Customizer's Current Wait Times Thread

[Mark7912 0]

Regarding North Star jerseys, I have also had some issues communicating with Josh, and I am getting a little worried about it.  I'm not going to go into the details, but I have had a large jersey order with him for over a year.  I understand that it takes quite a while with any company that does customization, especially a large order.  For the most part, he's been very good about returning emails.  When he doesn't within a week, I resend the email, and he replies.  The last time I tired emailing him was about a month ago, and he did respond, 'I will have your stuff to you prior to Christmas, I promise you that.'  He seems to have a problem with saying that orders will be ready by a given date, as I've been told my order would be completed several times before.  The work he does is great, I did have one jersey completed and sent to me in late 2019, and his Instagram feed shows great jerseys (he hasn't updated that or Facebook in a few months, though).  And don't get me wrong, from emailing him back and forth over the last year or so, Josh seems like great guy to me.  So, probably like you, I'm in a bit of a quandary as to what to do, if anything, at least for now.

[jsh139 0]

I always got the feeling he was a one-man show. Is it actually a larger company and he is just the contact person? If it’s just him it sounds like he’s gotten in over his head. 

[Mark7912 0]

51 minutes ago, jsh139 said:

I always got the feeling he was a one-man show. Is it actually a larger company and he is just the contact person? If it’s just him it sounds like he’s gotten in over his head. 

Yes, I believe you are correct, I think it's just him.  And I think he also has another full-time job.  I dunno, maybe part of it is that he is very particular about making sure that the customizations he does are 100% accurate (which you can see examples of on his Instagram).  If he is getting swamped, or if another job is taking more of his time, which I think at least one of is true, I feel for him.  That's what I mean about not knowing how to handle it, I don't want to be a raving jerk about it, but I would like to get my jerseys back.

[Van67 0]

The last email I got from Josh at NSJ in December, he told me he hired someone to help. Obviously nothing has changed. I do know this is basically a business in the basement for him, so I'm trying really hard to be graceful and lenient with my rising displeasure. I am a patient guy... when I'm given honest and accurate information, and my attempts to communicate when you have 5 of my jerseys (a lot of you send a lot more than 5 at a time), get answered in a timely manner. With having to send multiple messages in more than one way (usually a few emails and Facebook messages) to get attention and being the second time I've been told I would have an 8-week turnaround that's turned into 6+ months, my patience is razor thin. I'm at the point where if work hasn't actually started on my jerseys, I just want to send him the cost to ship the box back to me.... I just need to hear from him. 

[Van67 0]

To add to the above, I concur that Josh is in over his head at NSJ. Putting 2+2 together, he got a ton of our business around the time Keener raised his prices. That's another reason why I'm trying hard to not get mad, but that gets more difficult the more time that passes without response.

[perthisthereason 0]

1 hour ago, Van67 said:

I'm at the point where if work hasn't actually started on my jerseys, I just want to send him the cost to ship the box back to me.... I just need to hear from him

I've been told that my order would ship next week. Unfortunately, that was in November and the last I have heard from Josh. 

[LetsGoCaps 0]

Not to NSJ or Josh in particular (I've never dealt with them), but I would much rather a company tell me "hey, we're swamped, it will probably be 6 more months", rather than empty promises or dates not met, or not responding.  I've worked a number of jobs where I've been "in the weeds", and I think honesty goes a long way.  

Especially since I think most of us are already resigned to long timelines on our jerseys from day one.

Edited January 11 by LetsGoCaps

[jsh139 0]

I usually think that trashing someone publicly is a last resort, but maybe it warrants a post in the Authentic or Bad Jersey Trader/Seller group? Maybe a simple, “Has anyone heard from Josh at North Star Jerseys recently?” To get a conversation going. Might light a fire under him to respond to emails in a more timely fashion. 

Edited January 11 by jsh139

[Van67 0]

I heard from Josh this morning after yet another email last night. He did apologize and told me my jerseys would be shipped by the end of next week. My response included a date of expectation by which I will have received an invoice, paid for the work and received a tracking number. We'll see how that goes.

[Mark7912 0]

Van67 - Good idea to ask for a tracking number.  Going from personal experience, if you don't get a tracking number right away, insist on it.  Could you please let us know how this progresses, as it will probably affect what I do regarding my order?

[Van67 0]

Getting a tracking number is never really in question with the various customizers we use. I just expressed an expectation to receive it by a certain date, hoping to hold him to his word of "end of next week". Time will tell.

[Mark7912 0]

34 minutes ago, Van67 said:

Getting a tracking number is never really in question with the various customizers we use. I just expressed an expectation to receive it by a certain date, hoping to hold him to his word of "end of next week". Time will tell.

All I am saying is that, when dealing with North Star and Josh, getting a tracking number is in question.  I can confirm this from personal experience with him.

[Van67 0]

35 minutes ago, Mark7912 said:

All I am saying is that, when dealing with North Star and Josh, getting a tracking number is in question.  I can confirm this from personal experience with him.

Fair enough, but I haven't had that with prior experience with NSJ. My communication issues with Josh have only been recently.

[Van67 0]

FYI for those who wanted to know. I got my invoice from NSJ today.

[spudrock512 0]

I have been waiting since 10/19 on one jersey kit from North Star. I even said they didn't have to sew it, just send it loose. I paid that day too.

Edit: Never mind, just got confirmation the kit was sent out last week!

