Benchmade Inflation

[YoYojunkie]

Have to be careful making comparisons. These two knives are very different. There is a reason why the 940 has been consistently sought after for at least a decade I believe. Great designer, super fit and finish, nearly a 3.5" blade, axis lock, and all that at 2.9oz! It's a pocket carry dream and MADE in the USA. I'm not knocking the Domino, but it's another leaf blade in the mix of many while the 940 is absolutely unique.

I'd like to start by saying thank you for your service! My freedom and family thank you!

I appreciate this perspective as a new high end knife buyer, these are the sort of posts I enjoy seeing a good brief breakdown and what makes a knife (a 940 in this case) worth the value found in the price tag, and offering some perspective as to what set this knife apart from one that was compared with it (sadly I don't know what a domino is but I'll google soon hehe).

And I have to say you're not very nice for the great synopsis on the 940 because now I'd like to add one even more then I did prior to reading your post.

Thank you again!

 

[Boats]

Here's a question for everybody - how many of you own an Apple product? They enforce MAP at all retailers.

As someone else said, I've bought a few of my Benchmades for more than I could have gotten them online because I wanted to support local brick and mortar stores. I see this price increase as Benchmade making sure all dealers are frequented fairly equally.

Apple can get away with strict MAP adherence because there is really no viable market alternative to their best products, the iPad series particularly. People will argue, but android tablets are crapfests with stretched apps.

Benchmade has plenty of viable competitors. I will not overpay for a BM, and this is coming from a fan of the product line. Benchmade is always screwing around with their pricing model, hoping something works better than the difference between wholesale pricing and razor thin retail margins the rest of internet era sellers deal with daily.

Benchmade's poorly thought out MAP model is destined to fail. The sweet spot between supply and demand always finds itself despite artificial price supports or the market for a product eventually withers.

 

[Sonnydaze]

Sure benchmade didn't raise their prices but they sure as hell raised mine. I understand gradual price increases but 40% overnight? No thanks...I don't care how they choose to word it.

I fully agree. I bought a couple before the big change. Don't plan to buy any now.

 

[fetzer85]

Bottom line for me was Benchmade's lousy response. I was waiting for even a half-legitimate explanation before I made my decision but unfortunately they never gave one. They lost me.

 

[Stays Sharp]

Judging from the comments on these threads, many like me are letdown by the enforcement of their MAP.

Here's to holding out hope that it will change back and all will be "normal" again. You never know what the market will dictate.

 

[batosai117]

It had to happen sometime. This occurred a while back with the MAP, back when I sold stuff online under a different username. The online market was eating up the brick and mortar shops so Benchmade changed their selling policies to ONLY brick and mortar shops with full time hours of operation. So anyone selling Benchmade now should have a brick and mortar shop with full time hours - a legit store front. So with the business ONLY going to brick and mortar shops Benchmade was able to enforce the MAP policy allowing their dealers to actually make more than a dime off of a sale and diminishing the low bottom line pricing found on fleebay. I too miss being able to buy a full size Griptilian for around $70 with shipping, however, this was reducing the amount of knives sold in physical shops.

This is sort of like how the gubmint is going to tax people that buy/sell over a certain amount of product online in order to beat around having to pay sales taxes (buy something that ships from out of state = no taxes on the purchase).

 

[Syncharmony]

Benchmade is in the business to turn a profit just as any other business and with that comes increase in base costs to build knives and maintain a work force that is of a higher then normal caliber so that we can get high quality defect free (I know there is a rare occurrence where defects slip through) knives that will last a lifetime or two so with that being said we only really have two viable options either accept the cost increase and enjoy the benchmade products you've begun to love or take your dollars and purchase from one of the many (100's if not 1000's) of other knife makers that offer a productive to your liking in a price you're more comfortable paying.

Everything in life costs more at some point and when those increases come we have to decide if the cost of the show was worth the price if admission or not and if not we just find something else that fills our needs more and not be angry about the increase just move on.

That's the thing though. Benchmade is NOT making more money with this change. The dealers still buy the knives from Benchmade for the same cost as they did before. That doesn't change. All that changes is the amount that the dealers are allowed to sell their knives to the public at. If people stop buying as many Benchmades due to this change, all it does it hurt the online dealers and make them less likely to buy future stock.

That is what is frustrating about it.

 

[silenthunterstudios]

New Graham stopped carrying Benchmade knives after this same monkey business a couple years ago. How many more dealers will follow suit? I see small dealers at shows that are selling tons of junk knives, but their Benchmades are just sitting, at MSRP. Great knives, just very expensive at a gun show. I have been to three knife shops. Of those three, one has probably been selling at MSRP long before Benchmade insituted the MAP. The other two buy in high volume and sell in high volume, with their prices a little bit higher than online. I foresee the brick and mortar stores having a harder time moving these. Did this come from brick and mortar stores? I would venture a guess that it didn't come from the small fly by nighters that set up at gun shows. Large chains like Cabelas and Bass Pro, did they push for this? Their prices are already high. How many stores will drop Benchmade because they are too expensive to keep in stock?

Benchmade is well within their right to institute this, but we as consumers are well within our rights to not buy their products. I have four Benchmades, including one made for Bradley cutlery by Benchmade, and I am good right now. Nothing in their catalog interests me right now, except for a mini Grip I wanted to get for my little brother for Christmas.

 

[bpeezer]

This is sort of like how the gubmint is going to tax people that buy/sell over a certain amount of product online in order to beat around having to pay sales taxes (buy something that ships from out of state = no taxes on the purchase).

