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Post by randomnobody on Mar 16, 2011 20:39:35 GMT
Well, I still haven't heard if they got my transfer or not, but it's been removed from my account, so it should be on the way; I figure I'll wait until Friday and see what happens.
I had another look at the order form and am not sure how I managed to screw it up to the point I did, but it's about as clean and clear as it can get, as these things go. There's even an option for PayPal that I somehow overlooked. I must have been more tired than I thought, or something. Odd, since it was only about 5:30 in the evening when I placed the order... :?
Oh well, next time I'll pay attention. :oops: I do certainly hope to buy from them again, now that I know what the heck I'm doing. :x
Back to the waiting game..................................................hopefully next time I post it'll be with a payment confirmation or shipping notice. :shock:
tl;dr Ordering from this place is not nearly as difficult as I somehow made it. At least we have THAT hurdle cleared...
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Post by randomnobody on Mar 18, 2011 19:15:49 GMT
Well, for good news, I have been contacted by Aceros de Hispania regarding my order. For bad news...they can't verify my payment, and requested a copy of my transfer form. So I went back to the bank and had them make one for me, which I then asked them to fax on my behalf. Unfortunately, they can't fax outside the US, so I scanned my copy once I got home and attached it to an email I have just sent.
I hope they get it and get things moving. The process my bank detailed into further tracing and possibly retrieving my money sounds like a pain in the...well, pick somewhere that hurts. The bright side being, as long as everything was done right on their end, the only thing that will turn up through it all is that I did, in fact, send money. Any further battling can be done on a different er...court.
Or I can just eat the loss and try again with a different, more protected method. Either way.
Of course, the Spanish business day is over, and now launching into the weekend, so it'll be a while before I hear anything from them. Hooray for the classic waiting game!
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Post by wnydel on Mar 19, 2011 1:45:20 GMT
randomnobody, sorry to read about all your troubles with this. I hope it all works out okay.
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Post by randomnobody on Mar 19, 2011 1:56:08 GMT
Yeah, it's been odd. All because I missed a button on an online form.
Oh well, if all goes well, I'll have two new knives in a week and a half or so. If anything else goes horribly wrong, I'll be out $135 and have two new knives in two weeks.
I'll also probably be condensing my posts to clear out space and what not...
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Post by randomnobody on Mar 19, 2011 13:23:13 GMT
Got an email this morning that they're looking into it; surprised to hear from them on a Saturday. This was at about 4:30 AM my time, and nothing more yet at almost 9:30 AM...
Also, it seems I can't delete my earlier posts anymore, presumably having passed X time, so future readers will have to bear with my incessant chattiness.
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Post by Kilted Cossack on Mar 19, 2011 14:04:54 GMT
I kind of like the blow by blow. This is all new and fun stuff---I mean, it's not like you're going into excruciating detail about ordering a H/T from KOA . . . .
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Post by randomnobody on Mar 19, 2011 14:35:03 GMT
Well, at least somebody's getting a kick out of it, then.  I like to think that when detailing an experience, it's best to do so as events occur. Helps with the timeline and keeps a fuzzy memory from obscuring things. ...but seven or more consecutive posts was not what I had in mind. :oops: |
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Sébastien
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Post by Sébastien on Mar 19, 2011 20:46:15 GMT
It's no big deal man, I personnaly don't mind it. However, I feel you, that's a lot of trouble for ordering two knives.
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Post by randomnobody on Mar 19, 2011 23:13:26 GMT
It's certainly turned out to be, hasn't it? I still say it's pretty much my fault at this point, should have paid attention. Once these two get here, I'll have another go with two or three more that have caught my eye since, but this time I'm going to make sure I pay with credit card or PayPal. Not sure which yet, CC would probably process faster on their end, so most likely that.
There are a few other knives on this site that are interesting, and cheap, so I'll have a go at them.
Now to finally pin down the specifics of Spanish knife types/styles, since every source I've seen so far has had its own name for each! :x
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Sébastien
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Post by Sébastien on Mar 19, 2011 23:18:24 GMT
Yeah, I too like a couple (actually, many) knives on that site, including some of these Navaja folders.
If in the end, you get nice blades for the money spent, I might take the plunge, too.
