Spyderco Backs Down On Warranty@Repair

T

TonyKnives

Joined
Sep 27, 2004
Messages
8
:( I sent back a Merlin to spyderco with a lock that poped out of the back.
i got it back saying it had a good life now put it to rest . they felt it should not be repaired or replaced because it was old. i guess i wiil stop using all my spydreco knives being that if they fail, all someone up their has to say is they used it enough so send it back.What hurts is that it was older but not abussed. So spyderco warranty and quality take it and shove it


PS
Their response was just to Callus for me with no negotiation or compassion JUST LOWDOWN DIRTY ROTTEN CHEAP
 
I'm not defending them but this sounds like the total opposite of what I normally hear about Spyderco. Its usually stories about how they went above and beyond etc.

post up a few pics of the knife in question. I'm curious as to what it looks like.
 
WOW! I'm concerned, too! This just doesn't sound like the kind of response Spyderco gives... :eek:
 
Odd. Last time I got a lock failure on a temporary discontinued knive, they let me pick something out of their lineup.
 
I'd certainly like to hear the rest of the story.
Doesn't seem to be what I know of Spyderco.

Tom
 
Hmmm, his one and only post on BFC is to slam a respected major manufacturer.
You're gonna have to back this one up. Post pics of the knife, cite exactly who you dealt with...ect.
right now we just have half of a story...
 
Spyderco is one of the best and most honest companies in the world.

============================================
(Chuck, no personal buying/selling posts in this forum. - Carlos)

(Carlos, contact me if the text below violates the rules. - Chuck)
============================================


The intent of what I wrote was I am willing to stand behind Spyderco with my own money.

TonyKnives, what Spyderco knives do you own? Contact me if you are not happy with them. I may be able to help with with the disposal of your knives.

I have written this offer before. No one has contacted me yet (or revised my posts ;)). I think people become very attached to Spyderco knives. When faced with the choice of getting rid of the knife or keeping it, they choose to keep it.
 
oh dear, but we shouldn't condemn first time posters for being first time posters. I think it would really help TonyKnives (and Spyderco) if more details could be shared - pictures, what failure it was (a lockback failure? wow, I haven't really heard of that before....but then again, I don't know much) and who attended to TonyKnives.

Then the spydie crew can really look into the matter.

To date, my experience with the spydie crew has been really good....
 
It does seem they have changed.From what I could understand by talking to them,if you have trouble with a discountinued model and it can't be fixed you are just stuck and might as well toss it out.I called recently about trouble with a discontinued model(lock back)that was in like new cond with the factory edge.IMO it had a defect but they would not tell me if they concidered it to be a defect untill they looked at it. I can understand this to some degree but I really don't want to send in 5.00 and the knife just to get a call saying its going to be x amount to fix or to get it back with a note saying to retire it.
In the past I know that if it was a defect and it could not be repaired they would give credit of what the knives last retal price was.This seems to no longer be the case.
Personally I will not send one in unless I have no other option.The last one I sent in didn't get fixed all the way,when it was returned to me I fixed the rest of the trouble.
I for one hate to see the flawless customer service that they had in the past go down to what it is getting to be now.
 
I think we all need to think about what is reasonable and fair, and if we are holding Spyderco to a higher standard than "comparable" companies. If it's a zero-sum game, devoting more resources to warranty and repair could mean fewer models, "inferior" steel/handle materials... I'm not coming down one way or the other on this, but, for example, is it reasonable to pay $30 dollars for a folder and expect it to last forever with regular use? Just a thought.
 
If its a 30.00 or even 200.00 dollar knife with alot of use,one would have to expect it to wear out.The problem I am getting from them is on knives that are LNIB or old models that have not seen any use.
 
I don't know..I've had really good service in the past, until I broke my Gunting Trainer. I sent it in, and offered to pay for a new blade; it wasn't a defect. I got sent back a nice note saying that it should be retired. I should be able to pay for the repair, right?. I'm very conflicted by this-I think that they make great knives, and I love the warranty Dept., but it's still broken..
 
I'm in a holding pattern until I hear what Sal has to say about this issue. I have used Spyderco warranty service only once, about 15 years ago, with no complaints.
 
