Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/21/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Have a patent with this company and have not hear from anyone from this company in over 3 months. Was supposed to receive monthly updates but have not. I made a $8000 investment and need something done to clarify the situation. Thank you.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 12/22/2023

   

  I am ********************* the President of Patents to Retail and an inventor myself with 20 issued *** Patents and have brought well over 500 items to the mass retail market place during my nearly 4 decade career.
  I read with dismay this complaint that stated...."
  Have a patent with this company and have not hear from anyone from this company in over 3 months. Was supposed to receive monthly updates but have not. I made a $8000 investment and need something done to clarify the situation"
  One you do not have a patent with my company what you DO have with my firm WAS an Agreement with my company to represent your item to prospective retailers and other contacts my firm has for a licensing opportunity which was executed March 2022 for a ''12'' month time period which expired May 2023. Hence, clearly why you have not heard back from us with our updates in the past 3 months or so.
  
  During the agreed Agreement time period you did receive the monthly updates as per the Agreement and we never had a single complaint of our efforts in representing your product until now. Now being ''7'' months after the Agreement has expired.
  We contacted and presented you product to ''43'' prospective parties! here's that listing....Target 
  *ed *ath & *eyond (when it was still open. At the beginning of his contract)
  The Container Store
  Party City Corporation
  Walmart Corp.
  The Kroger Co.
  ***** Inc.
  Inn-*****
  Family Dollar Inc.
  Costco Wholesale Corporation
  ****'s Inc
  Hammacher ********* & Company Inc.
  *ass Pro Shops LLC
  *ig Lots Stores Inc.
  *********** LLC
  Safeway Inc.
  QVC, Inc.
  UncommonGoods.com
  Tuesday Morning ****************************************** Inc.
  HSN, LLC
  Dicks Sporting Goods ********************** Store LLC
  Overstock.com
  Staples Inc.
  Cabela's Inc.
  *uc-ee's Inc.
  CVS Health
  Rubbermaid
  Sam's Club
  As Seen On TV
  *CF.com
  Tonys Fresh Market
  Sportsmans Guide
  7-Eleven *********************** Inc
  Kohls Corp.
  Macys Inc.
  Newegg.com
  Trader Joes
  Whole Foods Market
  Food Lion LLC

  
  We also advised you that this type of process takes time for a prospective partner of ours to review new products and that in spite of the Agreement being expired only means that we are no longer presenting your product; however, we will continue to represent you and update you if any interest develops from our efforts.
  I realize after working with a competitor Invent Help which cost money and there was no interest you then came to my firm with clearly a proven track record of success in licensing as well as manufacturing products which right now we have over 2 dozen products being sold in the retail market and 13 actually licensed and paying royalty checks on.
  
  Your selected our licensee model but we also have our production model which makes my firm ************** in this business arena so if you'd like to discuss this option since, so far, no interest has developed in a license agreement I'd be happy to discuss that option with you personally.
  
  *ut this complaint you're making is unjustified and hopefully will not get published once the * * * looks into the actual facts of the Agreement we had and my company's work product.
  

   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/12/2023

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  In March of 2022 Patents To Retail contacted me through Mars Rising which I used to get my patents and design. I did look into the site for reviews and saw it is an ******************** At time no real reviews to be concerned about. I ******* about taking out a loan and giving it a try. I was supposed to be heavily represented by mail with their letterhead ,showing my idea at invention conventions, which has not happened. I was told that it would not be in my best interest by ******* the main person . I was also told that following up the letters wasn't good either that they just waited to be contacted. I'm on a 3 year contract and have had more aggravation the first year than worth it. Now I can't get ahold of nobody! I'm supposed to be getting quarterly reports. I have emailed,texted and called ******* and my representative ******** several times with no response. I contacted **** to find out they are no longer recommending them. People they knew with the company has left and are not happy about Patents to Retail. I signed on in April of 2022.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/17/2023

   

  I take strong objection to your complaint.  You mention we contacted you in March of 2022 which is true but my company has NO affiliation with Mars Rising and I personally do not know who this company/firm or have any business relationship with them. Also you mention Invent Help which again is not my company nor a firm my company has any affiliation with. As far as the Agreement you executed with my firm PATENTS TO RETAIL was dated 4/29/2022 for a 12 month time period. Your Evershade product was presented to multiple firms, many of those we have sold or are currently selling so they did have the opportunity to see and be presented your product for an exclusive licensing agreement. We updated you on a monthly basis again as per the Agreement and never with a single concern let alone a complaint from you to my company. You further mention you are on a ""3"" YEAR contact/Agreement with my firm and that's simply incorrect! Your Agreement with MY firm is for a 12 month/1 year period which seems to show you are confusing my firm with another you've clearly been involved with prior to entering into the agreement with Patents To Retail which we have abided to, fully. As far as being unable to contact my company that too is simply impossible. Our e mail is and has been operational along with both our toll free as well as direct phone #'s all easily visible on our web site www.patentstoretail.com. Please feel free to reach out to me so we can clarify this apparent misunderstanding of our Agreement so we can have this incorrect poor review eliminated.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/18/2023

   
  Complaint: 20729837
  
  I am rejecting this response because: it shows on the contract that I am under them for 2 more years and cannot do anything during this time. Plus he lied big time. He did call and we talked and he remembered they saw my idea on Mars Rising and went through **** to contact me.You can call **** at Mars Rising at ************ . It seems I was mistaken about Invent Help. I misread about company unfortunately. I wouldn't have done this. I am aware they got a year of much nothing in but considering they are doing nothing more from this point and I am legally bound for 2 more years, I want the contract ended .Only that 1st year consider and I want 2 thirds of my money back since they are doing nothing more. I think this is reasonable for how little and the aggravation I have endured. They even got rid of ******* and are doing operations differently now.He told me this in our discussion. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/18/2023

