Upfront Payment?

To paraphrase Nike, 'Just DON'T do it"!:D
 
I do not ask for any money up front with my knives when the knife is done I show the pic of the knife to the collector and ask for payment in full then I send the knife. It has worked fine for me so far. Like Les said a a payed for knife is a hard one to make. that is true for me and I know that. I have a friend who buts a lot of gold in his knives if the knife on order has a lot of gold in it then he will ask for some money up front to cover the cost of the gold. I think that works for him.
 
I'm curious as to when the deposits was requested, at knife order or start of knife construction.

I don't know whose making the biggest mistake, the maker that takes a deposit or the buyer who gives one. In either case it's a formula for disaster in regard to maker/buyer relationships.

Though I'm opposed to them, I'm surprised we are not seeing more makers requesting payment up front during these difficult times as I've recently heard of collectors bailing out on special order knives after they were finished.

This same discussion has been going on over on the CKCA the last couple days, so it's obviously a hot topic as of late.
 
Lycosa said:
David--- You have the facts. Like I said, no money was sent.
Thanks All.
Click to expand...

No offense meant... Although the two advance payment requests
did seem strange, I agree that as times have changed makers are
becoming extra careful with beginning custom jobs...

I feel that building a customer/knifemaker relationship should
be based on full trust and therefore can see nothing wrong with helping
a knifemaker in need with a small advance payment.

This of course should be based on prior acquaintance between the two
and positive past dealings between them...

All the best,
David Darom (ddd)
 
Thanks again Gent's. FWIW, both of these makers do have good reputations. I will side with caution.
 
I won't take money up front unless its for a piece of Ivory that the customer
has requested. I've had many people order a knife and ask how much of a deposit they need to send, I tell them send nothing now, when the knife is completed I will send you a picture for your approval, if you approve then you can send full payment at that time. Deposits are a worry I don't need, and with deposits if something were to happen to me, then my wife would have the responibility of having to send all the deposits back, she doesn't need that.

Bill
 
KJ--- To answer your question: I was asked to send the deposit when the knife was being started.
 
Thanks for all the advice.
I will let the maker know what I found out here. Watch me make him mad.
 
I am currently having a knife made for me by a well known maker. One part of the knife will have my initials on it. From what I understand, when the knife is almost complete, I will get pics of it for my approval. If approved, we then will decide how to do the initials and what they will look like.

Before the initials are done, in my view, it is reasonable that I provide the maker with at least some deposit to ensure my patronage. This is reasonable because once my initials are there, the value of that knife to everyone else basically just hit the floor.

Other than what a few others have stated in this thread, this is the only time I would ever pay a maker up front.
 
The toughest knife to get is the one that has been paid for up front. Pay for the knife when it is completed.
 
Kevin Jones said:
Though I'm opposed to them, I'm surprised we are not seeing more makers requesting payment up front during these difficult times as I've recently heard of collectors bailing out on special order knives after they were finished.
Click to expand...

I'm curious as to whether, in these cases, the maker contacted the buyer before starting work on the knife. This is a prudent course of action independent of the deposit question.

Roger
 
RogerP said:
I'm curious as to whether, in these cases, the maker contacted the buyer before starting work on the knife. This is a prudent course of action independent of the deposit question.

Roger
Click to expand...

I was curious as well, however in one case the maker told me of the cancellation and I didn't feel it my business to ask further information and on the other the secondary party didn't know. I agree with you though in that even if all details on the order have been previously worked out, the maker should still contact the buyer to confirm before starting the knife. However, communication often leaves much to be desired between maker and buyer. For example, I was asked for a deposit on a knife at the beginning of construction one time. I would not have been as surprised or concerned if that maker had told me it was his policy when I initially ordered the knife.

The problem I have with a maker asking for a deposit at beginning of construction is that it doesn't mean that he is necessarily going to start the knife after he receives the deposit.
 
Never pay in full up front. I have 4-5 knives that I have paid for in full before getting the knife and I am still waiting on those knives.The longest wait has been 8 years now,(By a A.B.S.Maker) and the shortest has been 5 years now.Some of these people I have kept in touch with & am still tring to get my knife and others have just done everything they can not to make the knife.I also had sent these makers the materials to make my knives with,and lost that also.But I will be talking to the A.B.S. at this years Blade about 1 of the makers,& the 8 years I have been dealing with his mess.
 
Lycosa, I learned the hard way. I ordered a custom through a very well thought of maker. I paid in full for it because back then, I didn't know any better. Needless to say, the whole experience was painful. Communication sucked, the maker was difficult to reach and did not do what he said he was going to do when he said he would do it. Long story short... I did receive the knife finally, but it looks like a half-arse job on close inspection. Uneven grinds is my biggest complaint, otherwise it is a fine knife. I get a major case of rolling eyes and giggles whenever he posts up a new knife and everyone gushes over how awesome he is. Too bad, once I had plans on buying more of his knives... but I know better.

And no, I won't besmirch his name. He does seem to have gotten his business act more together these days. A little communication and honesty go a very very long way.
 
Big-D on those knives , what was the quoted delivery time when paid in full ? Was a date / time frame given ?

After reading stories like yours , I can see no reason why anyone would be willing to pay full up front , only time I can see a partial payment is when specific materials that the maker does not normally stock are being used ((money for the buyers knife , should NOT be used to pay for materials for someone else's knife )).

And no, I won't besmirch his name
Click to expand...
While I understand that people feel odd slamming someone , however , keeping the names and info to ones self does nothing to help the rest of the knife collecting world.

You can't educate thru silence :)
 
There is another point of view from the collector's perspective. There is one prominent member of this forum who goes so far as to not even ordering a knife. The reason being you cannot tell if you want it until you see it and feel it. His philosophy is that is the fairest situation for both sides.

I kind of agree. All but two of my customs were bought in hand and the other two were orders for "standard" patterns that I'd seen and held. It limits what you buy, but hey we all need some type of limit on our collecting :)

From another perspective, when you buy completed knives w/o customization, you get a knife that is a full expression of the maker, no input from the buyer or dealer. From an "art" point of view, some feel this is best. This also may make it better from a "collector-investor" perspective.
 
I never accept deposits, however there is one situation where I would, and that is if the customer has a questionable reputation, or is known for being irresponsible.

For instance, last year I made a knife for someone who quit answering his emails once the knife was finished. I kept the knife for a month or two waiting, and finally got a hold of him, and found out he didn't have the money to pay for the knife. So, if he should order another one, I'll require payment in full, when I start working on the knife, not when the order is placed.

But so far I haven't had to do that, and I'm glad. It's a bad situation to be in. I don't like to be beholden to anyone for anything.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top