- Joined
- Jul 28, 2003
- Messages
- 2,790
I've bought knives and supplies from a few guys on this forum and the other, and although I've had nothing but really great experiences, I'm getting frustrated with the seller-dropping-contact-after-recieving-payment scenario (or the rarer situation of buyers never sending payment). Whenver they pop up, I try to get more information on the seller so that I can hopefully find some real contact information or anything to help the buyer who just got shafted out of his money, but it's very difficult when all you have is a screen name. So to protect yourself, my advice would be:
-Get a verifiable home phone number, address, and full name from the seller. Don't be rude, just ask for the information in case you have any questions. If they don't want to give it to you, consider whether or not it is worth it to do business with them- they shouldn't be reluctant to give out any personal information that you as a buyer have the right to know. Then you can either look the number up online or call the seller to make sure it works to make sure it's not a fake number. If you can't get in touch through that number or it is listed to someone else, you should probably avoid doing business.
-Seach TGBU for the seller's name to make sure nobody has had a problem with them
-Search google for their screen name or e-mail to see if they have a good reputation on other forums.
-Take post count, membership status, and reputation into consideration. If you're doing business with someone who has a knifemaker account and a couple thousand posts, you're probably safe. After spending a lot of time and money establishing a good standing in a forum, most people aren't going to decide to screw you over and ruin that for the money you give. On the other hand, new members with cheaper memberships have less to lose! They'd just need to change their screen name and cheat some more people of of money/products.
-Read private e-mail correspondance critically- if anything sounds a little off or communication is sporadic, again consider- is the deal really worth it? Does this maker have a product that I can't find elsewhere for a similar price?
-Post about members with poor communication and shipping times. You don't need to make the post a flame post if the deal eventually worked out, but you have an obligation to the community to let others know that the seller has a communication issue. This will also help to keep other sellers on their toes, since they will work harder on communication to help themselves do business better.
-Save all e-mails, posts, private messages, and keep notes on phone conversations so that you have all of the information if you ever need it.
-Avoid doing business with people who give little or no personal information in their user profile, signature, or have no home page or other means of finding personal information.
These are just common-sense tips to make it harder for people to screw you and easier for us to get bad deals sorted out.
-Get a verifiable home phone number, address, and full name from the seller. Don't be rude, just ask for the information in case you have any questions. If they don't want to give it to you, consider whether or not it is worth it to do business with them- they shouldn't be reluctant to give out any personal information that you as a buyer have the right to know. Then you can either look the number up online or call the seller to make sure it works to make sure it's not a fake number. If you can't get in touch through that number or it is listed to someone else, you should probably avoid doing business.
-Seach TGBU for the seller's name to make sure nobody has had a problem with them
-Search google for their screen name or e-mail to see if they have a good reputation on other forums.
-Take post count, membership status, and reputation into consideration. If you're doing business with someone who has a knifemaker account and a couple thousand posts, you're probably safe. After spending a lot of time and money establishing a good standing in a forum, most people aren't going to decide to screw you over and ruin that for the money you give. On the other hand, new members with cheaper memberships have less to lose! They'd just need to change their screen name and cheat some more people of of money/products.
-Read private e-mail correspondance critically- if anything sounds a little off or communication is sporadic, again consider- is the deal really worth it? Does this maker have a product that I can't find elsewhere for a similar price?
-Post about members with poor communication and shipping times. You don't need to make the post a flame post if the deal eventually worked out, but you have an obligation to the community to let others know that the seller has a communication issue. This will also help to keep other sellers on their toes, since they will work harder on communication to help themselves do business better.
-Save all e-mails, posts, private messages, and keep notes on phone conversations so that you have all of the information if you ever need it.
-Avoid doing business with people who give little or no personal information in their user profile, signature, or have no home page or other means of finding personal information.
These are just common-sense tips to make it harder for people to screw you and easier for us to get bad deals sorted out.