# Returning Knife to JNS thru USPS, Anyone?



## robenco15 (Jan 11, 2019)

Has anyone here returned a knife to JNS through USPS?

Maksim said it will be fine, but Denmark does not allow knives to enter the country that are longer than 4 inches. I returned a sujihiki. He said as long as his company name and Cv nunber or some special number was there, it would be fine, so I made sure to include all of that. 

I did USPS because Maksim said it would be fine and FedEx was $170 compared to the $60.

Just looking for some reassurance. Currently in Copenhagen being held in customs for the past 24 hours.

Thanks!


----------



## Corradobrit1 (Jan 11, 2019)

Hard to say. Some countries are sticklers when it comes to customs checks. Unfortunately Scandanavian countries are some of the worse due to the high import tariffs. How were the contents described on the Waybill? Length of box? If you stated 'culinary tool' or sujihiki it might be OK or if reason was return due to manufacture defect. How long has it been held at customs? Since Maksim says its OK you're probably fine, especially as the addressee is a blade retailer and not a private individual. Just need to be patient.


----------



## robenco15 (Jan 11, 2019)

Corradobrit1 said:


> Hard to say. Some countries are sticklers when it comes to customs checks. Unfortunately Scandanavian countries are some of the worse due to the high import tariffs. How were the contents described on the Waybill? Length of box? If you stated 'culinary tool' or sujihiki it might be OK or if reason was return due to manufacture defect. How long has it been held at customs? Since Maksim says its OK you're probably fine, especially as the addressee is a blade retailer and not a private individual. Just need to be patient.



The box was just a fairly normal large rectangle box from amazon. 

I didn’t put a knife down as I figured that would be a red flag. For the one description I put “Japanese Kitchen Accessory” and for the more detailed description I put “Toyama Noboriko Kasumi Kitchen Accessory” or however you spell it. 

Vague, but not too vague, and not an outright lie? 

I’m patient, but Monday will be 2 weeks and I just want the damn thing to arrive so I can get my replacement!


----------



## DitmasPork (Jan 11, 2019)

Personally I hate dealing with USPS, and would bite the bullet and go with DHL, UPS or FedEx. I know it's an additional expense, but their tracking system is more reliable.


----------



## robenco15 (Jan 11, 2019)

Maksim said it would be ok and would refund the shipping. Not sure he’d refund $170. I agree though.


----------



## DitmasPork (Jan 11, 2019)

robenco15 said:


> Maksim said it would be ok and would refund the shipping. Not sure he’d refund $170. I agree though.


Geez, sorry I didn't know private courrier services cost that much! Forget what I posted.


----------



## robenco15 (Jan 11, 2019)

DitmasPork said:


> Geez, sorry I didn't know private courrier services cost that much! Forget what I posted.



USA to Denmark. Yeah, sucks.


----------



## DitmasPork (Jan 11, 2019)

robenco15 said:


> USA to Denmark. Yeah, sucks.


Is DHL cheaper than the $170? I noticed they're having a 25% off special:
https://shipping.dhl-usa.com/seg/personal-14545L6-45961QP.html?


----------



## mikaelsan (Jan 11, 2019)

I am a Dane myself, is it really that hard getting kitchen knives shipped to Denmark? Granted I haven't imported that many knives here as some of the more"regular" members. 
I always thought the main issue was that the culture here is that a lot of people reject the packages if they get caught in the customes, so we don't have to pay our duties.
The one large cleaver that I imported from China that came through customs was definitely not rejected


----------



## DitmasPork (Jan 11, 2019)

On the https://www.myus.com/dk/ site, they quote a 2 lb. package from USA to Denmark via FedEx at $26.44 for FedEx Economy; and $31.61 FedEx Priority. [I've not used this site, just found it on the internet.]

How heavy is the knife? Is it in a way over-sized box?


----------



## robenco15 (Jan 11, 2019)

DitmasPork said:


> On the https://www.myus.com/dk/ site, they quote a 2 lb. package from USA to Denmark via FedEx at $26.44 for FedEx Economy; and $31.61 FedEx Priority. [I've not used this site, just found it on the internet.]
> 
> How heavy is the knife? Is it in a way over-sized box?



I never ship internationally and went on the fedex website and did up to the point of finalizing and got that price. I don’t know, maybe I did something wrong. 

Box was 19” long, “13? Wide and 5” tall. I think. Weighed 2.5 pounds.


----------



## Corradobrit1 (Jan 11, 2019)

Thats quite big. Shipping fees can jump considerably over a certain package size. Pricing international is often based on volume rather than weight.


