Can you trust Amazon and others

E

EMN

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So far all my purchases have been from online stores with good feedback as being legit. Blade HC, knife center, DLT, USA Made blades etc.

I understanding is to stay away from Amazon that there will be fakes. I see some youtubers have links to Amazon are they safer to purchase through that link? I would guess buying off Ebay or FB you would need to be able to spot a fake or are they safer. I have read and heard others say they would only buy off this fourum for secondary market.

Experience suggestions advice?

Eric
 
never really had much problem with eBay and craigslist but i don't usually buy much knifes there but it seems pretty good

JR
 
I dont know what is going on with Amazon. During the last year I have spent more time returning my orders than using them.
Ill order a sweatshirt and get drain cleaner. They'll ship my orders in the wrong size and color, Ill get blatantly used items and Ill get orders that say they are from USA and then get a China made item weeks later. I swear they are just betting that the consumer doesn't have the time to return the crap they send! I think Im up to about a 40% return rate! Im done with Amazon.:poop:
I also wouldn't have ordered from MassDrop either if I knew my knife was going to take a month to arrive..:eek:
 
The choice is yours. If I'm going to buy something, I want to know exactly who I'm buying it from, and how its getting to me. This is why I don't buy a lot from Amazon, because its extra work to make sure that I'm getting the product I want, from the seller I think I'm getting it from. Depending on how the youtuber is doing their affiliate link, they may be sending to a specific store, but they may not be, so you need to be checking. They get peanuts from it anyway, so if all you are doing is trying to support them, there are better ways.

With Ebay, again, I'm looking at sellers who I can verify, even if I'm buying used, I'm looking at feedback, and how they structure their sales.
If I'm buying new, I'm almost always going to be looking to an authorized dealer. Part of that comes from the fact that the importer that handles most of the knife brands into Australia played a large role in the import law change that we saw a few years ago. Trying to scrimp every dollar from an overseas retailer doesn't help that situation. That said, there are things I have bought direct from the US because the availability or price discrepancy (I can't pay double the listed price) just made it the only viable choice. And yes, I could just not buy things.

As for the rest of it, if you don't read those TOCs its not like anyone else is going to hold your hand. Amazon is a yardsale inside a shopping mall, Massdrop and the others are "buyers clubs" and ebay is the classified ads section. As long as you know where you are buying, you know what to watch out for.
 
EMN said:
So far all my purchases have been from online stores with good feedback as being legit. Blade HC, knife center, DLT, USA Made blades etc.

I understanding is to stay away from Amazon that there will be fakes. I see some youtubers have links to Amazon are they safer to purchase through that link? I would guess buying off Ebay or FB you would need to be able to spot a fake or are they safer. I have read and heard others say they would only buy off this fourum for secondary market.

Experience suggestions advice?

Eric
Click to expand...
I've never got a fake from either Amazon or Ebay . But I'm careful .

I use Amazon Prime or at least order from one their sellers that says "fulfillment by Amazon" . Amazon will make good any problem in that case , but not always from other sellers listed on Amazon .

With Ebay , check out the feedback history , especially the negative ones . Avoid if a seller has little or no feedback , or more than 1% negative .

I always take any problem through the Ebay / PayPal complaint process and have always won any dispute for a full refund .

Still , probably less chance of a problem with the sponsors .
 
I was more interested in Amazon because of the youtubers affiliation with it bc I felt it flew in what my understanding was to stay away. I've always been ok to spend a little more to shop at the local hardware store etc. That extra money is worth peace of mind and support.
 
I've had good luck with all my Amazon purchases. However, short of a beater, I'm moving up in terms of knife quality where I kinda want to handle the knife in person first.

My last two Amazon purchases were for a Mora Robust to use at work, and a Cold Steel Viking Axe I bought myself with some gift cards I got for my birthday. I think I spent about $95 on the them in total...more like $40 out of pocket. My last two "real" knives I have purchased have been from a brick and mortar and clock in around $680 total. I'm much happier with them, and I'm even happier that the money goes back to a small business.
 
