Harry,
You are mischaracterizing people's posts here. It is not a blanket effort to defend Tinker, nor a blanket effort to vilify you. It is simply a group of forum regulars - in what is one of the most even-keeled forums in the community - telling you are entitled to a resolution, but not the one you are demanding.
Chad's post really summarize, I suspect, the feelings of most people. But, it is also true that you did first come to myArmoury with some initially hefty allegations, starting with the assertion that this was just a Hanwei sword. That is an allegation of fraud, and it was potentially libelous.
If the vendor's policy was "if there is anything you don't like upon receipt, I will refund your money", then that would be one thing (and that would be a serious anomaly in the custom arms and armour market, but not unheard of). It wasn't. When it isn't, then usually what happens is that the vendor will modify the item to fix the problem. That all still depends on good will and good faith negotiation.
Let me give you a few real world examples everyone here will understand, because it has happened to them, or someone they know.
1. You buy custom armour. The armourer and you both have a vision of the piece. That vision must needs to then be realized by the skills that armourer possesses. In the end, it may not match that ideal in your mind. If it doesn't fit or doesn't function, then the armourer is expected to make it work. Maybe you pictured a higher point on the
bascinet, or a slightly different shape to the visor? He is not obliged to keep remaking it until you have your Platonic ideal. You ordered a Churburg bascinet and got it? It fits and it works? You agreed to the pictures that were sent? Then if you aren't happy, sell it. .
(I would advise you to go through myArmoury's back posts and look up threads regarding the now-defunct Mercenary's Tailor. Part of the reason Allen is considered to be such a stand-up guy, was because he went so far above and beyond in taking pieces back to rework or tweak them for his customers
when he did not have to do so.)
2. You buy a thoroughbred puppy from a breeder. You make a deposit and then wait for a litter to be born, then you get your puppy.
What happens next is entirely up to the individual breeders, and the individual contract. For most, if the puppy has a congenital health defect, they will take the puppy back within a very short period of time for an exchange (if any are available, otherwise you go back on the list). They will refund for specific reasons,
but often minus your deposit. If you simply decide that you don't like the dog; he isn't cute enough, has a boring personality, etc, too bad, so sad. Sell him.
3. You buy a car. Not just something off the lot, but you want a specific make, model, color and goodies package, so you have to wait to have it shipped to the dealership. You take possession of the car, drive it off the lot and over the next week find something that was not to your liking. The car has a warranty, certainly, but the dealership isn't going to take it back, cancel your financing and give you your down payment. They will *buy it back at a lower value*. Even though you custom ordered your car, once you took possession you agreed to the deal. Often, even if there is a performance problem, they will *fix* it but neither replace or refund. It is extremely hard to return a car as a "lemon". You aren't happy with the car after all of this? Too bad, so sad. Sell or trade it.
4. You buy a home. One of the reasons that you have inspectors come out is to determine potential problems. If the inspector misses something, and a problem develops after the deal has been finalized, you don't get your down payment back, hand over the keys and they tear up the mortgage. There are ways out of a deal of this magnitude and they are carefully governed by specific laws. But consider this - often, if y you back out after a contract is pending, your earnest money is lost.
This is a list of custom or expensive purchases, many of which are bought "upon order", and
none of them have a guarantee of perfect satisfaction. They all do have a policy for making amends if the purchase in question is defective: the armour must be fixed or rebuilt, the puppy replaced, the car repaired, the previous home owner pay for the repair, etc. But none let you simply return for a full refund.
Harry, it sucks to be disappointed: I have custom armour I have sold off because it was disappointing, and a custom sword from a very well-known swordmaker that is beautiful to the eye, but IMO really dead in the hand. I hate this sword. But, it is still a Type XVI arming sword, of the size and form I ordered; I just don't like how it moves in the hand. That is
my $1000 problem to sell.
Re: your sword, I think the hilt
was flawed, and as such, Tinker had an obligation to fix the handle. No one seems to be exempting him of that responsibility. Your other complaints were aesthetic and thus subjective, but you approved the photos. That makes it your problem, and while it is also Tinker's from a PR point of view, it is not from a financially
obligatory one.
In short, he had to fix the hilt. He did not have to refund your money just because you say so.
If there were a contract stating otherwise, well that would be different. But once you went to the charge back you broke off any kind of good faith negotiation. By the end of the last go around, it had become VERY CLEAR that Tinker was going to sell the blade on consignment. Even if that is not how it started, that is how it read to everyone at the end. You can say that "I didn't agree to that", but you did, by default. If not, it would have ended with "Here is $700, send me back my sword".
You didn't want that, you wanted money. The problem is:
1. He wasn't obliged to pay you outright and made it clear that he would not do so;
2. He was not going to give you the sword for the remaining $700 or 750 you failed to charge back, basically giving it to you for half price.
So the choice was either:
1. to return the $700, take the sword back and be done with it,
2. leave it with Tinker on consignment.
3. take Tinker to court and see if a judge feels any differently.
Consignment is what it is, whether it takes one day or twenty years to sell, you sit and wait.
The reason many people seem exasperated with you is that you are insistent that everything
must be to
your complete satisfaction. You didn't like those three choices, so you tried to create a fourth: be the squeaky wheel in the court of public opinion to force the resolution you wanted. Sometimes that works. But when you go the court of public opinion, they don't always agree. Here, it seems that most of us, who have no dog in the race, do not.
Option four isn't working and is making things *worse*. That leaves the original three choices: return $700 and get the sword back, leave it there until it sells or go to court. Nothing has changed.