Hi Tony's knives. Things do get used up. Cars, shoes, tools, etc.

I saw the knife in question. I decided that the owner had definitely gotten his/her's money's worth out of the knife. Whether the knife had just been used a great deal, or even abused, It was beyond repair. I've looked at thousands of knives over the past 25 years. I know how we build them, I know what they'll take and I also reserve the right to know when they've been used up.

Maybe it is not the response that you wanted, or expected, but reality does at times rear its ugly head.

A pair of $100 Nike's in the same condition would be considered used up. An utomobile in the same condition would be salvage.

Was this a knife you used? Or one that you are trying to get a new knife for a customer? If it was a customer, you did good, you tried. Some times people just expect too much.

My apologies if the communication was too short for you. We do have to respond to quite a few warrantee questions in a short amount of time.

sal
 
Thank you for your response, you were correct in the assumption that it was not the answer i expected. The reason i was dissapointed was that it was not abused and it is not the only knife i carry daily to work.I have had a buck crosslock with a lock failure on a discotinued model and was sent back a new version of the same . I had no compliant that i had no say on what they sent in return. Just satisfied that they acted reptutabley. Some of the replies to my post was that Spyderco offered them some monetary exchange on a new knife. Am i to think that this was not offered to me because for some reason you may have thought i was a dealer or tring to capatlize on someone elses maybe dicarded knife. What ever the case may be i am not going to give up for the reason that the return letter stated that "we recommend that you retire the knife because of it's defect". I think with that spyderco admitted a problem existed but created a loop hole to crawl through. In closing i will not feel the same about spyderco and i'll continue to carry that merlin just to see what comments i receive from my fellow collectors and brother construction workers,
 
I'll have to reserve judgement until you can post the pics of the whole knife.

If the lock popped out after several years of good use, I can see Sal's point about the knife being worn out.

If the knife was just old, but rarely used and then broke, it would be almost like a new knife failing. We won't know that until we can see some good pics.
 
I have one of the first real Spyderco Natives.
I have carried that knife for..., forever.
I use it every day.
I have opened and closed it thousands and thousands of times.
I have already gotten my money's worth several times over.
If it dies tomorrow, I'll go get a new one.
 
Hmmmm. If Sal himself looked at the knife and decide that it was "used up" then I'll bet that it was.

Jeff/1911.
 
Aloha TonyKnives!

Man, that's too bad. The Merlin was one of my EDC's for quite some time. I abused the heck out of it, and it would still be going strong, had I not tried to resharpen it with a Gerber diamond rod! LOL!

There are too many variables here, BUT, I do see your point of view regarding the way they worded their response to you. I'd be pissed myself had I received a letter like that.

BUT, on the other side of the coin, if Sal did look at the knife personally and felt that it was "all used up", than that's that my friend. Sal has got to be one of the most ethical CEO's in the industry, and IF he was the type to not give a $hit about his end line users, I honestly do not think Spyderco would be where they are today.

TonyKnives, please do not abandon or blame ALL of Spyderco for the way one of their Service Reps "mis-worded" their response to you...in a nutshell, that's all it really was...

Please post pics if at all possible. It's not like I do not believe you, but I have never seen a lock back spring pop out! Mahalo for your time, and God bless!
 
Would like to see a picture too.

About the warrenty. I think you can't expect a company to forever service his knives. This is my idea on the following warrenty issues:

1) New model with manufactering defect - company needs to fix it (and Spyderco will...)

2) Discontinued NewInBox model with manufactering defect - depends:
- if the defect is obvious ( missing parts, blade-play, bad lockup ), it should have been reported by the initial dealer or first time buyer. I don't expect Spyderco to service NIB 10 year old-stock that has travelled around the world with visible defects.
- if the defect is not obvious ( for ex. bad heating resulting in a broken blade after first use ) the company needs to fix it ( or replace it ). I'm pretty sure Spyderco will do that if the knife has not been worn-out/(ab)used.

3) Used model - up to the descretion of the W&R department which in the end will create a good or bad reputation of itself, especially in this small internet connected world. AFAIK, Spyderco still has a very good rep.

Ted
 
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