ever wanted to go to a race that he wasn't going to, I could get the passes. Well Atlanta was close, so I asked. He said he would request them, I was thinking "will call". He told me I needed to send him photo ids.
I was excited, asked questions like, suites? Pits? Garage? Vip hospitality tent? Weekend or Sunday Race? Where do we pick them up? Where do I sent the ID's? Rob's return email address this time was not "GridGear Racing", it was "Hey, I Thought of That". I Google it, and there I found the complaint from the guy who gave Rob Lamb money to help with a patent and didn't do the work.
That sounds exactly like what is happening to me, it's the same Rob Lamb. New address, new business name, but the same patent type of scam. I recently told Rob that if he did not produce the Purchase Order by the end of the week, 10/24/08 that I would consider the agreement null and void. At the end of the week he sent me this email "I would advise you to look over our agreement. You are to supply all sales information to us. Please govern yourself accordingly. Thank you, Rob Lamb".
Eventhough I did not loose money to Rob Lamb, I do feel that he has taken something from me. I will not be intimidated by his empty threats, I am quite sure they are as empty as his promises. I hope that if you are considering doing business with Rob Lamb, you use caution.
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