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All For Sale threads must have a pic showing the knife being sold with written date listed, your username & Bladeforums or BFC to prevent photo harvesting from elsewhere - scammers hate this one trick! The rules for The Exchange can be found here. Please read and follow them. Stop using Paypal Friends & Family and follow our best practices to prevent getting ripped off or having a bad deal.
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The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is$300$250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
down2man (George Huang)
- Thread starter DylanMW
- Start date
Esav Benyamin
MidniteSuperMod
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I understand your fears. But Bladeforums provides a lot of good advice that few people seem to know is available. Go to FEEDBACK at http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php/699-FEEDBACK-The-Good-The-Bad-The-Ugly! and read these stickies:
the same mistakes are made over & over
How Should You Package Knives for Shipping?
A Few Tips on How to Avoid Problems buying Knives Online
Early warning signs of knife purchasing trouble
Mailing Security
Suggestions for having a good Buying / Selling / Trading experience
Going forward, it might be wise to consider using a carrier that has customs clearance on-site. The buyer does get billed for this but there would be a single carrier, in house customs clearance and tracking from hand to hand. Any issues instantly available to both parties.
Maybe I missed something but if it hasn't cleared customs and has not been assigned a tracking number from Australia Post, how could a paypal claim be filed? It's technically still in transit. Did the buyer receive notice from Customs it has been confiscated? If that has happened, the Australian Post will never assign a tracking number. Any way to find out if this is the case.
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Australia Post do not assign a new tracking number, the EI number listed is the one used to track it right to the recipient here in Australia. It is all bar code scanning, point by point in the US, into Aus, into Customs onward to the delivering PO and finally the addressee will sign on the little electronic dodad at the PO and the website will update to show it has arrived. All that tracking information is available via the USPS website. I don't have a number to use as an example just now but I will later in the weel (a package from Bussee is on the way to me now via EI). When I have the package I will post up the number as an example to see how the information shows up. I note in the tracking information on the package concerned shows two visits with Customs, I am not 100% sure what that indicates but if I were a betting man that will be the knife moving from Sydney International Mail Centre (Customs Clearance is done onsite here negating the need for a broker as suggested) to the Firearms and Weapons Section. If I still had the tracking deatils of the Emerson I imported earlier in the year I would check as it was transfered and opened/tested prior to delivery to me, but I don't think I do anymore.
Andy
Andy
Thanks!! I had to much faith! I wont ship international without some heavy duty member back ups... Lucky for me most of the KNIFE GUYS I dealt with are just awesome...
Let me tell u if some guy made the right effort and MY CUSTOMS screw us over and we could prove it. I would EAT have of the transaction!! I feel bad for Dyan!!
Thanks Esav!
Let me tell u if some guy made the right effort and MY CUSTOMS screw us over and we could prove it. I would EAT have of the transaction!! I feel bad for Dyan!!
Thanks Esav!
It just seems odd to me that the buyer requested a refund from Paypal knowing full well that the knife is in Aus customs.
Put yourselves in the op's position, he's out a very nice knife and can't use the money for whatever he was planning to use it for. It would be nice if Aus. Customs could just return it to the op, since technically it's his due to the refund being issued by Paypal back to the seller.
Put yourselves in the op's position, he's out a very nice knife and can't use the money for whatever he was planning to use it for. It would be nice if Aus. Customs could just return it to the op, since technically it's his due to the refund being issued by Paypal back to the seller.
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This is where it gets a little interesting. I know that in the event it is a first time thing, Customs will generally give the addressee of the blade the option of returning it to sender provided. If a person keeps trying to have blades sent in that fail the test Customs tend to loose their sense of humour about it and proceed with either a Search Warrant of the persons home (based upon the reasonable suspicion they are of have been importing prohibited goods) or a prosecution for the offence at hand. I went back and forth with Customs over an Emerson BEFORE I had it mailed from the US and until tested they were still adamant it would fall into the “prohibited” category. It was tested and didn’t much to the disappointment of a mate of mine who would have ended up with it had it needed to go back to the US.
IMPORTANT INFO ADDED - I had initially opened the paypal dispute because i didn't receive the item that i paid for and also i was NOT getting any response from the seller (Dylan) after a few emails i sent him just requesting a follow up on this matter. Later on with advice and much thought i opened the paypal dispute and simply express my concerns and frustration to paypal that i didn't receive the item and am NOT getting any response from the seller. And if i remembered correctly (Dylan) you are the one who responded to paypal straight away on the follwing day by escalating the dispute straight into a claim, i did not receive any direct response from you at anytime on this. Following i just received a email from paypal saying this matter has been escalated into a claim by the seller and paypal is going to investigate this matter, and following YOUR request paypal went into weeks of investigation, afterwards they decided to rule in my favour, i did not have any to say in this matter apart from my initial message to paypal. Now if you are unhappy with Paypal's decision/outcome you can complain to them about this matter.
