I ordered a set of corvette "steel shields", side pipe covers last week . I also Emailed them twice through Yahoo checkout about when I would expect them to arive, NO Answer, So now Im thinking did I just get ripped off, no communication from them at all. Im in the dark here with $400 on the line.
One would think that I would get a email from
Steel Shields thanking me for the order and it would be shipped soon. SOMETHING!:

 

Be patient. The owner is a really good guy and he is on a completely different schedule than you are. True, you may get the shields before the email reply, but it'll all work out.

 

Dean is great guy and his customer service is top notch. He exceeded my expectations! Don't worry.

 

Ok, Maybe I was to harsh, I got into the habit of not trusting anyone, thanks to our politicians.
I do remember talking to him here. I was just worried that I didnt get a responce or that my money went somewhere else, never used yahoo check out before.

 

I was "going to" order my Steelshields directly from Dean on his website, but when I called his service guy last week he gave me the run around on availability, had to call me back after he found out wether or not he actually had any, had a story about shortages in the wharehouse, and when I advised him that Corvette South was selling Dean's steelshields on Ebay for $30 less and asked if he could match their price, he got ****ty with me and told me "I should just buy from Corvette South if they actually had any". So I hung up, and called Corvette South. Bought and paid by phone on the spot from a very personable guy. Shipped USPS for $15 and ended up cheaper than their on-line price. I had them 48 hours later on my doorstep. Think I saved about $40 over Steelshields own website.

As for the steelshields themselves... They do look nice on the car, seem that they will be easy to clean, are polished nicely, and dress up the car. Downside is cost vs value. I really do not see them worth $400. Maybe $100 in material plus marketing and patent. I'd feel better paying more like $250 or so.

Had to trim a couple inches off the hose clamps that mount them. The header wrap that is included to prevent scratching was a good 4 inches short of reaching all the way around the 4inch tube. The lettering and slots look to be stamped out of the metal and do leave some deformation where they're stamped. Dean's own marketing guy claims they are stamped oversees, so I'm sure manufacturing costs are no where near the sales price. Also found it interesting how a retailer could sell the exact same shield 10% under the primary manufacture's own website and then the guy tells me to buy elsewhere? Poor customer service. For $400, I did expect something of higher quality.

Anyway-they look good and should help to protect my kids.

 

I do remember that Dean said the shields were LASER cut not stamped!!!

 

No problem, First I know Gary is out of stock on some items and I am busy trying to keep up with orders. I will be shipping stock on Friday by FedEx, I hope you will be getting your shields the following week. When Gary gets them he usually re-sends them the same day by FedEx.

If one of my distributors wants to sell at cost or below it is with out my knowledge.

Also I have been working with Gary for a long time and I find it difficult to believe he has said anything harsh to anyone, but saying that he and I have been suffering with frustrating shipping problems over the past few months, mostly US customs holding shipments. But now we will be using FedEx for shipping into the states.

BTW, I met Gary right here on this forum as he is a long time C3 owner and a loves his 69 with a passion.

One more point is if you used Yahoo checkout you have a problem, You see we use Google checkout.

For those that had a problem with the short heat wrap I now supply longer strips that may have to be cut shorter.

My Steel shields are made of the highest quality stainless steel that is laser cut individually plus are licenced by GM and have to pass there stringent quality standards.

Be patiant for you will get your Steel Shields and I promase you you will love them.

For those that have said good things thanks and as was said here in Thailand the time diffrence prevents me from responding right away.

(thanks Jeff for the heads up on this post)

Side Pipes Rock

 

I have some custom ordered covers here for 3js 68 vert,and they came from Dean!Great product,and I don't know Dean personally,but have followed him on here for a long time,and seen ALOT of guys opt for his covers,and have never seen one negative response,or unhappy customer!

 

Dean-
As I said above, you have a nice product, just pricey.
Not sure how a retailer is selling for less than you, though they did say they have a very small mark up on these. You seem very straight forward and honest from what I've read and I in no way intended to bash your name or your product.
Good luck with sales and your business.
Steve

 

Seems to me Dean's products have a certain amount of profit built into them, rightly so, as it's a business and what's the point if money can't be made? If another distributor sells them for almost no profit at all, that's fine. They are trying to attract customers via the low prices, and they probably aren't losing anything more than breaking even. Question is about ethics. Some distributors are not allowed to make price changes to products, and Dean may have to look into that aspect of it.

 

Thanks DB you have that right I surly will be looking into that as today is the first time I learned of the practice.

For anyone that has some good suggestions as to how I can make my steel shields better I welcome your thoughts. I developed my shields right here on the CF C3 pages and people like DB and others have given good advise and have been been following my products development.

Maybe some day I will even make a profit.

 

Thank for the reply Dean, I double checked and it was Google checkout so all is good.
Being a pessimist is hard work.
Thank;
Tom

 

 

I never understand why some vendors don't reply to emails. Communication makes every purchase go so smooth. I think sellers would hardly have a complaint if they would reply and provide up to date information. Just have to wonder about those who don't. I've found that when in business it's not the mistkes that are made just how you service the problems. We all make errors. Honest communication is the key. When you catch a vendor lying you have a tendecy to never believe anything they say after that.
By the way I don't mean this to reflect on this vendor. Just a general comment on vendors and sellers.

 

Interesting comments. What I find odd is I did not know anything about this until Jeff sent me a message to let me know about this post. The other thing I have noticed is when a forum member posts a negative about a vendor many jump on the band wagon with out knowing anything about the situation or even if the OP had sent an Email to ask whats up before posting a negative comment publicly. In this case I never received anything but maybe Gary did and I was not informed.

In any case I am busy trying to get a buildup of stock in the USA soon so all back orders will be filled.

Some fellow members here have had questions or comments that Gary or I have always followed up with as some have mentioned above.

I have not lived in the land of lawyers for over twenty years so maybe that is the norm now with the internet.

 

Bought mine through Gary. Stand up guy! As for price, there is nothing else out there comparable. If it keeps me and my wife from getting burnt - worth every penny. Full speed ahead Dean - excellent product.