Edited Friday at 09:22 PM by spudrock512

[TheMadHat 0]

Anybody got any suggestions on 90’s Canucks customization? I’ve always used EPS but as others mentioned, I’ve noticed the numbers are set too low. If it is the case that they refuse to have them placed higher, even if requested, then I may want to look into using somebody else. I have also heard about them ignoring requests for nameplates and patches being sewn a specific way. Unfortunately, using a team customizer is not an option. 

[Van67 0]

Keener did my 90s Canucks jerseys just fine... but that was also when their prices were reasonable. Regarding EPS, I've asked them for specific sewing styles for nameplates and patches (IE: straight stitch instead of zig-zag). Based on my communication with them, they might charge you an extra few dollars "if we have to sew a special way" for patches, but for nameplates (be it how they surge or sew them to the jersey), the answer I got was "we'll do it how we do it".

Edited Saturday at 07:20 PM by Van67

[Mark7912 0]

Good for you.  I hate to harp on this, but if you haven't already received a tracking number from Josh, I would recommend contacting him and asking for it.  The reason for this is my personal experience, which I am reluctant to share because it reflects badly on Josh, and myself.  Josh invoiced me a while back for a number of my jerseys, which I paid.  I did not receive an email regarding shipping, and after a week, I started to wonder what was up, and emailed him asking for a tracking number.  He told me that he shipped it with Canada Post, but couldn't find the tracking number to give to me.  (All parcels of that size sent with CP automatically have a tracking number.)  He said he would look into it, and I did as well. Long story short, after much worry and wondering, many weeks later I emailed him and he replied that he had received the package back, because of incorrect addressing.  He did not contact me about it until I emailed him, and, of course, I wondered if the package had actually been sent or not in the first place.  He told me he would quickly finish off my remaining three jerseys, then send the whole bunch out to me.  That was a couple of months ago, and I'm still waiting.  This would be less frustrating if I hadn't read a review on NSJ's Facebook page, which indicates that a customer dropped off two jerseys with him in December, and received them back in early January.  I sent him two emails this week, which haven't been responded to.  Once I get a response, I am also going to give him a date by which I want the jerseys finished, and if that isn't met I will ask him to send me all my jerseys whether they are completed or not.  I have a few more jerseys to do, and I have decided to send the more complicated ones (eg. Isles wave) to Keener, and order in kits and have them sewn on here for the simpler ones.  I know Keener is expensive, but at this point, I could care less.  I just want this done, with the least amount of hassle possible.

[Van67 0]

I paid as the business week was basically ending. Expecting a tracking number by Saturday morning is a bit unreasonable. I'll give him a business day or two before I go harassing him for it. 

I do agree that the review on FB is troublesome, if accurate. No way should anyone be getting a couple jerseys in a matter of weeks when so many of us are waiting 6-7 months. It's also an online review, so many of which are complete horse**** anyway. It doesn't make sense that one person, who happens to go write a review on his FB page that's been inactive since October, got jerseys done in a few weeks when so many of us know how backed up NSJ is.

Edited Saturday at 07:59 PM by Van67

[Mark7912 0]

5 minutes ago, Van67 said:

I paid as the business week was basically ending. Expecting a tracking number by Saturday morning is a bit unreasonable. I'll give him a business day or two before I go harassing him for it. 

I do agree that the review on FB is troublesome. No way should anyone be getting a couple jerseys in a matter of weeks when so many of us are waiting 6-7 months. It's also an online review, so many of which are complete horse**** anyway. I hate to be accusatory, but perhaps a friend just wrote that to help out with a positive review.

Yes, that is a good point about Facebook reviews.  At this point, I guess anything is possible.  

[mfitz804 0]

I don’t ask for a lot, but I’ve never had EPS tell me no to any request I’ve made. 90% of what I have done have been Devils so it wasn’t necessary, but they have always accommodated my requests on other stuff. 

[Van67 0]

29 minutes ago, mfitz804 said:

I don’t ask for a lot, but I’ve never had EPS tell me no to any request I’ve made. 90% of what I have done have been Devils so it wasn’t necessary, but they have always accommodated my requests on other stuff. 

Interesting. I have a Canada 2010 Swift jersey that has the nameplate zig-zag stitched on when those game jerseys had a straight stitch, because EPS refused to do it anything but their way. It's been a while since that one, so maybe I'll try again as I'll soon need a Canucks Adidas nameplate done with only the top and bottom surged. Wish me luck lol.

Edited Saturday at 08:37 PM by Van67

[mfitz804 0]

21 minutes ago, Van67 said:

Interesting. I have a Canada 2010 Swift jersey that has the nameplate zig-zag stitched on when those game jerseys had a straight stitch, because EPS refused to do it anything but their way. It's been a while since that one, so maybe I'll try again as I'll soon need a Canucks Adidas nameplate done with only the top and bottom surged. Wish me luck lol.

I have specifically requested that exactly, and have received it. 

[jsh139 0]

That seems kind of excessive to me to be charging extra for different stitch patterns on patches. I mean, isn’t it literally as easy as punching in a number on the sewing machine keypad?

[mfitz804 0]

59 minutes ago, jsh139 said:

That seems kind of excessive to me to be charging extra for different stitch patterns on patches. I mean, isn’t it literally as easy as punching in a number on the sewing machine keypad?

When I asked for a nameplate to be straight stitched and not zig zag, I was not charged extra.