Strike Zone Online has banned me from doing any business with them in the future. Based on my latest experience with them, it won’t be hard to comply.

Over the years, I have sold thousands of cards to SZO via their online buylist. They offer competitive pricing on obscure cards that can be hard to resist. The downside is that SZO will send back whatever cards they don’t want back to you at your cost. This is usually due to condition issues (they are very strict graders) but I’ve had enough mint cards sent back that I suspect they have other reasons for refusing buys as well. It’s the cost of doing business with them, and I had come to terms with the fact that a chunk of my order would be returned every time no matter what.

Back in early January, I sent $320 worth of cards to Strike Zone. The order was accepted, and I was told that a check for just around $300 would be sent my way along with my rejected cards. I waited for a month, got nothing, called them, was told not to worry about it. Waited two more weeks, called again, asked for them to re-issue my check. After holding for a while, I was put on the line with Strike Zone owner/manager Dustin Johnson.

Dustin did not believe that I had not received my check or cards, despite the fact that I hadn’t cashed the check yet. He did eventually agree to re-issue the check, but when I asked about the cost of the cards that hadn’t made it back to me, he got incredibly incensed and hung up on me mid-sentence. I actually hung on the line for a few minutes because I couldn’t believe he’d actually do that to a customer.

I got an email from him few minutes later telling me that he’d issue me a check for the “full” amount (including the lost cards, but still charging me for the shipping costs on the lost parcel). I sent him back a response thanking him for his commitment to customer service and wishing him a good afternoon.

A few minutes after that, I got another email telling me that all further buylist orders from me would be assessed a $15 fee to ensure proper tracking on returned items.

I told him that I was shocked he’d treat a customer this way, especially someone who has done so much business with him over the years. I told him that if he was going to start charging me to sell to him like that, I’d have to take all of my business elsewhere. As a last ditch olive branch, I said that I didn’t want to lose our business relationship over $20 worth of lost cards, so I told him that he did not have to pay me for the lost cards if he didn’t feel that it was fair.

He told me that the check had already been sent and could not be taken back. Then he told me not to do any business with Strike Zone Online in the future.

My check arrived several days later. It was for the lesser amount.

Apparently, the check COULD be taken back.

Through the entire interaction, Dustin Johnson was rude, unprofessional, and disrespectful. I’ve talked about this encounter with other people who use the SZO buylist, and it is not out of character with how he conducts business. In fact, I’m one of the lucky ones—I was at least partially paid for the cards I send in.

At this point, I would not trust Strike Zone Online to pay for any cards sold to them via their buylist. If you sell to them regularly, I’d advise you to take them off your rotation. I am admittedly a little biased as someone who writes for Star City Games, but a commitment to good customer service is paramount. This is a small community, and we need to support those retailers who understand the value of its customers.