Knives Ship Free (KSF) Return Policy, etc.

RamZar

RamZar

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Just as an FYI:

I've purchased nearly $2,500 with KSF since August 2013. The past two orders with them were delayed in shipping (perhaps because I opted for free shipping) and the products had issues that in both cases I eventually sent to the manufacturer for fixes. They should be checking their products before shipping and when I tried to return for refund they said there will be a 20% restocking fee deducted even though they did not have a replacement to ship out (out of stock). In both cases, I sent my Benchmade 940-1 and ZT 0770CF to manufacturer but shouldn't have because they didn't have any more in stock and would not issue 100% refund.

From Oregon to California: ordered on 4/23/2014 received on 4/28/2014.
From Oregon to California: ordered on 4/22/2014 received on 4/26/2014.

I emailed them but after the standard email on the 20% restocking fee did not hear back!
 
I never new about this 20% restocking fee. I'm going to have to pay more attention when I purchase items. Thanks for the wakeup call. Now if
any company is going to restock an object with defects, then that would imply that they will send it out again. Unlimited potential for profit. What a country! And this is what is generally refered to as 100% satisfaction gauranteed.
 
Why did you have to send them both back? What were the issues?

I've only come across one 940-1, in a local hunting store, and it was not centered. We tried for 20 minutes to get it right, but no luck. Was sad.

I have one 0770CF here, and another arrives today. The only issue with the first one is some wonky CF finish on one strip on the presentation side, but otherwise is centered and fine. The lock side cf is perfect. It is#0137.

If the other one comes that way I'll probably send them both back. Put the money on a 0562cf when they come out.

So what was it?
 
jmclfrsh said:
Why did you have to send them both back? What were the issues?

I've only come across one 940-1, in a local hunting store, and it was not centered. We tried for 20 minutes to get it right, but no luck. Was sad.

I have one 0770CF here, and another arrives today. The only issue with the first one is some wonky CF finish on one strip on the presentation side, but otherwise is centered and fine. The lock side cf is perfect. It is#0137.

If the other one comes that way I'll probably send them both back. Put the money on a 0562cf when they come out.

So what was it?
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The 940-1 had the blade way to one side, grind uneven and not sharp at all. Anyway, I sent it to Benchmade and it came back mostly corrected with just a bit off center. Great CS by BM but it cost me $10 for shipping & insurance to send it there.

The 0770CF was just two minor issues. The steel liner lock would stick and the pivot on one side was not flush with the CF scale. Hasn't arrived at KAI yet.

In both cases, KSF is still out of stock.
 
I am sorry to hear of your bad experience. Please give us a call and talk to me. I am sure we can work something out.

As to the return policy.

I think you will find that almost all online merchants have such a policy. We offer 100% store credit on any return for any reason. That means you just have to choose another knife.

The reason for such a policy is that we incur significant costs with returns--for example we have free shipping, and if you have a genuine defect in the product, we often pay for the shipping back to us.

We do go to great lengths to make our customers have a good shopping experience.

We don't check every knife as it goes out because we trust manufacturers to do their job with quality control.

In any event, please give us a call and give me a chance to help make things right.
 
Oh, I missed the delayed shipping. Nothing gets held because of free shipping. If you order over the weekend, sometimes those packages don't get out until Tuesday because we are catching up from the weekend.

Paying for shipping always moves you to the front of the line, but free shipping typically goes out the same day or the next business dAy.
 
jmclfrsh said:
I have one 0770CF here, and another arrives today. The only issue with the first one is some wonky CF finish on one strip on the presentation side, but otherwise is centered and fine. The lock side cf is perfect. It is#0137.

If the other one comes that way I'll probably send them both back. Put the money on a 0562cf when they come out.
Click to expand...

Don't feel alone, jmclfrsh. My 0770CF (#0852) has the wonky CF finish on the presentation side, too. And I'm aware of at least one other person who has the same issue. I'm not sure if there's actually anything wrong with the finish or if it's simply the way the pattern was laid down during processing. One thing I am sure of is that it doesn't affect the knife's functionality. And like yours, the rest of my 0770CF is fine. So I'm going to live with it.
 
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This happened to me when I returned a defective GEC to another BF dealer here(not KSF).
They didn't have another to replace it with, but still sent me the email about the restocking fee, and told me he would also have to knock off what it cost him to ship it to me.

I called and told him I wasn't going to pay for either of those, and we got it worked out. I did loose money on sending it back, but I didn't really mind that.
 
