Piantedosi Oars review: no refund 33

I had similar problems when I bought my Row-wing back in ~2006. Took me a couple of months to get with repeated calls and few answers. It was the year Dreher got flooded, so there was some excuse. Other than that I must say that it is one of the best things I have EVER bought (except for my marriage license). I have used it steadily every summer and I have never touched it other than to give it a bath a couple of times a year. Nothing's worn out. It's a brick. It's too bad his business sense doesn't match his engineering skills.

So, I ordered a SUP Scull Rig and oars in September of 2014 from Alden, and sent a check for the full amount. Did not receive any merchandise after the check posted, so called Alden and spoke to Mr. Piantedosi, who said the order would ship shortly. Did not happen. He then stopped taking my calls. Called a few of his vendors, and they couldn't help, and said they had supply problems with Alden as well. I was advised to either call my lawyer and/or claim fraud on my taxes. So I did.
Skip two years later, I'm cleaning up my email account and found my thread to Alden, just for entertainment purposes I fired off a note asking if there was any intention to fill my order, and forgot about it. A week later the rig arrived, and two weeks after that the oars arrived. Gary Piantedosi and I exchanged a few emails, and he apologized and stated he's "Trying to clean up his mess when and where he can."
I am no businessman, and I am not an engineer or a craftsman...but I am human and have made mistakes, and can appreciate the pain everybody on this board has gone through. I am fortunate to have received what I ordered, and just wanted to share a positive story.

I don't think Piantedosi even makes wooden oars anymore. About the only place I know of that still makes them is F. Collars in the UK. http://www.collars.co.uk/oars

Whew! I was just about to call Gary Piantedosi to order new oars (one had rotted out after I mistakenly left it in the boat all summer).
Does anyone know where you can get a decent pair of oars (or just one!) for the 16 Stonington Pulling Boat with 9' 9" oars?

This guy is obviously a con artist. I smelled a rat when I tried to order some small parts for my Oarmaster through the rowalden.com website and couldn't use a credit card. Initially I gave him the benefit of the doubt figuring that is was a small mom and pop business and that is why they didn't accept credit cards. Now, I am guessing the reason he doesn't take credit cards is because the credit card companies have all cut him off because they have had so many complaints. I called him because his website is a mess and I wasn't sure my order had gone through. He said he had received the order that I had submitted through his website and "would take care of it" and get back in touch with me and tell me how much money to send to cover the parts and shipping. So far I have heard nothing. After reading these comments I am so glad I didn't mail this crook a check !

Wow. Wish I had known about this page a couple of years ago. Actually I wish I had googled the name as well.. Never thought I needed to. He owes my company about $7, 000 since we supplied all of the seats to him for all of your Rowwings and SUP Rowers. He paid for the initial order and then I subsequently fronted the following orders, with payment expected reasonably soon. It never came, and repeated calls, emails, certified letters, etc. were never answered. If anyone actually gets a hold of him, or wants to gang up with me and launch a real investigation and recovery, get in touch with me at: john@pocock.com

Wow, so glad I found this board. Was thinking of getting a SUP rig, and trying to decide b/w the surf scull and the OarBoard.com product.

What's really sad is ALDEN used to be an extremely reputable family-run business. I learned to row many years ago in Portland ME, with a local club that used the Alden 16's. Great product, great ppl. I remember participating in a local Alden regatta in Kittery ME, and aftwerards there was a picnic hosted by the owners of Alden (the Martin family), at their house nearby. Very kind, caring people. I later bought a used Alden 16 to continuing my love of rowing.

So sad to hear that the company has obviously been sold to a low-life crook. I'm sure the original owner would be so disappointed! I hope other ppl considering an Alden Surf Scull will find this site via google search, and instead go to Oarboard.com.

This 55 year old lady has rowed for 45 years mostly as sculler. I work as sea cucumber diver in Alaska in the winter. I have a huge sit upon/SUP Made by Ocean Kayak. It is 11'6" long and very stable. I am well aware that it would be different than my rowing shell. Days between work are spent exploring the beautiful SE Alaska shorelines. Rowing in a traditional scull would be impossible so I won't get a boat for Alaska rowing.

