"Trouble with Hotz Mats" Topic

I'm at a loss for words… I placed a big order ($250 USD) with Hotz Mats back in August of 2019 and after a few months of back and forth communication, they have stopped communicating with me entirely regarding the whereabouts of the order. My last message from Eric Hotz was in February of this year and I should have put in a PayPal complaint at that point but I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. Now the window for action through PayPal has passed. I have left countless messages on his phone, reached out to him through friends on Facebook, sent scores of emails off into the void.

Does anyone know of a more direct way to contact Eric Hotz? It's been almost a year since this $250 USD order was placed. At this point, I feel like I've been had.

Seems that a number of peeps have problems with him, check out previous threads
TMP link
TMP link

I salute your patience in the matter. I would have been irate on this and any other forum I could find months ago had it been me.

Steve

This is an ongoing, never-ending issue. Seems like customers always get their stuff but it takes FOREVER.

He could be having trouble getting materials during pandemic.

But even so…

Alot of people have had problems with this person. There is absolutely no excuse for treating customers like this. To have an order for almost a year and not fulfill it (plus not communicate)is tantamount to theft….I wouldn't write this if others hadn't had problems.

Unfortunately this has happened so many times over the last several years. And there many many TMP threads on this subject. My advice is to avoid Hotz, but if you have made an order make sure you have it within the prescribed shipping time. After that take recovery action through your CC or PP.

Sadly Hotz makes a good product that is bundled with bad or no service.

Hotz is the worst I've ever seen. What's odd is that it continues year after year with people continuing to have the same negative experiences.

As a public service TMP should have a banner at the top of its page warning people off! ( only slightly joking).

He does what ever he wants to do. It's the internet, what ya gonna do?

PayPal (?), why did you wait? Isn't this exactly why one pays with PayPal?

Do you have PayPal connected to a credit card? Go to the credit card and tell them.

Eric does not make very good mats, especially the last few years when we have seen companies like cigar box come out with really nice stuff.

I ordered from Eric around 2007 for a custom Nile river section. After a long wait and many emails, he finally sent me some brown felt with little bits of clump foliage to Mark the shore line. $150 USD for a piece of junk.

No idea why anyone would order from him. It's like playing Russian roulette with your money. Maybe your order arrives in a timely fashion and maybe your order arrives over a year after you ordered it.

If he is within driving distance go pay him a visit. Perhaps he will fill your
Order if you show up in person.

I am always amazed at how many of these guys have no conception of how important it is to communicate. If a guy can't do that he doesn't belong in business.

Is he an advertiser here? If so, perhaps Bill can help you….

This is a sad, Groundhog Day warning. Sooooo many of these stories about this supplier.

this has to be at least the 4th thread on this guy

HOW IS HE STILL IN BUSINESS?

The last mat I've ordered was similar to 45thdiv. Even if there weren't the communication problems other makers have advanced the quality of game mats. Throw in the bad service and I would personally avoid him.

HOW IS HE STILL IN BUSINESS?

because people keep sending him orders, and apparently, money before receiving the product.

Apparently there are people out there who don't do any due diligence before ordering AND once they do, they apparently do not know how to take action to recover their payments.

Lot's of other great options out there like Cigar Box Battle!

Cigar Box Battle mats are great – I've got four and like them all. Good service too.

Okay his site is now down. What I am looking for is roads and hills like he made . Anyhelp please.

Sad thing is that he is VERY active on his facebook page.

I always check with the consumer affairs board before I order anything. Holtz has been a continuing problem. I am so glad I checked here first.

People never do seem to learn about Hotz. No matter how many times others warn them off about him, they roll the dice anyways.

I have heard he makes an excellent product. I have also heard many, many bad things about his lack of communication and horrific customer service, most of which are from posts on TMP.
I would never even consider ordering from him at this point; because I have seen far too many posts about how crappy an experience dealing with him is. I have seen far more of these than posts extolling the quality of his product.
I've used Cigar Box several times with no problems. I can't speak to a comparison between the two products, but I've been more than happy with CB's mats, and I never had to beg Cigar Box to return my emails. (In fact, I never even had to email them, because I got my mats well within the expected time frame.)
I have no dog in this fight. I don't work for Cigar Box and I've never ordered from Hotz. Just my two cents.

Another vote for Cigar Box!