Take my advice, E:  If you see something on his 
site (Animation Master--which hasn't been 
updated in over a year) that you like, IGNORE 
your "I have to have it" instinct.  

Let's recap my situation:

March 26, 2002
I sent in an order for a cel that was mismatched 
with an ID number (beyond my knowledge)

Same Day
He responds from Olivier to send a IPMO to 
France: $150.

Same Day
I ask him if it's all right to ship the cel to 
me in Japan.

Same Day
He responds and says it's no problem.

March 30, 2002
I ask him a question about IPMOs to France, 
which take much longer than, say, an IPMO to 
Japan.

Same Day
He responds and says that if I want to send an 
IPMO that he will wait, and he says that it 
usually takes 5 weeks to get.

April 4, 2002
My payment was sent.

May 23, 2002
He responds and says my payment was received and 
he will send my cel out "tomorrow."

June 6, 2002
Package received, but it was not the cel that I 
had requested.  He sent a Saint Seiya cel 
instead of the Samurai Troopers cel of Ryo from 
Episode 20.

June 12, 2002
He responds and says that he made a mistake and 
asks if I can send back the wrong cel.  He says 
he can send me the correct cel "next week."

June 13, 2002 (Thursday)
I said that I can send the wrong cel back, and 
that I couldn't until Tuesday or Thursday of 
next week.

Same Day
He responds and says it's ok.

July 11, 2002
I emailed Olivier 3 times without a response.  I 
sent him a recap of what happened, my fears that 
he sold the cel I wanted to an aquintence in 
Italy, and I told him what I wanted to correct 
the matter: my money refunded.

Same Day
Olivier responds to the 3rd email about the 
situation and he says that he wasn't "at home."  
He was in London and could not access a 
computer.  He says that he sent me the correct 
cel the last week of June.  He denies the fact 
that he sold the Samurai Troopers cel to someone 
else like I had thought and that he sent me the 
correct cel.

August 14, 2002
I found a package from Olivier when I returned 
to the States from Japan, however it was not the 
correct cel.  I was thankful that he tried to 
correct the problem, but I was not satisfied, 
nor did I want another "wrong" cel.  I had no 
use for it.  I told him that I will send this 
2nd incorrect cel back when he refunds my money 
and shipping costs to send it back to him.  I 
sent this email to him twice before getting a 
response.

August 15, 2002
He responds and says that he is on "travel" 
until August 24.  He appologized for the 
mistake.  He said that he would send me scans of 
other cels if I would be happy with a different 
one, if not, he said he would refund my money.

September 18, 2002
I said that I would trade for a different cel, 
but felt that I was entitled to more for all the 
trouble.

September 21, 2002
I received no response from Oliver from my 
previous email on the 18th and sent another copy.

September 22, 2002
No response from Oliver.  I sent a third copy.

September 28, 2002
Still no response, I sent a 4th copy of the 
email that I first sent on September 18.

September 28, 2002
I finally heard back [briefly] from Oliver.  He 
was very short with me and send 3 other scans of 
cels for me to look at.  He said that he'll get 
more next week.  

September 28, 2002
I thanked Olivier for responding and that I was 
beginning to worry.  I was going to wait until 
he received more Samurai Troopers cels next week 
and that I wasn't interested in the three scans 
that he sent me to in the previous email.  I 
asked him to PLEASE email me as soon as he 
received the new cels.

October 11, 2002
It had been about two weeks and I still have not 
heard back from Olivier.  I asked if he received 
any new cels from Samurai Troopers, if not, I 
asked for the one I said I would trade for as 
well as compensation money for the trouble and 
time that was wasted on him thus far.  I said 
that I wanted to send the 2nd incorrect cel back 
to him, but he had to be the one to make the 
first move to correct the matter, not me.

November 20, 2002
I wrote to him again, sent a re-cap of what had 
happened.  Though both of us had made mistakes 
in the past (me, for not seeing that the cel 
images and ID numbers were jumbled on his 
webpage when I ordered, and his for not 
responding and seemingly not willing to right 
the matter).  I said that I still had the 2nd 
incorrect cel in my possession as a means to 
possibly move him to make the right decision.  

