Hi Jose,
What I do is more than just my job. If I wanted a "job" I could have one like most of the makers and dealers who are part-time
When I was a collector and had a job (Army), I met Paul Basch. His full time job was that of custom knife dealer. Paul went out of his way to educate collectors. He would make recommendations...whether he had a relationship with the maker or not (as I do). Regarding which knives were best suited for your collection and the amount of money you had. Almost without exception he was correct in his recommendation.
Why, because he was a full time custom knife dealer? No. Because he loves custom knives. He learned all he could about it. He understood all the behind the scenes goings on, how to identify which makers had potential, how to spot trends and more importantly how to get out of them 6 months before they stopped. He knew not to buy into fads as they were sure to fail and you didn't want to have people bringing those knives back to you as you knew they were not want the collectors wanted.
My addition(s) to what Paul taught me were my field experience with knives (which came in very handy when the "tactical" knife market exploded) and concepts I learned in business school. Here is an example.
Jose, I don't know how long you have been collecting. I can tell you that prior to about 14 years ago, there was no such thing as a "Standard Dealer Discount." A dealer might have a relationship with a maker and received a discount. Primarily the dealer bought the knife and then marked it up to what they thought the buyer would pay. To a large extent the knives on the dealers tables were not priced.
What I did was approach a maker, guarantee to buy at least 5 knives and in exchange I would receive a discount. Some agreed and some thought I was insane. My idea was to sell the knives at the makers price...never below. What made me think of this was two things.
First, when the Saturn car company ran their ads the company had one price...no haggling. As their stance was it was the haggling that most people hated.
Second, by implementing the same price strategy. I would eliminate bargaining at shows as my answer was and still is "I have an agreement with the maker, I don't sell below his price and he continues to sell me knives". You have to understand this was before the Internet and was very revolutionary at the time. This of course saved me time.
I have no doubt that other dealers over the last 50-60 years have done something similar to what I did. However at the time, no one else that I knew of was doing this.
A strategy I use today is via the Internet and other venues I let people know my feelings about certain knives and materials. Not because they shouldn't collect them or buy knives with those materials. Because I don't want you to bring them to me and try to sell or trade them. Jose, it is simply a time saver for both the collector and myself. I have to tell you it has cut down the "bitching" (when I say no) at my table to almost nothing. Obviously, this strategy worked.
Yes, as a collector you can have any materials or styles you like in your collection. The sticking point for many comes when they try to sell or trade the knife.
Jose, I am a collector much more than I am a businessman. I hated the fact that I had dealer's and some makers take advantage of me when I first started buying custom knives. Again, no one held a gun to my head to buy the knives. The makers and dealers did their job at the show...they sold me.
I wrote my book, not for the money or my "ego" but to help people understand what they were looking at better. I don't get paid for my seminars...I do them to help both collectors and makers understand the potential of the custom knife market. Because I am a full time custom knife dealer I am in a unique position to study the market every day. When I make a suggestion, recommendation, etc. This is not a guess, a hope or a wish.
I do understand that others have a point of view and they are welcome to it. Their point of view is based on their experiences in custom knives, good bad or indifferent.
However, I will not sit idly by when personal attacks are made or generalization's about how "Dealers don't earn their money or they shouldn't receive a discount. Especially by those who have never worked with a dealer! That is not self promotion or self preservation that is correcting "errors in judgment."
Jose, many more people read these threads and never post. Since my name is attached to these threads (even when I was woodwork ghost most people knew who I was), I feel obliged to give my side of the story.
I understand some people would prefer Kumbaya and not arguing. My experience is that Kumbaya can take a simple subject and drag it out (so as to not hurt someone's feeling) and waste a lot of time and effort. Personally, I don't have time for that.
I enjoyed Kevin Jone's posts as many times he made you think.
I enjoyed STeven's posts as he got to the heart of the matter and on occasion bruised an ego or two. STeven is a slice of life...he comes at you fast and hard and if your not ready for it, you can get knocked on your ass.
What do they both have in common...they don't post here anymore.
So we are losing important parts of this forum and picking up more anonymous members who won't even give their names.
Kumbaya
Les Robertson
Custom Knife Entrepreneur
www.robertsoncustomcutlery.com
(NOTE THE
