New Member Issues

JONVHERBERT

JONVHERBERT

Feedback: +18 / =0 / -0
Joined
Feb 2, 2023
Messages
336
As a new member of Blade Forums, I certainly understand that it takes time and past deals / feedback to become a trusted member. I’ve only have had 3 deals done here - one was a trade with a member who left me positive feedback, one was selling a knife to a member who’s package is arriving Thursday, and one was buying a knife from a member of which the knife has not arrived yet. So only 1 of those is really applicable for feedback at the moment.

I’ve never been big on social media and the accompanying drama that seems to come with it, so I transitioned from the Facebook EDC community to here. But am now being posed with other BF members requesting me to ship my knives to them and upon receipt, they pay. Rather than paying & me shipping and providing tracking. I’ve never been asked to do this before, but it’s happened 5 times now on here. Is this something that is typically done with new members here? I feel as a new member, I definitely have to offer some additional measures of comfort - maybe a photo of my drivers license, business card, and OSHA 30 card?

My typical process has been that once funds are received, I send the buyer a video of me writing that persons name on a piece of paper and then proceeding to show the knife under a bright white light to show any flaws if there are any, and any accompanying documents, accessories, ect. The knife itself is usually bubble wrapped and put into the box, unless it has a microfiber like a CRK. The original knife box gets a layer of bubble wrap around it, and a complete layer of packing tape around it. That box then gets placed into a USPS box, and the note placed on top. That box then gets an entire layer of packing tape around it. So that the buyer can be sure that their knife is safe during transit, but also be sure that their knife is exactly what they’re expecting before it’s shipped and any additional questions can be answered before it’s sent. Then, I head over to PirateShip and print a label, and send a photo to the buyer to proof read before purchase and print. Then that label gets printed out, and taped to the box. The entire label is covered in tape to prevent partial critical information on it from being scratched off or something during transit. Finally, the package is brought to USPS to be scanned in, so I can send the buyer a photo of the receipt with the time, tracking info, ect since the PirateShip label doesn’t actually prove it was sent. It just proves a label was made. So I definitely feel that my shipping method goes above and beyond - but that doesn’t help with not having a bunch of feedback and being a long term member. So, I wanted to double check the whole “you ship first, then I pay” thing.

Thanks for any feedback!
 
JONVHERBERT said:
Dang it. I apologize. I appreciate you letting me know. Where do you recommend is the proper location?
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This room here is the muck around place where serious questions don't (often) receive serious answers.

Hit the report button and request that it gets moved to the Feedback forum.


But to your question. No. Payment first, then the item gets shipped.

If you were trading knives with a member with more substantial feedback then you shipping your side first would not necessarily be unreasonable, IMO.
 
Yup. Money first. Then ship knives.

PP G&S gives the buyer a sense of security. If they are high dollar value knives and you are asking F&F payment…it will be hard to sell as a newer member.
 
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JONVHERBERT said:
As a new member of Blade Forums, I certainly understand that it takes time and past deals / feedback to become a trusted member. I’ve only have had 3 deals done here - one was a trade with a member who left me positive feedback, one was selling a knife to a member who’s package is arriving Thursday, and one was buying a knife from a member of which the knife has not arrived yet. So only 1 of those is really applicable for feedback at the moment.

I’ve never been big on social media and the accompanying drama that seems to come with it, so I transitioned from the Facebook EDC community to here. But am now being posed with other BF members requesting me to ship my knives to them and upon receipt, they pay. Rather than paying & me shipping and providing tracking. I’ve never been asked to do this before, but it’s happened 5 times now on here. Is this something that is typically done with new members here? I feel as a new member, I definitely have to offer some additional measures of comfort - maybe a photo of my drivers license, business card, and OSHA 30 card?

