TADGEAR? nope, not with this attitude....

In blade, you must not have been able to process what I said, or the post I was referring to either. If you had, you would see that the simple addition of the word "I" changes the entire meaning behind SIFU1A's mis-quote of my post. I was simply responding to a new, uneducated member, (much like yourself) who was casting aspersions upon forum users like rice at a wedding. If you don't agree with the way I respond to people who attack me, (directly, or indirectly, it really doesn't matter when the intent is clear) please feel free to educate me on what you think would be a logical reaction. I'd love to hear your opinion.
 
Also, since I'm sure you missed it, the bastardized quote was from a response to hotrodKelley, not Dave. You should read all four pages if you want to know what's happening.
 
Hey, Brandon's comment shows he has a lot of spare cash lying around, or did :D - if he would only have spent the $25 annually he would have been able to have a valid viewpoint ;) (Sorry moonwilson, I had to....read on before getting tanked up!)

His "I wanna compare toyboxes" rant and his "don't you misquote me you meanie!" outburst offer telling insight and evidence of intellectual or emotional stunting I'll not make to much of an allusion to, since I don't own the house, I just help pay the bills.

I'll avoid the comparison of the toychests, mainly because I dislike multiple iterations of the same tacticool wunderfolder of the month. Suffice to say there are collections of toys represented in this thread from which one could live comfortably for a couple years on the proceeds. You could go pretty far on my toybox, but who cares? It means nothing in the face of our topical debate/ discussion.

Clannishness is part of life, get used to it. This site is FAR from the most clannish out there of those sites/ forums serving what is actually a pretty meaningless and obscure sect of our society.

However, mature viewpoints count for more. Get used to that too. We've got plenty of those around these "halls." Far more of those than whiny self-indulgent tripe as described above.

I was a standard member before there was such a thing. We were all members. I was a standard member for a long while after the fee-system was initiated, and I've never regretted paying Spark for the privilege to sell a few knives here and there. But really, it's not about the dollar amount. It's about contributing to something we believe in and want to stay around. When I finally got that in my head, the $25 meant nothing to me, but not paying it meant a lot.

And I've got nothing whatsoever against the guys who come in as basic members and stay as such forever. It's entirely cool with me. The rules don't give a basic guy as many privileges as a gold member, but you get about 80-90% of the same privileges without it costing a dime. If it works for you, that's cool and I have no beef with it at all.

It costs a LOT of money to run something like this every month. Bandwidth is expensive. Servers and software are expensive. A LOT of stuff is expensive in conjuntion with running a place like Bladeforums, and I'd really bet against Spark turning much of a profit on it. I may be wrong, but it's his house and if he can make a buck while having fun, good on him and I'll support it.

So, yeah, maybe being a member with 88 posts, means nothing to some of you. However, if coming across like an adult in a thread specifically discussing (a lack of) proper decorum is less important than a post-count, well, that's your choice. However, like any electronic medium, your signal-to-noise ratio is always something to be aware of.
 
i only read the OP's post, so i apologize if i'm reiterating what anyone has already said.


and i'm sorry to hear diamdave is having a hard time w/ tadgear. that's unfortunate, and i hope everything gets straightened out with you in the end.

but i'll vouch for tadgear, evan, mike, and dan. they've always been responsive, professional, and a pleasure every time i've dealt with them. if brandon's complaint is legit, this is certainly a freak-occurance with their customer service dept.
 
You guys just can't see the forest for the trees. I didn't come here to puff my chest, far from it, and I feel stupider for even being involved in this thread. Victory............Parker! :jerkit: :jerkit: For the record, brandon has never had a problem with TAD.
 
Last I saw, Spark hadn't come close to reaching the break even point yet.

Post count doesn't mean squat.

It would be nice if every member got an upgraded membership, but the nonpaying members are just as important a part of this community as the paying ones are.
 
Hell, this is the first thread I've really watched on BF in some time. I've learned a lot. I really appreciate all of you guy's criticism and thoughts. And again, I do not now, nor have ever had, a problem with TAD.
 
