Are some knife Mfg. Using cult following to boost their profits.

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Really? It makes me wonder if you've seen or heard of some of Instagram "knife manufacturers" that seem to have a cult following? Or Scientology? Astrology? The Psychic Network? There must be dozens more examples....?

Of course those spirit runs you mention would be more likely on the Psychic Network than on Bladeforums.....

GIRLYmann said:
No amount of advertising or spirit runs can artificially create a cult if the produck sucks.
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snapshot2017 said:
I find some knife Mfg.s have a cult following of their knives, for example Spyderco, have many of the same type knives that they change handle color and Material they change the blade Material, they make a "sprint Run" and the prices go from the $140 to $225 as an example.
And people are begging for new sprint runs of the same knives, it seems to be working well i feel are they using these sprint runs to just boost their profits?
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In the op you just used Spyderco as an example. We're you beating around the bush? Or were there other manufacturers you wanted to bring up as well?

I think the sprint system is great. Lots of variety and getting knives you love in different configurations is sweet.

I personally use the sprints I buy, and I'm fine with paying a premium for a desirable, upgraded product in limited supply.

That being said, I find this thread kind of confusing, because I've been able to acquire quite a few sprints at reasonable prices. I also don't live in the states either, I'm up in Canada.
 
marcus52AR said:
In the op you just used Spyderco as an example. We're you beating around the bush? Or were there other manufacturers you wanted to bring up as well?

I think the sprint system is great. Lots of variety and getting knives you love in different configurations is sweet.

I personally use the sprints I buy, and I'm fine with paying a premium for a desirable, upgraded product in limited supply.

That being said, I find this thread kind of confusing, because I've been able to acquire quite a few sprints at reasonable prices. I also don't live in the states either, I'm up in Canada.
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I just used Spyderco as an example because it’s the only Mfg. I have bought a sprint run knife they had a vendor offering.
 
snapshot2017 said:
I don't think anyone would call a custom made knife, made by hand with blade forging and heat treating a sprint run.

Now i have seen with Randle where a vendor buys a full run of their best selling knives, get them before any single buyer could every get one like a wait of around five years.
Then the vendor shows up at a major firearm show with a bunch of Randle knives for sale at from 40 to 50% above their normal Randle prices.
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This right here is why I'll never own a Randall, and I actually live here in the same town!
First, to be perfectly honest, all the Randalls I've ever held take me back to a sunny afternoon in 1986, which is not really where I want to be with a fixed blade. They just feel dated, and secondly, feel like what they are these days, a bunch of bolted together parts by an employee, and not the work of a master knifemaker. Secondly, I have been to entirely too many knife and gun shows where you see resalers with a table full of brand new Randalls at the same time there are people waiting for years to get their one or two. So, dealers don't have to wait for years, ok, cool. I won't be buying any Randalls.
 
Tommy-Chi said:
I do follow some of them, not directly but through the forums. And I agree that they temporarily go up in value. They act like stock IPOs...they go up initially and then 90% of them lose over time any value they ever had. That is why I said there is a collusion between the manufacturer, flippers and collectors.

Somebody above said that there were between 1-5000 knives made in the runs. NO, that is not right. Spyderco gets contacted by a retailer who wants to do a special run of knives that they design. Spyderco can run around 750 knives in one run, and if they do two runs that is approx 1,500 knives.

Spyderco by doing this is LEAVING hundreds of thousands on the table yearly to prop up their prices through a hard to access product, by creating a a rare product 10 times per year. I don't get it. It does not satisfy the user base. Sal has seen my comments on Spyderco Forums. He's never commented, and as I have said hundreds of others have seen my comments but avoid replying.
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I have to be candid. All of your replies in this thread read 100% as "These limited runs come at times when I am unable to take advantage, therefore I want you to change things so that all choices will be available at my convenience." That simply will not ever happen, which is probably why people don't respond to you in those other threads/forums you keep mentioning. I mean, what do you expect Sal to say? Your view is unreasonable. Spyderco is a business, and is in business to make money, not to model their business around whatever TommyChi would find most convenient. Sorry, bruh.
 
Tommy-Chi said:
I like Spyderco. I'm absolutely fine with them. I think you're reading too much in to the analysis.

What they are doing is two things: propping up a false valuation on their other knives, and NOT getting knives in to people hands who really want them. The solution, I've said two or three times in this thread and a dozen times on the Spyderco Forums is to have a Custom Shop, just like Buck and other manufacturers, where they can batch out the knives desired over a six, nine or twelve month period where the knife attributes are popular.
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As they sell out of every sprint run they make, common sense and logic would conclude that this statement of yours above is incorrect.
 
Quiet said:
This right here is why I'll never own a Randall, and I actually live here in the same town!
First, to be perfectly honest, all the Randalls I've ever held take me back to a sunny afternoon in 1986, which is not really where I want to be with a fixed blade. They just feel dated, and secondly, feel like what they are these days, a bunch of bolted together parts by an employee, and not the work of a master knifemaker. Secondly, I have been to entirely too many knife and gun shows where you see resalers with a table full of brand new Randalls at the same time there are people waiting for years to get their one or two. So, dealers don't have to wait for years, ok, cool. I won't be buying any Randalls.
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This is the same item with the Milt Sparks 1911 holsters and others, Mr.Sparks past away and a new owner found a vender who bought up all the shops production if you ordered anything it was around 16 weeks or longer you want something quicker you were guided to the vendor and if you wanted it you pay and extra 40%.
Well with firearm forums members we put the new owner in to quilting this rotten dealing it took a while but he got the message.
 
