gpknives.com return policy

[Architect]

I have purchased several knives over the last few years from gpknives.com. All of my experiences ordering from them have been good.

However, recently, I received a knife that simply was too small for me to effectively open with one hand, which is the knife's intended purpose.

gpknives policy is to charge a 15% "restocking" fee if the knife is returned without a defect. I would have imagined that in the case of a returning customer, this might be waived, but apparently, I don't fall into that category.

The policy is published right up front, so no hard feelings, but that policy certainly will prevent me from making further orders with gpknives. You may want to consider this carefully before ordering from them.

 

[huugh]

The policy is published right up front, so no hard feelings, but that policy certainly will prevent me from making further orders with gpknives. You may want to consider this carefully before ordering from them.

Well, I'm curious why don't you rather give more thought and consideration into your choice?
I think it's fairly common practice to charge such fee.

Maybe you should have tried to sell the item (e.g. here @ bladeforums)? You'd probably be even or better off considered that you might sell it for more than 85% of GPK price.

Note that I''ve never bought anything from them - they don't accept international orders - and I have no experience with them but I think you are simply expecting too much.

 

[Architect]

Well, I'm curious why don't you rather give more thought and consideration into your choice?
I think it's fairly common practice to charge such fee.

...- and I have no experience with them but I think you are simply expecting too much.

Actually, in my experience in the USA, it is rather uncommon, and I have purchased many, many knives from many sources.

I did not comment on the validity of the policy, rather, I am alterting those that may not be aware of the policy, especially those that purchase many knives and my inevitably find one that doesn't work for them.

 

[Daniel]

I have never understood "restocking fees" at any retailer or supplier. If you return an item that is still in the same condition as you received it with all of the boxing and paperwork so that it can still be sold at full retail, then you should be able to return it at full price.

Personally, I will not do business with any company that has such a fee. This is even more applicable to mail order companies.

Many companies are even willing to pay the return shipping on the item if you are not 100% satisfied. I am not saying that this should necessarily be their policy, but I am more likely to purchase from a company that is most willing to satisfy me in my purchase.

Having managed retail stores for the past 25 years, I have seen that a return policy is critical to enhance the customer experience and to gain a long term relationship with each customer. A restrictive policy can erode any good faith gained with a customer. A business works hard and spends a lot of money to gain a customer and then fails to take the right steps to keep that customer. A happy customer tells one person and an unhappy customer tells 10 people.

 

[LarryM]

I have never understood "restocking fees" at any retailer or supplier. If you return an item that is still in the same condition as you received it with all of the boxing and paperwork so that it can still be sold at full retail, then you should be able to return it at full price.

Personally, I will not do business with any company that has such a fee. This is even more applicable to mail order companies.

Many companies are even willing to pay the return shipping on the item if you are not 100% satisfied. I am not saying that this should necessarily be their policy, but I am more likely to purchase from a company that is most willing to satisfy me in my purchase.

Having managed retail stores for the past 25 years, I have seen that a return policy is critical to enhance the customer experience and to gain a long term relationship with each customer. A restrictive policy can erode any good faith gained with a customer. A business works hard and spends a lot of money to gain a customer and then fails to take the right steps to keep that customer. A happy customer tells one person and an unhappy customer tells 10 people.

From a business stand point. The business loses the time and labor to ship the package. If you reorder merchandise on a regular basis. You may end up with duplicate inventory.
Why should it cost a business money if a customer changes their mind. Larry

 

[Daniel]

It is an investment in a long term relationship with that customer. If a customer is known to abuse the return policy, then that specific customer can be denied returns.

As I stated above, companies spend millions of dollars to get people to shop their businesses and one bad refund or exchange transaction can damage that huge investment.

You have to consider customer goodwill as an asset that has to be nurtured and a cost of doing business.

Besides, the customer has paid the cost of shipping and packaging the item when they paid shipping and handling charges. How much does it really cost to accept the return when the customer pays the return shipping themselves?

 

[ES1]

It is an investment in a long term relationship with that customer. If a customer is known to abuse the return policy, then that specific customer can be denied returns.

As I stated above, companies spend millions of dollars to get people to shop their businesses and one bad refund or exchange transaction can damage that huge investment.

You have to consider customer goodwill as an asset that has to be nurtured and a cost of doing business.

Besides, the customer has paid the cost of shipping and packaging the item when they paid shipping and handling charges. How much does it really cost to accept the return when the customer pays the return shipping themselves?

:thumbup: :thumbup:

Customer service is absolutely the number one factor that influences my shopping choices. And, yes I place it above price every time.

