In Sept. I won a Glazier print offered by Shannon Dyce via an eBay auction. He then introduced me to a lay away program for artwork and we communicated via email, discussing price and availability, settling on several prints and sending a check for $500.00 (#3671) via USPS in Oct. 2002.
I continued to make payments and continued to attempt to communicate with Dyce. His lay away agreement was a simple one. The buyer chose when to make payments and the amount, until the account was paid in full, interest free and he would then ship the prints, no shipping charges to the buyer.
His communication was somewhat sketchy and I expressed concern about the safety of my investment, via email, Dec. 31.
He responded in an email 1/12, stating, "Please let this serve as assurance to your husband that we aren't going anywhere. We have been in business for over 15 years and have been selling on ebay since 1998. The last quarter of the year ending up being the best quarter we have ever had since starting on ebay. Things are going great and our future plans include nothing but growth and expansion. Again I certainly understand your concern and realize we only know each other from email exchanges over the years. But, even a bomb hit our town, please be assured that we would have nothing but intention of honoring our transaction with you. Hope this helps. If you have any further questions or inquires, please don't hesitate to ask."
I added another canvas to the list, which he confirmed in an email 2/4. I continued to make payments when I was able, never receiving any communication from Dyce indicating any changes to his business or our agreement. Just my canceled checks.
On 1/15, I emailed and asked for the balance and shipping costs. I didn't receive a response so I asked a friend of mine to go to his address and talk with him. She was only able to leave a note and he did then respond that he was still in business but would be traveling with a matting company. But no information on the payoff amount.
On 4/24, I again mailed a check for $500, #1021, and a letter indicating I would be completing our business agreement shortly. He cashed the check but with no other response.
My personal business dealings kept me busy and I wasn't able to contact him again until 5/14, again asking for the balance. I repeated the requests 3 more times between May 15th and May 22, with no response.
Mr. Dyce cashed checks for $2,000. When I still couldn't get a response from him, I filed a complaint with the SD attorney General's office. They spent the next two years, repeatedly mailing him the complaint with he ignored and the postal service returned.
He did communicate with the investigator via email, never denying receiving the money or owing me the product, arguing only that too much time had elapsed. She pointed out to him that I had maintained my end of the agreement, he was the one who had conveniently disappeared. She also pointed out that he had cashed checks after the time he claimed to have changed business names. When she told him he couldn't have both the money and the products, he stopped emailing.
While conducting her investigation she confirmed his identity and address. I have copies of all email communications and agreements as well as canceled checks.
The Montana Attorney General's office is also filing a complaint against him and recommended the complaint I filed with the Sioux Falls SD Police department for felony theft by deception. They also told me to file this report — he truly thinks he is above the law and they feel the buying public needs to be warned in as many ways as possible.
If Shannon Dyce took money from you, especially via eBay or his eelram.com business, if you file a simple complaint with the Attorney General's office in South Dakota, they will press charges. He was removed from eBay for his business practices so I'm quite certain I'm not the only person who trusted the wrong person.
Thank you for your time and attention. I hope life always treats you (staff at usacomplaints.com) kindly.
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