Balkowitsch Enterprises, Inc.

Balkowitsch Enterprises: The Story of How a Once-Respected Family Business Turned to Crime It all started out as a quaint little antique business in North Dakota. An honest merchant, Sharon Balkowitsch sold antiques, collectibles and glass figurines from her dark, cluttered basement as a hobby and to generate some extra income, and eventually moved into a small shop on Main Ave. in Bismark. When ebay opened up, Sharon warmed to the idea of selling online. She was never very good with computers, so she enlisted the help of her son, Shane, a male nurse. With the fading economy and a dwindling supply of antiques, she, at her son’s insistence, turned the company to selling medical supplies. For a long time, they did very well, with the majority of customers being highly satisfied. They even earned an ebay Power-Seller rating and were featured in several local magazines. With business booming, Shane and his brothers Chad and Loren purchased a large warehouse facility and hired more staff, but their fame was was not to last. Due to Sharon’s deteriorating mental state and Shane’s managerial shortcomings, they once again found themselves losing money. Though they had enjoyed many years of success, competition and infighting had taken their toll, so Shane turned to selling quack medical devices to fund his failed wet plate photography career. Exploiting FDA loopholes and ignoring consumer protection laws, Shane took over his mother’s business and built relationships with companies marketing fraudulent merchandise all over the world. The company relied on false claims about electro-therapy, magnetic therapy, auto-electrocution devices, scalar resonance pods, and other pseudoscientific cure-alls. Many products were featured, all claiming massive and fantastical health benefits—the problem, of course, was that none of them actually worked. It is not unheard of for those promoting fraudulent health cures and quack medical devices have to be trained healthcare providers who turned to fraud out of greed or desperation. No self-respecting male nurse would lend his name to such charlatanism, but Shane’s failed photography career had already indebted him, the brothers were not about to let go of their lifestyle without a fight. Naturally, this solution was short-lived, as one can only sell bogus products for so long before drawing attention from angry consumers, concerned citizens, and law enforcement. With business becoming increasingly stressful, Shane and his brothers became increasingly impatient and hostile to customers in general, and their reputation suffered accordingly. As they desperately cling to their old Better Business Bureau rating, the public’s once-favorable opinion of this company now reflects their downward spiral. A quick web search confirms this. Now suffering from dementia, Sharon Balkowitsch is all but barred from having any contact with the business that she built. Though she still owns the company on paper, her children block her phone calls, screen her emails, and regularly intercept her mail. It is entirely possible that Sharon never knew what her sons were doing, in which case we can at least remember her as a good person. No mother ever wants to hear bad news about her children, and it is truly a shame what Shane and his brothers have done to their once-respected family business. The Balkowitsch name had a good reputation and a promising future, but because of one man’s greed and disregard for common decency, that is no longer so. Amidst mounting consumer complaints and pending legal action, the company now circles the drain, and may be facing criminal charges. For all the good Sharon Balkowitsch did in her life, she neglected one great task—the most important thing a parent must do—teach your children the difference between right and wrong.
1 7 years ago (05-06-2018)

Please do everything you can to avoid this business. Unfortunately our equipment was sent here to be fixed because it was no longer working, which was a manufacturing issue. Instead of fixing our equipment they said our equipment was too damaged to be fixed, said we damaged it, refused to honor our warranty, and instead of sending it back they threw away our equipment and now refuse to return it or reimburse us for discarding our equipment. The customer service is horrible and they are very unethical and immature. They tried to get us to buy their equipment instead of fixing ours. I asked for photos of our equipment that was damaged and have yet to receive them. We somehow have no other equipment that has been damaged by us or has any problems but they claim we destroyed this piece of equipment.
1 7 years ago (07-03-2018)