My typical process has been that once funds are received, I send the buyer a video of me writing that persons name on a piece of paper and then proceeding to show the knife under a bright white light to show any flaws if there are any, and any accompanying documents, accessories, ect. The knife itself is usually bubble wrapped and put into the box, unless it has a microfiber like a CRK. The original knife box gets a layer of bubble wrap around it, and a complete layer of packing tape around it. That box then gets placed into a USPS box, and the note placed on top. That box then gets an entire layer of packing tape around it. So that the buyer can be sure that their knife is safe during transit, but also be sure that their knife is exactly what they’re expecting before it’s shipped and any additional questions can be answered before it’s sent. Then, I head over to PirateShip and print a label, and send a photo to the buyer to proof read before purchase and print. Then that label gets printed out, and taped to the box. The entire label is covered in tape to prevent partial critical information on it from being scratched off or something during transit. Finally, the package is brought to USPS to be scanned in, so I can send the buyer a photo of the receipt with the time, tracking info, ect since the PirateShip label doesn’t actually prove it was sent. It just proves a label was made. So I definitely feel that my shipping method goes above and beyond - but that doesn’t help with not having a bunch of feedback and being a long term member. So, I wanted to double check the whole “you ship first, then I pay” thing.

Thanks for any feedback!
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We would all appreciate you letting us know who the members are who asked you this nonsense. That is flat out garbage, and it's clear to me that they're probably trying to play you, with the excuse that you're new. I'd like to know who they are so I can add those clowns to my "Do Not Do Business With" list.
 
Ingratiating yourself in the community here always helps. I’m not saying be a brown noser but establish yourself, outside of sales threads. IMHO most transactions that go sideways involve people who only care about making a dime(flipping). When people are here just to sell/buy they’re generally perceived differently, right or wrong. If you’re here just to sale, buy a dealer membership.

Shipping a knife before payment is reckless, a trade is somewhat understandable but still risky. The vast majority here genuinely enjoy knives and talking about them. Try building a rapport.
It’s total bs though to ask you to ship before payment, unless you’re asking for f&f. I’d have no problem paying f&f with members I recognize and have had interactions with.
 
Sharp & Fiery said:
Yup. Money first. Then ship knives.

PP G&S gives the buyer a sense of security. If they are high dollar value knives and you are asking F&F payment…it will be hard to sell as a newer member.
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I agree with that, the only crappy part is that PayPal G&S will result in a tax change and will be listed as additional income, from what I’ve been told. But if this is incorrect and G&S will not affect tax status, please let me know
 
Jdottinger said:
Ingratiating yourself in the community here always helps. I’m not saying be a brown noser but establish yourself, outside of sales threads. IMHO most transactions that go sideways involve people who only care about making a dime(flipping). When people are here just to sell/buy they’re generally perceived differently, right or wrong. If you’re here just to sale, buy a dealer membership.

Shipping a knife before payment is reckless, a trade is somewhat understandable but still risky. The vast majority here genuinely enjoy knives and talking about them. Try building a rapport.
It’s total bs though to ask you to ship before payment, unless you’re asking for f&f. I’d have no problem paying f&f with members I recognize and have had interactions with.
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I agree, I definitely need to integrate more. I really appreciate your response. I have always send and received F&F except for one buy that was all the way in Indonesia. I’ve never had any issues with any members of BladeForums and find myself texting with several of them almost daily, I was just wondering since a recent request was about the 5th time it had been posed. Although that individual and myself have spoken since and have discussed the knife being sent to CRK by me for authentication, and then sent to him by CRK. Which I think could be a fair middle ground.
 
This is an interesting question. "Ship before I pay you" is definitely not the standard here, nor an unwritten rule. I've never "sold" a knife and waited until it arrived to get paid or "bought" a knife and waited for it to arrive before sending payment, and I'd never expect that to be the case as the buyer or seller. (Trades are a different story, and as benchwarmer380 noted when there's a huge disparity between account age and/or feedback profile it's not unreasonable to expect the newer member to ship first.)

On the other hand, you're a more or less brand new member with zero/minimal feedback and no forum presence outside of the Exchange. There's nothing wrong with being any of those things, but if I put on my "potential buyer of a $700-$3000 knife I'm being asked to pay for via an unsecured payment method" hat, all of them would absolutely give me pause. Honestly, I'd most likely just pass at that point. I might ask if you'd take PayPal G&S, or I might strike up a conversation and try to get a sense for your character that way, but I wouldn't ask you to send me a knife on the promise I'd pay you once it arrived.

Nothing's foolproof, but I've made a number of sales and purchases here over the years where the final step was me deciding the risk level was reasonably well-matched to an amount of money I was, worst case, willing to lose. (So far it's always worked out.) FWIW, all the stuff you've mentioned by way of establishing your bona fides -- video, label, quality listings, clearly caring about your sale -- would definitely ease my mind as a potential buyer.