When you do your taxes you are supposed to pay for the sales tax of every out of state purchase you made during the year, including online purchases. People rarely do that though, that's why they are trying to tax it up front. Just trying to stop people from misfiling their taxes on accident (or on purpose). I'm sorry, this is horrendously off topic

 

[Scurvy092]

Have to be careful making comparisons. These two knives are very different. There is a reason why the 940 has been consistently sought after for at least a decade I believe. Great designer, super fit and finish, nearly a 3.5" blade, axis lock, and all that at 2.9oz! It's a pocket carry dream and MADE in the USA. I'm not knocking the Domino, but it's another leaf blade in the mix of many while the 940 is absolutely unique.

Yeah but I could have the full titanium zt 0801 for 12 bucks more or the aluminum zt 0770 for 35 bucks LESS!

 

[eric_j]

Here's a question for everybody - how many of you own an Apple product? They enforce MAP at all retailers.

The Apple price enforcement is why I buy their stuff at Apple Stores. It's also why I have an iPhone but not a Mac(Book (Pro)).

 

[EDCanAdamas]

My turn to beat the remains of this dead horse one more time.

Benchmade changed their pricing rules in order to protect the uncompetitive dealers who were charging full MSRP. In their efforts to interfere with the free market (which is their business choice) Benchmade chose to hurt the successful online businesses who could afford to sell knives in large quantities for lower prices.

There is no excuse in my mind for what Benchmade did to the consumers. Most of the online dealers do operate brick and mortar business fronts in addition to their e-businesses. Needless to say, if a product is sold at a significant discount online by a company, than it is also sold at that same discount in their brick and mortar outlet too. Citing a brick and mortar storefront as a reason to charge full MSRP is nonsense. The businesses who will benefit most for these changes are the ones that were ripping you and I off in the first place.

I won't spend more money to prop up unsuccessful businesses that are charging full prices. Benchmade can punish those who succeed in order to save those who fail all they want, but I won't have any part in it. :grumpy:

 

[RetiredGuns]

Yeah but I could have the full titanium zt 0801 for 12 bucks more or the aluminum zt 0770 for 35 bucks LESS!

You certainly can and that list would go on & on. I only paid $125 for my NIB 940 and admittedly would not likely pay $178. I was only referring to the quality & uniqueness of the knife.

Let's hope when the bean counters at Benchmade come up a few beans short, they will make some adjustments. :thumbup:

 

[earthbiscuit]

This would be an awesome case study for a business student. The market will ultimately sort it out. I predict it will come full circle but at a major loss of gross profit for BM. Sure, they will still sell knives at their MAP, but not as many. The dealers may still remain profitable for a while by selling lower volumes at a higher price, but long term, volume is important in keeping costs down in manufacturing and this won't help.

 

[Rat Finkenstein]

MAP was in place for some time, years I think. This is just price fixing. MAP only applies to advertized prices, like would come up in a search or in a flyer. I wish them the worst of luck with their strategy.

 

[ginaz]

the free market economy has long been dead

 

[Gadfly22]

For those interested, here's a concise Q&A on MAP pricing:

http://www.naw.org/nawnews/news_article.php?articleid=532

 

[pbcg]

The general consensus here seems to be the reason BM changed their pricing rules was in order to protect the uncompetitive dealers who were charging full MSRP and I'm just wondering if anyone has any information from any of the dealers they've talked to about this as BM's "Statement" was completely absent of any information.

Reason I ask is what was passed on one of the authorized dealers FB page (Cutlery Shoppe) is that the new pricing policy or enforcement of MAP pricing is due to brand management, BM trying to bring up the value of the brand by raising prices to the end user.

Maybe it's both? I don't know and why I'm asking what people have heard and from where.

Although I don't think the reason really matters that much at this point because the end result is the same, we the end user pay substantially more for the same product with no improvement in quality or materials.

Just curious what people have heard.

 

[FLymon]

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.

I have to disagree in that we are not still buying the iPhone 3 for $300-500 (or whatever they were). They were replaced by the '4' (which are now free with a contract at most carriers), and then the '4S', then the '5', then the '5S'. I assume we will see the '6' replace the '5S' at the same price point the '5S' was at, only we will get more for the money. Everyone wants to sell Apple products because they are popular as heck, and the retailer knows they will not be undersold.

A BM940 is a BM940. I paid $117 way back when (2008 or 2009) and that same technology is now expected to bring $178? A 52% increase in about 5 years. It remains to be seen if Benchmade remain 'popular' at these new prices.

It's not an uncommon practice. All part of marketing and branding and building a market image -- ensuring a brand retains "value" and cachet. Rolex has been at it for decades. Retail enforcement and distribution enforcement (no gray market) have been a very successful strategy for them. People now paying WAY more than their products should truly cost. People are paying for the brand and their perception of the brand's cachet. Non-watch aficionados (to whom most watches, even expensive ones, are sold) consider Rolex "THE" luxury watch company.

Only time will tell if the strategy will be a success for BM. I believe it will be. Perhaps not on the level it has been for Rolex but a success none the less.

This is spot on, except I predict abject failure. Unless they are willing to sacrifice volume and profit to become more of a boutique knife maker.
To keep with your watch analogy, this is something akin to Seiko trying to emulate Rolex. I buy Seiko watches because I like them and I think they are a good value for a $200 +/- mass produced watch (the ones I buy). If those same watches were suddenly $300+ for no other reason than Seiko didn't like me paying $200, they could keep them.

 

[kreole]

I suspect this is an attempt to turn the Benchmade brand into what ZT is for Kai, allowing them to push out more and cheaper models through their sub-brands like Kai does with the Kershaw brand. The problem is Benchmade just priced up their existing models instead of coming out with new premium models like what happened with the ZT line