BladeHQ - a couple of issues

retzius

retzius

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Sep 17, 2009
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I purchased a new SOG Recon Bowie 2.0 from BladeHQ. I received the blade promptly and at a good price. The blade was packed very good and the shipping box in good condition. However, the actual product box the knife came in was virtually destroyed. I could tell it had been smashed and it was actually taped back together on one side. In addition, the guard on the knife had actually poked through the box a bunch of times at some point and the holes were covered in scotch tape.

The knife was perfect (minus the sheath which SOG took care of) and I kept it because it will be a user for me. If I was a collector however I would have returned it as the box was pretty much shredded. I am surprised they shipped out a new knife in a box like this.

I may use them again but this experience left a bad taste in my mouth.
 
Did you contact them before posting about it here?
 
Ken C. said:
Did you contact them before posting about it here?
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I did not as there is really nothing to make right. The knife itself is in great condition as was the shipping box. If I wanted a replacement product box or was a collector looking to resell I would have contacted them asap to get a replacement. I just wanted to relay my experience.
 
Ken C. said:
Did you contact them before posting about it here?
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In my opinion Ken, that should not be an issue. The op was shipped (as per his side of the story) a box in poor condition. Regardless of if they send out a new box or not the original got sent out, and I feel that posts such as this are valid as they can show slipping customer service, and without public awareness why should they change. Way too often on BF have I read a post where somebody had an issue, and many posts follow with "that happened to me too!" I feel that if somebody has an issue then it should be put upfront. That way the entirety is transparent. Denigrating a post trying to inform the community of an issue is counterproductive to the community as a whole, and only serves to vilify the person who feels s/he was wronged. I feel that this type of attitude is harmful to the community- the vendor owes it to the purchaser to have the purchase done properly- if not I want to know about it as it happens, and can then follow up as the thread continues. If the vendor is worried about Internet presence being harmed by a post then they should do everything possible to make sure issues don't arise. I find posts attacking the op in these cases (not that yours was attacking or denigrating in this case, but I have seen people attacked for informing the community) to be harmful.

Just my opinion as I feel too many people are attacked by stating they were wronged by a vendor.
 
I'm sure the reason why Ken was asking is that many of these "issues" wouldn't be issues at all if people would contact the vendor first. This also would work for many of the trade/sell problems here as well.
 
Hi Guys.

I'm a dealer as well. Most of the SOG stuff I have received has been beaten up pretty good. SOG boxes in general seem to be a bit on the weak side for the larger knives.

Don't beat up BHQ too much. Most people ordering a knife are ordering the knife. If I had to send back product because the manufacturer or distributor did a bad job of packing it and the box was beat up, I would be sending back a lot of inventory.

With that said, I usually try to throw in a little compensation if I have to ship out a box with a hole in it or some other form of damage. If it's a flashlight I'll probably throw in some disposables, or if it's a knife maybe a discount on your next purchase.

I'm sure BladeHQ would process a replacement if you asked. Or maybe a coupon on your next order.

As an individual, I've bought many things from BHQ and I was personally content with their service.
 
That's a straight up thing to say, ShaoloGear. A lot of competing dealers might have pounced all over this issue and you take the high road and call it like you see it. Props to you and I hope a bunch of this gear buying community take notice.
 
rycen said:
I'm sure the reason why Ken was asking is that many of these "issues" wouldn't be issues at all if people would contact the vendor first. This also would work for many of the trade/sell problems here as well.
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I guess I'm just a contrarian today but I call BS respectfully on that. Calling the vendor doesn't change the issue at all, it just hides it from the rest of us.

To add to my original point: the OP put out his complaint and already some good has come from it. We now know from a vendor that it is an issue from the manufacturer- something that would remain hidden if the OP had stayed quiet. For those that care, they can approach the company and express displeasure, other dealers can talk to the company and express customer dissatisfaction and perhaps the company will make changed, or the knife buying public can judge if they handled the situation properly, thus making a more informed choice about their purchases.

As I am not a fan of SOG knives the company doesn't concern me, but the overwhelming (at times) attitude of shut up until the company/person makes it right is something that I will always fight- censorship and silence help nobody. This is a forum of passion and logic, those making outrageous claims are put to task quickly, so why try and stifle the flow of true information. If something had happened why should a person not be allowed to say so???

(With respect to all other opinions involved)
 
It is just in poor taste to come and post here first rather than to try to work it out privately. Anyone can make a mistake but it's what they do to rectify it that makes them honorable or not.

It's not about hiding anything it's about the common courtesy to give someone a heads up,to notify them about a problem they may or may not know existed.
 
CUTS LIKE A KRIS said:
I guess I'm just a contrarian today but I call BS respectfully on that. Calling the vendor doesn't change the issue at all, it just hides it from the rest of us.

To add to my original point: the OP put out his complaint and already some good has come from it. We now know from a vendor that it is an issue from the manufacturer- something that would remain hidden if the OP had stayed quiet. For those that care, they can approach the company and express displeasure, other dealers can talk to the company and express customer dissatisfaction and perhaps the company will make changed, or the knife buying public can judge if they handled the situation properly, thus making a more informed choice about their purchases.

As I am not a fan of SOG knives the company doesn't concern me, but the overwhelming (at times) attitude of shut up until the company/person makes it right is something that I will always fight- censorship and silence help nobody. This is a forum of passion and logic, those making outrageous claims are put to task quickly, so why try and stifle the flow of true information. If something had happened why should a person not be allowed to say so???

(With respect to all other opinions involved)
Click to expand...

