Clearly that’s an eyebrow.
I want to comment but am at a loss as to what to say. I came to this current topic to catch up on it after a long delay. I had just gotten done reading this topic about embroidery that breaks the fourth wall.
https://www.timesnewromance.net/work
In effect, that is what we are discussing. Do we or do we not break the fourth wall in the realm of commerce. The online marketplace is a platform that on one hand removes the human element while at the same time promises a more human/social experience. Amazon, Paypal, Etsy, Facebook and other technologies allow for small businesses to reach out and we get to revel in the long tail of bespoke products. But being professional comes with a cost. Are all online businesses no different from call center scammers?
Surely this topic is a surrogate for all the drama of the last three years that is still continuing with Glowforge.
I read a great review of No Country for Old Men recently but can’t find it. Nevertheless, this one will do. I’m still greatly affected my my trip to Mexico last year. I still am reflecting on the notion of what we as consumers in the US have to do with what is happening in the world around us.
Ok. Found it. Annie Proulx’s review of the novel.
This is a bit deeper than I wanted to go, but I had started and deleted a relevant response earlier.
I have empathy for this couple and I always try to enter communications with others with the awareness that they have lives beyond what I can see. That said, they can’t evoke their personal lives in a vacuum. Each of their customers has a life, possibly a business, and personal circumstances of their own. For all the many excuses, their customs have their own personal needs.
I’m not sure I entirely understand your reference to call center scammers in relation to online business owners or No Country for Old Men so I’ll leave those alone, but I like the way the Internet connects people. I have built a business and many, many friendships (in fact, a marriage) on that. But relationships are a two-way street. If you want sympathy, much like respect, it helps to display it yourself.
I, of course, did not go through the GF waiting game (I was waiting, but without an investment). I highly doubt I was have stuck it out, if only because I don’t have that kind of cash to mess around with.
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As a Craftsman in the 1970s the world is very different now in ways far beyond computers or Internet folk elsewhere in the world would work weeks on extremely skilled artwork and get paid pennies a day for their effort and yet American artists could dig a hole in the sand pour in a dollars worth of wax and sell it for $50.
That did not last long as each craft was limited to the cost of entry and when that cost was low that craft would be overrun. Jewelry, pottery and furnace glass stayed profitable because the cost of entry was high, but the money not already spent in minimal living was considerable at the time and not so much now.
Not only was individual work far more prized over commercial designs even in the face of flaws but selling under those conditions was easy as every gift outlet was run by the folk there, but they would much rather have your work than buy from a wholesale catalog.
Now gift shops are far more rare and more likely run by a large corporate concern with buyers at a single location preferring large volumes from just such wholesalers as it makes their job easier than dealing with many individuals, even when they can get through.
All this makes the part that was easy 50 years ago very difficult now. You could wander Etsy for weeks on end and never even see a particular person’s stuff much less matching price and value as superficially similar things can vary wildly on price.
I don’t know the answer but it is very different than the last time I sold such works.
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#truth
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I do too. But their personal issues are not an excuse for their poor behavior and deceptions. Nor does it allow them to unload on their customers. And the deception puts the story of their problems in question.
While I applaud individual initiative and I like knowing who I’m supporting when I buy things, I don’t expect poor service and dishonesty in my every business dealing and an expectation that I should excuse it because the proprietors are having a tough time in their personal lives.
I’m a huge supporter of friends and even strangers when they reach out in need (or don’t reach out but I know they should). But I am violently opposed to enablement.
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I completely agree with you.
Sorry to be contrary but I just received my Woodchuck order and I’m pretty happy with the product. I did order about the time that everyone else did and I sent them a facebook PM a while ago saying something to the effect of “I know you’re over-whelmed and I’m willing to wait for good product.” From previous posts to this thread, I was worried mostly about the thin walnut, but it all looks great. It is, beautifully dark colored, no saw marks, and rough sanded.
Terry
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don’t be sorry to be contrary, i’m happy that your order came through satisfactorily.
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Nothing contrary about sharing your truth. I’m glad you had a good experience.
I’ve got wood from them that I got on Amazon that’s in pretty good shape. They are capable of a good product…
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I’m so sorry you got termite wood from them too. Be really careful about your other wood. I had to throw my whole shipment out because it was so damaged.
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One thing I have learned the hard way is that termites have a very limited range of humidity and temperature that they can tolerate. For most species there has to be a path to underground when things get too cold hot or dry. Like a child or pet in a hot car. If it gets left out in the sun or a good drying oven with no retreat they will all die but it all has to get very hot or below freezing to be sure. Put in rubber or plastic tubs with mothballs helps as well making sure that nothing has made any cracks or holes in them.
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Good point. I live in southern California and it is a perfect year round climate for those little jerks!
It is actually too dry without such help as watering lawns etc. a bit dryer and many pests will be less problems. We used to have dogs that came from California to Tucson loaded with fleas and a week later you could not find a flea on them. the size of the flea and number of places they can lose moisture would kill them in the desert.
Left in the sun on a concrete deck for a few days in the summer and I suspect that a piece of wood that had termites would no longer do so. particularly if it was small enough to heat all the way through.
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magic… if only the Arizona air could fill the holes too!
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I ordered on September 12th (acknowledged on the 13th). No reply to several emails all month. Finally yesterday (October 17th) they said my order was ready and would be shipped out “…tomorrow”. Currently today the 18th the tracking number shows label created waiting for pickup… Now to wait and see
FYI in his email he did apologize for the delay (5 weeks?) and stated they had to hire and train more workers to process orders… that may be why it appears some orders are not “finished” very well, Not an excuse per se, but a possible reason?
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My order came in a couple of days ago and it looks good. No saw marks.
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This is the story that never ends…
Dirk responded to my PayPal claim that he had shipped the package (he did not), so I actually had to call PayPal (their resolution system is not working properly). They looked at it and said, “This makes no sense. USPS says that the package didn’t actually ship.” Hopefully it will resolve soon.
I’m glad some people have gotten their wood. A broken clock is, indeed, right twice a day.
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My order is in Oshkosh… Interesting that when I look at my original order on their website is shows shipping method UPS ground. However it was picked up Friday and en route via USPS. I really don’t care, as long as it (finally) arrives… fingers crossed.
WI to AZ… Hopefully USPS will do better than my sister Birthday card… mailed on 8/28 from AZ to FL and didn’t arrive until after 9/18… (9/3 was her B-day 
)
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