 

[David1967]

From a business stand point. The business loses the time and labor to ship the package. If you reorder merchandise on a regular basis. You may end up with duplicate inventory.
Why should it cost a business money if a customer changes their mind. Larry

They also pay CC fees, postage, packing material. I think that reasonable restocking fee is OK.


David

PS: I ordered from them before (at that time they were accepting international orders) and their service was excellent.

 

[rifon2]

They publish their policy right up front, as you said.

(BTW you also said "so no hard feelings", but at the same time you say you'll never order from them again - and publish it here on BF. Sounds like "hard feelings".)

One of the reasons that Grand Prairie can offer such good prices is because they anticipate that a sale will be a sale, unless an item is defective.
Their website contains clear, enlargeable pictures of every knife and detailed specifications for each knife.

There are other internet sellers with more liberal return policies, but their prices tend to be higher.

I'll continue to turn to www.gpknives.com as one of my first knife-buying resources, because my multiple purchase experiences with them have consistently excellent.

 

[dextersp1]

A restocking fee is reasonable in my opinion. It helps in a couple of ways.
1. The restocking fee does reimburse the seller for costs incurred with the transaction - labor time but also inventory costs - if a company
2. If a knife is returned and needed to be sold as used for less $ all the restocking fees help to lower the loss.

 

[Guyon]

I won't deal with companies that charge "restocking fees." I understand the rationale behind them, but I'd rather do business with a company that stands behind their products enough to say, "If you change your mind, we'll take it back without penalizing you."

Even better are companies that say, "If you change your mind at any point, we'll bend over backwards to try and help you." REI, Sierra Trading Post, LL Bean all come to mind. Frankly, I don't see how these companies do it, but I certainly throw them a lot of business because of their customer service.

 

[eswartz]

A restocking fee is reasonable in my opinion. It helps in a couple of ways.
1. The restocking fee does reimburse the seller for costs incurred with the transaction - labor time but also inventory costs - if a company
2. If a knife is returned and needed to be sold as used for less $ all the restocking fees help to lower the loss.

I would add it may also cover the 3% or so fee that the credit card company charges for the transaction (if CC is used). I don't think they get that back on a chargeback.

That being said, I don't like restocking fees. But I rarely ever return anything, and I like GP. Maybe 5% be OK. Just so they break even on costs. (But what are the true costs for a return?)

I would like a policy where returns are expected, so you can buy and try all the knives you want and return the ones you don't want without any ill feelings

Eric.

 

[rifon2]

Just checked the Grand Prairie Knives website to see for myself what it says about returns.

Returns

In the event you are unhappy with an item you ordered please contact us within 14 days of delivery for a return authorization number. Items may be returned within this period of time for a refund minus our restocking fee. All items must be factory new, unused, and in the original factory box with all factory paperwork included. The return authorization number must be clearly labeled on the box or the package will be refused. After you receive your return authorization number return the product in the original condition and packaging to our location. Items found to be non-defective may be charged a 15% restocking fee unless waived by a customer service representative. We charge this fee to encourage our customers to only order products they intend to keep.

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If you want to buy a knife just to check it out, perhaps gpknives.com is not for you.

If you choose to buy from them, and are genuinely unhappy with the knife for some articulable reason, it seems that a phone call to one of their customer service representatives could easily result in a waiver of the 15% fee.

 

[Architect]

...If you want to buy a knife just to check it out, perhaps gpknives.com is not for you.

If you choose to buy from them, and are genuinely unhappy with the knife for some articulable reason, it seems that a phone call to one of their customer service representatives could easily result in a waiver of the 15% fee.

As I indicated in my original post, although I am a repeat customer (having spent well over $1000 at gpknives) they did not feel I was important enough to "waive" their policy. I have never returned a knife to them for any reason.

Many folks on Bladeforums.com buy a lot of knives, way more than they would ever need. Whether they form a significant element of gpknives business - I have no idea. They do spend money to be a "dealer" here. If you buy a lot of knives - well, once in a while one is not going to be just right.

By the way, not everyone pays 3% in cc charges, anyone with a decent volume of business should be paying less, more like 2% or even lower depending on your volume and who you get your service from - it is negotiable. Second, cc companies do refund fees on chargebacks, at least the one that my wife's company uses. As for "restocking" - well, on a $100 knife the restocking fee is $15, which is pretty hefty.

Again, this restocking policy is not the norm amongst their competitors. Andas I stated originally, while I have always had good experiences with gpknives in the past, Bladeforums members (including me) have other choices, with competitive prices and equivalent service.

 

[rifon2]

Just checked the Grand Prairie Knives website to see for myself what it says about returns.

