Hi Keith, thank you for all you have been doing. As much as this must be a kick in the teeth for you, that some lowlife would stoop so low, and taken advantage of your generosity and ruined your opportunity to give back to you supporters. If it is affecting your mental well-being, please let it go. None of this is your fault, you were scammed! and to be honest, if it hadn’t taken me over a week to get around to watching the video, it may not of even happened. I have had hour of joy watching your content over the last few years, and all for free! You don’t owe me a thing!
Will the real DOWNZY01 please stand up lol... @Keith.. That's a pretty bad horror story, compounded by a courier being completely useless! Sadly it's a pretty common occurrence as their logistics tracking just isn't robust enough to cope with their volume. They should just bite the bullet and compensate you for all the costs incurred.
Don't be put off by scammers. Just limit your give-aways to UK residents only. Those of us who don't live in the UK will understand and watch for the content and not the give-aways. I live in Aus, and a lot of the channels I watch are international based and their give-aways are limited to local subs only.
@Rag 'n' Bone Brown USA here, Agreed. It's completely understandable about limiting to prize winner location. Here in the US, even though we have 50 states (51 if you include Puerto Rico), some company's or prize givers will only send prizes to the contiguous 48 states. They won't ship to Hawaii or Alaska. So, everyone will understand you putting limitations on prize give away.
@@woodandwheelz Thank you for aknowledging Puerto Rico. I'm sorry about the invention of reggaeton, by the way! lol Anyway, sometimes we have trouble getting stuff from Ebay delivered to us in Puerto Rico, imaging about giveaways.
@@lesliecruzado2793 You're Welcome. 😁 I visited Puerto Rico many years ago while I was in the US Navy. I don't mean just Roosevelt Roads Naval base, LoL. I got to take a tour of the Island and really enjoyed it. I got to meet some really nice people too. One of these days I'll go back. As for Ebay, I sell on there too and have shipped many Items to PR. Sometimes it's fast and sometimes it's not. God bless you and your family.
@@woodandwheelz Just commented about that, the give aways should mention about locations. Some use it to have more viewrs but when you live abroad, you'll never get anything 'give away'.
There isn't a single viewer of your channel that would demand you put something like a youtube schedule before your mental state and the quality of your work. Your content is always worth the wait.
Keith. We need channels like yours to keep us motivated for the weekends in our sheds, so please keep the excellent videos coming and stuff the scammers.
Very sorry to hear that you were scammed Keith and that you're having so much aggro with ups, what a nightmare! Take good care of yourself and don't worry about how often you're releasing a video.
Its not ups,sending post now is greatly more expensive even from Asia to The EU we have the same problems we pay sometimes more tax then the box contents. DHL is the cheapest so far
Thank you for sharing so openly about your burnout. I think talking openly about these difficult topics encourages others to do the same and sort of helps 'tame the beast' - that's in my experience anyway. Keep well 🙏🏻
Keith sorry to Here you got scammed happens to the best of us. if you rushed or cut corners on project. I certainly didn't notice . Thank your for all the outstanding content you put out
Just wanted to say a huge thanks for your blog article on burnout. It's really not an easy thing to talk about, and something men don't often feel able to talk about. Having role models like you who are open enough to talk about it helps the rest of us as well that struggle with it. THANK YOU! 🙂
Kieth, so sorry you had to endure the joys of dealing with “customer service” at UPS. Don’t need to know why you needed to take a break but glad you’re doing better. Don’t worry so much about getting things done, quality is always superior to quantity.
Sorry about your difficult time. I love your videos, your personality and your story. I wish the best for you as you are such a hard working, honest and creative person.Thanks for this video. and your suggestions.
I feel you were well overdue for that rant. Holy smokes! 😤 Thank you for sharing your experience. I'm sure it will help more than a few people, in either avoiding giveaways with international shipping or knowing what those potential scams look like and what to do/not to do. For the burnout segment and the revision of your content, I am going to be brutally honest here. I stopped watching your videos regularly a little while after your move. I just felt like your heart wasn't in it and I wasn't seeing the craftsmanship I was originally drawn to. I'm happy to see it will somewhat be reverting back to the type of projects you truly enjoy. Take care and happy new year!
Nice to see you back. Sorry to hear you've had issues with UPS relating to import fees. I'm having exactly the same issue at the moment with import fees and then an abandoned package being bounced around the country. I will be threatening to sue them soon. They're a nightmare to deal with and I will never ship anything with them again.
About you taking your time with projects and builds - I'm thrilled to hear it mate. It's the only way to progress and hone your skills and find your style. It's alright to have a YT schedule, but don't be a slave to it. Gutted about you getting scammed. Honestly, the lengths some will go to for a freebie. My recent giveaways went swimmingly. Promoting it on YT then making entrants enter via comment on Insta meant I just contacted that Insta user direct via their comment. No room for funny stuff. Oh, and strictly UK only! Can't wait to see what you've been up to for the bed mate. All the best.👍
Cheers Stew. You're quite right, I think after doing it relentlessly for so long, it never even occurred to me to do things differently, so the burnout was perhaps necessary to make me step back and think about things! Cheers!
It's horrible that you've been scammed. I suffer from anxiety and the thought of these types of characters makes me not want to engage with many people. They seem to be everywhere! However, you seem to be demonstrating some resilence to it all and making decision that will mitigate you having issues like this in future, so good on you. Keep up your good work! I look forward to many more videos.
Holy cow, it reminded me of my calls and emails to my Felder provider from Slovenia. Same shit. I'm glad you are taking time to make better products, take care :)
Glad to have you back Keith! Love your content and channel bit I'm glad you're going to think about yourself for once. I'll always be a regular even if you upload every 6 months!
