i've never purchased a knife on the forum, don't know if that dis-qualifies me from commenting,,,i have however bought things..and have sold a few things i have made...again,,,not on the forum...but business is business where ever, when ever...
i very seldom ask for up front money...the only exception is when i am asked to carve a custom walking/hiking staff...unless otherwise directed...i only use high quality oak or waxwood for the staff, i buy them from martial arts stores, those are the most difficult to break,,,imho,,,and...they are not cheap...
so i ask the customer to front the money for the staff and shipping....usually less than 50 bucks,,,and i require that money be sent to me as a money order or personal check...
meanwhile,,i go ahead and order the staff, paying for it myself...the money order/check when recieved is put in a file,,,i don't cash it...this up-front money ensures to me a customer is committed to the deal,,,which averages approx 185 bucks per stick..and approx..50 hours to design, decorate carve, paint and so on...works out to about..3.70 an hour...LOL...i also email pics as the work progresses...
i ship the stick for approval and once the customer is happy,,,i accept payment either paypal or whatever...if the customer is not satisfied...i pay for return shipping and start all over...never had a dis-satisfied customer so i've never had to implement that policy,,,,,
let me expplain the reason for the money order/check...it has only happened once...i overbooked myself for Christmas delivery one year...by one staff...i had rec'd the check from the customer approx 6 weeks prior to realizing i could not make the deadline,,,so i sent the customer the check back, explaining my situation...the customer was so impressed with the way i handled the situation, especially not cashing the check, i later learned he had been telling a bunch of folks over in yahoo chat, i was the most honorable person he'd ever met,,,,
point of this long-winded treatise, if you will, is simply this,,,if i'm not making the customer happy, i will have no more customers, and i won't be happy...if i make the customer happy, i will have more customers,,,and i will be happy...
both side MUST be happy with the tranaction if not, one or the other must do what it takes to make the other happy...it's simply good business
with all that being said...i apologize for the length of this post...
God Bless...
Lee