MTGChicago // Stasch Kuras // SKuras // Scam

[M.Solymossy]

This guy is automatically a douchebag.

[Chuu]

I play and keep a credit account at MTGChicago and have never had any problems, other then some serious lowball offers on cards when I firist showed up (which I've seen other stores in the area do).  The prize support is probably the best in Chicagoland.

Can't vouch for the internet presence though.

I'm wondering though -- what's the story behind the ban?  I don't think many players there realize that he can't play himself.

[LotusHead]

Two of those shirts made top 8

[JAK CHICAGO]

I heard he hit some guy with a chair but I am not entirely sure.

[jro]

I ordered some cards from MTG Chicago a few months back.  Nothing fancy; basically just some common foils for my sweet Peasant EDH deck.  There were a few that were nice, though, like a foil artifact land or something, and a few Japanese foils.  My order was delayed for about 10 days for no apparent reason, with no contact from MTG Chicago.  When it finally arrived, none of the nicer cards came, and I was sent non-Japanese versions of the Japanese cards I had ordered.

I had actually contacted ggslive about what happened to me because MTG Chicago would advertise on their streams.  Since things didn't turn out all that horrible for me, I decided not to pursue it further.  But I would recommend that anyone who has a problem with them take it up with places that take their advertising.  It seems pretty clear to me that they're all a bunch of scumbags.

[Smmenen]

I saw him at a dealer table at the GP

[voltron00x]

I saw him at a dealer table at the GP

They were at GP: DC also.

[Troy_Costisick]

I ordered some cards from MTG Chicago a few months back.  Nothing fancy; basically just some common foils for my sweet Peasant EDH deck.  There were a few that were nice, though, like a foil artifact land or something, and a few Japanese foils.  My order was delayed for about 10 days for no apparent reason, with no contact from MTG Chicago.  When it finally arrived, none of the nicer cards came, and I was sent non-Japanese versions of the Japanese cards I had ordered.

I had actually contacted ggslive about what happened to me because MTG Chicago would advertise on their streams.  Since things didn't turn out all that horrible for me, I decided not to pursue it further.  But I would recommend that anyone who has a problem with them take it up with places that take their advertising.  It seems pretty clear to me that they're all a bunch of scumbags.

I'll have to report a similar experience.  I ordered about 12 cards from them recently.  The order took two weeks to arrive and the packaging was slipshod.  Thankfully none of the cards were damaged, but they very easily could have been.

[shawnphase]

so what you guys are saying is that this guy is still ripping people off...pretty messed up.

[drewt]

Wow, I thought I was the only one.

I recently sent them a buylist of 3 Jace the Mind Sculptors, back in mid-June. They received it and sent a confirmation email saying it needed to be processed and then they would send out a check to me immediately (for $180). After a month with no word, I emailed them and waited for a reply. Nothing after a week, I tried again, but to no avail. No reply, nothing. I called them and they said that they were preparing for Gen Con and that when they were back from that, they would process my buylist and send my check. 2 weeks later, nothing. I called again they said they were going to process it. This was about a month ago or so? I sent them the cards in mid-June. 4 weeks ago, I called again, they said they processed it immediately since I was disgruntled. They told me to wait for a tracking number. After another week, I asked where it was, they said it shipped that very day.

Since then, 3 weeks ago, they have not been answering my calls at all. I left multiple messages, no callbacks, nothing. I emailed them more, no replies. I don't know what else to do. They owe me $180 for cards I sent them and they are avoiding me at all costs. I don't know where to go from here, any suggestions?

[BruiZar]

If you see him at a dealer table, why don't you call the police?

[smasher]

It amazes me the length of time this thread has been running and people still continue to do business with him. I never had any dealings with this guy through the internet so I guess I'm lucky in that regards. In person I dealt with him once with no problems. This was over 2 years ago but became aware of his shadiness through this thread and dodged him at future in person events.

I got to know one of his ex-business partners since this thread has started. He is a decent guy and if he decided to dump Stasch it is a good enough reason for me to spend my time/money elsewhere.

[drewt]

Yeah, I went through allmagiccards and they had a good reputation there. I'm about 4000 miles away from them in Hawaii so there's not much I can do from here. Lesson learned.

[The Wolf]

Yes there is.  Report it to the better business bureau. 

[Tha Gunslinga]

Looks like he got someone else:
http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/showthread.php?19011-MTG-Chicago

[Cyberpunker]

Anyone have his picture?

[Fons]

I'm the guy who posted at mtgthesource. I'm sorry to see the amount of people this guy has ripped off.