Quiet said:
As they sell out of every sprint run they make, common sense and logic would conclude that this statement of yours above is incorrect.
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Not only do they sell out, but they sell out in minutes sometimes. People are crazy about these durn Spyderco sprint runs aren't they? That's why Spyderco keeps crankin' them out.....genius!
 
91bravo said:
Not only do they sell out, but they sell out in minutes sometimes. People are crazy about these durn Spyderco sprint runs aren't they? That's why Spyderco keeps crankin' them out.....genius!
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How could they be selling out? And who's getting them? I'm being told here that there's a conspiracy that Spyderco and some vendors have cooked up to keep knives out of the hands of the people. Hrrrmmmmm......somethin' ain't add'n UP, pal!!

LOL
 
Well, if you missed this sprint run, then guess what? There WILL be another one just around the corner! lol It's not like folks don't have advanced notice of sprint release dates. If you want one, plan, check and be diligent with your refresh button. It's always worked for me!
 
Quiet said:
I have to be candid. All of your replies in this thread read 100% as "These limited runs come at times when I am unable to take advantage, therefore I want you to change things so that all choices will be available at my convenience." That simply will not ever happen, which is probably why people don't respond to you in those other threads/forums you keep mentioning. I mean, what do you expect Sal to say? Your view is unreasonable. Spyderco is a business, and is in business to make money, not to model their business around whatever TommyChi would find most convenient. Sorry, bruh.
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This is how it read to me as well. It does come off as if you’re expecting Spyderco to halt their very successful Sprint Run venture because they’re selling out in record time. There’s been quite a few Sprints that I’ve wanted, but was either too late to the party or completely oblivious to that fact it was even going on(which I have no one but myself to blame for that).

Personally, I like the Exclusives more than the Sprints. Upgraded steel without the race. I’m not a collector so I don’t need every PM2 Sprint Run, which is why the Exlusives have more appeal to me, they tend to stick around a bit longer with all the makings of a Sprint Run.. Minus the collectibility and headache, most of that time, that is.
 
91bravo said:
When I got my management degree, I learned that excess inventory is no good. Just-In-Time business model is what makes a business efficient...
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Studying a business model is not negative. Propping up the value of your entire inventory over 5 to 10 products that your fan base wants and sells out in a matter of hrs to days is smart.

The "Just-In Time" Business model is the "Custom Shop." Excess inventory is no good, and a lot of knife companies are opening JIT Custom Knife Shops. If they can do it, so can Spyderco. All we are talking abt here is creating two blades instead of one, and two grip types, instead of one. THAT IS ALL THAT SPYDERCO IS DOING, but they are not filling all of the possible orders, they are creating scarcity, false demand, and a lot of unfulfilled potential customers.

My degree is a BS in the College of Business is from a Big 12 University, Management Information Systems and I have minors in Internetworking (Cisco Networking AAS), Architecture(AA), General(AS). I am also a Jr in EE Computer Engineering. I was dual listed / dual degree seeking but I packed it in and headed to Silicon Valley for work. School is OK, but I'd rather make money. I'm no genius and the degrees got me interviews.
 
Tommy-Chi said:
Studying a business model is not negative. Propping up the value of your entire inventory over 5 to 10 products that your fan base wants and sells out in a matter of hrs to days is smart.

The "Just-In Time" Business model is the "Custom Shop." Excess inventory is no good, and a lot of knife companies are opening JIT Custom Knife Shops. If they can do it, so can Spyderco. All we are talking abt here is creating two blades instead of one, and two grip types, instead of one. THAT IS ALL THAT SPYDERCO IS DOING, but they are not filling all of the possible orders, they are creating scarcity, false demand, and a lot of unfulfilled potential customers.

My degree is a BS in the College of Business is from a Big 12 University, Management Information Systems and I have minors in Internetworking (Cisco Networking AAS), Architecture(AA), General(AS). I am also a Jr in EE Computer Engineering. I was dual listed / dual degree seeking but I packed it in and headed to Silicon Valley for work. School is OK, but I'd rather make money. I'm no genius and the degrees got me interviews.
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Hey, whatever it takes to make a profit right? Don't hate, congratulate. You don't have to agree with their business models. It obviously works for them. Sprint runs selling out in minutes don't require any kind of business degree to understand. Make what the people want. Simple business: If it sells, keep making it. If it doesn't, discontinue it, because in the end, it's all about the dollar.
 
Its easy. Demand and supply. Knife enthusiast demand and knife manufactures supply. There sprint runs are on tried and true. Look how cars get updated every couple years. Its the same model car just a couple tweaks here and there in general . Of course sometimes there are major tweaks.
 
91bravo said:
Well, if you missed this sprint run, then guess what? There WILL be another one just around the corner! lol It's not like folks don't have advanced notice of sprint release dates. If you want one, plan, check and be diligent with your refresh button. It's always worked for me!
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Or/and check the exchange in the following weeks. Usually some up for sale at reasonable or at par pricing.
 
snapshot2017 said:
The PM2 with CPM35VN blade steel and the tan G10.
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If I remember correctly these were priced reasonably. I didn't follow them though because I'm not a fan of the Pm2. Weren't these on special at some dealers with sale pricing? Or is it other sprints that you're talking about for high pricing?
 
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