----------



## robenco15 (Jan 11, 2019)

Corradobrit1 said:


> Thats quite big. Shipping fees can jump considerably over a certain package size. Pricing international is often based on volume rather than weight.



Yep. 300mm Sujihiki. Felt like I was committing a crime sending a knife with a 12” blade to a country that doesn’t accept knives over 4”. It also asked if it was a dangerous good, which I did not say it was to hopefully avoid that headache. Plus, it is a kitchen accessory, not a weapon. 

This entire process has kinda sucked. It better get to where it’s going.


----------



## Corradobrit1 (Jan 11, 2019)

I understand the concern. I returned my Xerxes Primus II earlier this week to Messerkontor in Germany. Claudia very kindly made the arrangements and sent me a return label. The package is being held by customs for payment of import duties which doesn't seem right since its a manufacture defect, return to vendor. Hope she can clear things with UPS sooner than later so I can get my refund.


----------



## robenco15 (Jan 11, 2019)

Maksim just emailed me back after I emailed him yesterday about it being in customs. He said it won’t be a problem and that USPS just takes a little longer than DHL is all. Glad he seems optimistic. I’ll be happy when it finally gets to him haha


----------



## Gregmega (Jan 11, 2019)

2 weeks is pretty standard for USPS going that direction in my experience. I ship to Europe pretty frequently and after a few months of anxiety I finally got accounts with the bigger shipping companies. It’s worth the price to not worry. I just sent to a client who requested USPS for price concerns, and at a minimum it’s 10 days... his took 14 through customs to his door step.


----------



## JBroida (Jan 11, 2019)

I'm glad the returns work a little bit more easily. Over the last few years, we have tried a number of times to ship to Denmark, even consulting with customs brokers, specialists and local authorities in Denmark, but they have returned 100% of the packages that we ship if the packages contain knives. Hopefully, your experience is better than mine has been with them. In terms of timing, two weeks is pretty normal, though it can easily take longer than that and is rarely faster.


----------



## Corradobrit1 (Jan 11, 2019)

UPS took less than 36 hours to get the package to its destination city in Germany from US. Claudia just has to figure out reason for holdup. Customs are a whole lot easier to navigate coming in this direction. Package shipped Friday before Christmas and was in my hands Christmas Eve.


----------



## robenco15 (Jan 11, 2019)

Yeah I gotta believe marking it as “Returned Goods” is helpful, along with the company name and vat number.

If anything, I’m frustrated I used that incredible Toyama Sujihiki for such a short amount of time before needing to send it back for a replacement. So much anticipation to start with only to add another 3 weeks or more of further anticipation. I just want to slice stuff!


----------



## dafox (Jan 11, 2019)

I sent a knife back to Maksim via USPS for a replacement a few months ago and it went fine. I labeled it kitchen utensil.


----------



## robenco15 (Jan 11, 2019)

dafox said:


> I sent a knife back to Maksim via USPS for a replacement a few months ago and it went fine. I labeled it kitchen utensil.



Awesome! Thank you. Japanese Kitchen Accessory was as detailed as I was willing to go, haha.


----------



## Matus (Jan 12, 2019)

@JBroida - that sounds pretty frustrating [emoji52]


----------



## deskjockey (Jan 13, 2019)

Scandinavian packages take a really long time! I sold a pocket knife to an individual in Finland (~20 years ago) and it sat in Customs over there for over a *MONTH*! I should note, I shipped compliant with all laws and customs at the time so, it was just an issue of the local customs house being very slow.

Regarding commercial carriers (UPS, FedEx, DHL, etc.), you generally pay *DIMENSIONAL RATES*, not actual weights unless you are shipping _lead or similar densities_. 

UPS for a package the size of a package of cigarettes or small can of soup was $110 to Germany in my case. However, it cleared German customs in less than 24 hours.  Total transit time was less than a week!


----------



## QCDawg (Jan 13, 2019)

deskjockey said:


> Scandinavian packages take a really long time! I sold a pocket knife to an individual in Finland (~20 years ago) and it sat in Customs over there for over a *MONTH*! I should note, I shipped compliant with all laws and customs at the time so, it was just an issue of the local customs house being very slow.
> 
> Regarding commercial carriers (UPS, FedEx, DHL, etc.), you generally pay *DIMENSIONAL RATES*, not actual weights unless you are shipping _lead or similar densities_.
> 
> UPS for a package the size of a package of cigarettes or small can of soup was $110 to Germany in my case. However, it cleared German customs in less than 24 hours.  Total transit time was less than a week!


----------



## QCDawg (Jan 13, 2019)

Took me 3 months and $60ish?...to get a knife Back to JNS. Skip that.


