No communication from JJB Knives!!

M

meeshi_ma

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I sent 3 knives valued at around $350 total to JJB Knives (BF member) Wednesday. He *supposedly* sent me a Sebenza at the same time. My stuff got to him Friday afternoon (got to love tracking), still no sign of a Sebenza for me. Ever since I emailed him the tracking number Wednesday there's been no responses from him. Since I had his address, I looked up the number for it and called them. Surprise surprise, no one named John Butler lives there and (apparently) that number no longer matches the address that I sent to.

He emailed that everything had shipped Wednesday, but that (for whatever reason) he'd get the tracking number to me later. So I don't have a tracking number, doubt that there's any package to track, and basically got ripped off.

I feel partially responsible for leaving myself open - there were a couple of "tip offs", but basically I'm a trusting guy and thought it was a decent trade all around.

Anyone have any ideas as to where I can go from here? All I have is an email address, physical address (in Macon, GA), and a name (John Butler). I've done the "Just send my stuff back and we'll call it quits" email, so now I'm out to warn everyone that John - JJB Knives, may be a jerk.

Does anyone live in or near Macon, GA that feels like paying a house call for me? I just want my stuff back (but I doubt I'll get it back) and I'll make it worth anyone's time/postage. You think that someone would be more careful stealing stuff from such a well-armed forum...

-Brian

-note - downgraded my complaint (and title of thread) based on others advice-
 
do you have a phone # you can call him at? have you lodged a report with the postal inspectors?
 
I'm a little confused. You haven't heard from him since Wednesday, I got that much. So you looked up the number for the address he had told you to ship to and called that number. No one at that number (that you found somewhere) knows any John Butler "and (apparently) that number no longer matches the address that I sent to." Am I understanding you right? It sounds like you've established whatever source you got that phone number from is out of date, and when you called that number you did not get that address.

So, unless I've misunderstood somehow, we're back with he hasn't been heard from since Wednesday, and now it's Saturday. That seems to be the only fact that we actually know here, that he's been out of touch for three days?
 
I don't know either of you but I'd give him a couple of days, and see what happens. If he got your stuff Friday, that's just one day. Mail gets delayed. As an example, I rent games and movies from a rental place in my state. If they send three packages out together, one could get here the next day, the other two could take a week and arrive on seperate days. I've had a couple take up to a month to make it across a few counties. The mail system sucks. Even if he dropped it in the mail Wednesday, it wouldn't be processed till Thursday, and honestly if I got a package in the mail two days after it was shipped, I would be amazed.

As for email, I have a tendency to go weeks without checking mine, so a few days isn't that wierd to me.
 
Right, he emailed me Wednesday morning saying that the package was in the mail (2 day shipping) and that he'd send the tracking number once he got off work. I replied, saying that my package was sent, tracking number such and such, and that I was excited to get that number. And then nothing. I've sent 5-6 emails since, googled and mapquested the address, etc. I got an "older" phone number that matched the address and had a similar name (Tiffany Butler), but the people that answered said that no one by that name lived there and that they (the people called) had a different address from the one I had shipped to.

So I wouldn't be necessarily concerned about the phone number not working, but the lack of a.) a Sebenza, and b.) any sign of concern (email, etc), bothers me. Hoping to get a reply, I emailed him last night saying that even though I was trying to give him the benefit of every doubt I was getting concerned by his lack of emails and that if I hadn't heard from him by today I'd be posting today on the "Good/Bad/Ugly" forum . I was also hoping that a package would show up today, but nothing.

spyken - what can the postal inspectors do? We had what amounts to a verbal contract to exchange items via post. I mailed, he apparently didn't. If there's an avenue there that I'm not aware of, let me know, and I'll try it.

-Brian
 
If you had a Sebenza in the mail, wouldn't you want a tracking number? He said that he'd get that to me, and then nothing. I understand not checking emails if you're not expecting something, but if there's something big going on, I'd be all over that.

If I hear from him and this clears up, or a package comes in the mail, I will gladly (ecstatically even) retract all of this and just give him a small ding for poor communication, but my gut feeling is that I've been had.

-Brian
 
Do you know if the package was sent US Mail, UPS, FedEX? If it was sent UPS, FedEx, etc, on Wednesday, it wouldn't have been processed out till Thursday. Since most of those services don't deliver on Saturday without extra payment, even if he payed for 2nd day shipping, you're package wouldn't arrive till Monday. If it was sent US Mail, then I don't know, but I wouldn't go through the roof over loss of contact for two and a half days. If it wasn't storming outside and threatening to flood my roads:jerkit: , I wouldn't have even looked at my computer this weekend.

Then again maybe he's a thief, what do I know?
 
Meeshi buddy, looks currently like a premature ejaculation!!!! Give him at least until Monday.

Stuff happens all the time when shipping/mailing knives. Even Overnight means something different depending on what it is, how bad you want it, when it was mailed and the kicker: do any of those that handle the package give a crap!!!