Let me start by saying that I have never felt the need to write a negative review about a company until now. Unfortunately, I didn't find their Yelp review page until after I had already bought from them (they buried the yelp link on google somehow), but if I had known, I would never have given them my business. I ordered an EMF interference blocking device from these people on ebay. At first, they seemed a little lazy, it took them 3 days to ship my order out, but it arrived quickly. However, when I opened the package, I found that the device they had sent me was actually nothing more than a USB charger, and it didn’t even work as such. When plugged in, I measured no reduction in EMF radiation anywhere in my home, and it did nothing to help with the interference on my mom’s AM radio. I asked several times, very politely for them to provide a return shipping label so I could return the fraudulent merchandise under their own self-ascribed “14-day money back guarantee” and was met with stark refusal. He actually said, and I quote, “A consumer can have no complaints since it has a guarantee,” as if having an alleged degree somehow made it impossible for a customer to be pissed off! I explained that because they had sent me a product that did not work as advertised, it was their responsibility to cover the return, not mine. Several obstructionist emails later, I decided to try to reach them by phone. The first time I called and was greeted by a dippy lady who put me on hold for 4 minutes without even telling me she was going to do that. Then the call was answered by an equally clueless old bag who refused to acknowledge my complaint. She just kept telling me to send the item back, at my own expense of course, insisting that they never provide return labels (even when they themselves are responsible for screwing up the order or selling merchandise under false pretenses). I explained to her once more that per ebay policy, which their company agreed to, states that any seller who fails to meet the terms of a sale is responsible for the cost of return shipping, at which point she simply hung up on me. I didn’t use any foul or threatening language, I didn’t insult her or give her any reason to end the call, she was just plain rude. I called back, and she instantly hung up again. Finally, after two more tries, I got a woman who said that she would take my number have “Shane” give me a call. He never did. In their emails, Shane claims to be the CEO of the company, but it's clear that he's basically the glorified sales manager of a podunk warehouse and has no idea how to interact with the public. I don't know if this is the same Shane Balkowitsch who fools around with wetplate photography on the internet, but if those godawful pictures are any mark of his intellect, he's lucky to be working at all. These people are the epitome of unprofessional conduct. You order one product, they sell you something completely different from what was advertised, and now they expect you to lose the cost of return shipping all because they didn’t feel like telling the truth. I will get my money back, I have purchase protection on the credit card I used, so that’s not a concern, but I am filing a complaint with the FTC against these dirtbags. Everyone makes mistakes, but only the lowest of the low refuse to make it right. I give no second chances to people who engage in unfair or deceptive marketing practices.
1 7 years ago (30-04-2018)

This man acts like a little child! At first, he claimed he had shipped the item, but refused to provide tracking details. Then, he claimed the item had been delivered, but still refused to provide tracking. Then, he claimed he had emailed it to me earlier, but refused to put it in the text of the message! I swear, it’s like pulling teeth with this scumbag! I kept demanding it over and over again, and he just kept saying "Thank you for your business" in his emails before eventually ignoring me altogether. Finally, after a WEEK went by with no tracking details, I filed a claim with ebay who reversed the charge and got me my money back in full. Don’t waste your time with this moron! UPDATE: This bald-faced liar claims that I admitted receiving the item that he never even shipped! After throwing a tantrum like a petulant child, he just kept making excuses and ultimately ignored my messages altogether. Never once did he upload a valid tracking number, which is how ebay was able to step in and reverse the charge. This loser expects us to beleive the has somehow been in business for 20 years, yet somehow never figured out how to upload proof of shipment? Trust me, don't waste your time with the scumbag. If it weren't for ebay's fraud protection department, this creep would still have my money. I was going to review him on Yelp, too, but I think his history there speaks for itself. 20 years in business and a 1.5 star rating, that's pretty pathetic!
1 7 years ago (28-03-2018)

Bought a Purebrush from Balkowitsch through amazon. Stopped working after a few weeks. Balkowitsch Customer Service sent a new replacement immediately via FedEx home delivery, no questions asked, no return necessary. Couldn't have asked for better customer service.
5 8 years ago (29-09-2017)