Professional Etiquette

SolarFett

Hunter
I didn't know where to post this but I guess here is as good of a place as any.

I'm relatively new to this forum, so I'm not gonna pretend to have any credibility with y'all. I'm just a 40yo guy that works a full time job and happens to dedicate some of his disposable income to a cool hobby. I have a family, pets, responsibilities, emergencies, bad days, etc. I'm sure that EVERYONE on this forum can relate.

What I'm building to is...let's have some professional courtesy when dealing with forum members. If you're offering a service, handle your business. If you're late on an order (or several people's orders), and backed up because your new baby is sick and your other kid has a school project, that's ok!!! We all get it!!! My only ask is, be a responsible, professional human being that respects others, and COMMUNICATE. We will understand! Trust me, a little bit of communication goes a LONG way.

What NOT to do: Ghost several forum members who are texting and IMing you, simply asking for an update on their order. Meanwhile, they can clearly see that you're actively posting in TDH every day - and thus apparently not in any impending doom that would prohibit your fingers from typing a simple reply. If this rant offends you, reread the above paragraph, because I'm probably talking to you.

Let me be clear, MUCH love and HUGE respect for everyone I've interacted with on TDH, but some of y'all need to learn how to communicate a little better. I'm not trying to call out anyone, cuz it's not how I roll - just merely pointing out a need for improvement :)

COMMUNICATE.

This is the way.
 
I understand that it's frustrating especially when there's backorders, etc etc.

In the Fett game waiting is the worst part. It almost happens to every single vendor one time or another. It's the rule not the exception.

I would caution you, post like this will probably get you black listed from vendors.
 
I understand that it's frustrating especially when there's backorders, etc etc.

In the Fett game waiting is the worst part. It almost happens to every single vendor one time or another. It's the rule not the exception.

I would caution you, post like this will probably get you black listed from vendors.

No offense, but that’s your take away? Asking people to communicate better is gonna get me blacklisted huh?? Lol and attitudes like that are why people don’t learn and get better. Thanks for the insight, Buda. Very helpful. I’m guessing you assume I have no idea what it’s like being a vendor for a specialty hobby. I do. I’ve been one. Please don’t lecture me on “waiting being the worst part”. It’s not the waiting. It’s the waiting AND lack of communication. IMHO there’s no excuse for it. Doesn’t fly in the business world, shouldn’t fly with services that are offered and money exchanged. Disagreeing is your prerogative, but it’s a sad state of affairs when a veteran such as yourself responds that way to a call for better communication.
 
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I’m not disagreeing with you.

If you feel so strongly then call out that vendor so others can learn and make better purchasing decisions.

My point is that in my experience no vendor has hit their original estimate of delivery but they’ve always delivered. I’ve never seen multiple DMs or posts like this delivery my products any faster. It’s a red flag for vendors. That’s all.
 
I’m not disagreeing with you.

If you feel so strongly then call out that vendor so others can learn and make better purchasing decisions.

My point is that in my experience no vendor has hit their original estimate of delivery but they’ve always delivered. I’ve never seen multiple DMs or posts like this delivery my products any faster. It’s a red flag for vendors. That’s all.
That’s fair and I agree with you. Speaking from experience, I’ve pretty much always been behind my quoted timelines. The difference is even though I was running past schedule, I over-communicated with my commissions so everyone always knew what was going on. And if I said something was gonna be in the mail on an exact date, I kept my word. If I knew I couldn’t keep my word, I wouldn’t make the promise. That’s my only point Buda, I’m very sympathetic to the struggles of the independent garage prop-maker, but I still expect communication to be professional. That’s all. Thanks for at least opening a dialogue with me about it.
 
Bobamaker consistentlly hits his delivery deadlines without any delays. He runs his business, well, like a business. His wait times are long but accurate. If he can do it then everyone else should be able to.

It appears that, time after time, sellers get in over their heads by taking on a greater number of orders than they can process rather than taking on a smaller number that they could actually manage. Greed is the word that springs to mind.

I agree with RnBuda that you should name the offending party if you want this to have any substance at all, otherwise this is simply urinating into the wind. Some of the worst offenders, historically, for this type of behaviour got away with this kind of thing for far too long due to a reticence for people to simply draw attention to their poor behaviour; fettpride is the shining example, but there were plenty of others over the years.
 
