# The wildside closed with no notice?



## BikerBill (Feb 18, 2014)

So what does everyone think about how The Wildside closed without any notice, except for an email I got a day AFTER they closed? 

I have not bought any transfers from them for awhile since they never work, always dried out stock transfers. Still it was pretty crappy to only get notice they closed down a day after they shut up the shop.


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## jono1 (Jun 4, 2019)

Hi i used wildside big part of my business as transfers like this hard to get in UK any idea of other companies similar to wildside please help


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## tcrowder (Apr 27, 2006)

BikerBill said:


> I have not bought any transfers from them for awhile since they never work, always dried out stock transfers. Still it was pretty crappy to only get notice they closed down a day after they shut up the shop.




So you rarely if ever bought from them, complain about poor quality but are pissed you did not support them and the went belly up?


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## BikerBill (Feb 18, 2014)

tcrowder said:


> So you rarely if ever bought from them, complain about poor quality but are pissed you did not support them and the went belly up?


Why would I support them when they had poor quality? I'm mainly pissed because this means they treated ALL of their customers this way; giving them no notice they were closing. 

Just like jono1 who replied above, wondering where to get their products now. BTW try ProWorld jono1, they carry almost the same stock transfers. 

Slipping out over night and telling all their customers the next day "oh BTW we are closed now, sorry if you wanted to buy something" is a bad way to treat people.


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## jono1 (Jun 4, 2019)

hay bill is pro world not selling wildside they seem the same any others help appreciated


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## BikerBill (Feb 18, 2014)

jono1 said:


> hay bill is pro world not selling wildside they seem the same any others help appreciated


I see almost all of the stock transfers that wildside had in pro world. At least in the categories I normally check, which is biker, patriotic and Goth. Unless your asking about something different?


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## gulfsidebill (Feb 28, 2019)

If I am not mistaken Stahls owns/owned The Wildside. In recent years Stahls opened a modern printing facility in Chandler Arizona, really no need for them to operate a antiquated facility (The Wildside) in California. In my opinion all the great stock heat transfer companies (Roach Inc. Air Waves, MBS Love, Factors, Teletrend & now The Wildside are gone. Art Brands is the lone holdout. It's sad to see The Wildside close their doors - I was friends with the original owners. Speaking from 45+ years of heat Transfer decorating and industry experience.


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## proworlded (Oct 3, 2006)

We do have substantial inventories remaining on over 1000 of the Wildside designs. Since we were their largest customer we are hoping to hear from them with a suitable resolution to their abrupt closing.


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## BikerBill (Feb 18, 2014)

proworlded said:


> We do have substantial inventories remaining on over 1000 of the Wildside designs. Since we were their largest customer we are hoping to hear from them with a suitable resolution to their abrupt closing.


Hey Ed, may I ask you something? I noticed that almost all of the "big" stock transfer companies carry a lot of the same designs. Does each company share a license for the design and make them themselves with their own transfer formulas?

Or do all of you somehow buy all the designs from one place, like the designer themselves? Reason I ask is that I have bought the same designs from at least 4 different companies and each one seems to have it's own quirks.

I'll get one that works great from company A, get the same design from company B that bleeds through, another one I need max heat, time and pressure and another one that has a shiny look to it.

Yet it is all the same design. Always wondered why. I may try some of your designs again, if they work well. Thanks.


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## proworlded (Oct 3, 2006)

I am very familiar with virtually all the designs that every manufacturer offers and I have never seen the exact design offered by a different manufacturer. In a private message, would you mind showing me an example and the companies who have sold you the designs? You could also send by email at [email protected]. Thanks


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## BikerBill (Feb 18, 2014)

proworlded said:


> I am very familiar with virtually all the designs that every manufacturer offers and I have never seen the exact design offered by a different manufacturer. In a private message, would you mind showing me an example and the companies who have sold you the designs? You could also send by email at [email protected]. Thanks


Sure I can send you a message. But maybe you don't quite understand what my question was. You said yourself that wild side was a big customer of yours. So that means that you both had the same designs, right?

I just browsed your stock transfers and see the same designs from Artbrands, Springhill and FM expressions. The exact same. Let me shoot you an email. If you have all those designs I might as well buy them from one place, you.

My question was, do each of the companies above physically make the designs but all share the same design license? Or do they all have a copyright design, then sell them to other companies to re-sell? 

Anyways I'll shoot ya an email, thanks.


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## proworlded (Oct 3, 2006)

They all manufacture their own. I need to see them to provide a solid answer. We are (were) the Wildside distributor.


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## BikerBill (Feb 18, 2014)

proworlded said:


> They all manufacture their own. I need to see them to provide a solid answer. We are (were) the Wildside distributor.


Oh okay, that explains it then. So you all make each design that you own, then re-sell them to other companies. That is why each design seems to look and act differently, as I said above.

I sent you an email to that email address you provided about. Got links in it so may go to your spam folder. Now I understand why, if I buy a dozen stock transfers from one place, some work great and others not so good.

It's because they are all mixed up from different companies using their own transfer formulas. Makes sense now. I have found liquid blue designs work very well. Anyways hope you get my email, thank you.


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## proworlded (Oct 3, 2006)

I received your email and responded. We do not 'make' the designs. We are distributors for all the manufacturers.


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## BikerBill (Feb 18, 2014)

proworlded said:


> I received your email and responded. We do not 'make' the designs. We are distributors for all the manufacturers.


I see, okay thanks for clearing that up. I will respond to your email shortly. Thank you.


