Makers, How do you make sure you get paid?

I don't understand this.
Why should the knife maker take the risk and go thru the head aches?
The customer should pay when the knife is ready to be shipped and when the funds are received the knife goes in the mail with the understanding that the buyer has a certain amount of time to inspect it and return it for a refund minus shipping.
That's how I would expect to do it if I was the buyer.
 
You could always describe the route you're taking to arrive at the shipping address and plan a road trip :) Almost got burnt by a low life so I resorted to offering to pick up the knife myself and save them the trip to the PO. Let's see 1st right off main, 2 blocks down....you're the blue ranch style on the corner :) Money was mailed overnight :D Since then no deposits, make knife, get $$$, ship knife. If they need the blade fast, paypal and overnight delivery are options. Sometimes a maker gets placed in awkward situations by folks who assume you'll say yes to their requests but it is to a maker's own benefit to hold strong. Just my $.02
 
What's peculiar is that in a lot of businesses, the invoice is not paid until receipt of the delivered goods.

~but~

We must remember that we are not dealing with another business that has an account set up with us. If this were the case then we would have access to all of our customer's credit card accounts.

We deal with individuals, not 30, 60, or 90 day net. Individuals must be dealt with the same way "other" businesses deal with individuals. Payment, then shipment, period.

This may sound hard-nosed but if when you spend all of YOUR funds up front and do all the labor and tedious work required to make one of these sharp, pointed things then the least the customer can do is to send you payment prior to shipment, preferred method of payment, money order.

Craig
 
I have sent many knives in advance - and have been honored with this treatment by people from around the world, too - but due to some problems of this kind I am more carefull now.
It is very disappointing and, what is worse, the bad taste it leaves makes one very suspicious of the next new customer who shows up.
 
Another older, wiser landlord once told me "the only time a landlord gets in trouble is when he gets in a hurry or feels sorry for someone." So goes with knifemaking, imho. I don't take money in advance, but won't send out a product until I get paid.

Tim
 
Very interesting topic here. Being a new knife maker, i find myself worring more about how much to charge for a knife than actually how i receive payment.

I have tried in the past to get half down, but buyers have also been burned by knife makers and are leary of paying money up front to "unknown" makers. Needless to say, at this point in my career, i don't charge half down, even for something that is out of my realm.

For example, I had a forum member inquire about a Viking style dagger and if I could make one for him. I said I could but i wanted half down. He had been burned before and was not willing to do it. So I agreed to make the knife anyway, because it is a challege for me, and give him the first right of refusal when the blade was complete. Granted, I am about 4 weeks past when i thought the knife would be finished, but hopefully he understands that it is a potential non-sale, and I need to complete confirmed orders first.

But anyway, to try to make this short and not fill up a complete page with one reply; I think Pendentive hit a really good point.

We, as makers, enjoy and get lulled into this false sense of security with the "knife community". We all love the craft and are willing to share our knowledge to others, in the ultimate hope of taking the "art" to the next level.

However unfortunate though, there are still those people out there that want something for nothing, and will do what they can to get it.

Me, being a new maker, I have to give the benefit of the doubt to a potential customer. BUT, I have the luxury of being only a part time maker, whose income does not rely on knife sales to make a living, so I can "afford" a few "learning experiences." Thank God I have not been burnt yet, but I also don't let anyting leave my shop until it is paid for.

Trusting someone is something that I think is inherent for all humans to extend to others, but we live in a world filled with Cons and Thieves. What makes its worse is when it is a Military person because of the respect and gratitude I know we all feel for the sacrifices thay have made.

I just wish it could be different. This is not the first thread on the topic, and I am sure it is not the last. i just don't know how you full time guys can handle it when somebody takes food out of your kids' mouths.

Anyway, i have rambled long enough, and I still don't know what the morel to my story was. Sometimes it is just sad.
 
I still send knives out in advance but only to long time friends/customers. I have taken the advice from my elders and if I dont know the person I will need the money order in hand first before the knife gets sent. Even saying this you would think that sending finished knives out, people would be gratefull and send the money promptly. The last check I got from a buyer/friend took 3 1/2 months to receive and thats after multiple emails. I know sometimes $hit happens and money may be short but a little communication would go a long way. Fortunately this is a hobby for me but if it was my sole source of income I would have to run it a little different. I hope you get paid soon Alan.
 
I don't know why it should be so shocking to see someone who claims to be in the military con a maker.
It's not like we have a military class in our country,
they are simply a cross section of our population. We are them, they are us.

The military has good, and bad people, just like in civilian life, in fact, when I was in(1960's),there were many nasty people in uniform.
I'm sure the same holds true now.

As pointed out earlier in this thread, there was a scam running awhile back like this. I seriously doubt if they were military at all.

When in doubt, get a copy of the ID, unit designation, even a copy of orders(if possible)etc.
:(
 
One of Sean's good points,we get lulled into a sense of security by the knife community. He is right,and the ones that are bilking knife makers are the sharks cruising outside the school, and not members of our community. I rank the con artists right down there with child molesters. On a lighter note,we still have each other!
 
Sorry to hear about your misfortune. There seem to be a lot of "soldiers" conning knifemakers these days.

Knifemaking is a retail business. Payment is due on delivery or for mail order sales, payment upfront, then ship the goods. Unless the customer is personally known to me.

Hope you get your money or your knife.
 
Soldiers should be the most diligent about paying their bills, more diligent than civilians. Unless you know about military personnel actions and The Uniform Code of Military Justice, it probably seems like the military is pretty much like civilian life (except for all those guns and sleeping in the mud, etc.) but it isn't. The military must abide by civilian law and by military law. In what civilian job could you be tried, convicted, and go to jail for failure to show up at your job site, or failure to follow the directive of a superior? Soldiers that don't keep up with their financial obligations find themselves denied promotion, schools, awards, etc. ...and if they continue to have financial problems, they can be released from active duty with a some other discharge than "Honorable". Company Commanders can have a very large influence over a soldier. I can guarantee if you can't get a soldier's attention and can't find out what his unit is, just write to the commander of the post. IT WILL BE BROUGHT TO THE ATTENTION OF THE APPROPRIATE COMPANY COMMANDER AND SOLDIER!

I think soldiers are in the news more than usual now because of the war, their actions are under the microscope.

Bruce
 
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