Depending on the brand , a lot of knife companies use MAP and the price is the same wherever you shop. With that, I's prefer to buy from dealers that support BF.
I'll look to see if a dealer is listed on the knife manufacturers list of dealers. If so, I don't have a problem buying from an authorized dealer if they don't support BF, if the supporters here don't have what I'm looking.
 
For the most part, I see no need to turn to Amazon for knife purchases. Unless there is a significant price difference, which there usually is not, I would much prefer support the businesses that contribute to our hobby. I have nothing against buying from Amazon, and I have with knives on occasion, but as a practice I do not.

On a side note, have any of you ever noticed a slightly duller factory edge on knives purchased from Amazon compared to those purchased from knife dealers? Could be my imagination.
 
I buy from dealers that support BFC. I've never, ever, ever had an issue.

I'm supremely confident that if I did have an issue, they'd solve that issue for me forthwith.

I use Amazon for watching Jack Ryan and for ordering books.

Oh, and socks.
 
I bought a Dragonfly Salt off Amazon several years ago and all went smooth.

But, I'm pretty sure Sal said that Spyderco doesn't sell to Amazon any longer. With that news, I wouldn't ever buy another one from there, too many fakes.

I also would never buy from Ebay but hey that's just me.

There are so many other reputable dealers out there, so why even take the chance?
 
I like Amazon. Never had an issue with them. Fastest shipping, best return policy on the web. They just don't carry the knives I gravitate towards these days.
 
I’ve bought a couple handful of things from amazon over the years with no issues, not any knives tho. With so many knife dealers out there I don’t really see the need to go to amazon
 
EMN said:
So far all my purchases have been from online stores with good feedback as being legit. Blade HC, knife center, DLT, USA Made blades etc.

I understanding is to stay away from Amazon that there will be fakes. I see some youtubers have links to Amazon are they safer to purchase through that link? I would guess buying off Ebay or FB you would need to be able to spot a fake or are they safer. I have read and heard others say they would only buy off this fourum for secondary market.

Experience suggestions advice?

Eric
Click to expand...

"So far all my purchases have been from online stores with good feedback as being legit. Blade HC, knife center, DLT, USA Made blades etc."

Definitely safer to buy from a recognized establishment like the ones you referenced. Amazon and Ebay are mostly okay, but check out the seller's ratings before pulling the trigger. You might reconsider that get.
 
I've only ordered a couple knives from Amazon. I won't do it again unless I can't find what I want on the online retailers or local dealers don't offer. Although I was able to return the one knife that was problematic (the other problematic knife was fixed and modified by me), I didn't like the process or the return it and pay for the shipping box generic policy.

One thing that I like at some of the online dealers many here use, is that many of them have a "Notes" section during purchase that allows me to have them inspect the knife for specific defects before they ship it out.

Last, often I've found the supporting online dealers here have better prices than Amazon, too.
 
Amazon lost me because they don’t ship knives anymore overseas.

I occasionally buy via eBay. Just be a bit aware and check the vibes you get from the seller.
 
For new knives I but from reputable dealers, but for used vintage traditionals I've had zero issues with eBay.
The fact that I'm buying users with little collector value probably has something to do with that, it's when stuff is really worth something to collectors that you have to worry about getting scammed.
 
I bought my first spyderco (tenacious) on Amazon. No problems. Bought my first ZT on Amazon (0770cf) knowing if something was wrong I could return it. It was authentic, but needed warranty work which ZT took care of. Haven't bought a knife on Amazon since.

Ebay is OK, just have to check the pictures, look at feedback, and make sure you use a payment method where you can get your money back. Some dealers sell on there and are great. I got my crooked river there, and it needed work (blade was oversharpened, handle cracked) but benchmade took care of me.

So I say I like Amazon, but I'll probably stick with dealers for new knives these days. Ebay is still OK, just have to be careful.
 
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