Never pay for over-night shipping.

fulloflead

fulloflead

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When buying from an online knife dealer NEVER pay extra for overnight shipping.
It DOESN'T HAPPEN!:mad:

Twice, I've been excited enough about a purchase to choose to pay and additional $13 shipping to have it over night.

The first time it took them TWO DAYS to even send me a "your item has shipped" notice.

Yesturday, from a different site, I placed an order around lunchtime. Well, it wasn't outside my door when I got home tonight.:grumpy:

Who knows, maybe I'll get my "shipped" notice tomorrow afternoon and it'll be here the day after tomorrow.:rolleyes:

Maybe if I fished around these sites I might find some disclaimer that says something like "we try to process our orders within 24 hours." But I STILL think it's misleading to have "Overnight Shipping" as an option and then (literally) not deliver.
 
You are as impatient as I am. :) Not b/c you are angry that your package didn't get there, hell you paid $13 extra bucks. I mean b/c you opted to pay the extra $13!!!:D I just got some news today a Knife I was expecting will be delayed a day or so and I am bummed too.

On a side note, I placed an order from Knifecenter.com and opted for straight UPS Ground. I placed my order around 4pm, I had it by 11am next day!!

And this is the most outragous of all. First off I swear at the time of this occurance, I was not on LSD,:D it was around 11PM on a Tuesday and I was drunk hanging out at home. I hoped online and placed an order at the HP website for a scanner and printer. I passed out on the floor in the living room and woke up to the Fed Ex guy knocking on my door. He had two huge boxes with him. It was my stuff from HP, it was around 10am. And yes it was Wed. not even 12 hours from the time I placed my order. The stuff came from TN to me here in VA in under 12 hours and after business hours. I which all knife dealers could duplicate this type of service.:D
 
Fulloflead,I am the same as you.I will pay the extra money but if I don't get it when they say I will you can bet I want my money back. We pay the extra because we want it now, it's only fair that we get it.If it doesn't show the next day I WANT MY MONEY BACK !!!!! Not only did they kill the buzz of getting the knife but they ripped us off as well!!! If I were you I would fill'em Fulloflead!!!!!
 
Originally posted by masterchef
Fulloflead,I am the same as you.I will pay the extra money but if I don't get it when they say I will you can bet I want my money back. We pay the extra because we want it now, it's only fair that we get it.If it doesn't show the next day I WANT MY MONEY BACK !!!!! Not only did they kill the buzz of getting the knife but they ripped us off as well!!! If I were you I would fill'em Fulloflead!!!!!
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Masterchef,
Cool post! You're right about it "kill(ing) the buzz".
"buzz"! That's an accurate way of putting it!:D That phrase should be used more often. I hope you don't mind if I add that to my lingo!;)

It IS a "buzz" the way I feel when I get INTO something and want it right away and getting it the next day would have CONTINUED the "buzz" into probably loving the knife even more. It sure does "kill the buzz".

I'll probably inquire about why I didn't receive the knife over night. If I don't get some satisfaction I might consider posting the names of BOTH of these companies here on GB&U.

TheBadGuy,
KnifeCenter, huh? I've had pretty good luck with them too with regular shipping. Their prices are a little higher than other places on the web but they have freakin' EVERYTHING! Maybe I'll shop them more. Maybe I'll even test their "overnight" skills.

How about 1SKS? Do they have REAL "overnight" shipping? I'd love to support them because they run this forum. I've only ordered from them twice but maybe I should order from them more and consider the little higher prices a donation to the forum because of the forum.

Does anyone think it would be inappropriate to post those names if I'm not given a refund of the $13 I paid for overnight shipping?:confused:
 
Let's develop a sense of proportion around here !!! :D Overnight delivery ??? No, "overknife delivery" ... what is this heightened sense of anticipation all about? I've had guys say they'll Express something to me, and I tell them to save the few bucks. As long as I know the knife is on the way, I'm buzzed! I don't mind a couple of extra days, walking around grinning in anticipation of what's on the way.

A dealer can't always get an item out of his shop as fast as the shipping company can get it to you, so "overnight delivery" means just and only that, delivery. The best and most reliable dealers are up against the eternal laws of the universe: if it ain't there, you can't have it.

If you really, really hope to get it overnight, don't send your order in online and hope -- call the dealer and find out if it's in stock and if he can get it right out.

Please, don't turn GBU into Rumor Central or Smear Control. Contact the dealer if you aren't happy with the service. Give him a shot at explaining or making it up to you. And anyway, match it up against a record of taking care of you on a regular basis. One glitch doesn't mean the business is going to the dogs.

(I don't mind patting someone on the back without asking his permission first, though, so ... One Stop Knife Shop, Bayou Lafourche, and New Graham have all impressed me. They've got the stock and they ship fast.)
 
Have you compulsive overnight knife buyers ever considered shopping at a retail knife store? Not overnight. Not same day. We are talking same minute delivery :D!
 
Originally posted by Esav Benyamin

If you really, really hope to get it overnight, don't send your order in online and hope -- call the dealer and find out if it's in stock and if he can get it right out.
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You have a valid point here. I COULD have called them and might not have had this problem. But I didn't. I ordered online just like their websites were designed for.

The POINT was that "over-night" shipping was promised in the "Checkout" section of their websites and they didn't deliver over-night.

I'm not turning the BF into "Rumor Central". I'm stating a SPECIFIC complaint based on a SPECIFIC problem. I have not made any nasty generalizations about the companies in question. I have not exaggerated or stated anything that's not based on provable facts. In fact, I haven't (yet) named names because I'm not sure if it's appropriate. And, as I have said, I DO plan on contacting the dealer regarding this.

I've been very diplomatic so far.

