What to do when you pay and then get blown off by a knifemaker?

Hale Storm said:
AntDog - Always good to hear from you. I agree with what you said but if you read my post, maybe I'm jumping the gun. I'm not on the timeline that you stated so even by your standards, I need to wait a little longer.
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Good to see you too man! Yeah I try to be very generous with wait times. I understand that life gets in the way sometimes. I understand that time is precious to everybody. The thing is - don't return my emails for a solid week or 2 - that's b.s... At least let me know what's going on. Even if it's going to be a bit of a wait. Let me know what's up. A week or two at the most of unanswered emails and I'm livid at that point. Especially if I already paid. If I pay up front, I want my stuff NOW.
 
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dfarmerknives said:
NEVER PAY UP FRONT!!!!! NEVER!!!!! Ever.....


Did I mention ever?
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^ hell to the yes! I've never paid up front, and have never been asked to either. Every maker I've ever dealt with tells me that payment is due upon completion. In the case that I change my mind or am unable to buy, they will sell it to someone else.
 
No payment upfront period. I learnt my lesson once even though eventually I got the product albeit way belatedly. Don't need the aggravation.
 
Redbeardo said:
Sorry to hear of your troubles Hale Storm. I never ask for payment upfront even though some customers just send the funds anyway ahead of time. I always show progress pics of the goods usually the day before they ship if I'm doing custom work and then ask for the funds and ship the next day. Heard this story too many times lately and it is a bit disheartening. I can understand some kind of a deposit if the materials are expensive but paying in full upfront leaves too much room for something to go wrong. Hope you get a happy ending.
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Mitchell Knives said:
After asking for my money back, I would wait a week for a response.

If I didn't receive a response, I would go ahead and name him here.

No sense in letting him scam anyone else.

Never pay for a knife up front!
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Good suggestions here
 
joejeweler said:
As a practical matter the buyer ALWAYS pays up front
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No No No- Paying Upfront and PayPal Gift are 2 consistently bad themes here on the GBU.

It would be nice to focus this on the Maker involved. Writing an open concern like this kind of puts all knife makers under suspicion.
 
Sorry to hear about this. Hopefully he will refund you very soon.
If he doesn't in the next day or so I would name him.
It may save others here from the same fate.




dfarmerknives said:
NEVER PAY UP FRONT!!!!! NEVER!!!!! Ever.....


Did I mention ever?


sorry, didn't mean for this to post twice....
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Thats OK. It needed to be said twice:p


joejeweler said:
As a practical matter the buyer ALWAYS pays up front, as most anybody will expect payment in full before even a ready made item is shipped. So this can happen with an immediate sale in addition to a special order.

The reputation AND feedback of any seller more important in my mind than how it's paid for.
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Thats not correct. Hardly any makers ask that you pay up front.
I've never paid upfront, and if asked to I would move on to another maker.
The only time a maker should ask for any money up front is if he is doing something(like engraving a name, etc...) to the knife that would make it hard to sell if the buyer had to back out.
 
joejeweler said:
As a practical matter the buyer ALWAYS pays up front, as most anybody will expect payment in full before even a ready made item is shipped. So this can happen with an immediate sale in addition to a special order.

The reputation AND feedback of any seller more important in my mind than how it's paid for.
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Hi,

Have you ever been to GBU before? It sure doesn't sound like it. The most consistent themes here are: don't pay up front, don't use paypal gift, and do your research on a maker. Almost with out fail, people who have issues posted here have broken at least one of this holy trinity.
 
joejeweler said:
As a practical matter the buyer ALWAYS pays up front, as most anybody will expect payment in full before even a ready made item is shipped. So this can happen with an immediate sale in addition to a special order.
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You are wrong on so many levels, it's not even funny.
 
if I was to order a Custom Knife I would want phone numbers,an address (in case I have to round up the good ole boys club) and I would never send more than half of the money.

op, im sorry that this happened which is why I stay with good production knives with a reputation and a Store.
 
