My Tony Zinzola Story

[CocoboloCowboy]

Apparently not the Dealers or Cue Flippers. But then, they'll suck anyones bum for a cue.

What I sad was:

"Tony Zinzola had he payed attention to his Cue business, treat customers the way he would have liked to be treated if the roles were reverse. Had a opportunity to be one of the cuemaker in demand on AZB, and by others who appreciate fine Cues that are functional art.

Let keep it short & say Tony blew, apparently never tried to recover, correcting bad work, broken promises, and deposits that never turned into Cues for customers.

IMHO the only one Tony can blame is Tony, as like I said IMHO he blew a golden opportunity on AZB & in the World of Cue Collectors outside this forum. "

The word customers I think cover everyone who had dealing with Tony.



BTW Was there a Tony sighting at the SBE, or did he stay away?

 

[Danktrees]

just an update for anyone wondering...

tony said he was going to pay me back but after more months of lies and excuses, it's become clear he has absolutely no intention of doing so. initially he'd pay me within 2 months, then there are delays, then he's paying me with the next cheque. when the next cheque came he had to go pay for his children's day care fees which is a recurring expense so it shouldnt be an excuse. more lies for a couple weeks. then the next cheque is expected to come within a week or two and he'll pay me with that. when it comes he says it takes a week to clear and he'll pay me with it once it clears. then nothing, no replies to emails.

the man is not worth his word and without that he should not be taken seriously. the most ridiculous part is i have to sign a legal release in order to get my money. imagine that, he steals money from me for 4 years (and counting) and i'm the one that has to accommodate him and sign a legal document to get it back. try taking money from a bank and doing that. absolutely insane. i guess he's afraid of getting sued but that's the inevitable outcome since he stole so much money from people and isnt paying the majority of them back unless they show up at his house.

it sucks for people that have his cues as their values have gone down considerably but tony doesnt care, if he did he wouldnt take people's money to go on vacation and then ignore them for years.

it's pretty clear by now but for anyone still considering it...do not do business with tony.

the next 6 months should get very interesting.

 

[CocoboloCowboy]

Wonder how Tikkler did dealing with Tony, after he turned his legal dogs on Tony?

 

[Ak Guy]

What a shame

I don't like thieves, swindlers, liars, or incompetent businesses, etc. I have only dealt with Meucci and Pat Diviney. Pat will have my business till one of us goes to meet Our Maker. He is as honest as they come and a real gentlemen to deal with, and a real craftsman. He will soon be making me another cue, and then another, etc. So sorry you are having this problem.

 

[Moet.1977]

Tony Z.

I readed a lot of this thread and it sounds like Tony Z. Is on drugs, I mean what else would you steal people money, and also run your own name and business in the ground. One of these days he's going to run in to one of these people he screwed, and their probably going to beat their money out of him. I no I would be going to see him face to face, but that just me. Hope you guys get your money back.

 

[Kickin' Chicken]

my Rosewood Zinzola...

Tony Zinzola sold me a cue that shocked me when I opened the package.

It looked as though children had done the inlay work (see below).

and the lizard wrap was done very poorly and had small gouges.

the cue looked nice in the far away picture in the sales thread (see very bottom pic).

I had paypalled him $1700 and when I called him to express my displeasure, he said he needed just a few days for some money to get into his account in order to do the refund. I said okay to that and promptly returned his junk cue. After about 5 days, nothing came so I recontacted him anfd I started to get some stories ranging from how his in-laws weren't doing their part watching his young kids which in turn meant he had to take time away from his cue biz to watch them himself which meant the money for jobs weren't coming in like it was supposed to which meant...yada, yada, yada, blah, blah, blah.

He said by that weekend he'd have me squared away since he knew he had dependable $$$ coming in.

He didn't come through on that one either.

I didn't like where this was heading and so on my very next call I laid it down for him, real strong. I told he we're just one state away and I *will* be coming to visit and that I didn't give a sh1t to hear one more excuse from him. I reinforced what a jerk he was for sending out such a POS cue and l finished with "you have 24 hours to refund me in full or you'll see me immediately after."

It worked, he did the refund and this must have been right at the beginning of his unravelling because I hadn't seen any previous mention of his bad biz, like what's in this thread.

BTW, I knew that if needed, I could have done a paypal dispute as well as a credit card dispute where I almost certainly would have won. Always good to have this backup available (thx kvinbrwr)

I feel very bad for everyone who has been burned by this guy and I def consider myself lucky that I was able to get out of my deal with him.

It's a real shame because he was obviously very artistic with his designs and woods/colors.

Apparently, all that was missing was honesty and integrity.

GL to all who are still owed money or products from Tony Z.

best,
brian kc

 

[CocoboloCowboy]

Tony & Obama both talk, but do not dp much. All Yalk no action to back up words.


Sad thing is for Tony he had an opportunity to sell many Cues on AZB, and to AZB Member. He blew it with S**T Cue, and S**T Customer Service.

I owned Tony # 113, was lucky, and sold it before Tony's name was S**T!

 

[Blue Hog ridr]

All Yalk no action to back up words.

Yalk.

To Walk and Yak at the same time.

Fall off side walk like Bruce.

Brian, to say that Kids did the inlays was the understatement of the year. I can't believe that for $1700, anyone would let that out of their shop. And to think that no one would notice and be happy with it.

 

[scsuxci]

Thats total garbage. I liked his older work when he gave a sh-t. I've seen a few
of his recent cues that had a ton of flaws. When your paying that kind of loot,
its a slap in the face to receive an inferior product. I'd say Goodluck but what the
heck is the point of that now Takecare

 

[CocoboloCowboy]

Thats total garbage. I liked his older work when he gave a sh-t.

