Feather Emporium; Honest?? Anybody Using Them?

[barrytheguide 0]

There is an odd discontinuity here. I too ordered from Dave the other day, and got the order within a week. As Jaydub pointed out, he obviously gets his skins in bulk from Whiting, hence the packaging. Nothing dodgy about this at all. A very common practice that you see all the time at shows and the like. I personally do not care if there is a cardboard insert with Whiting Farms on it, as long as the product is satisfactory, the price is fair, and it arrives in a timely fashion.

 

Harold Ray: Why don't you just ask for a refund? As others have pointed out, you can always contest a charge with your CC company if it came to that, but I suspect you would get a prompt refund if you asked for it.

Nothing Dodgy about plain packaging ? Sorry , but when I pay over $100 for a cape I would like to see it in the correct packaging and the back of the cape marked Whiting as well.

Sorry, but this guy is buying in bulk, cheap and reselling at premium prices. I'm amazed that Whiting didn't respond to me email about the matter. The price was expensive, the product of poor quality and the packing looked like something from a porn store.....

[wschmitt3 0]

Seriously? I don't think there is anything dodgy about the products I got from Feather Emporium or the packaging. This matter of not getting products that were ordered is concerning but I am actually much happier with the items I got from F.E. in zip lock bags than the products I got in a whiting package. I purchased a package of 4 whiting half capes from Cabela's and the quality was terrible, they were all way too webby for dry flies. I literally have not touched them in two years. The stuff I've gotten from Feather Emporium has been very high quality and has all come in zip-lock bags, to date I have gotten five or six half capes, two full capes, 3 or 4 100 packs, some bugger hackle, grizzly wing feathers, 3 Brahma Hen with chickabo skins, a hen cape and a partridge skin. I have absolutely no complaints about these products. If I had I would have gotten my money back or a replacement product.

 

When it comes down to it it's what is in the bag that matters and if your not happy with what came in yours you should have asked for refund or replacement. I am betting you would have gotten it especially if you ordered with paypal.

 

"Buying in bulk and reselling at premium prices" so what? This is what all retail operations do that's how a profit is made. I would bet if he were claiming to be selling whiting products and wasn't they would be issuing cease and desist orders and suing him into bankruptcy.

[whatfly 0]

 

There is an odd discontinuity here. I too ordered from Dave the other day, and got the order within a week. As Jaydub pointed out, he obviously gets his skins in bulk from Whiting, hence the packaging. Nothing dodgy about this at all. A very common practice that you see all the time at shows and the like. I personally do not care if there is a cardboard insert with Whiting Farms on it, as long as the product is satisfactory, the price is fair, and it arrives in a timely fashion.

 

Harold Ray: Why don't you just ask for a refund? As others have pointed out, you can always contest a charge with your CC company if it came to that, but I suspect you would get a prompt refund if you asked for it.

Nothing Dodgy about plain packaging ? Sorry , but when I pay over $100 for a cape I would like to see it in the correct packaging and the back of the cape marked Whiting as well.

Sorry, but this guy is buying in bulk, cheap and reselling at premium prices. I'm amazed that Whiting didn't respond to me email about the matter. The price was expensive, the product of poor quality and the packing looked like something from a porn store.....

 

 

Sorry it did not meet your expectation, although $100 for a cree skin should have been a hint, and as you said, you had the opportunity to return it. All I'm saying is I have bought a number of Whiting Farm skins from different sources, INCLUDING Whiting Farms themselves, and in many cases they came out of a box and were handed to me in an unmarked plastic bag. Indeed, on one occassion I purchased a 'cardless' skin from Tom himself, so I seriously doubt the practice is somehow nefarious.

[David Roberts 0]

My name is David Roberts. Today, a customer alerted me to this thread. First, thank you to all of you for your kind words who have come out to say that you have ordered from me, received the order in a timely fashion, and were happy with the feathers I sent.

