Benchmade pricing seems to have changed

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harris2 said:
This post is going to cause quite a stir, so let me preface it with why I continue to view this thread - I know of at least two individuals who have questioned this ;). I continue to return to this thread, as I am sure most of you do hoping to see an official statement posted by benchmade. Why, curiosity - it is a fundamental asset inbred into humans.

Now, my question for all of you. If/when Benchmade provides us with a statement that may or may not contain the reason for such a drastic price increase will you feel better. Will it affect your decision to either buy, or not buy future Benchmade knives? Remember, the increased price will remain just as it was before the statement, nothing will have changed other than a statement provided by Benchmade that will only incite further debate and frustration.

The only thing that will cause Benchmade to rescind the new price increase will be reduced sales in the future. Therefore, you must decide now if the new price increase is too much for the Benchmade knives you want, and if it is, you can purchase from another knife manufacture that will give you the price to feature/quality ratio you desire. Speaking for myself, only if Benchmade improves their quality control so that I don't receive knives that have uncentered blades, uneven edge grinds, etc. will I continue to purchase Benchmade knives at the higher price.

Please excuse me while I put my flame retardant suit on. :)
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I think you can put your flame retardant suit back in the closet. Since our friends at KnifeWorks have now discontinued their 'BR549' policy, the flame has officially gone out. Offering free shipping is a nice touch, but Benchmade's now infamous silent edict is going to hurt theirs and everyone else's bottom line.

If you really want to offend and alienate a committed customer base by starting rumors of change, and then, nearly two weeks later offer nothing in terms of a straight explanation asked for by many - and considering Christmas is only a couple of weeks away the folks up in Oregon City have signed their own warrant.

In light of this, and in a less than silent response; I flat out refuse to spend any of my hard-earned money on their products. Unless there's a very timely apology and reversal of this 'leveling out' tactic, which is very unlikely, their (who do you mean?) stunning silence clearly says where they're at, and that, my friends, is the biggest mistake anyone in a recently successful business could make.

Way to Go Benchmade. :rolleyes:
 
JNewell said:
I wonder if Benchmade will close this forum...? :rolleyes: :thumbdn:
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I've been wondering the same thing,they should be grateful to have a forum here. NO COST to them btw, only required to have a company rep moderator to interact with their forum. Their lack of presence here speaks louder than words imho.
 
KW may have pulled their code, but I see another site still has the 25% code? Or maybe they just started using it?

Either way, for you Christmas shoppers, this may be a good time to still make your purchases.
 
skyhorse said:
I've been wondering the same thing,they should be grateful to have a forum here. NO COST to them btw, only required to have a company rep moderator to interact with their forum. Their lack of presence here speaks louder than words imho.
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Back several years ago there was a Benchmade Forum here. It got closed - I don't remember why any more. It used to be available in the archives section, but it seems to have disappeared. :(
 
jkarp_53 said:
If you really want to offend and alienate a committed customer base by starting rumors of change, and then, nearly two weeks later offer nothing in terms of a straight explanation asked for by many - and considering Christmas is only a couple of weeks away the folks up in Oregon City have signed their own warrant.
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Yep, not a smart move on their part.

In light of this, and in a less than silent response; I flat out refuse to spend any of my hard-earned money on their products. Unless there's a very timely apology and reversal of this 'leveling out' tactic, which is very unlikely, their (who do you mean?) stunning silence clearly says where they're at, and that, my friends, is the biggest mistake anyone in a recently successful business could make.
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you can always buy used. That way you get the knife, but Benchmade doesn't make any money off of you. What really stinks is they just released through Roger the Contego with the blade I want (argh!!). I can see myself buying exclusives like this that have never been discounted, but regular production? Those will be used or not at all. And Benchmade is all I own! Spyderco just doesn't have enough ambidextrous knives to draw me in. After getting a Manix2 XL, it may very well mean the end of my knife buying.
 
Here's an irony - I will bet you cash money that B&Ms that currently offer discounts will completely ignore the new Benchmade diktat.
 
