Barry the Blade: You Decide

guncollector

guncollector

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Sep 6, 2001
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You know, I recently had a situation with a very nice custom knife about 1.5-2 months ago. I'm glad I waited until I cooled down over the matter to post my experience.

For those of you who don't know me, my transactions between USN, Bladeforums, CPF, 1911forum, Glocktalk, etc. probably run in the hundreds. In all those transactions, I've had 2 problems: one super-picky "collector" who made compensatory demands in a trade (which I obliged at a loss), and the other problem as follows:

It was a gentleman's sized scale release, and I was referred the buyer (a newbie with little-to-no feedback) by a well-respected forumite here.

Anyway, based solely upon his referral and one other provided reference I sent him a knife valued over $850 in exchange for the buyer's knife and cash.

Short story, the buyer receives it and immediately emails he is not happy and the knife is defective. I inquire as to how he is opening it, explaining a downsized scale-release (a mechanical marvel in itself) requires a delicate touch and method to open*, but if he's not happy with it we can immediately exchange back, no questions asked. At this point, he "adds on" a few other complaints about blemishes on the ivory (mastadon) scales and an imperfection on the blade's edge**.

I sent him the knife via UPS 2nd Day, while his end of the deal was coming via UPS Ground (and had not even arrived at this point).

I request that he ship my knife back and I will "refuse shipment" of his UPS Ground package. End of story, right? Nope.

This is where it gets good, and where I lose my temper.

After a few days, I inquire again of the buyer if he's shipped my knife back, and basically he says "No, because I don't trust you." He says he bases this distrust on the fact that I sent him a defective knife**, and he's never heard of "refusing a shipment". WTF??!! Did this guy just fall off the turnip truck? He's got my knife in hand, and at this point I've received nothing from him as his stupid UPS Ground shipment is taking so fricking long. I repeat, he's got my knife and I've got nothing from him other than accusatory emails.

At this point I don't mince words, and I tell the buyer he's screwing himself if he doesn't send me back my knife ASAP (and was admittedly inclined towards the uncivil at this point). I also email the original forumite who referred this buyer to me (who it turns out has also seen the knife), and the only response I get from him is neutral--with his view that we're both being "childish". Great, no help there.

Eventually, I get the knife back. The buyer's UPS Ground shipment is refused (I never even opened his box, it just went directly back to the buyer).

In the end, I send the knife back to the manufacturer (just to prove a point), and inquire about the buyer's complaints. Manufacturer says the knife works exactly as designed, and that the scales are exactly as they were when it left his shop, and that he can discern no "blemishes" on the edge.

I email the buyer and the referral guy this information from the maker, and the response is basically: from buyer--"hey I told you I was a newbie", from referral guy--"keep me out of this".

The buyer in this story was username: Barry the Blade (both here and on USN I think), the referral guy will remain nameless (as promised by me).

Final Note: this knife was re-listed, and sold with multiple buy offers. The eventual buyer was pleased as punch with the knife and had no problems opening it after being instructed how.

* - confirmed by the maker
** - both non-existent upon later examination, and non-existent to the eventual buyer.
 
When a buyer tells a man like Ron that he is not TRUSTED, I take seriously issue with that remark.

Ron has proven his integrity, BTB has not. It behooves him not to appear and make a statement.

This is Ron's side of the transaction and his record of dealing honestly is impressive.

IMHO Ron has sufficient cause for vapor-locking and we all have sufficient cause to deal cautiously with Barry the Blade.

yup, guilt by default:p :p :p
 
masterchef writes:
They are both morons!! The referal guy is also an ass.He could have at least said sorry for the bad reference!!!Barry The Bladder is written off!
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Whew...for a minute there I thought "both" was inclusive of me! :eek:

RE: REFERRAL GUY

Y'know, at first, I thought the same. I was extremely disappointed in the referral guy's attitude of maintaining neutrality, and to top it off calling me "childish" (or was it "posturing"?, or both?).