 

Reading this, there are many issues I would like to respond to. I don't follow the forums, the fact of the matter is that I'm too busy taking orders, updating the website, and shipping orders. But after seeing this, I guess I had better start.

 

I recall Ray's order because I had just redesigned the Coq de Leon page and decided to offer cdl hen capes in dyed colors. No one else does this. I dyed up 1 of each color so I could picture them on my site and see which would sell.

 

Ray's order was for 14 cdl hen capes, 7 of them dyed colors. I talked to him on the phone and told him that it would take a couple of weeks to dye all those colors and dry them for shipping. I worked on this everyday and shipped them.

 

I have made a point of putting my phone number front and center on each and every page. Below that, it clearly says that if you are not happy with anything for any reason - return it for a full refund.

 

So what happened here? I'll tell you one thing for sure. If I ordered something from anyone for $385 and had not received it - I would be on the phone calling someone! Why didn't you call me? Why didn't you file a dispute with PayPal or your credit card? Something's not right here.

 

As for the guy who was not happy with the cree. Instead of complaining here, send it back to me. I don't care how long you've had it. Send it back and I'll be glad to refund your money. Why keep it if your not happy with it?

 

And that goes for anyone else reading this. If your not happy, send it back!

 

I've been working with Dr. Whiting for more years than I can remember. If anyone wants to second guess whether what they receive is "genuine" Whiting hackle, please send me a picture or an email and Dr. Whiting will be glad to respond.

 

The majority of what I sell is not packaged in the Whiting packaging. As I state on my site, I do a lot of shows and having pelts in packaging is a pain. The shows are busy and my booth is packed with tiers wanting to pick up and touch as many feathers as they can. Carrying unpackaged product has worked well and people seem to have been accepting of it. What's been important to me is the quality of the product.

 

Being a "one man shop" I'll be the first to admit that mistakes are made. To be honest with you, I'm surprised not more are made. But if people don't call and let me know, how do I fix it? It's not because they can't find my phone number or email.

 

So I have to ask the guy who claims to have received nothing for his $90, "Why didn't you call me?". If I made a mistake and didn't ship your order, I'll be glad to either ship it now of refund your money. If it's you idea that I'm running a scam to cheat you out of $90, well your mistaken. Why just say "I guess I'm out $90?" All you have to do is call me; 608-332-4220

 

For those of you who have commented that they would "never order anything" from me. Please, let me be the first to encourage you to shop other web sites. There are a lot out there. I'm so busy that my girlfriend threatened to go on the internet and say bad things about me just so orders would slow down.

 

For those of you who do order feathers from me, I will do my best to supply the best quality at an affordable price. I take the best pictures I can for my website so customers can see what they are getting. But if for some reason there is a problem, all you have to do is call.

 

David

608-332-4220

[Guest]

Get most of my hackle from Whiting through my local shop, and also Collins and Conranch. I dye my stuff using Veniards Fly Dye

[vb1971 0]

You guys in the USA are spoilt for choices!

 

If only you could see the crap we get here in Australia and when we want to buy the quality hackles such as Whitings we have to pay an ABSOLUTE premium for stock that has been hanging in shops for years!!! It is not uncommon for a fishing shop to split capes or saddles into quarters to make them affordable. Cant tell you how many times the ticket is clipped before it gets to my local fishing shop.

 

I have just purchased from David and even with the current deterioration of the Australian dollar and paying priority mail I still managed to buy it cheaper than anything I could get here. I have not receive the package yet but am very please at how quickly David responded and mailed the order. I also love the idea of a website that tailers for fly tiers globally..

 

Keep up the great work

 

Kind Regards

Vb1971

[David Roberts 0]

Thanks. Please let me know when it arrives. Being so far away, I'm interested to see how long it takes.

[David Roberts 0]

Fatman; which of their olive dyes do you use. I'm having a hard time coming up with just the right olive. Either it is too green or too brown. Also, have you had any luck with purple? These two colors keep me up at night!

