Sportcolbs

[bpbobh]

Thinking this guy doesn't sell anything real so looking for some opinions on these:
items #'s on ebay
360438528339
140715132883
360438885536

[Miller Bro's]

He sells "real" knives, just do your homework on the ones you want to buy

[jerryd6818]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/360438528339

http://www.ebay.com/itm/140715132883

http://www.ebay.com/itm/360438885536

[chetr1200c]

they look legit to me. they should go for around 65 to 75 bucks.
but he just sold a nkca queen 1981 cigar for 165$, well beyond the market value. so you never know what the ending bid will be.

[Elvis]

If the price on the Hammerhead gets too high, let me know. I have one I could probably make you a better deal on than the winning bid on that one.

[Phin Spencer]

hello I have bought from him, but I always check first. He has good
knives, miss described ones, and ones that don't need a second look.
I count myself lucky, as all have been good. Don't beat a dead horse!
Phin

[TripleF]

I am clueless on this topic, and seller.

It blows me away as to all the awards he has won, his perfect, spotless, selling reputation and all. I'm amazed he's allegedly a crook. Just amazed.

[tjmurphy]

I don't really think that sportcolbs knows any more about knives than I do I'm kinda of the impression that he simply buys and sells, may even be a consignment seller. I've bought from him and gotten what I consider some really good deals, knives that I like and bought cheap. I bought this one from him and am very happy with it. No doubt in my mind that it is original and maybe rare, since I've never seen another like it.

[SHAMAN]

I know him and know his son even better. He traded guns and Winchester memorabilia in the Chattanooga area for years and was considered an honest albiet shrewd trader who amassed quite a collection. He moved out of town so I didnt see or hear of him for 20 or so years until I got back into knives and found him on EBAY. I think he is an honest guy who knows very little about the knives he sells. I was discussing him with three "established" dealers at the Knoxville show back in June and they all knew him and considered him to be honest but unanimously confirmed the fact that he didnt know much about knives. One even said "Bill is just an old trader who would trade his wife but doesnt know anything." Ive bought from him and have been reasonably pleased but I AM VERY CAREFULL when I do.

[Luckypaul777]

I have bought a few from Bill as well; nothing very old or high dollar. I know I got what I paid for and have no complaints.

Luckypaul

[chetr1200c]

i have dealt with bill a few times. i did buy 2 knives from him that were obviously reworked so i returned them and he even paid for the return shipping. anyone who will do that with return items will always get a positive feedback.
so if you do get a suspicious looking purchase you can return it with no hassle, and if you get a bona-fide good deal, then you made out even better.
even though this seller has a bad rap with some people, in reality, you should have nothing to fear..
maybe he is in dark on some of the knives he sells,,which are in the multitudes, some will slip by as bad ones, but there are plenty of other sellers out there that don't come close to the honesty that bill swan has.
thats why he has an impeccable rating.

[IMBand]

Pretty tough to fault a guy that starts his items at .99 or very low and offers Hassle-Free returns.
I think I will start watching his stuff closer, Thanks Shaman & Chet...


IM

[bpbobh]

I appreciate all the comments. I am just a novice and consider this a great site with some terrific honesty and experts. I appreciate it.

[tortelvis]

if he doesn't know what he's selling, how about a disclaimer telling the buyers that they might be buying a rework or fake? that might make him look more honest since he doesn't know what is real or not.

[chetr1200c]

i don't think thats something that any seller would do. that is doing a complete 180degree in selling. if he isn't sure about the knife and it is authentic, then stating that it might be a rework or a fake is very bad business.
i would only agree to that protocol when he actually knows it's a rework or a fake.

[wlf]

I agree with most everything said towards the positive,even though I don't understand how he beats the market value so often.I had a question about a purchase,and as some have attested,he offered full refund plus return shipping costs.He told me he didn't work on knives ,if he did he would have a bathtub full of them.

I also agree that you may get any kind of knife,but his return policy is unbeatable and he does have some great knives.

It just seems they bring too much most of the time.

[tjmurphy]

Blame the bidders and not the seller I've purchased from him and have been very happy with what I bought

[Phin Spencer]

I agree with the above post. And I just got a knife that was not up
to snuff (the blades when opened did not meet the back spring).
I returned it and got a full refund! Shipping included, you can't
beat that!
Phin

[johnnierotten]

disclaimer telling the buyers that they might be buying a rework or fake

I think it should be mandatory... ......Bad business or not....its being HONEST.
Someone with his knowledge of knives and the volume of sales.....if He has the slightest doubt of a knife being reworked or fake. I would say theres a 95% chance that the knife is not legit in some way.

BUT BEING HONEST IS BAD FOR BUSINESS....

This is my HONEST opinion.

[olderdogs1]

Johnnie, I agree with you on all points!!!!

Tom

[johnnierotten]

Call me crazy.....but I like receiving knives in the condition they were described.
I'm sorry but getting a refund isn't what I was expecting and its not a quick fix for me.....why give praise for something that should happen automatically?
Being disappointed and wasting your times is acceptable as long as you get a refund?......I guess some People are easily pleased.
This is my opinion on ALL high volume & high dollar knife dealers on ebay.

I'll step down from the soap box now.....

[ringergary]

JR. Agree with you wholeheartedly, if I buy what is described then I'm happy.
If I get something different then I dont see why I've got to waste my time to send it back.
This seller did it to me twice, first and last.

Gary.

[johnnierotten]

Tom, Gary..

[trutemper]

Good points from all of you guys on buying and selling....seems he must be mostly a consignment seller. I`ve asked question about knives he had listed a couple of times(via Ebay email) and he`s rarely at home where he can check and just answers truthfully about what he remembers about the listing. As many knives as what this guy lists I`m surprised he remembers anything about them.... and I`m sure he turns them around pretty quickly. I doubt that many of his knives he`s handled for over a few minutes at the most.....hence...you just have to be an informed buyer and take a few chances....hard to beat a full money refund including shipping as far as I`m concerned....just my 2 cents.

Bob

[RobesonsRme.com]

Sportcolbs has a bad reputation mostly because he has been discussed at length as a purveyor of counterfeit knives on BladeForums.com and the owner of that site has pulled no punches in that discussion.

He keeps a good sized ad in KnifeWorld Magazine soliciting knives, so maybe the consignment idea is accurate.

I think you all are right about his generous return policy being the reason for his stellar feedback record. If one buys a bad knife, but doesn't know it, he's generally happy with it.

If one buys a bad knife and realizes it, calls him on it, but then gets a full refund including return shipping, an apology/explanation, etc., he's most likely going to leave positive feedback too.

I hope he is an honest, but less than knowledgible Ebay entrepreneur.

Before I belonged to any form of internet knife site, I bought a knife from him.

My wife, Sarah, likes Coca Cola items. He listed a nice looking three blade, bone handled, cattle knife with a Coca Cola escutcheon shield. The master clip blade was marked WARDS.

I bought the knife for Sarah. She put it in her curio table in the living room.

Over the next few months, he proceded to list about a dozen more of the knives, all mint, just like the one I bought.

I E-mailed him when about the tenth one came up on Ebay and asked him just where all those knives were coming from and he blew me off and really offered no explanation, not that I was exactly deserving of one, but I was quite curious about the authenticity of the knife.

I decided that was the last knife I'd ever buy from him and thus far it has been.

Charlie Noyes