Are knife sales slow because Blade Show just happened?

ctrsurf

ctrsurf

Joined
Feb 1, 2012
Messages
484
Is it just me, or does it seem like sales on the exchange are a bit softer and slower than normal?
Is this because Blade just happened, or because everyone is afraid of which anti-Christ is going to get elected?:rolleyes:
 
Sales have been rather slow for awhile, and you have to be pretty price competitive to make sales. There is also a lot going on in the summer, Blade and other shows, kids and vacation. It is still hit and miss-sometimes I can't seem to give a knife away, and other times my sales work fine.
There has also been a lot of supply added in the last few years. A number of skilled un-employed went into knife making during the recession, mid tech and high end China expanded substantially.
 
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After coming back into knife collecting after stopping back in 2013 I have to say it's so much different now. There was a huge boom in 2012-2013 because of hinderer and zero tolerance and people buying custom knives left and right. Now I go on usual suspects network and see a bunch of custom knives that have been on the exchange for months on end and are at and incredible price point. I really don't know what's going on tho. Maybe people just don't have any money right now. I also read that sales are down because of all the people purchasing guns left and right due to our current political climate here in the us. If anyone could tell me what else is up id love to know! Things are much more different than they were a few years ago!
 
those of us in ca I'm sure are seeing the hit because of the current election and also the gun issue as i know i'm one of the guys selling knives to buy guns. but sales have been down for almost an entire year. the huge boom in knife collecting has seemed to level out. I'm not sure why you were able to buy almost anything for a while there and then sell it for a profit. wish my other hobbies were like that. I'd say it's not the the market is soft so much as it's back to where it should be. The hype of new collectors has seemed to fade away. I do not see too many people showing of there $800 dollar bottle openers either. or even saying they want one. i'm sure there will be a rush again just not sure when. also fall is usually when prices start to rise again. but last year that was not the case. I think most of the inflation was due to the ability to make money on almost any edc item. it caused all the people with an internet connection to be able to make $100 in a few days just by flipping a hinderer or custom. now that sales slowed all that money is gone and its just the people left that really want something. just think how many of us snagged up a deal just because we knew we could buy it, check it out, and sell it a week later for 50-100 more. I know i could do that with almost everything i bought, although i rarely did. just does not seem right to do that to fellow collectors. but i'd have no problem taking the money when someone offered me way too much so they could filp it for even more. haha.
 
It might also be the fact that knives just cost so much more now. Nowadays, decent knives cost hundreds of bucks, and folks who paid that, will generally try to recoup that sort of outlay if they sell on the Exchange.
 
I think all the factors mentioned so far have had an impact, but my knife buying has been affected differently. I've personally slowed on buying knives of late...and I tend to be a lot more picky.

From my standpoint, MAP pricing takes the fun out of buying new knives. Everything is the same price everywhere and it's no fun to shop or find a deal (other than second-hand).

I've also got sticker shock with the prices of new ZTs, Benchmades and Spydercos. I was all in on some of the new models from those brands, particularly Spyderco, until I saw the prices. Knife prices have inflated a lot more than the average Joe's paycheck over the last 5 years. If knife sales are sluggish at the retail level, I put a large part of the blame on MAP and rising prices. You'd think that might help out the Exchange though...
 
It was a bubble, and like any other bubble, most of the speculators have left.

What we saw in 2012-2014/15 was never sustainable, I mean "custom makers" coming out of every hole in the ground and selling knives for $500-$1000?

Just like any other market, there are crazy times and normal times. The weirdest part is the end of a "crazy time" because it's hard to come to terms with the sudden changes, and market realities that where ignored because everything sold in 1 minute, and everything just went up in value.
 
I have noticed a slow down as well. I contribute it to summer vacations, kids out of school, etc. Though money is tight these days for many. Like any market item it has cycles of ups and downs.
 
Yeah it seems the secondary market prices lower a lot after a big show. Seems like there has been a slow decline in prices the last 6 months to a year.
 
JR88FAN said:
It was a bubble, and like any other bubble, most of the speculators have left.

What we saw in 2012-2014/15 was never sustainable, I mean "custom makers" coming out of every hole in the ground and selling knives for $500-$1000?

Just like any other market, there are crazy times and normal times. The weirdest part is the end of a "crazy time" because it's hard to come to terms with the sudden changes, and market realities that where ignored because everything sold in 1 minute, and everything just went up in value.
Click to expand...

This and we are heading into another recession in the economy.
 
For sure things slow down over the Summer months. Same last year, knives I had trouble selling in the Summer went rather quickly late Fall early Winter.
 
The market does jump up and down . And most familys\ friends I know are broke this time a year. Part time day care here is as much as the rent/mortgage. Vacations. School coming etc = less toy money.
 
I know I have backed off from buying knives and it is because I am focusing on guns and ammo.
 
I don't think the Blade Show had much to do with anything at this point. It was nearly two months ago. I did slow down a bit because of Blade Show purchases, but things are back to normal for me. For me, I simply have too many knives and need little new even though I will still buy something. Just bought a new knife about a week ago and I'm running about on par with last year.

Have no idea IF or WHY the secondary market or knife market in general is slowing down. Maybe some of these custom guys can get caught up on their back log if things have slowed a bit.

Maybe folks are stocking up on ammo now instead of buying knives? I know that 22 rimfire just seems to now be showing up with some regularity retail. Yep. Just in time for another presidential election.
 
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I appreciate the thoughtful input, and glad that others have noticed the same thing. I guess I really got much more into this hobby during the past 2 years, so I haven't been around as long as many of you who have seen the cycles come and go. Just like any market, I suppose, the cycles don't matter much to you if you're in in for the long haul and truly enjoy knives!

What was it like on here during the 2008 recession??
 
Sometimes I think there needs to be a knife marketing board whose focus is to expand the knife market.
 
My impression is that there was no knife recession. I don't buy and sell, so my impressions are just that. Never have sold a knife and seldom even look at the exchange here.
 
Quiet said:
It might also be the fact that knives just cost so much more now. Nowadays, decent knives cost hundreds of bucks, and folks who paid that, will generally try to recoup that sort of outlay if they sell on the Exchange.
Click to expand...
This is a good point. Are we trending toward paying more for knives than they are worth?
That question has been asked many times in the past and will be asked in the future. My personal budget is starting to fall behind the current knife price market.?
 
Seems if you want a "good knife" these days, that means spending $100+. Didn't used to be that way and it is not just inflation. The end result is that the average person buys fewer knives and probably buys knives of lesser quality. Is that a recession? If it is, it's self inflicted.

I recall looking at a display of Benchmade (BM) knives a week or so ago and the sales person kept handing different ones for me to look at. I enjoyed it actually. They aren't cheap. Finally I said, there is no way I am going to spend $200+ on a Benchmade when I didn't own a single one at that point. I purchased a BM that day by the way. I wanted to handle and use a BM and begin to judge for myself.
 
I don't have much interest in stuff that is below 300 dollars. I find that the higher priced stuff is down a bit but the stuff from 300-500 is fairly steady. YMMV
 
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