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Where in the world is Richard Derespina? Let the buyer beware.

HammerHill said:
Guys... nobody is getting their knives or their money. Be realistic; this thread is over a year old. For those who paid up front and waited too long to dispute the charges, I'm sorry.

The only way to get anything out of him at this point would be to sue him in small claims court.
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No shock there - I don't think anybody thought that this thread was going to help get their money back. Speaking for myself, alone, my purpose for posting was to serve as a warning to people that might be considering purchasing from him.
 
hhmoore said:
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Speaking for myself, alone, my purpose for posting was to serve as a warning to people that might be considering purchasing from him.
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It's much appreciated, believe me! Threads like these are crucial, as evidenced by all the excited responses from generous, well-meaning folks eager to believe this thief who strings them along with ever-compounding excuses. Seems like people who get swindled usually dig themselves into an inescapable hole of sunk costs, half-embarrassed to have lost their money and half-hopeful that this time, finally, they'll make it right. Most of the time they don't tell anyone, which only allows the scammer the freedom to snare another victim. Especially in a community where multi-year waitlists are thought to be a sign of commercial success [Personally, I think it's a sign of ludicrous incompetence, but then again I don't buy custom knives], these 'callout' threads are important.
 
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Its pretty simple. Build what you can fund, if not find backers (investors not customers). No wait lists, you build what you can afford then you release it, and go at it again.

been doing that for 7 years, with zero butthurt, and have never had to leverage my customers experience with my ability to fund projects.
 
I personally have been waiting since 2014 and I was emailed last week that he will have my 4 blades done this coming next week so I think maybe he was going through a rough patch and is back at it but il keep the post updated plus I'm a glass half full kinda guy lol
 
You getting yours, if and when it happens, is good news for you...but others, including myself, have been waiting longer; and won't be so quick to pat him on the back.
 
Like you said sir if I get mine and if you have been waiting longer that sucks too but I did pay 100% up front not sure that matters or not but all I'm saying is if I do get mine or anyone gets any they are owed for that matter at least tells me he isn't trying to screw anyone and is working on his backlog is all I'm saying but we will see my optimism might be misplaced too but I'm staying positive currently
 
swordmaster0813 said:
but I did pay 100% up front
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Are you suggesting that paying 100% up front should bump you ahead of people that were already waiting for a couple years when you placed your order?
FWIW, the last response I got from Mr Derespina was that he would complete my knife, sell it, and return my (50%) deposit. I believe he has done two of those three things. With my knife completed and sold, my payment not being refunded, and no further responses from the maker...
go ahead and explain how he's not screwing me, he's just working on his backlog.

Perhaps I'm wrong - maybe it wasn't my knife that he posted for sale...or perhaps, after all this time, it simply hasn't sold. Why, then, the extended silence.

For the record, I hope you get your knives & you're very happy with them...but don't paint a rosy picture and downplay that he's jerking people around.
 
I'm not painting shit and I'm not implying anything so please dont take it that way I can only base my personal experience off of any experience at all and my personal experience is that he said my blades would be finished this coming week
does that mean they will I have no clue

will I get them within the next two I have no clue

did paying the whole thing up front somehow bump me ahead I have no clue

did not getting angry and showing respect and tact bump me ahead I have no clue

was I bumped ahead at all or it's simply my turn I have no clue

I don't know the guy personally but based on his Facebook page and a couple mass emails that I assume all customers received he was going through so heavy shit with life as life tends to do. Am I anxiously awaiting my blades absolutely. And again I'm just updating messages I received if the guy is making an effort to get people's shit done that's all I can ask I can piss and moan too but at this point I'm out blades and money if I do that so maybe il show respect is all I'm saying personally what I did. I'm not commenting on anyone else's experience at all as I can only go off my own if that makes sense..... if I receive them in the next couple weeks il keep the thread posted

But I'm not saying he's not screwing you or anyone else maybe he is but if he's attempting to make good on knives then my guess is he's not trying to screw anyone but I can't say that yet ask me again in a couple weeks... sound fair???
 
