Selling Problems

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Matt Markell

Matt Markell

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May 12, 2012
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First off, this might not be the right area for me to post this but I would really like to get the opinions of some of the knifemakers here who have been doing this longer then I have. Feel free to move this Stacy if it would be better answered somewhere else.

I recently posted and sold a small kiridashi on the exchange here. About 3 weeks later I get an email back from the guy saying that he was horribly disappointed in it because it was much smaller then he thought it would be (despite me posting the size specs in the for sale thread) and he thought it was overpriced. I offered to let him return it to me for a refund and he said he would like to but he had modified it by bead blasting the knife and jimping the spine.

I decided that I would just eat it and try and get a good customer service reputation going so I told him to go ahead and send it in and I would give him a refund.

When the knife gets here I am going to drop it in a garbage can then send him out a check. Naturally I am a bit irritated about the whole affair.

Are there any steps that I can take to prevent things like this? To elaborate, what is a good balance between being a great guy to buy from and not getting burnt?

Thanks in advance for any advice
 
I don't see any reason to trash the knife. Just regrind it and post it for sale again, or keep the bead bladting on if you like it.

Good customer service is costly to everyone involved. You pay to get it and pay to give it. I haven't had any knives come back on me yet but know it will happen sooner or later. I'd rather eat a few $$ and have a buyer say "This is a great guy to work with" than to draw lines and have them trash my reputation over the internet for a few dollars. Remember that you can't buy a good reputation and it takes years to build, but can be lost very quickly.
 
If a customer modified my knife, it would be his-pure and simple.
 
I agree with Bill. He negated any rights for return or refund. to avoid anything like this again, just add a caveat to your selling posting saying any modifications to the knife will result in lack of retrun/refund rights. NO one would fault you.
 
I warranty all my work against defects in materials and craftsmanship.

OzarkMatt said:
About 3 weeks later I get an email back from the guy saying that he was horribly disappointed in it because it was much smaller then he thought it would be (despite me posting the size specs in the for sale thread) and he thought it was overpriced.
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Three weeks is a mighty long time to allow for buyers' remorse. If you specified the size in the sale post, "I decided it's too small for me" is not a warranty issue; neither is "hmmm, perhaps I paid too much". It's his knife to keep or re-sell.

OzarkMatt said:
I offered to let him return it to me for a refund and he said he would like to but he had modified it by bead blasting the knife and jimping the spine.
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I agree with Bill, it's definitely his knife now.

Most of us don't want to be a hard case and risk future business, I understand that. But you have to draw a line somewhere, and you can't let people take advantage of you, either. It sets a bad precedent.
 
David Stifle said:
I agree with Bill. He negated any rights for return or refund. to avoid anything like this again, just add a caveat to your selling posting saying any modifications to the knife will result in lack of retrun/refund rights. NO one would fault you.
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+1 Customer service is very important but not every customer should get 100% of what he wants 100% of the time. You did nothing wrong. If I buy a corvette can i bring it back and complain it wasn't as fast as i wanted and I want a full 100% refund even tho i modified it and they gave me all the info on it I could possibly want?
 
Matt,I am not a maker but do my share of buying both, custom fixed and the occasional folder. Personally,I would never have the gall to try and return any knife

or product to anyone several weeks later,particularly if I had used it and, in this instance,modified it. Let's be reasonable here.This "customer" is one you are

better off without and what you did is way beyond good customer service. i would understand it if he contacted you upon receiving the knife and finding it too

small. Spec's on paper and once the knife is in hand are two different animals. To say it is overpriced is an insult to you and should have been kept to himself.

I think the way you are accommodating this schmuck is well beyond any criteria for good customer service. Would Benchmade or ZT even entertain such an

absurd request? "Hi,I got your ZT 550 a few weeks back and, after regrinding it and polishing the blade,I find it to be too small and also overpriced so I would

like my money back". I doubt that would happen.

Just my opinion.
 
I do also agree with what has been said about modifying the knife. Part of my warrenty card says "This warranty does not cover abuse, misuse, or alterations."
 
You might take the bad taste away a little by removing the jimping and giving it to a friend. Better than the trash imo.
 
Stuff like this pisses me off. The customer KNEW what he was buying. There were PICTURES of the knife. There were DIMENSIONS listed for the knife. And yet, he has the balls to blame you for his mistake and then tell you that your work wasn't worth what he willingly paid you for in the first place.

I applaud you for working hard to keep a happy customer base. If it were me, I probably would have had a Good/Bad/Ugly thread created about me :D. That said, back when I was taking orders and selling knives, I worked VERY hard to make sure I went the extra mile for customers. If they weren't happy with something, I would make it right. If the guy wasn't happy with the product, he should have at least contacted you for a refund before butchering your work and then griping about it after the fact.

Something to do for future knives is perhaps provide a size-reference in a picture. I like to show the blade in-hand.

--nathan
 
Thanks guys, as usual, you folks are dead on. I'll go ahead and let this one go but now I know where to lay down the line.

silver_pilate said:
/snip/
Something to do for future knives is perhaps provide a size-reference in a picture. I like to show the blade in-hand.
--nathan
Click to expand...

I usually do a picture like that but I missed it on that thread. My mistake.


Thanks again guys, I think I will try and clean it up then give it away.
 
It would be nice to know just who that "Customer" was. I sure don't want him buying any of my knives.
 
Forgetting the fact that he modded YOUR design, he knew it didn't feel right when it arrived. 3 weeks is wayyy too long to stew over it. A 3day look see should be plenty of time to make the final decision. This guy is way outta line on this for multiple reasons and you know he's not coming back as a customer anyway.

Aren't kiridashis supposed to be small and handy?

Syn
 
He does sound like a pain in the neck... I will second the idea of an in-hand pic being useful in a sales thread. Sounds like he should have known what he was getting though!
 
Tom Lewis said:
It would be nice to know just who that "Customer" was. I sure don't want him buying any of my knives.
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That's where things start to get interesting. He only has 23 posts but every one is an "I'll take it". I haven't heard anyone else have any problems with him.

I'm not going to post his info here, it's the wrong place but if you look at my latest started posts in my profile, the sale thread is near the top.
 
It is a little strange that he has all these dealings in the exchange with only one feedback left.
 
Sometimes people will ask something just to see what they can get. Doesn't necessarily mean he expected anything from you. Just say no, there's no bad feedback to give.
 
It sounds to me like he wasnt happy with his own mod so he wanted his money back.

You taking it on the chin even after he modded it and waited 3 weeks THEN had the nerve to gripe about price really speaks to your character as an honest person. CHEERS
 
Don't worry man...a customer like that will not hurt your rep. He will pull the same crap again, eventually he will be the one with a bad rep.
 
In hand pics are helpful but hand size varies so much. A pic of a common coin like a US quarter or even better a ruler laid next to it. You were too nice. I could never modify a knife then try to return it and after 3 weeks is way too long. He knew in 48 hours whether he wanted it or not and he should have been as close to certain as possible before he said I'll take it. You do not need customers like him.
 
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