ZStuff Contact

Dan:

This topic pops up multiple times each year.  Zstuff puts out an excellent product but, ordering directly from them rather than an online retailer who sells Zstuff can be an exercise in frustration.  

Dennis is usually pretty good about responding but I have concluded the person who runs the online store checks email and voicemail once a month, if that.  I suspect their business model is more targeted to dealing with other businesses than the public despite the fact they have an online store.

The only suggestion I have is what I have done and what I’ve read other folks have done; keep emailing Dennis and leaving messages.  If this still fails to garner a response, send an email and leave a voicemail threatening to cancel the order. I’ve seen other threads on the forum indicating this last resort threat generally gets your order shipped.

You might also check with online retailers who sell Zstuff to see if they have in stock the items you want.  

Edit:  Looking at the websites of several online retailers; they are showing “out of stock” or “backorder” status for these 1010 crossing gates.  Walthers also notes “no info from supplier”.

Curt

Thanks, Curt.  I guesss I should have searched for comments first.  Since they have my money, and I really want the gates, I’ll start emailing and calling until someone answers me.  Somewhere, I saw that they were back in stock.  I guess we’ll find out.

Yeah, the Zstuff express website should come with a warning sign.  Dennis kids run the sight I don’t think anyone has anything good to say about it.  Buy from Ross or someone else.  At least with PayPal it will be easy to get a refund.

Contest the credit card charge due to undelivered merchandise.

I had a similar experience with them. I placed an order on their website and received the wrong item. I sent them a couple of emails but didn't get a response. I paid with Paypal, so I just contested the charge. Paypal refunded my money because ZStuff never responded to my Paypal dispute. In the end I just ordered the item from another website.

Good news, I just received a paypal notice that my shipment is on the way.  So ZStuff is not dead and they do have the DZ 1010.👍🏻

My DZ 1010 from ZStuff arrived today and it's not broken.  So, ZStuff does have the DZ 1010 back in stock.  I would expect that other retailer they supply should have them as well.

I wish I had read this thread before ordering from them directly. It's 2019 and they are still unable to provide order acknowledgements, tracking information, or answer emails or the phone! I'm cancelling via PayPal and will order from one of our great retailers.

I believe Ross has some reasonable prices on Z Stuff: http://rossswitches.com/z-stufffortrains.aspx

My club and I have had very unsatisfactory (and rude) interactions with Z Stuff, so I feel your pain.  But how is buying their products via another outlet helpful?  Why not vote with your dollars and support a company that is more responsive and respectful?  Other companies make signals. 

I'm using Ross switches on my layout and need the Z-1000 switch motors. I have reordered through Gardner, The Train Doctor. Will certainly consider your suggestion, Mallard4468, when it comes time to order signals. 

Check with either Mike or Tom at Gar Graves. They sell Z-Stuff and are very helpful.

Just an FYI - Gardner, The Train Doctor is the online shopping portal for Gargraves.

I recently experienced a delay in receiving a Z-Stuff order, too.  I emailed Susan; she replied they were delayed by a large number of orders and promised my order would go out in a couple of days.  It did.  Try Susan, she probably has more time to follow up on orders.

Z-Stuff may be a little slow on orders, but my experience with repairs has been excellent.  Dennis has responded to my emails promptly, returned my items within a week and charged very little.  I returned a semaphore that  I probably wore out by running my trains a lot.  I explained that I wasn't faulting the quality of the product, but Dennis sent me a new signal anyway at no charge.

Great product, great service.  I have no complaints. 

John

Steam Crazy posted:

Z-Stuff may be a little slow on orders, but my experience with repairs has been excellent.  Dennis has responded to my emails promptly, returned my items within a week and charged very little.  I returned a semaphore that  I probably wore out by running my trains a lot.  I explained that I wasn't faulting the quality of the product, but Dennis sent me a new signal anyway at no charge.

Great product, great service.  I have no complaints. 

John

 

Agree 100%. Purchase the items at another vendor and Dennis will be there when/if theres any issues.

Theres really no point in purchasing direct, since many of the items are substantially less expensive at the other  vendors anyway.

Most folks don't purchase Trains directly from Lionel, its kinda the same concept. However, Dennis' customer service is akin to "Mike Reagan era" Lionel.

Good to know that the support for their products is robust. I've had that kind of great service from Ross Custom switches on an occasion or two. I have 26 of their switches on my layout so far and each has a DZ-1000 switch motor.