Okay, folks
I find myself in a situation that Im not sure how to handle, and I thought Id see if you might have any suggestions. Moderators, please feel free to move this thread to a more appropriate location if necessary.
A few months ago (July of this year) a well-known maker posted a beautiful knife in the for sale areas of the forums. Ive admired this makers knives for a long time, and this particular blade was one of the nicest-looking examples of his work that I had seen. As soon as I saw the posting I sent an e-mail offering to purchase the knife (at his asking price) if it was still available. I was at the office at the time and I asked that any correspondence be directed to my home address; I explained that I wouldnt be able to review my messages until that afternoon.
That same morning, the maker sent me a message that indicating that the knife was still available and that my inquiry was in fact the first firm offer he had received. This is where it gets complicated
. Later that afternoon he followed up with a message saying that he had subsequently been in contact with another buyer who was interested in the knife and wanted to pick it up the following day. The maker said he would still sell the knife to me (since I had made the first purchase offer), but he asked if I might be willing to let the other prospective client purchase the posted knife because, as he put it: if this guy cant pick it up then, i dont think he will buy another etc.... In exchange for this consideration, he offered me a similar knife
another like it, that i actually like better that i will be finishing next week.
Im an accommodating kind of guy, and I like to try and help folks out when I have the chance. I thought about the proposed scenario for a few minutes and then decided that this would be acceptable (I know, I know Im a chump ). I tried calling the maker and couldnt reach him, so I sent an e-mail indicating that I'm not in any real hurry, so I suppose that it wouldn't hurt to wait a bit if the other knife in work is of similar quality and dimensions. Besides, I really don't mind delaying my gratification if it will help out a fellow knife enthusiast. If the other knife you're working on will be ready in the next week or two and is priced the same as the one you posted on the forums, I'll be happy to let the other customer take this one.
The maker was profusely grateful, and promised to be in touch soon. He called me a couple of days later and confirmed that the new knife was in work and would be ready shortly. As per our discussion I sent him a money order as payment for the knife, inasmuch as he had indicated that the blade would be shipping shortly; he confirmed receipt of my payment a few days later. One of these days Ill learn not to pay for custom cutlery in advance
As youve probably surmised, I have not received the knife as of this date. I dislike being a nuisance so I was reluctant to contact the maker at first, but after a few weeks I e-mailed him about the status of the project. He assured me that the knife would be shipping the following week and apologized for the delay. A few more weeks passed we exchanged e-mails occasionally, and I kept on receiving assurances that the knife was nearly finished. On a couple of occasions, he told me that he was making me a different and better blade than the one we had originally discussed (the general specifications of the new knives were similar, but I cant help but wonder what happened to the blade(s) that he was working on for me).
As it stands now, I havent heard from this gentleman in several weeks (despite periodic attempts at contact via e-mail and telephone). The situation is complicated by the fact that Ive learned that this maker is currently dealing with some pretty devastating personal problems that have probably compromised his ability to meet his delivery schedules. This maker is a genuinely nice guy who is very well respected with the knife community I dont bear him any ill will, and I certainly dont want to be an ass by nagging him about something as trivial as a knife delivery when hes going through a personal crisis. That being said, he has had my money for over three months, and I cant help but feel that Im at least entitled to a revised (and meaningful) delivery schedule. I should note that it normally doesn't bother me to wait for custom cutlery; I've waited patiently on some makers for years with the understanding that handcrafted items don't lend themselves to rigid production schedules (although I've seldom had to wait this long for items that were fully paid for in advance).
Im not trying to be deliberately obfuscatory by not naming the maker it is not my intent to damage his reputation or exert any kind of undue pressure. Im simply trying to get an idea of what would be a good way to handle the situation. Im sure that some of you have surmised whom Im talking about, but at this point Id prefer to limit this thread to an abstract discussion of the responsibilities and expected behaviors in this type of situation. Since there is (in my estimation) no reason to suspect the maker of having any ulterior motive, should I be overly concerned by the fact that I havent received this knife? Id like to be reasonable, especially in light of the difficulties this individual is facing right now, but at what point does waiting patiently transition from being considerate into being played for a sucker?