FRANKLY, GB&U is FULL of posts of people HAPPY with their transactions. Generally people, including me on a few deals, have held back in saying anything negative about ANYONE for fear of reprocussions and getting their OWN name "smeared".

I remind you that I have not made any nasty generalizations about any company, but have only made a specific compaint about one specific area that I think online knife dealers could (and should) improve on. I haven't even said that I wouldn't do business with these companies in the future.

I plan on writing the company about this after I receive the knife.

In my opinion, posts like this only HELP dealers because they can read this and see what their customers want.
 
Originally posted by Rev. Pete
Have you compulsive overnight knife buyers ever considered shopping at a retail knife store? Not overnight. Not same day. We are talking same minute delivery :D!
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I WISH! Here in Denver, Colorado I don't know of ANY knife stores.
I totally agree with you and, if I could, there are quite a few times when I would have run to a dealer and bought a knife from under the glass.

When I was in some other Colorado citys I would do just that. In fact, some of them had some good sales and deals.

In a big city like Denver if I can't find a good knife dealer then I can just IMAGINE how hard it is for other people out there in small towns.

Some gun shops around sell one or two brands of knives, but they usually sell them at MSRP or more.

Seriously, I LOVE internet commerce. I just wish there were better options for shipping options. I've bought a LOT of knives online from about 12 dealers. I just usually have to wait about a week and a half for it to arrive.

ALL I ASK is to have the option to get it in just a day or two if I get REALLY EXCITED about something and I want it right away. That option doesn't seem to be available.
 
I have gotten overnight delivery from Bladeart many times.
But you need to call no matter who you're dealing with to make sure they get the order in time and get it out that day.
 
Originally posted by Les Robertson
Sounds like USPS.
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No, sounds like the dealers. They didn't ship till days later.

The last two knives I bought came USPS Priority, one from Indiana, one from Michigan, each two days to New Jersey, both from private individuals.

But I see his point, that posting 'next day delivery' seems to promise it will be delivered the next day, while the dealer can only really promise next day after he ship it. That's why a buyer has to call, unless he's answering an ad that specifically says that model is packed and ready to go.
 
It is a rare occurence when I don't order something Overnight Express, but Dave and Esav hit the nail on the head........you HAVE TO CALL to make sure they have the item and to make sure there is time to get it out. Bladeart and Ida are some of the best to get items out if you order overnight, and I would never forget about you either Les! You always come through.
 
Esav,

Why would a dealer tell you a knife will be there next day and then not ship it that day to make sure it is there next day?

Obviously, if the knife is not there next day then you don't charge the customer for it.

Or are you saying they ship it a few days later and still charge you for next day?
 
That's it, Les. No dealer always has everything in stock, and there's nothing to stop a customer from clicking on (and paying for) the next-day shipping option on a knife that happens to be out of stock. It happens all the time. Of course the customer still gets the knife sooner than he would have if he hadn't paid the extra....
 
Les, the problem is that the dealer is not "telling" the customer anything, unless the customer actually calls and speaks to a real human being. If it's just an internet transaction, the dealer has no way of knowing if the customer wants the knife shipped fastest whenever the dealer gets it in stock, to be able to ship.

That's why so many sites have an instructions box. Use it to say: Express it to me if it's in stock, otherwise just send it ground, and e-mail me a confirmation when you get this telling me how it's going to be.

Complicated? No, it's easy -- if the customer calls in the order. Otherwise we're at the mercy of not-so-smart automated systems instead of using our own intelligence to speak with each other and understand what's available.
 
Originally posted by Esav Benyamin


That's why so many sites have an instructions box. Use it to say: Express it to me if it's in stock, otherwise just send it ground, and e-mail me a confirmation when you get this telling me how it's going to be.
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That doesn't always work, either.

I wrote something similar in one of those boxes recently, and I got no reply at all. It wasn't until I called the retailer a few days later to see what was up that I got the requested information.

Sometimes I pay for overnight, or second day air, and I make sure the item is in stock first, otherwise, I just go ground.

As for B&M stores, there are none here, and the 3 gunshops I deal with either don't carry a wide selection, or they want MSRP. Screw that. I'll wait if I have to.
 
Les, it's a communication problem because of online ordering instead of using the phone. Though the dealer should have adjusted the price when it wasnt shipped next day.

BTW I should mention I have also gotten a knife fed-exed overnight from Les without any problems.
 
Unless there's explicit instructions not to ship the product with overnight delivery if the item is out of stock, I fail to see where the problem lies with the dealer. Any decent shopping cart provides a space for you to put special instructions in with your order. *Every* good dealer provides a toll free number for ordering. Communication begins with you expressing exactly what you want to happen - that's your job as a customer.

As a dealer, it's their job to provide you with the product in a timely manner, at the price it was advertised, without any problems, with good service.

Kevin
 
Dealers know or should know what they have in stock on a daily basis. I update my inventory list every morning.

If I have a knife that gets ordered that has been previously sold. I email the individual and tell them it has been sold. Then give them a time frame as to when the next one is expected.

It is then up to the customer to wait or look elsewhere.

Not notifying a customer that a knife they ordered is not in stock is just laziness on the part of the business owner. Nothing is more important than the customer.
 
Maybe when you operate on your level, yes, Les. I highly doubt, however, you are shipping over 100 packages a day, or advertising over 10,000 items at any given time.

We have a real time inventory list that we have access to at any time during business hours - but our software does not have the ability to tie that in with the webstore. If a customer has a question about stock availability, they can call and find out and we'll be happy to let them know exactly what is and isn't in stock.

There's a big difference betweening being a niche purveyor and a store offering a wide variety of production knives. Comparing the two are apples and oranges.
 
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