I bet your Sebenza arrives in great shape..............
 
I'll simmer down for a while, thanks for the advice. This has gotten me thinking though, what would the next step be? I'm sure that in a forum this big, people have stolen things before, so this has been discussed, is there anything that we have recourse to?

-Brian
 
meeshi ma,

You just WOKE me up! The name of my brand new little shop is one letter different than JJB Knives, which...I did not notice untill I read your entire post.

Scared me silly...I've just joined the form and only been lerking for a while and didn't know what the heck I'd done to tick someone off.

I hope your concerns about your trade are as unfounded as was my supprise!

chiger
 
I didn't realise the timings...if it is true that he was supposed to mail this week, then you really need to give it an extra week. that would be reasonable.
 
First, USPS doesn't offer a "2-day shipping" service, unless your buyer shipped it "Express" and your service area falls outside of the "overnight / next day delivery" parameters. Just to give you an idea, I'm two hours away from Atlanta. While most of the stuff that I mail arrives in two days, it's not uncommon for it to take four to five days.

Second, you can't rely on telephone info that you receive over the WWW. The best way to obtain the info is to call "directory assistance." I just skimmed through a current Macon phone book and "Butler" seems to be a very common name. :D There isn't a listing for John Butler, but there are several listings for Butler, J. This doesn't take into account that his phone number is unlisted, which would mean that his phone number isn't listed or that the phone at his residence isn't under his name.

If you don't hear from your trading partner / receive the knife by Tuesday evening. . . .drop me an e-mail. I don't live in Macon, but I'm relatively close.
 
although i would def. give it another week before becoming alarmed,it does seem odd that the woman you reached at the address you shipped to has the same last name as the other party in your trade.i know that butler is a common name but the odds are pretty slim that while looking for one butler at a given address,you'll find another at the same address.
if the sebenza never shows up,i'd call that # again,as it's prob. his wife covering for him.
 
I haven't done much shipping but when I took my package to the post office, I was offered overnight, 2 day, or something like 7-9 days. (That was after I asked for tracking and insurance). I selected the 2 day option, and even though it was Wednesday afternoon, it got there around 3 Friday. I don't know which option that he selected, although he said that his wife (who was shipping it) was going to the post office for 2 day insured and wanted me to do the same.

I'd rather have the knife than get mad, even if it comes late, so I don't mind waiting just to see. I appreciate the advice though, and the offer (thanks GigOne). Maybe (hopefully), I'm jumping the gun here, but I would have expected at least an email saying that my stuff had gotten there safely and maybe telling what he thought of it.

Thanks
-Brian
 
Brian,

I don't post here a lot but thought I would here. USPS does not offer those, they sell them, but the fine print always say that it isn't a guaranty. Just a likely timeframe. So, by USPS thought, getting it by the end of next week, even if you paid for 2 day, would be OK.

The e-mail thing is frustrating to you, but I know my ISP has lost service for days at a time. This usually comes at a bad time, and is unpredictable, since it is usually nature that causes it (lighting, windstorm, etc).

Anyway, just my two cents on the tech you are counting on. I don't know either of you, but even with 2day at the post office this isn't late yet. And if is wife shipped it, she may have decided it was cheaper to ship another method.

--Carl
 
meeshi_ma said:
Since I had his address, I looked up the number for it and called them. Surprise surprise, no one named John Butler lives there and (apparently) that number no longer matches the address that I sent to.
Click to expand...

that's kind of confusing. how did you find a number for an address, not a name? and if the number you called didn't match the address he gave you, why did it surprise you that he didn't live there?
 
Just to clarify on the address/phone number thing, I used the online white pages to reverse look up the number that coresponded to that address. It said that there were no current numbers but an older match (verified in May 2006) was for a Tiffany Butler. So I called that number, talked to a guy who said that no one was there named John and that no packages had come. When I asked about the address, he said, "No, that's not our address, <click>". So, whether it was or not, I don't know, but somewhere in Macon is a box of knives...

That post sounds incredibly familiar, guy with a low post count offering a great deal... (Sure, I'll trade for a Sebenza!). It's tough though as I also have a low post count - mostly a lurker, and know what its like to have people not be willing to trust you, so I thought I'd give him a try. Plus, like I said, it seemed like a fair trade for both of us, value-wise anyway.

If this is that same GA guy, I'd recommend that no one else trades with him until this gets worked out.

-Brian
 
Your 2 day option was probably Priority Mail, which is a sort of First Class Plus. It generally does get there within 2 days, but ... it's not guaranteed to arrive within the time frame, like Express Mail.

Anyway, don't panic yet, it isn't that long, and as others have said, the mail can be slow and email can be down also.

You sent your half of the deal by US Mail so if the deal is a scam, go to www.usps.com and look for Postal Inspectors. Tell them your story and let them take it from there.
 
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