I recommend settling in a bit, posting in other sections of BF and getting to know the place, maybe buying/selling some lower-dollar knives and building up your feedback a bit. It's just anecdotal, but in threads around these topics that's something potential buyers always care about. Someone who is connected to this community, not just here to buy and sell, has something at stake -- however intangible -- that makes it more likely a transaction will go smoothly.
 
JONVHERBERT said:
As a new member of Blade Forums, I certainly understand that it takes time and past deals / feedback to become a trusted member. I’ve only have had 3 deals done here - one was a trade with a member who left me positive feedback, one was selling a knife to a member who’s package is arriving Thursday, and one was buying a knife from a member of which the knife has not arrived yet. So only 1 of those is really applicable for feedback at the moment.

I’ve never been big on social media and the accompanying drama that seems to come with it, so I transitioned from the Facebook EDC community to here. But am now being posed with other BF members requesting me to ship my knives to them and upon receipt, they pay. Rather than paying & me shipping and providing tracking. I’ve never been asked to do this before, but it’s happened 5 times now on here. Is this something that is typically done with new members here? I feel as a new member, I definitely have to offer some additional measures of comfort - maybe a photo of my drivers license, business card, and OSHA 30 card?

My typical process has been that once funds are received, I send the buyer a video of me writing that persons name on a piece of paper and then proceeding to show the knife under a bright white light to show any flaws if there are any, and any accompanying documents, accessories, ect. The knife itself is usually bubble wrapped and put into the box, unless it has a microfiber like a CRK. The original knife box gets a layer of bubble wrap around it, and a complete layer of packing tape around it. That box then gets placed into a USPS box, and the note placed on top. That box then gets an entire layer of packing tape around it. So that the buyer can be sure that their knife is safe during transit, but also be sure that their knife is exactly what they’re expecting before it’s shipped and any additional questions can be answered before it’s sent. Then, I head over to PirateShip and print a label, and send a photo to the buyer to proof read before purchase and print. Then that label gets printed out, and taped to the box. The entire label is covered in tape to prevent partial critical information on it from being scratched off or something during transit. Finally, the package is brought to USPS to be scanned in, so I can send the buyer a photo of the receipt with the time, tracking info, ect since the PirateShip label doesn’t actually prove it was sent. It just proves a label was made. So I definitely feel that my shipping method goes above and beyond - but that doesn’t help with not having a bunch of feedback and being a long term member. So, I wanted to double check the whole “you ship first, then I pay” thing.

Thanks for any feedback!
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All kidding aside, I wouldn’t send anyone a knife without having received payment for it first. Nor would I ask anyone to send me a knife before I paid for it. That’s simply not how online or mail order commerce is conducted.
 
I have the feeling this is going on much more than some may realize. I have had new members offering to ship 1st, misunderstanding my objection to PP FF as one of trust- I will use non secured methods of payment just not FF. I have to assume that offer came from some sort of past experience they had.there are plenty of members here I would ship 1st to, but they would not ask. When taking money orders I will often ship once I have tracking. The whole thing involves some trust IMO. Unfortunately there are those scammers that errode that trust.
 
If you are new and are selling a high value knife and asking for F&F, and have little to no forum presence outside of the exchange, I would recommend using G&S so the buyer has some confidence that should something happen to the knife between your hands and theirs, that they can recoup their loss. The norm here is that the seller or trader is responsible for the knife until both parties are satisfied, i.e received in the condition in which it was described, undamaged, and in a timely fashion. Communicating any delays is a must. More deals go sideways because someone doesn’t communicate and the other party is left wondering where their knife is. Insure your packages for their actual value because it is not up to the buyer to chase down their money should the knife go missing or be damaged in transit or the deal goes south.
In short, until you build a level of trust in the community, don’t expect a lot of sales of high value knives especially without offering the buyer protection of G&S.
 
