Benchmade pricing seems to have changed

[kreole]

Actually had a dozen huge corporations in mind when I wrote my last post.
Benchmade isn't big or small enough to take a major hit and survive. This is well thought through. I stand by this.:thumbup:

A company as large as Benchmade doesn't make decisions like this to loose money. This won't be their undoing. I can imagine a few years in the future record profits for them.

These are large jumps to make. Spyderco in the 1990s brought in new management and restructured to make more money, and it almost ended the company according to Sal Glesser. This change comes as Benchmade has undergone restructuring.

 

[ToolDiva]

Elisabeth, with your post it would be easy to think you do work for the company. If they DO send you a check and/or freebie it's well deserved for what you said.

Regarding collecting these things; I am clearly defined as an enthusiast; maybe worse than that.

Having owned most of the items in catalogs going back nearly seven years, which feels like years, I might be slowing down a little. Having traded off, then bought and traded back and forth to feel complete, my collection is mor of Benchmade's history than anything else. I actually DID buy another knife. With the able help of a good friend there should be a new Volli at my door this Monday and it will be the first purchase this year.

I hope we are blassed to have a lady amongst us as a fellow enthusiast. Please feel welcome, aside from the emotes as expressed this last two weeks right here, this is a good place to visit and hope it stays that way.

Cheers!

Joe

Thank you for making me feel welcome. A passionate exchange of opinions is fun. Even the most spirited of posts are great, as long as we can all stay I the spirit of treating each other with respect.

Elisabeth

 

[L2bravo]

How did I "almost allude" to working for Benchmade or pretend to have all these inside loops?

Elisabeth

I think I have more than made my point Liz. I am also pretty sure, (judging by other reponses) that I am not the only person who reached this idea.

 

[ToolDiva]

I think I have more than made my point Liz. I am also pretty sure, (judging by other reponses) that I am not the only person who reached this idea.

If there was any confusion I caused, I think I nipped that in the bud shortly after my first post. Others may have reached that idea after my first post, but for whatever reason, you have chosen to cling to it. If you're going to call me out on somehow trying to deceive or trick people, then help me understand the specifics. I'd like to know when I'm being a deceptress. Otherwise, can we agree to let it go?

 

[RevDevil]

Discussion of the topic and not one another is recommended.

 

[L2bravo]

Enron was sleazy from the get go. A good example would be GM, I don't think they ever intended to do anything other than build cars and make money, but they badly misjudged the market and went tango uniform.

Good point! LOl, being in Houston, there were tons of people out of work over night, and penniless to boot, having been victims to predatory business practices. Bad analogy on my part there. GM would be a much better example. Ford on the other hand said a big "no thank you idiots", to big gubmint, and toughed it out, and came out stronger for having done so in the end. That is exactly my point! EVERYBODY makes mistakes in business. Having the ability to see them, followed cloesely by the agility to repair them is what will make a company crash, or thrive.

@Southern, please elaborate on what is well thought through. That they are going to to be so much better for having raised prices 20% overnight, without having offered anything more for the $$$ spent? If that is the thought here, please give me a working business model that clearly shows how that has worked.

One of the things that I don't think has been covered here, is the fact of the consumer, ie. us. We live in a world, that NEVER in history, has the consumer been so informed, or at least had the opportunity to be. We have the internet, and access like never before. We have places like this, to rely upon our brothers and sister for real time info. What do I mean by this? If a product is crap, we will all know, like yesterday! If somebody is great to deal with...same deal. We have the ability to be educated in our decisions, like never before.

How does all of that play? Well, we will see. It appears at least for the time being, that BM has no intent to filter down some type of info, explaining their stance. Do I love their products? Yes Liz I do! Am I mad about it? Yes Liz I am. Why? Well, I am a brand loyal kind of consumer. When I find a product that I like, I stick with that, and support that company. It would seem that at least for now, that might have been a mistake on my part. We will have to wait and see. I have more than the means to buy their knives at the new prices. I am very fortunate in the regard, no doubt. However, that doesn't mean that I am careless with that ability. If company S for example is offering an equal product for a lesser price.....it will at least make me think about it.

Let's all hope that this is just a temporary thing, and that maybe it pans out. Until then, let's all have a great Christmas, and enjoy the many things we have. Family most likely being at the top of the list....It sure is in my case.