Come back from the ledge Cris, no one is censoring anyone here or stifling any flow. If you can't understand the reason why Ken asked and why Rycen explained after being here as long as you have, I don't know what to tell you. Personally, I go to the source of the issue before launching my concerns for the cyberworld to read. I guess we are the weird ones here. Just because there is a way, doesn't make it the best way.
 
rycen said:
It is just in poor taste to come and post here first rather than to try to work it out privately. Anyone can make a mistake but it's what they do to rectify it that makes them honorable or not.

It's not about hiding anything it's about the common courtesy to give someone a heads up,to notify them about a problem they may or may not know existed.
Click to expand...

This. 1000x this.
 
rycen said:
It is just in poor taste to come and post here first rather than to try to work it out privately. Anyone can make a mistake but it's what they do to rectify it that makes them honorable or not.

It's not about hiding anything it's about the common courtesy to give someone a heads up,to notify them about a problem they may or may not know existed.
Click to expand...

I understand your argument and I would agree if the knife itself had an issue and it needed to be exchanged. In this case, however, the knife is fine and as I am not a collector nor do I wish to resell the blade I decided to just accept the condition of the product box as sent to me from BladeHQ. I just wanted to relay my experience to others so they could learn from the experience. I found it interesting that ShaoloGear said many of the boxes he gets from SOG are also a bit beat up. I will pass this info onto SOG and refer them to this thread so that they can understand that their packaging may be issue.

IMO, however, that does not make it OK to ship out a product box that looks like it had been run over by a truck and then taped back together, even if the knife inside is perfect. If I was in BladeHQ's position, I would most likely have contacted me first to see if it was an issue. As I said before, all other aspects of my experience with them were great but this was a letdown. You can imagine its a bit disheartening to open your shipping box and see the product box of the knife you are excited to get and find it thrashed and scotch-taped.

I had no intention of bad-mouthing them and I do not think my post was in poor taste. It is merely the experience that I had, nothing more nothing less.
 
Did you get the knife out of BHQ's bargain bin? I know they have a lot of knives discounted for issues just like the one you stated. I have used BHQ many many times with nothing but great results. everyone there is top notch. It could have been noted in the description of the knife as well
 
Jfoley4 said:
Did you get the knife out of BHQ's bargain bin? I know they have a lot of knives discounted for issues just like the one you stated. I have used BHQ many many times with nothing but great results. everyone there is top notch. It could have been noted in the description of the knife as well
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No, the knife was not a bargain bin model and it was not noted in the description.
 
First off, retzius - my apologies that your box was in bad shape. Even if you didn't buy the knife as a collectible that's still got to be disappointing. First impressions matter.

I can't say where the box damage occurred. ShaoloGear is right though- we have routinely gotten boxes from some companies that are in really bad shape. We often try to get replacement boxes from manufacturers, but that can be incredibly difficult. And, get this, two or three times we have been accused of selling Chinese knock offs because the replacement box we obtained didn't have the bar code label present (that's not relevant here- just something funny).

In any event, you said "there is really nothing to make right" and, practically speaking, you're correct. But we would have been more than willing to swap you products, try and get a new box for you, do something to make you feel better. We certainly don't want people to think we don't care. We do, but sometimes things just slip through the cracks or go wrong (maybe a packer is having a bad day, maybe shipping deadlines are looming and someone decides shipping something is better than nothing, maybe we try to call the customer and the phone number is wrong or the email bounces back, etc).

In any event, thanks for sharing your experience. I hope you enjoy your knife. If I can do anything for you in the future please let me know.

Thanks,
Cam
 
Hi Cam.

Thanks for responding. I am enjoying the knife and I appreciate your follow-up/comments regarding the product box and first impressions. I will buy from you again in the future.
 
I'll only post once more on this thread. The biggest problem I have is telling or implying that somebody should not post their experiences in this forum. Being told by a mod (or having a moderator imply rather than telling) that a poster should not post about their experiences is wrong IMO. Being told what is or is not acceptable when clearly within the rules IS censorship and I despise that kind of attitude. Transparency is not a bad thing!

1) the poster received a box in poor shape, and posted about it in an upfront and calm manner, describing his disappointment, and also saying that he was happy with the remainder of the purchase. The issue was worth mentioning and moving on. Which is what this sub-forum is for: Forum: FEEDBACK: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly!
This is your area to tell about your experiences (Good or Bad) with dealers, sellers, and individuals you've bought, sold, and traded with

2) this post caused 2 vendors now to confirm that poor boxes are common with SOG knives currently. I feel that this knowledge is important to the community as a whole, so fully informed choices can be made, and the community can exert pressure on the company to make changes that are more acceptable to us. This is much harder to accomplish if it is a single customer, or a single vendor. Community strength in numbers makes changes faster than solo voices.

3) without the original issue being brought up by the OP, the box issue would go on behind the scenes for indeterminate amount of time. How does this benefit anybody besides the manufacturer?

4) the vendor selling the item now has a venu to show that they care about the customer, and allows the community to see how they treat the situation. IMO their responce shows class and a sense of responsibility after money had changed hands. This is a great opportunity to impress others such as myself, which it has. They have opened dialogue with the OP in an up front manner, why should transparency be seen as a bad thing?

I see nothing that the OP did wrong in this thread- he did not use much exaggeration/hyperbole, and gave both the positives and negatives of the transaction without denigrating/insulting the vendor. The community has a more full understanding of the situation, and all principles have discussed the issue in a respectful, calm manner.


How does hiding the issue help the community?
Where in this case is there a negative brought about from the OP?

I'll respectfully bow out of this conversation at this time.
 
It's really not a hard concept to understand. Whether it be a business or a private person if you have an issue contact them first to see what can be done rather than post here first. The GB&U should not be the first course of action when trying to deal with an issue.
 
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