Bud K Knife Giveaway Internet

I responded to a free item offer (3 throwing knives) from budk.com.  I filled in all of the information requested, including credit card.  I applied my coupon number and all was accepted.  I received an acceptance confirmation email from budk.com.  A couple days later, I received another email telling me that my item would be shipped within 24 hours.

Then....nothing.  I finally checked their site and it said my order was cancelled, with no explanation.  I emailed them and I was told my order was cancelled "due to an invalid code".  I asked them why they would secretly cancel a customers order, why would they accept a coupon code and then reject it as invalid.  I asked if this is how they treat all their customers.  The reply I got was that their system was "hacked", that the coupon was supposed to be for those who bought something.  

What a pile of crap--from the nebulous "hacking excuse" to the after-the-fact order cancellation without notifying the customer.  But, in the final analysis, this looks more like a data mining scheme to get customer information, both personal and financial.  

BEWARE of BUDK!