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Benchmade Prices
- Thread starter wwang27
- Start date
It doesn't seem so unusually "interesting" or "funny" to me. Large dealers can afford to operate at a smaller profit margin than a small dealer can. Benchmade is protecting their smaller dealers by setting a minimum selling price for their knives. "Set a maximum price above MSRP"? Why in the world would they try to prevent anyone from trying to make a little more on a product if the customer will pay for it?
It is so obvious that I feel a little silly for pointing this out, but, nobody needs a Benchmade knife and no one is forcing you to buy one. If it is too expensive don't buy it!
That makes more sense now, I didn't realize they essentially had a minimum sale price. (More on that below.)
Not sure how it stacks up with the conversion but currently at Bass Pro (which would be my only brick and mortar option):
Carbon Osborne 940 - $495
Carbon Bugout 535 - $465
Freek - $395
Mini Freek - $385
Bailout $350
Osborne 940 - $340
All of these would have an additional 13% sales tax in my province.
I certainly wouldn't say it's obvious why, but when explained that logic makes sense. Thanks for info. Nice to know they are at least looking out for the retailers at a smaller level.
First, the answer is PR. To me, and the way I ran my business, it is about fairness. Sounds fair to me that if there is going to be a floor on prices, there should be a ceiling. Otherwise you have angry customers who correctly perceive that they can well be overcharged, but not allowed to find a deal if they wish.
As for "If it is too expensive, don't buy it." I believe I covered that in my first post on this topic. I don't.
I believe that when you spend money, you cast an economic ballot. You buy products, sometimes of questionable quality, that are overpriced, then the market will mostly evolve to cover that. You buy good quality at fair prices, then the market will accommodate that. At least the market survivors will.
I do my part to assist in that and refuse to overpay for -anything-, whether or not I can afford it.
I have a friend that owns a hardware store, and from what he says stihl is like that. They have a minimum and maximum to keep dealers from getting into wars, and to prevent gouging... their prices are like benchmade as is, definitely don't need gouging. However, their's is with advertised price. Retailers have to advertise it within the min/max window, but can give discounts to regular customers etc.
In Florida we have anti-gouging laws because of the abuses that happened after hurricanes; plywood was ~$100/sheet, for example. Fairness to me is if there is a minimum that we have to pay, there should be a maximum. Otherwise, let the prices float where they will.
I wonder, though, if the minimum sales price applies to closeouts, end of year inventory adjustments, and such. I think it does.
When I ran my business I -never- let a supplier tell me what to charge. My facility was paid for and we charged about 60% of what was charged in a nearby city. I told my suppliers that once I paid for the merchandise, it was mine, not theirs. If they didn't like that, then I would buy from someone else. No hard feelings, no negotiating, no nothing but once it belongs to me, it is mine to do with as I please.
Just to be clear, Benchmade has a minimum advertised price policy. It does not set the selling price. They've had a MAP policy for well over a decade. Retailers can and do sell below MAP. Before this year Benchmade allowed online retailers to sell below MAP if a customer added the item to their cart and went to checkout. This year they stopped allowing that practice.
>>Just to be clear, Benchmade has a minimum advertised price policy. It does not set the selling price.
I figured they had a MSRP, like many manufacturers, so the buyers can pay less, which should be the retail price, and think they got a good deal.
I figured they had a MSRP, like many manufacturers, so the buyers can pay less, which should be the retail price, and think they got a good deal.
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Not the case anymore. GPknives used to not advertise prices and if you called in you could purchase for lower than MAP. They’ve since stopped doing that and I called to confirm with GPknives on the phone that Benchmade has now prevented them from selling for anything below MAP. Benchmade has now mandated dealers must sell at a certain price.
My point was that, since Benchmade sets a minimum sale price, not a suggested retail price, for the protection of its dealers, fairness calls for a maximum sale price for the protection of its customers.
After all, if it weren't for the customers, BM would not exist.
After all, if it weren't for the customers, BM would not exist.
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I'd never accuse myself of being a "Benchmade guy," but I've acquired a dozen or so over the years. I've paid MAP for exactly one (Cruwear Mini Adamas - $212.50 in 2021). Generally, I really enjoy all the BMs that I own.. they are well made knives with solid designs, as they d@mn well better be for the prices Benchmade expects people to pay for them.
