Alexander Dietz - worst customer service ever. Still don't have my knife 5 months

Pittknife said:
It has worked guys. Alex deleted all of his post and you can't find him searching.

Great points Misinthropa. I totally agree.

I'm still going to try and publicly shame these guys though. I was scammed by will moon and am still pissed about it.
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If you're talking about in Instagram, that means he blocked you. His profile is very much still in tact.
 
So once again I say, why not create a IG account where you can take the fight directly to them in a format which they seem to frequent more than forums? It isn't like they can actually delete your posts or experiences. It would be something completely out of their control. I'm somewhat baffled as to why no one has either thought of it or done it yet. If I got ripped of by some punk for a handful of knives you can better believe I'd be proactive in bringing the fight to their online doorstep. That is just me though.
 
RevDevil said:
So once again I say, why not create a IG account where you can take the fight directly to them in a format which they seem to frequent more than forums? It isn't like they can actually delete your posts or experiences. It would be something completely out of their control. I'm somewhat baffled as to why no one has either thought of it or done it yet. If I got ripped of by some punk for a handful of knives you can better believe I'd be proactive in bringing the fight to their online doorstep. That is just me though.
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Truthfully, I didn't get ripped off per say (although the handle material was not what we agreed upon) like others may have, but just had a very protracted and unpleasant experience. The hesitation on my part about doing something like creating IG page about it is the unwanted negative attention it will draw to me personally. The knife community being as insular as it is, I don't think anyone wants to deal with the fanboys of any given maker who will naturally come out in defense, even in light of the facts.

Now if we as whole could stop treating knife makers like celebrities who you want to be best friends with, maybe we would have a little bit more objectivity.
 
Misanthropia said:
This is certainly not the first time, he's been working on his own knives for a while now (and has auctioned them via IG), amongst other things. Let me just say that he apparently lives quite the life for a self employed 24 year old with admittedly pretty serious martial issues if you judge by his IG which is full of expensive customs and hanging out with friends.

I fear the rise of the "Instagram Knife Maker" is going to usher in a bleak era for custom knives. Unlike those with some credibility who are on here or the USN, the IG Knifemaker has no accountability. They do no risk anything because they do not have forum costs to fear losing or moderators to answer to. Unless they do something entirely illegal to a large number of people, they're safe. The 45 day paypal window is the easiest thing for them to work around. And they can always claim that they're "two weeks out" on it. No one will question them, because they have total control over what appears on their IG posts, and will certainly garner legions of fans who only see cool knives being made and have no concept of the business that should be functioning in the background. IG doesn't have someone like RevDevil who works tirelessly to ensure ethical business practices are in effect.

Why would they want to come here instead of conducting their business through social media, where they can operate without prejudice? They can reap 100% of their profits, and have no one to answer to but themselves. That's why people like Alex Dietz, Will Moon, and Andre DeVilliers (just to name three makers who have had issues lately) could care less about being banned from this place. Truly, that is sad.

A popular knife pimper who is looking to move into making his own knives made a post the other day asking if people were interested in his first ever run of folders, which would have to be paid entirely in advance. All I could think was "oh god, here we go again"...
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This is one of the best and most important posts I have read in a long time, thank you.

In the short term, 'internet knife makers' will keep on rolling, but they are all 'this months' hype and nothing more.

It's everyone's personal responsibility to research and decide where they want to spend their money, and who they want to support based on their own ideas of not only what constitutes a great knife, but on how important the makers character is in that decision.

Karma sucks, and Alex will get what he deserves....
 
There is a damned good reason why those with poor business practices love social media such as Instagram. It is entirely one-sided, and they can delete and moderate anyone who dares question them, within minutes of being posted. It also attracts the casual knife person, so even a low level maker with bad intentions can easily get hundreds or thousands of followers and positive exposure.
 
A lot of these knifemakers while some may make a good product are simply not good businessmen. Its a common progression to see many knifemakers begin in the forums and youtube only to later progress to the sole use of facebook and instagram. These social media outlets allow full moderation and control as Misanthropia already described. There is just no responsibility or accountability. If anyone is up to it, I feel running a public instagram page with the sole purpose of "moderation" of instagram knife makers would be a viable option. If set up properly and promoted on BF, it could very easily get a large amount of followers and give insight to the instagram audience about the illicit activities of these knifemakers.
 