I hadn't seen this episode before, and am viewing it 2 years after the events. So, for what it's worth, my 2d-worth: 1) Yes, UPS are useless - I've had several run-ins with them over the years, and they couldn't find their own arseholes with both hands and a map 2) Yes, scammers are scumbags - always were, always are 3) the longer and more often I see you and your reactions to life and life's little challenges, the more respect and affection I have for you - you are a truly lovely fellah, and your reactions make me certain you're the sort of person I like and get on with ... you have to go through life like everyone's your friend, or no-one is, and you (like me) are firmly in the first group. Good on you, and keep on keeping on fellah - love your stuff!
It can only get better... All credit to you for persevering, no fears about losing my subscription..Have a good new year and take care, your personal well- being is most important of all.
I fully support your decision to slow down on your projects to focus on quality, one of the reasons I enjoy watching your channel is your technical abilities and the way demonstrate it, I've watched content from many providers over the years and for some you can actually see a decline in the quality of their work as they focus more on the quality of the videos. I would much rather watch a single project over the course of several weeks with each video focused on a small aspect of the build instead of a big project condensed into a single video basically saying "cut some wood, screw & glue it, here's a 4 poster bed".
Genuinely excited about your plans for the channel. I think it's a great idea to have fewer videos but more of what you're enjoying working on. Quality beats quantity every time, and if it keeps your head in a better place... everyone's a winner. On UPS - dreadful company. I had to chase them for weeks to pay customs charges. Got notification by post, an actual letter, with no web address where I could pay the charge. They wanted the payment sent by return post (cheque I assume). Welcome back to the '80's. It took several phone calls, being bounced from one department to another, before I finally got hold of someone who would take the payment over the phone. My receipt was emailed to me... the final irony.
UA-cam user/channel names are unique. What they probably did was use some extended characters that happen to look exactly like normal alphabetical ones. You could probably verify this by clicking on the links to the original winner and the scammer's YT post and check if they go to different pages.
Pretty sure you can change your UA-cam user name to whatever you want, my name isn’t Stephen and I doubt your the only Dom floating about, shitty thing for them to do all the same
I totally agree Dom. clicking on each username to verify it goes to the same channel is one way. Even clicking on a username shows the posts to this channel, and it would be easy to see if both of those accounts matched up or not. Or a simple direct message to the winner rather than via comments is another way…(pick a random winner, inbox them on UA-cam) that way, any potential scammers won’t know who the winner is. But it’s an easy mistake to make when you’re not used to doing giveaways and it sucks this has happened, truly. Scammers are just utter sc*m!
Oh Keith, I’m so sorry to hear this mate. Keep your chin up. You did what you could to ensure the winner was the right person. UPS are definitely worth avoiding but thank you for letting us all know of your poor experience! You’re doing a great job and we all appreciate you and your work.
That really is a nightmare story 🤯 hopefully the parcel people will compensate you. I think your videos are already really good quality anyway so now they can be even better by slowing down the schedule a little. 👌 👍
Well first of all it so good to see you back. I really do hope you are feeling well and back on track with your health. Privileged position or not, you are a human being and you are not immune. I am really sad about you being involved in a scam and I hope it get resolved. I am glad you have told us about it so that no one else falls for the same misfortune. I am looking forward to your bed build.
Keith, this scam thing is nuts, and UPS need a clean-out using a bloody flamethrower. How are you still able to talk about this calmly? You’re a stronger bloke than me mate!
An excellent rant and well deserved, thank you for all your videos well loved by all, look after yourself and don't let these low life scammers get you you down, take care out there and keep 'em coming
So sorry Keith. Not only for your personal sanity, but also for all your loyal viewers who will undoubtedly suffer from this whole ordeal. But again, thank you for your amazing hard work and candidness.
"Focus on quality" That got me thinking. I want to start en business of restoring furniture but the projects I did so far (things I will keep myself) are rush jobs because of a self imposed time limit. I don't do youtube so there is absolutely no reason to rush things. "Focus on quality" That's my new mantra. Thank you, you are an influencer.
Keith, I think speaking about metal health is important. So well done for speaking out. I watch your channel to get ideas and to escape from the things that cause me stress. I a not disappointed but in awe of your honesty. Stay safe and be kind to yourself. X
Wow! what an honour! a few of your lovely viewers let me know about the shout out and I just want to say Thankyou! I wish you all the best in 2022. i will be busy now enjoying your lovely content p.s. i here you on the burnout, Christmas time is always a doozy.
If you've only come here for Dylan skip to: 05:15 (Dylan remembers he has something to do) & 05:40 (Dylan continues his mission). Good to see you back Keith. I hope the break treated you well.
Keith, I have enjoyed your new podcast. As an American it is interesting to here Brits talk about woodworking. Although your new shop is nicely sized, Matt has been working in a small shop which I relate to. Unlike many American woodworkers, I have a very small shop and I am inspired to see what you all can achieve. Look forward to your new direction and the Banter podcast.
WoW! I’m sitting here pulling my hair out at all these twists in the tail and I’m BALD! Dirty cheating Scammers! You try and do a good thing………. You look after yourself. Health over Wealth. We will always be here to watch when you pop more content out. 👍🏾
I feel you, carriers can be a huge pain in the ass, I myself had a few problems that really bored me (whenever there are problems seems to be standard for them to not know where the package is and they don't seem to really care). But good luck with that and keep making videos, love to see them no matter the schedule! Cheers!
Happy New Year from across the Pond. Sorry to hear of the con, and I hope it will eventually get resolved, but it surely left a bad taste that will be difficult to get rid of.
Great work Kieth! I've been following your channel for years and I love the uploads and different projects that you do. I think it's a great idea to focus on quality and do things in your own time, the viewers will still love to watch the progress and no doubt you will be happier with the end result. Must be lovely to be your own boss - it's my goal for the future! Bravo and good luck with the new strategy. 🙂
I send a lot of items via eBay and the best courier company’s I have found are Parcel Force and DPD, both show up to collect when the say and arrive when the say, Parcel Force does have slightly higher prices but I’d rather pay that little extra for piece of mind. One of the worst I’ve used is DX, they don’t show up for collections on the day you arrange, poor tracking and late deliveries.
