Trent M.

I own a company that manufacturers unique, one of a kind assisted living devices that assist the elderly and mobility challenged pull on and take off their shoes, boots, etc, with no bending or reaching required. Our Shoe Boot Valet is currently being sold both domestically and internationally. We have two more patented items coming out in 2017 and I decided in 2015 to transition from full service to manufacture and marketing only. I let it be known that I was looking for a qualified retailer type to take over the sales, administration and logistics in the US and I would concentrate on container load size sales to foreign distributors and other large volume users. Louis Orloff, owner of Active Forever called me and said he was interested and asked if I would send him a sample unit to test and approve. I sent them one and he contacted back and wanted to work a deal and we did; I looked him up on Google and he seemed fine but I did not look up his company Active Forever at that time; I took his word on what they had to offer. I looked at his website and I thought it would be perfect for my Shoe Boot Valet and the new products I was developing for socks and boots. I sold him my entire inventory for basically what I had in it and he promised/contracted to promote and work the my products hard on his website and through his corporate clients, etc. He said he had 1000s of hits per day on his website and I took him for his word. He contracted to pay me an agreed upon royalty on each unit sold on a monthly basis; his margins would allow him to easily do that for both wholesale and retail sales. Ninety-nine percent of his business was straight retail so he was making out like a bandit, much more than I but I was looking at multiple products and large volume (container size) loads for each of our products being shipped to distributors worldwide. I would no longer have the administrative and logistical headaches I had had and could give them to a professional who had the expertise and clientele database to give the Shoe Boot Valet much more exposure than I was giving it. Our products are so new and unique, like nothing else on the market, and needed exposure. We did the deal in March of 2015 and he paid for and picked up my inventory.
We sent him all the videos and pictures he needed for his website and I put my web people with his and directed all sales to Active Forever on our website. I wasnt concerned because the video alone sold the product to the consumer and with all his visitors daily hits, it would start to snowball soon. I started working on my marketing international program and sending out hundreds of videos, product info, etc, sending Louis the ones with interest. He emailed me and told me it would be better if he sent them out and I sent him some excel sheets with thousands of companies I had spent years accumulating to contact. I kept on doing my marketing and sending him interested parties and medical reps who contacted me wanting to sell the product. Louis told me to have them contact him. Louis immediately increased the price of the product 20% from $39.95 to $49.95 even though I told him it was being sold on the internet at S39.95, including Amazon. I contacted some of the reps back and they got nowhere with Louis and most didnt even receive replies one good rep could sell his entire inventory.
I put off asking for my monthly royalty check because I knew it would take time for him to get a promotion program moving forward- especially at $49.95. I checked on Active Forevers website in September and had to type in Shoe Boot Valet to find my product. I was not listed in any of his categories from his drop down menu on his home page showing pictures of their products, pricing, etc. Our consumer base includes diabetes, pain relief, physical therapy, independent living, arthritis dozens of other maladies. The Shoe Boot Valet was not listed in any of those categories and still isnt to this day (December 16,2016)! It had never been introduced or promoted or the video shown on the front page or his website. This was defined explicitly in our contract and the basis our partnership!
When I typed in Shoe Boot Valet Sept 17,2015 it came up and was selling for $24.95 (fire sale). I contacted him and asked what the hell was going on and he said the product wasnt selling at $49.95 and he was selling it at a liquidation price. I suggested he market the damn product like we contracted for and to get the price back to $39.95 the MSRP (minimum sales retail price) or there would be hell to pay. I trusted my whole business to him to just sell a product that had no competition and was needed by millions of people worldwide- 40 million in the US alone. After I sent him a certified letter on 9/24 He emailed me saying the price was being changed immediately to $39.95. This is when I started really worrying about whom I was doing business with and the reason for people contacting me about the service they were receiving from his website. I have sent a dozen reps to you as per your request and most, if not all, experienced the same problem. Reps can be an enormous seller for you and cost you nothing but a sample. Just need to give them a program they can work with. I hope you can solve this problem, as we will be sending a ton of consumer and retailers to your site.(10/26/15). Why would a supposedly smart business man, who contacted me to buy all my inventory not promote it and instead stick it on page 69 of his products with no guidance to get there, not respond to any of the leads I sent him, increasing the price of the product that had been selling for $39.95 to $49.95 and then lower the price 50% to $24.95 and not inform me he is doing it and breaking the contract. I have sent product to Russia, all over Europe, Canada, Australia and they want distributorships in their area. It makes no sense and there can only be a couple of reasons and I am not going there at this time.
