Ripped Off by Dustin Turpin Knives– Deal with Caution.

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Don't mean to sound heartless, BUT I don't believe a thing this guy, DUSTIN TURPIN, says. The depression wasn't so bad when he was offering completed knives for sale, for a long time. While lawfor, and who knows how many others that paid, got nothing??
Not believing a word.
Joe
 
As someone that has watched a close relative deal with adult onset depression, I know it is a real thing. Mental illness is terrible and I would not wish it on anyone. HOWEVER, it does not excuse what Dustin has done. Even if he has legitimate, diagnosable depression, he is still culpable for his actions. He could have addressed this over the last two years, but chose not to. Read that again: he chose not to, and depression is not a free pass to be a thief.

All this can go away if Dustin just returns the watch or returns $s equal to what he owes. Depression is NO EXCUSE for what Dustin has done, and does not excuse him waiting a minute longer to return the OPs $ or watch.
 
DaveBW226 said:
Did I see a response from Dustin get posted then taken down. It was in my feed, but doesn't show up in the thread. Did something get posted and then deleted?
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I'm not aware of anything being taken down. The response from Dustin was not private, it was a public post made by him on IG in his public account. Post 165.
 
ncrockclimb said:
All this can go away if Dustin just returns the watch or returns $s equal to what he owes. Depression is NO EXCUSE for what Dustin has done, and does not excuse him waiting a minute longer to return the OPs $ or watch.
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What if the watch is beat to hell now? I would take him to court and concentrate on getting my money back. If it was me..
 

In my opinion, negotiations for getting the knives owed you would no longer be an acceptable option. Do you really want a knife or knives in your collection that would always remind you of the horrible experience you went through trying to get them in the first place? Personally, I sell or trade off knives from my collection of maker's with whom I have an issue with. I am not going to name names or describe what issues, but I have a kind of connection with my knives and by extension, the person / people who made / designed them.

I would litigate for the return of the watch and/or monetary compensation. No knives.
 
MQHBCA said:

In my opinion, negotiations for getting the knives owed you would no longer be an acceptable option. Do you really want a knife or knives in your collection that would always remind you of the horrible experience you went through trying to get them in the first place? Personally, I sell or trade off knives from my collection of maker's with whom I have an issue with. I am not going to name names or describe what issues, but I have a kind of connection with my knives and by extension, the person / people who made / designed them.

I would litigate for the return of the watch and/or monetary compensation. No knives.
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I would not accept the knives. I'd want the remaining balance of my cold hard cash back.
 
I agree. If it was me, I couldn't see myself 'enjoying' anything made by a maker like this.
Joe
 
“Since I am behind on our arrangement I planned on starting on two of your Strifes here in the next couple weeks. Just need to finish a couple builds to get caught up on financial obligations."

Everything you need to know is right in this one simple sentence. Once you have paid, you become the lowest priority. The makers are going to build the ones that they can get money from. I've had this done to me on three occasions, and still dealing with the third. Actually, I'm done with placing orders. I will only buy knives that are already built. Two of the situations were my own fault. Like you, paying in advance on promises from makers with solid reputations. Like you, I didn't think they would risk something like that, especially with the way social media is these days. Additionally, I let greed for one of their knives cloud my better judgment. The signs were there, but I just selectively ignored them.

So for others interested in buying from makers, this is not a one time situation. It happens a lot more than you would think. So pay attention

Lev
 
Try this out, please.

I repeatedly see advice to never pay "up front" and buy only completed knives.

What's the difference? We have had cases here where people paid for "completed knives" and didn't get them.

Unless not paying "up front" means pay only on delivery (and I don't see why a maker established as honest should do that), your only protection is the integrity of the seller or still having time to pull the trigger on a credit card or PayPal challenge.
 
Lev said:
“Since I am behind on our arrangement I planned on starting on two of your Strifes here in the next couple weeks. Just need to finish a couple builds to get caught up on financial obligations."