----------



## robenco15 (Jan 13, 2019)

QCDawg said:


> Took me 3 months and $60ish?...to get a knife Back to JNS. Skip that.



3 months?! It sat in customs for that long? USPS? FedEx? Mine is already shipped so what’s done is done. It needed to go back anyway. God I can’t even comprehend 3 months right now.


----------



## QCDawg (Jan 13, 2019)

robenco15 said:


> 3 months?! It sat in customs for that long? USPS? FedEx? Mine is already shipped so what’s done is done. It needed to go back anyway. God I can’t even comprehend 3 months right now.



USPS. UPS was like.. $43,000 USD. (Kidding, but it was bad). Anyway.. USPS didn’t really “know” Where it was


----------



## robenco15 (Jan 13, 2019)

Ok well I’ve been getting consistent tracking updates so I’m just do my best to feel confident. Thanks for the heads up!


----------



## robenco15 (Jan 16, 2019)

Maskim received the knife today!

He proceeded to sharpen it on a 6k and according to him remove the overgrind and sent me pictures and a video. So now I don't know what to do. I waited 3 weeks for him to replace it and now he is trying to send it back to me after fixing it. I mean it looks fixed, but I didn't think it would be that easy to fix. 

Attached is the picture he sent. I can't upload the video. 

Thoughts? I mean he said he would replaced it, now he seems to be saying my knife is fine after he fixed it.


----------



## Corradobrit1 (Jan 16, 2019)

Do you notice a big reduction in the proximity of the cladding line to the edge compared to when you had it. Hard to see where it currently sits on the blade road after the reprofile. Did Maxim work on the entire edge or just the area with the 'hole'?


----------



## Gregmega (Jan 16, 2019)

Hard to say, kinda depends on your threshold for what’s acceptable. It’s going to live a long life and be sharpened a number of times again anyway.... I would’ve just fixed it myself or sent it to kasumi Kev or JKI. But I also didn’t think it looked that far off. Sometimes a little grit & elbow grease beats the drama & month and a half turn around and probably took him 20 mins to fix. 

But my goal is to break it in half pretty much every time anyway[emoji12]


----------



## robenco15 (Jan 16, 2019)

So he eventually agreed to send me a new one. Apparently he meant that if there was an overgrind, he would send me a new one. If not, he'd fix it the minor issue I had and send it back. That got lost in all of our emails I guess. Either way, this one time he is going to send me a new one. So that should be all settled. 

I didn't really think it was fixable. It seemed like a textbook overgrind to me. Like I said previously, with that much money involved, I wasn't looking to go on a quest to fix it myself. More experienced sharpeners probably would, but whatever. It's settled now.


----------



## Matus (Jan 16, 2019)

I understand that being promised a new knife and been offered a fixed one does not feel quite the same (and may not be the best business strategy). But if Maxim have been able to fix it with little effort, than the issue was a very minor one and I would trust Maxim with stuff like this and accept the fixed knife. Just my personal view.


----------



## Gregmega (Jan 16, 2019)

Maybe he’ll sell it to me at a deep discount, I’m gonna destroy it anyways[emoji48]


----------



## maxim (Jan 16, 2019)

I did not wanted to comment but here it go, so i dont get misunderstood
it took me less then 1 min to fix it, i touched it up on 6k stone thats was it,
from start when i received it it was small burr size gab and i had to really look hard to look after that small gab

I explained from the start that i do not think it is over-grind and if it is i will ofc replace it and pay for shipping back
But it was not, so i offered full refund for the knife as i dont want to pay shipping 4 times over with a knife that is not faulty

I always believe my costumers first so after touching it up i wanted to make sure it have no over-grind what so ever
so i sharpened entire bevel on 1 k to see how straight line is it was also perfectly flat as you see in this video

So i offered again refund for a full knife or returning the old one as it had no real mistakes

But now i will pay 60 USD back and send a new one and pay shipping for that too for a knife that did not had any mistakes  

I will not have write all that if there was no 2 treads about that one knife now on KKF


----------



## Interapid101 (Jan 16, 2019)

maxim said:


> I did not wanted to comment but here it go, so i dont get misunderstood
> it took me less then 1 min to fix it, i touched it up on 6k stone thats was it,
> from start when i received it it was small burr size gab and i had to really look hard to look after that small gab
> 
> ...




Thank you for clarifying this issue. Fantastic customer service on your part.


----------



## robenco15 (Jan 16, 2019)

Interapid101 said:


> Thank you for clarifying this issue. Fantastic customer service on your part.



