Australia misses out on Mario's wood

[Nick]

Hey Dave, not sure what's going on but none of those links work, they all come up as "Server not found" under Firefox.

[Kamusur]

" I can't sell my wife on ebay, that smells...."

Stu[/quote]

You must be able to sell wives on the bay Stu, you sell bloody everything else.

Steve

[kiwigeo]

And I am the One that Discovered Lutz as a tonewood .
And all the pretenders have all Gone Broke.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oRkv8EGH4o

[Dave]

Hi all I'm not sure what links Mario was pointing to but he asked me to put this post up!

Please explain I was in the bush using my Iphone when I sent off that info to you But yes I can spell I just have fat fingers

He is trying to join the forum and is waiting for his approval so you will be able to chat with him direct

Dave

[kiwigeo]

He is trying to join the forum and is waiting for his approval so you will be able to chat with him direct

Dave

Unfortunately there's currently a huge backlog of people wanting to join the ANZLF......but don't fret, we'll eventually get around to considering Mario's application for membership.

[Kim]

Mario DeCosta is a SPAM merchant and is not welcome at the ANZLF.

IMHO his business model is devised to take advantage of inexperienced builders. This is evident in the simple fact that near 'everything' he sells, including discolored, variegated, and uneven grained tops, all include the words "Master Grade" somewhere in the title, and are priced accordingly. This flies in the face of the accepted norm for grading of spruce where "Master Grade" is a term reserved only for the best of the best, that 'one in a thousand' top which has no discoloration, in fact no determinable fault at all. I understand that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but at the end of the day, in terms of accepted industry practices, DeCosta's approach is completely disingenuous. Kermodie is nothing more than branding. Other than being a marketing tool used to infer the buyer is getting something special and exclusive, the name kermodie has no relevance in regards to lutherie, botany or quality..cause at the end of the day, the tonewood market, has always been, and will remain, one in which the buyer must beware...nothing special here folks...

I bought wood a number of times from DeCosta. Yes a returning customer was I....But not because I wanted to be. You see the first shipment arrived with mold. Obviously it had been packed wet wrapped in black plastic to spend 17 weeks in the hold of a ship as it crossed the globe into the tropics and onto AU....But true to his word, Decosta sent replacement wood with me paying 'full' shipping cost because I had added 2 more tops from his auctions..About 15 weeks later, that shipment arrived...it to was wrapped in black plastic so naturally enough, some of those tops were also was covered in mold. I sent images again with an email and true to his word, Decosta sent out more wood, with me again paying full shipping...when it arrived around 13 weeks later, yep wrapped in black plastic and peppered with mold...Deciding that life was too short, I gave up on the idea of dealing with him again in the future and sent him a message that all was good so he would stop bugging me.

Now the mold was one issue but it was not my biggest gripe with the deal. You see as he should have, DeCosta 'did' replace a fair bit of wood. But each time the wood was replaced, it was with tops of progressively inferior quality, and that IMO is also disingenuous.

I have no doubt that some have had a good experience in 'their' dealings with the guy, but I did not...and I am not the only one, just ask Marty.

Please don't post anymore links or messages from DeCosta Dave, I for one have had a guts full of his BS spiel over the years and the ANZLF is not a billboard to be used for his business intrests.

Cheers

Kim

[Dave]

Please don't post anymore links or messages from DeCosta Dave, I for one have had a guts full of his BS spiel over the years and the ANZLF is not a billboard to be used for his business intrests.

Cheers

Kim

Kim I wont post any more messages/links from Mario!

I forgot completely about your problems related to buying from Mario

All the best
Dave

[Kim]

I forgot completely about your problems related to buying from Mario

All the best
Dave

Thanks Dave

But I do need to point out that it's not just 'my' problems dealing with the bloke, AFAIAC that's done and dusted, I just won't buy from him again. But other people, particularly members of this forum whom would be destined to wait a similar time frame for delivery from BC, do need to be aware of his potential, or lack there of, 'before' they fall for his curly wonder leopard fury diamond wolf paw spiel and hand over their money. Especially so those new to the craft whom are more likely to be working on the, "more you pay, the better it will be" principal, in place of any first hand knowledge. Because 'they're' the focus of the poetry..I mean lets face it, particularly in this country where most would never even have seen a piece of unfinished spruce prior to building their first, they are a pretty easy mark for any opportunistic sawyer out there lurking on the net, who's incline to look in the mirror and only ever see a 'clever entrepreneur' smiling back.

If we are not here first and foremost for those new to the craft, then what's the point of our forum?

Cheers

Kim

[kiwigeo]

Please don't post anymore links or messages from DeCosta Dave, I for one have had a guts full of his BS spiel over the years and the ANZLF is not a billboard to be used for his business intrests.

Cheers

Kim

Kim I wont post any more messages/links from Mario!

I forgot completely about your problems related to buying from Mario

All the best
Dave

Dave,

My experiences with Mario are a carbon copy of what Kim has just described.....and there are others on the forum who have been through the same sh*t with da Costa.

