• The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
    Price is $300 $250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
    Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.

  • Today marks the 24th anniversary of 9/11. I pray that this nation does not forget the loss of lives from this horrible event. Yesterday conservative commentator Charlie Kirk was murdered, and I worry about what is to come. Please love one another and your family in these trying times - Spark

Benchmade Inflation

Like others here, I've bought all my Benchmades at a dealer, essentially at list. I'm not particularly price sensitive. All have been excellent, I'm very happy with each, and I'll continue to buy them at dealers. I just prefer to handle them first, and have been willing to pay a premium to do so.
 
The way I am hearing it is the big price gap is because of the dealer pricing. So what does that have to do with Benchmade?? If you are looking to blame someone then blame the dealers with the high prices. If you can buy it online cheaper then that is what you need to do. Blaming Benchmade is not helping any or crying about it is not going to solve the problem. You get what you pay for.
 
I think this is a bad thing and a good thing. At first I was upset because now they are not as good of a value as they were and I do not want to pay more, but I do understand that they are doing this for smaller businesses and brick and mortar stores to help keep them in business. Benchmade is not making any more money than they were. I still think the prices their products sold for though before were more reasonable.
 
Benchmade's misguided response:

Benchmade said:
Our price levels HAVE NOT changed. Our dealer base and customers of all shapes and sizes are of the upmost importance to us and we will continue to pursue the best possible avenues to support them. Please know that we are listening and appreciate your feedback.

~Benchmade Knife Company
Click to expand...
 
AQuenga said:
First of all, this post is not to belittle, bad-mouth, or discredit Benchmade. I am a new knife-nut searching for answers. I have, as most of you, noticed how Benchmade raised their knife prices. My question: should we (consumers) be upset?


Thank you for your insight and opinions
Click to expand...

It's your cash. Speaking for my cash, no more Benchmades. Nice knives, only barely competitive at discounted prices, now totally uncompetitive at MSRP. I will not be buying any more until BM sees the light. If they don't? - it's a big world and there are lots of makers of knives that are at least as good (and many of those are all-USA knives, too, by the way).
 
richard thurman said:
The way I am hearing it is the big price gap is because of the dealer pricing. So what does that have to do with Benchmade?? If you are looking to blame someone then blame the dealers with the high prices. If you can buy it online cheaper then that is what you need to do. Blaming Benchmade is not helping any or crying about it is not going to solve the problem. You get what you pay for.
Click to expand...

You kinda heard wrong, then. ;)

What happened is that Benchmade mandated a MAP (minimum acceptable price) on all of their knives. This restricts what a dealer can sell them for. It isn't a dealer choice, it is a BM mandate.

For example - I recently bought a 7505-132 from Knifeworks using their discount coupon. They are not allowed to offer that coupon or sell for less than the MAP any more. I paid $367 in June. Today, I would have to pay $510 and no one - absolutely no dealer anywhere - can sell it for less than that price. So, while BM's prices (MSRP & dealer cost) remain stable, the dealer price-to-customer has jumped 30% or so because BM mandates a minimum price that they can sell the knives for.

So, yeah, it is a BM issue, not a dealer issue. Hope that clarifies for you what is happening. :)

Oh - and as far as paying for what you get, I agree. That is called value and I thought BM had nicely valued knives (I own about a dozen or so) with the dealer discount in place. The new MAP significantly reduces the value for me. Price (to me - and that is all that matters) goes up by 30% or so and quality stays the same. I can get what I consider better value knives, quality knives, as good or better than BMs current selection elsewhere. American free market at work. :)

JMO. Those that like the BM offerings at the current prices should buy them. Personally, I will not.
 
Sorry I didn't know about making them raise their prices so much. If that is true then I can see why the people are getting mad. When I was selling at the flemarket about 20 years ago when I was in business we sold them what we wanted to sell them at. We were so far under there retail price it was no funny. Nobody came of told us to raise our prices. I guess today is a very different world.
 
I don't think their prices have gone up all that much. The prices have been fairly stable over the past five years or so.
They aren't the only ones with a MAP policy like that. At lot of knives, some guns, many optics, clothing and tactical gear have MAP that really should be minimum allowable price instead of advertised.
 
This topic has been beat to death on the BM forum (32 pages and counting). See the thread RamZar linked to. And be sure to read Benchmade's response on page 19 of that thread.
 
Oh yeah. That thread (on BM) has been a million laughs. Just about every point that can be made has been made at least 50 times.
 
richard thurman said:
The way I am hearing it is the big price gap is because of the dealer pricing. So what does that have to do with Benchmade?? If you are looking to blame someone then blame the dealers with the high prices. If you can buy it online cheaper then that is what you need to do. Blaming Benchmade is not helping any or crying about it is not going to solve the problem. You get what you pay for.
Click to expand...

You don't seem to understand the heart of the discussion.

addylo said:
Oh yeah. That thread (on BM) has been a million laughs. Just about every point that can be made has been made at least 50 times.
Click to expand...

That is the point of the forums. Every knife, way to sharpen, what is the best knife question has been asked and answered. ;) Welcome to the present, glad you grasp the concept.
 
Well, I have some difficulty understanding BM business sense. Like buying Lone Wolf brand and essentially destroying it. The same with Harley Davidson or HK: where does it go? Or this thing: trying to ignore the Internet and whatever it brought into the industry, all that blooming competition and changing role of the "real world" stores... Why would they push the agenda which is at least 15 years old! What are they trying to achieve: to save the stores. to play big guys who dictate how the industry works, stay/return back in the past? Retail is not essentially their core business: why would they interfere? And they are not the only guys around any more! But anyway: whatever floats their boat, good luck and the best wishes! I do not think that was the right move, and I will wait and see. I am in no hurry: I already have got enough Benchmades to last me a lifetime!
 
monger4142 said:
They don't hold the patent, they licence the feature. I'm pretty sure the patent expires fairly soon
Click to expand...

Sorry, Benchmade's website describes the axis lock as "A patented Benchmade exclusive", so I assumed they held the patent. Either way, as long as they are the only company using the axis lock I will continue to buy them.
 
inheritthefire said:
Here's a question for everybody - how many of you own an Apple product? They enforce MAP at all retailers.
Click to expand...


I have none. The difference is: Most people only have one phone/ mac etc. at a time while I doubt there are many people that say "I'll buy one $300 knife for the rest of my life and that's it".
We accumulate dozens of knives so price increases affect us even more. THAT is the point.
 
My first really nice knife was a Benchmade and I have had two more since my first. They are great knives for sure but I would have a really hard time buying any of them for full retail. I'd probably opt for a Spyderco or ZT instead.
 
I haven't bought a Benchmade since they changed their pricing policies - The money I used to spend on Benchmade knives all goes to Spyderco now.
 
I try to buy "value" in all my purchases. Benchmade s "value" has now gone way done. On this basis they re simply not competitive with other knives I like as well. Too bad.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top