 

[djdawg]

To me and what I have read ...........BM has not raised there prices. Dealers still pay the same for the product.
They just cant OPENLY sell (advertise) there selling price like they have been.
Am I missing something here ???

 

[skyhorse]

These are large jumps to make. Spyderco in the 1990s brought in new management and restructured to make more money, and it almost ended the company according to Sal Glesser. This change comes as Benchmade has undergone restructuring.

Agreed,imho someone in upper management has made a huge miscalculation.

 

[ecks]

There are many brands price fixed and rarely on sale like North Face Jackets. Retailers get around this by offering 20 dollar gift cards with the purchase of said jacket. Knife works started free shipping on BM's when the code was removed. If dealers are still paying the same for the knives then they should offer up incentives to the buyers such as gift cards and free shipping. If they don't then they are pocketing all of the extra money we pay for the knife.

 

[southernknives]

@Southern, please elaborate on what is well thought through. That they are going to to be so much better for having raised prices 20% overnight, without having offered anything more for the $$$ spent? If that is the thought here, please give me a working business model that clearly shows how that has worked.

You answered your own question. They wont loose 20% of their net sales. If they did, they would still break even. Most people buy Benchmades in B&M stores and never heard of bladeforums.

I have a completely different business, but after upping my retainer fees 1000% last year, I have more business than ever. Can't keep up the more people I hire the more business I get. I had to turn a guy down wanting to pay 24K a month for 10 months because I don't have the time for him. I got way off course, but like you said hide and wait. BM isn't going anywhere.

And like I always tell everyone when they get to emotional about anything, calm down we will all be dead in 100 years.

 

[southernknives]

Welcome ToolDiva, not sure you recieved a warm welcome.

 

[Skimo]

To me and what I have read ...........BM has not raised there prices. Dealers still pay the same for the product.
They just cant OPENLY sell (advertise) there selling price like they have been.
Am I missing something here ???

Yeah, MAP hasn't changed, but no more discount coupons.

 

[L2bravo]

@Southern, please elaborate on what is well thought through. That they are going to to be so much better for having raised prices 20% overnight, without having offered anything more for the $$$ spent? If that is the thought here, please give me a working business model that clearly shows how that has worked.

You answered your own question. They wont loose 20% of their net sales. If they did, they would still break even. Most people buy Benchmades in B&M stores and never heard of bladeforums.

I have a completely different business, but after upping my retainer fees 1000% last year, I have more business than ever. Can't keep up the more people I hire the more business I get. I had to turn a guy down wanting to pay 24K a month for 10 months because I don't have the time for him. I got way off course, but like you said hide and wait. BM isn't going anywhere.

And like I always tell everyone when they get to emotional about anything, calm down we will all be dead in 100 years.

That is great to hear for your business! That does sometimes work! I own a smaller company, and we build high end parts. Value is there, quality is there, and that is and always has been percieved by our customers. That said, here is the tricky part of your point. Percieved value, and actual value are not always the same. If a customer has a pereption that something is "top shelf" to speak, then the product can command the asking price. But...that said, once something has been entrenched, to be a certain price, for a certain product, that is nearly impossible to alter. Not without consequence anyway. As for the 20% loss/gain, I don't think their losses will stop 20%. I would bet places like KW, will lose more than that.

Yet another business model, is one that I followed a few years ago. I cut down the low end work we were doing, and only kept 60% of the load, but I concentrated on high end work. In other words, work less, make more. If BM were to say, "guys, we went up, but as a consolation prize, we are now able to offer more knives like that of the AFKC family, and some of the awesomeness of days gone by", then I think they would be onto the right track. In fact, I think they would do great!

Here is a very novel thought. We could both be right here. LOL. There is no one definitive business model that works. It's just not that simple, as I am sure we all know. If there were, the statistics would not be 95% of business being gone in the first year. Do I think BM is going out of business? No, surely not. We will just have to wait this one out. Have a great Christmas!

