A while back I was looking for a bow for my wife. We contacted a Tradganger off of another thread that had a bow for sale. After I sent off the money and he agreed to send the bow when the dollars arrived I saw the thread about some of the nefarious scoundrals that have ripped of others using this site. Now I got worried that maybe I had made a mistake!! Trusting some one I didn't know and had never met. I didn't hear from him for a long time after sending the money, the tension mounted.
Finally he emailed me and said the money hadn't got there. This was a registered letter that had to be signed for. I went thru the correct actions with the post office ( frustrating on many counts), no joy. He says, still no letter. Finally it shows up, the postal service just took their time getting it there, like about 10 days too long!
So,... now I have to wait for the bow. Again finally,... it shows up, after us waiting impatiently. It arrives in good shape as promised.
I never really mistrusted the seller of the bow, but the thread about the "banned" people did make me think a bit.
So, here is a big thank you to Tradgang and all the great people on here that make it work so well. I know of other stories like this that don't get published on here that are just as good or better. Great folks , you all are. Thank you.
Now,... if I can pry my wife away from her work for a while so she can shoot some more ( she's on call alot). What little she has shot the bow she loves it, ( and the special purple arrows I made up)
Thanks to Gandgolf for the nice bow! :archer:
I had a similar problem with the post office a few months back.I bought a bow from another member,he sent the bow the same day I mailed the money order.I got the bow in two days and I sent the money order Priority mail with confirmation and it took about 16 days before he recieved it.The Priority mail envolope looked ripped in half and put back to gether with duct tape.I had dealt with him before so he wasn't worried but it worried me.But it was a bank money order so I could cancell it and get another one reissued.Things can happen,I sent Priority so he would get it quickly.
I have had nothing but great dealings with Tradgangers. USPS still has 24 arrows out there shipped Priority Mail with no confirmation that have never showed up.
Registered mail is the most secure way to send anything. But the emphasis is on security, not speed. Everytime it changes hands within the Post Office it has to be signed for and secured in a variety of ways. It does slow it down, sometimes.
And AK is a long ways from just about everywhere. However, ten extra days does seem too long.
I found out the hard way to send everything priority mail. Payments of course need a signature when recieved.
If not priority Ive had them take up to 10 days to go five states away.
Priority it 2-3 days.
Money is more than tight but just not worth the risk for me. The post office messes up and its me that gets a bad name or looses a bow and a freind.
God bless
and OH YES......KEEP YOUR INSURANCE RECEIPTS.
I just got a letter from the post office for a shipment to a guy from LAST OCTOBER that recieved a scattergun from me broken in half. Literally and that was in TWO padded boxes.
Regardless of the tracking number and item number they wont do diddly WITHOUT the original insurance receipt.
Another lesson learned the hard way.
HERE, I feel pretty safe, people wise. Almost all here are wiling and able to go more than half way.
I think it has something to do with PRIDE....as does our hunting.
Thomas, did you buy his blacktail recurve?
They won't do diddly with all the proper paperwork. Had a claim filed for over 3 months now, nothing. And I can't get 'em to tell me nothing either.
I've made many good trades from the guy's and gal's here on Trad Gang. Good people all the way around.
I'm glad everything worked out ok.
Never had a problem here and I've gone through a good many deals.
Good bunch of people here :thumbsup:
Haven't bought anything from members but have nothing but good to say about the exchange of information and advice given. Great to be part of such a super forum/group.
Excellent PEOPLE here !! I've made MANY great dealings on Tradgang, Thanks to All ........ Adam
Howzit Brahdah,
Glad things worked out for you. I know the feeling about waiting--------------.
Aloha,
Mark
I have had nothing but excellent results with Tradgangers. The first bow I bought from Bubaloo (don't know if I got his name right, haven't been able to find him lately) and the deal went flawlessly. Big hats off to Mojostick. One of the best I've ever dealt with. Lots of great people on here that are willing to put more than a little faith in fellow gangers.
Ive dealt with many here, and have never been burned. GREAT group we have here!
I have been here for the last 8 months and the only thing I can say is AWESOME everyone is so willing to help,I think it is just the Traditional attitude I love it.Blake
QuoteOriginally posted by WestTnMan:
I have had nothing but great dealings with Tradgangers. USPS still has 24 arrows out there shipped Priority Mail with no confirmation that have never showed up.
If you're buyin or sellin, ALWAYS use the delivery confimation form. They have serial numbers and can be tracked daily by both partys.
Ron
TJ, I bought his Cougar #40@28 for my wife. She loves it so far.
Pics soon I hope.
Mark, You waitin on sumpin?, a new toy? Howzit any way?
And BTW, we got some good people here in the PO, and a couple of the other kind, and I am ALWAYS very nice to them. (don't want then to go "postal", you know) lol. The paper work circles they have to run around in for something like this is nuts!
SaltWaterTom,
I lived outside of Homer, off of Anchor Point Loop Road for 5 years and had more delayed mail then anywhere else that I have ever lived! No offense to the Post Office, but I would have to trust Trad Gang folk more that the Post office. Did you live there in the eighties?
sometimes we have to trust someone we have never met,that is just how it is in this world.i will never send anything without a confirmation number and insured for maximum value.never accept a plain money order as these can be fakes.postal m/o or a banks cashiers check.if you have any previous dealings with the person then go by that.this site is pretty good at catching bad eggs and anyone thats at all shady gets called out into the street pretty quickly.my hats off to the tradgang family and what it stands for
larry :notworthy:
I've bought, sold and traded more than a few bows on TG since I joined up not long ago.
