Kuya
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Post by Kuya on Oct 11, 2012 23:41:58 GMT
$62, of which ~$45 was in shipping costs. Can someone really expect anything for $17? There are Stainless Steel wall hangers and practice swords that cost more than that. You get what you pay for.
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Post by chrisperoni on Oct 12, 2012 0:17:34 GMT
This fits what Marc L. (formerly of Wiwingti) said about their auctions- when an auction finishes at a low price Ryansword sends out a cheapo version of the same sword pictured- uses cheap versions of all the parts etc. (now, before everyone gets all up on my s**t, I freely admit I'm just advising of something someone else said several years ago )
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Post by Bodhidharma on Oct 12, 2012 0:55:21 GMT
Not stainless Kuya but not good steel either. True, you get what you pay for but i knew i was getting ripped off and, at 62 bucks, i wanted to see. How many people dont know the difference, this is the problem. It would be interesting to buy a clay tempered and see what that is like, but i aint going there.
Yep, 100% accurate. Is that against the law? False advertising.
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Post by ineffableone on Oct 12, 2012 2:09:49 GMT
Well I would imagine one would expect to get a sword that at least looks like the one pictured. Note the tsuba and habaka both looked completely different according to the report along with other features of the sword. Sort of a bait and switch tactic, which is what Wiwingti warned people about Ryan swords years ago. Seems they are still up to the same practice.
It is reports like this that is why Ryan Swords has the worst reputation of sword vendors online. Sadly people fall for their marketing all the time, and get cheap worthless SLOs thinking they are getting real swords.
This is exactly why SBGs typical response to "Is Ryanswords any good" is "anywhere but there, run away from them and don't look back."
A few newer members here at SBG have taken the idea to defend Ryan and other ebay sellers. Repeatedly ignoring the suggestions of the older members, and taking it upon themselves to be experts on misunderstood vendors. Yet when someone actually reports a poor experience with Ryanswords, just like the more experienced folks from SBG warned, we get the response "you get what you pay for." Really, a low price justifies a vendor ripping folks off with a bait and switch?
Seriously Ryanswords is obviously still up to their bad tricks and SBGs warnings of their bad business should still stand.
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Kuya
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Post by Kuya on Oct 12, 2012 2:56:37 GMT
I don't know, I'm not the type to blame the victim, but when I pay $17 for a sword, even though I'm a rookie, I know I'm not going to be getting much. I whole-heartedly agree that the sword sent not being as advertised (to an extent, as we all know we aren't buying the exact stock photo sword, but at least the same model with fittings is to be expected) was wrong and lame of them. I would have taken pictures and done a dispute to get all my money back if that happened to me.
I'm still waiting for my Ryan Swords sword, and I hope it isn't as poo as what I'm expecting based on their reputation.
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Post by chrisperoni on Oct 12, 2012 3:23:15 GMT
But this was an auction... when I score a deal on an auction I expect to have GOT A GOOD DEAL - I should not have to assume I'm getting crap. Back in the day of the HMS bamboo swords being sold on ebay with starting bids of 1cent, and people such as Marc R. getting them for around $50 because he was good at sniping and being patient and knowing how to make the most of ebay, he got the swords which were advertized. I was shopping for the swords sold by the same vendor and got what I paid for. An auction winner should not be subject to being ripped off because the seller didn't like how low the final bid was.
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Post by Bodhidharma on Oct 12, 2012 4:23:49 GMT
I went in with eyes open Kuya, But, as stated by Chrisperoni, it was an auction. I also think that he has the el cheapos he sends off when he does not get the price he wants. I sent him a private e-mail and his response was the innocent guy. "Send me a picture maybe we sent you the wrong one'' was the reply.. What is happening is the sword posted has better quality fittings than the sent ones. The same fittings arrive but a much lower standard. We have a fellow in OZ which does a neat trick, he posts his swords and then bids against you to drive the prices up under a private bidder guise. When i told him i knew what was going on there was defensibility but he knew i knew. I bought my Kanemichi off Nihonto Australia and, for me, that is the way to do business.
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Kuya
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Post by Kuya on Oct 12, 2012 5:05:41 GMT
I already said that I think it was shady of them to put up such a cheap auction and not send the item pictured. But I wouldn't sell something of value on a low priced auction without a reserve, so I would not expect anyone else to... unless they were shady. Ryan Swords was shady for doing that.
