late delivery etiquette

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atomic

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Does anybody have advice on this: I have some knives on order from a knifesmith that are two-and-a-half months late on delivery. I made the mistake of paying in full, up front, and know now that this is a no-no, but still, I don't get the impression that this smith is super-ultra in demand.
What's the right way to handle this? Let him work? Bug him every day? E-mail him monthly (as I've been doing)? Demand a delivery date?
Any help on this would be appreciated...
 
Hmm...

If it was 2.5 months late I would ask for half of my money back and tell him I'd pay it back to him when he produces the knives.
 
Ask the smith to provide you a date by which you will have the knives in hand. Go from there.
 
Has the maker been good with keeping you informed about the reasons for the delay? If I am keep informed then I don't have a problem with delays, as long as they don't go on forever. If the maker does not keep me well informed, I will contact him daily until he does not get back to me.

Two and a half months late is not unusual, but when you pay up front (never, never pay in full up front) a maker should do everything to be as close to the estimated delivery time as possible.
 
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Hello,

My advice, cancel the order and get your money back ASAP. You will be doing the bladesmith a favor. Yes, you are lightening thier work load and he or she can make more knives for there close friends/knife collectors/dealers. Take a look at the secondary market if you still want there knife.
 
Is that something that can be done: Getting a full refund, or part refund pending delivery? In the worst case scenario, the smith tells me to go fork myself, or doesn't respond to contact... Then what? Sue the guy?

This isn't the case yet, and he's been good at responding to e-mails, but the answer is always that he's doing the last knife as we speak. Been doing it since mid-August...
In the interest of forward planning, what happens if he tells me to take a hike?

And, Jeff, if I had had your advice before ordering, incidentally, I would have got my knives in June, and at the same price as he's charging, new from a dealer... aaargh!
 
Keith Montgomery said:
Has the maker been good with keeping you informed about the reasons for the delay? If I am keep informed then I don't have a problem with delays, as long as they don't go on forever. If the maker does not keep me well informed, I will contact him daily until he does not get back to me.

Two and a half months late is not unusual, but when you pay up front (never, never pay in full up front) a maker should do everything to be as close to the estimated delivery time as possible.
Click to expand...

Don't mean to hijack the thread but I read this statement alot here,
i. e. "never, never pay in full up front". What do you do if you really want a knife from this maker and THATS the only way he'll do business?
It's not like a custom knifemaker is like a Spyderco knife. Where if you don't like the attitude of a certain dealer you can go a dozen other places and get it. If you want one from him, your stuck doing business HIS way.

I 've ordered custom knives from knifemakers where they wanted 100% up front and some that didn't want anything up front. Just your word that you'd buy the knife when completed. So far I've had no problems but I'm always a little hesitant about the one who wants it ALL upfront. Like I said I've never been burned but....

I guess the answer to my question is "if you want the knife bad enough, you take the chance".

Otherwise, if you can live without it. Walk away. Right.
I'd just like to hear from others on their thoughts about it.

Mark T.
 
A good rule of thumb! You don't pay a builder 100% then he builds you the house............YOU would be retired by the time he finished it! I would have ONLY paid 50%.....Anyway- good luck with it.
 
empty5853 said:
Don't mean to hijack the thread but I read this statement alot here,
i. e. "never, never pay in full up front". What do you do if you really want a knife from this maker and THATS the only way he'll do business?
It's not like a custom knifemaker is like a Spyderco knife. Where if you don't like the attitude of a certain dealer you can go a dozen other places and get it. If you want one from him, your stuck doing business HIS way.

I 've ordered custom knives from knifemakers where they wanted 100% up front and some that didn't want anything up front. Just your word that you'd buy the knife when completed. So far I've had no problems but I'm always a little hesitant about the one who wants it ALL upfront. Like I said I've never been burned but....

I guess the answer to my question is "if you want the knife bad enough, you take the chance".

Otherwise, if you can live without it. Walk away. Right.
I'd just like to hear from others on their thoughts about it.

Mark T.
Click to expand...

maybe if ya want damascus/ivory stuff ya might have to pay that up front, but imho ya NEVER pay 100% up front, all but 2 of the guys i ever dealt with wanted nothing till the knife was ready, the 2 who wanted 100% ended up having a lot of bad stuff posted about them on this forum from folks who were wanting the stuff they paid for months before/never rec'd, if someone wants 100% up front go elsewhere lotsa guys make neat stuff no one is cool enough to take a chance like that on imho. again no legit smith is gonna want 100%.

99% of smiths would sooner cut off his arm than rip ya off.
 
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