Leather Pen Case Group Buy

[OKLAHOMAN]

Just wanted to be the 1st and 200th. reply to this post!:biggrin::wink:​

 

[nava1uni]

I will also send extra money if needed.

 

[OKLAHOMAN]

I think without exception we all would pay any extra thats needed and totally appreciate your outstanding efforts...

 

[jason_r]

From Daniel's original post:

At this time nothing is added for any costs such as customs, duties or
higher than expected shipping costs. I am estimating shipping costs based
on $10.00 per kg or about $5.00 per lb. this would be consistent with.
other purchases I have made from overseas from two different suppliers.

PLEASE BE WARNED THAT IF THE ACTUAL FINAL COST DOES CHANGE FOR ANY REASON
I WILL NOTIFY THE GROUP AND YOU WILL BE EXPECTED TO PAY ANY DIFFERENCE.

It's not like such charges would have been unexpected. There's no reason for Daniel to eat these expenses.

Let me know what the difference will be Daniel.

 

[arw01]

Your perseverance is quite commendable in this purchase. Personally, I've only purchased a few items on ebay from HongKong and a few dozen IT8 calibration targets from Faust in Germany. Not sure I would have had the cohonas to deal with an Indian company!

When you are all finished, you just might know enough you get your importers license and have a new side career!

Alan

 

[sbell111]

Your perseverance is quite commendable in this purchase. Personally, I've only purchased a few items on ebay from HongKong and a few dozen IT8 calibration targets from Faust in Germany. Not sure I would have had the cohonas to deal with an Indian company!

It is definitely a different world.

I just completed a buy for buffalo horn from an Indian company. There were two or three moments when I had the sinking suspicion that I had just gotten totally screwed, but it all worked out in the end.

Like Daniel posted, the initial buy worked out a bunch of little hickups that I wouldn't even have imagined, but now that those have been resolved, future orders will not be that big of a deal.

 

[bitshird]

It is definitely a different world.

I just completed a buy for buffalo horn from an Indian company. There were two or three moments when I had the sinking suspicion that I had just gotten totally screwed, but it all worked out in the end.

Like Daniel posted, the initial buy worked out a bunch of little hickups that I wouldn't even have imagined, but now that those have been resolved, future orders will not be that big of a deal.

Steve, you should try buying Diamond and Precious stones from India, only one time did I get hosed but not that bad, I had one customer think India was a better place to get silver charms cast, but they found out that the company wouldn't take back any rejects, and there were a lot of them, I got the account back.

 

[Daniel]

Well here is the latest.
I am not sure I can explane this clearly but will give it a shot. From the beginning I have told the supplier that I can make payment by Pay Pal or Western Union, and that I prefer Pay Pal as it secures both the payment and the delivery of the cases.
The supplier has continually tried to get me to make payment by bank transfer. I have not been comfortable with making payment this way for several reasons. One I do nto know if I have any recourse if I do not receive the cases. Two I have never done it before, and three I do not like group buy money going into my personal bank account.
The suppler supposidly located an importer in New York that I can serve as a go between. I was supposed to be able to make payment to the importer and they would take delivery of the cases in New York and then ship them on to me. As it turns out this so called "Importer" is anything but. I received an e-mail from sansari100(A)gmail.com that is a simple list of the items being shipped with a total owed and a bank account to transfer the money to in New York. I am not sure just what makes them think i will suddenly do a Bank transfer just because the bank is in a different place. and the importer is not likely to even be a business owner much less a liscensed importer.
If anyone has any suggestions about how to go about making payment through bank transfer and still keep the payment tied to delivery of the goods please speak up. I have always relied on pay pal for this part fo the transaction so I am a bit lost as to options. thanks

 

[wolftat]

Well here is the latest.
I am not sure I can explane this clearly but will give it a shot. From the beginning I have told the supplier that I can make payment by Pay Pal or Western Union, and that I prefer Pay Pal as it secures both the payment and the delivery of the cases.
The supplier has continually tried to get me to make payment by bank transfer. I have not been comfortable with making payment this way for several reasons. One I do nto know if I have any recourse if I do not receive the cases. Two I have never done it before, and three I do not like group buy money going into my personal bank account.
The suppler supposidly located an importer in New York that I can serve as a go between. I was supposed to be able to make payment to the importer and they would take delivery of the cases in New York and then ship them on to me. As it turns out this so called "Importer" is anything but. I received an e-mail from sansari100(A)gmail.com that is a simple list of the items being shipped with a total owed and a bank account to transfer the money to in New York. I am not sure just what makes them think i will suddenly do a Bank transfer just because the bank is in a different place. and the importer is not likely to even be a business owner much less a liscensed importer.
If anyone has any suggestions about how to go about making payment through bank transfer and still keep the payment tied to delivery of the goods please speak up. I have always relied on pay pal for this part fo the transaction so I am a bit lost as to options. thanks

Email all the info to me and I will see what I can find out about them for you. As I have said before, a personal visit can make all the difference in the world sometimes.