I'm in the same boat with a dealer for a ZT knife that never seen the light...
Two years passed away and the few time I've asked back my money (and also a friend of mine have "bought" the same invisible knife) ...."I'm in trouble...please wait"
It is a very unpleasant situation but next year I'll be at blade show and this f...ing shop is in the same area.
Sometime I ask myself if a lawyer could help me and my friend for having back 1000$.........
 
I understand the theme here of not paying up front. The piece of steel I requested is expensive and eats belts quickly when grinding as well. This is a new maker trying to get up to the next level. I saw his work and thought I would take the chance. He explained that he needed the money up front to pay for the steel and the belts to grind it. I'm not gullible and knew there was a risk. Again, I always do the work first and get paid later with my customers like everyone else. I just thought I'd give the guy a break and put some trust in him and see what he can do. If the knife never shows, the money won't be the end of the world but I would like to get what I paid for. Also, I did hear from him and he's working on my knife and sent pics. We'll see where this leads in the next few weeks and if I get burned, I'll post in GBU. By the way, I have been here many times and read a few posts like mine. I respect the opinions of many of the members which is why I posted here.
Many thanks to those that responded.
 
While paying up front for some is not acceptable practice, it is not the main issue. The issue is the maker's disrespect to his customer. Contact him one last time, since I assume all communication was via email. Advise him if he does not respond to you with a refund timeline you will contact the the Federal Trade Commission and the BBB and file a case against him. He has 7 business days to refund you once you have advised him of desired refund. The BBB will contact him right away and I bet he won't ignore them. I'm sure he'll need a solid business to pay the pending child support and alimony.

Threads are great resources for BF members and users, but it is not an official government record.

I'm so tired of all the BS excuses. My dog died, my roof is leaking, the milk spoiled and I have a tummy ache, yadda yadda yadda mud sling mud sling. Tell him to man up or give up already. You did nothing wrong by showing a lil faith by posting the funds to pay for a build. He is supposedly a business and you have paid for a contract build. The contract was sealed when he took the funds and now its time to deliver or refund.

I know my rear would get canned if I came up with some of these excuses why the job hasn't been completed.

I wish you the best.
 
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RecalcitrantAmerican said:
While paying up front for some is not acceptable practice, it is not the main issue. The issue is the maker's disrespect to his customer. Contact him one last time, since I assume all communication was via email. Advise him if he does not respond to you with a refund timeline you will contact the the Federal Trade Commission and the BBB and file a case against him. He has 7 business days to refund you once you have advised him of desired refund. The BBB will contact him right away and I bet he won't ignore them. I'm sure he'll need a solid business to pay the pending child support and alimony.

Threads are great resources for BF members and users, but it is not an official government record.

I'm so tired of all the BS excuses. My dog died, my roof is leaking, the milk spoiled and I have a tummy ache, yadda yadda yadda mud sling mud sling. Tell him to man up or give up already. You did nothing wrong by showing a lil faith by posting the funds to pay for a build. He is supposedly a business and you have paid for a contract build. The contract was sealed when he took the funds and now its time to deliver or refund.

I know my rear would get canned if I came up with some of these excuses why the job hasn't been completed.

I wish you the best.
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I second this!

Good luck, Ronnie, either getting this custom, or your refund. Please keep us updated.
 
Sorry to hear of your difficulties.

By the way, as someone above posted and implied, you may have recourse if you used a U.S. Postal Service money order.

Additionally, I agree with the folks above: if you have gone a week without hearing back from the guy, it would seem to be ok to out him - especially so no one else gets shafted.

I hope things work out for you.
 
The only good news is the maker has finally been in touch. PayPal is no use if a custom order goes over their time limit. Good communications is good business and good courtesy.
 
joejeweler said:
As a practical matter the buyer ALWAYS pays up front, as most anybody will expect payment in full before even a ready made item is shipped. So this can happen with an immediate sale in addition to a special order.

The reputation AND feedback of any seller more important in my mind than how it's paid for.
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No sir, a responsible Buyer, one who has spent a little time here in GB&U knows the horror (sometimes) of paying up front. When the maker is done and ready to ship it is at this time payment is made.

It has been said and written 777,997,332,008 times; never pay a maker up front....................................................................But soon we will be reading about another buyer who did just that!!!!
 
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