[John F 0]

David

I guess I'm a little ticked over the service I got from you. If I'm out the $90 I'm out the $90. I consider it a lesson learned. As far as calling you, I have called at least 3 times, and emailed more. Here is the last email I sent. Note that the date on your reply is Mar 5. I just don't feel I should have to be calling half way across the country to find out what is going on with my order. I've ordered dozens and dozens of things from the States both at work and personally. My prefered shipper has always been the USPS, I've never had a problem and always recieve my goods within 10 business days of being shipped, usually 5 to 7 days. They are truly a remarkable company. As it is now, I ordered the capes Dec 21 and still haven't seen them.

 

 

-------- Original Message --------

Subject: RE: Receipt for Your Payment to The Feather Emporium Date: Thu, 5 Mar 2015 15:00:56 -0600 From: David Roberts <[email protected]> To: John Forish <[email protected]>

No luck with any info from the post office. I'll be reshipping them later today. Keep your fingers crossed!

Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2015 09:33:52 -0800
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Fwd: Fwd: Fwd: Receipt for Your Payment to The Feather Emporium

Hi David
Any word on my capes??

[vb1971 0]

Will do David,

 

I am not sure why but freight from the USA to Australia used to be quite quick. Delivery times have increased and for whatever reason we now get faster delivery times from the UK

 

Cheers

VB1971

[Harold Ray 0]

So what happened here? I'll tell you one thing for sure. If I ordered something from anyone for $385 and had not received it - I would be on the phone calling someone! Why didn't you call me? Why didn't you file a dispute with PayPal or your credit card? Something's not right here.

Something's not right here; you are correct about that! I did call you, twice; I also e-mailed you, a friendly message with invoice attacted, and got no response. The last time we spoke, you told me the feathers would be shipped within 1 or 2 days. That was a month or so ago, now over 2 months since the order. I told you at the time I needed them for a show this last weekend. The show has come and gone, and still I have not received the feathers.

 

I have been in business myself for years; you get complaints when you tell a client to expect results and nothing happens. You said, "Something's not right here," and you are right; the product I purchased from you has not been delivered, and I have heard nothing from you about delays. It is poor policy to attempt to place blame for lack of service on the purchaser. I paid the money and have received nothing.

 

As far as filing a complaint, I basically hadn't thought about it; after your promise, I had been waiting and hoping the shipment would arrive in time. I have been a member of http://www.flytyingforum.com for years, have friends here, and thought telling them about the problem was a good idea.

 

If you read the thread, you saw that I posted over a month ago, after my initial post, that we had talked and you said the feathers would be in the mail within a couple of days. I was completely satisfied with your promise at the time. The time came and went, as did the show, and my order has never arrived.

 

I have no quarrel with you other than that. My first order from you arrived promptly. If you shipped this order, it never arrived and should have been returned to you as the sender. I use the internet as my "store", have purchased many thousands of dollars of goods thiis way, and expect an order to be serviced as promptly as possible with updates if problems arise. I do not, after 2 calls and 1 e-mail, expect to have you or anyone else to act like not receiving product is my fault. You had told me initially it would take a few days to prepare the order; I had absolutely no problem with that and told you so. I will still be more than happy to get the feathers I ordered, other than that, you can refund the money. I had planned on calling you again tomorrow; I just returned from Mountain Home, Arkansas and the event for which I initially made the purchase.

 

Harold Ray Emerson, D.V.M.

[barrytheguide 0]

My name is David Roberts. Today, a customer alerted me to this thread. First, thank you to all of you for your kind words who have come out to say that you have ordered from me, received the order in a timely fashion, and were happy with the feathers I sent.

 

Reading this, there are many issues I would like to respond to. I don't follow the forums, the fact of the matter is that I'm too busy taking orders, updating the website, and shipping orders. But after seeing this, I guess I had better start.