 

[wood-of-1kind]

Email all the info to me and I will see what I can find out about them for you. As I have said before, a personal visit can make all the difference in the world sometimes.

Neil, what are your hourly rates? I may have a "visit" that you can make on my behalf. :wink:

 

[Daniel]

Neil, At this time I don't have enough info on the New York person to give you. All I really have is the address of the bank they want me to send the money to and an e-mail address that could have been created in 30 seconds and a false name.
I don't want anyone thinking they are trying to be shady, there really are legitimate problems in getting payments made and keeping the transaction secure for both ends. Pay Pal is not working we tried it. Western union causes problems for the supplier and Bank transfer causes problems for me. Honestly the answer to all the problems seems to be making a bank transfer but that is set up that the bank overseas both delivery of the payment and the delivery of the products. Pay Pal actually does this if you pay and ship through them so it has never been an issue before. Obviously the supplier has no intention of working out a method of payment other than bank transfer and I will not continue to put group buy money in my bank account. Anyway it will get worked out one way or the other, just another round of the same old crap.

 

[Daniel]

Hello again, I just sent an e-mail to the supplier canceling the second half of the order. IN short this is the same old problem we have gone around and around about with every shipment. i took the payment info from the e-mail to my bank today and they strongly recommended I not make payment in that manner, which is what I expected.

I ordered quite a few extra cases so I hope to be able to fill most of the orders for single and double cases. I did not get any of the 24 pen cases at all.

I will post updates on what I can do as I get it all sorted out.

 

[jimofsanston]

Daniel I know you tried your best. That's all we could ask for. Infact you went above. If you find another vendor for cases i would more than likely order from you again. Thanks again for trying.

 

[arw01]

I suspect, facing the loss of a decent sized order, that a little more flexibility on their part will arise shortly.

Is their bank willing to issue some sort of guarantee that goods will be supplied?

Normally an exporter gets a letter of credit from the buyer that they will be paid WHEN the goods arrive, or if the freight is FOB shipper, then when proper bills of lading have been issued that show the goods delivered to the port.

Daniel, post the email address of the "broker" and there will be several members here technical enough to do some background checks.
Alan

 

[OKLAHOMAN]

Daniel, your work in this has been WAY beyond the norm, and I'm sure all of us thank you for your efforts......Thank you!

 

[Daniel]

Fade in: a dark and foggy forrest in an unknown location. the distant sound of horse hooves running fast. and through the mist appears a white knight in full armour. sorry guys but I had to let that off my chest. I am in the process of turning Neil loose on these poor souls. He may once again be able to come to the rescue. I asked him if he will pay for the cases in person to the contact in New York. I am waiting to here back from the contact that this is acceptable but Neil has already agreed. I don't require that Neil bond the shipment once he has it in his possesion. IAP memebrs get special trust exemptions with me.

 

[Daniel]

As of today the supplier is going to ship the cases form India to New York. Keep in mind that I was also told the cases where going to be shipped to New york two weeks ago. So what I am told and what actually happens are not the same things.
Neil has agreed to pick the packages up in person and pay for them. I expect at least a week for them to get through customs and all that and that is if customs does not cause any delays of their own.

Neil will then ship the cases to me in Reno. at that point I will have the entire known cost of the cases. With no added costs I should end up with the cases and about $400 to mail all orders with. I am doing everything I can to eliminate casts such as scrounging up boxes to mail cases in etc. I might come very close to making it. It would be a sweet suprise to actually get this done and nobody has to pay any extra, just keep your fingers crossed and a prayer or two would not hurt.

 

[Monty]

...I am doing everything I can to eliminate casts such as scrounging up boxes to mail cases in etc. ...

Why not just use the free Priority Mail boxes from the PO?

 

[jason_r]

Daniel-

Again, THANK YOU. You've done an insane amount of work on this.

And Thanks to Neil for helping push past the final hurdles.

I do think this one will hold the record of "Longest Group Buy" for quite a while.

 

[altaciii]

Daniel,
I, for one, am amazed at your patience and happy that you have so much. I know if it were me, money would have been refunded at the first sign of trouble. I'm also sure all of us are grateful for your on going persistance and will join hands in thanking you for your efforts.

 

[arw01]

The big cases don't fit in them, and Daniel's PO is not convenient.

 

[TomW]

The big cases don't fit in them, and Daniel's PO is not convenient.

USPS has a variety of free boxes, including large ones, that they will deliver to your door. USPS will also pick up from the household for free. Your governement at work!

Tom

 

[bitshird]

USPS has a variety of free boxes, including large ones, that they will deliver to your door. USPS will also pick up from the household for free. Your governement at work!