[Ten-Ten]

does anybody know if this guy deals on ebay? Ever since I heard about this guy I have steered clear from anyone selling from Chicago. I am from Chicago and it is a shame to hear how many people he has ripped off.

[i_set_fire]

does anybody know if this guy deals on ebay? Ever since I heard about this guy I have steered clear from anyone selling from Chicago. I am from Chicago and it is a shame to hear how many people he has ripped off.

Yes he does.  I bought something from an ebay seller and later realized it was mtgchicago after I started getting emails from them.  Honestly, the transaction went great and he was far cheaper than other sellers.  I feel bad now cuz he probably stole the cards and that's why they were cheap 

[drewt]

Wow, I thought I was the only one.

I recently sent them a buylist of 3 Jace the Mind Sculptors, back in mid-June. They received it and sent a confirmation email saying it needed to be processed and then they would send out a check to me immediately (for $180). After a month with no word, I emailed them and waited for a reply. Nothing after a week, I tried again, but to no avail. No reply, nothing. I called them and they said that they were preparing for Gen Con and that when they were back from that, they would process my buylist and send my check. 2 weeks later, nothing. I called again they said they were going to process it. This was about a month ago or so? I sent them the cards in mid-June. 4 weeks ago, I called again, they said they processed it immediately since I was disgruntled. They told me to wait for a tracking number. After another week, I asked where it was, they said it shipped that very day.

Since then, 3 weeks ago, they have not been answering my calls at all. I left multiple messages, no callbacks, nothing. I emailed them more, no replies. I don't know what else to do. They owe me $180 for cards I sent them and they are avoiding me at all costs. I don't know where to go from here, any suggestions?

This is to anyone who has been defrauded by Stasch Kuras (MTGChicago/Masters of the Game).


It's been almost 4 months, and I finally got paid.

I urge you to follow through on your attempts to get your money/cards back. I contacted Wizards of the Coast customer support via email and they are going to investigate the matter. Not only that, I contacted the BBB Chicago and they are also investigating. In addition to these, I wrote to the postmaster general, Illinois Attorney General, allmagiccards.com (a site that has them as a vendor), crystal commerce (the main website that hosts mtgchicago.com), and their advertisers, urging them not to do business with them. If anyone has an outstanding debt that hasn't been paid, I urge you to contact me: the owner of crystal commerce is asking for anyone else I may know who has been defrauded by Stasch Kuras and wants to help make the situation right. He hosts the MtgChicago website (powered by CCommerce) and Stasch WILL listen to this guy, he was the main reason I finally wasn't ignored and got my money. He will lie about sending payment too. He sent me and the owner of CC a false tracking number to make me go away. He will do anything to delay payment and give himself more time to stall. I was paid by PayPal after emailing the owner of CC a few times. I wouldn't trust this man's check. I've heard a few stories of it bouncing. If you can, get paid via paypal.

Please PM me if you would like to get in touch with the owner of Crystal Commerce. I believe he can make the situation right. I also urge anyone else to follow through. This isn't just about money, he is defrauded people all over the country and getting away with it. If you desire as well, contact WOTC. If they get enough complaints, I think they will at least look into it.

http://chicago.bbb.org/
http://wizards.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wizards.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=489 (go to the email us link. Be descriptive. And patient, they take awhile to respond)
http://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/consumers/conscomp.pdf
http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx
https://www.uspsoig.gov/hotlinenewforms.cfm (if you sent him cards through the mail)

[metalhead]

Though i have never dealt with Stasch in the past. I will be making sure to keep an eye out for him at future events. I just wanted to give people a head up about a scam artist in my local area. "Lincoln, IL, its almost exactly halfway between chicago and st.louis" His name is Brian Brumfield. He is very well known in the area for doing many of the same things as Stasch. Though the more experienced players in the area know better than to deal with him. He does run a "shop" of out his house called "Elite sports cards". and all the younger kids in the area just getting into the game go there not knowing any better. Luckily for everyone in the MTG community i don't think that he has done anything as large scale as Stasch. But back when i first met him. "he was my neighbor" he admitted to me that he had multiple ebay accounts because "people just kept leaving him bad feedback". So I just advise people to not deal with Brian Brumfield, Elite Sports Cards.. or any ebay account or email address that might refer to Juzim55 from the Central Illinois Area. If this post even helps one person not get ripped off by this scum bag then it was worth putting my 2 cents in.

[ReAnimator]

Concerning Pros wearing Mtg Chicago shirts.

