GoldStar Tool — Local services in Los Angeles

Title: Unprofessional, Dishonest, and Harmful Experience – Do Not Buy from This Company

I am a disabled veteran and fashion designer who ordered a Juki DDL-8700 machine and Defrix oil from GoldStar Tool on December 20, 2024, totaling $1,350.18. When the machine was delivered on January 9, 2025, it was damaged, scratched, bent, and shipped without proper protection or a pallet. I refused the delivery, as advised by the freight driver.

I immediately contacted GoldStar Tool. Instead of offering a proper replacement or refund, I was told to "just keep it" and that the issue was "only the table", which I found incredibly dismissive and disrespectful.

They promised to initiate a replacement on January 10, but I never received anything. For weeks, they blamed the freight company, claiming the machine hadn’t been returned. I personally called the freight company, who confirmed that the damaged machine had already been returned to GoldStar Tool.

On April 14, I formally requested a refund. I followed up multiple times and was met with contradictory stories, evasive answers, and empty promises. I spoke to both Ilia (who supposedly handles refunds) and the owner, David Akhamzadeh. In June, I was told a check would be sent once David signed it. Two weeks ago, David claimed he mailed the check, but I never received it.

This entire ordeal has caused me serious mental and physical stress. I am a disabled veteran who enrolled in fashion school to be self-employed and care for my health. This machine was supposed to support my thesis collection and alleviate the physical strain of commuting. Instead, I was forced to work late nights at my school studio, further harming my health.

To this day, I have not received a refund, a machine, or any real accountability. They stole my money and wasted months of my time. I am unable to take client orders or properly work, and I’m still recovering from the toll this situation has taken on my body.

I strongly urge others not to do business with this company. They are deceitful, unprofessional, and completely lacking in customer care. I will be pursuing formal complaints and legal action if this is not resolved...

I bought the rivet press specifically to use with leather, based on the company's video that claims that it could punch clean holes and install rivets easily. In reality, the hole punch die doesn’t even punch through leather. I've tried different types and thicknesses, applied significant pressure, and followed all instructions — nothing works. The tool is simply not functional for its advertised purpose. When my wife called Goldstar for guidance using the hole punch she was quickly rushed off the phone by who I assume is the owner or manager who seemed annoyed by her simple question and gave her a bogus suggestion that ultimately did not remedy the issue. Let me also note my wife is not new to leatherwork and has used presses in the past so this is not due to inexperience.

After attempting to use the hole punch countless times using different methods, we were both unable to successfully punch a hole as shown in their videos also not to mention the 3mm hole punch die they show on their website and the video IS NOT THE PRODUCT WE WERE SENT!

I emailed Goldstar requesting to return the item since the product is faulty and falsely advertised and the customer service was even worse than when my wife simply called for help with the product. I was told to send a video of us using the hole punch which depicted the issue, they responded some B/S excuse that we were using thicker leather and were not using enough pressure however in their video they depict the hole punch punching holes through thicker leather than we used. We went back and forth and they blatantly refuse to give us a full refund and will charge us to ship the item back plus an additional 20% restocking fee. This company should be ashamed of themselves for treating customers this way. We wanted to purchase from Goldstar because they are a local small business and wanted to support them but clearly they do not value customers and only conduct business with greedy predatory practices. DO NOT BUY ANYTHING FROM THEM and save yourself the headache. Very upset about this situation and would never suggest their...

DO NOT BUY from GoldStar Tool. We paid in full ($5,875) for a Juki LK-1900BNS directly from the owner, David, in late April 2022, 3 months later no indication of when we could expect to receive it. He would always have a reason why things were delayed. Trying to get him to call us back was challenging leaving us to call back multiple times until we got him on the phone. During this time, we weren't able to work on our product which prevented us from going to market. We decided to cancel our order August 2022, sending an email to David, the owner, who told us what we needed to include. He said he would send an email confirming he received the cancellation and another showing that the refund was issued back to our card. To this day he still hasn't reimbursed us. I was always patient and understanding during the process and was really hoping that we would have a great working relationship. For him not to return calls, not performing quality control on machines before they are shipped and customers getting machines that won't work, sending wrong products to customers, not refunding in a timely manner.... is a crime. David and his lack of customer service will be the downfall of his business.

There is absolutely no reason for him to hold our money and always has an excuse as to why the machine hadn’t come in or why we haven’t received our refund. We will fight until we receive our money and help others who have been wronged by this company. It's been stressful for us and many others. One lady reached out to me and she's a widow, on a fixed income and took a loan out to get her dream machine so she could have fun making items for the rest of her retirement. He sent her a different model than what she ordered, the manual was only in Chinese, and she couldn't find documentation online. See the rest of her story and all the new stories being added to the new FB group called "Rally Against GoldStar Tool Sewing." Join and post your story there. Keep all your records, write reviews everywhere and keep fighting until they make things right for...