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Misanthropia said:
Now if we as whole could stop treating knife makers like celebrities who you want to be best friends with, maybe we would have a little bit more objectivity.
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^^This. I like knives and all, but it is just ridiculous to read some of the posts by grown men on instagram when the flavor of the month maker releases a new pivot pin or actually shows a completed knife months after the run was promised to be delivered. No criticism ever, just verbal fellatio.
 
I'm another one who fell victim to empty promises made by Mr. Dietz. I believe he quoted a 3 month wait. He seemed like a pretty sincere guy from our talks on the phone so I put my full trust in him. He even went as far as to ask for money up front for materials etc. Boy what a big mistake that was, the order was placed way back in March '13. Since then I sent a few pleasant emails that were never returned. I've also had a few choice phone conversations with him as to the status. From what I get from his past victims I've noticed a trend of a very apologetic Mr. Dietz who seems to be going thru some personal issues. And that he fell behind schedule and is back on track. Well Mr. Dietz it's been over a year now still no word. I was pretty much about to give up on my knife and Mr. Dietz and write it off because it was just not worth the headache and also due to the fact that I live in Hawaii. But when I heard that I was not alone in my troubles that there are many others that were scammed by the likes of Mr. Dietz then it has become a matter of principal for me. I can respect the fact that he is not a great businessman and he is or was going marital problems but where I come from and how I was raised by my parents, a man's word is bond. Call me old school but despite our technological advances in social media your word is your word. And it also troubles me to see Mr. Dietz having a grand old time enjoying himself and posting his expensive little toys at the expense of his clients really gets me... What a douche! And people are actually defending this guy?! I've been in law enforcement for over 15 yrs now and I'm not too familiar with Oregon's penal code but over here Mr. Dietz would be guilty of "Theft of Services". As to what degree would all depend on the dollar amount involved. The courts would also take into account the number of individuals that fell victim to his deception. My question is are there more of you out there that have not gotten so much as a refund and your property back? If so you really need to speak up. There should be no reason why we need to be the ones taking time out of our own lives to deal with this BS. As for myself I am no longer interested in owning any pieces done by Mr. Dietz no matter how talented he is. There are a lot more reputable business that bring much earned respect to their own trade that we could have gone to but instead are stuck in this predicament. Mr. Dietz needs to make things right by offering his clients an option out by way of refund before the real authorities get involved.
 
I'm another one who fell victim to empty promises made by Mr. Dietz. I believe he quoted a 3 month wait. He seemed like a pretty sincere guy from our talks on the phone so I put my full trust in him. He even went as far as to ask for money up front for materials etc. Boy what a big mistake that was, the order was placed way back in March '13. Since then I sent a few pleasant emails that were never returned. I've also had a few choice phone conversations with him as to the status. From what I get from his past victims I've noticed a trend of a very apologetic Mr. Dietz who seems to be going thru some personal issues. And that he fell behind schedule and is back on track. Well Mr. Dietz it's been over a year now still no word. I was pretty much about to give up on my knife and Mr. Dietz and write it off because it was just not worth the headache and also due to the fact that I live in Hawaii. But when I heard that I was not alone in my troubles that there are many others that were scammed by the likes of Mr. Dietz then it has become a matter of principal for me. I can respect the fact that he is not a great businessman and he is or was going marital problems but where I come from and how I was raised by my parents, a man's word is bond. Call me old school but despite our technological advances in social media your word is your word. And it also troubles me to see Mr. Dietz having a grand old time enjoying himself and posting his expensive little toys at the expense of his clients really gets me... What a douche! And people are actually defending this guy?! I've been in law enforcement for over 15 yrs now and I'm not too familiar with Oregon's penal code but over here Mr. Dietz would be guilty of "Theft of Services". As to what degree would all depend on the dollar amount involved. The courts would also take into account the number of individuals that fell victim to his deception. My question is are there more of you out there that have not gotten so much as a refund and your property back? If so you really need to speak up. There should be no reason why we need to be the ones taking time out of our own lives to deal with this BS. As for myself I am no longer interested in owning any pieces done by Mr. Dietz no matter how talented he is. There are a lot more reputable business that bring much earned respect to their own trade that we could have gone to but instead are stuck in this predicament. Mr. Dietz needs to make things right by offering his clients an option out by way of refund before the real authorities get involved.
 