I don't want to get thrown under the bus.
But, I have never had any problems with TAD. And they even paid the shipping on my last purchase. :thumbup:
 
OK Everybody. I just want to make sure everyone understands whats going on here. DiamDave had a problem with a rude comment made by Evan of TAD Gear. A couple of the "members" of the sight started to bash DiamDave for his opinion of this matter in the GOOD,BAD and UGLY. These guys are Justabuyer, Mndart, and of course, Brandon. I got involved as well as some of the other "GOLD MEMBERS" basically stating that DiamDave has a right to state what happened to him without getting bashed by these guys/girls. Is sad that A "GOLD MEMBER" is getting the third degree from "Registered users", who don't support this site let alone another member of the site and that is what I tried to state in my posts. I was not lumping in ALL the "REGISTERED users" just the ones who oppose freedom of speach, so chill out moonbeam, er MOONWILSON. Also, I want EVERYONE to know that Brandon does NOT have a problem with TAD Gear. He only has a problem with PARKER, ME, and ANYONE who has a problem with TAD GEAR!!! :yawn:
 
I just wanted to state also that if you want to get "educated" on this site by Brandon, then please continue to tune in to this thread so we can all sit back and enjoy the ramblings of someone who can show us that adding the letter "I" changes EVERYTHING COMPLETELY! :jerkit:
 
brandon said:
I swear, some of THE DUMBEST shit I have ever read on the Internet has been right here in this forum. Dave, with guys like hotrodKelley on your side, how can you lose? Mr. Kelley, I'm not a gold member here, by choice, not as a result of my destitution. Wanna compare knife collections? You might think you talk a tough game, but that's the extent of it I'm sure.
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when i did the quote i thought i blacked out(& deleted) all the paragraph except for the last 2 sentences, thats what i meant to do anyway, i guess i left in an "I" (the 1st word in the 1st sentence)and didnt notice, oops, sorry bud. sure didnt do it on purpose, damned sure didnt add an "I" i assure ya.

sorry about that but do think its silly to start talking about comparing stuff like kids in a schoolyard, i'm sure a lot of folks have a pretty nice knife collection around here this is a knife collecting forum, right? heck i even have 3 or so.

and as hotrod pointed out it didnt change the meaning anyway, certainly not what i was pointing out


also havent seen too much "dumb(est) shit" either myself.

are you the one having the probs with TAD?? lol, nah thats diamdave IIRC, my main point was why so much hostility, you dont have an iron in this fire, you shouldnt be that upset about anything, or am i missing something??

for the record at the present i am a std user but have had gold accounts in the past just havent signed up since it expired, plan to do it soon though, will do it this week in fact, at least 1 good thing from this thread already, huh?
 
I have read all the posts and I have one question. Is TAD exclusively an on-line retailer or do they have a brick and mortar store?

rjd
 
SIFU1A
and as hotrod pointed out it didnt change the meaning anyway, certainly not what i was pointing out
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Exactly!

brandon
In blade, you must not have been able to process what I said
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I have not problem understand anything you have said. What's with this attitude of 'I' know so must more than anyone else on this forum'.

new, uneducated member, (much like yourself)
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You know what happens when you ASSume. I was a member of this forum before you were born son. Uncle Sam needed my assistance and now I'm back.
 
Rudeness in retail business should not be tolerated. In the past 10 years there has been a big change in retail business, they tend to think they are doing us, the consumer, a favor by being in business. Wrong.
I'm painting with a broad brush stroke, I know. There are still upstanding businesses out there.

A friend of mine runs/owns an on-line business that moves in excess of 1 million annually in merchadise. He said that Returns are part of the trade-off when dealing on-line. Becuase people cannot fondle the merchandise, they may be disheartened when they actually get the item in hand. As an on-line dealer he said you have to realize this, and be prepared for returns. It's part of the deal. Why do large brick & mortar stores have "Returns" counters? duh.

I agree with the statement that any consumer, provided they haven't damaged or used the item, and in a timely fashion is not pleased, should be able to make a simple return. AND be treated as if they were making the initial purchase. That person is most likely going to make another purchase some day.

If I were TADgear, and knew about this discussion on this forum, I would publicly offer DiamDave an apology, and a "no fee" return. Why? Because it's good for business. It shows they are concerned for their customers feelings and their public image. it's just good PR.