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## bigcol (Jun 5, 2019)

so have wildside transfers they had leftover gone to stahls


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## Zippy Doodah (Jul 10, 2011)

bigcol said:


> so have wildside transfers they had leftover gone to stahls


I have friends at The Wildside and everyone is being very quiet. I know there was a large inventory and if they were going to go out of business I imagine they would have tried to sell them off. Honestly, IDK, but I think there is going to be more ...

*Stahls bought The Wildside a couple of years ago. Stahls and The Wildside are one in the same. Stahls owns all the designs and all the transfer inventory.


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## proworlded (Oct 3, 2006)

Too early to make assumptions. I would allow a few days for the dust to clear.


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## Ademt (Nov 8, 2016)

Well, I loved them. I used to order custom transfers from them all the time and the quality was impeccable each time. I've been looking another company to place an order now but they are way more expensive than what Wildside used to charge me for 3 colors designs. Looks like I will be out of business too if I can not find another company to order soon.


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## n2mini (Oct 7, 2016)

You would think if Stahls was planning to just re-open it all under their name they would have done that at one time. Not make you go looking for other suppliers in hopes you come back to them. Surely that is not what they are doing. That is a bad business move if so...You might find someone you like better in the mean time..


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## missbees (May 29, 2012)

The company went to **** the instant Frank retired and Sean took over. The best salesmen were gone and I got assigned to some dumbass who ****ed up my custom order and lied about them cutting corners in the printing. THough I'm still surprised that even with Stahl's in charge he managed to run the company into the ground in only a couple years.


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## binki (Jul 16, 2006)

Businesses close all the time without notice. It usually means they have been trying to stay alive but they are completely out of money and the landlord has locked them out. No reason to get mad at them, it is just the way it goes. 

You can check https://pcl.uscourts.gov/pcl/index.jsf to see if they went BK. If so there may be a liquidation sale. If not, contact the leasing company of the business park they were in to see if the will have a sale.


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## Zippy Doodah (Jul 10, 2011)

Ademt said:


> Well, I loved them. I used to order custom transfers from them all the time and the quality was impeccable each time. I've been looking another company to place an order now but they are way more expensive than what Wildside used to charge me for 3 colors designs. Looks like I will be out of business too if I can not find another company to order soon.


I wouldn't shut it down for that. if you are only looking for custom transfers, you should shop around. Lots of people doing them. Might give DowlingGraphics.com a try, but there are many out there. In fact you should also, be able to find a few on this Forum that do custom transfers


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## Zippy Doodah (Jul 10, 2011)

binki said:


> Businesses close all the time without notice. It usually means they have been trying to stay alive but they are completely out of money and the landlord has locked them out. No reason to get mad at them, it is just the way it goes.
> 
> You can check https://pcl.uscourts.gov/pcl/index.jsf to see if they went BK. If so there may be a liquidation sale. If not, contact the leasing company of the business park they were in to see if the will have a sale.


Frank still owns the building


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## n2mini (Oct 7, 2016)

Any new word on this. Inventory sell, opening back under different name etc? What I liked about Wildside and Proworld is I'm just a hobbyist and do shirts for myself and friends and family and I could buy tranfers from them 1 at a time and not have to buy 5 or 10 of the same one. Wildside had a min. order dollar wise but was only $20-$25... Is there anyone else who offers the variety Wildside and Proworld offers without having a big minimum order like they do..


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## proworlded (Oct 3, 2006)

We are currently negotiating for the entire inventory. Probably another couple of weeks before the inventory is counted, etc.


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## BikerBill (Feb 18, 2014)

proworlded said:


> We are currently negotiating for the entire inventory. Probably another couple of weeks before the inventory is counted, etc.


Cool. But does this mean that once those are gone, the designs will never be made again? I really liked a lot of their biker designs,,,, when they worked. 

I assume some other companies will be asking the designers to work with them now. So maybe we will see them being made fresh someplace else.


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## proworlded (Oct 3, 2006)

We are currently in negotiations for their inventory. When completed, we will have the biker designs that are available.


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## Zippy Doodah (Jul 10, 2011)

proworlded said:


> We are currently in negotiations for their inventory. When completed, we will have the biker designs that are available.


Are you going to be producing the transfers or are you just getting the available inventory?


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## proworlded (Oct 3, 2006)

Right now we will be selling the inventory.


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## LATeeStore (Jul 25, 2019)

Dear Ed,

The Rumor was ProWorld will pay few millions and get all the design pallets at WildSide to resell them. but it has been 2 months now and the designs Pallets are still sitting here in Los Angeles at wild side. any word if you will be getting them or some of them and when ?, the rumor now that ArtBrands may buy them and resell them. since there's no deal with PROworld so far. please advise. Thank you.


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## BikerBill (Feb 18, 2014)

I see that Artbrands now has at least one designer from Wildside making designs for them now. I think they will get a few more of their designers.

This first one does motorcycle biker designs, which is great for me since I exclusively sell biker designs on denim shirts and vest.


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## LATeeStore (Jul 25, 2019)

You are right, I started to find some wild side designs showing up on ArtBrands. I don't think PROworld will be getting those designs and instead seems like ART Brands are getting them or duplicating them. their prices are lower than PROworld as well.


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## n2mini (Oct 7, 2016)

but you have to buy 6 or 12 at a time, compared to ProWorld and Wildside ( before closing of course )


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## protogear (Jul 2, 2007)

Hi, 

Not to beat a dead horse but does anyone know why Wild Side actually closed down ? With such a big catalog of product designs it’s hard to imagine they they just shut the doors. Was hoping for a good reason since they were a percentage of my designs that I sell. Thanks.


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## n2mini (Oct 7, 2016)

old thread but has anyone heard anything from Wildside and or know of any other place besides Pro World ( which I already buy from ) that offers a nice selection of transfers without having to buy 5-10 of each...


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