I wouldn't want to pay a restocking fee either. I guess I need to read the fine print better as it is the customers responsibility. Any place i find that has that I won't be ordering from. KSF is now on that list. BTW , KSF, the way some manufacturers are send stuff out (bm, I'm looking at you) I would not put your buisness at risk by trusting them to send out perfect products and when they don't, passing the cost onto the customer. That doesn't seem right.
 
craytab said:
BTW , KSF, the way some manufacturers are send stuff out (bm, I'm looking at you) I would not put your buisness at risk by trusting them to send out perfect products and when they don't, passing the cost onto the customer. That doesn't seem right.
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I've bought three knives, shipped to Europe, in two orders from KSF last year, and I was disappointed, because ALL THREE had flaws that would cause me to send them back to dealers here, but I won't because having paid customs fees, taxes and shipping it's just not worth it.

I took the risk only because I've bought Spydercos and Benchmades from other US dealers before and never had a problem.

What adds to my disappointment is that KSF had photos of the individual knives in their shop. The photos didn't show the flaws.

In the end, somebody at KSF took them out of the original boxes, opened them, photographed them and put them back in again. I could understand if one had slipped through, but 3 out of 3, and sending them across the pond, is a bit much.

The knives were two GECs and a Queen.
 
If it's because of a legitimate QC issue, or any issue for that matter charging a 20% restocking fee is shady at best. If they sent you a sub par knife they failed to inspect then that should be on them. Charging a fee to the customer for the return of defective merchandise is outrageous under those circumstances.

However, I can understand the other side also when some people buy something, especially a knife just to give it a "test drive" to see if they like it or not and have no shame returning a knife they used, maybe even took apart or damaged and then say, I decided it's not for me, I'll just send it back.

That's a pretty crappy thing to do to so under those circumstances I wouldn't blame a dealer for charging a fee. What are they supposed to do with this "used" knife now, pass it along to someone else?

But like I said, if the knife has legitimate issues then a full refund is always in order.
 
I know we work with customers every day who have issues and we rarely have someone who is not satisfied with how we handle things. We work hard to make our customers happy.

I guess that is the best I can do. I can tell you it is never as cut and dry as one might think.

If you have an issue with us, please give us a call. I promise to hear you out and do my very best to make it work well for both of us. We value our customers. We value you guys.
 
RamZar...

I'd sure suggest doing what Derrick (okbohn) asked and give them a call. I haven't ever encountered better CS than that provided by Derrick, Greg, and Jason. In my experience, they really do want to do right by their customers. I can't recommend them highly enough.

That said, I don't think that I have ever done business with anyone on a regular basis that I didn't run into a bump on the road at some point. The real measure of a company's CS is how they respond when you encounter a problem with them. KSF has excelled for me when that happened. Give 'em a chance to make things right. I don't think that you'll be sorry. :)

Of course, JMO.
 
That's why I only buy from a seller that offers a 100% no questions asked return policy for at least 7 days. I think it's bait and switch business to offer free shipping then use it for a reason to skim on a return. I (the Buyer) didn't tell you to ship knives free. It's your "Hook". Charge for shipping then beat your competition with great customer service and return policy.
 
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Daddyo16 said:
I refuse to pay restocking fees. Thanks for the heads up. I won't be buying anything from KSF.
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+1

Restocking fees are a joke, just a way for the company to say: "F**k you for returning this back to us".

I always make sure to see if companies charge restocking fees for returned merchandise before buying. If they do, then they will not see a cent from me.
 
One dealer I recommend gives 100 percent refund on any defective item but charges a restocking fee when an item isn't defective and a buyer is abusing return privileges.

That seems fair.

A buyer absolutely is entitled to a refund when an item is defective, as in RamZar's case.

And when a dealer doesn't have a replacement for a defective product, he should never charge a restocking fee.

Better yet -- try to do business with dealers who will hand-pick a product.
 
okbohn said:
We don't check every knife as it goes out because we trust manufacturers to do their job with quality control.
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Unfortunately, that's a mistake. Is anyone else really pissed that we are sold so many obviously defective items? That's not directed at NSF, but the manufacturers. From crooked knives, to TVs with only half a working screen, to trucks with bumpers only partially bolted on. It seems we have devolved into a world with zero QC or concern for the consumer. I have to wonder what my grandfather would've done if confronted with this crap. Thanks for the heads up Ramzar and thanks Derrick for joining in to make sure things go right:thumbup:
 
flash900 said:
A buyer absolutely is entitled to a refund when an item is defective, as in RamZar's case.

And when a dealer doesn't have a replacement for a defective product, he should never charge a restocking fee.
Click to expand...

After receiving an email from KSF about a return, I inquired the following but never heard back:

"I’m returning it in all original packaging and form. The knife has only been opened and close several times.

Will I be getting a 100% refund since you don’t have it in stock any more?"​

So, I went ahead with sending them to manufacturers.

flash900 said:
Better yet -- try to do business with dealers who will hand-pick a product.
Click to expand...

Great advise. It just preempts the issues.
 
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