Why I wont buy Sheldon Black anymore!

[mvapes]

Its been a while since I've been on here as I had an accident and was out of commission for a few weeks. I have to share something with you guys for your own future reference.

A week ago my wife came home with a brand new Sheldon Black Signature Series mini beaker with a showerhead and splash guard. Bad ass piece, fell in love with it right away. Well, I had an accident after my daughter came running in my cave and startled me I elbowed the piece and it barely bumped into it resulting in a dislodged showerhead. After I dried my eyes I went to the SB website trying to find and contact info for repair and aside from a generic email notification there was nothing.

I called retailers, and friends, and just about anyone I know. I was able to drum up an email for Adam at Sheldon Black and after sending him a message asking for help (in which Im totally willing to pay for) repairing the piece. The SOB replied that its not in SB's best interest dealing with the public and I should ask my smoke shop what to do. What the f*ck is that, are you kidding me? I broke a medicali once and they not only repaired it, they DID it for free!!!

In light of this, I for one will not be purchasing anymore Sheldon Black Glass! And while I was searching for contact info I found some pretty rough stories about others who have had the pleasure dealing with them as well. I guess the stories were true.

 

[ilovebOObs]

man sorry to hear about your piece bro.
i have a sheldon black six shooter, now i know not to contact them if anything happens to it.

 

[Nycdeisel]

Damn that sucks man sorry for your loss. I never was into the SB pieces they are too generic and the labels are a little too much


i hope youa re able to get something better to replace it, may i suggest a BC showerhead bubbler, i own one so i can suggest it and say it works great and is a very very sturdy piece.
p.s: look for reinforced circs, showerheads

 

[mvapes]

Thanks guys, I actually went and bought a Zion Precision piece - Stemless Inline with an 8 arm tree and I like it alot. Reinforced 5mm and very nicely blown. I have a few high end pieces, Medicali, RooR, and a Zob mini circ and my Shelly. I have something by a company that claims to be out of Philly as well called EGI Glass (Aquaries) - thick as shit, 9mm all around but kinda sloppy with some bubbles and some definate imperfections. I heard their chinese blown but marketed as a US company.

And for what its worth I have done alot of research on SB online and the stories about them are insane. Ranging from people who have seen them at shows to vendors complaining about them. Alot of shit out there about there being alot of drugs involved, someone said at a show they were impossible to talk to because they were all strung out all the time. NY Diesel - I love reading your stuff, you have mad knowledge in the glass and hope to soak up some of your wisdom!



My new piece:

 

[Auralis]

My new piece:


http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j424/mstotsky1/2011-12-09_21-12-21_417.jpg

Insane! How's it hit?

Also re: SB, if he's too strung out to talk to people at shows or too much of an asshole to take phone calls or help a customer out, how do we know he's aware and vigilant enough to make quality pieces?

 

[Todai]

I think you will find most glassblowers prefer to deal directly with distributors and shops rather than directly with the public. I know I would.

 

[Pappy]

mvapes... BB can prolly fix it.. Tell him Pappy sent you.
Glassrepair805
6 harbor way #166
Santa barbara ca 93109
805-896-6743

 

[justvape]

A local blower will be the quickest, cheapest and if hes good will be just as good

 

[Bouldorado]

A local blower will be the quickest, cheapest and if hes good will be just as good

not always. the shop in my town starts pretty much any repair at $120. that's how much I paid for the repair of maybe the top 3 inches of the stemless piece on my mini showerhead. and the work is definitely not perfect, lot of air bubbles. I could have taken it an hour north to another shop for half the price, but that would have taken 4-5 weeks. my point is, the LHS isn't always the cheapest, especially if they have a monopoly on local repair work.

 

[twoleftfeet]

Check out the stories on the hitman guys if you want to talk about sketch.
Anyways yeah a lot of blowers don't want to deal with the public for many different reasons, I wouldn't take it personal. I would also suggest talking to the shop where you bought it, hopefully they can hook you up with a repair.

 

[hereatlast]

Check out the stories on the hitman guys if you want to talk about sketch.

Seriously, with their business practices, giant labels and prices I won't be supporting Hitman anytime soon.



I have to say, regarding the OP: doesn't surprise me much. Kind of status quo in the glass industry IME, especially for a company like Sheldon Black putting out large prodo. runs of some of their pieces it would be hard to handle repairs as well.

 

[SD_haze]

Check out the stories on the hitman guys if you want to talk about sketch.

I tried googling but couldnt find any "dirt" on hitman glass. Never heard anything explicitly bad about them, just know they have fairly innovative percolators.

Definitely would like to know though, what negative stuff have they done/do?
What kind of bad business practices?

 

[mvapes]

Its not so much that they wouldn't help me, its that Adam was a total dbag about it. As for Todai, why is that? Why would you not deal with the public? They are the ones supporting you aren't they? Why do you think companies like magic flight do so well?

 

[mvapes]

it hits like a champ! The vapor tamer created a little drag but I went ahead and added a pyrex 10 arm ashcatcher to pre-vapor tamer and that mofo is sweet!!!

My new piece:


http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j424/mstotsky1/2011-12-09_21-12-21_417.jpg

Insane! How's it hit?

Also re: SB, if he's too strung out to talk to people at shows or too much of an asshole to take phone calls or help a customer out, how do we know he's aware and vigilant enough to make quality pieces?

 

[mvapes]

Have you seen these new rocks that you can use instead of water in your glass? A dank new headshop just opened in my area and they have this gravel (almost looks like fishtank rocks)that is supposed to be used instead of water in your bong. I think you can even chill them for a cooler hit.

