Don’t do Dost

[Dorothy Dee]

Don’t send DOST any money! I used my credit card to purchase $4,000 worth of a Dost bike on 8/30/23 and Henry, at Dost, told me delivery would be mid Oct. I never heard another word from Dost in spite of emails and leaving voicemails, starting 11/1 when I didn’t have the bike. All calls go to voicemail and say no support staff available. Emails get zero replies. I called my credit card co and they have temporarily credited my account while they “investigate”. No determination yet.
I believed in Dost. Don’t make the same mistake. I find this incredibly sad.

 

[Deacon Blues]

Bike companies are being hit hard with the economic downturn. Unfortunately, I think DOST is one of those small companies that's on the verge of bankruptcy, or already finished. I hope you get a full refund.

 

[Dorothy Dee]

Bike companies are being hit hard with the economic downturn. Unfortunately, I think DOST is one of those small companies that's on the verge of bankruptcy, or already finished. I hope you get a full refund.

Bike companies are being hit hard with the economic downturn. Unfortunately, I think DOST is one of those small companies that's on the verge of bankruptcy, or already finished. I hope you get a full refund.

I know, and I feel badly about being so negative about Dost, but I wanted to help anyone considering a Dost bike to rethink. If I had read google reviews before I paid, I never would have. Their behavior of taking money and giving no merchandise happened multiple times before me. After I began contacting them, they sent an email flyer advertising “ reconditioned” bikes. Considering all this, one can read the writing on the wall.
If my credit card makes my refund permanent (after their ‘investigation’) I will be buying from a business with a long history. I’m reading this site’s forums. Thank you

 

[Slick50]

This, along with other posts regarding Dost are sad news. I bought one of Dost first ebikes and their customer service was outstanding. From other comments here, it does seem like they are in financial trouble. Up until a few years or ago, Sam was always available to oversee problems and customer service was always responsive and helpful. Taking money, not delivering a product, and unresponsiveness to customer concerns is a deal killer and buyers will go elsewhere, as they should. The 'investigation' is normal. Hopefully it won't take too long. There are always risks when buying direct to consumer products like ebikes and using a credit card is good insurance against such problems.

 

[Dorothy Dee]

I’m glad you got into Dost before they crashed.
Because of the reviews I recently read in google reviews, I would hope Dost could pull out of it, but I lost hope when I saw others who lost their money too. Then my only hope became getting the word out to prevent others from losing.
I have to go forward and find a new bike once my credit card ‘dispute’ becomes final. ( no guarantees; they make that very clear) and I’ll never pay in full for anything with extended delivery date again.
I sort-of dread having to research bikes again for the time it takes. I just wanted to be riding by now.

 

[Imchud]

I’m glad you got into Dost before they crashed.
Because of the reviews I recently read in google reviews, I would hope Dost could pull out of it, but I lost hope when I saw others who lost their money too. Then my only hope became getting the word out to prevent others from losing.
I have to go forward and find a new bike once my credit card ‘dispute’ becomes final. ( no guarantees; they make that very clear) and I’ll never pay in full for anything with extended delivery date again.
I sort-of dread having to research bikes again for the time it takes. I just wanted to be riding by now.

I am so sorry about your dealings (or lack thereof) with Dost. I did end up purchasing the Kope Chain version, it went on sale for 500.00 off for just a week so I purchased one. I have been researching them for several months and found myself always coming back to them for comparison. However, I would never purchase something like this on a direct basis, for me it was just too much of a gamble. My LBS carried Dost and had nothing but great things to say about them... so on his word, I made the purchase.

It is a concern of mine that they are going out of business... hell, even my LBS couldn't get through to them for almost a 3 week period. they were waiting for their shipment of 10 bikes that were almost 7 weeks late arriving. As of now, I have had my Dost for about a month, and so far I love it. But if anything goes wrong with it, I will still have my LBS to fall back on. And If Dost ends up going under (I hope not), I am sure their warranty won't hold water. But again, I would still rely on my LBS.