I think the Rant is more than justified and helpful. Sorry to hear about the scam. Some people are real scum. The real winner sounds like a lovely person, that was nice to hear. Look forward to seeing what 2022 brings from your channel. Great content as always I am sure. Keep it up.
Dear Keith, I think it's important for you to take the breaks that your piece of mind and personal quality goals demand. This channel is a means of income for you, yes, BUT not at the sake of your well being. Your viewers will totally understand any breaks that you (new husband) require. 👍 You have been one of my favorite UA-cam content channels for literally years. I am here telling you that I am perfectly happy to wait for your new videos. I WILL watch them whenever they come out. No worries on that. And I will watch all of them. On a personal note, the thing that really drew me to your channel, though I like most of your content, was your philosophy of taking trash and turning it into something else that's useful. For the sake of longtime viewers, I hope you can continue to find ways to do this occasionally. Maybe a few times a year? Recycling is a core goal for me! Thanks man. Best, - Chris Ps> if I didn't live just north of Boston, I'd have already purchased some of your etsy stuff and waxes. A pox on the postal services!!
Good on you Mate. Love your work. Hope you are in a better headspace now. Pressure can cripple your mind. All the best. Billy J.... Queensland, Australia.
Brilliant telling of that story Keith. You had the double whammy of a scammer and a courier to deal with. Having had much experience with couriers over the years I have the same opinion of them as I have of banks - they're all as bad as each other, and you can't do without them, or at least one of them. Catch 22. On the subject of UA-cam workload and burn-out - don't worry. You've done well in keeping your videos and projects as high quality as you have for so long. But I agree with you - make better projects, and take time to do them well. I am sure your audience will understand and stay with you. All the best.
Good Stuff Keith. Thanks for the update. Totally sympathise. Good bloke vs scammers and incompetent companies. Seems the way of things unfortunately. Take my advice, have a beer and a chill. Cheers.
Shocking!! Good for you ... you needed to get that off your chest, but also to warn folks of your experiences. My personal experiences with Hermes (UK courier) is also bad. Recently, my mum sent my kids Xmas presents via Hermes. Both sent at the same time, only 1 arrives. She has been busy on and off with Hermes since the middle of December and there is still no idea where the package is! Given courier packages are tracked, surely they are much easier to locate. Keep your schedule to a frequency that makes you happy ... I always saw quality over quantity. After all, we also need time to do our own things too.
Your story about how bad UPS are sounds like my expeeience with Hermes. They're just as bad, so please don't consider using them instead of UPS. Totally get the upload changes. Mental health is so important. You're doing the right thing Keith. Just be lead by your feelings and don't get stressed mate. Just do what feels right for you.
Hi Keith, Greetings from across the pond. Enjoyed your exposé of UPS. We’re still waiting for a bed cover that arrived in Sacramento, CA three weeks ago. That’s a two hour drive from our home. Looking forward to your new episodes!
Shout out to you f,for making the effort to send the prize winner to a foreign country, lots of 'give away' situations, never go the full length, for winners abroad! Keep up the effort!
Totally get why you would need a break, I really don’t know how you tubers such as you keep up with regular weekly videos, I know I couldn’t and I’m always amazed at what is produced. As for the scam, rant was totally in order, there are just some real low life’s in this world. Hope you get the package back but I doubt you are holding your breath on that one. I will check out your website article as I imagine it may be of help to me as I suffer similar issues from time to time. Take care of yourself and get in the warm, you looked bloody cold doing this video. Andy UK
I'm not surprised that you've got over stressed, that sounded like an awful ordeal. A lot of the woodworkers that I follow only do 'in country' give aways, that would make it a lot more simple. I think that taking your time on the projects, even doing 2 part videos on more complicated builds or restorations, is a better idea for your enjoyment, and for the process.
Yep. I had a giveaway when I got 2000 subscribers and someone claimed to be the winner and i had to block him because it was obvious a fake account. Good luck with your plans
Quality over quantity every time. But even more important than that is your health. I’m looking forward to more projects in (your own time) in the future. Also loving Workshop Banter, long may it all continue. Thanks for everything 👍🏼
Can't imagine what you went through! UPS is great within the US or delivering to/from the US. Definitely horrible in Europe. Same should apply to FedEx. We completely understand you may want to limit to UK. So sorry about this.
I always wished some of my favorite woodworking UA-cam channels would post a few videos on short and easy projects. A random small shelf. A simple napkin holder. Ultra basics that many creators probably think are boring. I prefer videos that show the mechanics of the build and the reasoning no matter how or why they decided. Many videos skip over small parts of builds. Nothing like watching a video on a tool holder and they leave out the back panel and how it was attached. Infuriates me but I can almost always blame it on how UA-cam works. and the difficulty of editing and making cohesive and entertaining videos. Nature of the beast.
Sad to say these scammers are everywhere Keith. How on earth they get away with it is beyond me mate. I hope it gets sorted so that you get to the end of all the stress buddy. Be well and best of luck chap.
Sorry to hear , what a nightmare! Like the old saying goes, no good deed goes unpunished.I’m excited to see the bed project. Remember Kieth, be kind to yourself 😅
Nice one Keith. Good to know what’s going on. Sorry to hear you had work problems. Glad you have it in control now. Sorry about the scammer as well. Maybe UK only next time. All good and I listen to the podcast in my workshop while working. Nice to have a couple of British voices on there. Keep up the good work and stay strong. As a self employed carpenter/maker I just think that we are in control and that’s the best thing if we feel we need to change things. I have been ill over the last few months so I am slowing down and its great that no one is on my back. I will speed up again when I feel strong enough. All good stuff. Best regards Adrian
Super interesting as always - no matter what the topic. I can’t imagine how much time you must spend creating your UA-cam content…. Never mind planning & scripting… just the logistics of getting the lighting right, a suitable background in the workshop etc! Even the few times I’ve tried to set up some sequential still shots of my work, it looks like a sawdust bomb has gone off 🤣🤣. Keep up the great work, Mal
Thanks for the update! I read your blog post and although Im not suffering in the same way as you it reminded me that Im also motivated by being productive. My Day job usually does that for me but in the last year with all that has been going on its hard for that to be my big motivation. Thanks for helping me think more about what I have been feeling. I Joined your newish pod case channel and plan to give it a go. Sooo sorry you got scammed, one aspect of my day job involves helping customers who have been scammed and its a terrible feeling. Glad you got your groove back and are once again enjoying what you are doing. Kind Regards, Ivan Howard in the US
Happy New Year!!! I support you 100% for aiming at quality first. So many UA-camrs are posting videos these days just to post a video... and the content is getting less and less interesting. So thank you! As for the scam, it is sad to see that generosity is taken advantage of. Great idea though and hopefully you'll get a closure of this adventure fast...
