BM going direct dealer only?

Bayoublaster said:
Has this affected your prices?
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Not for us, since everything is priced at MSRP. We will and do sell at less to people who ask, but since we're only open half of the year in Bar Harbor (HEAVY tourist traffic) we get plenty of people who are more than happy to spend full price. I'm just the assistant manager of the knife end of the business so I don't determine our pricing. That being said, if someone has the balls to ask, who are we to say no as long as we make something on it? We can always order another.;)

What it has affected is our payment terms. Our distributor normally gives us a couple of months to pay the full balance of our huge SHOT show order, while Benchmade only gave us a couple of weeks. Since we're only open half the year we always make a huge order to begin our season and then restock as need be (usually once a week!) so the change in terms kind of sucks for us.
 
I don't see why a customer should care. Let the businessmen sort out their dealings with each other. The good ones will do OK even if it means doing without BM to sell.

If Benchmade is going to end up in stores and at dealers I don't generally patronize, the knives will be effectively unavailable to me. No disrespect meant to the company, but BM doesn't attract me the way others do, so I have not got many of their knives, and I don't follow their new models, anyway.

I just don't understand why people seem so offended by a company trying to simplify their business model.
 
For people who are attracted to BMs, this reduces the number of possible places to purchase them, which may mean not being able to get them at stores they patronize, such as NGK. It is a loss of available choices. The customers feel that they, and their preferred retailers, did nothing wrong, yet have to deal with a perceived negative reaction from BM. It is a subjective matter, and some people are saying they don't like it. I think a customer cares about where they get their product, the service they receive, the prices they pay, and the freedom to change their mind and take another route. It is a competitive market, imo BM doesn't have a whole lot of wiggle room with so many good knives out there.
 
Knifeworks will definitely continue to stock Benchmade, they have a good relationship judging from all the exclusives they get.
 
Esav Benyamin said:
I don't see why a customer should care. Let the businessmen sort out their dealings with each other. The good ones will do OK even if it means doing without BM to sell.

If Benchmade is going to end up in stores and at dealers I don't generally patronize, the knives will be effectively unavailable to me. No disrespect meant to the company, but BM doesn't attract me the way others do, so I have not got many of their knives, and I don't follow their new models, anyway.

I just don't understand why people seem so offended by a company trying to simplify their business model.
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Take for example, I love Spyderco knives. I collect them, I follow them, I participate in their subforum. If Spyderco decided to "simplify" their business and start doing what BM is doing, I would no longer have access to their knives. This would make me a wee bit upset. :)

edit: hardheart beat me to the punch. :)

I would guess that most of the complaints would have roots in the Benchmade fan base.
 
Esav Benyamin said:
I don't see why a customer should care. Let the businessmen sort out their dealings with each other. The good ones will do OK even if it means doing without BM to sell.

If Benchmade is going to end up in stores and at dealers I don't generally patronize, the knives will be effectively unavailable to me. No disrespect meant to the company, but BM doesn't attract me the way others do, so I have not got many of their knives, and I don't follow their new models, anyway.

I just don't understand why people seem so offended by a company trying to simplify their business model.
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If it was Spyderco (or Kershaw or Insert favorite knife Company)instead of Benchmade, would you feel the same way?
 
mongomondo said:
Knifeworks will definitely continue to stock Benchmade, they have a good relationship judging from all the exclusives they get.
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Yeah they are a Premium benchmade dealer, i just ordered from them today.
 
Josh K said:
Take for example, I love Spyderco knives. I collect them, I follow them, I participate in their subforum. If Spyderco decided to "simplify" their business and start doing what BM is doing, I would no longer have access to their knives. This would make me a wee bit upset. :)

edit: hardheart beat me to the punch. :)

I would guess that most of the complaints would have roots in the Benchmade fan base.
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It's just a guess on my part, but I'd say a lot of this carrying on is being done by people that don't buy Benchmades. They just enjoy bashing the company.
 
mongomondo said:
Knifeworks will definitely continue to stock Benchmade, they have a good relationship judging from all the exclusives they get.
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+1

Knifeworks has an excellent selection and at prices that prove all this gloom and doom about outrageous prices for Benchmades is just BS.
 
Para Power said:
+1

Knifeworks has an excellent selection and at prices that prove all this gloom and doom about outrageous prices for Benchmades is just BS.
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I don't think that new Benchmade policy is in effect yet. So you don't know what knifeworks prices will be.
 
Para Power said:
It's just a guess on my part, but I'd say a lot of this carrying on is being done by people that don't buy Benchmades. They just enjoy bashing the company.
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Para Power said:
+1

Knifeworks has an excellent selection and at prices that prove all this gloom and doom about outrageous prices for Benchmades is just BS.
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I don't think it's so much prices as policy. Sure you can still find the knives for a good price, but as mentioned above, if they're starting to level the playing field and start cutting people out who can't afford to carry massive amounts of inventory, it's bad form.
 
stormyone said:
I don't think that new Benchmade policy is in effect yet. So you don't know what knifeworks prices will be.
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Well, unless you can predict the future, you don't know what prices will be either. Don't let that discourage you from predicting gloom and doom, though.

BTW, I seem to remember Benchmade saying on their forum that they quit shipping to distributors as of Jan. 1. So if I'm right, the policy is in effect.
 
Para Power said:
Well, unless you can predict the future, you don't know what prices will be either. Don't let that discourage you from predicting gloom and doom, though.

BTW, I seem to remember Benchmade saying on their forum that they quit shipping to distributors as of Jan. 1. So if I'm right, the policy is in effect.
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It may be "in effect" but there still may be some inventory laying around that hasn't been sold. So the effects of the new policy might not be felt yet.
 
Josh K said:
I don't think it's so much prices as policy. Sure you can still find the knives for a good price, but as mentioned above, if they're starting to level the playing field and start cutting people out who can't afford to carry massive amounts of inventory, it's bad form.
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Your idea of "Bad form" is called Capitalism.
 
Absintheur said:
My opinion?

deadhorsebm.jpg
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Oh, come on. If dead horses were banned, this whole forum would go under in less than a week!
 
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