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DWSmith

Still Plays With Blocks
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This is my official return policy.

If a customer receives a defective board, I will pay for the return shipping both ways. However, I need proof of the defective nature through photos. A defect is an obvious crack or split that has opened up during transit or happened through no fault of the customer within the first 90 days after receipt. If the board has warped due to prolonged contact with water resulting in splits, cracks and warps, that is not a manufacturing defect.

Occasionally the heat inside a UPS trailer or the pressure of boxes piled on top will result in a crack which I will honor as a defect. Warps caused by shipping pressure will go away once the board is allowed to relax in its new surroundings. If it doesn't relax and flatten, I will replace it. Mineral stains and other natural colorations of a board are not defects. Those were placed there by a natural reaction of the tree to an insect or tapping for maple sap. Those mineral stains are visible in 30 to 50% of the maple I buy and are almost impossible to work around. (I once had a customer who demanded I throw away all the wood that contained mineral stains.)

If a board is damaged in transit, UPS will normally pay for the return but if they deny the damage claim, I will have it returned then pay to resend another board. Otherwise, I will resend once the damage claim is accepted at my expense and wait for UPS to pay for the damages.

If the customer is simply not pleased with the appearance of the board, the return shipping is on the customer. If the customer wants to return a board for appearance questions, I will refund the cost of the board once the board has been received back to the shop. I do not refund the original shipping charges.

What happens to returned boards? The few that are returned are cut up and deposited in the dumpster. Why? Would you use a cutting board that another customer had? Once the shrink wrap is broken, anything can happen and I simply can't afford to take that chance.

As an aside, the photos on the web site are there for illustrative purposes only and the boards received will be different in appearance. The wood from tree to tree can and will vary in shades and coloration. The web site photos were taken of boards that were shipped to other customers and were not taken of special boards made just for photography.
 
Dave,

Thank you for posting this clear & concise policy statement. I'm sure it will address many FAQ's.

Dave


This "clear and concise policy statement" was posted after I get shafted. Sure he will exchange at the tune of $62.85 in shipping for a $90.00 board.


Copy of my email to Mr. Smith is below:

Let me explain my problem with the board I received. If your FAQ had talked about mineral stains or I saw a picture with mineral stains...I would have requested a board with no stains. As it is...I had no idea they existed. I wanted a board like in your flyer/website. I'm sorry for this misunderstanding however I'm not happy with this board. Can it be exchanged with no extra cost to me?
 
David:

This just an FYI. The shrink wrap on the board that I received from you was broken at several locations when I received it. The feet of the board had punctured through the shrink wrap and the shrink wrap was also torn on the sides.
 
mhlee - The shrink wrap is there mainly to give the tape something to hold on to. Since the tape won't stick to the oiled board, either butchers paper or shrink wrap has to be used. Shrink wrap is easier, quicker and far cheaper than butchers paper. And I lost my source on butchers paper years ago. Also, the shrink wrap endures a lot on the trip from the shop to its final destination and I am surprised much of it lasts as long as it does.

As for the OP, I'm not going to engage in a spitting contest on the forum nor will I sling comments around. As for the policy, this has always been the policy I have followed. From now on a written returns policy will be included in every box that is shipped out.
 
My board has scratches all over it. It looks like someone's been hacking at it with a knife.

Also, there is a spot on the side that looks like someone burned it with a hot iron.

And it smells like Mineral Oil.
 
Where you going to frame it and put it on your wall or Cut on it? If you wanted an art piece you got one, if you use it, it will eventually get some awesome stains and marks from use. This shouldn't be an issue, unlessyou do plan on hanging it up...
 
I understand alot of these boards look like art, but a stain? You should be oiling your board, and stain it yourself anyway. I plan on ordering a board from you David, I have alot of maple boards, they are popular from cabinet makers and such up here in Canada, but I plan on getting a massive endgrain maple from you. Your boards are simply a cut above, thank you for outlying your policy here, should result in less issues on your end. Great work as always and look forward to placing my order.
 
Just so everyone is perfectly clear. I have no intentions of ever returning my board. Best investment I ever made.:D
 
My board has scratches all over it. It looks like someone's been hacking at it with a knife.

Also, there is a spot on the side that looks like someone burned it with a hot iron.

And it smells like Mineral Oil.

Better start putting a poly board on top. Gotta protect your investment.
 
This is a pic of my maple BoardSMITH board. I never once considered this to be a "defect", or cause for returning the board.