Good on you Keith about stepping back to give yourself time to enjoy what you are doing. It doesn't matter if you making content each week or every couple of weeks if you're happy. I've been working away from home for last 3 plus years and decided that over the next couple of months that I'll be changing back to working from home as the 370 mile round trip is now driving me mad. But on a positive note I do get time to listen to the pod cast 👍.
Well ranted and you have every right to rant, such a shame scammers and bad companies exist at all, but thank you for the headsup. Please continue your first class content as and when it suites you Keith, take care.
About UA-cam profile names: when UA-cam was still new, you couldn’t use a profile name that someone else had already taken (like the spelling in an email address - YT would just tell you ‘that’s taken, choose something else’.) Originally you also couldn’t have spaces or capital letters in your username - so no proper names. Then YT started changing their whole set up (getting rid of personal profile “walls”, allowing proper names with spaces and capitals - all to compete with the changes on other social media sites/apps - mostly Facebook. So just like on Facebook - to have your proper name as your username on YT, more than one person can use that spelling bc more than one person has that proper name. UA-cam never policed profile photos - you can right click and copy any user’s profile photo. So: it’s now even easier to impersonate someone else now on YT, just like Facebook scammers do. It’s wonderful that you took a break - burnout is real no matter how you make your money/spend your time for joy - you are in charge, glad you’re taking care of yourself!
Hello Rag n bone Brown, (sorry I've not picked up your first name yet, as have only watched 3 of your videos) I hardly ever comment on videos, but your style (and the saga of the scamming) had made me really feel empathy and i found you really easy to listen to... Nice to hear a calm, non shouty, loud usa voice) especially the very fair reviews, you did on Bluetooth eat defenders. Many congratulations on your channel and I will be continuing to listen in. Plus, I know exactly how you feel, with the burnout, taking on too much with too much ( when if self imposed) pressure to complete by a deadline. Take it easy. I will look forward to when ended you post an update. All the best...
I completely understand the burnout. Happy to have less frequent videos if they let you put out the quality you want. For what it is worth, in late 2015 is when I started woodworking. I decided in 2016 that I should create a blog to document my work thinking I might enjoy reading it at a later date or my daughter when she is older might want to look at the write up of the pieces she eventually will inherit. I lasted 10 or 20 blogs and stopped. I found it hard. I didn't start reposting until 2020 when in the midst of Covid I had more free time. My goal is just to write one posting a week and that is a fair bit of effort. Mind you, the woodworking gets done as I enjoy that and the photos get snapped. It's the 20 to 30 min of writing that I find challenging. I can imagine how a UA-cam video is at least an order of magnitude more work.
It's terrible that you got scammed but on the plus side I loved your commentary on what happened. You genuinely couldn't make it up. I still find it hard to believe that some lowlife would bother to go to the effort of creating false accounts etc to claim the prize, it just shows the kind of people that are out there. As far as your channel goes. I love the stuff you do. Stick to a schedule that suits you and not the internet. You're not the first person to feel the burn-out pressure and you won't be the last. Do what keeps you healthy!
Hi Keith, thank you for all you have been doing.
As much as this must be a kick in the teeth for you, that some lowlife would stoop so low, and taken advantage of your generosity and ruined your opportunity to give back to you supporters.
If it is affecting your mental well-being, please let it go. None of this is your fault, you were scammed! and to be honest, if it hadn’t taken me over a week to get around to watching the video, it may not of even happened.
I have had hour of joy watching your content over the last few years, and all for free! You don’t owe me a thing!
You're a top man, but we'll definitely sort something out!
Will the real DOWNZY01 please stand up lol... @Keith.. That's a pretty bad horror story, compounded by a courier being completely useless! Sadly it's a pretty common occurrence as their logistics tracking just isn't robust enough to cope with their volume. They should just bite the bullet and compensate you for all the costs incurred.
@@RagnBoneBrown I bet a pint would be the best solution!
Downzy scammed me out of a pint last week! 😂😂 Hope you're well Keith, keep it real mate👊
@@plumberparts haha! Cheers mate
Don't be put off by scammers.
Just limit your give-aways to UK residents only. Those of us who don't live in the UK will understand and watch for the content and not the give-aways.
I live in Aus, and a lot of the channels I watch are international based and their give-aways are limited to local subs only.
@Rag 'n' Bone Brown USA here, Agreed. It's completely understandable about limiting to prize winner location. Here in the US, even though we have 50 states (51 if you include Puerto Rico), some company's or prize givers will only send prizes to the contiguous 48 states. They won't ship to Hawaii or Alaska. So, everyone will understand you putting limitations on prize give away.
@@woodandwheelz Thank you for aknowledging Puerto Rico. I'm sorry about the invention of reggaeton, by the way! lol Anyway, sometimes we have trouble getting stuff from Ebay delivered to us in Puerto Rico, imaging about giveaways.
@@lesliecruzado2793 You're Welcome. 😁 I visited Puerto Rico many years ago while I was in the US Navy. I don't mean just Roosevelt Roads Naval base, LoL. I got to take a tour of the Island and really enjoyed it. I got to meet some really nice people too. One of these days I'll go back. As for Ebay, I sell on there too and have shipped many Items to PR. Sometimes it's fast and sometimes it's not. God bless you and your family.