Here are my recommendations:

1. Take good and thorough photographs, with closeups of blade/handle condition, clip condition, lockup and centering (if folding knife).
2. Describe the knife thoroughly and accurately, and be sure to disclose any and all flaws (you can't over-do it in this regard).
3. Be clear about what the knife comes with (i.e. whether or not it comes with box/papers/etc.).
4. Accept PayPal goods and services only (this gives buyers protection if they're concerned about you being a new seller).
5. Provide the tracking information immediately after the buyer pays, and ship promptly. You can print shipping labels through Ship Station (which is integrated into PayPal), and you can get free priority mail shipping supplies from USPS online.
6. Ship promptly and promptly communicate with the buyer if any issues come up.
7. When the transaction is complete, if the buyer hasn't left you positive feedback, kindly request that they do so and provide them a link to the sales thread to make it easier for them.

If you follow these steps, you will quickly build your feedback score and will engender the trust of other users here. Everyone starts off with 0 feedback.
 
In the few years that I've been here, there's only been one member who wanted to ship his knife first and made sure I liked it and then I could pay for it. To me, that was an uncomfortable situation and I told him that I'd prefer to pay before he shipped, which I did. He said that was his normal way that he done business though.
I'm old school and even though we don't interact in-person, when a deal is made its kinda like a handshake and you each honor your end of the deal. I'm not naive enough to dismiss that there are those few weasels out there that try to rip others off, but all in all it's a pretty good community here. ;)
 
Dadpool said:
This is an interesting question. "Ship before I pay you" is definitely not the standard here, nor an unwritten rule. I've never "sold" a knife and waited until it arrived to get paid or "bought" a knife and waited for it to arrive before sending payment, and I'd never expect that to be the case as the buyer or seller. (Trades are a different story, and as benchwarmer380 noted when there's a huge disparity between account age and/or feedback profile it's not unreasonable to expect the newer member to ship first.)

On the other hand, you're a more or less brand new member with zero/minimal feedback and no forum presence outside of the Exchange. There's nothing wrong with being any of those things, but if I put on my "potential buyer of a $700-$3000 knife I'm being asked to pay for via an unsecured payment method" hat, all of them would absolutely give me pause. Honestly, I'd most likely just pass at that point. I might ask if you'd take PayPal G&S, or I might strike up a conversation and try to get a sense for your character that way, but I wouldn't ask you to send me a knife on the promise I'd pay you once it arrived.

Nothing's foolproof, but I've made a number of sales and purchases here over the years where the final step was me deciding the risk level was reasonably well-matched to an amount of money I was, worst case, willing to lose. (So far it's always worked out.) FWIW, all the stuff you've mentioned by way of establishing your bona fides -- video, label, quality listings, clearly caring about your sale -- would definitely ease my mind as a potential buyer.

I recommend settling in a bit, posting in other sections of BF and getting to know the place, maybe buying/selling some lower-dollar knives and building up your feedback a bit. It's just anecdotal, but in threads around these topics that's something potential buyers always care about. Someone who is connected to this community, not just here to buy and sell, has something at stake -- however intangible -- that makes it more likely a transaction will go smoothly.
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I really agree with your logic. Thank you for your response. I think that it’s an understandable position for both people, especially maybe in a trade.
JohnWE said:
Hand delivery
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JohnWE said:
Hand delivery is the only safe way…think of the money you’ll save on tape..
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I would love that…I really do spend a lot of $ on packaging them up properly. But that’s just part of it I feel. It’s my responsibility to take every precaution to protect it during transit.
 
brancron said:
Here are my recommendations:

1. Take good and thorough photographs, with closeups of blade/handle condition, clip condition, lockup and centering (if folding knife).
2. Describe the knife thoroughly and accurately, and be sure to disclose any and all flaws (you can't over-do it in this regard).
3. Be clear about what the knife comes with (i.e. whether or not it comes with box/papers/etc.).
4. Accept PayPal goods and services only (this gives buyers protection if they're concerned about you being a new seller).
5. Provide the tracking information immediately after the buyer pays, and ship promptly. You can print shipping labels through Ship Station (which is integrated into PayPal), and you can get free priority mail shipping supplies from USPS online.
6. Ship promptly and promptly communicate with the buyer if any issues come up.
7. When the transaction is complete, if the buyer hasn't left you positive feedback, kindly request that they do so and provide them a link to the sales thread to make it easier for them.

If you follow these steps, you will quickly build your feedback score and will engender the trust of other users here. Everyone starts off with 0 feedback.
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Thank you. Definitely agree!
 
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