Bad news travels 10 times faster and 10 times farther than good news, that is just a fact. DaimDave came to this forum, that was created for this very very purpose, and voiced his "OPINION" and backed it up with his story.
It educates us, and may allow someone else to say "Yes it happened to me too" or as we have seen, "No, all my dealings have been fine".

I do not believe in restocking fees for general retail merchadise. A special order is different. I won't do business with TAd gear because they charge re-stocking fees. So I learned something from DiamDave, and thank him for sharing his experience.

If I were TAD, when I received his Email, I would have immediately suggested the next size up knife, since the size was his concern, and offered no restocking fee if he wanted to exchange for another knife. But that's just me.

Why would they want to try to salvage the sale and/or keep a customer, when they could just be rude instead?
There is no place for it in business.

there are two sides to every story, I'd love to hear the Retailer's side?
 
hotrodKelley said:
OK Everybody. I just want to make sure everyone understands whats going on here.
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I understand quite well what's going on here. But you persist in Missing The Point. As in:

hotrodKelley said:
I got involved as well as some of the other "GOLD MEMBERS" basically stating that DiamDave has a right to state what happened to him without getting bashed by these guys/girls. Is sad that A "GOLD MEMBER" is getting the third degree from "Registered users", ...
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You seem to be functioning under the misapprehension that ones membership status confers some kind of site god-hood upon them, as compared to those lowly registered users. That lowly registered users are acting above their station should they dare to criticize a member, much-less a gold member. (God only knows what penalty you would think appropriate for daring to challenge a platinum member.) Personally, I've seen nothing at all here to indicate paying members enjoy some kind of "untouchable" status. And, in fact, Keith has commented, just above, that "...nonpaying members are just as important a part of this community as the paying ones are." Yet you persist in your viewpoint. Perhaps you should consder adjusting it?
 
EDCeeker said:
You seem to be functioning under the misapprehension that ones membership status confers some kind of site god-hood upon them, as compared to those lowly registered users. That lowly registered users are acting above their station should they dare to criticize a member, much-less a gold member. (God only knows what penalty you would think appropriate for daring to challenge a platinum member.) Personally, I've seen nothing at all here to indicate paying members enjoy some kind of "untouchable" status. And, in fact, Keith has commented, just above, that "...nonpaying members are just as important a part of this community as the paying ones are." Yet you persist in your viewpoint. Perhaps you should consder adjusting it?
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I agree. I just paid the membership dues specifically because of this thread, so that I could support this site (which I very much appreciate and enjoy), but also so that I could respectfully disagree with Mr. HotRod's opinion from a position of strength. Does the context or validity of my posts change now that I am a gold member? (hopefully the "gold member" status will pop up, this is my first post since paying) NO. My comments and opinions mean exactly the same thing, and carry exactly the same weight. What I say (or anyone else says) should be judged based on the accuracy/relevance of the information I submit, and the strength of my logic.

I'm not trying to argue or fight with anyone, or start a flame war. I just really enjoy the truly democratic (as in democracy) nature of the forums, and I bristle at the notion that paying dues (as an implied extension of having more money) makes you more important. This is not a country club.

For the record, I was planning to pay the membership fee anyway, but hadn't gotten around to it. This thread just pulled the trigger. I certainly don't feel any more powerful or important than I did before. I do feel a little better about hanging around here all of the time though.
 
What I"m beginning to learn from all of this is that if you do a deal with an individual, and you say "He's Good, A+++" then you know he's 'safe' for conducting business transactions. That's really the main reason I look at this forum.

But I understand if you have a problem, and post it on this Forum, it seems to rattle people. It's not called NOTHING BUT THE GOOD Forum. Maybe we should call it "Better and Not So Good" so as not to traumatize others with damaging labels.;) My complaint wasn't huge, but I felt it was postworthy and therefore I posted it. I did not criticize anyone's penis, knife collection, or membership history. By the same token, I feel I had a valid complaint and tried to back it up with correspondence and why I felt as I did. I apologize for the 'putz' comment, I guess I just felt I was the recipient of an unprovoked 'jibe'.

It seems to me that possibly a bigger issue here is whether or not you CAN voice a concern, a gripe, a complaint, albeit with respect and tact, and not ignite a turf war. wow....
 
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