Bobamaker consistentlly hits his delivery deadlines without any delays. He runs his business, well, like a business. His wait times are long but accurate. If he can do it then everyone else should be able to.

It appears that, time after time, sellers get in over their heads by taking on a greater number of orders than they can process rather than taking on a smaller number that they could actually manage. Greed is the word that springs to mind.

I agree with RnBuda that you should name the offending party if you want this to have any substance at all, otherwise this is simply urinating into the wind. Some of the worst offenders, historically, for this type of behaviour got away with this kind of thing for far too long due to a reticence for people to simply draw attention to their poor behaviour; fettpride is the shining example, but there were plenty of others over the years.

Thank you for your insight and input. My goal wasn’t to merely urinate into the wind...I wanted to raise the topic and discuss. One always hope that people will take a “hint”, however, that seldom happens. I’ll give the vendor one more shot at direct communication, and if that still fails, I’ll bring it up professionally on this forum. Again, thanks for weighing in. You too, RnBuda.
 
Thank you for your insight and input. My goal wasn’t to merely urinate into the wind...I wanted to raise the topic and discuss. One always hope that people will take a “hint”, however, that seldom happens. I’ll give the vendor one more shot at direct communication, and if that still fails, I’ll bring it up professionally on this forum. Again, thanks for weighing in. You too, RnBuda.
I don't think people intentionally set out to end up this way but it happens time and time again. BM seems to have made it work because that is his sole job and because he has a small team of people around him so isn't a lone gunman.

I think one of the biggest issues is that the replica prop is often a pre order system of sorts. God, I hate it; people have been making a mess of this method of taking orders long before efx and Anovos perfected it to hitherto unseen levels of ridiculousness. All prop makers should strive to get to a place where they only sell in hand items. There might be exceptions for which people could consider pre orders in the case of special project runs. I suppose Machine Craft's recent metal ears run might be an example of that but otherwise people need to get their house in order because, even for so called garage makers, we're now talking hundreds of thousands on things like helmet runs. That's no longer small runs to sort your mates out. That's proper profit driven business and should be held to account.
 
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I don't think people intentionally set out to end up this way but it happens time and time again. BM seems to have made it work because that is his sole job and because he has a small team of people around him so isn't a lone gunman.

I think one of the biggest issues is that the replica prop is often a pre order system of sorts. God, I hate it; people have been making a mess of this method of taking orders long before efx and Anovos perfected it to hitherto unseen levels of ridiculousness. All prop makers should strive to get to a place where they only sell in hand items. There might be exceptions for which people could consider pre orders in the case of special project runs. I suppose Machine Craft's recent metal ears run might be an example of that but otherwise people need to get their house in order because, even for so called garage makers, we're now talking hundreds of thousands on things like helmet runs. That's no longer small runs to sort your mates out. That's proper profit driven business and should be held to account.

THANK YOU. That was my point. You articulated it perfectly.
 
It’s tough. Like you said things and life get in the way, and I think almost everyone understands that. I would HATE if a vendor put my order before his/ her family or kids, you know.

But just as important as being an understanding customer is, so is being a vendor that communicates. I’ve tried to stress before to Chris (Fettpride) how important it was to me that he be honest with his comments. If my order is truly next in line, let me know, if it’s not, then don’t say it is cause guess what; then I’ll expect it to be next! Hahahaha!

I agree with everything above - I think we all mean well as buyers and vendors (I’m a buyer). It gets grey and hazy when there is a lack of communication by a vendor, and it sends the buyer into a panic. I have totally panicked before. My advice is to be as patient as you can, and be polite & understanding as a buyer (even if you’re pissed off inside, hahaha) and if you’re a vendor, be Always be honest and prompt!
 
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Bobamaker consistentlly hits his delivery deadlines without any delays. He runs his business, well, like a business. His wait times are long but accurate. If he can do it then everyone else should be able to.

It appears that, time after time, sellers get in over their heads by taking on a greater number of orders than they can process rather than taking on a smaller number that they could actually manage. Greed is the word that springs to mind.

I agree with RnBuda that you should name the offending party if you want this to have any substance at all, otherwise this is simply urinating into the wind. Some of the worst offenders, historically, for this type of behaviour got away with this kind of thing for far too long due to a reticence for people to simply draw attention to their poor behaviour; fettpride is the shining example, but there were plenty of others over the years.