December 26, 2002
Still no response from Olivier.  I was very 
sadded by his treatment of a customer.  I said 
that I was sending back the 2nd incorrect cel 
and that I expencted my money back.  I 
originally paid $150, but now was reaching $200 
or over with extra shipping costs (sending 
incorrect cels back with insurance) and wanted 
to be compensated.

December 31, 2002
I asked if he ever intended to refund my money 
to begin with.  I asked what more I could do to 
get my money back.  I told him that I emailed 
him countless times without a single response 
and that I would like an answer.  "Silence just 
isn't going to help any longer."

January 15, 2003
I sent a complaint to the Online Fraud website.
fraud@upsis.gov

March 31, 2003
I told Olivier that I still had the 2nd 
incorrect cel in my possession, but I had 
decided to send it back--on my own--later in the 
week.  I sent it with extra insurance plus 
tracking.  I stated that I wanted my $150 back.

April 1, 2003
Oliver started placing cels on ebay.  I saw this 
and decided to contact him via the ebay ask a 
seller a question form.  I told him that I 
wanted a response to my many messages, that I'm 
sending the 2nd incorrect cel back, and that I 
wanted my money refunded.  It's only common 
courtesy.

Same Day
Almost a half of a year after his last response, 
he finally writes back and says that as soon as 
he receives the wrong cel, he will refund my 
money.

Same Day (Tuesday)
I agreed and stated that I was happy to finally 
hear back from him.  I said that I would send 
the incorrect cel back to him on Friday.

April 15, 2003
I saw that Olivier was auctioning off another 
cel (B't X) that I would be interested in 
instead of refunding my mail.  I wrote back to 
him, asked if he received the incorrect cel yet 
and if he would be willing to send me the cel 
that did not sell on auction to me instead.

Same Day
He responds, says that he hasn't received the 
2nd incorrect cel yet, but would tell me when it 
does.

April 18, 2002
I received confirmation that the 2nd incorrect 
cel that I sent back had indeed been received on 
April 10th.  I asked him whether he was going to 
refund my money or send me the B't X cel that 
did not sell on auction.

Same Day
He responds and asked where I sent the cel 
because he still did not receive anything.

April 20, 2003
I told him the address that I sent the cel back 
to and to please look for it.

April 24, 2003
He responded and said that he received the 
package "yesterday."  He agreed to send me the 
B't X cel like I had asked.

July 21, 2003
I wrote to Olivier again, told him that I would 
like the B't X cel that he had promised.  I told 
him that I will stop writing to him when I 
received this cel and our transaction is finally 
complete.

July 26, 2003
Still no response.  I sent another re-cap of 
what happened between us and said that I would 
like the B't X cel that he promised or a full 
refund of my money, ASAP.

July 27, 2003 (Sunday)
I finally heard back from Olivier, he said he is 
on travel and will come back to Paris on 
Wednesday.  He said he would send me the cel at 
the end of next week.

September 4, 2003
I have not heard from Olivier since the 27th.  I 
asked him to please send me the cel or my money.

September 10, 2003
I copied a message I had sent to Oliver on July 
27th and sent it with an alternative email 
address, thinking that he perhaps blocked my 
normal email address.  I received no response.

September 24, 2003
Still no response.  I again asked for him to 
comply and send me the cel or my money.

October 5, 2003
I sent the same message I originally sent on 
September 4 again.

October 8, 2003
I again re-sent the same message I originally 
sent on September 4th.

October 11, 2003
I sent the same message from September 4th.  
Still no response at all.


So, E... Think long and hard about EVER placing 
an order with Olivier Gilbert.  He has come 
through for some people...where as others, he 
has completely shunned and stolen our money.  I 
have waited long enough to get this issue 
righted.  I feel that he has stolen my money.  
He is a theif.  If you had been treated in the 
same manner, the same thing happen to you, I 
think you would feel the same.  So please, be 
careful.  

Now, don't get me wrong here.  I would LOVE to 
be able to say something nice about Olivier, but 
it's up to him to make that move, not me.  I 
have done everything in my power to possibly get 
my money back or a compensation cel out of him, 
but he refuses to respond to me or comply with 
what he said he would do.  So, if he wants me to 
ever take anything that I have said about him 
back, he is going to have to make me HAPPY.  I 
will continue to write and wait, hoping that he 
will make the right decision.

Until then...
Good luck!
Rekka