@@woodandwheelz Just commented about that, the give aways should mention about locations. Some use it to have more viewrs but when you live abroad, you'll never get anything 'give away'.
take care of yourself mate! we will support you whatever your schedule is
Thank you
Sounds a bit like a proposal, no? Good luck to all!
It’s good of you to share this experience with the scammer and UPS. An episode like this can be soul destroying at the wrong time.
There isn't a single viewer of your channel that would demand you put something like a youtube schedule before your mental state and the quality of your work. Your content is always worth the wait.
Sounds like UPS should stand for “Useless Postal Service”. Don’t let them get you down. Always enjoy your content. Look after yourself.
Keith. We need channels like yours to keep us motivated for the weekends in our sheds, so please keep the excellent videos coming and stuff the scammers.
Thanks for posting "Battling burnout" we can all hit that brick wall - I'm glad ur back!
Very sorry to hear that you were scammed Keith and that you're having so much aggro with ups, what a nightmare! Take good care of yourself and don't worry about how often you're releasing a video.
Its not ups,sending post now is greatly more expensive even from Asia to The EU we have the same problems we pay sometimes more tax then the box contents. DHL is the cheapest so far
Keith, I'm sorry to hear all this. I hope you have a good break and return refreshed, and your old self.
Thank you for sharing so openly about your burnout. I think talking openly about these difficult topics encourages others to do the same and sort of helps 'tame the beast' - that's in my experience anyway. Keep well 🙏🏻
Keith sorry to Here you got scammed happens to the best of us. if you rushed or cut corners on project. I certainly didn't notice . Thank your for all the outstanding content you put out
Holy crap, what a story! 😲
Sorry you had to go thru all that. Glad the actual winner is understanding.
Just wanted to say a huge thanks for your blog article on burnout. It's really not an easy thing to talk about, and something men don't often feel able to talk about. Having role models like you who are open enough to talk about it helps the rest of us as well that struggle with it. THANK YOU! 🙂
I appreciate that! thank you
Kieth, so sorry you had to endure the joys of dealing with “customer service” at UPS. Don’t need to know why you needed to take a break but glad you’re doing better. Don’t worry so much about getting things done, quality is always superior to quantity.
Thank you
Sorry about your difficult time. I love your videos, your personality and your story. I wish the best for you as you are such a hard working, honest and creative person.Thanks for this video.
and your suggestions.
I feel you were well overdue for that rant. Holy smokes! 😤
Thank you for sharing your experience. I'm sure it will help more than a few people, in either avoiding giveaways with international shipping or knowing what those potential scams look like and what to do/not to do.
For the burnout segment and the revision of your content, I am going to be brutally honest here. I stopped watching your videos regularly a little while after your move. I just felt like your heart wasn't in it and I wasn't seeing the craftsmanship I was originally drawn to. I'm happy to see it will somewhat be reverting back to the type of projects you truly enjoy. Take care and happy new year!
Nice to see you back. Sorry to hear you've had issues with UPS relating to import fees. I'm having exactly the same issue at the moment with import fees and then an abandoned package being bounced around the country. I will be threatening to sue them soon. They're a nightmare to deal with and I will never ship anything with them again.
That is so cool 🥰 looking forward to seeing something like this
About you taking your time with projects and builds - I'm thrilled to hear it mate. It's the only way to progress and hone your skills and find your style. It's alright to have a YT schedule, but don't be a slave to it. Gutted about you getting scammed. Honestly, the lengths some will go to for a freebie. My recent giveaways went swimmingly. Promoting it on YT then making entrants enter via comment on Insta meant I just contacted that Insta user direct via their comment. No room for funny stuff. Oh, and strictly UK only! Can't wait to see what you've been up to for the bed mate. All the best.👍
Cheers Stew. You're quite right, I think after doing it relentlessly for so long, it never even occurred to me to do things differently, so the burnout was perhaps necessary to make me step back and think about things! Cheers!
Dude lovin your vids,
It's horrible that you've been scammed. I suffer from anxiety and the thought of these types of characters makes me not want to engage with many people. They seem to be everywhere! However, you seem to be demonstrating some resilence to it all and making decision that will mitigate you having issues like this in future, so good on you. Keep up your good work! I look forward to many more videos.
Holy cow, it reminded me of my calls and emails to my Felder provider from Slovenia. Same shit.
I'm glad you are taking time to make better products, take care :)
I remember what you went through, it sounded awful experience having spent so much money! THank you Andrea
@@RagnBoneBrown Thank you, I also remember that you actually noticed Felder about that and they contacted me soon after. Thank you for that :)
Glad to have you back Keith! Love your content and channel bit I'm glad you're going to think about yourself for once. I'll always be a regular even if you upload every 6 months!
Totally agree about John's Furniture repair, a great channel; loads of great videos for the restorer.
Great to have you back Keith. Please look after yourself and I am sorry for all the grief you have been going through.
We love you dude! Feel better. I really love your old stuff, really exciting news. Quality? Woo!!
I hadn't seen this episode before, and am viewing it 2 years after the events. So, for what it's worth, my 2d-worth:
1) Yes, UPS are useless - I've had several run-ins with them over the years, and they couldn't find their own arseholes with both hands and a map
2) Yes, scammers are scumbags - always were, always are
3) the longer and more often I see you and your reactions to life and life's little challenges, the more respect and affection I have for you - you are a truly lovely fellah, and your reactions make me certain you're the sort of person I like and get on with ... you have to go through life like everyone's your friend, or no-one is, and you (like me) are firmly in the first group. Good on you, and keep on keeping on fellah - love your stuff!
It can only get better... All credit to you for persevering, no fears about losing my subscription..Have a good new year and take care, your personal well- being is most important of all.
I fully support your decision to slow down on your projects to focus on quality, one of the reasons I enjoy watching your channel is your technical abilities and the way demonstrate it, I've watched content from many providers over the years and for some you can actually see a decline in the quality of their work as they focus more on the quality of the videos.
