STRYKR Tactical Gear - Matthew Ratto - Funds Taken - Non Delivery of Goods. Met at gun show in Ft. Lauderdale. Funded via PayPal for Tactical Pants back in Feb, 2013 - No Delivery Saint Petersburg Florida

It seems that I am not the only one who has been ripped-off by this guy. Back in January, 2013 I met one of the STRYKR team at a gun show in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. I took their business card and went online to place an order for 1 pair of "Tactical Pants". I paid via Paypal and after several weeks I attempted to contact Matt Ratto in regards to my order.

For those who do not wish to read the whole bunch of emails below - I gleaned some valuable intel from the guy at the trade show in Ft. Lauderdale that their warehouse for manufacture is allegedly in Saint Petersburg, Florida. When I mentioned that I live there and said I could go by and pick up the "Tactical Pants", he quickly said along the line sof "Well it's just a manufacturing warehouse/assembly line really" and not an office or showroom type setup - basically that there is not much to see there.

Ahh hindsight and all that.

The following is the correspondence that ensued with "matt ratto" via email,

Ben Matanle <benmatanle@gmail.com>	18 Feb
to STRYKR

 

 This will be the third attempt I have made to contact you regarding my order placed on 1/18/2013.

Please give me an immediate SITREP re the status of my order.

 

 

STRYKR USA <strykr@strykrusa.com>	18 Feb
to me

 

Hi Ben,

Thanks for your email.

We rec'd your message on Facebook and responded below:

> STRYKR Hi Ben Matanle. Normally production is 3-4 weeks. The huge demand in the firearms industry and sales of the STRYKR TDU has placed our production 2 weeks more. We'll email with a tracking number when we're ready to ship. Thank you for your order!
>

If you need any additional info don't hesitate to contact us. Many thanks!

Cheers!
STRYKR Team
________________
STRYKR Tactical Gear

e: strykr@strykrusa.com
p: (888) 366-6299

http://strykrusa.com

 

 

 

Ben Matanle <benmatanle@gmail.com>	18 Feb
to STRYKR

 

 

 Thanks for getting back. No problem with the delay, I just wanted an update.

 

You guys might be interested in what I'm doing right now too -

 

-link removed-

 

Cheers,

 

Ben.

 

 

 

STRYKR USA <strykr@strykrusa.com>	18 Feb
to me

 

Hi Ben,

 

Awesome job on the lowers!

 

We're going to forward your info to a friend of ours who produces AR's.

 

Many thanks for sharing!

 

 

 

Ben Matanle <benmatanle@gmail.com>	18 Feb
to STRYKR

 

Thanks for the support! 

 

We are based in the Tampa Bay area, so it is good to connect with other local businesses such as yourselves.

 

Once we are up and running, let's schedule a visit.

 

 

 

Matt Ratto <matt@strykrusa.com>	18 Feb
to me

 

Hi Ben,

 

I sent it off to my friend. He's backordered about 600 guns right now... the market is insane! Are you guys on the gun show circuit yet?

 

We're actually working on doing a STRYKR shorts -- I like that rockethub! I may use it to get that new line gong!

 

Chat soon -- keep in touch!

Matt-

________________

Matt Ratto

ceo - founder

STRYKR Tactical Gear

 

e: matt@strykrusa.com

p: (888) 366-6299, x3

 

http://STRYKRusa.com

 

 

 

Ben Matanle <benmatanle@gmail.com>	18 Feb
to Matt

 

 

Hi Matt,

 

Yeah everyone seems to be backordered wherever you look. There is definitely a huge demand right now.

 

We have flyers about to be distributed at gun shows, but we haven't yet got boots on the ground. We have been so busy setting up to process the orders we have got so far, that there is little-to-no-time left for anything else at the moment.

 

RocketHub is "gun friendly" and have very few restrictions as to what you can use their site for. Stay clear of Indiegogo they screwed us over and we had to relaunch on RocketHub. Seeing as you guys will essentially be offering cargo shorts, this won't even be an issue.

 

Let me know if you have any questions when setting up on RocketHub, if you decide to go that route.

 

Cheers Matt,

 

Ben.

 

 

 

STRYKR: Matt Ratto <matt@strykrusa.com>	30 Mar
to me

 

 

 

 

Hi Ben,

 

Thanks for your patience as we waited for our ballistic material. You order is coming in the end of next week and we'll be shipping it out soon after. Let me know how you like them!

 

How did Rockethub go for you?  We're going to launch a Conceal-Carry SHORTS line and thinking about using Rockethub to get the funds to start production.