That’s fair and I agree with you. Speaking from experience, I’ve pretty much always been behind my quoted timelines. The difference is even though I was running past schedule, I over-communicated with my commissions so everyone always knew what was going on. And if I said something was gonna be in the mail on an exact date, I kept my word. If I knew I couldn’t keep my word, I wouldn’t make the promise. That’s my only point Buda, I’m very sympathetic to the struggles of the independent garage prop-maker, but I still expect communication to be professional. That’s all. Thanks for at least opening a dialogue with me about it.

I think this is in reference to me.
Yes I admit I took on more than I could handle and I realize this, but I have taken steps to remedy this and have since stopped taking orders altogether(aside from a couple raw kits to bring in some funds) on here, etsy, instagram, and Facebook. Im currently working on improving the queuing process so I can complete them in the order that they were received. I've even asked for the help of friends and family to help me complete orders and have reached out to various veteran prop makers for advice on how to communicate better and how to better stay organized.

I give people my personal phone number to reach me anytime or call me if there is an emergency, as I feel this provides a sense of security that your item will delivered. I even go as far as providing legal contracts when large sums of money are involved, to provide more security and legitimize the transactions.
As far as communication and social media, my wife has stepped up to help me with communication and having an active role in social media. Well be doing our best over the coming days to reply to the large number of messages.

I am still relatively new to the prop world but I'm sure that both my communication and business will only get better over time.

SolarFett , check you phone as I just sent you an update with tracking, 3 4 packages are being dropped off right now and headed your way.

Respectfully,

MF
 
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Thank you, MF...major respect for posting that reply and taking responsibility. We’ll talk further offline. I think that we all understand the balance that needs to be struck, and to your point, Boochman, I would NEVER want a vendor to put my order above his family. This is a hobby, after all - a luxury. Not a necessity. That being said, if we all communicate better, we up the level of our hobby. I appreciate all of the vendors on this and several other sites, that create some of the most amazing toys for us all to wear and enjoy.

Thanks again, MF.
 
I think this is in reference to me.
Yes I admit I took on more than I could handle and I realize this, but I have taken steps to remedy this and have since stopped taking orders altogether(aside from a couple raw kits to bring in some funds) on here, etsy, instagram, and Facebook. Im currently working on improving the queuing process so I can complete them in the order that they were received. I've even asked for the help of friends and family to help me complete orders and have reached out to various veteran prop makers for advice on how to communicate better and how to better stay organized.

I give people my personal phone number to reach me anytime or call me if there is an emergency, as I feel this provides a sense of security that your item will delivered. I even go as far as providing legal contracts when large sums of money are involved, to provide more security and legitimize the transactions.
As far as communication and social media, my wife has stepped up to help me with communication and having an active role in social media. Well be doing our best over the coming days to reply to the large number of messages.

I am still relatively new to the prop world but I'm sure that both my communication and business will only get better over time.

SolarFett , check you phone as I just sent you an update with tracking, 3 4 packages are being dropped off right now and headed your way.

Respectfully,

MF

Luis, well there you go. This seems to be the communication he craved. My comments were general in nature but if you're falling on your sword, as the OP steadfastly did not name you, and named yourself then this is a positive contribution in my view. As you've now a full FP inventory at competitive prices, as well as a unique shoulder piece offering unlikely to bettered, then demand for your products are not going to dry up any time soon. Whatever you're going to do you'll need a system because the days of a run of 10 helmets for close pals seem a thing of the past.

The reason I invariably cite BM and what he does is because he's being doing it on such a large and professional scale for so long, longer than anyone else it seems, that whatever he's doing seems a sensible way to do things. I don't think there's any great mystery to what he does. It just looks like he's well organised to me.

He broke his leg a few years back; that's a major setback for anyone. I had an order in at the time and he contacted me with a revised date. In the end he didn't miss my original date by much at all and didn't even get close to his revised date; it was more like he ran over by a week or so, although I can't remember the specifics. I suspect he may simply give himself comfortable lead times as he has exceeded other dates he has given me on other orders comfortably. Again, he's clearly not a one man band and obviously has help in various departments. I know his wife does his soft parts.