Then, after thinking about it, his intentions were of the best type (helping a guy out with a sale). Furthermore, he was caught between someone he knows personally and resides near him vs. me (just a name with a bunch of references on the Net--with whom he's had zero dealings).

So, no hard feelings toward Mr. Referral Guy (okay M?).

RE: DISTRUST

Y'know, if Barry had told me I don't like this knife because it "makes me look fat", I could've cared less. The fact that he could not operate it properly didn't even bother me. The fact that he claimed blemishes on the scale and edge, only bothered me a little teeny bit.

[RANT MODE ON]
But, when he emailed that HE DIDN'T TRUST ME, that PISSED ME OFF and F'ING A-RIGHT, I START POSTURING...
[RANT MODE OFF]

Okay....deep breaths.....relax.....picture a vault full of Mayo TNT's.....ahhh.....there.....
 
For everyone's info, over at USN, it was brought to my attention by a member that this entire episode was over--basically its "all water under the bridge"--and I should not have posted the experience.

Furthermore, he indicated, rightly, that there was no dishonest dealing on either party's part--to which I will attest. Nobody was dishonest, including Barry the Blade.

My reply is: dishonorable conduct deserves equal commentary, and that's how I was treated by Mr. Barry Olswing. I felt it within my purview to post for this reason.
 
Posted by guncollector:

. . .I don't like this knife because it "makes me look fat"
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ROTFLMAO !


Yeah. . .it definitely wasn't a "Bad" deal.

Sure as hell wasn't a "Good" deal.

Sometimes ya just gotta call it like ya see it. . .i.e., damn that sure is a "UGLY" baby !

Personally; I think that you posted this in the right place ! Simply. . .that sure was a "UGLY" baby !

While I can't share your pain guncollector. . .I can empathize with ya !

Hope that this doesn't ruin your Turkey Day !

Cheers
 
...interesting story, and crystal-clear explanation. Sometimes you just gotta vent. Thanks for the post.

Coop
 
Originally posted by guncollector
For everyone's info, over at USN, it was brought to my attention by a member that this entire episode was over--basically its "all water under the bridge"--and I should not have posted the experience.

Furthermore, he indicated, rightly, that there was no dishonest dealing on either party's part--to which I will attest. Nobody was dishonest, including Barry the Blade.

My reply is: dishonorable conduct deserves equal commentary, and that's how I was treated by Mr. Barry Olswing. I felt it within my purview to post for this reason.
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Why didnt you post this 2 months ago? I know the guy who was the referral guy and his reputation and honesty are impeccable. I'm not gonna post his name, he can do that if he wants to, but he saw the knife also and said the blemishes were not imagined and that the multiple pics sent were angled so as not to show them.
But the real question, since this was over and done with over 2 months ago is why you would bring it up now? Why didnt you post anything then? Ulterior motive or just bored?
BTW, hundreds of deals??? You mean like a business?
 
Why didnt you post this 2 months ago? I know the guy who was the referral guy and his reputation and honesty are impeccable. I'm not gonna post his name, he can do that if he wants to, but he saw the knife also and said the blemishes were not imagined and that the multiple pics sent were angled so as not to show them.
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I waited 2 months to cool off.

This is between Barry Olswing and myself, not the referral guy--despite your attempts to make it so.

But the real question, since this was over and done with over 2 months ago is why you would bring it up now? Why didnt you post anything then? Ulterior motive or just bored?
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I was accused of having thievery as a motive, that alone is reason enough in my mind.

BTW, hundreds of deals??? You mean like a business?
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No, like an active hobbyist. What's your point? More baseless accusations?
 
Not to sound like a broken record, but....

In any deal there are 2 sides to the story.
If a friend of mine tells me the knife was not in the condition you listed it in, and that the pictures you took of the knife were at angles to hide the blemishes, I got to believe him.
Simple as that, you tryed to pass off a knife in less condition then it was described to be in.

