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BAD- Received Rocks vice Rockstead

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stonesell said:
I have to agree with this observation, since it’s exactly what I thought.
If I received the rocks, I would be on the phone with a PayPal supervisor, then file a claim. My next call would be to a postal inspector, and file a report there. In the meantime, I would be closely communicating with the seller, to determine if I could help him in case of his loss, or thereby discover if he was being deceitful or evasive, by analyzing his responses.
I would only post here, if we needed additional help resolving things, and couldn’t do it privately.
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He contacted me about the issue elsewhere. I advised him to post about it here since the deal took place here.
As to video of opening packages- It is becoming normal to do crap like this to protect yourself..just like I have done so in packaging to ship knives.

As for the content being rocks- A few years ago there was a package someone received with a rock in it with "sebenza" or "sebenza 21" written in sharpie.
I used to have the pic but since lost it. Wish I still had that around.
 
r8shell said:
I've no opinion one way or the other as to the truth at this point, except to say that in the video he says he has a bad feeling about it because of the sound the package makes when he shakes it. I can imagine deciding at that point to make an unboxing video.
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^^^ This. I;ll also say that the buyer is known to me, and is someone I trust.
 
So I was made aware of the tape appearing to be open already, and I agree in the video it appears as such. I paused it and did a frame by frame and here is what you will see: http://imgur.com/a/RVEfLEJ

The tape is in fact there until about half way across that portion of the box then pops the rest of the way open.

As far as this case, it does me no good either way. I do professional knife work on the side so having one disappear in the mail hurts me more perhaps in the long run. There is zero benefit to me posting this other than a buyer beware.

I tape every unboxing from purchases and even customers I'm unfamiliar with after a trade hiccup a couple years ago as well as from lessons learned from others. The uneasy feeling while unboxing came from the sound the box made and immediately feeling the contents weren't a rigid box (I've owned Rocksteads before). I hope this gets resolved the right way in the end.
 
I video tape the packing process and dump into the post office slot because you never know.

This would be funny if it were just a hoax between 2 friends.
 
Also to note: my demeanor in the video is because I work 15 feet from a full bird Colonel and in an office next to a few dozen Marines. If I jumped around cussing and hollering like I wanted to it would have caused even more trouble.
 
Whelp, if the seller is a scammer, shame on him and hope he gets what's coming to him through the retribution of a Paypal chargeback. If the buyer is a scammer, hope he gets his due in the form of a banhammer. This exact situation is why I would NEVER buy a high dollar knife from someone with a low post count. If that offends anyone, heh, I'm not sorry. Not even a little bit.

If this WAS a situation where some scumbag Postal employee helped themselves to the knife while it was in transit, then my sympathies lie with the Seller because good luck ever getting your money back. It's almost certainly not going to happen, unless you have a receipt from a company in the amount of $800 (or more). I have been denied every claim I ever made from a used item I'd bought or sold disappearing because I didn't have "official documentation". In my personal experience, a Paypal receipt is NOT "official documentation". You'll most likely not be reimbursed, unless a Postal employee who's tasked with digging into this tracks down what these cost new and is inclined to refund you up to that $800. I've never seen it happen myself.
 
I can definitely say I've videotaped high dollar purchases before just for situations like this and also to document condition on knives I expect to receive in a particular condition.
 
All I can say is if I really wanted to scam the buyer, I'd come up with a better idea than putting lose rocks in it. So you can't tell by simply holding it without opening. Why did I wait until the payment was cleared by paypal to ship it in the original post? And why would I go the extra mile to put 800$ insurance on it? Why would I insist 850$ and decline 800$ offer by the buyer via email and waited almost an hour till the buyer agreed 850? 800$ for some rock is a deal I'd take any day of the week.
I'm lucky that the PayPal's decision was on my favor, but still a lesson to learn for me and to all the sellers out there. If you don't want to get into this, shoot a video all the way from packaging to usps at one take is the only way I can see to do it. I know next time I'll go directly to arizonacustomknife for selling my knives.
 
The buyer's reaction in the video sounds genuine to me. As he said - he was already feeling bad just by hearing the sound when the USPS box was shaken by himself.

