Unfulfilled Pipe Order (Walt Cannoy)

[Y2kpipper]

I am at a loss don’t know how to handle an unfulfilled pipe order or refund issue. On January 28th I ordered a pipe from a well known pipe maker. He told me he could have it done in a week, so I paid him and placed my order. A month and a half later I contacted him through instagram with no response. This is where I contacted him originally. I tried several more times with no response.
But this maker keeps on putting out pipes, so one day on one of his new post I said I would take that pipe for the one he was supposed to make me. Then I got this response “Hi Travis.my apologies I will issue a refund first thing tomorrow morning “ still nothing any ideas besides calling him out on instagram

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Wow, what a flub up. Is this a well known pipemaker? Or, someone just into his first five years?

 

[jravenwood]

I bet I can guess who it is but I won’t until you let us know. But please share so others arent scammed also

 

[warren]

How did you pay? Credit card? Contact them. Cash? Stupid, stupid ... stupid! Check? See previous. You took the risk and there could be unhappy consequences. Caveat emptor (Let the buyer beware.)!

Did you research the maker? Dependability and et cetera.

Name of vendor, please. No point in other members being disappointed.

I have a tingling in my "spidey sense".

 

[OSOBUCO]

Maybe give him a couple days to make good on the refund. If he does not refund and is a legit business my go to has always been the state attorney general online complaint form. I have had success that way. It gets their attention. I learned this from my dad back in the 80s. Chrysler sold him a lemon and after a letter to the attorney general they replaced his vehicle with a new one.

Oh and yeah. Who is this vendor?

 

[mkelaw]

Before calling him out publicly, wouldn't it be prudent to first ask him for an explanation. For all you know he may have been dealing with a family/personal situation that caused his tardiness and unresponsiveness.

 

[OSOBUCO]

For all you know he may have been dealing with a family/personal situation that caused his tardiness and unresponsiveness.

The OP states fresh pipes are still appearing on his site so I assumed this is highly unlikely.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Call him out here. I never understand posts where there is a complaint but no identification of the culprit. Even if the carver had personal issues, which I doubt since you said he kept putting out pipes, he could have taken 1 minute to contact you and issue a refund.

 

[jravenwood]

Call him out here. I never understand posts where there is a complaint but no identification of the culprit. Even if the carver had personal issues, which I doubt since you said he kept putting out pipes, he could have taken 1 minute to contact you and issue a refund.

Yep, the fact that new pipes are being put out is BS

 

[mingc]

Contact the credit card company and/or your state attorney general. It's not industry standard to ask for advance payment and that should have been a big red flag.

And keep calling him out on IG.

 

[Chalaw87]

Now I just want to know who it is...

 

[monty55]

A pipe in a week? Well, I suppose if he didn't have any other pipes to make, but still...

The fact he has more new pipes for sale but won't give you one of them, and instead offers a refund is pretty sketchy in itself.

So, what day does "refund in the morning" fall on?

If the refund doesn't come through, then escalate.

 

[Peter Turbo]

I had to wait 11 months for my pipe, from a relatively known pipe maker. Sounds like a newer carver if he quoted you for a week turnaround. Also sounds like a real piece of work if he was putting out new pipes and couldn't even get back to you about yours. You have more patience then me, I would have put him on blast already.

 

[AJL67]

Just curious was this a commission / custom pipe? Seems odd he could "finish" a pipe in a week, also lessons learned from here is stand up pipe carvers will never make you pay in advance.

 

[Chasing Embers]

A pipe in a week?

Seems odd he could "finish" a pipe in a week

Not that far fetched, Bruce Weaver had my commissions done in four days or less. I sat and watched him make my fugu blowfish in five hours.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Call him out to prevent others from getting cheated.

 

[kcghost]

Wait times can vary from carver to carver. Never pay up front. Some carvers want you pay prior to shipment. but I won't. I had to wait year-and-a-half for an Alex Florov and that didn't seem that excessive considering how booked up he was.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

The other thing, unless the pipe you "purchased" was really unique, the majority of the carvers do not require any upfront payment. That should be the first sign something is wrong.

 

[Y2kpipper]

Before calling him out publicly, wouldn't it be prudent to first ask him for an explanation. For all you know he may have been dealing with a family/personal situation that caused his tardiness and unresponsiveness.

I reached out to him numerous times with no response

 

[Streeper541]

Perhaps before you move forward with things, send him an email stating something of the following...

I'd really rather have the pipe, not the refund. Was there some issue I was not aware of? What I'd really like is to get one of your pipes. Can we still make that happen? If not, a refund will be acceptable, but please know I will be unpleased if that is the case.

People are human... even pipe makers. Sometimes they forget. Sometimes they make promises that they can't keep. If you really want the pipe, give it a shot... If not, move on. If they remain unprofessional, by eluding you... then please share that information with the rest of the community.