Damn that sucks man sorry for your loss. I never was into the SB pieces they are too generic and the labels are a little too much


i hope youa re able to get something better to replace it, may i suggest a BC showerhead bubbler, i own one so i can suggest it and say it works great and is a very very sturdy piece.
p.s: look for reinforced circs, showerheads

Modnote: If you want to keep going with this topic please stay on topic. Thank you.

 

[SD_haze]

Have you seen these new rocks that you can use instead of water in your glass? A dank new headshop just opened in my area and they have this gravel (almost looks like fishtank rocks)that is supposed to be used instead of water in your bong. I think you can even chill them for a cooler hit.

All you need is basic aquarium marbles, much cheaper and 100% identical to anything you buy at a headshop. Honestly, its better idea for smoke than vapor, because you're going to get a lot more vapor condensation on dem marbles.

Water works much better than surface cooling for vapor

 

[Nycdeisel]

Those marbles are supposed to be used WITH water actually, i have known about them for a while and have used them multiple times in the past, mostly with smoke.
there are bags of them sold for 15 bucks at a headshop, but at a craft store you can buy literally identical marbles for a few dollars a bag. Be sure not to buy colored ones because they are usually painted on, as i learned before using them when i attempted to clean them with iso. Though honestly they dont work well, are a pain in the ass and i dont like them and i wouldnt suggest them to anyone. You will get more for your money if you just buy a diffused downstem

 

[twoleftfeet]

Sd, the main story is one of the hitman guys was murdered along with like 3 or 4 other people. Very grisly details that'll ill spare other readers. I believe I read that story from a link on gc.
Also a coworker met some of the crew at a trade show in vegas and said they had a bunch of drama going on. Nothing bad to say about their buisness practices.
I don't think its fair to compare magic flights customer service and sheldon blacks customer service. Apples vs oranges, wood vs glass etc. Plus that is what makes magic flight so special, you just don't really find customer service like that anymore.

 

[Pappy]

Sd, the main story is one of the hitman guys was murdered along with like 3 or 4 other people. Very grisly details that'll ill spare other readers. I believe I read that story from a link on gc.
Also a coworker met some of the crew at a trade show in vegas and said they had a bunch of drama going on. Nothing bad to say about their buisness practices.
I don't think its fair to compare magic flights customer service and sheldon blacks customer service. Apples vs oranges, wood vs glass etc. Plus that is what makes magic flight so special, you just don't really find customer service like that anymore.

The Hitman crew are serious stoners! Whether E-dog's murder had nothing -- or everything -- to do with them remains to be seen because it's unsolved.

 

[e5cape]

Wow I just bought a bubbler with a multi-arm removable downstem and it just so happened to break =(. Bought the thing for 200 and the downstem is 170 at every shop I call. I was thinking 60 was reasonable. Was able to contact Adam but he pretty much said I was out of luck just like the OP. Damn you SB!

 

[mistergyro]

that cant be good for business too bad to hear he won't stand by his glass

 

[Bouldorado]

Wow I just bought a bubbler with a multi-arm removable downstem and it just so happened to break =(. Bought the thing for 200 and the downstem is 170 at every shop I call. I was thinking 60 was reasonable. Was able to contact Adam but he pretty much said I was out of luck just like the OP. Damn you SB!

my friend has a similar downstem (SB too) and after playing with it, I have to agree w/ the sheldon black guy. If I was a blower, there's no way I'd want to mess w/ something that intricate trying to repair it. additionally, there's the issue of pieces getting broken in the mail, which is why I've heard the manufacturer of SYN refuses to ship anything.

 

[mvapes]

Wow I just bought a bubbler with a multi-arm removable downstem and it just so happened to break =(. Bought the thing for 200 and the downstem is 170 at every shop I call. I was thinking 60 was reasonable. Was able to contact Adam but he pretty much said I was out of luck just like the OP. Damn you SB!

my friend has a similar downstem (SB too) and after playing with it, I have to agree w/ the sheldon black guy. If I was a blower, there's no way I'd want to mess w/ something that intricate trying to repair it. additionally, there's the issue of pieces getting broken in the mail, which is why I've heard the manufacturer of SYN refuses to ship anything.

I understand the variables tha could play a role when dealing with glass. All glass is shipped at somepoint, maybe not always to the public but somehow it has to get to retailers, suppliers, distributors, etc...so as far as not wanting to take a chance with the mail...I call BULLSHIT! Now, on the other hand I also understand that some companies have a policy of not dealing with the public and I accept it but there is a way to deal with someone who dumps three, four, or five hundred bucks on one of your pieces and Im sure most would agree that Adams response to me as well as others shows some sort of douchebaggery.

I have been to head shops that wont carry SB because dealing with them is difficult, they dont communicate well and from what I hear lately is that their staff are all assholes - maybe a pre-req for employement? I dont know! I for one would rather invest my money in companies that stand by their supporters and unfortunately it wont be Sheldon Black.

 

[FlyingLow]

I was kinda digging the Sheldon pieces till I saw this thread.

It has been a few years since the last post, anyone deal/buy their products recently?

 

[JoeKickass]

Sd, the main story is one of the hitman guys was murdered along with like 3 or 4 other people. Very grisly details that'll ill spare other readers. I believe I read that story from a link on gc.
Also a coworker met some of the crew at a trade show in vegas and said they had a bunch of drama going on. Nothing bad to say about their buisness practices.

The Hitman crew are serious stoners! Whether E-dog's murder had nothing -- or everything -- to do with them remains to be seen because it's unsolved.

Crazy story, looks like it could have been just some wacko too:
http://www.weedist.com/2013/05/murder-of-glass-artist-could-be-tied-to-boston-bombers/


In all my experience with glass companies, the vast majority don't do repairs. The fact that MediCali does is pretty sick though!