Too picky?

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flash900

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True North Knives issued a full refund -- without explanation -- the day after I purchased a knife. I had attached this, my usual request when purchasing from a dealer:


Please hand inspect for good blade centering and smooth opening AND closing -- thanks. Please do NOT complete order if knife has any issues. Thank you!
 
Sounds like a reasonable request. I do much the same thing with other dealers. I would count it as a lesson as to who not to deal with and move on.
 
Oh how funny. Maybe too picky or just an honest retailer that could not meet your needs.

Not dissimilar to going to a knife shop and looking at a dozen knives but none fitted what you wanted.

Mike
 
Dragon_Man said:
Sounds like a reasonable request. I do much the same thing with other dealers. I would count it as a lesson as to who not to deal with and move on.
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Are you sure? If the seller could not find a knife with the buyers specifications then a refund was in order.
 
EyeDog said:
Are you sure? If the seller could not find a knife with the buyers specifications then a refund was in order.
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The dealer offered no explanation -- that's what makes his action so puzzling.

And he's still selling the item. Does that mean all of them have issues?

Or that he doesn't care to deal with what he considers a picky customer?
 
flash900 said:
The dealer offered no explanation -- that's what makes his action so puzzling.

And he's still selling the item. Does that mean all of them have issues?

Or that he doesn't care to deal with what he considers a picky customer?
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Good points. The OP did say "don't complete the order..." Maybe TN felt no explanation was necessary.
 
Although the item was a closeout, the dealer's description gave me confidence:

"Knives are great but we are moving on."
 
The dealer should have contacted the buyer and given a truthful explanation; such as: " all of these knives that i have show some degree of 'issues'. Would you like me to refund your payment ?"
or, "I am refunding your payment because i think you might be too picky regardless of how 'right on' the knife might be".
I have only ever heard good things about TNK and my one purchase there was fine, so it is odd that the OP was not given an explanation.
I always include a similar note asking the dealer to check the knife before shipping and i have never had a negative outcome from doing so.
The only way to know why the dealer handled it this way would be to hear from the dealer himself.
kj
 
What was the knife? Assume this was a production knife? Cost of knife? If it was a lower cost item, perhaps dealer felt it is best not to deal with someone they felt were going to be overly picky. I think a lot of people would see some form of a red flag attached to your request. Yes, you have a right to ask them to do that; but I suppose they have a right to avoid buyers that give them uneasy feelings. Perhaps you should do your shopping in person and be able to check the knife yourself?
 
Gastonknife said:
What was the knife? Assume this was a production knife? Cost of knife? If it was a lower cost item, perhaps dealer felt it is best not to deal with someone they felt were going to be overly picky. I think a lot of people would see some form of a red flag attached to your request. Yes, you have a right to ask them to do that; but I suppose they have a right to avoid buyers that give them uneasy feelings. Perhaps you should do your shopping in person and be able to check the knife yourself?
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He's an online/mail order dealer so he should be used to getting requests. I assume he's a good guy or he wouldn't have a loyal following -- and I wouldn't have ordered from him.

He has the customer's email and phone number with each order.

Again, it's the lack of communication that leaves the customer wondering.
 
What was the cost of the knife? To be blunt, for a 30-50$ knife it probably wouldn't be cost effective to pick thought them.
 
Quote: "Perhaps you should do your shopping in person and be able to check the knife yourself?"
That's ridiculous. There are good knife dealers scattered throughout the U.S. and some in Canada. To even check out one dealer might involve a long drive.
Internet shopping is now how it works for knives. This requires good pictures and good communication about the aspects of knives that cannot be seen, such as blade action, strength of pull, etc. It is absolutely reasonable to ask the dealer to check the knife over before shipping it.
kj
 
SBaker34 said:
What was the cost of the knife? To be blunt, for a 30-50$ knife it probably wouldn't be cost effective to pick thought them.
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He originally sold it for $250; it's now on sale for $118.

Maybe you should grab one -- but be careful what you ask for!
 
I've been getting into some slightly higher end folders,do you guys do this the bigger on-line retailers like Blade HQ and Knifecenter? Sorry to stray off topic.Good tip. Thanks Lu.
 
From what I know of this dealer he chooses who he wants to sell to based on how they interact with him via email . Sometimes people give off a vibe that the retailer or service provider feels is not in their best interest to do business with . I actually do it all the time. It is like being pre screened . Just to note I have no idea what really happened between you two . So take what I say with a grain of salt
 
Marko3 said:
From what I know of this dealer he chooses who he wants to sell to based on how they interact with him via email . Sometimes people give off a vibe that the retailer or service provider feels is not in their best interest to do business with . I actually do it all the time. It is like being pre screened . Just to note I have no idea what really happened between you two . So take what I say with a grain of salt
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I do this in my profession and don't regret it. You cant please everyone and there is certain people I don't want to deal.
 
Sounds Like your request was honored, That is exactly what I would expect based on you message.... I don't think an explanation was needed based on your message?
 
flash900 said:
True North Knives issued a full refund -- without explanation -- the day after I purchased a knife. I had attached this, my usual request when purchasing from a dealer:


Please hand inspect for good blade centering and smooth opening AND closing -- thanks. Please do NOT complete order if knife has any issues. Thank you!
Click to expand...


I think it may be the specific wording of your statement. Sometimes you have to look at things from the other person's perspective. You yourself titled the post "too picky" - I guess he thinks so.
When someone says "do not ship if ANY issues" and asking him to hand inspect a production knife for this and that - I guess he decided to follow your instructions. Obviously "any issues" is subjective - aka normal picky or too picky > pain to deal with > not a pain > likely positive outcome > likely potential problem. Could they have sent you an email - yes, that would have been nicer I suppose.

Overall, I would suggest changing the wording a bit - perhaps "can you please checkout the knife and make sure there are no majors issues from a quality standpoint".
Anyway, to each his own.
 
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