How long to wait?

Big Chris

Big Chris

SAHD/Knifemaker
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Apr 1, 2010
Messages
3,273
I was asked to make a custom knife outside of my normal comfort zone of knifemaking. I am about a month or two later than originally quoted for delivery but I have kept decent communication with the buyer. About six weeks ago, I sent him an email to let him know that the knife was two weeks out. That email was accompanied with some in progress pics as proof that the knife was almost finished. The buyer wrote back and said sounds great. Two weeks later, I sent him an email saying it was ready along with what I felt was a fair price. I did not receive a response. I waited another week, thinking he may have been on vacation and sent another email, still with no response. It has been almost two weeks since the last email and nearly six weeks since the last time I heard from the buyer. What is a reasonable amount of time to give him to respond before I try other means of selling the knife?

Thanks for your time. Any helpful comments are appreciated.
 
Depends I guess, I would say if he is a civilian probably not as long however if he is in the military then he could be out on deployment or some such thing where its very possible he doesnt have much contact with the outside world.

Not sure if you know his profession or not.
 
He is a retired serviceman I think. I do think think that unless he is special ops he would have known at the 2 week email if he was being deployed.
I want to give him the benefit of receiving his knife if possible.
 
Chris,

Most likely he's on a vacation. Try other means to contact him.
I haven't heard from many in ages and often receive their reply in the odd hours.

J
 
Well if he is retired then shouldnt be going on deployment of any kind that I know of. Who knows. Could be flaky but could of had something come up.
 
Google him an see I found can find a telephone number. I assume you don't have that. I'm not sure how you arranged pay,net but if its paid, he will be calling. If he owes you a good bit or all, then maybe he has changed his mind but obviously not informed you. I would think that you could track him down fairly easily unless he is one of the individuals that almost don't exist in the real world, but only online.
 
Honestly, I'd send 'em an email saying " look, it's been a while since I've heard from ya on the knife. If it ain't what you were expecting let me know. I can always adjust or make something else up for ya and sell this one elsewhere. I'd hate to think you paid good money for something that wasn't what you were looking for." Then I'd secretly cry like a little girl. or not.
 
One email every 2 weeks for six weeks, seems like fair enough warning to me. Classic 3 strike system.
 
IMHO unless you are strapped for cash, what is the harm in waiting a little longer. You could always sell it later on but if you sell it now and he contacts you afterwards (especially with a good excuse) then both of you would feel bad about it.
 
When I was a full-time maker, I always made an effort to get the customer's address and phone number before I even started. On knives with a bigger price tag, I also asked for a 50% deposit. That way, at least my materials were covered.
 
Higgy has the solution to this not becoming a problem.

When you taker an order, get all the info. Name, address, phone, email, order details.
 
It kinda sounds he may have balked at the price. I'm assuming the price was agreed upon before you made the blade??
 
This is a hard one.

When I commission work, I try to make damn sure that my ducks are in a row. That being said, I don't have a lot of things going on like some do.

If it were me, I'd give ample time so that there can be no question as to the fact that the person who commissioned the work has skipped out on me. I'd probably give a month (if I were the maker), but that's just me. I wouldn't expect that kind of treatment (as a buyer), but it would make me a life-long customer if it were given.

In this case, I'd be more worried about misscommunications leading to a less-than-desirable outcome. Sure, it's technically on the buyer to make themselves available in this case........BUT.........I'd be more concerned about building a good reputation as someone who went that extra distance each and every time.......and this is an opportunity to do that (at least in my eyes).

As I said, I wouldn't look down on you for any action that you take........given that I believe you want to do the right thing...........this is just my opinion on how I would approach the situation. It may not be your approach, and I respect that.
 
Chris,
I have a custom order with another maker and we agreed on a price, steel and handle material. It has been almost seven weeks from the last time I've heard from him. This is my second from this maker. I understand he is retired and a fisherman and hunter, so it could be 12 weeks or more before I recieve the knife. I still think he is good for it, but there definitely isn't very good communication, specially via email. I know of family and friends that vacation for 6-8 weeks at a time and they don't always have access to Internet or cell or without paying large fees. But as the maker you are the one stuck fronting the money for materials and time so this is different. I would wait a couple weeks unless I really needed the money but I think you could sell it at this point without being unfair. Just my 2 cents.
 
After 2 weeks and several emails not replied to, I'd sell the knife to someone else.

I'd also not take an order for a knife that I might not be able to sell.
 
Don brings up an interesting point.

My background is in architectural iron work, and it's very unusual that I'd be able to sell a project to "someone else" if the customer decided not to pay when it was done, thus I take several payments so that I don't get overextended- when the money stops the work stops!

Many of the knife makers I respect say, Never take a deposit- Would it be better to say, Never take a deposit if it's something typical of what you make that can be fairly easily sold to someone else? It seems like a maker who doesn't make sure he's getting paid for an unusual project is being kind of irresponsible...

Many of the folks I've done expensive ironwork for also don't consider my fee a huge amount of money, and can be a little casual about payments because they don't get how thin of a margin I run on at times.
Emails are notoriously easy to lose/ignore- phone or cert. mail is a lot more sure, though people don't like getting cert. mail- it does serve a purpose, when a customer gets dodgy.

Thoughts?
 
It is not a off the wall fantasy piece. I am rather confident that it would sell here or at a show. It is a piece that brought me out of my comfort zone.
I went back in the wanted section and found his user name and checked his profile and he has not been on BF since May, but responded to an email of mine 18 days ago.
 
Unless you really need to sell it just hang on to it as a piece to show people until the guy gives you an answer. I have sold quite a few just by having one with me and being able to show it off.
 
He has had plenty of time. I am sure your family could use the money. So put a few feelers out and give it another few days. My gut says he just flaked out on you. Could have been any number of reasons. But one thing for sure is he should have responded by now.

Now with that said. I think makers should get a 25% deposit for there work. I know there are list of bad guys taking off with payments but that happens in any trade. I know I can return 25% of anything if someone decides to back out. But I only suggest it for the sake of keeping the buyer vested in the project and nothing more. Then if they choose to disappear you got a few bucks for diverting your work from other paying project.

Good luck Chris your work is good so I am sure you will have no problem selling it.

Mark
 
I think I will send another message or two and give him till September. I have a couple shows I am attending and think it may get a good response there.
BTW, here is the knife,
IMG_1557.jpg


It was my first stick tang and first stacked leather. Only the third knife I made with a guard and the first with a butt plate.
All in all I think it is a good looking knife. Nothing too far out of the box to want a deposit, but definitely a few things I have never done with a knife before.
 
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