 

I recall Ray's order because I had just redesigned the Coq de Leon page and decided to offer cdl hen capes in dyed colors. No one else does this. I dyed up 1 of each color so I could picture them on my site and see which would sell.

 

Ray's order was for 14 cdl hen capes, 7 of them dyed colors. I talked to him on the phone and told him that it would take a couple of weeks to dye all those colors and dry them for shipping. I worked on this everyday and shipped them.

 

I have made a point of putting my phone number front and center on each and every page. Below that, it clearly says that if you are not happy with anything for any reason - return it for a full refund.

 

So what happened here? I'll tell you one thing for sure. If I ordered something from anyone for $385 and had not received it - I would be on the phone calling someone! Why didn't you call me? Why didn't you file a dispute with PayPal or your credit card? Something's not right here.

 

As for the guy who was not happy with the cree. Instead of complaining here, send it back to me. I don't care how long you've had it. Send it back and I'll be glad to refund your money. Why keep it if your not happy with it?

 

And that goes for anyone else reading this. If your not happy, send it back!

 

I've been working with Dr. Whiting for more years than I can remember. If anyone wants to second guess whether what they receive is "genuine" Whiting hackle, please send me a picture or an email and Dr. Whiting will be glad to respond.

 

The majority of what I sell is not packaged in the Whiting packaging. As I state on my site, I do a lot of shows and having pelts in packaging is a pain. The shows are busy and my booth is packed with tiers wanting to pick up and touch as many feathers as they can. Carrying unpackaged product has worked well and people seem to have been accepting of it. What's been important to me is the quality of the product.

 

Being a "one man shop" I'll be the first to admit that mistakes are made. To be honest with you, I'm surprised not more are made. But if people don't call and let me know, how do I fix it? It's not because they can't find my phone number or email.

 

So I have to ask the guy who claims to have received nothing for his $90, "Why didn't you call me?". If I made a mistake and didn't ship your order, I'll be glad to either ship it now of refund your money. If it's you idea that I'm running a scam to cheat you out of $90, well your mistaken. Why just say "I guess I'm out $90?" All you have to do is call me; 608-332-4220

 

For those of you who have commented that they would "never order anything" from me. Please, let me be the first to encourage you to shop other web sites. There are a lot out there. I'm so busy that my girlfriend threatened to go on the internet and say bad things about me just so orders would slow down.

 

For those of you who do order feathers from me, I will do my best to supply the best quality at an affordable price. I take the best pictures I can for my website so customers can see what they are getting. But if for some reason there is a problem, all you have to do is call.

 

David

608-332-4220

 

The reason I did not send my Cree Cape back is simply that they are, or were, very hard to find. I just put it down to buyer beware. But I still don't understand why not Whiting packaging? . It's not that hard to put a expensive cape in the correct bag, all the ones in my fly shop are that way. Besides, whiting makes a big deal about the quality of their capes and saddles and always includes the grading with their products. So how come you don't do the same? It would appear from my side of the fence that you purchase seconds or lower grades in bulk and sell them as premium quality. Please let,us know if I am wrong

Barry

 

[David Roberts 0]

Yes you are wrong. If you think that Whiting is selling their seconds or junk to me so that I can sell it on the internet for "premium" prices - for all the world to see, you couldn't be more wrong. Why would Whiting let me do this?

 

As for "it's not that hard to put an expensive cape in the correct bag", that is not what you bought. I clearly offer both packaged and unpackaged Whiting products on the same page.

 

The unfortunate part is that you still feel that you've been cheated. What makes you think that the cree cape is junk? You say "Buyer beware", be aware of what? I guess I can better highlight the description that it is not in Whiting packaging. But what about the quality?

 

Again, if you are not happy with the quality of the cape or the bag or whatever, send it back. If you want a cree in the Whiting bag, I'll send you one. But to go on here and just complain doesn't solve any problem.

[David Roberts 0]

John F,

 

I looked into your order this morning. You ordered 3 Whiting hen capes. A silver badger, brown, and black at $25 each. The PayPal payment was for $75 and no shipping was charged.