I would much rather watch a single project over the course of several weeks with each video focused on a small aspect of the build instead of a big project condensed into a single video basically saying "cut some wood, screw & glue it, here's a 4 poster bed".
Genuinely excited about your plans for the channel. I think it's a great idea to have fewer videos but more of what you're enjoying working on. Quality beats quantity every time, and if it keeps your head in a better place... everyone's a winner. On UPS - dreadful company. I had to chase them for weeks to pay customs charges. Got notification by post, an actual letter, with no web address where I could pay the charge. They wanted the payment sent by return post (cheque I assume). Welcome back to the '80's. It took several phone calls, being bounced from one department to another, before I finally got hold of someone who would take the payment over the phone. My receipt was emailed to me... the final irony.
I actually watched it till the end, it was fascinating, all those twists and turns. Sorry you got scammed.
UA-cam user/channel names are unique. What they probably did was use some extended characters that happen to look exactly like normal alphabetical ones. You could probably verify this by clicking on the links to the original winner and the scammer's YT post and check if they go to different pages.
Pretty sure you can change your UA-cam user name to whatever you want, my name isn’t Stephen and I doubt your the only Dom floating about, shitty thing for them to do all the same
This. Ian (Ian) looks the same as lan (Lan).... Alan & AIan too
I totally agree Dom. clicking on each username to verify it goes to the same channel is one way. Even clicking on a username shows the posts to this channel, and it would be easy to see if both of those accounts matched up or not. Or a simple direct message to the winner rather than via comments is another way…(pick a random winner, inbox them on UA-cam) that way, any potential scammers won’t know who the winner is. But it’s an easy mistake to make when you’re not used to doing giveaways and it sucks this has happened, truly. Scammers are just utter sc*m!
Thank you for the blog post. I’ve been in the same boat for the past few months and it’s helpful to hear how you’ve been able to move past it.
Hope you get well and relaxed once again. Scammers truly are the worst! All the best.
If it's any consolation, Keith, you had me on the edge of my seat with that story. Take it easy, and thanks for the edutainment.
Oh Keith, I’m so sorry to hear this mate. Keep your chin up. You did what you could to ensure the winner was the right person. UPS are definitely worth avoiding but thank you for letting us all know of your poor experience!
You’re doing a great job and we all appreciate you and your work.
I'm all here for you doing things the way you want for the betterment of your mental health, more power to you buddy.
Looking forward to seeing longer and more detail videos, you are great at what you do and have been a great help to making me better at my hobby,
That really is a nightmare story 🤯 hopefully the parcel people will compensate you. I think your videos are already really good quality anyway so now they can be even better by slowing down the schedule a little. 👌 👍
Well first of all it so good to see you back. I really do hope you are feeling well and back on track with your health. Privileged position or not, you are a human being and you are not immune. I am really sad about you being involved in a scam and I hope it get resolved. I am glad you have told us about it so that no one else falls for the same misfortune. I am looking forward to your bed build.
Quality is always better than quantity. Nice to see you back and hope all is ok. Love the honest content on this channel 👍🏻
Keith, this scam thing is nuts, and UPS need a clean-out using a bloody flamethrower. How are you still able to talk about this calmly? You’re a stronger bloke than me mate!
Thanks Hayden. It is crazy!
An excellent rant and well deserved, thank you for all your videos well loved by all, look after yourself and don't let these low life scammers get you you down, take care out there and keep 'em coming
So sorry Keith. Not only for your personal sanity, but also for all your loyal viewers who will undoubtedly suffer from this whole ordeal. But again, thank you for your amazing hard work and candidness.
"Focus on quality"
That got me thinking. I want to start en business of restoring furniture but the projects I did so far (things I will keep myself) are rush jobs because of a self imposed time limit. I don't do youtube so there is absolutely no reason to rush things.
"Focus on quality"
That's my new mantra. Thank you, you are an influencer.
These things happen, glad you're looking at a way forward which will keep your love for what you do! That's the most important thing.
Keith, I think speaking about metal health is important. So well done for speaking out.
I watch your channel to get ideas and to escape from the things that cause me stress. I a not disappointed but in awe of your honesty. Stay safe and be kind to yourself. X
Thank you
The worst experiences always make the best stories. Really enjoyed it. Sorry you had to go through that.
Wow! what an honour! a few of your lovely viewers let me know about the shout out and I just want to say Thankyou! I wish you all the best in 2022. i will be busy now enjoying your lovely content p.s. i here you on the burnout, Christmas time is always a doozy.
Thank you for all the wonderful content, I've learned loads and it's great to hear from you! All the best! Keith
If you've only come here for Dylan skip to: 05:15 (Dylan remembers he has something to do) & 05:40 (Dylan continues his mission).
Good to see you back Keith. I hope the break treated you well.
Keith, I have enjoyed your new podcast. As an American it is interesting to here Brits talk about woodworking. Although your new shop is nicely sized, Matt has been working in a small shop which I relate to. Unlike many American woodworkers, I have a very small shop and I am inspired to see what you all can achieve. Look forward to your new direction and the Banter podcast.
WoW! I’m sitting here pulling my hair out at all these twists in the tail and I’m BALD! Dirty cheating Scammers!
You try and do a good thing………. You look after yourself. Health over Wealth. We will always be here to watch when you pop more content out. 👍🏾
I feel you, carriers can be a huge pain in the ass, I myself had a few problems that really bored me (whenever there are problems seems to be standard for them to not know where the package is and they don't seem to really care). But good luck with that and keep making videos, love to see them no matter the schedule! Cheers!
Happy New Year from across the Pond. Sorry to hear of the con, and I hope it will eventually get resolved, but it surely left a bad taste that will be difficult to get rid of.
I’m so so sorry that you have experienced this terrible matter. You are a good highly skilled chap, that should not have been treated in this way!
Great work Kieth! I've been following your channel for years and I love the uploads and different projects that you do. I think it's a great idea to focus on quality and do things in your own time, the viewers will still love to watch the progress and no doubt you will be happier with the end result. Must be lovely to be your own boss - it's my goal for the future! Bravo and good luck with the new strategy. 🙂
Awesome, thank you!
