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GerstnerUSA

What is "Gerstner International"?

Mission Statement

The mission of Gerstner International is to seek out manufacturing partners the world over to enable Gerstner & Sons to offer it’s customers economically priced wood products built to a benchmark of quality that will proudly uphold the Gerstner name.

In the hopes of answering the most often asked question - see the following:

A question, if you don’t mind:

 I’ve seen tool chests [listed with your dealers] referred to as Gerstner International GI-532, GI-530 & GI-525 for extremely low prices compared to other Gerstner tool chests. I notice that they’re red oak as compared to the ones on your web site which are white oak.

 If they are in fact made by your company, can you tell me what compromises have been made in their manufacture that allows [your dealers] to sell them at such low prices? And if I buy one am I getting a real Gerstner tool chest?

Gerstner Reply:

In this day and age of overseas competition we took a look at the copies of our chests already coming in to the USA and realized that there is a large demand for a good chest at an economical price. The reality is that we know most people would really like to own a Gerstner USA product, but their price is not affordable to everyone. To this end, we have been working with our overseas manufacturer since 2004 to build fine quality Gerstner branded imports that we are comfortable marketing under the Gerstner family of products. We have (after many versions of samples) come up with a number of new styles which meet this market demand.

Many Gerstner "purists" have been rather vocal in their dislike of our decision to offer an imported product since we have always been known as an example of the best of what the USA has to offer. I can sympathize with their feelings, however it is our job to insure that Gerstner USA remains in business offering our American made line of chests into our next 100 years as well. This import line has done - to date - exactly what we had hoped it would do. It has increased the awareness of the Gerstner brand name to a whole new market of people that never knew we existed before - purely because of their good looks and price points.

As a result, the Gerstner USA division is now growing in number of chests ordered for the first time in over 10 years. We have started hiring on new people for the first time in many years as a direct result the huge volume of chests sold from the Gerstner International (GI) line. Rather than send jobs and work overseas, as many companies have done, we have a true new division that has added to our overall growth as a company. For the real Gerstner "purist" - I would hope they are happy to see us take whatever steps are  necessary in order to provide future generations with the same high quality American made products upon which we have established our 103 year reputation.

Are there differences in the two lines of chests? You bet! If you want the "original" Gerstner - the USA division stands ready to meet that need. If you want a really good chest at a super economical price, Gerstner International is here for you too. We have yet to have a GI series chest returned for quality issues. There are some differences in the construction methods, and there is more "play" in the fit of parts on the GI series however, we don't think you will find a better built (actual hardwood - not hardboard veneer) wood chest at such low prices. All GI chests are built with the "old style" look, with the lid pins and top corners on all the chests. The bottom line remains, we would not put our name on it if we were not happy with the quality level for the price paid. 

In fact, most people who have seen the Gerstner International chests at the trade shows walk right up to them and explain to their friends that they "have the exact same chest from their Dad" - so for an initial inspection, they fool the Gerstner USA owners in the "looks" department!  

It is our intention not to offer the same styles of chests made in the USA as our GI series chests. We will keep a clear and separate division between the two lines of chests. The pieces therefore are not interchangeable. GI chests are made from plain-sawn red oak whereas the USA line of oak chest are quarter-sawn white oak (sometimes shows up as tiger striped patterns in the wood). We stand behind the GI series chests and they are USA factory backed for service and support. We are very pleased with these chests and believe that people who buy them will be happy with them as well. The GI series chests are Gerstner chests in that they fall under the Gerstner umbrella of products. GI series owners are welcome to join our Owners Club too.  To learn more about our Owners Club click Here. 

If you have any individual questions or concerns I would be more than happy to help you - please feel free to contact me anytime.

Amy Ellis
Business Development Manager
(937) 228-1662
amy@gerstnerusa.com

Company Policies

Contact us:
When you need assistance with information concerning an order, we are just a phone call away. If you have questions about a product you see online or in our catalog, either before or after you have made your purchase, it can be answered by our customer service staff. Call 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM EST Mon - Thurs and 8:00 AM - noon Fridays for assistance. Key personnel contacts listed below.

Jane will help with placing an order, information on The Gerstner Owners Club, catalog requests and product information. She is hearing impaired - so she asks for your patience if she asks you to repeat things. 