[kiwigeo]

... Decosta sent replacement wood with me paying 'full' shipping cost because I had added 2 more tops from his auctions..About 15 weeks later, that shipment arrived...it to was wrapped in black plastic so naturally enough, some of those tops were also was covered in mold. I sent images again with an email and true to his word, Decosta sent out more wood, with me again paying full shipping...when it arrived around 13 weeks later, yep wrapped in black plastic and peppered with mold...

LOL.... I did slightly better than you.....da Costa covered the shipping on the second load of moldy replacement wood. My wood wasn't peppered with mold it was more like ugly big streaks....it was like an incontinent bear had wiped his arse on the stuff.

[56nortondomy]

I wish this post was started about a week earlier, you've got me worried now fellas. Wayne

[Allen]

I suppose it's mostly the original group on the forum that are familiar with Mr. DeCosta's shenanigans. Those new here in the last few years probably haven't witnessed the fallout of some of what Kim described, and Martin alludes to. It wasn't a pretty thing when it was going on.

I certainly hope that he's lifted his game for those that are trusting their cash on his superlative marketing hype.

[Kamusur]

Apologies to Stu. Just reread my last post and spotted the typo. It should have read 'you can sell' but meaning not yourself but anyone however thats' still shite poor grammar.

Steve

[56nortondomy]

Live and learn as they say. I did try Shane for an archtop set a couple of months before he said he was getting out, but he never had any at the time. Wayne

[kiwigeo]

Live and learn as they say. I did try Shane for an archtop set a couple of months before he said he was getting out, but he never had any at the time. Wayne

Ive got a spare set I can let you have for what it cost me. I'll PM you tomorrow.

[needsmorecowbel]

No worries Steve, I didn't read it like that... But if I had, You could have just blamed it on the dragon speak program

Stu

[Dave]

I know some of you have had bad experiences with Mario but to be honest I've been buying from him for the last 6 years and everything I've bought from him has been excellent

I'm really picky about the wood I buy (as I know most of you are ) and the wood has been 100% as described.

I go to his auction on a regular basis and all the folks there have a good laugh and there is plenty of banter

I respect all of you here and enjoy the jokes and friendly nature of the forum, but understand that Mario isn't your choice as a wood supplier!

All the best
Dave

[charangohabsburg]

I certainly hope that he's lifted his game for those that are trusting their cash on his superlative marketing hype.

Of course, we can hope that he has lifted his game, and there is a fair chance that normally things turn out well. Problems arise though when something went wrong, which is where I am not at all confident regarding this vendor.

Why?

Other than only speaking in superlatives (without providing not even a decent photograph of an offered top, leave alone some more hard data than just length, width and thickness of the top halves plus "GPS numbers" of the tree's position) he is badmouthing about his competitors and doesn't even shy back lying about them!

It is never a good sign when a "businessman", as a part of his selling strategy talks bad about his competitors. I for one would not even buy a single roll of toilet paper from such a person or company, not even if he offered the worldwide finest toilet paper available today. But hey, that's just me.

[ozwood]

Is It the timber that's special, or the fact it's harvested and hand split by naked Virgin Gypsies during a full moon after a three hour tree naming ceremony during which a fainting goat is sacraficed and a lighning bolt is induced to give the timber that magical stiffness and sound.

You are all missing the pont , it could be radiata and it would still be special and expensive after that.



Cheers,

[Nick]

Is It the timber that's special, or the fact it's harvested and hand split by naked Virgin Gypsies during a full moon after a three hour tree naming ceremony during which a fainting goat is sacraficed and a lighning bolt is induced to give the timber that magical stiffness and sound.

Thanks Paul, you just made my day......even if it did involve coffee being sprayed over my screen

[Nick]

I'm glad you've had good dealings with this vendor Dave and if you are happy with the product at the end of the day, then that is the main thing. Personally his exorbitant pricing, odd grading system and running down of competition put me off so he won't be seeing any of my money, but that's my choice .

[Bob Connor]

I for one would not even buy a single roll of toilet paper from such a person or company, not even if he offered the worldwide finest toilet paper available today. But hey, that's just me.

Excellent. This is the cue for Badger's Arse to re-surface.

badgersarse.jpg (90.53 KiB) Viewed 21796 times

[56nortondomy]

Thanks Martin looking forward to your PM. I got an email from Mario assuring me the timber will be fine, he's been following this topic by the sounds of it. Wayne

[kiwigeo]

Other than only speaking in superlatives (without providing not even a decent photograph of an offered top......

It's ok...here's a decent photo of one of the top sets Mario sent me a couple of years back.
[attachment=0]Bad Wood.JPG[/attachment]

[DarwinStrings]

That will be fine if you spray it black Martin.

I for one would not even buy a single roll of toilet paper from such a person or company, not even if he offered the worldwide finest toilet paper available today.

Seems the bear was fine with it.

Jim