I send a lot of items via eBay and the best courier company’s I have found are Parcel Force and DPD, both show up to collect when the say and arrive when the say, Parcel Force does have slightly higher prices but I’d rather pay that little extra for piece of mind. One of the worst I’ve used is DX, they don’t show up for collections on the day you arrange, poor tracking and late deliveries.
I think the Rant is more than justified and helpful. Sorry to hear about the scam. Some people are real scum. The real winner sounds like a lovely person, that was nice to hear. Look forward to seeing what 2022 brings from your channel. Great content as always I am sure. Keep it up.
Dear Keith,
I think it's important for you to take the breaks that your piece of mind and personal quality goals demand. This channel is a means of income for you, yes, BUT not at the sake of your well being. Your viewers will totally understand any breaks that you (new husband) require. 👍
You have been one of my favorite UA-cam content channels for literally years. I am here telling you that I am perfectly happy to wait for your new videos. I WILL watch them whenever they come out. No worries on that. And I will watch all of them.
On a personal note, the thing that really drew me to your channel, though I like most of your content, was your philosophy of taking trash and turning it into something else that's useful. For the sake of longtime viewers, I hope you can continue to find ways to do this occasionally. Maybe a few times a year? Recycling is a core goal for me! Thanks man.
Best,
- Chris
Ps> if I didn't live just north of Boston, I'd have already purchased some of your etsy stuff and waxes. A pox on the postal services!!
Thanks so much Chris
Good on you Mate. Love your work. Hope you are in a better headspace now. Pressure can cripple your mind. All the best. Billy J.... Queensland, Australia.
Brilliant telling of that story Keith. You had the double whammy of a scammer and a courier to deal with. Having had much experience with couriers over the years I have the same opinion of them as I have of banks - they're all as bad as each other, and you can't do without them, or at least one of them. Catch 22. On the subject of UA-cam workload and burn-out - don't worry. You've done well in keeping your videos and projects as high quality as you have for so long. But I agree with you - make better projects, and take time to do them well. I am sure your audience will understand and stay with you. All the best.
Glad to see you back on UA-cam Keith. Shame on the scammer. I live in the Netherlands myself and I’m ashamed that this happened to you.
Stay safe
It's no reflection on the Netherlands, amazing country and brilliant people (mostly!!) There are scumbags in every country
We all feel down with things from time to time, like you find going in the 'shop just helps me get back on track.
You are a top bloke, Keith, woodworker AND musician, wow! Fully support you in your channel decisions. All the best
Good Stuff Keith. Thanks for the update. Totally sympathise. Good bloke vs scammers and incompetent companies. Seems the way of things unfortunately. Take my advice, have a beer and a chill. Cheers.
Shocking!! Good for you ... you needed to get that off your chest, but also to warn folks of your experiences. My personal experiences with Hermes (UK courier) is also bad. Recently, my mum sent my kids Xmas presents via Hermes. Both sent at the same time, only 1 arrives. She has been busy on and off with Hermes since the middle of December and there is still no idea where the package is! Given courier packages are tracked, surely they are much easier to locate. Keep your schedule to a frequency that makes you happy ... I always saw quality over quantity. After all, we also need time to do our own things too.
Your story about how bad UPS are sounds like my expeeience with Hermes. They're just as bad, so please don't consider using them instead of UPS.
Totally get the upload changes. Mental health is so important. You're doing the right thing Keith. Just be lead by your feelings and don't get stressed mate. Just do what feels right for you.
Thank you for taking the time to write that article.
Chin up . 2022 will be a better year for us all
Hi Keith, Greetings from across the pond. Enjoyed your exposé of UPS. We’re still waiting for a bed cover that arrived in Sacramento, CA three weeks ago. That’s a two hour drive from our home. Looking forward to your new episodes!
I will be watching your channel for as long as you are releasing videos. Doesn't matter when they are released.
Shout out to you f,for making the effort to send the prize winner to a foreign country, lots of 'give away' situations, never go the full length, for winners abroad! Keep up the effort!
Totally get why you would need a break, I really don’t know how you tubers such as you keep up with regular weekly videos, I know I couldn’t and I’m always amazed at what is produced. As for the scam, rant was totally in order, there are just some real low life’s in this world. Hope you get the package back but I doubt you are holding your breath on that one. I will check out your website article as I imagine it may be of help to me as I suffer similar issues from time to time. Take care of yourself and get in the warm, you looked bloody cold doing this video. Andy UK
Sorry to hear you have had this happen to you. Hope you get your items retuned and any money outstanding! Please keep up with your videos.
I'm not surprised that you've got over stressed, that sounded like an awful ordeal. A lot of the woodworkers that I follow only do 'in country' give aways, that would make it a lot more simple.
I think that taking your time on the projects, even doing 2 part videos on more complicated builds or restorations, is a better idea for your enjoyment, and for the process.
I know what I’ve learned, PEOPLE SUCK!!! Sorry you got scammed tho. Please keep the great videos comin
Yep. I had a giveaway when I got 2000 subscribers and someone claimed to be the winner and i had to block him because it was obvious a fake account. Good luck with your plans
Quality over quantity every time. But even more important than that is your health. I’m looking forward to more projects in (your own time) in the future. Also loving Workshop Banter, long may it all continue. Thanks for everything 👍🏼
Thank you Steve
Happy new year Keith, keep publishing content, love the channel. From a fellow Norfolk dweller. Gimme six!
Can't imagine what you went through!
UPS is great within the US or delivering to/from the US. Definitely horrible in Europe. Same should apply to FedEx. We completely understand you may want to limit to UK. So sorry about this.
I always wished some of my favorite woodworking UA-cam channels would post a few videos on short and easy projects. A random small shelf. A simple napkin holder. Ultra basics that many creators probably think are boring. I prefer videos that show the mechanics of the build and the reasoning no matter how or why they decided. Many videos skip over small parts of builds. Nothing like watching a video on a tool holder and they leave out the back panel and how it was attached. Infuriates me but I can almost always blame it on how UA-cam works. and the difficulty of editing and making cohesive and entertaining videos. Nature of the beast.
