Disappointed in dealings with knivesanonymous

one2gofst

one2gofst

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A few weeks ago Tim put up for sale a Snody Hybrid. I have been looking for one of these knives and as soon as I saw the thread I said "I'll Take It". No haggling on price or anything like that.

I understood from Tim's post that the knife had been carried. I sent him a money order which took a while to get there thanks to USPS. I informed Tim that I was going out of town for work since it looked like the knife would not arrive at my house before I left.

Well, I arrived home last Friday night and anxiously opened the package. Unfortunately the knife has more than "a few hairline scratches on the blade". It has many shratches which appear to be from poor sharpening. In addition I can see the marks on the edge where it has been sharpened in some way. The biggest disappointment though was that the blade was no longer a straigh edge as is Mike's Hybrid's trademark. Rather it has been sharpened down to a bit of a hawkbill. I could deal with the scratches and a bad sharpening job (knife is not Snody-sharp as stated in the for sale thread), but the mishapen blade was the deal breaker for me.

I even called Mike to verify that this indeed was not the way he designed this blade thinking I might have been in error and perhaps he had made some with a slight hawkbill-style profile. He confirmed that this blade did not leave his shop in this shape.

I emailed Tim explaining the situation and requesting to reverse the sale. I offered to pay shipping both ways as I did not think he intentionally tried to mislead me, but the issues with this knife were not nearly as minor to me as they were to him. Tim responded basically by telling me he had mailed the knife "over a few weeks ago" (From the day he sent it to the day I sent him the email was actually 13 days, which I let him know would be the case in my initial communications).

He basically told me that he already spent the money I sent him and that he would not be willing to reverse the sale anyway. Telling me that Mike is a nice guy and can probably fix it for me. I know Mike is a nice guy as Mike is a friend of mine. Regardless, this knife was not how I, in good faith, made the purchase believing it was.

Now I am out $700 on a knife that is not right. I would urge anyone to be careful in dealing with Tim. In the 7 years I have been on this forum I have never had and issue like this. Other that issues that have come up on rare occasions have been easily and happily resolved by both parties working together. Unfortunately I guess I shouldn't be so trusting and easygoing in the future.

As a final aside, I did not want to post this. I would have preferred to take care of it privately and made numerous attempts to do so with Tim. However, I got his final answer tonight and I have no other recourse. I would have been happy to work something out. If the money is already spent I would gladly let him take the knife back to resell it. If it could be sold for the same or more, good for him, if nothe would be responsible to me for the difference. However, with no effort on Tim's part to reach a resolution with me, I put this here for the membership to read and reach their own conclusions.
 
Hopefully we will get to see this deal from Tim's perspective. From what you have posted, it is my opinion that Tim is totally in the wrong. A deal is not a deal until both parties have stated that they are satisfied. The money paid for a knife should never be spent until the buyer has stated that they are happy with the knife they got. The fact that it took 13 days from the date of shipping has nothing to do with it. If Tim needed the money for something he should have contacted you to find out if you were satisfied before spending it.

Saying he wouldn't reverse the deal even if he hadn't spent the money is totally unacceptable, as far as I am concerned. Even if Mike is able to fix the problem, the knife isn't going to end up being at all like it was originally. Also, is Tim willing to pay all the costs in getting the knife refurbished?
 
A deal is not a deal, until both parties are happy. Tim needs to give you your money back, period. You don't spend somebody elses money, until they tell you they're happy with the knife.
 
I would welcome Tim's response as well. I did inform him that I would be posting here when it became clear I was going to receive no attempt at resolution. I appreciate the support. I didn't include the emails sent back and forth because I really believe that is a private correspondence and should only be put in front of others as a very last resort.

As far as Tim paying costs to refurbish the knife. He never offered. To your point, Keith, you are right, the knife will not ever be as original. I don't think he is necessarily a bad person, if fact I know sometimes two peoples ideas of imperfections differ, which is why I offered to pay shipping so he wasn't "out" anything on the knife.

Overall it isn't even really about the money. It is about having a knife that will never be "right" for me. If the knife isn't "right" to me I can't in good conscience sell it to someone else.

