Anyone had a problem with Helton in Brasil with seeds?

[marklee]

I was just reading the other post on the guy that had problems with a seed purchase. And wanted to bring up a problem with Helton. I have a Brasilian cousin that lives in Sao Paulo and I sent her $200 to buy seeds from Helton. She even went to his place and took photos of the seeds. I had her sister hand carry the seeds with a permit back to the states and send me the package from another state. I opened the package and discovered that only one bag of seeds were in the package. I asked my cousins if they had opened anything and they said no, they are both young women that don't know much about seeds, my cousin also did not have the seeds confiscated at the airport, in fact she works for an airline and would never try and illegally bring seeds back. I asked my cousin in Sao Paulo to contact Helton and ask what happened to the seeds. He hasn't responded and I'm afraid I'm out $200. If anyone knows him personally can you ask him if he recalls the transaction and have him message me on the board. This took place back in September. My cousins name is Joice.
Here are the photos she took of seeds at Helton's place.
Thanks for any help.

[Radoslav]

Strange, I never had problems with Helton, I bought seeds several times.

[marklee]

I was surprised because I had bought seeds from his friend Joachim and had no problems. I just want to clear it up and not give him a bad reputation, if there was some mistake I'd like to hear from him.

[Coconut]

Like most business people success bred complacency, if he does not rectify the issues stay clear of him, the more people know, his number of sales will fall.  The rule of economic take over & he can keep all his rare seeds to rot making them even rarer.  I am glad you bring this to our attention.   Some people here think he is a seed guru, when you deal with eccentric is tough.  I read different posts & you are not the first.  I try to buy seeds from Oscar, Ricibitar, Dreamfrutas, Luc because they really care about their seeds or I trade.  Those other guys I have heard from members here it seem a hit or miss after though for them; sometime more trouble than they are worth.  I have never order from these folks because of what is known.

If I want something from Jim West I see if Oscar has it, if its grown at oscar you know its good; no permit need & Oscar seeds always 100 germination.  Or if Oscar get from them, he aint going to send you rotted seeds!  There are so many Brazil collectors you can ask them to get for you.  Dreamfrutas & Ricibitar, Carlos & Ricardos aka The Brazilian Seeds Mafia are the best for me, everything are pack with love & you know they love their seeds ( fast, well pack & you dont have to go through pack mules like you did or the pony express).  Hope Helton will find a solution amicable to your taste; keep us posted! 

[Berto]

Marklee,
I have known Helton personally for many years. I visited him in his place, and I spent some time with him and his family.
He is a very simple man, and he has some physical limitations.  Helton relies on his wife and on his business partner to deal with his customers.
Helton is a very honest and sincere person.  I have dealt with him innumerous times, and I have never had any problems at all.
If I understood correctly, you stated that your cousin went to his place (Campina do Monte Alegre - Sao Paulo) and took pictures of the seeds. The other cousin hand carried the seeds.  Are you implying that Helton did not pack the seeds that were purchased?
I don't believe at all in this story.
My guess is that the seeds were lost after your cousin received them from Helton.
Helton deals with customers worldwide, and it hard to believe that he would jeopardize his reputation in a deal like this one.  I don't think we have all the facts. Let's not jump to conclusions. Hopefully, Helton has the answer to some of these questions.  If you want me to contact him, just send me a message, and I will call him over the phone.  I hope the number I have is still a good one.

[marklee]

Berto,

I was not blaming Helton, I had heard he was a good person to deal with and I dealt with Joachim and things were good.
I was just wondering why he hasn't responded to any correspondence. My cousin is very dependable and honest, and would never do anything with the seeds. She told me that he would provide an invoice and list of the seeds. The package was never opened until it came to me, my cousins didn't correlate the package size and weight with the amount of seeds, since they don't have anything to do with plants. I had my cousin hand carry them so they would arrive faster and safer since she works for the airline.
Please send him my message, my email is Marktlee at juno.com and my cousin is Joice Almeida.
Thanks

[fruitlovers]

I agree with Berto. I've never met Helton, but we have traded seeds a bunch of times and he is a super nice guy! I haven't written to him in a long time though. My guess is that yes you are jumping to conclusions too fast. There might be some internet problem, computer problem, health problem, or who knows what? I really doubt he would knowingly cheat you. I suggest you just keep trying to contact him. Try Joachim who is just acting as translator for him.