The Better Business Bureau is warning local customers about a Springfield-based company that has received a number of complaints recently about unfulfilled orders.

Maker Geeks, a 3D printer filament company, continues to receive complaints from consumers who tell the BBB the company fails to deliver product for which they paid.

BBB advises consumers to use extreme caution when doing business with Maker Geeks. Consumers allege the company failed to deliver product, filled orders with incorrect product and failed to issue refunds. The business has an “F” rating, the lowest on BBB’s scale, due to recent unanswered customer complaints.

The business was the focus of a BBB consumer warning in December 2017. Since BBB’s file on the company began in March 2016, more than 160 consumers registered complaints and nearly 140 others posted reviews, many of them negative.

“Consumer complaints now are the same as they were previously when BBB alerted the public about this company’s poor business practices,” said Stephanie Garland, regional director for BBB’s Springfield office. “This company appears to have done little to address its problems.”

A man from Brigham City, Utah, told BBB he purchased more than $300 worth of 3D printer filament from the company in September 2018, but did not receive the entire product he ordered. The man attempted to reach the company through email but was not successful in getting a response. The man said he could not call the business as there is no phone support available to the public.

“Their product is good,” the man told BBB, “you just can’t get it from them and you can’t contact them. Their customer service is terrible.”

A man from Rogersville, Missouri, told BBB he has been a Maker Geeks customer for several years, but will no longer purchase items from the company after his latest order took more than two months to be delivered. He said he paid $126 for an order in late October 2018 and did not receive it until the middle of December 2018.

“Their product is great,” the man said. “It’s some of the best filament that I’ve printed. But you never know if you’re going to get your order.”

The man said Maker Geeks’ customer service has waned over the years.

“It seems like each time I have placed an order it becomes the worst experience ever, even worse than the previous experience with them,” the man told BBB. “I am tired of dealing with them and am disappointed because their product is very good. But I will not deal with a company that does business the way they do.”

A Springfield, Missouri, man told BBB he waited more than three months to receive a refund after ordering nearly $150 in filament from the company in September 2018. The man said he was refunded in early January 2019 after he filed a complaint with the Missouri Attorney General’s office. The man said he was a longtime customer of the business, but will no longer purchase from it.

“For some reason, they didn’t provide the product this time,” the man told BBB. “I spent several months trying to get my product or a refund. If they are doing this to someone who lives in the same town where they are located, I wonder how many other people are waiting out there.”

Maker Geeks is owned by Joshua Ben Smith of Springfield. MakerGeeks.com has been registered with the Missouri secretary of state since February 2014. The business is a subsidiary of Black Flag Investments, according to secretary of state records.

In an email response to BBB, Smith said the shipping delays were due to a holiday sale where the business “exceeded our sales targets and as such put us behind – in trying to keep up with and push our manufacturing equipment harder and harder we had a break down that required about 2-3 weeks to get fixed.”

“We alerted all our clients about the delay and have since gotten back up and running and are shipped (sic) 5,000 spools a week and (are) getting caught up very quickly,” Smith wrote.

Smith told BBB the company does not offer phone support for its customers but said the company offers email support that is monitored daily on weekdays.

BBB offers the following tips for consumers buying merchandise online:

• Research any business and its owners carefully before paying any money. Check the company’s BBB Business Profile at bbb.org or by calling 888-996-3887.
• Try to determine whether the business has an actual office, and try to speak with someone there before ordering merchandise.
• Read all terms and conditions carefully before completing a purchase. Make sure to read and understand all warranty information and refund policies. Know your options in case you receive an item that was not as advertised.
• Pay with a credit card in case you need to challenge the purchase later.
• Check a site’s security settings. If the site is secure, its URL (web address) should start with “https://.” You may also see a picture of a small closed lock in the lower right hand corner of the screen.