I completely agree and applaud Maxim for doing what he did to make this right for me. In no way was I trying to speak poorly of Maxim or JNS. Maxim, thank you for coming and clarifying this for yourself. I had no intention of painting you or JNS in a bad light, and I hope I did not. I highly recommend JNS and Maxim.

As this matter has been settled, I won't be commenting here anymore. Thank you all for your help in the previous thread and this thread.


----------



## Xenif (Jan 16, 2019)

Now that the dust has settled, I'm glad all parties were satisfied with the outcome.
Now the ironic thing is that I learned all about what an overgrind is and is not from a thread about 4 years ago started by ... you, OP. I had two seperate knives that I thought had overgrind but that post help me grasp that it was not.

https://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/index.php?threads/24718/

Again, very glad everything worked out


----------



## HRC_64 (Jan 16, 2019)

This thread is funny...anybody gonna aplogise to TF
for all the crap he gets about 'overgrinds'...


----------



## HRC_64 (Jan 16, 2019)

I don't blame either the buyer or the seller here,
IMHO...its just the cost of doing business 
over-the-horizon.

Its a bigger market, with bigger profit potential,
but it has its own red-tape, and overhead costs.

At the end of the day, if this was a local relationship
nobody would bat an eyelash, its only because
the vendor and his customers are separated by
huge distances/oceans.


----------



## dafox (Jan 16, 2019)

Matus said:


> I understand that being promised a new knife and been offered a fixed one does not feel quite the same (and may not be the best business strategy). But if Maxim have been able to fix it with little effort, than the issue was a very minor one and I would trust Maxim with stuff like this and accept the fixed knife. Just my personal view.


+1


----------



## Corradobrit1 (Jan 16, 2019)

HRC_64 said:


> This thread is funny...anybody gonna aplogise to TF
> for all the crap he gets about 'overgrinds'...


What overgrinds? Never heard such rubbish


----------



## MontezumaBoy (Jan 16, 2019)

Just another (of a million) reasons to support vendors like JNS/Maxim ... amazing customer support in deed!


----------



## Zweber12 (Jan 17, 2019)

Not sure if KKF is the place for a near live “play-by-play” of a communication between a buyer and vendor, as it tends to polarize the audience for the wrong reasons. In the end I am glad it did, as it show the integrity and character of Maksim, how he runs his business and always puts his customers first. As what was already said, another great example why small businesses such as JNS should get our full support.


----------



## Mute-on (Jan 18, 2019)

^^^^^^^^^^
Couldn’t agree more strongly


----------



## deskjockey (Jan 18, 2019)

For something that appears to be basically superficial and easy to fix, it seems like a whole lot of worry and expense to send it overseas. Any experienced domestic sharpener would have been a lot cheaper, simpler, and faster.

However, I do understand the disappointment when a handmade knife doesn't appear to be perfect after paying a lot of hard-earned money or for it. As someone who has been on both sides of the 'counter', sometimes as a business owner you just have to take the financial loss and move on versus dealing with reputational damage. On the flip side, when the customer has a legitimate issue, the only reasonable thing for the business owner to do is to make it right (assuming the buyer is reasonable). It is part of the cost of doing business just like taxes, rent, etc.

Things like this are why I tend to be skeptical of overseas purchases of handmade items. However, a good reputation, good detailed pictures and, good communication go a long way to negating my personal concerns.


----------



## bahamaroot (Jan 20, 2019)

Too much emphasis was put on "the money spent" and not on the "handmade" aspect in this situation. Handmade products are almost never perfect but not necessarily that hard to improve/fix imperfections. If perfection and exact replication is what you expect then buy factory produced.
I didn't see this as much of a problem but I may be much more experienced and confident in my skills than the OP, AND, I didn't see the knife in question in person. In the case of the OP this was probably the best and only remedy. Kudos to Maxim for taking care of his customers.


----------



## never mind (Feb 2, 2019)

maxim said:


> i dont get misunderstood



Thank you Maxim. Hope you are more prosper in your knife business because you decided to do what was right & reasonable.


...Many of us have been real victims on both sides of this really complicated fence, called human. ...Each of us consumes something (we are all customers) and share our products/services in other situations (we are all providers) to pay rent and make our family happy. The painful experiences like this are not exclusive. Some times we are right, some other times we are actually wrong, some times unintentionally.


For me I wish you the OP would consider Maxim’s products again in the future if there are various choices in front of you with comparable prices. Drop by the community when you have time or wanted to help someone out regarding kitchen knives & sharpening stones. We are here.


Good luck to every one involved.


Best wishes,


never mind!


----------

