Is this the new normal?

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Tom Lewis said:
Over a year ago I had a similar experience. A member of this forum was looking for some 203-E steel. I had some I was not using so I offered to give him a couple of pieces if he would pay for the shipping. He agreed to do this.
I took the time to carefully package the steel and then stood in line at the Post Office to mail the steel to this person. I sent him the tracking # and asked that he let me know when he got the steel. According to the Post Office, the steel was delivered, but this person not only didn't let me know he got the steel, he has never paid me for the postage like he promised to do.
I know he got the steel, he posted a picture of the finished blade on Blade Forums. He is alive and well, he regularly posts on this forum.
For me the broken promise is more important than the price of postage which I think was around $20.00.
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Why, that no-good dirty rotten hornswogglin'...

Joshua Fisher said:
Hey Tom, I thought I had mailed you a check, I am so sorry that it didn’t arrive and I’m happy to take care of it and get you paid for that postage. I really appreciated you sending that piece of steel for me to test out and I’ll have to send you a blade I make out of it soon. Definitely don’t want you to feel like I broke a promise, I appreciate this community and everyone’s generosity. On the heat treating note I just got blades back from a different company and they collected payment after the blades were done being process but before they shipped. I’ll send you a email about the postage and make sure I still have your current address.
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...super cool stand-up trustworthy fellow!
 
Bos HT just changed it. It was different earlier this year.

I just sent a package to them 2 weeks ago and saw there was new paperwork to fill out and include with your order and that they call you with the amount and you pay before they HT the blades, or they send them back on your dime and bill you. They got my package last Thursday and no call from them yet. I may call them this evening or tomorrow. I do mixed steel batches, so Peters is out for me price wise and JT only does large batches now (single steels maybe too now?), so there isn't much choice. TKS only does a certain HRC for ALL blades and cryos the next day, which isn't good. I am OK with paying for them before they ship back. Makes me wonder how many times they got stiffed on a HT bill?

They used to just do them and send them back to you and a week or so later, you got an invoice in the mail. I used them a bit in the early 2000's and just started using them again recently after some time away from knifemaking. This is my 3rd batch sent since late 2021 or 2022 IIRC.
 
I still use Peters' despite the cost, because I get reliable, repeatable HT at the hardness I want, with quick turnaround. And I like to use high alloy steels that necessitate finish grinding pre-HT. Have never had an issue with warped edges or anything.
 
It might not be an individual who spoiled it all, if a business provides a credit account type service the company can soon rack up large sums to be paid "at the end of the month" it only takes one business to go bust and you’re left with a huge hit to profits. A couple of occurrences like that like that would force you to look at the invoicing process.

I do agree that integrity and honesty in general is not what it used to be.
 
Just to update. I just got the call from Bos Heat Treating. They have my order (arrived last Thursday) and they are heat treating them. They gave me the total with return shipping, I gave them the CC info and 2 minutes later, the receipt was in my email. Before, I never heard that they got the items, or when they shipped back or anything typically until I got the package and then the invoice the week afterwards.
 
Im all for hand shake deals, but only with people I know or have a reason to trust.

For new people popping up asking about this piece or that piece, nothing even gets packed into boxes until ive received payment. The risk of them skipping out, me forgetting to bill, or any other mix is too big. Plus, with my software the paid invoice is what generates the shipping label which speeds the process up even more.

But with clients, suppliers or buyers who i have worked with many times and who i trust, we send product and payment back and forth on each others word. I dont know if its so much the death of the handshake deal, as the hand shake deal is reserved for people you know and trust.
 
I agree Ben! Lots of tire kickers out there that want everything and then you never hear from them again. I have 2 fillet knife blanks sitting here since last year the guy wanted and then stopped replying to my texts to him.
 
And my blades arrived today!! So they got my CC info last Thursday and on Monday, I got the box of blades from Idaho to Connecticut. So they were delivered on the 27th of July and I got them back on the 7th of August, only a week to process 26 blades in 4 different steels.
 
Tom Lewis said:
I first started sending blades to Paul Bos heat treating in the late 1970's. At that time they would heat treat the blades, send them back to me and then a couple of weeks later I would get a bill which I always promptly paid. (By the way, they have always done an excellent job for me.)
Just recently I got a notice from Bos heat treating that they were changing the way they did business. Now a person sends the blades to them, they send a bill to the knifemaker and when the bill is paid they heat treat and return the blades.
The reason for this change is pretty obvious. Evidently some people were not paying their bills so now the heat treating service must be paid for before they will do the heat treating.
Is that the new normal?
Over a year ago I had a similar experience. A member of this forum was looking for some 203-E steel. I had some I was not using so I offered to give him a couple of pieces if he would pay for the shipping. He agreed to do this.
I took the time to carefully package the steel and then stood in line at the Post Office to mail the steel to this person. I sent him the tracking # and asked that he let me know when he got the steel. According to the Post Office, the steel was delivered, but this person not only didn't let me know he got the steel, he has never paid me for the postage like he promised to do.
I know he got the steel, he posted a picture of the finished blade on Blade Forums. He is alive and well, he regularly posts on this forum.
For me the broken promise is more important than the price of postage which I think was around $20.00.
Is that the new normal?
Click to expand...
Find out where he lives...
 
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