 

So far so good your experience with them?

 

Many thanks Ben!

Best,
Matt

________________

Matthew Ratto

ceo - founder

STRYKR Tactical Gear

 

e: matt@strykrusa.com

p: (888) 366-6299, x3

c: (813) 520-8767

 

http://STRYKRusa.com

 

 

 

Ben Matanle <benmatanle@gmail.com>	31 Mar
to STRYKR:

 

 

Here is where I actually gave Matt advice on how to effectively reach a wider customer base and establish a loyal following. At this point I still believed him to be a credible businessman.

 

He did not waste this as an opportunity to seek further investment...

 

STRYKR: Matt Ratto <matt@strykrusa.com>	2 Apr
to me

 

 

 

 

What a great experience - thanks for sharing Ben!!

 

I'm working on the copy for Rockethub now, looking to have it up and running tonight. We did presales for the pants and that worked out well, though had to do a lot of leg work at the gun shows to get that momentum... well worth it, though a digital campaign is soooo much more effective and easier on the feet! lol! Of course, being new on the market prices have to be a bit lower than the MSRP so the profits are tight -- not much wiggle room for quick "expansion".

 

We're also grabing some investors, providing company shares. Having sales from the gun shows made that much easier. We're doing another round now. I'm sure you need the capital too, though in case you don't and you know of any investor types that you could send our way, we are providing a 7% finder fee. Email me if you are interested and I'll email you the prospectus that you can forward on. 

 

We were running Facebook ads and a Google Adwords ad which acted like a primer or catalyst for the funding campaign.

Would you mind sharing with me about how much this costs you so I can budget that in to our fund raising goals? I would love to see the copy, txt and images you used... will give me a good idea on how emulate a similar successful campaign with STRYKR. Many thanks!

 

I know you guys are already onto a winner and wish you continued success. I would be interested in looking at ways in which we can cross promote our respective companies in the coming future.

DITTO!! I have a pretty sizable email list that we have collected from all the past gun shows. We send out emails almost once a week and get nice sales that way as well. We can look into placing your product on our email blast as one of our affiliates, etc.

 

Also, have you checked out SLICKGUNS.COM? That was pretty effective as well, though took a bit to get it rolling. You can buy ad space there too for $100 for 100,000 impressions (lasted me about 2 months). 

 

AFFILIATE MARKETING

I have a guy here in Tampa that is going to head our affiliate marketing program. Basically, any discussion board owner, blogger or any social media outlets can place our banner ads or editorial copy out there and get a percentage of the sales. We're drop shipping for them and the marketing company pays us a little bit above our wholesale costs, keeping the difference for themselves, providing a percentage to the affiliates.

 

If you would like an email intro, let me know.

 

Chat soon!

 

 

 

Ben Matanle <benmatanle@gmail.com>	2 Apr
to STRYKR:

 

Again I responded with valuable information on how to effetively bring his product to market.

 

 

 

STRYKR: Matt Ratto <matt@strykrusa.com>	2 Apr
to me

 

 

 

 

Hi Ben,

 

Thanks for all the great info for Rockethub and the FB ads... invaluable!!! Definitely keeps me from flying blind! :)

 

If you need help with your website, I have a a good friend that works for a marketing company and he can give you a real good quote. Let me know if you need the intro.

 

I'll send the investor prospectus in a separate email. If you have any questions about it, or if your contact(s) want to chat with me regarding it I am available to do so.

 

Thanks Ben!

 

Matt-

 

________________

Matthew Ratto

ceo - founder

STRYKR Tactical Gear

 

e: matt@strykrusa.com

p: (888) 366-6299, x3

c: (813) 520-8767

 

http://STRYKRusa.com

 

 

 

 

 Here is where things went quiet... too quiet.

 

 

Ben Matanle <benmatanle@gmail.com>	13 May
to STRYKR:

 

 

 

 

Hi Matt,

 

How are you getting on with the pants manufacture?

 

 

 

Ben Matanle <benmatanle@gmail.com>	July 31, 2013
to STRYKR:

 

 

 

 

Matt,

 

It's a real shame that you have ripped your investors off. You had a good idea for what seemed like a good product.

 

Please regard this message as an official request that you return the money that I sent to you via PayPal unless delivery of the pants has been fulfilled by Saturday, August 10.

 

If I do not hear from you I will be forced to take legal action to recover the monies and to facilitate the recovery of the monies invested by others.

 

Sincerely,

 

Ben Matanle.

I have yet to receive a response.