I'm Bloody Livid: Amazon Refuse to Sell Me a Set of Kitchen Knives.

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Chasing Embers

Captain of the Black Frigate
Nov 12, 2014
44,997
117,812
This might not surprise many of you here who have got to know me, but I am perhaps the only person in the world who doesn't use a mobile (cell) phone (I use a laptop for this site). This drives my wife nuts.
A phone is my only internet access. I've never owned a PC, laptop, or tablet.


I like not conforming and being generally non contactable.
Same I just limit incoming calls to "contacts" only.
 
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mawnansmiff

Lifer
Oct 14, 2015
7,695
8,312
Sunny Cornwall, UK.
Jay, are private sales of knives allowed?
Absolutely, there are no laws against that (yet), and no permits are required (yet), it's just buying knives from shops or online outlets that are involved in this weird ID thing.

Also there are no limits (yet) on how many knives you can have.

At one time you could go to your preferred supermarket and browse their huge range of kitchen knives but not anymore, most if not all have stopped stocking knives full stop. You might be able to buy a potato peeler but that's about it.

Yet I could go to the garden centre and buy a dozen chainsaws, a dozen pairs of hedge shears, any amount of garden forks, but no pruning knife.....crazy.

Jay.
 

woodsroad

Lifer
Oct 10, 2013
12,731
20,551
SE PA USA
Absolutely, there are no laws against that (yet), and no permits are required (yet), it's just buying knives from shops or online outlets that are involved in this weird ID thing.

Also there are no limits (yet) on how many knives you can have.

At one time you could go to your preferred supermarket and browse their huge range of kitchen knives but not anymore, most if not all have stopped stocking knives full stop. You might be able to buy a potato peeler but that's about it.

Yet I could go to the garden centre and buy a dozen chainsaws, a dozen pairs of hedge shears, any amount of garden forks, but no pruning knife.....crazy.

Jay.
Well it’s reassuring to know that The Idiocracy doesn’t confine itself to the borders of the USA.

“We don’t have to actually fix the problem, that’s too touchy of a subject. We’ll just pass a law about it. That’ll impress the idiots enough to get us reelected”
-every politician, ever.
 

jpberg

Lifer
Aug 30, 2011
3,182
7,418
I thought there would be a much bigger pile on… on Amazon.

They’re a shit company.

If you have a local hardware store, they can often order whatever you need.

It’s also nice to see a person once in awhile. Usually twice, if making a special order.

And you can support small business.

And sometimes get better service than what these corporate behemoths offer up cold.

Fuck ‘em.

Their ‘convenience’ absolutely comes with a major cost. It’s just hidden most of the time.
I don’t see why Amazon would get piled on. They are following the law, what’s the problem?
 

jpmcwjr

Lifer
May 12, 2015
26,273
30,299
Carmel Valley, CA
I can understand if a large sum was involved (possibility of laundering illegal funds)
But this was just enough for a nice Xmas dinner

The bank workers all looked like they were under 35yrs old.
And like most youngsters these days, probably don’t use cash for day-to-day transactions
In any event, do you have other ways to get funds to —really anyone —not just family? Such as Venmo or PayPal which seem unbiquitous in the States.
 

Briar Lee

Lifer
Sep 4, 2021
4,960
14,337
Humansville Missouri
Do you call my name? Regardless, the real question here is are PM members allowed within 20 yards of a school zone or allowed sharpe objects.

Otherwise, figure it out. If your contact can't get it done, then you're either doing it wrong or don't have the right guy.

The issue here isn’t knives.

Amazon won’t sell because a private credit check company cannot verify the purchaser.

He could have bought the knives if Experian verified him as who his plastic money card said he was.

King George III could do his nation a service, the same one I would do here in America if I were the King here.

My parents got me a paper social security card when I was a little kid, about sixty years ago. I’ve been in a computer since about 1964.

I’d make a law, that no person or government agency could refuse a government issued photo ID card and make a good one, same as the other chip embedded cards, and make it free, and optional. You don’t have to have one. You don’t have to carry one. Nobody can require one, from you.

But if you do have a super government identification, then you can add all your other cards to the master ID card. That includes a driver’s license and credit cards, if you have them. Any issuer of cards, would be required to accept the government master ID or their own.


Why not?

Your local gas station and bank do it.

The government surely could.

You could have one plastic card in your wallet.
 
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runscott

Lifer
Jun 3, 2020
1,290
2,835
Washington State
I look at it this way: if I'm worried about getting treated fairly, by everyone - even companies/people who don't know me and who I've never done business with - then I'm screwed. The OP's post is a great one, as it lets us all know about another unfair way we can get screwed, but I would just buy my knives somewhere else. I buy way too many knives, of any type imaginable, and it's never been a problem getting any knife seller to take my money. But if I ever run across one who won't, I won't waste another second with that seller.

I actually had to call Experian last week, as I got a call from a scammer who claimed to work for a Discover fraud division, telling me that someone had applied for a card in my name, then she passed me to her boss who claimed to work for another fraud agency, who then passed me to his boss who claimed to work for yet a third fraud company (you'd think they could get their company name in sync). The first number was an auto-dial invalid number, the second guy gave me a number for Experian. The third guy gave me a number that I looked up and it led to a fake credit fraud company in California. I called Experian and ended up putting my credit on hold with all three major credit bureaus.