OP - is there a possibility that the box was opened by someone else at some point from when it was delivered and signed by your wife to when you began to suspect its content? It is about one full day in between? Where was the package kept during that period of time? Also, when did you first become suspicious with the package? Is it the moment when you got it from your wife (and when was that?) or after you took it to your work place? Were you the only one in your work place (or wherever you took the package to)? Was the package within your sight all the time in your work place till you opened it?

The records of you both look good to me. It would be very unfortunate to you guys if the knife was stolen by a middle man (a USPS worker or someone else).
 
sharp_edge said:
The buyer's reaction in the video sounds genuine to me. As he said - he was already feeling bad just by hearing the sound when the USPS box was shaken by himself.

OP - is there a possibility that the box was opened by someone else at some point from when it was delivered and signed by your wife to when you began to suspect its content? It is about one full day in between? Where was the package kept during that period of time? Also, when did you first become suspicious with the package? Is it the moment when you got it from your wife (and when was that?) or after you took it to your work place? Were you the only one in your work place (or wherever you took the package to)? Was the package within your sight all the time in your work place till you opened it?

The records of you both look good to me. It would be very unfortunate to you guys if the knife was stolen by a middle man (a USPS worker or someone else).
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Here's the timeline:

Monday 340pm: wife signed for package and put it on my desk. No one else is home and she does not touch the packages I receive or open any mail of mine (she knows I record all openings).

Wednesday around 2am: I get home from the airport, I was out of state for a wedding. I immediately went to bed.

Wednesday at 740am: I leave the house in a rush to drop my son off at school and get to work, box was grabbed and put in my gym bag.

Wednesday 1032am (according to video timestamp): I unbox the Rockstead package. My suspicion arose once I was sitting at my desk and grabbed it from my bag and actually paid attention to the feel of the box. Package went from my desk to gym bag, and carried to my access controlled office in which no one is there unless I'm in it too.
 
Not to be obtuse, luh1202 luh1202 but the motivation a seller would have for getting 800 insurance on an item, not sending item, and sending rocks would be to keep knife, and keep buyers money and possibly get 800 insurance to either keep or reimburse buyer.

Since you have 800 insurance, will you be making a claim to recover the value of the item that was not delivered and paying buyer his money back?
 
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luh1202 said:
***snip***
I'm lucky that the PayPal's decision was on my favor, but still a lesson to learn for me and to all the sellers out there. If you don't want to get into this, shoot a video all the way from packaging to usps at one take is the only way I can see to do it. I know next time I'll go directly to arizonacustomknife for selling my knives.
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Regardless of whether PP decided in your favor or not, it is YOUR responsibility to ensure the buyer gets the knife he purchased from you. Until that happens, you have not fulfilled your end of the bargain (even though in this case it may be through no fault of your own). My point is simply that you owe the buyer his $800 back. Are you going to pay it back or do you intend to keep it?
 
EurAzn12 said:
Here's the timeline:

Monday 340pm: wife signed for package and put it on my desk. No one else is home and she does not touch the packages I receive or open any mail of mine (she knows I record all openings).

Wednesday around 2am: I get home from the airport, I was out of state for a wedding. I immediately went to bed.

Wednesday at 740am: I leave the house in a rush to drop my son off at school and get to work, box was grabbed and put in my gym bag.

Wednesday 1032am (according to video timestamp): I unbox the Rockstead package. My suspicion arose once I was sitting at my desk and grabbed it from my bag and actually paid attention to the feel of the box. Package went from my desk to gym bag, and carried to my access controlled office in which no one is there unless I'm in it too.
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So it was in your office when/after you took the box out of your gym bag that you first realized sth was wrong with it, correct?

Anyway, it sounds nobody has touched the package after it's delivered to your home, other than you and your wife. In other words, IF this is indeed a middle man work, it must be before the package was delivered. Of course, another possibility is the knife was never put into the box in the first place.

BTW, both of your names and addresses are identifiable in your video.

EDIT: read your post again and you answered it was in you home when you picked up the package from your desk when you became suspicious.

Got another question:
At that point or after, did you ever think about taking the box to a USPS office and opening it in front of them? I mean, based on the sound of shaking the package, it is certain that it was not a knife inside.
 
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