What’s in a Handshake?
It seems like the genteel notion of a handshake agreement is a thing of a bygone era. What a pity. Today it is often no more than a hollow gesture with the sole purpose of seducing people into thinking they have a verbal agreement, when in fact they might not. Yet as binding as an offer and its acceptance can be, this was the tactic of Robert Hamilton of Harry Potter Collectables. And I'm not completely sure why. I do wager that Robert knows it can help snag a good deal, but he also knows that Harry Potter enthusiasts are highly unlikely to afford legal representation and take it further should the deal well….evaporato.
I'm not sure exactly what happened, but the moment we had an agreement - he himself, just like Harry - disapparated. Not another word for over a week until I finally surprised him on the phone. He denied any knowledge of my additional emails after our negotiation and promised to read them immediately and get back to me an hour later - this did not happen. All further calls were either ignored, blocked or screened. Somewhat ironically, I was being ghosted. Weird thing is I really don’t know what scared him off considering he achieved the deal he wanted. Did he do some late research on the product I was selling? Was it perhaps because that I had asked about what assurances and paperwork we might need to exchange or how his company made secure payments....I just don't know. He obviously felt no obligation to honour the agreement nor the decency to explain.
So I’m a bit flummoxed. Had he taken possession of my item and not paid me I might understand his disappearance, but that did not happen. Now I’m just mildly irritated, I’ve lost some income and I’m only writing this to stop this slightly manipulative unexplained tactic being used on other customers. All I can suggest is if you are about to deal with this company that you make sure that you get a real signature on real paper, get payment up front and that you transact through a trustworthy payment platform so you can get your money back if needs be. And ignore the use of vacuous refrains like “lets shake on it” and “we have ourselves a deal” as they are merely devices to reel you in.
Rob, I’m quite ready to hear that I have got this all wrong and is just a big old misunderstanding and the deal is still in play…so if you want to set the record straight and conclude the sale, talk to me here, it's an honest platform that I am sure is all too keen to hear your answer. I will however now need to be paid upfront which would be prudent under these circumstances don't you think, and you can now get your own owl to pick it up….
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26 Sep
So Robert Hamilton chose not to reply here, but he sent me an email reacting to my review the moment it was posted. I have chosen to not repeat what he said yet as we are now mid-negotiations and I don't want to jeopardise that. I am hopeful he manages to allay my trust issues. But more to come...I am sure.
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2 Oct
Well as suspected Robert has disappeared again. Guys all I can say is tread carefully. He is very quick to respond and super attentive when he wants to be (and probably when a big sale is imminent), but seems to disappear way too easily into thin air just when it suits him and you are left out of pocket. Beware.
BTW - his previous response to my review was that he basically accused me of now damaging the speed at which his company would get back on it's feet. Somehow I think dear Robert does not have a full grasp of how business works.
September 7, 2023
Unprompted review
