Post by Knief on Feb 22, 2006 0:40:18 GMT -5
I had done a small deal with Minky a few years ago, for an mp5 scope mount I believe. All things went smoothly then. Also, consider that he is a long time and well respescted member/moderator of MiA, although mostly inactive now. So when he PMed me an offer to purchase his upgraded WA 4.3inch SV Infinity, I wasn't too concerned about getting scammed out of a larger chunk of change. What I didn't count on was getting better service from him than I would expect from my most trusted of retailers.
After we [easily] settled on a price, I put a MO in the mail on Wednesday. The gun showed up at my place the following monday (and UM mail is a day behind the USPS/UPS, so they had it on sunday and had to send it to the right housing complex). I opened the box to find thick newspaper packing. Beneath the newspaper on top was the stock slide with about a pound of bubble wrap on it. Beneath that, was the classic brown WA Infinity box wrapped in another couple pounds of bubble wrap. After peeling that away and cutting the clear packing tape on the box (applied so that it couldn't open and release the beast in transit), I popped the box open to find the gun, once again, covered in bubble wrap (although much less, due to space contraints). Inside the box, in the small "extras" foam compartment, were all of the stock pieces and loading equipment, just as promised. Like everything else, they were shrouded in bubble wrap. Under the foam insert laid all of the original paperwork. Underneath the box, you guessed it, another layer of bubble wrap.
This, gentlemen, is the way to package an expensive gun. When I went though it, I really felt like Minky really cared that I got a product in its perfect condition. Short of a flood or an explosion in the mail truck (if our forums weren't on the FBI watch list before, they are now), nothing was going to get through to this gun.
What's more, while Minky and I were discussing the deal, he overexaggerated the flaws of the gun. He claimed that there was a mark on the left side near a seration in the slide. He was right, but if he had never said anything, there's no way I would have noticed. Hell, it took me a good 30 seconds just to figure out that the tiny blemish on the metal slide is what he was talking about. I was expecting something at least noticeable at arms length.
Minky has set a new standard of how to conduct a sale, and given me a goal to achieve in the event that I sell anything on an airsoft forum. To say "Kudos to Minky" is a huge understatement.
The rest of you are in luck. Minky hinted that he would be selling a lot more of his gear in the near future. If you haven't figured it out by now, I suggest buying from him if he's selling something that you want. That is, if I don't snatch it up first.
After we [easily] settled on a price, I put a MO in the mail on Wednesday. The gun showed up at my place the following monday (and UM mail is a day behind the USPS/UPS, so they had it on sunday and had to send it to the right housing complex). I opened the box to find thick newspaper packing. Beneath the newspaper on top was the stock slide with about a pound of bubble wrap on it. Beneath that, was the classic brown WA Infinity box wrapped in another couple pounds of bubble wrap. After peeling that away and cutting the clear packing tape on the box (applied so that it couldn't open and release the beast in transit), I popped the box open to find the gun, once again, covered in bubble wrap (although much less, due to space contraints). Inside the box, in the small "extras" foam compartment, were all of the stock pieces and loading equipment, just as promised. Like everything else, they were shrouded in bubble wrap. Under the foam insert laid all of the original paperwork. Underneath the box, you guessed it, another layer of bubble wrap.
This, gentlemen, is the way to package an expensive gun. When I went though it, I really felt like Minky really cared that I got a product in its perfect condition. Short of a flood or an explosion in the mail truck (if our forums weren't on the FBI watch list before, they are now), nothing was going to get through to this gun.
What's more, while Minky and I were discussing the deal, he overexaggerated the flaws of the gun. He claimed that there was a mark on the left side near a seration in the slide. He was right, but if he had never said anything, there's no way I would have noticed. Hell, it took me a good 30 seconds just to figure out that the tiny blemish on the metal slide is what he was talking about. I was expecting something at least noticeable at arms length.
Minky has set a new standard of how to conduct a sale, and given me a goal to achieve in the event that I sell anything on an airsoft forum. To say "Kudos to Minky" is a huge understatement.
The rest of you are in luck. Minky hinted that he would be selling a lot more of his gear in the near future. If you haven't figured it out by now, I suggest buying from him if he's selling something that you want. That is, if I don't snatch it up first.