Mint or not mint condition

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pwrstrk1

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Hello everyone,I'm still learning about knife collecting and to make a story short I need a little advise. A disagreement of Mint condition came up recently. The knife was still in the factory wrap in the box with papers,but it had a blemish on one of the bolsters. It looked like a pin punch attack at the blade pin area. The guy swears this knife is mint condition because it came from the factory this way. Would this knife still be Mint Condition? I say no but I am not sure. Please advise. Here is a pic
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Thank you for your opinion. I agree. Is there a guideline to use in such instances. Such as minor scratches are okay but dings and nicks are not? Matthew
 
To me, mint is factory new, perfect condidtion. If there are slight handling marks, it might be called "minty". Any use, or damage will certainly take away from being mint. I can't see damage like that coming from the factory.
Bad craftsmanship maybe, but that is some pretty bad damage there.
 
Would you buy a knife from the factory in that condition as "new"? I know I wouldn't. I assume that this came from ebay. Unless a pic of this blemish was included in the description, then it appears that the seller left this out on purpose.

For the seller to list it as mint is a tragedy. Maybe it came from the factory that way, but at best I would label it a "second". If the seller has any morals at all, he will refund or discount the cost.

As far as what constitutes "mint", that is a discussion for the ages. Now mint, to me anyways, would mean "if I were to buy the knife brand new in a store and had a chance to look it over and inspect it, what would the quality of it be"? I assume (rhetorically) that most to all knives come new from the factory with no nicks, scratches, or visible un-natural blemishes.

A decent seller will clearly list all visible issues with a knife, and clearly show pics of those issues. Most good dealers want happy customers, and can't have a good business or reputation by having deals caught up in the red tape of disputes or refunds. So by them clearly stating the condition, they can avoid 99% of the grief.

That said, I have seen very few absolute "mint" knives, there is always something you can find on them if you look hard enough.

Buyer beware, and don't forget to ask for additional pics of the "unshown" parts of the knife. Beware of a seller that will only show one side of the knife in their pics.

Also, I am a firm believer in promoting the good dealers and exposing the bad ones. I'd hate to see someone get shafted similar to what happened here. let us know how it turns out.

Glenn
 
I thank you for you honest input and I agree with your way of thinking. Thankfully it is not on the display side so only I will know it's there,but it still hurts a little to know I got snookered. He didn't show the off side in pics. I will be more carefull in buying as well next time. Thanks again. Matthew
 
I think I've actually bought a knife from this guy in the past, guess I was lucky. Judging by this sale, I guess I won't be doing business with him again. I would definitely file a dispute, and mention the damage in some nasty feedback. I really don't understand why people have to be so underhanded over a few bucks.
Eric
 
It's a second at best. Mint, at least to me, included minorhandling scuffs and the like- the sort of thing that a display knife gets. That's far from normal.
 
99.6 pos. feed backs,7053 reported sales,been on ebay since 1998,thats really a good track record,i can't believe someone would do that for 58 dollars.ebay sends you a lot of email crap when your only the buyer,i can only imagine what it's like if you sell too. on the other hand,the knife is out in the pic.i would send him a few more emails then i would start action through paypal to get my money back.
 
Well,he isn't going to do anything about it. I know this will sound very odd to some of you but please understand,my religious beliefs do not allow me to pursue this any further. I wish the man no ill will,but I would not be against all of you telling your friends to be aware of this seller. I forgive him of his ways,but I will never buy from him again. I thank you all for your input,I thought maybe I was being to picky. I see now from your reactions I was not. I have learned a valuable lesson. Matthew
 
As someone who sells on Ebay I can say the hardest thing for me is to list a knife as mint.I list everything I see wrong because I also buy a lot of knives and hate surprises.About the only knives I list as mib are a few scrims that haven't been out of the box.Even these develop verdegris and if you polish it out the knife is not mint anymore.I've been told I miss some sales from being so honest but I'd rather miss a sale than have a knife returned and an unhappy buyer.Arnold
 
we are not saying you should go bust his knees or causing him harm,but there are way's within ebay's guidelines to deal with this guy,it's just based on one fact, you just did not get your money's worth!
 