I got a Zinzona Cues Hat with my Cue, sold the Cue. Gave the Zinzona Hat to the Elk's Lodge down the road, to distribute with other old cloths to Homeless Vets.

 

[Danktrees]

well the problem is that unless you're close to him it's hard to go confront him about it face to face. going down there would cost me like half of what he owes me so it kind of defeats the purpose. but we'll see where this leads in the upcoming months. it seems like he knows he's getting sued otherwise i wouldnt have to sign a legal document to get the money back that he had stolen from me. still absolutely ridiculous, anyone else encounter that? told him he had to put the money in escrow cuz im not signing anything before the money is secured since he not worth his word. of course this never became a problem because he had no intention of sending the money back to me anyways...you know, being a thief and all.

i dont know why he keeps telling lies and excuses. if you're not going to pay back money that you stole just say so, clearly people aren't going to forget you stole money from them so the excuses mean nothing. they just work against him when it goes to court.

 

[fastone371]

Someone gave me a bad check once for over $4k, he lived 90 miles away but across a state border. I was told by a lawyer that I could have gotten him picked up promptly because its a felony charge when something like this crosses state lines. Would this not be the same case here with money you paid for a cue that was never delivered? I know having him sitting in the Big House does not get you whole, but maybe the threat of facing felony charges will light a fire under his backend.

 

[fastone371]

..................oops

 

[garczar]

These kind of horror stories really makes me appreciate the builders in my area. Andy Gilbert, Mike Durbin, Bob Owen, Eddie Ferris build great cues and are super stand-up guys to boot. When you go to a tournament at Shooters in Olathe you can sit down and have a beer with one of them and order your cue. This TonyZ. sounds like a total douchebag.

 

[trinacria]

Yes... I did gamble on whether or not I would ever get Tony to make a cue to my specifications based on those deposits. And I accept that, to an extent.

What I did not gamble on, however, was paying, in full, for work that was purported to have been completed and ready to be sent. That's not gambling. That's misrepresentation, and, potentially, theft.

Do you have another .02 to throw in here?

its not potentially theft, its theft. get a lawyer, $5300 is a good bit of money. hopefully you have proof, this "send as gift" to avoid fees is a surefire way of ripping someone off potentially, and relinquishing rights to potentially get your money back.

 

[shinobi]

well the problem is that unless you're close to him it's hard to go confront him about it face to face. going down there would cost me like half of what he owes me so it kind of defeats the purpose.

I don't know about you, but if someone stole my money and I knew where they were, I don't see anything wrong in travelling to their location, extracting what they have stolen, plus whatever costs were incurred in travelling and time. Maybe a little extra for pain and suffering. Or, some may be so inclined to inflict pain and suffering themselves on the thief.... but that's another story.

 

[jay helfert]

I don't know about you, but if someone stole my money and I knew where they were, I don't see anything wrong in travelling to their location, extracting what they have stolen, plus whatever costs were incurred in travelling and time. Maybe a little extra for pain and suffering. Or, some may be so inclined to inflict pain and suffering themselves on the thief.... but that's another story.

I'm a little bit old school too. My attitude is that if you try to steal from me you become fair game. I've cured more than one thief in my life!

 

[maha]

how did it work for O.J.

better to get a number of people and all make calls to the local prosecutors office. that will get results.

 

[nasc]

Well Chuck,,
it same you have problem not me,,,and that is not my business i handle my deal with people the way i like and talk to them the way i like,,i have gotten cues from Tony ,but now that all you guys have problem with Tony it sames better for me not to get any more of his cues,,,and as for my Payments tony has never missed one with me,,,and as far as i know Tommy got all his money also,,give the guy a chance and as far as i know he did not kill anyone or anything,,maybe a lier but that is his business not mine ,,this will be my only post to this matter because as you say i am a higher roller and i not have time for this nonsence,,and if you have a problem with me you can call me and come see me any time,,,anyone i am open to talk too,,,All i find funny about this thread is that i know many other more famous cuemakers that owe these guys money too ,,,but they never seem to post there names because they still want there cues,,seems they just like to pick on tony because i guess he is the little guy,,

My # 267 257 8323 is always open and i be in booth157 and 207 if anyone like to talk to me in person also,,,

Kenny

I am someone that has left a $2500 deposit with a famous cue maker. I only read and heard good things about him. "WRONG". Two plus years I have been leaving messages with no response. I sent the money after he told me his Vette was broken into and he could use some extra cash. I figured one good deed..... Communication was good in the beginning but soon stopped after he bought a Lexus.

"All i find funny about this thread is that i know many other more famous cuemakers that owe these guys money too ,,,but they never seem to post there names because they still want there cues"

You are partially right on this, Kenny.
If I posted his name I would be called a heretic, blasphemer and liar.

Glen
,

 

[MidLifeCrisis]

I'm a little late to this thread...

Wow, I was sold the same cue as in the first thread too

... For 3,500.00 http://forums.azbilliards.com/album.php?albumid=642
Yeah, I know dumb ass me... However, I do have PayPal receipts, his Mavlink or whatever the hell it was he used, full of our correspondence on the build copied in a file... Was told the same lies as everyone else, and well here we are today.

I'm going to be honest with you all... This one single individual has ruined cue collecting for me. It makes me sick to my stomach. I have seen it happen with other cue makers too...something happens and they just say *&%^ it....and become douchebags.

If criminal charges are ever presented, let me know...I've got all my records ready and waiting... In the mean time if a bus runs over Tony,I'd be just as pleased... Karma's a *****...
Clint