Anyone who buys a SUP rig and straps it to a paddle board thinking it's like rowing has been duped. The hull shape on a SUP is totally different to displacement rowing boats such as recreational shells and racing shells. On a SUP rig you sit up way too high and the SUP hull makes the thing slow and heavy to row. Get a boat

Thinking that Alden was the East Coast equivalent of West Coast Pococh in honest business practice, I ordered a SUP rigger and set of oars on July 6, 2015. After many phone calls and emails I still have not received my nearly $1300 order. I paid with a check as he wouldn't take my credit card. Anyone want to show up at his shop with me and take what we paid for? Toni [protected]. I wasn't allowed to spell Pococh the correct way as the correct way apparently has a word that is a male part.

He seems to have stolen my money also. I'm in Seattle and ordered the SUP Surf Scull Rig, From rowalden.com, on May 5, 2015. He initially contacted me saying the website made a mistake about the shipping fee's and that it would be $100 and not $5. So I wrote an additional check for the extra shipping.

He never gave me a ship date. After 6 weeks I emailed asking where my rig was and what the ship date would be. No answer. Now I find this complaint board about him. As others have said, I wish I had seen this before. I'm guessing my $$$ is long gone. Next time I'll use a credit card.

He has a facebook page under his name. Look him up. He seems to be having a great time with everyone's money!

ggggg

I ordered a sculling rig and oars 3 months ago and paid by check 1225 dollars. Piantedosi does not answer phone or emails except very infrequently and then he says it is on the way. I have contacted a lawyer to get some satisfaction but it looks like we will be going to small claims court. Do not deal with these people. They are bad news. They should be taken out of business.

Unfortunately, I discovered this thread only after googling "alden rowing complaints" after experiencing the same pattern reflected above...I ordered an oarmaster III and pair of sculling oars on 20 May. I paid $1280 using Paypal at Gary's request. Numerous emails asking for order status and calls to his cell and office number were not answered and the voice mail was full. I finally talked to him live on 10 June and was told that he had been waiting on 2 rubber parts that he had just received and that my order would be shipped the next day and "I would be on the water next weekend". That was almost 3 weeks ago. As of today, June 28, I had not received anything (product or communications). I have been ordering things online for over over 20 years and have never been so blatantly scammed. I have initiated a claim via PayPal and will pursue to the full extent of the law (regardless of costs) out of principle.

Ouch. Wish I'd read this post. I have a RowWing/oars that I purchased through CLC in Annapolis and wanted to get a canoe mounting kit. The website is a mess but I finally put in an order and sent a check. He did answer once when I called but I've never received the order. I'm not sure he cashed the check but after reading this I will be contacting my bank. As noted the rowing unit is a piece of art but too bad about the company.

In November 2014, my wife ordered and paid for an SUP rowing unit and oars as a Christmas gift for me. She paid with a check as Gary Piantedosi wouldn't accept a credit card. The check was cashed quickly. But after that my wife couldn't get through to Gary in any way. No luck with the phone; no luck with email. She was trying to find out if my gifts would ship in time for Christmas. A few days before Christmas, she gave up all hope of getting through to Gary -- and all hope of ever getting the rowing unit and oars. She quickly bought me several other gifts so I would have something to open on Christmas day. Then, lo and behold, the rowing unit showed up just in time for Christmas. (After reading all the posts here, I take it as a Christmas miracle!) But the oars didn't come. Still haven't. I don't expect they ever will. And I've been unable to reach Gary by any means. Artisan? Yes, I guess so. Not a businessman? That's for sure. But how about thief? That's what comes to my mind every time I think about this guy and the $500+ my wife paid for oars we never received. Class action suit? Count us in.

In September 2014 I ordered a fixed rowing seat which I was told would be shipped the following day. I have not received it, no have I been able to reach Gary via numerous email addresses or phone. The certified letter I sent is on it's way back. My credit card was charged as soon as the order was placed.
I emailed to the other Alden dealers. Those that replied have had about as much luck as I have contacting him. At this point I just want my money back.

I'm his latest victim. I had bought a 17' rowing shell from the "old" Alden years before and had excellent service. So the company had a good reputation with me. I didn't realize that ownership of it had changed hands. So in February 2015 he cashed my $2, 300 check for two SUP rowing rigs and oars. After he cashed the check, I heard nothing for a month. No reply to requests for status of the order, and the login part of the website didn't work. Then I found this board! So I requested a refund. He did ask for my mailing address, but I think that's just a stalling tactic. Can we do a class action suit?

I recently purchased a sliding rigger unit for my rowing boat. I paid by Visa. The unit eventually arrived but with installation instructions for a different unit. I have emailed, texted and tried to phone Gary but still have not received the correct paperwork. It would cost him nothing beyond a little time to supply me with the correct information . I can probably develop my own installation but would like to be sure I have all the parts. Gary's phone appears to be cut off; perhaps he has forgotten to pay the bill?