I love Benchmade. My first "real" knife was a BM 940: Our father took my brother (who isn't around anymore) and I to a knife shop many years ago; I emerged with a partially-serrated black-bladed 940 (because I was younger and thought it looked cool), and my brother came out with the more sensible satin plain-edged version.
Since that time I've had a good amount of experience in customer service, and one thing I learned is that people are usually more patient and forgiving if they understand why something undesirable is happening, like a long wait. "My apologies, it looks like it's going to take another 20-30 minutes" tends to simply aggravate people a lot more than, say: "My apologies, it looks like it's going to take another 20-30 minutes because our Assistant Manager has just suffered a mild heart attack."

I am of course assuming there is a legitimate reason or reason(s) behind Benchmade's price increase (or rescinding of discounts), which I'm also assuming will be explained to their most loyal customers, soon. Personally it's a bummer because I wanted to pick up a second 940, but I'm not sure I can swing ~$180 for it.
 
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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
 
There is a huge assumption that BM didn't anticipate people being pissed, and that they believe they can weather the displeasure.
 
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
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Why have all the large online retailers raised their prices in the past two weeks?
 
I swear some of you guys need to get out more. There are plenty of options out there for quality knives and if a certain company ( a company that knows the business) makes a change you don't like then move on. There are plenty of Asian manufactured knives north of 200 bucks that might better suit your philosophies. I might not be buying Benchmades with the reckless abandon that I once did but I'm not gonna boycott them for looking out for their business.
 
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
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No, YOUR prices have not changed. But our costs have gone up....

Seriously, don't play semantics. When you force a dealer to do away with discounts it changes the pricing structure for people who buy your product using that discount. Word games notwithstanding.
 
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
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So it's the retailers choosing not to use discount codes? Makes perfect sense at this time of year when so many companies rely on the holidays for their yearly profits.
 
SaintlyBrees said:
No, YOUR prices have not changed. But our costs have gone up....

Seriously, don't play semantics. When you force a dealer to do away with discounts it changes the pricing structure for people who buy your product using that discount. Word games notwithstanding.
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Spot on. I don't deal with their products since using they insist I send my knife to them to replace a faulty spring....BUT they are flat out playing politics and word games at this point and have lost all credibility in my eyes. If they put their man pants on and said "ya, we are doing it, we need to" that's one thing. Treating all of us like we are dumb.... Stop buying their stuff, KAI has some really nice knives ;)
 
JNewell said:
Here's an irony - I will bet you cash money that B&Ms that currently offer discounts will completely ignore the new Benchmade diktat.
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All Benchmade dealers are required to have a B&M storefront. The difference is that the B&M stores with an internet site as well tend to offer the discounts to move volume. B&M-only stores, I've found, tend to only sell at MSRP, and thus are not competitive.

jeffwithaj said:
I swear some of you guys need to get out more. There are plenty of options out there for quality knives and if a certain company ( a company that knows the business) makes a change you don't like then move on. There are plenty of Asian manufactured knives north of 200 bucks that might better suit your philosophies. I might not be buying Benchmades with the reckless abandon that I once did but I'm not gonna boycott them for looking out for their business.
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There aren't so many options for us lefties, though. The Axis lock has made knives fully ambidextrous, and with the exception of the ball bearing lock that Spyderco has on... what... two models, what else is there for us southpaws? No, simply drilling holes on the left scale does not make a lefty-friendly knife. I'm talking fully ambidextrous.
I've yet to get the hang of a right-handed liner/frame lock. I simply can't do it without coming close to shedding blood or getting really frustrated. The Manix2 XL is now on my list since there's a $50 price difference between it and the Rift that I would like to replace. At the Rift's previous realistic selling price, the Rift was definitely worth the extra $20, but $50 more for 154CM and G10 over s30v and G10?
 
SaintlyBrees said:
No, YOUR prices have not changed. But our costs have gone up....

Seriously, don't play semantics. When you force a dealer to do away with discounts it changes the pricing structure for people who buy your product using that discount. Word games notwithstanding.
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I totally agree with your post and being you recently purchased a BM Gold Line knife speaks loudly for BM's best customers. This thread is in no way shape or form to be assumed as some sort of brand bashing thing,for we are Benchmade Customers and fans. As one poster stated brick and mortar dealers often discount their merchandise face to face with a customer and Benchmade is none the wiser,so if the( cum by ya ) level the playing field is Benchmade's justifacaion for price fixing it's all Bravo Sierra imho.




B
 
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