I am not sure about Canadian laws... but A few years ago a US Carpet Company was taking pre-orders for products they were offering at a special price. A good friend of mine laid out just over 8 grand for a project he wanted done, but when the carpet never came in, he did some research and found out they had filed for bankruptcy. The bad part was, they were protected under bankruptcy law and legally didn't have to return their money... until all the bank debt and vendor debt was settled. And if there was anything left, then the consumers who lost out would get a cut. The sad part was, they were collecting money from consumers knowing damn well they were going under... which I guess was legal to do. So, I truly hope you don't experience anything like that. If you could find a Dost dealer maybe they could help out?? Good luck!

 

[Dorothy Dee]

Interesting you could even make contact with them. Was it very recently? And you sent money ahead? ( which would mean they were filling new orders while ignoring old prepaids)
Or was it a ‘reconditioned’ bike they sent out a more recent flyer for?
My LBS can’t make contact with Dost either.

 

[Imchud]

Interesting you could even make contact with them. Was it very recently? And you sent money ahead? ( which would mean they were filling new orders while ignoring old prepaids)
Or was it a ‘reconditioned’ bike they sent out a more recent flyer for?
My LBS can’t make contact with Dost either.

No... If I misled I apologize, let me clarify a few things. I purchased my bike from a local Dost dealer, not directly from the manufacturer. Before I made the purchase of the bike, I talked to them (Henry) a few times... so it was about 6 weeks ago now. At 1st, I left a message saying I was thinking of making a purchase on the Dost Kope or an e-bike brand called Biktrix... (which also had a bike like the Kope). So the next day I received a call back from Dost (Henry) asking me what my questions were and we ended up talking for about 1/2 hour about their bikes.

The next call was about a week later, right before I made the purchase. I had a few more questions about the torque rating of the bike. when I called that 2nd time they answered right away... and once again, I talked to Henry. The weird part about it was when I told him I was going to purchase the Dost bike, but from my LBS, he said, "Just purchase it directly from us and you should have it in about a week". I said no thanks, I feel more confident going through the LBS, and I am so glad I did.

At 1st, I still had to wait because the bikes coming into the dealer were late to arrive, they also had issues getting them to reply to their e-mails and calls. The final call I made was picked up right away as well (again Henry) asking about the status of the 10 bikes to my LBS... all he said was they were shipped, and that was about how it went.

 

[Dorothy Dee]

No... If I misled I apologize, let me clarify a few things. I purchased my bike from a local Dost dealer, not directly from the manufacturer. Before I made the purchase of the bike, I talked to them (Henry) a few times... so it was about 6 weeks ago now. At 1st, I left a message saying I was thinking of making a purchase on the Dost Kope or an e-bike brand called Biktrix... (which also had a bike like the Kope). So the next day I received a call back from Dost (Henry) asking me what my questions were and we ended up talking for about 1/2 hour about their bikes.

The next call was about a week later, right before I made the purchase. I had a few more questions about the torque rating of the bike. when I called that 2nd time they answered right away... and once again, I talked to Henry. The weird part about it was when I told him I was going to purchase the Dost bike, but from my LBS, he said, "Just purchase it directly from us and you should have it in about a week". I said no thanks, I feel more confident going through the LBS, and I am so glad I did.

At 1st, I still had to wait because the bikes coming into the dealer were late to arrive, they also had issues getting them to reply to their e-mails and calls. The final call I made was picked up right away as well (again Henry) asking about the status of the 10 bikes to my LBS... all he said was they were shipped, and that was about how it went.

Henry also DID convince (gullible) me from buying directly at the end of August 2023, when I told him I had been to my LBS. The LBS had 2 in stock but not the CVT I wanted. If I HAD ordered from my LBS I still would never gotten the bike but I would still have my $4000!
As I wrote before, the LBS can’t get any communication from DOST either.

 

[Imchud]

Henry also DID convince (gullible) me from buying directly at the end of August 2023, when I told him I had been to my LBS. The LBS had 2 in stock but not the CVT I wanted. If I HAD ordered from my LBS I still would never gotten the bike but I would still have my $4000!
As I wrote before, the LBS can’t get any communication from DOST either.

Don't know what part of the country you live in, but my LBS, is just outside of the Cleveland Oh area. (I live in Cleveland) - he was supposed to get 5 CVTs this month, I don't know if they came in or not. He did tell me Dost said they weren't going to start shipping any of the new CVT bikes until this month... So maybe you will still get yours? - I wonder if they did come in would Dost let you apply that credit to a dealer who had them in stock? But they would actually have to answer the phone first.