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Post by randomnobody on Mar 19, 2011 23:44:47 GMT
I'm reading a lot of good things about the knives I got, particularly the Joker; I'm hoping the Martinez will be just as good. Apart from the "carraca" types, I am also rather intrigued by this locking system: www.aceros-de-hispania.com/gb/in ... car=Search The knives themselves aren't exactly pretty, but they're cheap and I simply MUST know how that lock works. Of course, there are others, but I'll be throwing at least one of these into my next order...maybe a keychain model.  |
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Post by randomnobody on Mar 20, 2011 20:40:20 GMT
Popping in with another interesting website I found, via what seems to be their YouTube account. www.filofiel.com/tienda/Here they are demonstrating a knife by J.J. Martinez, which I'm finding myself more and more drawn to: Unfortunately, these aren't the cheapest knives...but they are, at least, "carraca". Still having a tough time finding that particular locking system, well, exactly that particular system. A lot of the classic style knives I'm finding, by all assortment of names, have a similar configuration, but only one locking notch, as opposed to the gear-like notching that grants the "carraca" sound. Lots of really pretty artisan stuff here, too, and a huge selection of international brands. Prices seem par, on the pieces I bothered to look at. :geek: Here, have some eye-and-ear candy: |
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Post by randomnobody on Mar 22, 2011 22:08:39 GMT
So, as I wait to hear back from Aceros de Hispaña on my order with them, I thought I'd give Filofiel a go, since they're the only place I can find J.J. Martinez knives in this style and they also have knives from a company called Celaya that drew my interest. The knives I will be ordering are these: www.filofiel.com/tienda/product_ ... ts_id=4916 www.filofiel.com/tienda/product_ ... ts_id=3263 www.filofiel.com/tienda/product_ ... cts_id=880 The first is the least expensive (yet still attractive) J. J. Martinez that features the word "carraca" in its description, the rest I can't confirm. The second is the Celaya, which I was quite drawn to by the wood scales of the larger version, but I am buying the smaller and hoping I get good scales. Either way, it's still quite a pretty knife, I think. The last, the Albacete, is one I'm not so sure about, as the quality apparent in the photo is somewhat lacking, however for 15 Euro (about 21 USD) I figure if it's a piece of crap, it's only a $20 piece of crap. I have a lot of those lying around, at least this one is still interesting and different. HOWEVER... Submitting an order through Filofiel Cuchilleria requires creating an account. No problem, the form is incredibly simple and no financial information is taken, only contact and shipping info., as well as date of birth, presumably for age verification purposes. Now comes the tricky bit... The shipping options within the checkout process are only for orders shipping within Spain. The only mention to international orders is "email for cost." So I figured I'd pass a letter and see where I got. This is where feces start heading toward the cooling unit. My email came back as undeliverable, apparently blocked as spam. Here is what the failed delivery notice said: Okay, sure, a minor glitch, right? So I try again. ...Same thing. I figure I'll wait until morning an see if I get a reply, it seems their business hours are a bit weird (10-12, then 4-8 local time mon-fri) which is neat but since I just missed that second shift by about an hour or so, I'll have to wait until at least 6am my time to find out if they got anything I sent. Meanwhile, I wait some more. Again. Whee! |
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Sébastien
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Post by Sébastien on Mar 22, 2011 23:27:07 GMT
Damn, those knives will probably a joy to hold once you get them, after all those problems. Ordering from KOA is like walking in a park compared to this.
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Post by randomnobody on Mar 23, 2011 0:33:13 GMT
Ha, yeah, no kidding. I don't know if it's a Spanish thing, or Europe in general, but I frequently deal with companies in Japan and sometimes China, heck, I have family in England that we exchange with for Christmas etc., that seem much more streamlined, but these websites just make buying from these businesses seem like far too much trouble. Unless it's just coincidentally these two companies. I've got two more to try after this, so we'll see.
When I get home, I'll try emailing Filofiel from another email address or two to see if I don't get a failure notice. Luckily, one of the advantages to their account system is that your shopping cart is stored permanently until you remove items or complete the order...so all I have to do is log in and pick up where I left off.
Edit: Not triple posting this time, so an edit it shall be!
Sent a copy of the original email, with tales of my struggles, to Filofiel via my Gmail account, which hasn't bounced back yet, so I'm thinking I got in.
Waiting now...
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Post by randomnobody on Mar 23, 2011 13:50:38 GMT
Filofiel replied, to my second email. Crazy email errors.
Anyway, seemingly in lieu of the online cart system, they requested my contact information and order via email, I presume once they have calculated my shipping costs, they will send me a secure form to file if the online checkout is not an option. I wonder if they use PayPal? I should look into this.
Anyway, nice fast response, at least, but I think I missed out on this shift again, and will have to wait for the afternoon shift to hear anything more.
Meanwhile, I'm off to work.
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Sébastien
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Post by Sébastien on Mar 23, 2011 15:00:39 GMT
Hell, I hope you will have those folders before 2012 comes !
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Post by randomnobody on Mar 23, 2011 18:37:33 GMT
Yikes, I'm sure they'll be here before then. I've done everything I can on my end in both transactions, the ball is theirs now.
I'm hoping the fact that I haven't heard from Aceros de Hispania is a good sign, that they confirmed my payment and don't need anything else from me, and hopefully that order is on its way.
Their shipping estimate was 8-10 days, so I'm guessing registered air mail, which I dint think hadsa tracking number, so much as a confirmation number. Hopefully I'll see them in less than two weeks.
As for Filofiel, nothing back from them yet, so hopefully I'll have word there tomorrow.
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Post by randomnobody on Mar 25, 2011 2:16:34 GMT
Just sent an email off to Aceros, stating my concern in having not heard from them in almost a week (last contact from them was the 19th, the 24th is winding down rapidly as I type this) and asking if they had been able to confirm my payment or not. Still nothing from Filofiel, but I'll give them another day. Technically, it's only been a day and a half since I received instructions to send information...and sent it...so for all I know, they're just waiting to hear from the local postal authority person...thing...on how much it'll cost to send three knives to me. If I haven't heard from them by their close on Monday, I'll write again. My main concern is that the previous email errors may not have been the last to prevent me from successfully contacting them...but we'll see. I'm debating an order through Pastor, but the only knife that draws my eye there that I haven't already ordered elsewhere is remarkably similar to one in my order at Filofiel... Conveniently, I cannot seem to access Pastor Cuchilleria at the moment, but the knife listed on Filofiel is this one: www.filofiel.com/tienda/product_ ... ts_id=3263 If I recall, the description on Pastor of the similar knife (both have different blade markings, mind, but this is pretty much the only difference I can see) is "Pastor Celaya Bandolera" or something to that extent. Again, each knife bears different manufacturer stamps/engravings/cutouts or whatever they are...but everything else is virtually identical as far as I can tell...and the naming on Pastor is odd, considering. At any rate, I now wait, again, to hear from Aceros de Hispania and Filofiel Cuchilleria. Man, these knives had better be as good as they seem.  Edit: wrong URL; fix'd. |
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Post by randomnobody on Mar 25, 2011 15:28:55 GMT
Aceros came back, still can't find my transfer, and asked for the paperwork again. So I sent it to them again. Guess I'm back to waiting again.
Next time, make sure pick credit card or PayPal. :x
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