dead line met

J.Wade

J.Wade

Joined
Sep 3, 2004
Messages
775
Hi guys

anyone ever had this problem? I took an order for a huntin knife that had to be finished for buddy to take on a spring hunt. I did and was done in time to ship but this guy has not replied to any emails I have sent or made any effort to get his knife. I had really had to hustle to get his knife done on time and now it almost a month past due and still no word. How long should I wait beford selling the knife to someone else? How often should I email this guy? I don't to be an a##hole but come on, you want me to rush and finsh in half the time but then you don't want your knife. I am new to this hole e buisness thing and don't want to lose a customer so any advise would be apprecatied.


thanks
jimi
 
I don't think I'd wait a month, that's for sure. I'd figure that if I sent numerous emails over the course of a week with no response, then maybe the guy was away for a week, After two weeks with still no response from more emails, I'd be figuring I might have gotten burned. After 3 weeks I'd be sure of it. Particularly in this instance, when it was a 'rush' order ...and then no word. Of course, there is always the outside chance that the individual is no longer among the living ...after all, $%^* happens.

Did you take any money up front? If not, then go right ahead and sell it. Do you have any other information on the guy, such as a name and city? If so, then you may try looking him up on the internet.

I wouldn't be so quick to blame this solely on e-commerce. After all, it happens all the time in the real world too. The one difference being that people tend to require less personal information and/or a deposit in e-commerce than they do in brick-and-mortar establishments ...so when it does happen, you're less likely to be able to track the customer down and find out exactly what is going on.
 
There have been some interesting discussions about the business end of knife making see if you can find it in a search.The best for both parties is to make everything clear in the beginning. Down payment or not , what happens if payment is not met within a certain time ,refunds of down payment etc.Return policy. I have no problem paying half up front and half on completion.I expect a return policy if there are quality problems or it's not what was ordered.
 
I had a similar situation come up once. There wasn't a dead line on the order, which does change the situation some though.

I guess if your not relying on the money for anything important, then hold the knife for awhile and see if you can at least get a response. Sometimes unexpected things come up and folks have to change their plans, they should at least keep you informed, but you never know whats going on. Especially if your only contact was through email. Maybe their computer crashed or something.
In the end, you can still sell the knife and get your money out of it if they never turn up again. If they do show up, hopefully they'll appreciate your holding it for them and it will help your reputation as a good guy to deal with. :)
 
IMHO, a 'computer crash' is never a reason not to get in touch with someone for any significant period of time. There are plenty of public places to access a computer ...such as libraries, coffee stores, book stores, internet cafes, ISP's, airports, etc., etc., etc., ...and most email accounts are retrievable via html (web) access from any machine anywhere.

So, unless one is sitting on an icepack in the middle of Antarctica when they have said 'computer crash' (or similar extremely remote location), that bird don't fly for me as a reason for not answering a month's worth of emails. Granted, they could be deceased or in the hospital in a coma, but in either case they aren't going to be needing said knife anytime soon ...if ever.
And if they're not (dead, comatose, or otherwise incapacitated), I don't believe I'd bother what a 'former potential customer' says or thinks about me ...after leaving me in the lurch for a month after 'rushing' an order. You're trying to run a business for cripe's sake, not a 'Faith Based Initiative' :)
 
This has been running through my mind for the last week or so. I've decided to make it clear upon taking an order that they have 30 days in which to pay for the knife after notification of completion before it goes up for sale. I always notify the customer 1 week prior to completion so they can make arrangements to pay me.
Scott
 
take phone numbers

you can get many orders with no down payments, that's what separates the boys from the buying men, (the learning curve for first time buyers).. just for the time you spent on that knife, you could have been working on a good customers blade, that's is why I take a deposit, and it shows he is sincere..
he could have a la-jit problem but with no Number to call you're toast..
what if he does come back with I got hurt and just got out of the hospital
I was out cold for 3 weeks with head injuries.. now you'd feel prutty bad right? :)
 
Thanks guys. I never thought that something bad could happen. and I like the Idea of 30 days or I'll sell it to someone else. I'll keep trying to reach him. and if no luck look for a drop point in the for sale section.


Live and learn right



thank again
jimi
 
Except that if he had head injuries to that extent, he probably wouldn't remember that he ordered the knife in the first place :)

I know a person who was in a coma for about 10 days or so, and when they woke up, they had a hard time separating fantasy (dreams while in the coma) from reality. It took a long time (almost a year) before they were back to some semblance of 'normal' as to their thought processes. And that wasn't even due to a head injury ...just being in the coma did that. Weird.
 
I lost a "friend" over a deal like this. Guy got pretty toasted one night and literally forced a $50 deposit on me. We agreed when his knife would be done and it was. I gave him a call a few times with no returns, and after three months sold the knife to someone else. Then his tax return comes in, he gives me a call and I told him I'd sold the knife when he never called me back. He got kinda pissy and said he wanted his money back (I still had the actual cash he'd given me, don't like deposits) but I told him no. I said I'd be happy to apply it to another knife and that I'd get on it right away... To shorten this story I had a whole afternoon arguing with this guy and his wife, tried to make him another knife, but for whatever reason I wasn't willing to give his money back. I guess I was being a little childish, feeling like he'd taken advantage of me. I'd given him a hell of a price on a nice knife with mammoth ivory and the works and I felt like he'd just blown me off until it was convenient for him.

Anyway, I ended up sending the deposit to another maker who was having health problems, so my hands felt a little cleaner after that. The whole deal was ugly though, and I'll never take another deposit unless I'm making something either very strange or very expensive. And the deposit receipt would clearly state that the deposit was not refundable.

I usually call a customer about two weeks before his knife is going to be done to refresh all the payment details, and then let him know when it's done. I ship when I get paid. I've never had to wait anywhere near 30 days for payment except this one odd instance. Otherwise I've had great luck with people doing what they said they'd do and never had a check bounce or any of that stuff.

In your case I think I'd let him know by email when his knife was going on sale to the next customer (a couple weeks max) and let it drop. I think you've done about all you could be expected to do.
 
I seldom take a deposit but always write a work order with all the names, phone numbers, email address, snail mail address, materials, ETA, measurments, and a drawing. Also the price is solid. If the customer makes payments I send receipts with the balance clearly marked. All this takes time but can save heart burn later.
 
That's a good point Bruce. I have a record book that I write each order in as it comes in, with all the same info. The pages are bound in so none of them are ever gonna fall out. It's kinda cool to look back over the last couple years to see what I've done, how much it sold for, etc. I wonder what it'll be like 15 years from now?
 
I started the books in 1994 and now have 3 full and starting on the 4th. Its interesting to see how my style has changed since then. I cant believe people bought some of those first ones.
 
Send him an email and tell him if you dont hear from him in 2 weeks (June 3rd 2005 or what ever the date is) you will post the knife for sale on Blade forums and sell it. I think that is more than fair.


Michael
 
I've bought several really nice hiking staffs and walking sticks from a woodcarver in Shippensburg, and out of the four I've bought, I've commissioned 2. Whenever I commission something from him, I always pay half upfront. He always says it isn't necessary, but I like to have it taken care of anyway.

For a knife that costs 500 bucks, I can see where some people might have a hard time paying the 250 when they commission it, but then, the maker isn't left out in the cold. If I become proficient enough at woodcarving and decide to sell, I would appreciate at least a 25% deposit upfront, with telephone, email and address information, and the stipulation that the person must pay within one month of the notification of completion. Now, if they didn't receive the email etc, that would entail 30 days after the date I sent the email.

I understand money problems, I'm facing some myself right now, but I still try to communicate with people.
 
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