Does anyone have an electronic copy of the installation instruction for the sliding rigger unit?

Sincerely

Bill Grace
New Zealand
jwsys@iconz.co.nz

I wish I would have found this thread before ordering from Gary Piantedosi at his www.rowalden.com website. He must have learned that credit card companies can retract payments because now he only takes checks. I ordered $450 worth of oars from him two months ago, and now that my check has cleared he won't answer my calls or emails. Filed BBB and MA Atty general complaints, but they weren't able to help since he won't answer their calls either. Looks like he's had a bunch of tax liens and judgements against him in the past. Looks like I'll have to take him to court as well if I want my money back.

Nothing has changed over the past few years. I order over $6, 000.00 dollars worth of seats and oars from Alden Rowing. Once he received my money there was zero communication, would not respond to repeated emails and phone calls.
Lucky I paid with Mastercard and was able to get my money back from them. (It took almost 3 months.)
Do not trust Gary Piantedosi.

Is he not associated with rowalden these days, see if you can contact him there.

What a hoot! Here's a guy who by all expectations should be in the top 1% of money earners in this country. It just goes to show you that all the education and accolades in the world do not produce a person of integrity or foresight. Imagine being married to him, you think you are getting a real catch and look what you end up with. It's laughable. REFUND THE MONEY.

I worked for Piantedosi almost 30 years ago, and recall then the phone ringing constantly while Gary and his two brothers ignored it. Irate customers constantly screaming about long overdue deliveries. Gary is an artist/artisan, not a businessman. I can tell you that every oar and seat was crafted to exacting standards, and Gary demanded perfection. He didn't produce rigs at that time, but I suspect the approach was the same. If you ever took possession of a Piantedosi product, I suspect you have some appreciation for the hand crafting. These were not products cranked out by automated machines. Gary needed to price his products - a handcrafted set of sculling oars, made to the exacting standards of a world class rower and MIT engineer, you would have to pay premium prices. In turn, Gary needed to reinvest the additional profit into greater scale to reduce the production cycle time, OR be upfront that producing the Rolls Royce of oars was a longer lead time undertaking. Instead, he would keep taking orders, and the backlog got worse every day.
I make no excuses for a guy I have not seen or spoken to in almost 30 years. I Googled him out of curiosity. But thought I would offer this not-particularly-consoling additional information to some of the victims.

Same experience here. I'm out $885 for a scout rig and oars. Gary has been ignoring my calls for months now. Hopefully I can recover some of the money via legal action.

I was told today that Piantedosi Oars was recently bought out by Micro-Wizard Fast Track Derby Timers. Not sure if oar business was sold too, but just FYI (something seems to be wrong up there). My dealings with Piantedosi Oars, Incorporated in past years were great.

I'm so glad to find this web sight! I thought we were the only ones who have been screwed over by this guy. My husband and I order 2 sets of row wings in April 2009 for over $1, 400 and never received them. He promised them to us but then stopped returning our calls and emails. Unfortunately the 2 months passed and we were unable to get a refund from our credit card company. We ended up buying 2 more sets of row wings for another $1, 400 from Alden who he now works for. No problem getting those, they were sent out within a week from our order. But when we installed them one of the bolts in the oarlock bent and we had to return it to Gary and thats been 3 weeks and we have not heard from Alden or Gary.

Same story. Ordered a Row Wing in Feb of 2008. Paid $670 by credit card, and expected it to take 6 weeks. Multiple calls gave assurance it was on the dock, shipping immediately. Finally, no one answers calls any more. BBB complaint had no result. BBB advised complaining thru the Mass. Attorney General, will try that next but above comments don't make that sound hopeful either.

What a sad story. All that potential. He must be having problems. There is still time to turn it around.

I, too, was victimized by this person to the tune of about $940.00. Ordered a 'scout rig' early Aug 09 and paid w/debit card. Only time I could get this guy on the phone was prior to payment. No communication or delivery for more than one month and no response to multiple attempts at contact by phone and email. My bank was kind enough to reimburse me and referred this individual for further investigation. My first clue should have been the expired security certificate on his web order form uncovered by my browser. BEWARE PIANTEDOSI OARS

Amen to that. Same story w/me. Ordered and paid for scout rig and oars in early August. No response to inquiry.

Yeah - I am currently getting screwed too. Worth spreading the word to all involved with the rowing community. He doesn't answer his phone or respond to emails. I wonder if he comes out from under his rock at any regattas?