The BM 710-25 was easily my most carried knife this summer. I love it. Design, action, f&f.. all perfect. Absolutely love it. I paid $300 for it BNIB from a "rule-breaking" retailer and still feel I overpaid. For the life of me, I can't jiggle my little pea-brain hard enough to fathom where BM adds an additional $150 to the cost. As much as I enjoy the 710-25, it simply does not compete with other manufacturers value-wise in the $450 realm.. competitors are putting out knives with comparable materials and machining, charging significantly less money. Anyway.. did I mention how much I love the 710? It's a strange thing, being all-at-once completely enamored with a knife, yet hard-pressed to recommend it to anyone.. thus is the curse of Benchmade pricing in 2025, imo..
I understand MAP in theory, and I understand going after retailers for advertising below MAP, but Benchmade policing dealers to levels beyond that really turns me off. If there are no retailers willing (or able) to offer BMs at prices grounded more firmly in reality, I do not foresee many more in my future.. too many more compelling options elsewhere these days..
The BM 710-25 was easily my most carried knife this summer. I love it. Design, action, f&f.. all perfect. Absolutely love it. I paid $300 for it BNIB from a "rule-breaking" retailer and still feel I overpaid. For the life of me, I can't jiggle my little pea-brain hard enough to fathom where BM adds an additional $150 to the cost. As much as I enjoy the 710-25, it simply does not compete with other manufacturers value-wise in the $450 realm.. competitors are putting out knives with comparable materials and machining, charging significantly less money. Anyway.. did I mention how much I love the 710? It's a strange thing, being all-at-once completely enamored with a knife, yet hard-pressed to recommend it to anyone.. thus is the curse of Benchmade pricing in 2025, imo..
I understand MAP in theory, and I understand going after retailers for advertising below MAP, but Benchmade policing dealers to levels beyond that really turns me off. If there are no retailers willing (or able) to offer BMs at prices grounded more firmly in reality, I do not foresee many more in my future.. too many more compelling options elsewhere these days..
Blue Sky
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This crosses a line IMO. I suddenly have no interest in Benchmade. They won’t care, but I do.
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I believe a large driver of their policies on pricing are to maintain a perceived brand image. Can’t be high end cutlery without high end pricing. Many luxury brands adopt this same strategy. It’s already been proven their main US competition can produce knives with similar materials, machine time etc for sometimes almost half the retail price.
They want to be a lifestyle brand. They have far reach into brick and mortar and chain stores with large elaborate backlit displays. They want to be situated next to the Sitka hunting clothing, Sage fly fishing gear and their kitchen knives with the Williams Sonoma Land Cruiser driving crowd.
They want to be a lifestyle brand. They have far reach into brick and mortar and chain stores with large elaborate backlit displays. They want to be situated next to the Sitka hunting clothing, Sage fly fishing gear and their kitchen knives with the Williams Sonoma Land Cruiser driving crowd.
Agreed. It's to "keep things fair" but in reality, they don't want their product devalued.
lambertiana
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This. The trouble is that they have priced people like me out of the market.
It certainly looks that way. But for those of us who use our knives, the value is intrinsic in the product and not a function of the price tag. If price was tied to quality, then there is no way to explain Spyderco, Hogue, and Protech. Years ago, Black and Decker and Stanley meant quality. Now, they are just brands coasting on the perception of quality that once was. No matter how much they charge, the quality is no longer there.
I can't say whether BM quality has fallen lately. What I can say, though, is that their prices have become increasingly hard to defend and impossible for me to justify. I can afford some of them, but it simply is not worth it. Yesterday I got an email from Benchmade proclaiming the virtues of the Bailout. With the email link was a page where I could customize one. The first price, the base price, on the page was $450. The glass breaker tip was optional; I did not price it. Raise your hands, class, if you think the Bailout is worth $450 plus options.
Many will think, "If you don't think it is worth it, then don't buy it." Some may say it, or would say it if I didn't mention this. My reply is simple" I don't and I won't.
Damasteel or not, $450 for a Bailout is serious coin. At the end of the day, it is still a Bailout.
I could put a Rolls Royce engine in a Yugo, but it's still a Yugo.
I am not, NOT knocking the Bailout. I have 2 of them and one is in my pocket right now. I -really- like them, but they are simply not worth the asking price considering the cost of materials, labor, profit, and ROI.
I could put a Rolls Royce engine in a Yugo, but it's still a Yugo.
I am not, NOT knocking the Bailout. I have 2 of them and one is in my pocket right now. I -really- like them, but they are simply not worth the asking price considering the cost of materials, labor, profit, and ROI.