 

[monster]

I visit my local sporting goods and gun shops quite a bit, probably more than I should. I have been a fan/purchaser of Benchmade knives for years and look through my local stores inventory every time I visit to see and hold the models I'm interested in prior to purchase. I have seen the following more times than I can remember when I have visited these stores,

- people flicking open the blades with more force than necessary
- people shave hair from their arms
- actual employees playing with using and even drop BM knives then return them to the display case

These are just a few of the odd things I have seen and after seeing these things I have come to the conclusion that an online purchase is the way I'd rather go to try to avoid buying a knife that has been subjected to the above acts. I will continue to monitor my local shops to see if Benchmades knives begin to sell more frequently but I don't see myself purchasing a blade from a brick & mortar store knowing what I know and seeing what I have seen and especially given the new prices.

It's a Christmas bummer for sure.

 

[southernknives]

That is great to hear for your business! That does sometimes work! I own a smaller company, and we build high end parts. Value is there, quality is there, and that is and always has been percieved by our customers. That said, here is the tricky part of your point. Percieved value, and actual value are not always the same. If a customer has a pereption that something is "top shelf" to speak, then the product can command the asking price. But...that said, once something has been entrenched, to be a certain price, for a certain product, that is nearly impossible to alter. Not without consequence anyway. As for the 20% loss/gain, I don't think their losses will stop 20%. I would bet places like KW, will lose more than that.

Yet another business model, is one that I followed a few years ago. I cut down the low end work we were doing, and only kept 60% of the load, but I concentrated on high end work. In other words, work less, make more. If BM were to say, "guys, we went up, but as a consolation prize, we are now able to offer more knives like that of the AFKC family, and some of the awesomeness of days gone by", then I think they would be onto the right track. In fact, I think they would do great!

Here is a very novel thought. We could both be right here. LOL. There is no one definitive business model that works. It's just not that simple, as I am sure we all know. If there were, the statistics would not be 95% of business being gone in the first year. Do I think BM is going out of business? No, surely not. We will just have to wait this one out. Have a great Christmas!

Your definitely right about actual and perceived value. After a few weeks go by and someone is at a B&M store looking at a Benchmade knives and finds one he wants, but like most of us jump on our phones and find the B&M price the same as the internet price. He will likely bite and buy it. (As long as the customers aren't shaving with it) Who knows? Only God. Have a great Christmas too! That goes for everyone reading this! Later guys family time.

 

[Cursum Perficio]

I have 7 Benchmade folders and really like them. The prices I paid for them was reasonably fair I thought.
Now the others I wanted just seem a bit too expensive. I don't see myself buying another Benchmade for quite a while.

 

[skyhorse]

If you were Santa in this train wreck of an economy would you load the sleigh with $85 mini grips or something like this http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1135692-Nitecore-P16-Precise-Series-LED-Flashlight-960-Lumens-59-95 . Lol, what would Santa do?

 

[N8N]

Thank you for making me feel welcome. A passionate exchange of opinions is fun. Even the most spirited of posts are great, as long as we can all stay I the spirit of treating each other with respect.

Elisabeth

Agreed! How about an intro, let us know how you ended up in this little corner of the world?

 

[rajincagin]

1. Your number of posts (or anybody's for that matter) come into play, in the fact of having some credibility, and being known. Do you go to any other place, and start acting like you are above and beyond everybody else? Didn't think so.

This a good ol boys club and we don take kindly to strangers coming in here and making sense, ESPECIALLY a woman

2. I took the stance of educating you on economics, because you seem to fall short of the mark, when it comes to understanding how a free market actually works. You see Liz, I am not only one of those guys who has some education in that arena, but I also have owned and ran businesses. Real world practical experiences will carry one a long way, when it comes time understand cause and effect.

And Benchmade has NO credibility when it comes to the marketplace, economics or running a business.

 

[Redmasta]

Pretty much everything that can be said has been. The discounts that were available and made Benchmades a good value are gone. I honestly hope they raise the prices to dealers and invest in increasing the quality to match their MAP prices. Mainly I hope to see a major improvement to the edge they put on their knives.

I really do like Benchmade, the Axis lock is fantastic, good designs, and they use quality materials; but the edge on nearly every Benchmade Ive received has been abysmal compared to other makers. Its rough with uneven bevels and angles which not only looks bad but also makes it a pain to maintain on my Sharpmaker unless it's reprofiled. This unacceptable, especially at the new non discounted prices.

I will probably continue to buy Benchmade in the future, but I will not be a happy camper if I pay full price and the quality is not there to match. I expect better of them.