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Post by Maynar on Oct 12, 2012 7:20:39 GMT
Really- I'm no ebay wizard but the no-reserve clause is a red flag for me, esp. with swords.
Oh, uh... the other flag is the name "Ryan."
And yes, I own one. Bought under another name (tckruan88), as you might well imagine. :oops:
FWIW, the thing was tight and sharp all around, and I'd cut with it. Just sayin'
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Kuya
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Post by Kuya on Oct 12, 2012 8:59:17 GMT
Wait, what? The name "Ryan" is a red flag now? Better call my friend and tell him to change his name. :lol:
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Post by william m on Oct 12, 2012 11:26:58 GMT
Something that slightly irks me when people ask if something is a good sword or not, is that people often say. "It is a good sword for what you pay for $16".
To me this doesn't really answer the question. Sure a ryan sword is perhaps a good sword for $16, but is it a good sword in general? Is it even a real sword with regards to minimum demands you need with regards to construction and safety? The answer of course is no.
Personally when I answer questions with regards to if a sword is good or not, I ignore the price as a factor as I don't think that the less money you spend on a sword should somehow validate severe flaws in the sword just because it is cheap.
eg. Frank: "The sword broke and shattered when it hit the wooden cutting stand." Jake:"yeah but it was only 50 bucks"
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2012 11:30:49 GMT
The short answer would be: "has anyone got a sword from ryan sword ?" - yes, may people have"if so was it any good ?" - general opinion is NO! "are they a company to avoid?" - definitely a big YES!Hopefully that should be simple enough...
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Post by Rifleman Lizard on Oct 12, 2012 11:36:12 GMT
Exactly what William said.
"A good sword for 16 bucks" and you're just trying to justify the poor standard with the cheap price tag. My opinion is that you can't get a good sword retailing at $20-$50. Sure, you may be satisfied with those items because you didn't lose much money, but that hardly makes them good swords. Ryan swords are absolutely not good swords. UK customs, oblivious to the finer details of our hobby, don't even let that standard across the border. They're captured at the border and exterminated for the rubbish they are. Period.
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Post by Jussi Ekholm on Oct 12, 2012 16:51:09 GMT
I just couldn't see myself writing the following post to this topic... but heck I couldn't resist it. I think people overbash Ryansword. Yup I just said that and meant it. I mean I've not knowingly purchased a Ryansword-related product for c. 6 years, those old Yingswords that I got probably had at least slight Ryan connections (same forges etc.). They were mediocre swords. Like I've said on several occasions eBay-forges have pushed it up a notch or 2 over the years. Ryansword sources from the generic mid-quality China forges, like do 10's of other vendors. And based on little personal experience with Musashi & Munetoshi, I don't see these really over the eBay sellers. I've seen 2 Musashi swords and own currently 1 Munetoshi, these are mediocre products in my view, similar that you can get from any of the Chinese generic vendors. As a personal note, I believe that the Munetoshi Akitsushima I have is sourced from the same forge where Ryansword gets some of their blades... This is just personal speculation, but I strongly believe that, as the products are so similar. So I think it's pretty much the same thing whether you would pay 250$ for Munetoshi or 250$ for Ryansword. Most likely you'll get pretty much similar product. And yes, I personally have said much negative things about Chinese eBay-sellers as well as some other production companies that source from China. Of course I have some production companies whose work I like, and therefore I speak good things about them, so yes I am biased like everybody else. However I see Munetoshi, Musashi, Ryansword, Masahiro etc. manufacturers at the same level. I might buy some cheap stuff by them, but I would not buy their expensive stuff. However I'm also agreeing on price vs. quality. You can get fairly good quality for low prices sometimes, if you know what you'll be buying. But your expectations must be in reality with the price you are paying for. Sometimes you might get lucky, but on most cases you get what you paid for. I have different expectations for different price ranges, and needless to say I don't expect much for under 100€. So my conclusion is, some Ryansword products are not good, some Munetoshi products are not good, heck even some Hanwei products are not good. It's also a matter of personal preferences.
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Kuya
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Post by Kuya on Oct 12, 2012 19:34:33 GMT
Win.
I've noticed that people just join hate and love bandwagons. It's OK for Paul and other reviewers on the main site to use "for this price point" with cheap Hanwei, Cheness, Musashi, Munetoshi, and Ryumon swords, but it's not OK for anyone to use the same "for this price point" logic with a Longquan eBay seller.
