Yazid answered the mail to his website

[smokepiper]

i got a life sign from Yazid now and he claims he sent the 50 blocks but never take prepayment. I have the mails in my archives so i had evidens of his demands so now perhaps there will be some blocks after all. The spotlights towards him became a unpleasent event and gave positive results finaly. Just wanted you all to know the positive turns too and not just the negative.

[KurtHuhn]

I just have to wonder, are you sure you were dealing with Yazid when you pre-paid? I've never known him to ask for payment before shipping briar, and I've had numerous transactions with him. In fact, he's more than patient with you if you forget to send payment afterward.

[smokepiper]

This is a mail from him to me in the beginning of the year:

Dear Mr Ronny

thank you for interesting in my briar

the cross grains (birdseyes)pieces
will be ready for shipping
for the end of april

the production is very limited
so if you intend to reserve some packs
for april delivery you should select
between my offers and pay in advance


please choose between the 2 offers

1 pack(25 pcs)-----------190.00
shipping----------------- 40.00
------------------------------------
total amount-------------230.00 euro

OR

2packs(50 pcs)-----------300.00
shipping----------------- 60.00
--------------------------------------
total amount-------------360.00 euro


please pay the selected total amount
(2310.00 euro OR 360.00 euro) TO:

FAMILLY NAME/ BOUCHEMAT.
FIRST NAME/ MOHAMED ELYAZID.
MY ADRESS/ 85 LOT LAKABI OUEST JIJEL 18000 ALGERIA
BANK NAME/ BANQUE EXTERIEURE
D'ALGERIE BEA (JIJEL48 AGENCY).
BANK ADRESS/ JIJEL 18000 ALGERIA.
BANK SWIFT CODE/ BEXADZAL048.
BANK ACCOUNT/ 0481-850-5811-A.

Regarding the deliveryi will deliver just after receiving the payment


ALL THE BEST AND HAPPY PIPEMAKING
YAZID
is it the same Yazid???

[KurtHuhn]

Wow. Odd. That's Yazid....

I have no clues. I suspect there may have been a run on his products when pipemakerssupply and I pretty much bought out his stock. I know for a fact that he had *nothing* in dried stock when I was done with him, and I'm sure he was getting a number of inquiries. Looks like, instead of ordering, you were pre-paying on briar that wasn't even available yet - which would explain the delay.

[Nick]

I hope that's true, but the guy should have been up-front about his stock. And should certainly clear the air now.

[alwayslearning]

Just to throw my story into the mix. I too prepaid for briar last October. Yazid indicated he sent the package, I did not receive anything. He then indicated he sent another shipment of briar to me in May, again I have still not received anything. Don't know if the boxes are falling apart in shipping, lost in customs, or what, but my money has been with Yazid since October last year and I have no briar.

[smokepiper]

If i don´t get any further with this i will take this a step further too, in the mail he said that he never had this problem with anyone before and he shipped briar over the whole world without problems. Yet another lie, october is far to long time for a delayed shippment or a failior in customs. I think we have to unite and push this man as a group for best effect...

[KurtHuhn]

Guys, just to be clear, please do not use the name of this board in your communictaions with any vendors (except if the vendor posts a special price here or something). I just don't want this board involved in anything, or caught between makers and vendors. This should be considered a neutral area, like Switzerland.

If you are in the US, you should be aware that US customs is really cracking down on this type of import, and it is pretty much requiring import permits for briar. Your shipper will need to post your permit number on their shipping label, and may even need to include a copy of your permit in their paperwork. Add to the fact that briar sometimes comes from places of less than "most favored nation status", and you can get some serious red flags as far as customs is concerned. Before imprting briar, be sure you've got your bases covered, and that your supplier knows what he needs to do in order to clear customs.

Also, you guys should know that US customs will not, as in NOT, return the briar to the supplier. They will, instead, destroy the wood, and not notify anyone. Sad, and strange, but true. I narrowly escaped having a couple thousand dollars worth of wood destroyed early this year, so I know it can happen.

The first thing I would suggest, is getting a tracking number from your supplier when they ship out. that way you can watch the progress of your shipment, and will be alerted when delays or oddities take place.

[Nick]

They will, instead, destroy the wood, and not notify anyone. Sad, and strange, but true.

EEEEKKK!

[smokepiper]

He told me he should send me the order a second and last time but this time with a tracking number. What i know of have all the larger shippings a tracking number??? He is a lier in my opinion that is all i can say.

[KurtHuhn]

All my shipments from him have come via UPS, and he sends me the tracking number. They are rather large and heavy though, so I don't know if he sends out smaller ones via a different carrier.

[smokepiper]

i don´t know if 50 blocks is a small order, all other sellers have sent me via UPS even if there just were 10 blocks. It´s a strange situation and it feeds bad thoughts of him, now when i know it´s more makers in the same situation. We just have to hold up for a while and see what happens, it was the last time i ordered any blocks from him. Thanks for your support and thoughts...