Remember, rest is as important as work, I will enjoy your videos as an when they appear !!!
Sad to say these scammers are everywhere Keith. How on earth they get away with it is beyond me mate. I hope it gets sorted so that you get to the end of all the stress buddy. Be well and best of luck chap.
Sorry to hear , what a nightmare! Like the old saying goes, no good deed goes unpunished.I’m excited to see the bed project. Remember Kieth, be kind to yourself 😅
Nice one Keith. Good to know what’s going on. Sorry to hear you had work problems. Glad you have it in control now. Sorry about the scammer as well. Maybe UK only next time. All good and I listen to the podcast in my workshop while working. Nice to have a couple of British voices on there. Keep up the good work and stay strong. As a self employed carpenter/maker I just think that we are in control and that’s the best thing if we feel we need to change things. I have been ill over the last few months so I am slowing down and its great that no one is on my back. I will speed up again when I feel strong enough. All good stuff. Best regards Adrian
Cheers Adrian, all the best👍
as a UK viewer that’s learned a lot from you, I’m totally supportive
yes UPS are useless and I'm on your side Keith you tried to do something decent and don't leave UA-cam I've watched you for years since day one
Super interesting as always - no matter what the topic.
I can’t imagine how much time you must spend creating your UA-cam content…. Never mind planning & scripting… just the logistics of getting the lighting right, a suitable background in the workshop etc! Even the few times I’ve tried to set up some sequential still shots of my work, it looks like a sawdust bomb has gone off 🤣🤣. Keep up the great work,
Mal
Thanks for the update! I read your blog post and although Im not suffering in the same way as you it reminded me that Im also motivated by being productive. My Day job usually does that for me but in the last year with all that has been going on its hard for that to be my big motivation. Thanks for helping me think more about what I have been feeling. I Joined your newish pod case channel and plan to give it a go. Sooo sorry you got scammed, one aspect of my day job involves helping customers who have been scammed and its a terrible feeling. Glad you got your groove back and are once again enjoying what you are doing. Kind Regards, Ivan Howard in the US
Happy New Year!!!
I support you 100% for aiming at quality first. So many UA-camrs are posting videos these days just to post a video... and the content is getting less and less interesting. So thank you!
As for the scam, it is sad to see that generosity is taken advantage of. Great idea though and hopefully you'll get a closure of this adventure fast...
Good on you Keith about stepping back to give yourself time to enjoy what you are doing. It doesn't matter if you making content each week or every couple of weeks if you're happy. I've been working away from home for last 3 plus years and decided that over the next couple of months that I'll be changing back to working from home as the 370 mile round trip is now driving me mad. But on a positive note I do get time to listen to the pod cast 👍.
Thank you Paul
Support you no matter what mate. Sorry all this happened
Well ranted and you have every right to rant, such a shame scammers and bad companies exist at all, but thank you for the headsup. Please continue your first class content as and when it suites you Keith, take care.
About UA-cam profile names:
when UA-cam was still new, you couldn’t use a profile name that someone else had already taken (like the spelling in an email address - YT would just tell you ‘that’s taken, choose something else’.) Originally you also couldn’t have spaces or capital letters in your username - so no proper names. Then YT started changing their whole set up (getting rid of personal profile “walls”, allowing proper names with spaces and capitals - all to compete with the changes on other social media sites/apps - mostly Facebook. So just like on Facebook - to have your proper name as your username on YT, more than one person can use that spelling bc more than one person has that proper name. UA-cam never policed profile photos - you can right click and copy any user’s profile photo. So: it’s now even easier to impersonate someone else now on YT, just like Facebook scammers do.
It’s wonderful that you took a break - burnout is real no matter how you make your money/spend your time for joy - you are in charge, glad you’re taking care of yourself!
Hello Rag n bone Brown, (sorry I've not picked up your first name yet, as have only watched 3 of your videos)
I hardly ever comment on videos, but your style (and the saga of the scamming) had made me really feel empathy and i found you really easy to listen to... Nice to hear a calm, non shouty, loud usa voice) especially the very fair reviews, you did on Bluetooth eat defenders.
Many congratulations on your channel and I will be continuing to listen in.
Plus, I know exactly how you feel, with the burnout, taking on too much with too much ( when if self imposed) pressure to complete by a deadline. Take it easy. I will look forward to when ended you post an update.
All the best...
Dang man, what a story. I don't blame you a bit for not having another give-away. Love your channel and can't wait for future content.
I completely understand the burnout. Happy to have less frequent videos if they let you put out the quality you want. For what it is worth, in late 2015 is when I started woodworking. I decided in 2016 that I should create a blog to document my work thinking I might enjoy reading it at a later date or my daughter when she is older might want to look at the write up of the pieces she eventually will inherit. I lasted 10 or 20 blogs and stopped. I found it hard. I didn't start reposting until 2020 when in the midst of Covid I had more free time. My goal is just to write one posting a week and that is a fair bit of effort. Mind you, the woodworking gets done as I enjoy that and the photos get snapped. It's the 20 to 30 min of writing that I find challenging. I can imagine how a UA-cam video is at least an order of magnitude more work.
It's terrible that you got scammed but on the plus side I loved your commentary on what happened. You genuinely couldn't make it up. I still find it hard to believe that some lowlife would bother to go to the effort of creating false accounts etc to claim the prize, it just shows the kind of people that are out there. As far as your channel goes. I love the stuff you do. Stick to a schedule that suits you and not the internet. You're not the first person to feel the burn-out pressure and you won't be the last. Do what keeps you healthy!
Hi Keith
Keep up the awesome work and look after yourself. You and your channel inspired me to take up woodworking
Regards
Rob
Do not worry at all Keith, giving aways are nice but is not the reason why we all follow you. Happy New year!!!!!