Here is more of the same excuses you've posted:
As others have mentioned, we have experienced a few issues, leading to delays. I think some of that information gets buried as time passes. So we do have a plan to get that information up on our website, to be more permanent and accessible for folks.
As part of a larger website initiative, we are also working on buttoning down more exact delivery timelines. It sounds easier than it actually is though. You would think it would be: X = #knives shipped per week, I have order number Y, therefore my order will ship in Z # of weeks. In reality, we are currently working on GSO-2.7s, GSO-4.1s, GSO-4.1 Factory 2nds, GSO-7/7s and GSO-7/7 Factory 2nds. So if an order is for the 10th GSO-7/7, it seems like it would be done right away. But if we spend the week on GSO-2.7s and then two weeks on GSO-4.1s... you get the idea. It is also hard to know how many we will be able to get through in a given week since we don't know how much work is going to need to go into a particular order until we get to it. Some handles fit the blade perfectly as is, others need a lot of work. We are working on getting some more solid information together and will try to have something available through our website, asap.
CFV is an awesome steel that has performed beautifully. However, it requires a bit more work to make the knives. We are trying to increase our run sizes, so it really isn't the best option for us right now. If we run CFV again, it will be in a limited number as part of the new GSO Series. Which means it won't be until after all existing GSO orders have been fulfilled.
We do have all of the materials for the GSO-4.1 and GSO-7/7 Orders. We have had them for a long time, which means they are all affected by the handle fitment issue we mentioned in the past. There were too many to scrap the lot and buy again so Guy is working his way through them. I am working on some more detailed information which will be available on our website by the end of the year.
All of the handles and fasteners are in for the GSO-4 Limited and we should start seeing sheaths soon. About half of those handles are from before the materials issue was fixed.
The GSO-3.5 blades are starting to arrive, but our shelves and schedule are full so it will still be some time until materials are here and orders are shipping. The good news is that the blade blanks are some of the best we've seen and the handle material issue has been addressed. Those should go together a lot faster than these previous models have.
As for answering emails, Jordyn was a little behind due to a close family member being in a big accident recently but the inbox was completely caught up by the end of last week. She is typically in the office Monday to Thursday from 8-4, but you might catch Guy or I if you call at other times.
We are here steadily working our way through orders. Things in the workshop should start picking up drastically once we start working on the GSO-3.5s. If you are still concerned, we issue refunds. Just know that your orders cannot be reinstated and availability of the GSO Series knives will be dropping considerably once the SK Series is up and running.
Since you closed these threads I can't quote them, so I copy and pasted your excuses:
https://www.bladeforums.com/posts/17464106/
"I admitted long ago, and several times since, that the Starter campaign and subsequent preorders were not the finest moment in SURVIVE! history. However, we did exactly what we said we were going to do at the time. We bought steel, equipment, invested in larger production run sizes, and contrary to what some people have claimed we even set funds aside to cover expenses during production. We also invested in the future of the business by making a down payment on the building, in hopes that we could soon move away from renting a finite space to owning somewhere with room to grow. This down payment was roughly equal to one third of an average production run. We still have over $60,000 of that steel, over $100,000 in equipment, several hundreds of knives worth of materials and several large deposits in to our vendors.
In addition to the above and money spent on bolstering run sizes, operating expenses, and refunds, PayPal is currently holding on to $21,000 (and growing). They say this hold is meant to be in case of refund requests, but then they won’t let us use the funds for any of the refunds that I issue. So it just sits there growing with each new PayPal purchase, until they start trickling some of it back to us in a few months. Here is a quote from the email we received from them:
“The decision regarding your reserve setting was based on our review of the level of risk associated with your account. We looked at several factors to determine the high level of risk associated with your account. These factors include:
· Delivery timeframe - Extended length of your delivery timeframe.
· High risk industry - You are selling merchandise or services in what we consider to be a high risk industry.
· High risk or changed business model – There has been a change in your business model or your business model is considered high risk due to one, or a combination of the following (list is not all inclusive) – how and when items or services are delivered, items or services being sold, or inventory management.”
We are curious to see what happens once the SK Series is fully operational, fixing the delivery timeframe and high risk/changed business model issues. Based on conversations with some other folks and the “high risk industry” statement, we are concerned PayPal may be sending the knife industry in the same direction it went with the gun industry. Time will tell.
As far as what our plan is to fix the ordering issues, we covered that here:
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/the-new-survive.1501589/
Introducing the SK Series will help offset demand, so that we can focus exclusively on GSO Knives while folks can still get a really nice version of the same designs.
The SK Series is still a product that needs to be made by people, it will be made more quickly but it still needs to be produced. We announced it ahead of production because we wanted to let folks know what our plan was to get out of the preorder rut. It also allowed us to get a better handle on how much interest there was so we would have a better idea of how many to order. If we don’t have enough they will sell out quickly and then we will all have to wait months for more. If we make too many we are going to have more money locked away in inventory.
Things are starting to settle back in after the fire so we will be back in the workshop regularly again. We haven’t had a chance to update the delivery wording on the website yet but will be working on that over the next couple of weeks. I will make sure the refund requests are all issued by the end of next week. We will also hold off on adding any new weekly sales until we are caught up on those existing orders.
Bladeforums is an area that is meant to be a more relaxed and fun community environment. Because of the regular accusations that have already been addressed and the random spamming, Guy won’t come here right now. He beats himself up enough, he doesn’t need you guys to do it for him. He did talk with Lance and when he mentioned making a post Guy hoped that would be enough to help appease some of the concerns.
We do provide regular updates and have been up front when we have encountered issues that will lead to further delays, including when it is something of a personal nature. We answer the phone any time we are in the office and Jordyn replies to every person’s emails and voicemails. Since this is more of an informal environment, we encourage anyone with questions or concerns to send us an email to our official inbox:
info@surviveknives.com."