I was at GP Toronto on the weekend and there were a lot of pros wearing these shirts. I have a friend who spent some time in Japan and knew some pros and could translate for me when talking to Shuuhei Nakamura and Kazuya Mitamura, I asked them about the shirts. Essentially they weren't happy about wearing them and they didn't know he was a thief and bad at the time but they had agreed to wear them and were paid to wear them for 1 full year, and they said after that time is up they will stop as a lot of people have come up to them and raised concerns, but they felt obligated as they had agreed and been paid already. I don't necessarily agree with their position to honor their agreement but i certainly understand it and i can't fault them for that. 

As far as i can tell all the pros who this happened to are in the same boat, and it seems that MtgChicago paid a bunch of these people probably at the beginning of the PT season. So hopefully come January we won't see this shirt around at events and in coverage anymore.

[racela1081]

Wow, I thought I was the only one.

I recently sent them a buylist of 3 Jace the Mind Sculptors, back in mid-June. They received it and sent a confirmation email saying it needed to be processed and then they would send out a check to me immediately (for $180). After a month with no word, I emailed them and waited for a reply. Nothing after a week, I tried again, but to no avail. No reply, nothing. I called them and they said that they were preparing for Gen Con and that when they were back from that, they would process my buylist and send my check. 2 weeks later, nothing. I called again they said they were going to process it. This was about a month ago or so? I sent them the cards in mid-June. 4 weeks ago, I called again, they said they processed it immediately since I was disgruntled. They told me to wait for a tracking number. After another week, I asked where it was, they said it shipped that very day.

Since then, 3 weeks ago, they have not been answering my calls at all. I left multiple messages, no callbacks, nothing. I emailed them more, no replies. I don't know what else to do. They owe me $180 for cards I sent them and they are avoiding me at all costs. I don't know where to go from here, any suggestions?

This is to anyone who has been defrauded by Stasch Kuras (MTGChicago/Masters of the Game).


It's been almost 4 months, and I finally got paid.

I urge you to follow through on your attempts to get your money/cards back. I contacted Wizards of the Coast customer support via email and they are going to investigate the matter. Not only that, I contacted the BBB Chicago and they are also investigating. In addition to these, I wrote to the postmaster general, Illinois Attorney General, allmagiccards.com (a site that has them as a vendor), crystal commerce (the main website that hosts mtgchicago.com), and their advertisers, urging them not to do business with them. If anyone has an outstanding debt that hasn't been paid, I urge you to contact me: the owner of crystal commerce is asking for anyone else I may know who has been defrauded by Stasch Kuras and wants to help make the situation right. He hosts the MtgChicago website (powered by CCommerce) and Stasch WILL listen to this guy, he was the main reason I finally wasn't ignored and got my money. He will lie about sending payment too. He sent me and the owner of CC a false tracking number to make me go away. He will do anything to delay payment and give himself more time to stall. I was paid by PayPal after emailing the owner of CC a few times. I wouldn't trust this man's check. I've heard a few stories of it bouncing. If you can, get paid via paypal.

Please PM me if you would like to get in touch with the owner of Crystal Commerce. I believe he can make the situation right. I also urge anyone else to follow through. This isn't just about money, he is defrauded people all over the country and getting away with it. If you desire as well, contact WOTC. If they get enough complaints, I think they will at least look into it.

http://chicago.bbb.org/
http://wizards.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wizards.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=489 (go to the email us link. Be descriptive. And patient, they take awhile to respond)
http://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/consumers/conscomp.pdf
http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx
https://www.uspsoig.gov/hotlinenewforms.cfm (if you sent him cards through the mail)

I just found this site. I sent MTGChicago about $150 worth of cards, I got the reply that the cards had been received, but I still haven't received payment. I've emailed him and called him, but nothing.  What do you need from me to get on the bandwagon for an official complaint? Also, there is another guy here with me that is also missing money from sold cards to MTGChicago.  Unfortunately, we are both military stationed overseas and we do not have the option of walking into his shop to confront him...
This is not what I am over here fighting to protect; the right of a person to defraud anyone.

[dusk2k3]

Wow, I thought I was the only one.

I recently sent them a buylist of 3 Jace the Mind Sculptors, back in mid-June. They received it and sent a confirmation email saying it needed to be processed and then they would send out a check to me immediately (for $180). After a month with no word, I emailed them and waited for a reply. Nothing after a week, I tried again, but to no avail. No reply, nothing. I called them and they said that they were preparing for Gen Con and that when they were back from that, they would process my buylist and send my check. 2 weeks later, nothing. I called again they said they were going to process it. This was about a month ago or so? I sent them the cards in mid-June. 4 weeks ago, I called again, they said they processed it immediately since I was disgruntled. They told me to wait for a tracking number. After another week, I asked where it was, they said it shipped that very day.

