billytwosheds 

Hi All-

I ordered a set of decals from VeloCals on 4/20 (assume what you will...) and have not heard from JR or received the decals.

Looking back at numerous thread, I'm realizing that the owner can be slow to reply.

I ordered decals from him last year and they came right quick. I also got a couple different confirmation emails, order updates, shipping, etc. This time I've only seen one auto-generated email.

To slightly complicate things, I emailed the customer care address immediately after ordering and inquired about having the decals sent in white instead of yellow (for the Allez).

But I've heard nothing. Not a peep.

Trying to be sympathetic to everyone during COVID, but wondering if this is typical or possibly indicative of a change in how VeloCals is able to complete orders.

Like a lot of us, I'm taking the stay-at-home time to finish a few different projects, but I'm worried that the decals won't make it anytime soon.

Have anyone ordered during the same time frame (April/May)? Have you heard, or are you still waiting?

TIA

repechage

I did note that before the pandemic I ceased getting email adverts from them.
Tough business.

Last email 9/2019

xiaoman1 

BTS,
Sometimes very slow but worth the wait....
Ben

vascoboy

I've ordered from them a few times. They are usually pretty good about shipping right away, but once I ordered custom decals, & since I had not rec'd any news about a quote, sent a friendly reminder, only to get a short reply to let me know he rec'd my order and will let me know and never did. He might have forgotten or blew me off, not a big deal since it wasn't an important project. I will say the decals I did received are REAL NICE !

Eric F 

I placed a few orders from Velocals in Feb & Mar, and received them all in about 2 weeks after ordering. I did manage to trade a few emails with JR in regards to a new decal I wanted made, but otherwise communication is not a strong point. That said, he nailed the new decal, and I'm very happy with the finished results of my project.

Wileyone 

Post is slow right now. Could be the reason.

FujiSam

I ordered a full set thought their eBay store on 4/8 and received them on 4/30. At least on eBay, it states that items will typically ship 1-2 weeks after purchase, so I wasn't expecting them to get here very quickly. Not sure if it states that on their website. I did not have to communicate with them for any other reason though, so I can't speak to that.

unworthy1

JR has been known for "spotty" communications in the past, it's not like he's ALWAYS slow, nor ALWAYS unresponsive, sometimes exactly the opposite...just unpredictable.
And yes the lockdown (as I recall he's been in Texas for awhile now since leaving DelMar or whereever he was in San Diego-land) is certain to have added a few wrinkles in the one-man-shop business model. Tho I think his wife was also active in the family business, too. So it could be a Two-person-business.
My advice:just keep pinging him in a firm but polite tone.

top506

I ordered a off the shelf set for the Labonne on March 20th. They arrived within two weeks. I'm currently waiting on two rather custom sets ordered APRIL 17 and May 2.
Been doing business with JR for years. Be patient, their product is worth the wait.

Top

billytwosheds 

Ok cool, appreciate the comments. Sounds like this is nothing out of the ordinary so I'll just bide my time and send a gentle nudge in a few days.

It's actually really cool that there's someone in the network that consistently does quality decal kits, custom at that.

Cheers.

ctak

Adding to what others have said, I placed an order for several decal kits on March 26. Arrived in Seattle April 15th. Good product, worth the wait.

Pompiere

I'm another one waiting on an order placed back in mid April. Oh well, it's been too cold to spray clear coat outside anyway.

billytwosheds 

Following up.

Velocals sent an auto-generated email about 10 days ago, indicating that the order status had changed to "shipped" and so I replied to the email and Cc'd the customer care address. Got no reply.

Checked the status of the USPS tracking number this morning and it appears that the label was created but nothing has been shipped.

Feeling a little put off at this point, first by my emails being ignored and now with the misleading order status change.

I'm all for being patient with the order, but this is getting ridiculous.

merziac

They have a lot of balls in the air and with whatever lockdown they have, this may be the result, they have always taken care of me but a couple times took a very long time.

I've had the status change thing happen a few times and figured out it was not the vendor but the service jacking around.

Lemond1985

FWIW, I dealt with them on several occasions, and was less than impressed with the quality of the service I received on my orders, considering how much I was spending, and how much work it is to click a damned mouse and print the things out. I mentioned it here, and 10-15 people jumped all over me for even questioning the company, and the quality of their service, etc.

So I never mentioned it ever again here, and have been a much happier man ever since. YMMV.

3alarmer 

....I have ordered from Velocals a number of times. I usually order for a painting project a couple of months in advance, then just forget about it. Sometimes it's slow, but they always show up. If you're in a hurry, and the decals you want are available in stock at either H Lloyd or at Greg Softley's Cyclomondo site, sometimes they come more quickly. But it's kind of a tossup on decals in general. I once waited six months to get a set of 70's Richard Sachs decals. I was still happy when they arrived.

I notice there are a lot more people selling bike decals on E-bay right now, but I've never ordered from anyone other than the three I mentioned.

Spaghetti Legs 

I emailed once about making a custom set and got a very uninterested and unhelpful reply so I moved on.

As an FYI, check out sssink.com. Click on the “bicycle restorations” , catalog download. I doN’s think he does custom but he has a huge selection of high quality decals. The site won’t usually pop up if you’re doing brand name decal searches.

Pompiere

I sent an email Thursday, asking about the status, and got a reply an hour later that they were to be shipped. Then I got a second one later in the day with a tracking number.

unworthy1

JR once gave me very good service on a custom order where I supplied the art (vector, print-ready Illustrator files) but then years later I asked him to do something very similar and got a cold, perfunctory reply. Likewise there's a guy "Gus Salmon" in Florida that many in the CR list are gah-gah over but my convos with him lead me up against a brick wall, obviously VMMV and custom work is another can of worms than buying off-the-shelf decal sets. I had mine printed by a Josh Muma who calls his outfit Bedlam Creations, NO COMPLAINTS at all. For off the shelf Greg Softley has never let me down in service but have had a few that were less than up to my standards WRT the art matching originals, again YMMV.
My understanding is sssink will only deal with legit bicycle painters/restorers, NOT selling any decals to the public.

Spaghetti Legs 

I didn’t have any problems. If I recall he wasn’t good about replying to an email, but very friendly and easy to deal with by phone. The powder coater for my bike (Mark Rainey/Groody Bro’s) was pleased with the quality.

billytwosheds 

Huh. Neither of my emails bounced, which makes me think they are just selectively replying. Was your message sent to customercare@velocals.com or the info@velocals.com address?

nomadmax 

My experience to a T. I worked for the money but I won't work to give it someone.

Pompiere

I just replied back to the conformation email they sent. I didn't pay attention to the address. As of this morning, they have only created the label.

Last ride 76 

Well said.
​​​​​

unworthy1

Good to hear that, maybe sssink's policy has changed (or it was more flexible than I had been led to believe!)