It's like buying a truck advertised as new and you find out it has a dented up fender.

On the other hand, I've had this happen several times as well, and I didn't pursue it either. It sucks, for sure, but I telll myself if I'm going to buy knives site unseen, there will be some better than advertised, and some not, and I've decided, unless it is really bad, I'll just accept it. I have sent one back, and got a price adjustment on another, but those sellers made honest mistakes and were glad to make good.

If it was on purpose, it makes you mad.
 
Occasionally you will find a seller who has the professionalism to include a chart in all his knife listings as to how he defines extra mint, mint, near mint, excellent, etc.. On virtually all such charts I have seen, Mint was described as flawless or in similar terms. Some argue that, after a knife is first sold at retail it can never be sold as NIB (new in box) again. It can be sold as MIB (mint in box) meaning it is in the original new, flawless state; but, not the original retail purchase. Extra mint is often defined as a flawless, like new knife that has some unusually better quality such a fit and finish even better than its contemporaries. Regardless, I don't think this knife could qualify as Mint, Near Mint, or even Excellent. Perhaps it could qualify as Good - showing definite signs of use. This damage is so significant that if it came from the factory like this, I would think it was a second that didn't get marked or caught by quality control. Rather than a pin punch attack, have you considered someone might have used it on a finish nail or similar object as a imprompt hammer? My uncle is the poster child for needless knife abuse and I have seen his bolsters look like this for that very reason.
 
my religious beliefs do not allow me to pursue this any further. I wish the man no ill will,but I would not be against all of you telling your friends to be aware of this seller. I forgive him of his ways,but I will never buy from him again
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Thats fine but the seller doesnt really learn not to do it to somebody else if you just leave it at that. I am very religious too, I also would forgive him, and if he didnt respond then I would report him to Paypal to try and get partial or full refund, that damage is very severe i would not even pay 50 cents for that knife, I am shocked that the seller would not endeaver to fix the problem immediatley !!
Kind Regards Tim
 
Thanks Tim for the support. I will have to think about taking action but I will take what you said into consideration. I'll let you know my descision soon. I really do not want this to happen to anyone else iether. Matthew
 
Matthew, without going to far off task as far as the forum is concerned, I would like to respectfully offer the following for your consideration. If it doesn't witness with you then ignore it and know that it was offered with the best of intentions. I believe that you can pursue a remedy to this situation (including reporting him to eBay/PayPal) without doing yourself any spiritual harm as long as you are able to do it objectively and with an attitude of seeking the good of both parties; and not with any attitude of vengenance. It is GOOD for you to be treated fairly. It is GOOD for him to be admonished about his manner of conduct. If that doesn't happen, his way of thinking and manner of conduct will create bad consequences of greater magnitude in his life. If he realizes that he is wrong and rectifies the situation, it is GOOD. If he does NOT realize that he is wrong then, at least, you have taken what steps you can to help him realize it; therefore there is no blood on your hands, and you can rest in the fact that you have done all. One could argue that you might be facilitating his wrongdoing by not taking reasonable steps to secure fairness for both parties. In the long run, he will end up with the short end of the stick if he is unfair to you. Of course, if my older brother was present he would add, "You CAN teach a pig to dance; but, it will annoy the hell out of the pig and frustrate you to no end." There are some people who (like perhaps the seller) insist on acting against there own interest regardless of what you say to them. Anyway, I have had it happen to me before. I know it stinks and I'm sorry it happened to you.
 
Being spirtual, does not mean letting people take advantage of you. Contact Ebay if the seller does not make good on the auction.
 
I have decided to take action with Paypal. It is a drawnout proceedure but the process will be under the scrutiny of Paypal. Therefore the jigg is up on his part because there is no denying the wrong of this situation. I have no Idea how long this will take or if it will end in anything justified but after carefull consideration and prayer,I did take action against his practices. It was the right thing to do and I am comfortable with my descision. It is not to get back at him but to stop it from happening again to someone else.I thank you all for your input and support. I'll let you know what happens. Matthew
 
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