I'm looking at going the opposite route that @Chasing Embers , @sablebrush52 and others have mentioned: getting a flip phone but keeping my laptop - I have two businesses, so no choice. I'm not so worried about phone spam, but email spam can create computer issues, so I'm now considering building my own mail server and only allowing emails for extensions that I recognize. It's a PITA so I haven't yet done it.
 
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jguss

Lifer
Jul 7, 2013
2,651
7,179
I called Experian and ended up putting my credit on hold with all three major credit bureaus.

This is always a great idea. Many States mandate that Experian, Transunion, and Equifax have to offer this service for free.

While a credit freeze doesn’t prevent identity theft it does significantly limit the damage that can be done since all new credit issuance (eg new credit cards, mortgages, and just about any other kind of borrowing) is barred until the freeze is lifted. In other words bad actors can’t get credit in your name since no-one issues credit without a report from the three major bureaus.

Removing the freeze when necessary is easy to do either permanently or for a limited and specific period of time. I’ve instituted credit freezes for me and for my wife, and helped each of my kids do the same. We temporarily lift the freeze on the rare occasions we get a new credit card or want to refinance our mortgage.
 

Briar Lee

Lifer
Sep 4, 2021
4,960
14,337
Humansville Missouri
Because, centralizing everything in one card would make your existence super easy to hack and steal.

It would also have one text message center to put a freeze on all credit transactions.

And unless a thief looked like you, and had physical possession of the card, it would greatly limit impersonation frauds.

Of all the cards we carry the one we leave at home in a drawer, our paper Social Security cards, are by far the hardest to obtain. All people over the age of 18 have to go in person to a social security office to get one. Most people get assigned the number as children before any doubt arises who they are.

Instead of a worthless paper card, make it with a photo like your driver’s license, with a chip and a magnetic stripe.

The idea is to have one piece of ID all your life.
 

gubbyduffer

Can't Leave
May 25, 2021
495
1,610
Peebles, Scottish Borders
I feel for the OP's predicament. As mentioned, it seems to stem from his lack of credit history allowing Experia to verify his age when purchasing an age restricted item.

It's another example of a dilemma faced by a poster though, to allow some to ponder in agreement about the downfall of modern society in some anti woke war. I have to say, it's a tenuous link indeed, between the struggles of online purchase of a knife in the UK to a photograph and comments of a heavily tattooed, body modded, (I think), lady!

Let's put one thing to bed. Knives have NOT been banned in the UK despite spurious claims here. I own many and have bought some, and will continue to do so when required. They are age restricted, meaning anyone under 18 can't buy them. I think that's reasonable. Below is a list of restricted age products in the UK.
I imagine some of these are not very different from age restrictions in USA.

Alcohol18
Adult magazines18
Cigarettes and tobacco products, and e-liquids18
Fireworks and sparklers18
Knives, blades and axes (not including folding knives with blades under 3 inches long)18
Lottery tickets and scratch cards18
Solvents and lighter refills18
Sunbeds18
Tattoos18
Caps, party poppers (and similar products)16
Liqueur chocolates16
Petrol (this age covers both purchasing and dispensing)16
Spray paints and aerosols16
Video/DVD/gamesAs shown on certificate e.g. 12,15,18

Also, age restricting knives is not blaming the knife. Is not letting someone under 17 drive a car, an example of blaming the car? Is not letting someone purchase alcohol under 18 an example of blaming the beer? I thought not.

There has been ridicule here of the perceived stupidity of age restricting the sale of knives. However, as a uk based whisky enthusiast, who sometimes posts in the 'What are you drinking thread?' I have absolutely no problem ordering whisky online and having it delivered to my house. Is this a liberty people above legal drinking age across the whole USA enjoy? Is this not a practice which is prohibited across some states. Do some states not restrict the volume of sales to an address in a specified time period, perhaps on the presumption that the recipient is an alcoholic. This isn't something we bat an eyelid about here in the UK, and sounds like Big Brother, Nanny Government to me.
 
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gubbyduffer

Can't Leave
May 25, 2021
495
1,610
Peebles, Scottish Borders
I also see sarcasm relating to banning EVERYTHING in the UK to make it a utopia, and knife crime stats posted to convey a fearful sense of doom. No the UK isn't a utopia and clearly won't be in the future.

This aside, knife crime may be something to think about but nobody here lives in enough fear to attend knife expo's or visit hardware stores in order to purchase the best knife for home, family and personal security.

Nobody is vouching for open carry of knives on the street for safety.

Kids are not sent to school with stab proof school bags, and even in the areas of highest knife crime, nobody is scared enough to suggest teachers be permitted to carry knives about them in school for personal protection and for the protection of the pupils under their care.

If these steps were to come about, the world at the very least would laugh at us. Or perhaps, look on sadly at how we have become not a utopia, but rather a dystopian nightmare.