I can honestly say that the group of people participating in the classified are some of the best out there. I've had things take a bit to get out and back due to the post, but I've never felt worried in the slightest that I'd be on the sharp end of the stick if something didn't work out.
I really like it when they call you up (I always offer to chat), it's a joy to get to talk with fellow trad archers from all over the country.
I just purchased an Assenheimer from WANGO and it was a great experience. There are a lot of great people here!
Tks again WANGO!
NWJamie, yes I have lived here since 86, and love it for the most part. Sure is nice to get away in the winter for a bit tho!
For some reason, most people prefer USPS. I've sent stuff, paid for delivery confirmation, know for a fact the item was received, but according to USPS it wasn't. I even had a follow up sent, just to see what happened, no response. Priority mail isn't scanned at a processing center when it arrives or leaves-only next day. Even USPS doesn't know where it is. 3 years ago, a friend bought a 1 piece Red Chavez bow, paid for it, shipped USPS. It arrive broken in half at the riser. USPS accused the seller and buyer of fraud, stating that the bow was broken when shipped (even though the bow was damaged), and they were trying to collect on the insurance. After 6 months, my friend got his money back. Personally, I prefer UPS. I can track my package across the country. I've never had a problem with my parcels using UPS. A couple of years ago, I had a TradGanger chew me out, big time, for using UPS. But, I know where it is, when it arrived, and when it left.
Brown always lets me down. Have had many a destroyed package show up by UPS. USPS has never let me down.
On a good note, UPS has always been quick to honor a claim for me.
Tom:
They musta put your check on the kayak from Homer to ANC. When the snow flies thats a problem for me you know the hand off from dogsled team to kayak to get across Turnagain.
The people involved with Traditional Archery seem to be a better group of folks than many other groups. I'm new to this forum as a member but have watched the forum grow over the years. With so many members to only have 3 scam artist is a tribute to the quality of people around here. Its also one of the reasons I was interested in being a member here.
Anyone that is or has been a member of any of the major knife forums knows there are so many scam artist on the net and in the knife industry it will make you want to have nothing to do with it. Luckily the Knife Forging guys seem to be a much smaller group where people know each other. In there it seems there is one or two scams a year versus the hundreds upon hundreds in other areas like people involved with factory knife trading.
It was funny to read this about the mail in Homer. When I lived in the Bush I would get all my Stihl Chainsaws, blades, oil, files, bars, and everything from a little shop there in Homer. They would mail me stuff and it would seem like no time at all before they would show up in a little Cesna and drop it off at our tiny little log cabin Post Office. Whenever I was ordering arrow shafts, books, and other Archery items it seemed like it would take forever.
Sharpster,
Sorry, I have been gone a few days. Yes, you can see where the package has been scanned and delivered if you use delivery confirmation. But if it suddenly goes missing, it is very likely that no one will be able to tell you what happened. If lost w/o insurance - too bad for you. If it has value, I would not send it without insurance.
The only time I can remember having a dispute over an (insured) broken article was when the outside box had no indication of damage, or the packaging was not adequate. As someone who has had to handle these issues, it does make you wonder sometimes. Shippers do bear some responsibility in proper packaging, too.
Just some friendly advice from a former Postmaster. I still ship with the USPS. In my experience, it has served me well.
One time when I wanted to buy a bow from someone I didn't know anything about, I called my favorite bow company (who shall remain nameless in case they don't want to make a regular business out of this) and asked them how much they would charge to inspect the bow and forward my check to the seller if the bow passed their inspection. They said $50, which I thought was fine. When I communicated this to the seller, I never heard from him again, even though I offered to pick up the inspection fee and the cost of shipping from the bow company to me.
I've bought stuff from other Tradgangers just by sending them a money order, and have never had any problem, but they have been guys whose names I recognize who have been active. But if I see a name who just registered a month ago, I might be a little more leery.
It's possible you might be able to work out a deal like this with your favorite bow company, as they would probably like to get more of your business in the future. I think $50 plus shipping is a cheap price to pay to avoid being fleeced!
I have had numerous opportunities to do business with fellow Tradgang members and all of my experiences have been great. Overall, I think most of the folks on our site are a "cut above" in terms of integrity.
Claudia
I've been dealing with a person on here that is first class...along with 99.9% of the others that frequent this site. If he has something and I don't have the money he says pay when you can and I get it to him ASAP. Just finishing up another deal with him and will pay it off on the next pay day, couldn't believe the trust some people have when I first started posting here. Sad to see some people get ripped off but it happens, makes me mad!
Glad to see it worked out with you on this...I had an incident a couple years back with a Taxidermist that said he didn't get my MO for the final payment. I had the original photocopied and went through the mess and wait the USPS makes you do, come to find out he cashed it instead of deposited it. USPS copies showed his signature and bank stamp on the back...he called me every name in the book until I showed him the copy. He kept saying he didn't have a deposit at the time I claimed I sent the MO; he apparently forgot he cashed it instead of depositing it.
Josh
Hate to say it but I don't deal with the post office anymore. UPS or Fedex is the only way I'll ship anything. They will pick it up at home or there is a store less than 5 miles away. Don't deliver on weekends, but at least everything I've shipped has gotten there when they said it would. Their prices seem to be the same as USPS.