Tom

Cost factor is involved, why spend 15.00 when you can mail them for 7.50. the Post Office will still pick them up since he'll use click and ship

 

[Monty]

Cost factor is involved, why spend 15.00 when you can mail them for 7.50. the Post Office will still pick them up since he'll use click and ship

It doesn't have to be a FR box. There are several Priority boxes available that postage depends on weight and distance mailed. And, as already pointed out, you can go online at https://shop.usps.com/webapp/wcs/st...p_category=10000002&langId=-1&catalogId=10001
and they will deliver them directly to your door. It may take 10-14 days, but we've waited this long, a few more days won't kill any of us. But whatever works best for Daniel, it's his show.

 

[Daniel]

The problem with boxes is only for the 24 pen cases. they do not want to fit in anything. I found a bunch of Keyboard boxes at work and they should work just about right. I think it was one of those things where even God is starting to take pity on me. I do not have a huge number of them to get mailed. otherwise the flat rate boxes are going to work great for most orders. so when you get a box that looks like a Dell keyboard, it's not.

 

[jimofsanston]

Well if you happen to send one with the cases you would make brand new friend ( my son would gladly accept it). My wife would problaly run up and down my back ask why i bought that and she would not believe it came freeee with the cases.

 

[Daniel]

As of this morning the cases are in New York and have made it through customs. I am waiting on word from Neil that he has possession of them. Once He has them they are safe as they can be. At any rate we are just a step and a half from having the supplier and his agent out of the picture. I am still a bit reluctant to say it but I do think this buy will actually get completed. And that will be with all orders filled in full. i will actually fill weigh and figure postage on all the orders and will let you all know how much I come up short if any at all. It will be very close at best.

 

[penhead]

Patriots lost...Washington won...we may actually get all of the pen cases shortly....
this has been a vewy stawnge week 8>)

 

[Daniel]

I just check my first post in this thread and realized it has only been 5 months since this buy began. Feels a lot longer than that.

Thank you all for your trust and patience. i am happy to say that it has not been for nothing. Neil now has the rest of the pen cases in his possession. He needs to repack them to ship them on to Reno but as far as I am concerned the worst is over for this buy. I know Neil will do his best but he is also a busy fella. I am expecting at least a week for the cases to get to me and that is if Neil is able to find boxes without much problem. I hope my next update is to say that the orders have been shipped.

 

[OKLAHOMAN]

I just check my first post in this thread and realized it has only been 5 months since this buy began. Feels a lot longer than that.

Thank you all for your trust and patience. i am happy to say that it has not been for nothing. Neil now has the rest of the pen cases in his possession. He needs to repack them to ship them on to Reno but as far as I am concerned the worst is over for this buy. I know Neil will do his best but he is also a busy fella. I am expecting at least a week for the cases to get to me and that is if Neil is able to find boxes without much problem. I hope my next update is to say that the orders have been shipped.

No we thank you for yours!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[nava1uni]

All things come to those who wait. Guess that means all of us. Thank you for all of your energy, effort and perseverance.

 

[penhead]

So Daniel, now that this group buy is all but in the box, what are you going to do next to keep your stress level maxed out..??

Just joking of course...fully greatfull and appreciative of that all that you have conquered to bring this thing to fruition..!!

 

[Daniel]

one more update. Three packages are on there way to me via UPS. Due for delivery on friday. Neil personally traveled to New York and paid for the cases in person. Thanks again Neil, Not sure how I would have pulled this one off without your help.

 

[bruce119]

This has been a real adventure.

and Niel is defiantly one of the good guys

Looks like we're getting closer to the end of the tunnel

Thanks guys for all your hard work.



Now I'm thinking I mite need another 500 cases when do we start the next buy :biggrin: come on laugh just joking :foot-in-mouth: :umbrella:


thanks

 

[bitshird]

Great News Daniel, now I'll have them for my last three shows for the year, provided they don't get rained out like the first three did. Thank you for all of the trouble and sweat you've put into this massive effort Three thumbs up

 

[Greg O'Sherwood]

Is it too late to get in on this???:redface:

Just kidding! I've been following all the trevails and trials this group buy has gone through, sure makes for good reading. Kinda like a soap opera for dudes. Almost inspirational. :biggrin:

I wish I would have seen it a bit earlier. Perhaps if there are any extras or someone decides they don't want theirs, they can drop me a line.

Congrats all!

 

[nava1uni]

Glad to see that this adventure will be coming to an end. Thank you Neil for helping Daniel with this major group buy. I, like everyone else really appreciate all the effort that has gone into this one. I look forward to having the cases for my last show of the year prior to Christmas.

 

[Jim15]

Thanks Daniel and Neil.

 

[altaciii]

Thank you daniel for the update and thanks Niel for the help. Just let me know if I owe any extra and I will pay pal straight away.

Post # 240 on this thread.

 

[Rchan63]

Thank you gentlemen for going the EXTRA MILES. The end is near.