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Report: #74893

Complaint Review: Busy Bee Crafters - Emeryville California

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  • Reported By: Holtsville New York
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  • Busy Bee Crafters P. O. Box 8069 Emeryville, California U.S.A.

Busy Bee Crafters Another home assembly (supposedly) rip-off Sent for start-up kit BBC did cash our money order but they never sent us the kit Wrote to BBC No Emeryville California

*UPDATE EX-employee responds: .They ripped off thousands of people for years!

*General Comment: looking for a good home based Business

*Consumer Comment: Legit companies

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Found Busy Bee Crafters listed in the U.S. Digest, a guide I sent for that lists all types of home-based businesses and rates each of them by a 4-star system. Busy Bee had four stars, so I thought it would be a good one to try for our first venture out into the shark-infested waters of home-based business. Like all the others, they ask for an upfront processing fee, and we sent it - plus some extra money to get samples of their products. We sent out a money order to them in September '03.

When we didn't receive our start-up kit after waiting a couple of months, my husband went to our local post office to put out a tracer on the money order to see whether or not it was ever cashed. It was indeed cashed. We have a photocopy of the cashed money order the post office sent us, but we never heard a peep from Busy Bee. Now that we knew they received our money order, I wrote the company a letter. I even tried to call their phone number (no answer). We wanted an explanation and a refund. No response to my letter.

After that, I called Better Business Bureau to put in a complaint. They told me they had a bunch of complaints about Busy Bee. They then advised me to call the DA's office in Emeryville, which I did. Spoke first with a lady named Claire. She told me Busy Bee is a very familiar name in their neck of the woods, and the District Attorney was working on it. Many complaints. She told me she would leave a message for the District Attorney, one Lynne (?) Breschears. She never called me back. I did try once more to call her back but never got a response. That's where we left it.

Knowing what a bad reputation these types of home-based businesses have, we sent out to only one place, Busy Bee Crafters, figuring if we lost out on the deal, at least it wouldn't be a lot of money. Those places make tons of money from poor suckers like me who are stupid enough to take the risk to send them money for a starter kit that really never existed. They're so smooth in their advertisement letters they send. However, I must admit that after receiving so many replies from different companies, they all sound the same. After a while, one can get wise and pick out what I call "code words" that tell one what the deal really is.

Example: When those envelope-stuffing brochures say the word "securing" envelopes, it means the person has to do all the getting of names and address, pinning ads on bulletin boards, going on the Internet and in some cases, spending money to take out ads in the newspapers. Also, when a company tells you grandiose tales of all the money one can make but says very little about how that money is to be made, beware. It's a con job. Stay away from Busy Bee.

Question: Any one out there know of honest to goodness home-based companies I could contact?

Sharon
Holtsville, New York
U.S.A.

This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 12/12/2003 06:47 PM and is a permanent record located here: https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/busy-bee-crafters/emeryville-california/busy-bee-crafters-another-home-assembly-supposedly-rip-off-sent-for-start-up-kit-bbc-did-74893. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year. Ripoff Report has an exclusive license to this report. It may not be copied without the written permission of Ripoff Report. READ: Foreign websites steal our content

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#3 UPDATE EX-employee responds

.They ripped off thousands of people for years!

AUTHOR: letitbeknown - (United States)

POSTED: Monday, November 27, 2023

I once worked for this company when it was called Holiday Magic that turned out to be a work-at-home scam involving assembling products.  I processed their mail.  I was hired via an employment agency so I had no idea this company was illegitimate.  Because they purchased some of the products that were sent to them, they gave the impression that they were an honest company.  After awhile it became clear that they were rejecting a lot more of the sample beaded jewelry and stuffed bears than they should have been.  The con artists' names were Larry Nelson and Helen Caswell.  The woman was the charming front person that handled the client-victims on the phone.  She even fooled me into believing that she was a decent person so I was really stunned to realize they  were running a scam.  I suspect she was a covert narcissist.  They received so many complaints that they were featured on Dateline NBC around 1997.  The show exposed their scam and the big house they pruchased in the Oakland Hills. 

After that they just changed the name of their company to Busy Bee and other names and kept the business going for years more.  They had no remorse.  When I left the company I was screamed at and bum-rushed by both of them and Helen Caswell sent me a crazy letter writing things like "LIAR!" in capital letters.  She seemd downright psychotic.  Eventually Larry left the Bay Area and she moved to Oregon where no one knew her.  You can find them on Facebook.  I think they may have both passed away but avoid the names of the companies Holiday Magic and Busy Bee in case they sold the businesses.  Yes, do your research and avoid these kinds of companies, they are run by low life sociopaths.

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#2 General Comment

looking for a good home based Business

AUTHOR: slandry - (United States of America)

POSTED: Friday, May 04, 2012

Thank you for your report you saved me a lot thanks. If you find a great home based Business Please Let me know.

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#1 Consumer Comment

Legit companies

AUTHOR: Bill - (USA)

POSTED: Thursday, March 29, 2012

Hi Sharron. Im Bill. Dont know if you will get this after all these years, but im surprised there were no responses here! I can only say, that somewhere around 1997, there was a legit outfit doing this. Its now in our paper in Logansport, Indiana. Dont know if this one is legit tho. Im about to causious to send them money! These entities exist still, because for the Feds, there is no profit in taking them down! So they are still popping left and right! The one company back in 97, was ok! Same deal. Pay, get your info packet, corespond with the listed companies to set up your work arrangement. I actually help my friends assemble, some circuit boards for one of the companies they went with and they did this for about a year to offset their income. Thats all i can tell you! I wouldnt know if a legit company was advertising or not! No way to tell till you get ripped off! Sad to say! The BBB is a joke and has been for years! They do nothing to help consumers! Your luckey to find a black mark on some of the worst companys out there!

This site is the one true BBB hands down! Its for the people! and By the people!! Good luck!

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