I apologize for the overly long rant, but Im really beginning to be frustrated by this situation and I needed to vent a little. I suppose that I bear some culpability for the current state of affairs, since (1) I (perhaps naively) agreed to let the second (or maybe simply more assertive) customer purchase the original knife, and (2) I sent in my payment before I had an iron-clad assurance that my knife was ready to ship (although I was under the impression that shipment actually was imminent at the time). At this point Im just trying to decide what my next course of action (if any) should be. Any thoughts or suggestions you might have would be most appreciated
Jim
A few months ago (July of this year) a well-known maker posted a beautiful knife in the for sale areas of the forums. Ive admired this makers knives for a long time, and this particular blade was one of the nicest-looking examples of his work that I had seen. As soon as I saw the posting I sent an e-mail offering to purchase the knife (at his asking price) if it was still available. I was at the office at the time and I asked that any correspondence be directed to my home address; I explained that I wouldnt be able to review my messages until that afternoon.
That same morning, the maker sent me a message that indicating that the knife was still available and that my inquiry was in fact the first firm offer he had received. This is where it gets complicated
. Later that afternoon he followed up with a message saying that he had subsequently been in contact with another buyer who was interested in the knife and wanted to pick it up the following day. The maker said he would still sell the knife to me (since I had made the first purchase offer), but he asked if I might be willing to let the other prospective client purchase the posted knife because, as he put it: if this guy cant pick it up then, i dont think he will buy another etc.... In exchange for this consideration, he offered me a similar knife
another like it, that i actually like better that i will be finishing next week.Im an accommodating kind of guy, and I like to try and help folks out when I have the chance. I thought about the proposed scenario for a few minutes and then decided that this would be acceptable (I know, I know Im a chump
). I tried calling the maker and couldnt reach him, so I sent an e-mail indicating that I'm not in any real hurry, so I suppose that it wouldn't hurt to wait a bit if the other knife in work is of similar quality and dimensions. Besides, I really don't mind delaying my gratification if it will help out a fellow knife enthusiast. If the other knife you're working on will be ready in the next week or two and is priced the same as the one you posted on the forums, I'll be happy to let the other customer take this one. The maker was profusely grateful, and promised to be in touch soon. He called me a couple of days later and confirmed that the new knife was in work and would be ready shortly. As per our discussion I sent him a money order as payment for the knife, inasmuch as he had indicated that the blade would be shipping shortly; he confirmed receipt of my payment a few days later. One of these days Ill learn not to pay for custom cutlery in advance
As youve probably surmised, I have not received the knife as of this date. I dislike being a nuisance so I was reluctant to contact the maker at first, but after a few weeks I e-mailed him about the status of the project. He assured me that the knife would be shipping the following week and apologized for the delay. A few more weeks passed we exchanged e-mails occasionally, and I kept on receiving assurances that the knife was nearly finished. On a couple of occasions, he told me that he was making me a different and better blade than the one we had originally discussed (the general specifications of the new knives were similar, but I cant help but wonder what happened to the blade(s) that he was working on for me).
As it stands now, I havent heard from this gentleman in several weeks (despite periodic attempts at contact via e-mail and telephone). The situation is complicated by the fact that Ive learned that this maker is currently dealing with some pretty devastating personal problems that have probably compromised his ability to meet his delivery schedules. This maker is a genuinely nice guy who is very well respected with the knife community I dont bear him any ill will, and I certainly dont want to be an ass by nagging him about something as trivial as a knife delivery when hes going through a personal crisis. That being said, he has had my money for over three months, and I cant help but feel that Im at least entitled to a revised (and meaningful) delivery schedule. I should note that it normally doesn't bother me to wait for custom cutlery; I've waited patiently on some makers for years with the understanding that handcrafted items don't lend themselves to rigid production schedules (although I've seldom had to wait this long for items that were fully paid for in advance).
Im not trying to be deliberately obfuscatory by not naming the maker it is not my intent to damage his reputation or exert any kind of undue pressure. Im simply trying to get an idea of what would be a good way to handle the situation. Im sure that some of you have surmised whom Im talking about, but at this point Id prefer to limit this thread to an abstract discussion of the responsibilities and expected behaviors in this type of situation. Since there is (in my estimation) no reason to suspect the maker of having any ulterior motive, should I be overly concerned by the fact that I havent received this knife? Id like to be reasonable, especially in light of the difficulties this individual is facing right now, but at what point does waiting patiently transition from being considerate into being played for a sucker?
I apologize for the overly long rant, but Im really beginning to be frustrated by this situation and I needed to vent a little. I suppose that I bear some culpability for the current state of affairs, since (1) I (perhaps naively) agreed to let the second (or maybe simply more assertive) customer purchase the original knife, and (2) I sent in my payment before I had an iron-clad assurance that my knife was ready to ship (although I was under the impression that shipment actually was imminent at the time). At this point Im just trying to decide what my next course of action (if any) should be. Any thoughts or suggestions you might have would be most appreciated
Jim
