What Did You Buy Today?

extropic said:
@erikmannie

I think you're doing the right thing. If the supplier doesn't reply or says it's already shipped, refuse delivery and dispute the charge with your bank. I don't know how it works with Debit cards. Ask the bank if the 4% charge is within the law/rules. I think you'll have better luck focusing on the 4%, rather than buyers remorse.

Always shop around, unless it's not worth your time.
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Great advice. I talked to the guy on the phone, & I told him that I usually work long hours for days on end. Maybe he assumed that I would never have time to check his pricing.

It will be interesting to see what he says. I will be checking in with my bank sooner rather than later to see if I can reverse the charge, mentioning that it cannot have shipped yet.

I know that I can reverse the charge if I want to take the time to go in to the bank.
 
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AGCB97 said:
I read their 'terms and conditions' and there is no mention of any 4% charge.
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I wish that I would have bought from any of the vendors that I linked!

I bought from an independent tool dealer. I don’t want to dox the guy, but he seems to be a one man operation. To his credit, he was clearly quite knowledgeable about machining.

I wish I could name the guy and/or his company, but it would almost certainly cause a stink. Having spoken with him on the phone, I could tell that he would not appreciate having his name dragged through the mud.

If somebody reading this is considering doing business with an independent tool dealer one day, just learn from my mistake & compare his prices *before* you pay him.
 
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Update on the cancellation of the order from the independent tool dealer:

He says that he will mail a check.

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He is not refunding your CC charge of 4% which he never informed you of to begin with. If he just contacted the CC company and cancelled the charge you should get all of it back.
I would contact your CC company and see what they can do. He should have informed you of all charges up front.
 
Running a small business is difficult what with taxes, credit card processing fees and shipping charges, etc....

I don't think it's any fault of this vendor that you found a lower price on the items, you said he's knowledgeable on the products and that in itself is a valuable service. Larger companies probably have better pricing and terms which allow them to discount things further than small ones.

When I ran my kart engine business I would routinely purchase items at or near retail and mark them up appropriately so I could make a profit. I also spent a great deal more time helping my customers figure out what they needed than the big guys would/could ever do.

If it were me I wouldn't quibble about the 4%, just take it as a lesson that you may want to shop around before placing your next order.

JMHO,

John
 
Ordered two reamers. A 0.2485" and a 0.2490". Got a mixed result. Received the 0.2490" from Zoro, and actually received a "value" Grainger reamer from India, curiously marked as 1/4-0.001 on the part and 0.2490" on the tube label. Will measure to see what it actually is. Hoping it is useful.

The second reamer was a Union Butterfield NOS 0.2485" pn. 5010622. What I got was UB pn. 5010662, which is a 0.3760" reamer. I started a return on the item. Just got notification that I will get a refund to my CC, and I get to keep the reamer. Vendor didn't have what he listed, and didn't want to pay for the return shipment. Weird, but I guess in a good way for me.

fleabay is a crap shoot at times... overall, have done reasonably well, but some times are just odd.
 
Papa Charlie said:
He is not refunding your CC charge of 4% which he never informed you of to begin with. If he just contacted the CC company and cancelled the charge you should get all of it back.
I would contact your CC company and see what they can do. He should have informed you of all charges up front.
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This might be true but without knowing what agreements he has with merchant services you really can't say. My experience with merchant accounts is they always make the business eat any costs they can. They have tremendous power over small businesses and can literally eat up your profit margin with fees. When my customers were making large purchases I would always encourage them to pay with cash or check if possible.

That said, it's a pet peeve of mine when businesses charge extra for me to use a credit card. If they're going to accept cards they should just mark up the products appropriately so they can maintain their margin. It doesn't keep me from shopping with my favorite businesses but it's a minor irritation for me.

John
 
Update on the purchase from the independent tool dealer:

After he offered/arranged to mail me a refund check less the 4% credit card fee, I felt like a bit of a flake for backing out of the deal after it had gone through. He had spent a fair amount of time on the phone with me discussing my immediate tooling needs and his business services, and I didn’t want him to leave with a sour experience. I might be willing to burn bridges, but certainly not with a machinist or welder!

Also, I would have had to (anxiously?) wait for the check, and take the time to place 2 or 3 new orders. Who wants to take a step backwards?!

I texted him & told him that if he wanted to go back in time 24 hours we could just proceed with the original (already paid) invoice. He agreed, and said that he would likely have better pricing on my next purchase, which happens to be a 30° cutter. You can imagine the shopping around that I will do before I send him money again, as I spent $123 (equivalent to 33% of the order) more than I needed to on my first order with him.

To his credit, he has a tremendous amount of knowledge (including feeds & speeds!) about the products that he supplies. You’re probably not getting that from, as an example, Suncoast Tools.
 
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