My experience with Munetoshi is somewhat the same as yours. It's really no better than an eBay seller's sword for the price. You get what you pay for. However, while they may be of the same level of quality, I think Munetoshi sources from Handmade Sword's and Musahsi forge, and not the same one Ryan Sword's.
(I still think it was wrong of the seller to not send the person at least the same sword model that was pictured in the auction listed.)
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Sébastien
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Post by Sébastien on Oct 12, 2012 20:15:28 GMT
Well, most sub-300$ katanas have flaws and it gets worse when you go under the 100$ mark. However, from what I read on thsi forum, and from my own personnal experience, some sellers tend to give less flawed products than others.
For example, Munetoshi might offer non-perfect products, but we get many more satisfied Munetoshi owners than Ryansword owners. We do get the occasionnal happy RS buyer, but we get plenty more of people who bought RS blades and ended with a poorly-made, overpriced product. And RS owners who ended up with a downright dangerously-poorly-made RS blade.
So, in the end, I don't think that we are overbashing Ryansword, nor even bashing them. Just stating the experience of numerous past and present members of this product : Ryansword, more often than many other sellers, often sells overpriced, mediocre products, at best, or dangerous ones at worst.
Edit :
Kuya, I don't think there's a hate bandwagon on this forum, only well-know facts.
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Marc Kaden Ridgeway
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Awful lot of leaving and joining going on here for me .... And gosh I can't recall doing a bit of i
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Post by Marc Kaden Ridgeway on Oct 12, 2012 20:50:55 GMT
Jussi, You know I respect you man, I have known you for a few years... like what? 7 or so? We both joined SFI at about the same time. However , if I recall correctly , you have only just joined here within the last year. So there are things you have missed here. On SFI there were a few bad reports , not so many as here. Ryan has a bad reputation not just for the quality of the swords , but the integrity of the seller. There is a long history , it is not just a bandwagon as our esteemed resident sempr!ni-stirrer Kuya puts it. There are reports of people not getting refunds, people not getting swords, people getting switched swords , poor quality swords, falsely represented swords, swords with a nut holding on the tsuka , rat tail tangs... it goes on. And then there is "Ryan" himself. Fake reviews and testimonials, dupe SBG accounts to provide positive commentary (quite a few times) , blaming problems on "partners" , pretending to be customers, or other vendors. There were limited instances of this on SFI , a lot of it here. Also, there have been some positive reviews very recently. One of those was of a $100 sword that the kashira fell apart on while reassembling. Jussi, you know me ... I have had plenty of $100 swords , and never one that the koshirae crumbled on... How that was considered a positive review I just can't figure out. So that is why there are such strong feelings about Ryan here... it is well justified by a dodgy history and a continuing legacy or poor quality, kashira crumbling swords...
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Kuya
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Post by Kuya on Oct 12, 2012 21:36:00 GMT
Take what I am about to say in a positive light, please.
Help me with this. This is news to me that I would like to know more about. I would like details and links to investigate this, because this may be some conclusive and truly mind-changing (for me) evidence. I want the truth, regardless if it means I was wrong before (I've been trained to have, and love the fact that I have, an open mind and to accept changes in my current profession and my previous one). I want more information about these instances, and if any other eBay forges have done the same.
Thanks for your time.
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Kuya
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Post by Kuya on Oct 12, 2012 21:42:08 GMT
Hey... people thought Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks were "sempr!ni-stirrers" before, but all they were doing was fighting against popular bigotry and injustice.
Anyway, previous post is more important at the moment. I would like more information on the lies and false propaganda that "Ryan" had, and if any other known eBay sellers have done the same in the past.
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Sébastien
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Post by Sébastien on Oct 12, 2012 22:04:12 GMT
Kuya,
What are you trying to say ? That you are the Martin Luther King Jr of katanas that get wrongly rejected by an hateful community ? That people who say bad things about Ryansword are bigots and agents of injustice ?
I personnaly find that insulting as h*ll, I sure hope this wasn't what you meant.
As to Ryansword makign fake statements and false accounts, I don't have any threads to link, for now. It was a few years ago, on the old forum. I remember the old, atrocious-to-read posts of the guy, plus his dubious claims, but not much else.
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