Balancing Dave Ramsey, Harvey Dean, and Kenny Rogers

J

Jason Fry

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Jun 5, 2008
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Dave Ramsey... make cash... take care of business
Harvey Dean once told me "never miss a chance to sell a knife" His point... A sale now is better than an unsold knife on a show table later.
Kenny Rogers... Know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em

I've got a show coming up in April. I have four or five knives ready, including a couple of pieces at the high end of my ability and price range. I also have time to crank out a bunch of mid-level pieces.

I also need leather before the show, and belts and steel maybe before the show.

Dave and Harvey want me to sell one of the high end pieces or a couple of the mid level. Kenny wants me to hold the high end stuff for the show and whip out maybe three price point knives.

Any thoughts from the group?

And with all due respect to Kenny... you do count your money sitting at the table, so you'll know how much of it you can spend at the supply tables before the "dealin's done."
 
Money talks. If someone wants one of my knives and they have the cash, it's theirs. I can always make another.

It's an interesting question. I was in a similar discussion in the Custom forum some time ago and got absolutely berated by a couple collectors for saying that. They fully expected makers to hold back a couple of their best pieces until the end of the show, just in case they stopped by and wanted to look at something at the last minute... and hopefully get a special deal.

To them I say, "First Come, First Served, baby".
 
james terrio said:
Money talks. If someone wants one of my knives and they have the cash, it's theirs. I can always make another.
Click to expand...

This. ^

As long as you have a couple knives to show on your table I wouldn't sweat it.
 
I tend to agree, mostly. But, reading the "should I go to Blade" thread also points out that part of the shows is the showing, not the selling. Last year at this show, I took too many and tried to sell. Took 21, didn't sell but three. On the other hand, I attracted enough attention to get semi-recruited into joining the Guild, and got all my signatures there. Ah, the balance... I can sell them all eventually.
 
IMHO 21 knives on a table is to many. Even if they are all amazing, it is distracting and people can't really focus in on an individual knife. Plus it looks like you might have a hard time selling the knives you make.
Just my .02
 
I agree, I had too many. Shooting for 10 this time, just trying to figure out the mix of price points.
 
Just because you have 21 knives doesn't mean they all have to be on the table. Some people think that looks desperate. Keep half-a-dozen on the table, hopefully representing your different models/options. Replace them if/as they sell. That will also give you a chance to offer something a little different if someone is on the fence about a particular knife, without overwhelming them with choices all at once.

That's one theory, anyhow.
 
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