Misanthropia said:
The 45 day paypal window is the easiest thing for them to work around.
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From what I read on another forum. The Paypal window has been extended to 180 days.

Don't know if thats good or bad. Good for buyers being dicked around by bad sellers, but bad for honest sellers who sell something in proper working/clean condition and which possibly gets damaged/broken by a semi dishonest customer 2+ months later who then files a complaint with Paypal.

DON
 
paneraica said:
From what I read on another forum. The Paypal window has been extended to 180 days.

Don't know if thats good or bad. Good for buyers being dicked around by bad sellers, but bad for honest sellers who sell something in proper working/clean condition and which possibly gets damaged/broken by a semi dishonest customer 2+ months later who then files a complaint with Paypal.

DON
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I would like to think that you'd be able to make a solid case with Paypal that the product arrived, and if the buyer didn't complain at that time, then the item is considered theirs, especially if you're an Ebay seller and make it clear that the item is sold as is. Of course, even as I type this, I know that Ebay/Paypal will still find some way to place all the blame on the seller.
 
nope. Paypal takes the buyers word no matter what. Pictures and proof don't mean squat. Paypal is a buyer's advocate and sellers are wholly accountable to them. Their seller protections (Ebays as well) is a laughable joke. I still use them, but i do so knowing the risk as a seller.
 
Is this still on going? It's disgusting how someone like Alex Dietz can decieve so many people and then ask for sympathy by putting his marital problems out there. His wife probably just realized what a dead beat joke he is.. Anything negative that happens to him is too good for the cockroach that he is... I can't wait till karma sets in and toys with him like he has been with his customers

Rant off
 
So it's been almost a year since I gave him a $50 deposit for one of his knives… He is currently taking pre orders and deposits for ANOTHER knife…

my email to him

"Hey Man, I saw you're now taking deposits for a different folder… what happened to mine? You told me I was number 5…"

his lovely response…

"And you are #5 is there a problem? these orders are for May of next year"

Well Mr Dietz, yes, there is a problem. I paid a deposit for a knife with a 4-7 month wait OR LESS (his words) and its been 11 months, and the only time i hear from you is when I inquire?!?!?
 
its sick Dietz is still in business. I still see people ordering from him and supporting him, makes me very disappointed that people either don't know how to research or they just don't care.
 
Pittknife said:
its sick Dietz is still in business. I still see people ordering from him and supporting him, makes me very disappointed that people either don't know how to research or they just don't care.
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Well, they say ignorance is bliss so is laziness I guess. People figure it won't/will never happen to them, until it does and then they run for help. Another symptom of the universe.
 
Another case of Instagram fame. He can control all the comments and say what he wants. Sad state of the knife world.

Thank god for great sites like Bladeforums.
 
besthaticouldo said:
Well, lovely. My barrage scale ended up breaking.

IMG_20141227_172052 by b3sthaticould0, on Flickr

Unhappy to say the least.

Catching up on others issues with this guy.
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Unless there was a prexisting crack from where he drilled the scales, I'm not entirely sure it's his fault as kirinite might not necessarily as stable as some of the more popular handle material choices (G10, Micarta, CF). I just read that it is similar to Corian, another synthetic material that I know tends to crack like that. But if it was already there from drilling the pocket clip holes, and he still sent it to you, that would be unacceptable.

I wish you the best of luck trying to get him to fix it. I'm so glad I sold the Po'Boy he did for me, the experience really tainted the knife for me, no matter how nice it came out. He barely even posts on IG these days so hopefully that means he's pushing out orders.

I was listening through the back catalog of a great podcast called Gear Geeks Live and they had TuffThumbz on as a guest for an episode, where he mentioned that when he decided he wanted to make knives full time, he gave his orders to Alex Dietz. I assume that is why this has become such a cluster.
 
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