Everything you need to know is right in this one simple sentence. Once you have paid, you become the lowest priority. The makers are going to build the ones that they can get money from. I've had this done to me on three occasions, and still dealing with the third. Actually, I'm done with placing orders. I will only buy knives that are already built. Two of the situations were my own fault. Like you, paying in advance on promises from makers with solid reputations. Like you, I didn't think they would risk something like that, especially with the way social media is these days. Additionally, I let greed for one of their knives cloud my better judgment. The signs were there, but I just selectively ignored them.

So for others interested in buying from makers, this is not a one time situation. It happens a lot more than you would think. So pay attention

Lev
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Yes...
 
Thomas Linton said:
Try this out, please.

I repeatedly see advice to never pay "up front" and buy only completed knives.

What's the difference? We have had cases here where people paid for "completed knives" and didn't get them.

Unless not paying "up front" means pay only on delivery (and I don't see why a maker established as honest should do that), your only protection is the integrity of the seller or still having time to pull the trigger on a credit card or PayPal challenge.
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The difference is the amount of time that passes after money is exchanged, which can complicate getting anything back if the maker tries to pull a scam.
 
Thomas Linton said:
Try this out, please.

I repeatedly see advice to never pay "up front" and buy only completed knives.

What's the difference? We have had cases here where people paid for "completed knives" and didn't get them.

Unless not paying "up front" means pay only on delivery (and I don't see why a maker established as honest should do that), your only protection is the integrity of the seller or still having time to pull the trigger on a credit card or PayPal challenge.
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Agreed.

There is only one exception. And that is if you're asking for expensive/exotic materials that require an investment. Or that make the knife uncommon to the maker's style. Or personalised or such.

And even then....a small downpayment instead of the full amount should more than suffice.
 
Getting your money back is probably the last thing that will happen. It's a vicious circle for makers and this is how they get into trouble.

You get a deposit for a knife or get paid up front with a wait time of a few months. During those few months your car breaks down or the water heater dies and you use the money that you took as a deposit to make those repairs. Now you take more deposits and use that money to buy materials for the first knife you were supposed to build. Basically you are taking deposits on future knives to build the knives you need to build now.

Your borrowing from Peter to pay Paul.

Many makers don't have enough working capital to just send someone $3500.

And even though they know that they should not keep taking deposits they do and then eventually get so overwhelmed with orders and guilt that they disappear never to be heard from or are now reduced to selling on ebay. There are plenty of examples of makers who have done this.

Your best recourse would be to get the knives and sell them or get your watch back so that not only is the knife community disappointed with Turpin, his Father in Law is also.
 
Chuck Gedraitis Knives said:
Getting your money back is probably the last thing that will happen. It's a vicious circle for makers and this is how they get into trouble.

You get a deposit for a knife or get paid up front with a wait time of a few months. During those few months your car breaks down or the water heater dies and you use the money that you took as a deposit to make those repairs. Now you take more deposits and use that money to buy materials for the first knife you were supposed to build. Basically you are taking deposits on future knives to build the knives you need to build now.

Your borrowing from Peter to pay Paul.

Many makers don't have enough working capital to just send someone $3500.

And even though they know that they should not keep taking deposits they do and then eventually get so overwhelmed with orders and guilt that they disappear never to be heard from or are now reduced to selling on ebay. There are plenty of examples of makers who have done this.
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A concise, elegant explanation of why one should not pay upfront. Very well said Chuck.
 
Chuck Gedraitis Knives said:
Your best recourse would be to get the knives and sell them or get your watch back so that not only is the knife community disappointed with Turpin, his Father in Law is also.
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Agreed. But what happens if he no longer has the Rolex, or it is in poor condition and because of that the value is gone? It's very unfortunate, but it's my opinion that this very reasonable gentlemen is going to lose out is some form, or another.
 
Premium Cut said:
Agreed. But what happens if he no longer has the Rolex, or it is in poor condition and because of that the value is gone? It's very unfortunate, but it's my opinion that this very reasonable gentlemen is going to lose out is some form, or another.
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Getting a devalued watch would still be better than what he's getting right now. Plus, the 2 knives he already has will offset the loss of value on the watch.
 
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