Customer Testimonials

Just to let you know order has been recieved … Very pleased with products … good quality, well packaged and presented. Excellent service. Thank you.

Rating: Excellent

I recieved my stamp today (May 3rd). I’m very pleased of the speed of the delivery, and I’m pleased of the product.

Rating: Excellent

Customer: “I received my order today and I can honestly say I was greatly disappointed. I was expecting a stamp as I was made to believe I was ordering, not a mechanical stamp. I have to also say that I am not an expert on kanji but the choices that we chosen were poor ones. Last week after I e-mailed your staff, someone conveniently called me a day later asking me what the words I submitted meant. I explained to the Asian Gentleman that I wanted Japanese Characters and he say YEA YEA same thing. WRONG.

I feel like I have wasted 180.00 and of coarse more time putting off testing for my dojo. Someone recently told me that your company did the same thing to their order. When noticed in Black Belt Magazine I expected a top notch operation. We can do one of two things here. You can produce for me the manual stamps that I ordered and redesign them with Japanese writing or you can refund my money in full. I have not as of yet taken my complaint to any outside sources, and I am giving you full opportunity to correct this very unpleasant experience I have had with your company.”

Authentikan by Good Characters: Good Characters is a business built on integrity. Our intent is not to mislead you in any way, but rather to offer you options in terms of products and pricing. We have designed our website with product descriptions and pictures precisely so that you know exactly what you’ll be getting. This feedback tells us, we have some work yet to do in terms of adding clarity to our site. We hope this helps…

1. Mechanical Stamp vs. Manual Stamp: The stamps we offer are mechanical, self-inking stamps as shown and described on our website. Our focus is on the best translation and practical modern day usage. Some martial artists think a stamp must be in stone to be good, others think the wooden handle ones are the most authentic. I’d like to tell you that the most official seals in Asia are made from jade, gold, or metal and not soap stone (easily chipped), nor rubber. This customer assumed he was ordering wooden handle rubber stamps and was understandably upset when he did not receive what he expected. Authentikan can have your stamps made in wooden handle without a problem; we just need to know that’s what you’d like.
    
2. Modern kanji vs. ancient Tensho kanji: The most traditional and appropriate kanji (Chinese characters) for an official stamp is ancient Tensho kanji. We understand that you may have already invested in a translation and as such, may not need our translation services, however, please know that there are differences between modern and ancient kanji that can be used. If you’d like us to make a stamp for you to match an existing translation, your best bet is to submit it to us so that we can match it. This customer thought Authentikan’s choice of kanji was poor because the characters we used did not match a prior translation. More than likely, the difference is simply the use of modern vs ancient kanji.
    
3. Characters and their meanings: Just as there are different styles of kanji, different characters can sound the same, but carry different meanings and associations. We pride ourselves in creating names that “fit” you. We ask for personal information about your job and your personality so that we can pick the most appropriate characters for you. Again, if you already have a translation, and would like us to match it, rather than create a new one, please just let us know. We’re happy to provide you with the service that best meets your needs.

Though we strive for excellence and work hard to make sure your needs are met, sometimes, despite our best efforts, something goes wrong. I am hoping by posting this you will clearly understand what you are getting.

We sincerely want to hear from you. If we did a good job, let us know. If we did a bad job, let us know. We of course love the praise and pats on the back from our satisfied customers, but honest feedback from our dissatisfied customers provides us with opportunities to clarify issues and improve services.