I started checking out the reputation of his company and it was horrible (check Active Forever, rip offs, fraud, scams). Yelp alone has 35 reviews stating AF is the worst customer service they have ever experienced. On 10/16 I emailed him how he has done nothing we contracted for and I was going to find a new partner and take him out ASAP. He emailed me he would get me a check for units sold the next week and didnt. That was the second time he had promised a check and never sent it. On 10/26/15 I received a email from a large volume buyer in Canada stating he had contacted AF 3 times to buy samples to show to his corporate clients- Second, I have tried three times now without any response to get samples from Active Forever. This is disappointing in so many ways, but I feel it is important for you to be aware. I have offered to pay for the samples and still no response. I will leave you to draw your own conclusions. August 20th I received a call from the medical division of the Veterans Administration asking to buy the product for disabled veterans. I told them I was not an approved vendor as yet. They told me they wanted my product and would rush my application through and get it approved in weeks instead of months. There are 8 million disabled vets in the US alone. I immediately informed Louis of this VA contact. With that and what was happening with AF I decided to disassociate myself with this unethical situation with Louis and get a real partner who I could trust and had the contacts to get these products out to the millions of people and veterans who needed them.

I decided that the first of the year 2016 I would start a consumer marketing program directed to social media users and build up the exposure I needed to attract the type partner I was seeking. I informed Louis on 1/5/2016 of my plans with the marketing program. In early February my ankle collapsed and I was scheduled for surgery to have it replaced. About that time Louis was sending me emails asking me to pay for his inventory at eleven hundred plus dollars a month (3 times what I had been paying when I had it and he wanted me to buy back the inventory). I informed him I was entering the hospital and I would try and get him out by May with the rehab and all. I explained to him that a new partner would be taking him out; that I was spending all my money on marketing didnt have the money to buy it back and that wasnt in the contract. I told him I wasnt paying for his inventory expense and that if he had put my product on his website where people could actually see it, he would be sold out by now. Also, it might help if his customer service responded to clients I worked hard to get and sent to him. We spoke several times on the phone about it and emails passed back and forth and nothing else was mentioned about any of this after April until I asked for full payment in November 2016. I wasnt playing puppet to this clown anymore.
Again, I did as I promised and completely redid the website and face book and started a Google boosting program that sent a short demo video out with text to different target markets every other week. Each boost reached 50,000 plus potential clients and over 20,000 people viewed the video per boost according to Google We were their number one viewed on their boost media marketing program and have been ever since. The boost sent customers to our website and there was a link to go directly to Active Forevers website to purchase. I kept Louis updated on the posts and what we were doing. Nothing changed on his website; no exposure whatsoever and I spent over $10,000 marketing for him. Our calls increased dramatically and the VA called me twice more wanting to sell my product and the sock device I was bringing to market in 2017. AFs customer service got worse if anything and the one complaint that still sticks with me was April 10,2016 from from a disabled vet who had MS and bought one and found out he was too disabled to use it and tried to return it to AF. They informed him the cost to return it was would be as much or more than the cost to purchase. I forward his email to Louis and he did nothing to take care of this man. I finally reimbursed him myself and promised him a free Sock Valet when they were available.
Potential partners started contacting me in the fall of 2016 and thats when I demanded payment from Louis and an update on units sold so I could inform my potential partners. I got nothing. I believe for some reason he intended my destruction from the start. Why else would he buy my entire inventory and not put it on his website and market it for people to see? That is beyond stupid, it is calculating. In 35 years of business I have never met the likes of him and pray to God I never will again. He is not only possibly causing my destruction but depriving millions of disabled and mobility challenged people the knowledge of a product that is very unique and will be very beneficial to them and/or their loved ones. The thing that bothers me the most is his depriving millions of vets who served and suffered for our country and could have these devices through the VA program. All is documented.