I was very patient and respectful for the first few years. I didn't mention his name, or post in a thread about him, until we were 3 or 4 years past the expected completion time...and I kept my comments to a minimum even then. Since he agreed to sell my knife & return my deposit, and didn't follow through, it's a different story. Now, I have no expectation of receiving a knife - somebody else has it. He's got no intention of refunding my deposit, or it would have been done a long time ago. I don't get the BS mass emailings anymore - I wouldn't be surprised to learn that he's blocked me on Facebook and email; because this lack of communication has been long even for him. (Funny how quickly he responds when trying to get a sale.)
Im not going to say I don't care about my money... and I suspect that I might have stood a slightly better chance of getting it if I had never participated in these threads; but, at this point, I've got nothing to lose. Funny thing is, if he'd followed through with (any of) his promises, I'd have nothing to say. I'd have no reason to post...so there'd be one less person posting negative experiences.

Sincerely, though, I hope you get your knives in the near future.
 
I really hope you get your money back to bro but depending on how the next couple weeks go I might be right there with you lol we shall see like I said from where I'm sitting it looks like he's trying but again we shall see
 
Just wanted to let everyone know that Derespian knives have finally delivered. I have my knife. He customized it exactly like I wanted it. It's pretty fantastic, and all I can complain about is the ridiculous wait time.

7xmJRc0l.jpg~original
 
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Since this thread pops up in Google results I wanted to link to a sister thread with more info about Rich and Derespina Knives.

Bad News - Derespina strikes again and it keeps getting better - Buyers Beware!!
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads...er-buyers-beware.1442779/page-4#post-17984446

I also feel its an important PSA to note that Rich used a fake "Tek-Lok" on the production Model 10 he sent me. Details in the other post, but I won't buy from him again.
 
I came here because I have had a similar experience with Richard. In summary, I paid $770 in full for a custom knife back in mid 2017, the first custom knife I had ever ordered. Richard was very responsive at first. At the time I made my initial deposit Richard said it would be a year before he was able to finish my knife. In the following months I made several more installment payments until I had paid in full. A few months after I paid in full, Richard stopped responding to all of my correspondence. I have continually attempted to contact him by email, Facebook, etc to no avail. Recently I have been attempting to get my money refunded and am in the process of attempting to open a criminal and/or civil investigation into Richard for repeated bad business practices, since I'm evidently not the first person to have this experience.

TO ANYONE WHO PAID RICHARD FOR A KNIFE THEY NEVER RECEIVED; Please contact the Downington, PA (Richard's current town of residence) police department at (610) 269-0263 and file a report with them as I have done. If they receive other reports regarding Richard ripping people off, they will have stronger jurisdiction to charge him with criminal business practices.

Yes, I want my money back. Just as importantly, I want this to stop happening to others
 
I, as well, have been waiting since 2014 for a blade from this individual. Took him several years to respond to me after the money was sent, then last year he reached out and said the knife would be in the mail by summer of 2018. Needless to say, that didn't happen and I'm still waiting to hear from him again.

I'm in Connecticut -- is there anything that can be done across state lines? I was under the impression that small claims had to be filed within that state and going back and forth dealing with this nonsense just isn't feasible right now.

At this point it's not about the knife or the money, it's the principal that this guy is continuing to scam and lead people on and rarely (if ever) delivers on said promises.
 
KnifeCenter just got some new knives from him.

I am sure that just makes it worse.

So, another example of a guy who can't deliver knives to people who have pre-paid, but is still delivering them to dealers and a dealer for whom profit is numero uno taking said knives to sell (kinda like in the Carrillo thread). KnifeCenter should be ashamed of themselves actually, since it seems unlikely they DO NOT know about this.
 
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I prepaid $113 and change thru PayPal in late November 2018 and got my model 10 shortly thereafter. A fantastic Karambit knife that needs no customization. I only bought one because I only need one.
 
rudukai13 said:
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Recently I have been attempting to get my money refunded and am in the process of attempting to open a criminal and/or civil investigation into Richard for repeated bad business practices, since I'm evidently not the first person to have this experience.

TO ANYONE WHO PAID RICHARD FOR A KNIFE THEY NEVER RECEIVED; Please contact the Downington, PA (Richard's current town of residence) police department at (610) 269-0263 and file a report with them as I have done. If they receive other reports regarding Richard ripping people off, they will have stronger jurisdiction to charge him with criminal business practices.

Yes, I want my money back. Just as importantly, I want this to stop happening to others
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Kudos for taking this scoundrel’s crime to the police and encouraging other victim’s of his to do so as well. More of these thieves need to be arrested and serve done time. That might discourage other con men.
 
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