Benchmade Inflation

[theyoungone]

Personally I hate to see Benchmade turn into the NorthFace of knives. Northface once they got popular and trendy, jacked up their prices while lowering their fleece quality. I don't mind spending money for quality, but I don't like spending money on a "name" and getting B level quality. I think Benchmade's move to produce knives in China under the Lonewolf brand is a bit unsettling. I hate to see a situation where the sub-$100 US made knives like the griptilian goes up in price past the $100 mark. I remember when griptilians sold for $60, but today you can still get a subpar Chinese made Benchmade for $60...oh boy.

 

[crom]

Benchmade disco'd the Chinese line. But you can probably still find some.

 

[willc]

I really hope Benchmade comes to their senses and lets dealers go back to the old coupon pricing.
There is no way I can spend 178 bucks on a 710 w/D2.
At 130 dollars it is doable and I am glad I picked up a 710 and an 810 before this started.

Right now I am at 11 Benchmades and very happy with all of them.
Can't see me getting many more unless they are off the exchange.
Who knows? Maybe Benchmade will try to enforce what we sell our knives at on the secondary market?

 

[willc]

Double tap.
Sorry.

 

[Stays Sharp]

I hope enough will vote with their wallets with me. No new BM's for me. Up to 40% price increases for the same knives overnight.

 

[skyhorse]

Lol, please don't give them any more bright ideas.

 

[Slabwax]

The new pricing is making me reconsider a couple new year purchases. I was going to buy a 520 and a Nimravus but they have both gone up around $50.00 each over night. I only have two Benchmade knifes they were to be a great way to start this game. At the new pricing it opens up a lot more options for me at the same price point.

 

[bld522]

Lol, please don't give them any more bright ideas.

I'm sure Benchmade has come up with that "bright idea" already. That's why I'm keeping a wary eye on eBay prices. So far, so good. Having said that, it might not be a bad idea to load up on the Benchmades you want right away. It's probably only a matter of time before eBay sellers wake up and smell the MAP pricing.

The new pricing is making me reconsider a couple new year purchases. I was going to buy a 520 and a Nimravus but they have both gone up around $50.00 each over night. I only have two Benchmade knifes they were to be a great way to start this game. At the new pricing it opens up a lot more options for me at the same price point.

Well said. I ALWAYS take opportunity cost into account when I consider the purchase of a new knife. The higher the price, the greater the number of alternatives that become available. If Benchmade's idea in revising its MAP pricing policy was to gain market share, I'd say it just stabbed itself in the foot. (Pun intended!)

 

[jac_solar]

Who knows? Maybe Benchmade will try to enforce what we sell our knives at on the secondary market?

I was browsing some of the Custom sites a few days ago, and started thinking about the prices of the unique, hand-made production knives - the knives that are handmade and more rare, like Direware. Have custom makers ever increased the prices of their knives in relation to the secondary market prices?

For example, if a custom maker makes a run 10 knives of a particular design and sells them for 500$, and the people who bought them sells them for 1000$ -- in the cases where the custom maker eventually makes more knives, have they ever increased the prices to better match up with the secondary market prices?

 

[sunandsteel]

Spend less or wait longer between knife purchases. Problem solved.

 

[bld522]

I'm sure Benchmade has come up with that "bright idea" already. That's why I'm keeping a wary eye on eBay prices. So far, so good.

I spoke too soon. It appears that eBay sellers have started to take advantage of Benchmade's MAP policy change and raised their prices . . . not all the way to MAP perhaps, but certainly higher than they were as little as a day ago. Benchmade has created a new "floor" sellers can stand on to make greater profits at their customers' expense. Why Benchmade did that remains to be seen, but it would be naive in my estimation to believe that it's not to put more money in their own pockets at some point. Motives notwithstanding, the bottom line is clear. Those who wish to purchase Benchmade knives would be well advised to do so before Benchmade's MAP policy change results in even greater street price increases.

 

[jac_solar]

Spend less or wait longer between knife purchases. Problem solved.

The question is, should you even support a company that does this? A large scale production knife, like those, I assume, that are made by Benchmade, probably don't cost the company much more than the materials + assembly of materials (Which probably takes a skilled worker 5-10 minutes or less.). Since they probably buy the materials in bulk, it wouldn't surprise me if the materials of their knives cost as little as 10-50$ or less. And should a production knife even cost much more than the cost of the materials and assembly? I mean, of course, there should be some profit margin, but in my opinion it shouldn't be much more than 40% above the materials + assembly cost. Is this the current cost of their knives? I don't know. I know they also have a line of knives that are much more handmade, which they, rightfully, could price much more freely than production knives - so this makes the production knife cost even more curious, if, indeed, the cost is that much higher than the materials + assembly.

If anything, their prices shouldn't go up, they should go down, if my assumptions are somewhat correct.

 

[Slabwax]

This is not about Benchmade trying to wangle a few more bucks out of us. This is about Benchmade trying to protect small B&M shops. The small shops need to make close to retail on every thing they sell, unlike the big mail order houses that are selling lots more for less. It levels the retail playing field.

 

[bld522]

This is not about Benchmade trying to wangle a few more bucks out of us. This is about Benchmade trying to protect small B&M shops. The small shops need to make close to retail on every thing they sell, unlike the big mail order houses that are selling lots more for less. It levels the retail playing field . . .

. . . or so the saying goes. As far as I'm concerned, the proof of the pudding will be whether Benchmade raises its minimum advertised prices the next time it raises its wholesale prices.

 

[Slabwax]

. . . or so the saying goes. As far as I'm concerned, the proof of the pudding will be whether Benchmade raises its minimum advertised prices the next time it raises its wholesale prices.

Why wouldn't the MAP go up in proportion to the wholesale? That's the way it works in all retail. My guess is Benchmade is responding to complaints from all the small retailers. As much as I don't like having to spend more it is the only fair thing to do for the smaller accounts. If not what is the point of a small business investing money and floor space in Benchmade product?

 

[Rat Finkenstein]

This is not about Benchmade trying to wangle a few more bucks out of us. This is about Benchmade trying to protect small B&M shops. The small shops need to make close to retail on every thing they sell, unlike the big mail order houses that are selling lots more for less. It levels the retail playing field.

nope, it is about artificially boosting their brand image and perceived value.

 

[RamZar]

Going forward all new Benchmade models will be called Map 1, Map 2, etc.

 

[fzla226]

This is not about Benchmade trying to wangle a few more bucks out of us. This is about Benchmade trying to protect small B&M shops. The small shops need to make close to retail on every thing they sell, unlike the big mail order houses that are selling lots more for less. It levels the retail playing field.

That's a failing business model. Those retailers need to expand into ecommerce or find another business.

 

[Yo Mama]

That's a failing business model. Those retailers need to expand into ecommerce or find another business.

I'd much rather pay more and go to a store, a real store, not the fancy interweb.

 

[McVeyMac]

I own 3 Benchmade knives, a mini grip, a grip and a Bone collector fixed blade. I have to say that I am not very impressed. I carry the grip every day in my weak side pocket for box opening and general cutting duties. So it does get used more than any knife I own. Both grips are CPM 154, so edge retention is pretty good. The mini grip is when I travel to cities where sheeple have length restrictions. But I would not want to be in a situation where my life depended on either of them. To be fair, I carry daily much more expensive folders strong side pocket for deployment when my life depends on it. More expensive, but much more capable as well.

In total, I am much more a fan of the Kershaw line for affordable U. S. made knives.