  You are correct about the 2 year time period. Must have been OK'd by my staff because our regular terms are for a 1 year (12 month ) time period. You executed the Agreement 4/29/22 and updates have been sent to you on a timely basis without a single complaint made until you made this to the BBB instead of to me personally. However you state that you can not do anything during the Agreement time period which again is another misunderstanding or error on your part because the Agreement is a NON-EXCLUSIVE meaning you can do whatever you'd like during our efforts to obtain a licensing arrangement for you. Read right at the top of the Agreement! I do not know a **** at Mars Rising. I do not conduct business in an y manner what so ever with Mars Rising. I do not know who they even are! I see your letter top Mars Rising a *********************** whom I also do not know or have ever spoken to so apparently Mars came to my company to assist them in what they could not do for you. As you've stated you already confused my company with your relationship with Invent help and now some other misunderstanding about Mars Rising and note neither of these firms do I have any relationship with. As far as the fee you paid my firm we gave you timely updates as stated in your e mail of 2-9-23 but it went to Mars Rising NOT to Patents to retail so how is my company to be aware of your dissatisfaction? My company has successfully licensed dozens of items over the year and currently has more the a dozen right now brought to market and being sold either at Wal Mart Target Amazon as a Prime product Wayfair Zulily crate and Barrel just to mention a handful, I'll bet Mars Rising and Invent help cant say that. I bring this up because we do sell to these and other retailers and e commerce sites so you product was presented to them, we got your item in front of many and are still pushing it. We cant make them take it on but they have seen it and our efforts continue. As far as trade show which we USED to do and exhibited for 35 + years but that stopped after the ***** shutdown and then we exhibited one more time in 2022 BTW and found the trade show wasn't what they used to be, weak attendance and most want submissions over there web sites, which is what we do to present items BUT because we are a supplier and have been in the business overall for 39 years we get attention! We cant make them take your item on but we do get it in front of them and as the saying goes if I can get Wal Mart to see your product isn't that Priceless?
  The updates we sent you was a summary of whom we've contacted there is no way we will give anyone the contacts or emails of whom we have long term relationships with because that's personal information and if we gave that out I';m sure our clients/buyers/contacts would be very upset, for instance to deal with something like your expectations and then finding out that the contact information was given out by my firm.
  In summation ********* months into our Non Exclusive Agreement leaving 6 months to go if you remove this complaint that is filled with misunderstanding and confusion I will refund on an amortized basis the 6 month refund based on the money you paid or $1750.00.
  If this is acceptable I do not think the BBB will remove your poor rating but will allow you to amend it to a 5 star review because not only will i refund the aforementioned amount but should any spinnerets in all of your offerings to license your product develop an interest my firm will still represent you and keep you updated.
  Go to my web site and call me to discuss if you'd like www.patentstoretail.com,

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/19/2023

   
  Complaint: 20729837
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  I am sending the letter from ******** for the next 2 years saying that I am to receive quarterly updates. I did try to reach out for 2 months. I am sorry I even agreed to this. Of course anything comes up from the companies you contacted. I am an honorable person. And even if you had kept up ,18 months is half. But I've had no contact since the end of the first year. I paid $7000. I am not doing your ridiculous offer. I want $4500. And I will put in the cooperation I received. 
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/22/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  November ********************************************************************************************************************************************************** the process to manufacture however, after some time I realized that all they were actually doing was everything I provided not the other way around. I sent a rough prototype to be refined and a 3D CAD drawing was the main component I was missing and was the main reason I was looking for this company's help to further the design process to get this into the marketplace assuming they had the ability to do so. With the Covid shutdowns, I was more patient to wait this out but I now realize it's not a goal for them to help me manufacture they only want a sales commission. I never got the **** they never even opened up the prototype and it's now 2023. Patent's expire and the amount of time wasted on this for me has been a huge waste of time and money. I offered to purchase the minimum order in order to manufacture yet they told me no, they don't do that.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/30/2022

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  paid patents to retail ******** to make patent ready for retail contract expired with no result would like refund

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/09/2022

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/18/2022

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I was contacted by this company. They claimed they had an investor interested in my invention.I paid them $2000 to start the process. When I try to get in contact with the person in charge of my case they said no one works there with that name (******************* ************) He scammed me. I want my money back

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/19/2022

  This complaint is a total fabrication and simply untrue! Yes, my firm did contact the prospective client because we had an interest in his product and felt there was a reasonable chance in assisting in the licensing and/or actual production of his product. He choose to go with the license option. Since we liked his product we discounted our regular pricing by $2000.00 and took a partial payment and began our process. As per our agreement/understanding, which began with his payment on June 21, 2021, we then proceeded and kept the client up to date with monthly status reports. Never once, before this, was there any dissatisfaction from the client but now that the term has expired and unfortunately no license agreement has yet been obtained he has made up these deceiving/untrue comments. First off ******************* is a long term professional in the licensing arena and is STILL with my company. Second, the phone number this client has stated he called is an INCORRECT phone number. Third we have over ****** P 2 R web site hits per year as well as my firms contact information INCLUDING my personal mobile/cell number so stating not being able to contact my firm is yet another untrue statement. Further more, the client has called the corporate office 3 times! Once yesterday August 18 2022 and then 2 X's today August 19, *************************************** addition my V P *********************** phoned and called him today to straighten out his incorrect statements and let him know that in spite of his unpaid balance due which we offered to void we have been and planned to continue soliciting his product along with periodic updates for yet another
  year. Hopefully, the client will reconsider his write up and at the least correct the incorrect comments or better yet as we hope our offering to try and make this right for him will result in the removal and if not the bottom line is...you simply can't satisfy all the people all the time..." even though we try!