As I was just tagged in a post on this topic, I figured I'd pop in as someone who had a successful transaction with Cory. His communication is definitely not good. It was probably better for me than for those who are currently waiting, as I'm sure he's only gotten more slammed with custom orders. Here's a quick rundown of my communication schedule:
5/8: Contacted Cory and asked him for a quote on the piece I wanted.
5/10: Cory replied with a price.
5/11: I told him I wanted him to blow the piece, asked if he took Paypal.
5/11 2.5 hours later: He asked for my email to send an invoice, told me the piece would take "a few days" to make. I replied with my email, told him no problem.
5/12: Cory messages to ask what size joint I wanted, he forgot. I responded within a half hour to give him details.
5/18: After a week of no contact from Cory after I told him the joint size I wanted, I messaged him saying "no pressure, not pestering, just checking in."
5/18 1.5 hours later: Cory replies and says he's almost done, the piece should be done tomorrow.
5/21: Cory sends me a picture of my recycler with a note saying it's done. I reply and tell him it's beautiful, etc.
5/23: Still having not received an invoice, I message Cory and ask if he's tried to send one yet.
5/27: Cory messages almost a week after finishing the recycler to tell me that he was looking everywhere in his Paypal for my payment, and asks if he didn't send me an invoice. Then says he's sorry he must have forgotten to send the invoice, but my recycler is done and packed up and can be sent out that night. I paid the invoice and sent him a message telling him so within 2 hours.
6/2: No contact from Cory and no package, so I message to ask whether he has a tracking number for the package that I can have. At that point I assumed it had gone out on 5/27 like he'd indicated, so I was starting to worry that it hadn't arrived. An hour later, Cory messages to tell me that he sent out the recycler the night before (6/1) and it would be delivered Wednesday, 6/4.
6/6: Recycler finally arrives after a delay by the USPS.
One thing I should mention here, that I'd hesitated mentioning before, was that anyone dealing with Cory may want to offer to pay extra for more secure shipping options. My recycler was mailed in a padded envelope! My heart seriously dropped when I saw it, as the envelope was obviously a little torn up, but it did make the trip intact (a testament to his workmanship, no doubt). He charged me $150 shipped for the piece (which is INCREDIBLE), so I'm not surprised corners were cut on shipping costs, but I would have gladly paid $10 more to have it sent in a cardboard box and reduced the possibility of breakage in transit.
Despite the communication difficulties and delays I experienced, I must say, my CGD recyclers are my favorite pieces. The custom recycler I bought via the exchange above is an absolutely amazing piece of glass. I love it and would cry if I broke it. I'm very glad that I was able to follow the process through with Cory. For what it's worth, he seems like a good guy, just a busy, scattered guy who is experiencing an insane surge in demand for his work.
If you can navigate the process successfully, I doubt you'll be disappointed with the end result.