Black Mountains Leather Tools

[Dunluce]

I came across Black Mountains Leather recently. They have some nice looking tools and but I don’t know anything about them (the site is very sparse on words and descriptions). I am wondering if anyone out there have used them or any of their tools, particularly their pricking irons. You can find them at https://www.blackmountainsleather.com/

[ScoobyNewbie]

Those look very cool and the prices don’t look bad either.

[bermudahwin]

They seem to be in Canada from the Domain details, but I cannot verify anything else about location, so even though it looks good, I will not use them.

(a previous life was spent investigating storefront fraud on major sales websites, so I may be more conservative than most)

Harry

[immiketoo]

That would be a hard pass from me as well.  I can find all of those from makers I know and trust for the same or better prices.  

Much of that looks like rebranded Chinese stuff from Kevin Lee.

[Dunluce]

I would be surprised if they were fraudulent as the way I came across them was in the recent edition of 'Waxing the Thread' magazine and that they have an active Facebook site. That said the website does not fill me with confidence. Even if it is rebranded (quality) Chinese stuff I wouldn't mind as sometimes the cheaper price doesn't look so cheap once the import tax is added.

[bermudahwin]

Please, Black Mountains Leather, PM me, and let me be happy, until then

Harry says 

Kind of a rant warning.

 

I AM MAKING NO ACCUSATIONS AGAINST ANYONE.

As a business owner I am responsible to know the source of anything I buy, and (within parameters) the details and locations of my customers. This is a worldwide requirement to prevent money laundering activities.

I have to become COMFORTABLE that anyone with whom we trade is sound, I do not have to prove or verify this, just be able to gain comfort.

Therefore if all I can find is a website that does not work properly, with absolutely no details as to the address of the business, nor the owners, and the contact is purely an email address, I cannot gain comfort.

Others may be able to, but I cannot.

As I said above "a previous life was spent investigating storefront fraud on major sales websites, so I may be more conservative than most". I also regulated Insurance companies that sometimes did not stand up to scrutiny and ! dealt with cross border financial compliance trying to stop people who were avoiding taxes or funding terrorism so I know it is harder fo me to gain comfort than others.

Ever wondered why so  many ebay, Amazon, Wish, etc storefronts use the same photographs and prices for the same items? They may be fine, but there MAY BE a scam going on. If a holding co in the far east sells through one store it may breach tax limits and have to pay taxes, but if 10 employees set up stores and sells 1/10th of the owners total in the EU, none of them will breach a taxation limit, whereas the owner would have... who is paying the taxes? None of them. That is money fraud.

NOW FOR THE KICKER

If I trade with them and have a resonable suspicion that this is going on, I am then facilitating financial crime!

Which is why I find it harder to get comfortable with faceless companies.

Sorry for the rant, but good websites have a contact address and phone number, its not much to ask.

[immiketoo]

34 minutes ago, Dunluce said:

I would be surprised if they were fraudulent as the way I came across them was in the recent edition of 'Waxing the Thread' magazine and that they have an active Facebook site. That said the website does not fill me with confidence. Even if it is rebranded (quality) Chinese stuff I wouldn't mind as sometimes the cheaper price doesn't look so cheap once the import tax is added.

I'm not suggesting they are fraudulent, just that there are many other vendors with established customer service 

[bermudahwin]

Just now, immiketoo said:

I'm not suggesting they are fraudulent, just that there are many other vendors with established customer service 

Yeah, thats what I meant

[Dunluce]

Hmmm, apologies if it was felt that I implied something. I didn’t mean to.

[bermudahwin]

Nah, been in financial regulation tooooo long. so I got touchy. sorry. H

Edited December 6, 2018 by hwinbermuda