Then again maybe Tim will show up and have a change of heart.
 
agree with the others a deal isnt done till both folks are happy, if ya want your $$ back then he should give ya your $$ back, or offer to work something out.


i presume that there were no pics of the knife??
 
There were pictures of the knife. However they did not show the scratching on the blade and the extent of the curvature of the blade, nor the sharpening marks.

I based my purchase on how he described the knife;

"Carried w/ a few hairline scratches on the blade and Clip. Great over all condition with earily lock up. The blade is razor sharp what you've come to expect from Mike."

I took the first to mean maybe 3 or so marks which are hard to see. To me great condition means that while itmay have been carried and handled it saw very little actual use. As far as the sharpness goes, when referring to Mike's sharpness I did not expect that it had been resharpened by someone else.
 
* snipped
Danbo said:
A deal is not a deal, until both parties are happy.
Click to expand...


This has always been the standard of honest dealings here on BFC.



Stuff like this will force those involved in buying custom knives to ask for photos, including close-ups PRIOR to any deal and a freaking written contract with a specified inspection period PRIOR to a sale.

Those who need to sell their knives quickly to fund another knife will find it difficult to do so and that will be a sad day for all.
 
Danbo said:
A deal is not a deal, until both parties are happy. Tim needs to give you your money back, period. You don't spend somebody elses money, until they tell you they're happy with the knife.
Click to expand...


+ elevendee-billion !
 
A slight "hawkbill" shape is evident in the For-Sale photos, but otherwise the knife looks very clean, and no scratches are visible.

Regardless of whether your description of the problem is exaggerated (or not), there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to return the knife for refund if not satisfied with the deal.
 
wolfmann601 said:
* snipped


This has always been the standard of honest dealings here on BFC.



Stuff like this will force those involved in buying custom knives to ask for photos, including close-ups PRIOR to any deal and a freaking written contract with a specified inspection period PRIOR to a sale.

Those who need to sell their knives quickly to fund another knife will find it difficult to do so and that will be a sad day for all.
Click to expand...


this is how i have always sold and traded.

in fact, i just reversed a deal on a knife when the buyer wasnt happy. not a big deal. different people have different standards, which i absolutely accept.

he will be getting his money back plus any shipping costs he incurred.

:thumbup:
 
Well, I know Tim saw this thread tonight but I have not heard from him privately and obviously no response in this thread. :(
 
Steve, I described the knife accordingly to the condition it is in. As I told you earlier I never used any type of hash sharpening methods on the knife. I told you that the reason for selling the knife is because I needed the money to pay bills before I leave for boot camp. I would have understood if you have let me know that you were not happy a few days after the knife had arrived, but for you to fall off the map for 13 days and then tell me that you are not happy I can not justify that. I have done many deals on this site and never had any complaints nor have had to deal with something like this. I have never cheated anyone or have been dishonest with my descriptions. you purchased this knife with the knowledge of the condition it is in.
 
there was a picture of the knife and I can provide more from the same day it was posted


SIFU1A said:
agree with the others a deal isnt done till both folks are happy, if ya want your $$ back then he should give ya your $$ back, or offer to work something out.


i presume that there were no pics of the knife??
Click to expand...
 
I have the emails where I informed you that I was out of town. After I arrived home late friday night I emailed you first thing Saturday morning.

How did I fall off the map? I informed you that my mail would be waiting for me when I arrived home and I immediately checked it and let you know I was not happy with the knife.

As far as condition, peoples ideas are different. I, personally, don't think numerous scratches and uneven sharpening marks on the edge count as a few light scratches. However, I never accused you of being dishonest or cheating me. In fact I offered to pay for the shipping and chalking the condition up as two people having different ideas of what condition the knife is in.

If you think anything I have said is untrue as to timeframe or if I am saying something different in this thread than in email feel free to post the entire email correspondence.
 
Steve I received an email asking if I had received your MO. I replied saying that the knife was on its way. You told me that you would be back on Monday never heard anything. Now its been another week and I’m hearing from you all of a sudden.
 
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