7893b1b5.jpg
 
It is a curl in the figure....I would want the whole board to look like that :D
 
I think that adds character. I'm sorry people now days think that stuff made from wood will always look the exact same. In the restaurant bus. people get mad when they order a Rib eye and it is fatty. Many times the business suffers because of the customers education.
 
BoardSmith 004.JPG

For those who asked, here is a photo of the board in question.
 
Wow over time and oil that will pop like no body's business. To bad it will be come dumpster wood.
 
CAD, do you have pics?? I may be interested in it!
 
Yeah, just saw that he posted it; I guess my page didn't refresh before I posted!
 
I agree, sell it here, someone will be very happy!
 
Better start putting a poly board on top. Gotta protect your investment.

It occurred to me one day when I was a kid that we were eating food on:
Plates, to keep the food off of the
Placemats, to keep the food off of the
Tableclotch, to keep the food off of the
Veneer Pad, to keep the food off of the
Finish, to keep the food off of the
Table, to keep the food off of the
Linoleum, to keep the food off of the
Floorboards, to keep the food off of the
Foundation, to keep the food off of the
Dirt.


At some point, you just gotta use something.


That mineral stain would look totally different if that board was saturated in oil. My board has tiny spots and streaks like that all over it. It's a piece of wood. I want it to look like wood, and I want to love it for the food I made on it.
 
Forgot to put the winky on the end ;-)

My father in law has a spray in bed liner in the box of his Nissan Titan so the metal doesn't get scratched, but he then has a carpet in there so the spray in Bed liner doesn't get scuffed, but then you have to be careful not to put anything in there that would get the carpet dirty... :beatinghead:

I only borrowed the truck once. I'm still surprised he didn't make me pay a damage deposit or sign a waiver that I wouldn't drive through any puddles or fart in the seat or something.
 
If your returns look like that... I bet there is a line to buy your b-stocks.
 
Dave, have you considered planing down the returns/seconds/etc, making them fully half of what they were, then selling them as cheese boards, presentation boards, etc? There can't be any food contaminants that far down into the wood, it doesn't even get light and air down there.

It'd save you some dollars(maybe recoup some shipping and materials for the replacement?), and be a cool thing people could buy.
 
Ah well, this is a byproduct of producing functional 'works of art'. Even though the board will get cut into, oiled, etc. and change appearance as time goes by, you run the risk of buyers expecting something "perfect" upon arrival. I suspect if 5 boards were laid out before you for purchase, and you had a choice, most would likely pick the one that either had the least 'defects', or the one that had the coolest-looking 'defects'.

Based upon the buyer's initial reaction when the board was removed from the packaging, I believe the 'pride of ownership' that had been built up by reading so many glowing reviews of Dave's boards immediately went out the window, and the buyer felt he had been cheated somehow. It's too bad he jumped right on the forums to vent, but I doubt reading a bunch of postings from people saying 'don't worry, the board is fine' will not change his opinon that he was due a wood product that contains zero blemishes.
 
Ah well, this is a byproduct of producing functional 'works of art'. Even though the board will get cut into, oiled, etc. and change appearance as time goes by, you run the risk of buyers expecting something "perfect" upon arrival. I suspect if 5 boards were laid out before you for purchase, and you had a choice, most would likely pick the one that either had the least 'defects', or the one that had the coolest-looking 'defects'.

Based upon the buyer's initial reaction when the board was removed from the packaging, I believe the 'pride of ownership' that had been built up by reading so many glowing reviews of Dave's boards immediately went out the window, and the buyer felt he had been cheated somehow. It's too bad he jumped right on the forums to vent, but I doubt reading a bunch of postings from people saying 'don't worry, the board is fine' will not change his opinon that he was due a wood product that contains zero blemishes.

Well said.
 
Dave, have you considered planing down the returns/seconds/etc, making them fully half of what they were, then selling them as cheese boards, presentation boards, etc? There can't be any food contaminants that far down into the wood, it doesn't even get light and air down there.

It'd save you some dollars(maybe recoup some shipping and materials for the replacement?), and be a cool thing people could buy.

+1. I can see that you want to be careful and sometimes tossing things is just the easiest solution, but I don;t see anything wrong with thoroughly sanding a board and selling it again. As for the problem itself, I guess expectations just vary. I often look at wood pieces and wonder whether something is a flaw or a 'character feature'. That's why I usually try and show snapshots of the final product before I send it out. Not sure if you do that, David, but considering the high shipping cost, it might be a good idea? Of course, that's another added work step.

Stefan
 
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