Amy Ellis: Business Development Manager

Scott Campbell: VP of Operations

Jack Campbell: Company President

Call: (937) 228-1662
Send email to: gerstner@gerstnerusa.com
Write:   Gerstner International
            Customer Service
            20 Gerstner Way.
            Dayton, OH 45402

Guarantees & Warranties:
All products go through a rigorous inspection process before they are packed to ship. As a result, products have a 30 day full satisfaction guarantee. If you're not satisfied, let us know - we will work with you to make it right. If you choose to return your item please see the Returns and Exchanges section below for instructions on returning items.

90 day limited warranty from date of purchase from an AUTHORIZED Dealer. We stand behind the products we build, so if your product needs warranty work during this time we are happy to provide warranty work under the following conditions:

1. Call Gerstner International to receive return authorization. Items returned without prior authorization will not be processed. At this time we will also tell you the return shipping and processing fee to be enclosed with your chest. Items arriving without correct payment will not be processed until payment is received.
    We are happy to provide warranty work at no charge, but we do not pay shipping charges.
2. Return the product prepaid shipping and please insure for the current list price (We will tell you the insurance amount when you call  for your return authorization number). If your item is broken during return shipment, you will need to file a claim with the carrier to recover the cost of your item. We cannot provide warranty work or replacements for items broken during shipment to the factory.
3. Enclose a detailed description of the part or parts you believe to be defective as well as a daytime phone number so we may contact you with any questions. Items arriving with no paperwork indicating the warranty issue will not be processed until such paperwork is received.
4. We will (at our discretion) either repair the chest you send in, or replace it with a new one.
5. Proof of purchase from an Authorized Dealer will be required for all warranty issues. Purchases from non-Authorized Dealers are not eligible under any guarantee or warranty.

If you have concerns about a chest that is out of it's warranty period, please call us and we will try to help.

Returns and Exchanges:
Contact your Authorized Dealer should you wish to return or exchange your item - each dealer sets their own return and exchange policies. 

Privacy Policy:
For over 100 years we have worked to keep our customer's trust. We fully recognize our responsibility to protect your customer information and it's confidential nature. Your credit card number and other personal data will be treated with the highest standards of safety, security, and confidentiality.

Gerstner requests personal information from you including your name, billing and shipping addresses, telephone number and credit card number. The information provided is needed to process your order. We do not share or sell our customer list therefore, your personal information will not be made available to any other company. From time to time we may send  information to you regarding Gerstner sales or new products. if you decide you no longer wish to receive these mailings please notify us by one of the following 3 methods: (Please enclose your full name and address with any correspondence).

• Email us at gerstner@gerstnerusa.com please enter "remove from database" in the subject line.

• Call us directly at (937) 228-1662.

• Write to us:    H. Gerstner & Sons
                       20 Gerstner Way
                       Dayton, OH 45402 

Gerstner & Sons recognizes its obligation to protect the privacy of its online guests. We have developed these privacy practices in order to maintain these standards and to comply with the Children's Advertising Review Unit (CARU) of the Better Business Bureau's guidelines on Internet advertising. It is a policy of Gerstner that no information should be submitted to or posted at any Gerstner web sites by children 16 years of age or under, without the consent of a parent or guardian. Gerstner does not actively seek any demographic or preference information from children, nor will it ever disclose any personally identifying information regarding children to third parties.

Gerstner only collects personal information from our online guests on a voluntary basis and we do not require any personal information for access to our web sites. If one of our web sites solicits personal information such as names or addresses, Gerstner will use the voluntarily submitted information only to respond to our online guests and for internal purposes and will not disclose any personal information to third parties.

Gerstner web site may collect non-personal information from our online guests (such as the guests' type of browser, operating system and domain names). This non-personal information is used by Gerstner for internal purposes only and we will not disclose any of this non-personal information to any third parties.

Catalog Requests:
We provide catalogs free of charge when you compete the catalog request form found on our home page.
If you don't wish to complete the form, please send $5.00 to the address above including your return address for a full catalog. The questions asked on the form help us to send the correct information to you, determine the effectiveness of our advertising as well as provide feedback as to what use our products are being put to. Thank you for your cooperation.