Returns

In the event you are unhappy with an item you ordered please contact us within 14 days of delivery for a return authorization number. Items may be returned within this period of time for a refund minus our restocking fee. All items must be factory new, unused, and in the original factory box with all factory paperwork included. The return authorization number must be clearly labeled on the box or the package will be refused. After you receive your return authorization number return the product in the original condition and packaging to our location. Items found to be non-defective may be charged a 15% restocking fee unless waived by a customer service representative. We charge this fee to encourage our customers to only order products they intend to keep.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you want to buy a knife just to check it out, perhaps gpknives.com is not for you.

If you choose to buy from them, and are genuinely unhappy with the knife for some articulable reason, it seems that a phone call to one of their customer service representatives could easily result in a waiver of the 15% fee.

As I indicated in my original post, although I am a repeat customer (having spent well over $1000 at gpknives) they did not feel I was important enough to "waive" their policy. I have never returned a knife to them for any reason.

Many folks on Bladeforums.com buy a lot of knives, way more than they would ever need. Whether they form a significant element of gpknives business - I have no idea. They do spend money to be a "dealer" here. If you buy a lot of knives - well, once in a while one is not going to be just right.

By the way, not everyone pays 3% in cc charges, anyone with a decent volume of business should be paying less, more like 2% or even lower depending on your volume and who you get your service from - it is negotiable. Second, cc companies do refund fees on chargebacks, at least the one that my wife's company uses. As for "restocking" - well, on a $100 knife the restocking fee is $15, which is pretty hefty.

Again, this restocking policy is not the norm amongst their competitors. Andas I stated originally, while I have always had good experiences with gpknives in the past, Bladeforums members (including me) have other choices, with competitive prices and equivalent service.

Though I am a fan of gpknives.com (and a few other resellers, BTW), I think your points here are well made.

 

[gpknives]

In light of this post we've made a few changes to our return policy. We've struggled to find the line between customer satisfaction and abuse, as we're not a knife library. I believe everyone will agree that this is a little more fair and although we may have a few more returns, overall we will have happier customers.

Architect, if you still wish to return your knife please contact me either via email at justin@gpknives.com or toll-free at 1-866-667-5965. We'll make sure your return is taken care of.

Our updated policy is as follows:

Returns
In the event you are unhappy with an item you ordered please call us within 10 days of delivery for a return authorization number (valid for 10 days) and shipping instructions. We do not issue RA numbers through email. Items may be returned within this period of time for a full product refund. We do not refund shipping costs. All items must be factory new, unused, and in the original factory box with all factory paperwork included. Also please include a copy of the original invoice and a note detailing your reason for return. Returns must be mailed to us in a box, do not use padded envelopes for returns as the factory box may be crushed and the product may be damaged. The return authorization number must be clearly labeled on the box or the package will be refused. After you receive your return authorization number return the product to our address as listed on our Contact Us page.

Frequent abuse of our return policy may result in a 20% restocking fee. We charge this fee to encourage our customers to only order products they intend to keep.

Effective 04/14/06 - All concerns related to manufacturing quality must be made in advance through our comments field during ordering. This includes, but is not limited to; blade centering, liners, sharpness and lockup. This is to ensure the customer is happy with the quality of the knife prior to shipment, as everyone has different standards. Should your concerns not be addressed in the comments field we will gladly assist you in gathering the necessary information to contact the manufacturer.

Defective Merchandise
Due to problems with excessive returns, we must be notified of defective items within 3 days of delivery date. Items kept past this 3 day policy must be returned to the manufacturer for repairs, we will gladly assist you in acquiring manufacturer information such as phone numbers and addresses. No Exceptions. In the event you receive a defective item please send it back to us for an exchange. Grand Prairie Knives does not pay the return shipping cost for defective merchandise. We are not responsible for product defects, because we do not manufacture the products we carry. However, we will split the shipping costs with you. If you pay to send the item back to us, we will replace the item and ship the item to you at no charge. Grand Prairie Knives will employ every resource it has to ensure that your item is replaced promptly, without hassle.

 

[rifon2]

gpknives,

I've always thought you were one of the top knife resellers. Have bought many knives from you and have recommended you often.

Now, with this change in your policy, you've shown an awareness and flexibility that's pretty rare in business these days.

Great move. :thumbup:

 

[Architect]

In light of this post we've made a few changes to our return policy. We've struggled to find the line between customer satisfaction and abuse, as we're not a knife library. I believe everyone will agree that this is a little more fair and although we may have a few more returns, overall we will have happier customers....

Your new policy seems pretty fair to me, thanks for listening.:thumbup:

 

[Daniel]

I think that that is a fair policy. It will only penalize those individuals who abuse your return policy.

Keep doing a good job in taking care of your customers.

 

[JTC]

GP Knives is an excellent source for great knives. I can only say good things about them after visiting their store and ordering online. This is just another reason I will keep going back.


John