 

Free shipping is for US orders, and as is clearly stated on my home page, there is a link for paying the shipping on international orders. I sent you two separate invoices for $9.55, one on Dec 23rd and the other March 3rd. Neither have been paid as of today.

 

You state that you are out $90. I can't find the other $15. Is this a payment you made for shipping or something else? If so, did you use a different PayPal email address?

 

Please let me know what happened here so that I can resolve this today.

[Harold Ray 0]

David,

 

I have been thinking about this overnight. You and I have no problem that can't be solved quickly and easily. I would like to continue buying from you if you want a paying customer who wants the product delivered as promptly as possible. My first two orders totaled nearly $500.00; I paid on the spot. That is a decent sale to one customer I believe.

 

You have a beautiful website and quality products. The feathers in my first order, received very quickly, were beautiful, with vibrant colors and consistent sizing. I was impressed. I would have liked them bagged separately with some type of backing to absorb oils, which we discussed in a phone call, rather than being sent in one sack with each cape or saddle exposed to the other. I have had oil from the skin stain feathers before and don't like that happening. Although fairly dry, the skins that hold the feathers still are somewhat oily and remain so in my experience.

 

Fill the order I placed with you for the Coq de Leon Hen Capes listed below. I can receive my capes, and you can keep a satisfied customer who buys quite a bit and pays readily and happily. That is all I ask.

 

My order is listed below:

 

Description Unit price Qty Amount

Coq de Leon Hen Cape

Item# cdlhc30 , color: black $27.50 USD 1 $27.50 USD

Coq de Leon Hen Cape

Item# cdlhc30 , color: brown $27.50 USD 1 $27.50 USD

Coq de Leon Hen Cape

Item# cdlhc30 , color: brown speckled $27.50 USD 1 $27.50 USD

Coq de Leon Hen Cape

Item# cdlhc30 , color: burnt orange $27.50 USD 1 $27.50 USD

Coq de Leon Hen Cape

Item# cdlhc30 , color: claret $27.50 USD 1 $27.50 USD

Coq de Leon Hen Cape

Item# cdlhc30 , color: copper $27.50 USD 1 $27.50 USD

Coq de Leon Hen Cape

Item# cdlhc30 , color: dark speckled $27.50 USD 1 $27.50 USD

Coq de Leon Hen Cape

Item# cdlhc30 , color: dun $27.50 USD 1 $27.50 USD

Coq de Leon Hen Cape

Item# cdlhc30 , color: golden brown $27.50 USD 1 $27.50 USD

Coq de Leon Hen Cape

Item# cdlhc30 , color: golden olive $27.50 USD 1 $27.50 USD

Coq de Leon Hen Cape

Item# cdlhc30 , color: olive $27.50 USD 1 $27.50 USD

Coq de Leon Hen Cape

Item# cdlhc30 , color: rubio $27.50 USD 1 $27.50 USD

Coq de Leon Hen Cape

Item# cdlhc30 , color: silver speckled $27.50 USD 1 $27.50 USD

Coq de Leon Hen Cape

Item# cdlhc30 , color: white $27.50 USD 1 $27.50 USD

Subtotal $385.00 USD

Total $385.00 USD

Payment $385.00 USD

Payment sent to [email protected]

 

I hope that this solution is acceptable to you. I don't enjoy controversy; I do enjoy receiving ordered supplies and products for which I have paid. I would like to continue as your client if you are willing to go this route.

 

Any business has occasional problems; I always use them as a learning experience, and I've had plenty over the years. They can make your and my businesses better and stronger when we recognize the expectations of our customers and clients. That is the way I look at this. You showed good character and honesty in joining in this discussion and responding to questions and complaints. Thank you for that.

 

Please let me know how you would like to proceed from here.

 

Ray

 

Harold Ray Emerson, D.V.M.

Waco, Texas