This is a protection if you are a buyer, which is how the protection is weighted.
If you are selling something, and worried about it, simply accept Postal Money Order only, and do not ship till you have the thing cashed at the Post Office (don't deposit it at your bank IE "cash" it at your bank. That route can get you screwed as well, if it turns out to be a fake).
Spoken like some one who just screwed another member here out of an expensive knife, trying to sneak it into the country.
You are on my permanent "don't buy from, trade with, or sell to" list.
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What important info added? You just said more of the same nonsense. Because Dylan didn't keep replying to your emails, telling you the same thing over and over again, you felt that gives you an excuse to rip him off. He sent you the knife, did everything you asked, customs has the knife, you contacted paypal to get your money back. Now he has no knife and no money, all because you contacted him and agreed to buy the knife knowing the laws in your area and the risk of confiscation. He said its in the shipping companies hands after it leaves his hands and you agreed, and now that customs has it you are no longer accepting responsibility. You are a scumbag and should be banned.
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George - I am sure by now you have checked the shipping info provided, have you contacted the Firearms and Weapons Branch of Customs ? I am happy to provide you an e-mail contact, an individual not a generic e-mail address, and it is relatively easy to get them on the phone. What you have failed to answer time and again is HOW IS IT THE SHIPPERS PROBLEM IF AUSTRALIAN CUSTOMS HAVE YOUR KNIFE ?? You have the evidence that Dylan met his obligations to you and that this is a result of the WELL KNOWN issues we have here with Aus Customs.
At this point it seems there is no getting through to George, he knows whats going on but continues to play dumb and repeat the same excuses, he screwed Dylan over and got away with it, the mods don't care, and some people are still blaming the seller for making the mistake of assuming George is a decent human being. Oh but George never wrote the words " I accept responsibility ", so its ok that he ripped this guy off. Like many have said responsibility should be a given when you live in Australia and order folding knives. If he ordered the knife from a retail store would they refund him his money? Probably not, but thanks to PayPal its never been easier for a buyer to screw a seller.
I would like to thank everyone for their help in this matter! Hopefully I will get my $395 back from George (although it sounds rather unlikely as he still thinks he is in the right).
It's nice to see that there so many nice people who are still looking out for fellow members. It's also great to see so many Australian's step up and try and explain to George that he is wrong.
Oh another note, I emailed customs a few days ago and this was what they had to say:
Any idea on what action I should take now?
Thanks!
It's nice to see that there so many nice people who are still looking out for fellow members. It's also great to see so many Australian's step up and try and explain to George that he is wrong.
Oh another note, I emailed customs a few days ago and this was what they had to say:
Any idea on what action I should take now?
Thanks!
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Dylan, I assume that you just e-mailed the generic customs contact address ? They try to be helpful but generally are not. As you can see his info about what the tracking will say is actually incorrect, do note the part about retaining restricted or prohibited goods, three days is very optimistic as I am aware of some people here who have never received a formal notice of seizure, just a note in a package that something had been removed (they figured what by looking at what was shipped and what arrived). There are operational/evidentary issues that may be in play as well. Let me find another e-mail address for you to try.
Do you have any documentation from the USPS denying the claim and specifically on what basis ? Customs seem to have provided you some additional ammunition to use here in their reply if you wish to take it up further from the insurance pespective.
Andy
Do you have any documentation from the USPS denying the claim and specifically on what basis ? Customs seem to have provided you some additional ammunition to use here in their reply if you wish to take it up further from the insurance pespective.
Andy
I suggest that Dylan get a definitive answer from customs as to what action they take. May take a while but find out for sure.
If it clears and is forwarded to the buyer, he owes you money. From the buyers responses here, I wouldn't assume he is going to email you saying he finally received it.
As for the buyer, a simple search between forums clues one into the reason he buys a lot of knives. He no doubt knows the risks he's taking trying to get folders thru his customs agency and should expect some losses. It's pretty clear how he deals with a loss.
I recall a prior thread about a international deal gone bad. The seller didn't keep any proof showing he shipped. He was raked over the coals/flogged/branded. Cries from posters about just having to show proof that you shipped and the majority would side with him.
Fast forward to this thread. Dylan has all his records proving shipment and tracking information as well.
I think Dylan got screwed by George and paypal.
If it clears and is forwarded to the buyer, he owes you money. From the buyers responses here, I wouldn't assume he is going to email you saying he finally received it.
As for the buyer, a simple search between forums clues one into the reason he buys a lot of knives. He no doubt knows the risks he's taking trying to get folders thru his customs agency and should expect some losses. It's pretty clear how he deals with a loss.
I recall a prior thread about a international deal gone bad. The seller didn't keep any proof showing he shipped. He was raked over the coals/flogged/branded. Cries from posters about just having to show proof that you shipped and the majority would side with him.
Fast forward to this thread. Dylan has all his records proving shipment and tracking information as well.
I think Dylan got screwed by George and paypal.
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