Selling sayas without the knives

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Selling sayas without the knives

Post by ChefKnivesToGo »

I'm considering discontinuing saya sales for customers that buy their knives elsewhere. It's a total pain in the butt to get an order for 5 sayas and then have to try and fit them to knives we may or may not even sell (Shun's are a popular one). We're didn't sign up to be the saya seller for other knife businesses that don't want to bother with an accessory that is a pain to fit. We're willing to go through that pain for the customers that actually buy the knives from us but it's getting old to get complaints about sayas not fitting when we have no idea what they have and what might fit.

Come at me.... :)
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Re: Selling wa handles without the knives

Post by ChefKnivesToGo »

Here is a perfect example from a few days ago. We sold the saya to the customer who had purchased this knife elsewhere so we had no record of what he was fitting it on. He did buy a 130mm petty on the order so we tried to contact him and no answer. Then we tried to read his mind and fit a saya to the knife and it didn't work since it was too small. Even if we had given him what he wanted it wouldn't have fit. Lots of work. Unhappy customer. Got mad at us etc.


Hello,
I bought the Konosuke petty saya 150mm to go with my Masakage Yuki Petty 150mm, but unfortunately the saya doesn't fit. Am I able to exchange this saya and can you recommend a saya to go with this knife?
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Re: Selling wa handles without the knives

Post by Kalaeb »

Makes sense to me. I believe most vendors do it this way. Plenty of independent craftman willing to help out, maybe just send them a a few names of some guys who can do some custom stuff.
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Re: Selling wa handles without the knives

Post by taz575 »

Yeah, saya only with knife order is the only way to make sure it will fit! Saves you the headaches, too.
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Re: Selling wa handles without the knives

Post by taz575 »

Oh, the title says selling Wa handles without the knives, not saya?
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Re: Selling wa handles without the knives

Post by JASinIL2006 »

Certainly makes sense to limit saya sales.
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Re: Selling sayas without the knives

Post by stevem627 »

You might just create a disclaimer that clearly states no guarantee on fit. No returns. Put the responsibility for fit on the buyer. Obviously say a fit is totally dependent on individual knives. There can’t be one saya to fit ALL different profiles and lengths.

I guess the real decision is a matter of lost sales versus sales. It seems there is limited time to do this fitting test, so don’t try or offer to.
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Re: Selling sayas without the knives

Post by playingfetch »

So I gather I'm out of luck getting matching sayas for a set of Cutco knives :roll:

In all seriousness, I agree that you should only sell them with CKTG knives. Your time in sorting that out is worth something so there's no point in dealing with a hassle that doesn't make you money.
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Re: Selling sayas without the knives

Post by XexoX »

Yes, stop selling them. State clearing you are only selling sayas for the knives you sold them. Not sure if this would apply to the knives I've already bought from you, not that I'm looking. But you have a record of what I've bought, so you could look it up. Might be too much work for you. If so, clearly state, sayas sold only with the knife it is for, at purchase time. No knife, no saya. Say it clearly and pedantically, as people are idiots. And will argue. Sue seems good at saying 'NO!', let her deal with the idiots.
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Re: Selling sayas without the knives

Post by Radar53 »

XexoX wrote: Thu Jun 17, 2021 2:00 pm Sue seems good at saying 'NO!', let her deal with the idiots.
Hey!! I resemble that remark :lol: :lol: :lol: and BTW I really like dealing with Sue 8-) 8-)
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Re: Selling sayas without the knives

Post by JASinIL2006 »

To be fair, the main saya page already says "Sayas are Japanese wooden sheaths that protect your knives. Here is our collection of sayas. Please note that all knives are different and may not fit any of the sayas we sell."

My guess is that people just don't bother reading...
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Re: Selling sayas without the knives

Post by Jeff B »

Totally agree. You should only sell sayas with knives being purchased or for a knife you sold earlier. If someone wants a saya for their Shun let them go to Shun and find one.
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Re: Selling sayas without the knives

Post by cliff »

I totally understand the frustration. On the flipside, as a consumer, I have been very happy to have been able to buy sayas for knives that came without. Getting them done custom is much more expensive.
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Re: Selling sayas without the knives

Post by ChefKnivesToGo »

cliff wrote: Thu Jun 17, 2021 4:45 pm I totally understand the frustration. On the flipside, as a consumer, I have been very happy to have been able to buy sayas for knives that came without. Getting them done custom is much more expensive.
What I think we’re going to do is state the policy on each saya page and then allow for exceptions. We’re especially going to make exceptions if you buy a knife from us and then want a saya later. We already look up past order history to figure out what knife it’s supposed to fit. We just want to cut down on these time consuming, frustrating orders.
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Re: Selling sayas without the knives

Post by slensgra »

How about rectangular sayas. Length, height, and thickness.....
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Re: Selling sayas without the knives

Post by cliff »

While we're talking sayas, having some for 270 gyuto's would be a big plus. I've got a couple that need them but have been holding of sending the knives out for a custom job.
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Re: Selling sayas without the knives

Post by ChefKnivesToGo »

cliff wrote: Mon Jun 21, 2021 11:44 am While we're talking sayas, having some for 270 gyuto's would be a big plus. I've got a couple that need them but have been holding of sending the knives out for a custom job.
https://www.chefknivestogo.com/kofugy27tasa.html
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Re: Selling sayas without the knives

Post by cliff »

Thanks! Will keep this in mind.
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Re: Selling sayas without the knives

Post by ken123 »

Custom sayas for unknown knives? What could possibly go wrong? Seems like a custom job. You will need to add a separate complaint department, possibly a psychiatrist :) Perhaps outsourcing this task to a custom saya maker who charges for a custom fitting job.

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Re: Selling sayas without the knives

Post by cliff »

I've had good luck with the handful I've purchased. I pay attention to the specs and drill the hole myself.
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