 

[Dorothy Dee]

I’m in Oregon. There is only one dealer listed here. They cannot get any contact with Dost either. They are sold out of Dost bikes but are trying to help anyway.
It the “supposed” part of Dost that doesn’t work. If one pays for something, or if you’re a dealer wanting to sell some thing, or if you’re a customer who needs to be in touch with them, or if you need warranty work, you are supposed to be able to be in contact with them. If your LBS receives a shipment, I would be the first to be surprised.
My only hope in this thread is to prevent other trusting people who are supposed to get what they pay for, to not buy from Dost. If you can find a bike at a local LBS and don’t expect any warranty service or parts, a different story, but paying retail price for such a bike would give you a “no dost parts available” ride.

 

[Imchud]

I am worried about my warranty...or lack thereof. Hoping if needed my LBS does right by me. In your case, I hope you get this resolved soon. Please keep us posted as to your outcome.

 

[Dorothy Dee]

I am worried about my warranty...or lack thereof. Hoping if needed my LBS does right by me. In your case, I hope you get this resolved soon. Please keep us posted as to your outcome.

I will keep y’all posted. I just got off phone with my credit card company. They haven’t even tried to contact Dost yet and I made first contact with card co 11/3/23. So, I don’t know anything yet.
If anybody out there has a contact with Dost since the beginning of this month, I’d love to hear it. Maybe if someone calls to place an order, they might call back to sell existing inventory?
My guess is that your LBS will honor anything they can, but any Dost parts or warranty will not be available. My LBS would try to help me in anyway they could but I wouldn’t expect them to cover too much or lose any profit they have in the bike. A quick call to a person in charge at your place of purchase may have answers to ease your mind. They are in a mess too because they need support from Dost, too, for any bikes they sold.

 

[DOSTPONZI]

Don’t send DOST any money! I used my credit card to purchase $4,000 worth of a Dost bike on 8/30/23 and Henry, at Dost, told me delivery would be mid Oct. I never heard another word from Dost in spite of emails and leaving voicemails, starting 11/1 when I didn’t have the bike. All calls go to voicemail and say no support staff available. Emails get zero replies. I called my credit card co and they have temporarily credited my account while they “investigate”. No determination yet.
I believed in Dost. Don’t make the same mistake. I find this incredibly sad.

Same here. Prepaid $4,692 on 12/22, asked for REFUND 9/23, NOTHING YET. BEWARE OF DOST.

 

[RobMontanez]

Someone visited their location and took a photo. Quite sadly it looks like they are closing down. No communication whatsoever to the many folks that are still owed money, back-ordered bikes and parts.

 

[Imchud]

Heart Breaking... More heartbreaking is that so many people got screwed out of money dealing with them. Just a few months ago I purchased one from one of their dealers, so at least I got the product, but my two-year warranty looks like it lasted about two months... Love the bike though. I truly hope those affected by their bad business practices can find some resolve in the future.

 

[Dorothy Dee]

In case you aren’t seeing a different Dost thread, the company is dead and in receivership. I can list an email in the receivership if you have been stiffed by Dost.
I just found out that my Visa is covering my loss, so my angst is over

 

[DOSTPONZI]

Don’t send DOST any money! I used my credit card to purchase $4,000 worth of a Dost bike on 8/30/23 and Henry, at Dost, told me delivery would be mid Oct. I never heard another word from Dost in spite of emails and leaving voicemails, starting 11/1 when I didn’t have the bike. All calls go to voicemail and say no support staff available. Emails get zero replies. I called my credit card co and they have temporarily credited my account while they “investigate”. No determination yet.
I believed in Dost. Don’t make the same mistake. I find this incredibly sad.

Report them to the US FTC on their website, easy 5 minute chore to stop criminals.

In case you aren’t seeing a different Dost thread, the company is dead and in receivership. I can list an email in the receivership if you have been stiffed by Dost.
I just found out that my Visa is covering my loss, so my angst is over

Would you share your time frame your CC VISA allowed you from CCpurchase to your refund? I used Citi COSTCO CC and it was 9 months from prepayment date to requesting a VISA cashback which they denied.