He's not unique; Animefan and Wasteland seem to have found methods to keep up with demand. I stand by my comments on the pre order type system. I really don't like it. My best experiences in the last few years have been where I've bought some really great stuff that was in hand i.e. 'I have 50 of these for sale at $XXX. Who want one?' If I could only get stuff that way, other than bespoke commissioned items, then that's what I'd do.
 
I think this is in reference to me.
Yes I admit I took on more than I could handle and I realize this, but I have taken steps to remedy this and have since stopped taking orders altogether(aside from a couple raw kits to bring in some funds) on here, etsy, instagram, and Facebook. Im currently working on improving the queuing process so I can complete them in the order that they were received. I've even asked for the help of friends and family to help me complete orders and have reached out to various veteran prop makers for advice on how to communicate better and how to better stay organized.

I give people my personal phone number to reach me anytime or call me if there is an emergency, as I feel this provides a sense of security that your item will delivered. I even go as far as providing legal contracts when large sums of money are involved, to provide more security and legitimize the transactions.
As far as communication and social media, my wife has stepped up to help me with communication and having an active role in social media. Well be doing our best over the coming days to reply to the large number of messages.

I am still relatively new to the prop world but I'm sure that both my communication and business will only get better over time.

SolarFett , check you phone as I just sent you an update with tracking, 3 4 packages are being dropped off right now and headed your way.

Respectfully,

MF

This unfortunately is false. He has ghosted me many times and been way late on orders where I had to find another way or means to deliver or build. The number he gives is a app number or something because he never responds to it. Lucky he gave me a refund from my last order after I humble myself to keep the trash work he gave me last time.

1. Scratch/ orange peel paint
2. Bent and gap on visor
3. Not completely cut and trimmed
 

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Thank you, MF...major respect for posting that reply and taking responsibility. We’ll talk further offline. I think that we all understand the balance that needs to be struck, and to your point, Boochman, I would NEVER want a vendor to put my order above his family. This is a hobby, after all - a luxury. Not a necessity. That being said, if we all communicate better, we up the level of our hobby. I appreciate all of the vendors on this and several other sites, that create some of the most amazing toys for us all to wear and enjoy.

Thanks again, MF.

Please be careful fellow bounty hunter. I hope your experience is way better than mine and you get exactly what you paid for. Sincerely.
 
This unfortunately is false. He has ghosted me many times and been way late on orders where I had to find another way or means to deliver or build. The number he gives is a app number or something because he never responds to it. Lucky he gave me a refund from my last order after I humble myself to keep the trash work he gave me last time.

1. Scratch/ orange peel paint
2. Bent and gap on visor
3. Not completely cut and trimmed

I had told you your helmet was going to be the only helmet I made that was not going to be fully trimmed in order to snap the visor into place and have it held on without any screws/nuts. I even offered to repaint the helmet free because I was getting better with using the alumaluster paint and give you an updated helmet so that the visor would sit flush.
As it turns out, you even only paid the deposit of 140$ and didn’t pay the full 400$ for that helmet! That’s theft!

When I sent you the helmet, for some reason tracking still says “ in transit”, even though it was delivered to you and you have it in hand. You’ve called me a liar stating I sent a second helmet.

When you placed the second order for another mandalorian kit, I offered you a finished helmet/rifle kit for 300$, a discount of 300$ on the total order. This was without my knowledge that you never fully paid for the first one.
 
I had told you your helmet was going to be the only helmet I made that was not going to be fully trimmed in order to snap the visor into place and have it held on without any screws/nuts. I even offered to repaint the helmet free because I was getting better with using the alumaluster paint and give you an updated helmet so that the visor would sit flush.
As it turns out, you even only paid the deposit of 140$ and didn’t pay the full 400$ for that helmet! That’s theft!

When I sent you the helmet, for some reason tracking still says “ in transit”, even though it was delivered to you and you have it in hand. You’ve called me a liar stating I sent a second helmet.

When you placed the second order for another mandalorian kit, I offered you a finished helmet/rifle kit for 300$, a discount of 300$ on the total order. This was without my knowledge that you never fully paid for the first one.

I never payed for the rest because

1. It was super late.
2. It was trash paint and I had to come out of pocket to fix it.
3. I would have had to pay to send back.

I'm not the only person who has had problems with your products and I was worried about you. I gave you the benefit because you served and I like helping other vets. My personal feelings got the best of me. Wont happen again.

Good luck to you MF and hope you get it right one day
 
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