Are we ruining the secondary market?

Keith,
How long have you had an interest in custom knives?.. you mentioned 1960s and 70s... Impressive span. Also, this is really a side issue someone brought up but makes me curious.. Keith again, I do remember you saying in another thread you DO NOT go to knife shows. (I only make one or two a year, but they are a LOT of fun). I feel you would enjoy them, why not go? ..as you are a die hard enthusiast.
David
 
IMO, Knife shows are as much about the people as the knives as it give you the chance to finally put faces to the names. :)

And building contacts and relationships is one of the most important parts of collecting.
 
Good thread. Now, where to start...

The question that needs to be answered is -- Why do you buy custom knives?

1) They are good for cutting things. Believe it or not, some people actually use custom knives. And why not? Should I spend $400 on a Spyderco Forester or a Don Hanson?

2) 'Cause I like to. Then buy knives that speak to you. The secondary market is of no consequence.

3) It's an investment. Then you need to treat it like any other investment. Do your homework. Watch the market. Look for trends. DIVERSIFY.

4) It's a business. Then listen to Les. You are now the primary market, not the secondary market. Sometimes a businessman has to be brutally honest. Let's say that Les is at a show and a seller asks if Les wants to buy his knife. Les says, "Nope, not interested." The wise seller will say, "OK, thanks for your time," and go look for another buyer. If he stands there and tries to convince Les why he needs to buy the knife, then Les has to be honest and tell him why. If the seller is offended, tough. Les is running a business, not a charity.

OTOH, Les should have accepted the answer the knifemaker gave him. "Nope, not interested" means the same thing whether Les says it or the knifemaker says it. How can you say it affected his business? He has a four year backlog, fer cryin' out loud...

Now, for my knife/art purchases, I only buy from the knifemaker/artist. I want the makers to profit from their work so they can continue creating. If I buy from the secondary market, the person who profits from it is the collector, not the maker.
 
Hi Ed,

Great post!

However, OTOH :D

Now, for my knife/art purchases, I only buy from the knifemaker/artist. I want the makers to profit from their work so they can continue creating. If I buy from the secondary market, the person who profits from it is the collector, not the maker.
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If a makers knives do not make it into the after market their market position starts to slip. For a maker with an extended delivery time and/or limited production. The secondary market may be the only place for a collector to get one of these makers knives.

A key for any maker is to get their knives into as many hands as possible. While the maker may not make any money off the sale of a knife in the secondary market. I can guarantee you that most makers have picked up additional orders due directly to someone selling one of their knives to another collector in the after market.

Les Robertson
Custom Knife Entrepreneur
www.robertsoncustomcutlery.com
 
Les Robertson said:
While the maker may not make any money off the sale of a knife in the secondary market. I can guarantee you that most makers have picked up additional orders due directly to someone selling one of their knives to another collector in the after market.

Les Robertson
Custom Knife Entrepreneur
www.robertsoncustomcutlery.com
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Exactamundo. I can't tell you how many times I have seen this in my relatively minute (as compared to you) experience buying and selling knives.

Roger
 
Ed Meinel said:
If I buy from the secondary market, the person who profits from it is the collector, not the maker.
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Every time a maker's knife sells by any means the maker benefits to some degree as it indicates that someone / somewhere thought enough of his work to put money down.
 
2knife said:
Keith,
How long have you had an interest in custom knives?.. you mentioned 1960s and 70s... Impressive span. Also, this is really a side issue someone brought up but makes me curious.. Keith again, I do remember you saying in another thread you DO NOT go to knife shows. (I only make one or two a year, but they are a LOT of fun). I feel you would enjoy them, why not go? ..as you are a die hard enthusiast.
David
Click to expand...

My interest in custom knives started in the late 60s. My interest in knives started in the late 50s. I bought my first knife in 1962. Though I was interested in custom knives for many years, I didn't purchase my first one until about six or seven years ago.

I used to go to knife shows when there were some that were close. Maybe someday I'll come to the conclusion that I would rather spend fifteen hundred dollars going to a show than to spend that money on knives, but not right now. I will be going to Josh's hammer-in, and if it is as enjoyable as I think it's going to be, I will likely go back every year. I personally enjoy hammer-ins much more than the shows I used to go to. You get to spend much more quality time with the other people there.
 
Keith,
One of the sad things about the forums, it seems like you get to know people, in a way i guess, but reading your post reminds me that we really never know who we talk to- we only read peoples thoughts.. It seems kind of sad.. And no one knows anyone's age, life experiences for the most part- its almost an entire, anonymous world.

Someday i hope to have the chance to meet you Keith. (can you add me to your waiting-list.) ;)
David
 
I guess this is mostly a question for collectors. Of course maker, dealer contribution is certainly welcomed.

When offering a piece for sale on the secondary market what methods do you usually use for pricing?

Comparables from the INTERNET dealers? Ask the maker what's the current price for a similar knife?
 
What methods do you use to price your knives?
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Kevin, for me it's a combination of a couple of methods. I follow the pricing on all the major (and minor for that matter) internet dealers websites (37 to be exact), I communicate with other collectors and the makers. Besides that I have an established relationship with a couple of the larger dealers/purveyors and I'm not afraid to ask their opinion .......... off line:D;)

Although I try to keep track that way sometimes I'm surprised (positively or negatively) about the price development of one of my pieces. The reason for that is a difference in estimating the (relative to other makers and pieces) popularity of the maker and the piece I want to sell.

Marcel
 
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