Mitchell Orval recently launched his latest business venture Tiny Truck Tribe online and managed to spruik it to Today hosts Karl Stefanovic and Sarah Abo on Wednesday amid evolving controversy surrounding his new company.
However, despite getting his toy forklifts in front of the glamorous breakfast show hosts, the controversial influencer, 27, has already been forced to defend himself against critics.
Eyebrows were raised this week over how quickly Mitch gained a 4.9-star review average from more than 25 customers during a pre-sale period, with accusations the father-of-two is only ‘drop shipping’ the remote control vehicles – a claim Mitch denies.
Drop shipping is a form of retail business in which the seller accepts customer orders without keeping stock on hand, by direct delivery from the manufacturer to the customer.
Orval’s appearance on the Today breakfast show saw hosts Karl, 49, and Sarah, 38, playing around with the toy forklifts in their Channel Nine studio as they crossed live to Mitch at his home.
Mitchell Orval, 27, recently launched his latest business venture Tiny Truck Tribe online and managed to spruik it to Today hosts Karl Stefanovic, 49, (left) and Sarah Abo, 38, (right) on Wednesday amid evolving controversy surrounding his new company
‘These days I feel like your kids are just, all they want to do is be stuck behind iPads and TV screens,’ Mitch told the hosts from his backyard as his three-year-old son Arti operated a toy forklift behind him.
‘I wanted to come up with something that gets them out of the house, gets them learning but also has a little bit of fun,’ he continued.
‘The way I look at it, they’re the future builders of our generation, so why not get them started early?’
Hilarious behind-the-scenes footage emerged just a few hours after the segment, which showed Today anchor Sarah cramming herself inside one of the tiny vehicles as Karl used a remote to drive it across the studio.
Despite the positive press Mitch received on TV, the influencer has been forced to contend against online critics who have pointed out apparent inconsistencies in his website which have raised questions.
‘These days I feel like your kids are just, all they want to do is be stuck behind iPads and TV screens,’ Mitch (pictured) told the hosts from his backyard as his three-year-old son Arti operated a toy forklift behind him
Instagram watchdog Aussie Influencer Opinions took to social media on Monday to point out Mitch had ‘only made 100 units’ for pre-order but had ’25+ customer reviews’ on the product’s website.
The account went on to share several messages they received from followers also pointing out the confusing timeline of the reviews.
One person said: ‘Somehow the website had 25+ positive reviews when the pre-sale went live… but he only had 100 to sell, so would he really be sending out 25 in advance that people have reviewed as “the best investment we’ve made”.’
Hilarious behind-the-scenes footage emerged just a few hours after the segment, which showed Today anchor Sarah cramming herself inside one of the tiny vehicles as Karl used a remote to drive it across the studio
Despite the positive press Mitch received on TV, the influencer has been forced to contend against online critics who have pointed out apparent inconsistencies in his website which have raised questions
Another claimed his website had customer reviews up before the product had even launched.
According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), product reviews ‘should be independent and reflect the genuine opinion of the person who experienced the product or service’.
‘It’s against the law for a business to create fake or misleading reviews [and/or] arrange for others to create fake or misleading reviews,’ it states.
Since the reviews were called into question, at least seven vanished from his Tiny Truck Tribe website.
His company has also responded to followers on its Instagram account who have asked about the early reviews, saying: ‘We’ve had the product for a while now.
‘There’s been a lot of backend work, content creating, testing of the product through friends and families before we actually went live to the public and news.’
However, critics of his company have gone on to point out further discrepancies in his product reviews and accused the influencer of ‘drop shipping’ his tiny trucks – a claim Mitch vehemently denies.
Eyebrows were raised over how quickly the controversial influencer gained a 4.9-star review from more than 25 customers for his toy forklifts during a pre-sale period. Pictured: Mitch’s toddler sons Arti and Sunny
Some followers pointed out images of the product included in his website reviews can be found on other websites like the UK toy company Outside Play and Ali Baba.
‘People need to know that Mitch hasn’t “made” this product,’ Aussie Influencer Opinions wrote alongside screenshots of since deleted comments from Mitch’s Instagram account accusing him of drop shipping.
‘The exact same product is available on several other websites, for $100-$300 less than the selling price on Tiny Truck Tribe.’
Mitch is selling his toy forklifts for a ‘discounted’ price of $575, with the full price being listed on his website as $675.
The influencer has now taken a firm stand against the drop shipping claims and invited his naysayers to take a tour of the warehouse where he manufactures his ‘tiny trucks’.
Instagram watchdog Aussie Influencer Opinions took to social media on Monday to point out Mitch had ‘only made 100 units’ for pre-order but had ’25+ customer reviews’ on the product’s website
Since the reviews were called into question, Mitch has removed at least seven of them from his Tiny Truck Tribe website
His company has also responded to followers on its Instagram account who have asked about the early reviews
‘We are manufacturing these and ordering into our warehouse. This product cannot be drop shipped,’ the Tiny Truck Tribe wrote on its Instagram account when followers asked the company to address the drop shipping claims.
‘Drop shipping means you can sell an individual item and they ship it to the customer. This product requires you to manufacture a minimum order.
‘If anyone can find a way to drop ship this product and beat our price, we encourage you to show us.’
Meanwhile, over on Mitch’s Instagram account, he posted a screenshot of a drop shipping accusation and wrote: ‘It’s always the people sitting around watching everyone else in the arena who have the most to say.
Critics of his company have gone on to point out further discrepancies in his product reviews and accused the influencer of ‘drop shipping’ his tiny trucks – a claim Mitch vehemently denies.
Some followers pointed out images of the product included in his website reviews can be found on other websites like the UK toy company Outside Play
Mitch has now taken a firm stand against the drop shipping claims and invited his naysayers to take a tour of the warehouse where he manufactures the toy forklifts
‘Remember most people that want to see you fail, is because it makes them feel better about never trying in the first place [sic],’ he added.
Drop shipping occurs when a person or company acts as a middleman to sell goods on their website which are manufactured, stocked and shipped by another supplier.
When customers place an order on the website, the middleman will send the order to another company which stocks the goods and ships them to the customers.
The middleman will usually charge the customer more money for the product so they can take a cut of the profit made by the supplier.
Despite the criticism Mitch has received on his personal and company Instagram account, friends and fans have flocked to the comments in support of his latest business venture
Fitness influencer Kayla Itsines (right) shared a video to her Instagram account which showed her toddler Jax Stokes Woodroffe, one, (left) sitting in one of Mitch’s toy forklifts
Despite the criticism Mitch has received on his personal and company Instagram accounts, friends and fans have flocked to the comments in support of his latest business venture.
Melbourne TV presenter Emmylou MacCarthy wrote: ‘These [toy forklifts] are so cute! I wish my little ones were still little ones to get one of these!’
Nine weekend news presenter Mia Glover added, ‘These look so good!’ while influencer Sarah’s Day commented: ‘Stop it right now and take my money.’
Elsewhere, fitness influencer Kayla Itsines shared a video to her Instagram account which showed her toddler Jax Stokes Woodroffe, one, sitting in one of Mitch’s toy forklifts.
‘OMG Tiny Truck Tribe. Best present ever!’ she captioned the video.
Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Mitch for comment.
