Of Fish and SAKs.

[Chako]

Some back story first. The local annual outdoor and home show was on this past weekend. At one time, it was two separate shows, but not these days. In fact, the whole thing is going down in flames as it seems that the investment group booths seem to be like rabbits and multiplying exponentially each year.

Anyhow, there were a few give aways to the general public. I went over to a fish and game wildlife officer, and we shot the bull for a bit. He pulls out this fish and hands it over to me. I ask him what it was after laughing quite a bit. He grins and tells me its a stress fish. Well isn't the little foam guy all cute and cuddly in a weird way. I thank him, pocket the little fellow and go on my way to look at the other booths.

Roll to today. I received some SAKs in the mail. Many of which come from a well known Swiss Army Knife purveyor. Now, I ordered multiple knives and was a bit ticked at how they came to my door. The fellow charged me 16 dollars a knife for shipment. I figured he would lower the rate...but no. I give him time. Nothing happens. Today, I get them all to my door in a single US Postal Small Flat Rate Box wrapped in newspaper of all things. I am not impressed. I haven't given him feedback yet from eBay, and I don't want to step on any toes, but to me, that amounts to highway robbery. I guess I learned my lesson somewhat. I didn't bother asking him, and everyone else I dealt with on eBay automatically combines shipping. So it could be my fault for not asking...but then, I shouldn't have had to ask.

So the little fish came into his own. I enjoyed squeezing him somewhat. I just have to wonder how the Game Officer knew I would need the little fellow’s services.



Now, onto the knives.

A group shot.


A Wenger Snife Dream.







Another utility knife for the collection. This one is a Taylor made Schrade. There exists the possibility of lacerating a finger if you slide it along the back of the knife and inwards a few millimeters. The blade point comes very close to the back edge when folded. Shweeet! Other than that, I love the feel and weight of the handles.






Now onto the package of my shipment angst.

A Victorinox 111mm knife with interesting scales and a corkscrew.




A Bern Police Knife. I am impressed that it’s a metal inlay.




An Orange Farmer.


With a clip.




Another farmer with a Splash scale.




Another Lumberjack…this time in red.




Another in that I have amassed a few of these.

[Sazabi]

I like the stress Fishy.   Well, ok, and the knives, too, especially the Snife and the splash Farmer; it wasn't right of him to charge that much though; sure, maybe a dollar or two more per knife (heck, I was tempted to get a couple more OH Parachutists when I purchased mine, even though it'd add $3/knife, which is steep), but $16/knife?!?     At least you like the knives. ._.

[J-sews]

Great pics as usual Chako


As regards the shipping overcharge, that doesn't surprise me. The way this guy treats fellow MTorg and Sosak members is part of the reason he was banned from this forum.

[Chako]

Now that I didn't know.

Yeah, the knives are nice...but the shipping has soured it a bit for me. I won't be going for another one of his knives unless Tim has it for sale. I won't deal with him direct anymore. What is that old saying, catch me once, shame on you. Catch me twice, shame on me.

[gafftapegreenia]

At least when I paid my $16 for shipping my orange farmer came all the way from Switzerland. But yea, unless some green alox farmers come out, doubt I'll be buying again.

[meanx]

Nice knives,like that 111mm Armee one but what a rip off.

[Shane769]

I'm digging the clip Farmer, and the Lumberjack.

As for the stress fish, it's a classic deal with Fisheries. They have some good stories about a lot of neat subjects, but man, they really are just buggering up our fish resources on both coasts. I'm in second year resource management classes and it's funny how we find ways that could have saved the NFL cod. Oh well, nice fish

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Sadly that's a story I've heard a good few times before mate

At least you actually got them though

[Whoey]

Now that I didn't know.

Yeah, the knives are nice...but the shipping has soured it a bit for me. I won't be going for another one of his knives unless Tim has it for sale. I won't deal with him direct anymore. What is that old saying, catch me once, shame on you. Catch me twice, shame on me.

 

[Chako]

[Grant Lamontagne]

Now that I didn't know.

Yeah, the knives are nice...but the shipping has soured it a bit for me. I won't be going for another one of his knives unless Tim has it for sale. I won't deal with him direct anymore. What is that old saying, catch me once, shame on you. Catch me twice, shame on me.

While it's no secret that this particular individual and I don't see eye to eye on a lot of things, I would like to point out that he isn't terribly knowledgeable about anything computer related, and may simply have not known that he could combine shipping.  The poor guy couldn't even post pictures on forums until I worked at length to teach him how, and even then he didn't do it for some time, and got other people to do it for him. 

I'm not making excuses for him, and he's famous for things like this, but in this case at least, he may not be as guilty as one might initially think.

Def

[pc61158]

nice!!

i like the police one~

[nuphoria]

You could have flown there and picked them up for that price 

Oh well, lessons learnt and nice knives acquired... all in a days work collecting shinies 

[ufox9al]

Now that I didn't know.
Yeah, the knives are nice...but the shipping has soured it a bit for me. I won't be going for another one of his knives unless Tim has it for sale. I won't deal with him direct anymore. What is that old saying, catch me once, shame on you. Catch me twice, shame on me.

While it's no secret that this particular individual and I don't see eye to eye on a lot of things, I would like to point out that he isn't terribly knowledgeable about anything computer related, and may simply have not known that he could combine shipping.  The poor guy couldn't even post pictures on forums until I worked at length to teach him how, and even then he didn't do it for some time, and got other people to do it for him. 
I'm not making excuses for him, and he's famous for things like this, but in this case at least, he may not be as guilty as one might initially think.
Def

Def, thanks for bringing this thread to my attention and for your 100% correct comment on the situation.
 
I will have to take, at least partial, blame for the eBay shipping overcharge, as I was the one who taught Roger to list on eBay, but never followed up on invoicing and combining shipping. I believe, Roger's postage "policy", if he knew how to apply it, was $16 for any number of SAKs shipped together.

Chako, I will send you a refund for the amount  you overpaid from my Paypal account and work with Roger to correct this issue on the going forward basis.

[Chako]

Sorry Def. I am having a hard time buying that. Even if the guy was that computer illiterate, he must realize he is making a huge profit on overcharging for shipping, especially if he is only sending one package.

Thanks for the offer, but my dealings are with Swissbianco ufox9al. I don't see why you should be out of pocket for this.

[ufox9al]

Chako, I sent refund earlier today, please check to confirm that it is the correct amount. Roger is currently traveling for the IWA show in Germany and will be mostly offline for some time (2 weeks or so), and as a result would have been able to address your concerns personally until after the event. Also, having been banned on this forum, he will not be able to post in this thread.

While I am not a Swissbianco employee or business partner, my personal relationship with Roger compel me to both assist with your current issue, as well as do whatever possible to prevent these kinds of problems from happening in the future. I would like nothing more than to be able to help Roger build Swissbianco into successful business, with honesty, customer service, and value being given as much importance as quality of products offered.

[J-sews]

Wow, great gesture.
I've had a run in with Swissbianco myself, but as of this moment I hold him in higher regard for having earned such a good friend as yourself Alexei

[Chako]

I checked. Looks good. It was 5 knives though, but please don't refund me another 16. I wasn't expecting to get anything, and I am most satisfied with the refund that you so generously gave.

I am a bit speechless. Not sure what to say other than a simple thank you.

It is possibly this whole thing is due to Roger's inattention. ufox9al, tell him that this sort of stuff is bad publicity and will cost him business in the long run if he doesn't straighten up.