If your going to make statements like
"I was referred the buyer (a newbie with little-to-no feedback) by a well-respected forumite here."

Then you cant go back and not trust the word of that same person to say that the knife was not all you claimed it to be.

What happend? The buyer told you he was going to post, so you made a preemptive strike?


My thoughts on the subject.....

Kyle
 
Let's kick this "dead horse" one more time.

Two sides to every story - that's correct, so far I've only heard one side. I haven't heard from the referral guy (up to now unnamed), nor from "Barry The Blade." All the rest really don't mean nothin'.
 
For everyone else's info, Lifter and Eich1911 are close friends with the referral guy. I find it odd that they are entering the fray on behalf of the referral guy who's not really involved in my complaint.

Lifter writes:
The only thing I accuse you of is being full of crap about your motives after more than 2 months.
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What's your fixation with 2 months? Guess what, someone unjustly and unapologetically accuses me of wanting to steal from him, and 2 years from now I will be offended. Unless you're some sort of cleric, I would hope you would be too.

Eich1911 writes:
In any deal there are 2 sides to the story.
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Correct. Mr. Olswing is invited to provide his.

Furthermore, Mr. referral guy wrote to me a month or two back by email requesting that he not be cc:'d my emails to Barry, nor in any other way involved in this matter. Referral guy divorced himself from this matter, so why does he have proxy defenders/attackers posting on this matter?

If a friend of mine tells me the knife was not in the condition you listed it in, and that the pictures you took of the knife were at angles to hide the blemishes, I got to believe him.
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Your loyalty is admirable and to be expected.

Simple as that, you tryed to pass off a knife in less condition then it was described to be in.
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Be careful here Eich1911, your loyalty is leading you into making careless accusations based on hearsay. For someone of your high online stature, I expect more care in the crafting your statements.

If your going to make statements like
"I was referred the buyer (a newbie with little-to-no feedback) by a well-respected forumite here."

Then you cant go back and not trust the word of that same person to say that the knife was not all you claimed it to be.
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You are missing the entire point. It was not even about the condition of the knife (which to this day I contend was perfect BTW)--it was about a character attack by Barry Olswing (Barry the Blade) upon me--accusing me wanting to steal from him.

What happend? The buyer told you he was going to post, so you made a preemptive strike?
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Nope. I haven't heard hide nor hair from the buyer.

As a matter of fact, both buyer and referral guy were informed that I was yet undecided on the matter of feedback. I have Barry's email in which he invites me to post my feedback. I voluntarily felt it best to leave referral guy's name out of the picture.

My thoughts on the subject.....
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Thanks for your thoughts.
 
For everyone's info, this holiday has reaffirmed the "bigger picture" of everything.

On USN, I have made my apologies to Lifter and Eich1911 for getting into it with them (though I don't apologize for my original post).
 
And useless crap like this is why we are in need of another server and running out of space . Flame me, kick me , put me on your ignore list, but damn just GROW THE HELL UP.................
 
JS writes:
And useless crap like this is why we are in need of another server and running out of space . Flame me, kick me , put me on your ignore list, but damn just GROW THE HELL UP.................
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Well, Jerry, you're right about the grow up part--that's where the apologies originated. It must be nice, though, to walk through life so even-keeled and restrained like you.

And just for the record, your comment on the server is pure hyperbole. But, if you're so concerned about it, where's your financially-supporting membership?
 
Well sir I renewed my membership , it just hasn't gone up yet as it takes a few days ( I guess ). And I have been a Gold member since ny first week . I still think you stewed for two months instead of cooled off or ya would not have started a flame thread . We are diffinately going to disagree on the subject . Even- Keeled , not even close but to wait that length of time and then start it all over is just something that never left your mind and I just can't beleive that you have made it so far thru life without anyone else not trusting you . I have taken enough space up and apoligize for stepping in on your post. Good day to all .

BTW: I can send ya a copy of my receipt just incase someone doesn't trust that I paid for a membership again
 
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