Being a Benchmade dealer takes $10k???

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speedfan

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I'm a big Benchmade fan. I just heard something that if true makes me think less of them as a brand. I just discovered a local knife store, I called to ask if they carry Benchmade. He said he used to, but he can't any more because they won't let him order without being a Benchmade dealer and that it was going to take $10,000 in inventory to make that happen.

Is this true? It seems ridiculous.
 
Why does it make you think less of them? They want to know that their dealers are serious about representing the brand and customers have access to full line of BM products. I think it's pretty reasonable.
 
It means a lot of mom and pop shops simply cannot carry their brand. A lot of the people in this country don't live in a major metropolitan area. While there is a knife store that would like to sell Benchmades 4 miles from me, I have to drive 26 miles to get to the nearest store that can sell me a Benchmade.

To me, it says that Benchmade is more concerned with strong-arming a store into making a big Benchmade display than it is with the way much of the country lives. It's not like I'm out in the sticks either (fairly major tourist destination), but I'm on a first name basis with at least some of the employees almost everywhere I shop.

I know some will say "just go online," but there are those of us who like to go to a store, shoot the breeze with the owner, and order a knife from him or her.
 
While I understand your reasoning, I still don't get how all this makes BM a less attractive company.
I'm sure they've tried it the other way and somehow it didn't work for them the way they wanted.
 
RxEnergy said:
While I understand your reasoning, I still don't get how all this makes BM a less attractive company.
I'm sure they've tried it the other way and somehow it didn't work for them the way they wanted.
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In the end, I'm on a first name basis with the guy who is the "local" Benchmade dealer too, and I'll order Benchmades through him and other brands through the closer shop. It just seems to me that there are enough forces acting against mom and pop stores, so there's no need for Benchmade to dogpile on them.

Think about dealer cost, then think about what $10k in inventory would look like. Then, if every brand did this, you'd only have room for a few brands.
 
$10,000 in inventory does seem like alot. Hell, that would be over 100 High end Gold class knives alone. I could see maybe $2k-$3k, but wow! Well, maybe its a mistake or exaggeration on the part of the dealer, people are quite prone to hyperbole, but if not, means most stores would almost have to go exclusively Benchmade to even be able to sell them, thats a lot of shelf space.
 
It makes them a less attractive company simply because they can control the selling price more. That inturn drives a budget buyer to the foreign knives. Look ar knives of alaska and William Henry. they want to control what the least a dealer can sell their knives for. that is not the American way. It's calle monoply. IMHO. I normally don't speak my mthis forums just use mostly to learn the knive collecting knowledge. I hope I don't hurt anyone's feelings, I simply stating how I feel. i worked for the big box store in managament for a few years and see how they have pur the mom and pop operations out of business. They say they employ more people, that is true bur they are part time people that are really struggling to just survive. God Bless The USA and our soldiers amd police and firemen and women that protect us.
 
Its their brand of knife, they can do with it as they see fit. That is their right, as it is ours to think ill or not of them for doing so.

Personally I'm impressed that benchmade got rid of its overseas production-its not easy to keep everything stateside and stay in buisness these days.
 
bobusx said:
$10,000 in inventory does seem like alot. Hell, that would be over 100 High end Gold class knives alone. I could see maybe $2k-$3k, but wow! Well, maybe its a mistake or exaggeration on the part of the dealer, people are quite prone to hyperbole, but if not, means most stores would almost have to go exclusively Benchmade to even be able to sell them, thats a lot of shelf space.
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That would be 20 high end Gold Class knives ($500+ end cost each) or 100 mid priced blue/black class ($100 end cost each). I don't know if the $10k is dealer or end cost, but that's not a lot of knives. A lot of BF members own that many Benchmades.
 
michaelmcgo said:
That would be 20 high end Gold Class knives ($500+ end cost each) or 100 mid priced blue/black class ($100 end cost each). I don't know if the $10k is dealer or end cost, but that's not a lot of knives. A lot of BF members own that many Benchmades.
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So now let's say Kershaw, Spyderco, SOG, Gerber, Cold Steel, and CRKT all started doing this. Now you're talking $70k in inventory just on the knives, and room for 700 knives.
 
speedfan said:
So now let's say Kershaw, Spyderco, SOG, Gerber, Cold Steel, and CRKT all started doing this. Now you're talking $70k in inventory just on the knives, and room for 700 knives.
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But they aren't all doing that.

So why say it?

If no one wanted to be a benchmade dealer, benchmade would have to change what they do.

10k isn't a lot of knives, when you consider how many different types benchmade offers. Not to mention the same type in serrated or not, different color handle, coated or uncoated blade.

I wouldn't want someone to be a dealer of my products and be out of stock all the time. I'm pretty sure being a dealer has benefits as well.
 
I like Benchmade knives just fine, but am disheartened by their locked pricing scheme. Regardless, some of the comments being made here are just silly.

Given the cost of Benchmade products, $10,000 is not a lot of inventory, maybe 30-50 knives. How many different models does Benchmade produce? Could you even buy one of each for $10,000? Nothing hurts a company more than spending money on product development and marketing, and then have dealers not make the items available to potential customers.

they want to control what the least a dealer can sell their knives for. that is not the American way. It's calle monoply.
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No it isn't.

means most stores would almost have to go exclusively Benchmade to even be able to sell them, thats a lot of shelf space.
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No it isn't.

i worked for the big box store in managament for a few years and see how they have pur the mom and pop operations out of business.
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By having contract-set pricing schemes with dealers, Benchmade is helping small knife dealers. Without the set pricing, the small "mom and pop" shops could never compete with the large dealers' pricing.
 
I'm fairly certain Benchmade used to require you purchase so many models to have on hand. You had to have like 12 models and 4 or 5 knives of each to become a dealer. Things may have changed recently but unless a dealer chimes in it is just hearsay. If a dealer doesn't like their policy and chooses not to carry the brand I can see them just throwing out a number like that as a reason.

Edit: I looked into becoming a dealer. I will try to find the email with the requirements.
 
Bob W said:
Given the cost of Benchmade products, $10,000 is not a lot of inventory, maybe 30-50 knives. How many different models does Benchmade produce? Could you even buy one of each for $10,000? Nothing hurts a company more than spending money on product development and marketing, and then have dealers not make the items available to potential customers.
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The thing is, when the area only has a few thousand people, if you try to have 30-50 Benchmades on your shelf they will be there for years. The way these stores have to operate is by putting a few different ones that they think people will like on the shelf, and anything else you special order.

Bob W said:
By having contract-set pricing schemes with dealers, Benchmade is helping small knife dealers. Without the set pricing, the small "mom and pop" shops could never compete with the large dealers' pricing.
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Of course, there are websites that use year-round brand-specific coupons and things like that to get around MAP.

With internet reviews and high quality catalogs, I still think it'd be better to just let my dealer order a knife upon customer request than to say "no, that customer has to drive 26 miles."
 
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I just wish some dealer would hurry up and get in $10,000 worth of the new 955 Sibert MPR from Benchmade!!!!!
 
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