I have debated whether to respond to Mr. McElroy’s forum posts (3 forums and counting) but feel that an official response from me is needed. Mr. McElroy purchased leather supplies (BLUEGUNS) not any type of leather item or gun holster that I make.
Mr. McElroy contacted me by email about purchasing a Bluegun (gun replica) on March 27, 2012 and I responded to him quickly and then forwarded him to my site to process the order. I shipped Mr. McElroy’s guns out the same day USPS tracking number 9101150134711276968725 which as you can see shows delivered on March 29, 2012. I communicated with Mr. McElroy in about four emails total before I shipped his package and he never mentioned anything about purchasing insurance (my policy requires to request it) or a special way he wanted his shipment packaged. The guns weighed less than 2 lbs and fit into the padded envelope with room to spare much less than the 70 lbs limit stated by USPS. I used the Flat Rate Shipping bubble wrap envelop 9-1/2” x 12-1/2”. The only opening to the bag was the manufacturer’s adhesive flap which closed easily due to the extra room left in it after placing the items in. I had no reason to add anymore material to the closure of the envelope to strengthen it because I have shipped numerous blue guns in this same packaging and have never had a problem with it failing. USPS does not allow you to alter their flat rate shipping supplies and could deny a package if you did add to it however they accepted it at my local post office. My shipping fees may seem high to some but I ship very fast especially if the items are in stock and cover the extra costs related to ordering and shipping items for my customers. Depending on what items are ordered and circumstance I sometimes pay more for the shipping then I charge. I have very good reasons for doing things the way that I do like every other merchant.
Mr. McElroy emailed me on March 29, 2012 and stated that he received a torn package without any guns in it. I requested him to contact his post office and see if they could locate them. He sent another email stating he needed either his money back or new guns. Mr. McElroy went on in the same email and threatened to dispute it with PayPal and stated “I have spoke with another holster maker locally who also had a package with dummy guns not show up, you did not work with her to fix it and lost her business”. I responded back and recommend him to proceed with the PayPal dispute. I give Mr. McElroy this advice due to the following reasons: I felt that a third party should make the decision because of how quick he was demanding money or more items, the fact that there were two customers who know each other, had recently spoke with each other, are both located in the same area, both stated they never received their guns. On both shipments the tracking showed delivered. I spoke with USPS and they advised they would have attached a note of apology for the items missing and Mr McElroy never made mention of anything except a hole in the package and his merchandise was gone. In one of his post before Paypal’s decision Mr. McElroy stated “Exactly. If it doesn’t show up it’s on USPS, if it shows up empty it’s on the seller. Even if I had insurance USPS would not cover the problem since they delivered the package” The other customer he refers to never received the package although it showed delivered by USPS but Mr. McElroy’s package showed up without any product. These are very expensive items even wholesale cost is high not even closely compared to the minimal cost of materials in small leather pocket holsters.
After responding back with his dissatisfaction he requested my friendship on Facebook. Mr. McElroy filed his dispute and I quickly responded to the dispute so he could get a resolution in a timely manner. I received four different emails through my site. One of which was obviously sent by Mr. McElroy because he used “I” in several locations but listed his name as “John Smith” and an email address of
[email protected]. The emails contained links and references to four different forums in which Mr. McElroy had posted negative comments about me, my holsters, and that I had ripped him off. One of the emails threatened “Good luck with your customer service. Your going to need it.” Not sure if any of the emails are legitimate people or email addresses but I did respond to them anyway.
Paypal decided in Mr. McElroy’s favor so he was refunded his money back which I have found out is a common practice by them. They must have found validity to both our positions because they also made a somewhat fair resolution to me as well.
What is disappointing is how Mr. McElroy has conducted himself throughout this incident especially the harassing and bullying posts/emails which seem to be more of a personal attack to my leather work than anything else. I have reframed from copying this behavior because I don’t believe in stepping on someone else to make myself look better. It is ok to give reviews but Mr. McEloy has taken it to a different almost slanderous level. There are several more contradictions that I could point out but I do not wish to. I hope that the readers will see that we obviously had a disagreement on this issue and the difference in which we both reacted to it.
I am sure that my post will spark even more debate but I really have to get back to the shop and get busy. I will be posting Mr. McElroy’s review on my site. I am reviewing my site and how the polices are written and will make changes if necessary. I apologized to Mr. McElroy for his “lost shipment” however I felt I had good reasons to handle it like I did. I plan to let this be my only response to the incident and feel that it is “water under the bridge” and hope that Mr. McElroy does the same especially since he was given a full refund.