Since then, 3 weeks ago, they have not been answering my calls at all. I left multiple messages, no callbacks, nothing. I emailed them more, no replies. I don't know what else to do. They owe me $180 for cards I sent them and they are avoiding me at all costs. I don't know where to go from here, any suggestions?

This is to anyone who has been defrauded by Stasch Kuras (MTGChicago/Masters of the Game).


It's been almost 4 months, and I finally got paid.

I urge you to follow through on your attempts to get your money/cards back. I contacted Wizards of the Coast customer support via email and they are going to investigate the matter. Not only that, I contacted the BBB Chicago and they are also investigating. In addition to these, I wrote to the postmaster general, Illinois Attorney General, allmagiccards.com (a site that has them as a vendor), crystal commerce (the main website that hosts mtgchicago.com), and their advertisers, urging them not to do business with them. If anyone has an outstanding debt that hasn't been paid, I urge you to contact me: the owner of crystal commerce is asking for anyone else I may know who has been defrauded by Stasch Kuras and wants to help make the situation right. He hosts the MtgChicago website (powered by CCommerce) and Stasch WILL listen to this guy, he was the main reason I finally wasn't ignored and got my money. He will lie about sending payment too. He sent me and the owner of CC a false tracking number to make me go away. He will do anything to delay payment and give himself more time to stall. I was paid by PayPal after emailing the owner of CC a few times. I wouldn't trust this man's check. I've heard a few stories of it bouncing. If you can, get paid via paypal.

Please PM me if you would like to get in touch with the owner of Crystal Commerce. I believe he can make the situation right. I also urge anyone else to follow through. This isn't just about money, he is defrauded people all over the country and getting away with it. If you desire as well, contact WOTC. If they get enough complaints, I think they will at least look into it.

http://chicago.bbb.org/
http://wizards.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wizards.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=489 (go to the email us link. Be descriptive. And patient, they take awhile to respond)
http://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/consumers/conscomp.pdf
http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx
https://www.uspsoig.gov/hotlinenewforms.cfm (if you sent him cards through the mail)

I'm being taken for a ride by this guy as well.  Received an e-mail from the company on 14 October saying my card was received.  It was a simple Paypal transaction.  Now, here I am 27 days and 3 or 4 emails later still waiting on playment.  What is the contact info for Crystal Commerce so I can see if they can resolve this for me?

[Diakonov]

Stasch Kuras officially brings in more new members to TMD than Vintage itself.

[Bera]

Stasch Kuras officially brings in more new members to TMD than Vintage itself.

Rofl. Nice one

[Breyfunk]

I have a Stasch story, though mine isn't as bad as what you all have been through.  My friend James got 3rd/4th at a Mox tournament Stasch was running, and was entitled to a Mana Drain as prize.  Stasch apparently sold the drain during the course of the tournament and left the site before the top 8 could start (leaving 1st and 2nd place prizes with someone else.)  It took almost a year of constantly (daily) leaving voicemails and eventually finding him at Gen Con to get the Drain.

[Cyberpunker]

I have a Stasch story, though mine isn't as bad as what you all have been through.  My friend James got 3rd/4th at a Mox tournament Stasch was running, and was entitled to a Mana Drain as prize.  Stasch apparently sold the drain during the course of the tournament and left the site before the top 8 could start (leaving 1st and 2nd place prizes with someone else.)  It took almost a year of constantly (daily) leaving voicemails and eventually finding him at Gen Con to get the Drain.

How did you convince him to give you the drain?

[Suicideking]

I have a Stasch story, though mine isn't as bad as what you all have been through.  My friend James got 3rd/4th at a Mox tournament Stasch was running, and was entitled to a Mana Drain as prize.  Stasch apparently sold the drain during the course of the tournament and left the site before the top 8 could start (leaving 1st and 2nd place prizes with someone else.)  It took almost a year of constantly (daily) leaving voicemails and eventually finding him at Gen Con to get the Drain.

I have a similar story.  He used to hold regular tourneys at the college of dupage and would give away credit and entries and shit.  Well my friend got the credit but he left before top8 so he couldnt redeem it.  Stasch didn't run anymore tournaments, but when I saw saw him, it was pretty easy for me to get the credit from him. 

[Juggernaut GO]

I like how you if you google his name this thread is the number 1 response.