Brick-and-Mortar Sellers No More?

Halbie

Halbie

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Just wondering... Even though I live in a large city, one still with intimate ties to hunting, fishing, and outdoor activities, we have relatively few brick-and-mortar shops catering to knife enthusiasts. Of course, we also have some of the goofiest carry laws in the nation. That probably doesn't help.

But, thinking about my last dozen purchases, only one was from a local shop - and, I wasn't even looking for a knife that day. Got steered over to a Mission at one-half its normal retail. Needless to say, the guy read me right; I got a great deal and they got that last Mission out of their stock (was in perfect shape, BTW). But, how often does that happen?

The last few knives I priced were 15% - 20% more locally than the average on-line sources. Even some of the big hunting/fishing stores (Cabelas, Bass Pro) have cut back drastically on knives. In fact, the last time I was in a local Bass Pro, the knife selection was not only horribly picked over, but what they carried in general was pretty mundane, and some of it hardly useful for hunting, hiking, camping, fishing - you know, the reasons they say they're in business. I don't know about you, but a good knife is one of the first things I think of before leaving the house to do any of these activities.

Do any of you routinely shop locally for your knives? There used to be this process of looking at various knives in person, actually holding and operating them, before plopping down a couple hundred dollars or more. Of course, there is always that "Wow, I hope this thing is a good as I got myself worked up to think it is" excitement of opening a package received in the mail.
 
For good quality type knives they seem to be harder to find locally. The only place I have found some good stuff is at a couple of the gun shops in town and then their selection is not all that great but at least they still have some good stuff. People just don't seem to carry knives like they used to do when I was growing up and alot of them would not know how to sharpen it anyway. Back then you could always pick up a good knife at the lumber yard to the hardware store.
 
I noticed the same thing here years ago. The hardware stores have few knives that aren't CCC. Prices are sky-high at local sporting goods stores. And some stores have no pocketknives at all.

K-Mart used to have a few Buck knives and SAKs, and at fair prices, but lately it seems they stock nothing.
 
OK I went to a brick and mortar store this am with my kids , needing to kill some time. Figured what the heck , might find something I like at a decent price.
Instead this is what I found today...
Kershaw Tyrade... $350 !!!
Spyderco Military $320...
Spyderco Endura almost $190
Buck/Mayo TNT $335
Buck/Mayo Waimea $284
Queen Daddy Barlow : $ 270

Excuse me ??? uh , no thanks , I don't mind paying $20-30 more just to keep the $$$ local but , I can buy most of those at 40-50% off from a place like Knifeworks or 1SKS !!

Even their " on sale " stuff is still way over priced.
 
John T Wylie Jr said:
OK I went to a brick and mortar store this am with my kids , needing to kill some time. Figured what the heck , might find something I like at a decent price.
Instead this is what I found today...
Kershaw Tyrade... $350 !!!
Spyderco Military $320...
Spyderco Endura almost $190
Buck/Mayo TNT $335
Buck/Mayo Waimea $284
Queen Daddy Barlow : $ 270

Excuse me ??? uh , no thanks , I don't mind paying $20-30 more just to keep the $$$ local but , I can buy most of those at 40-50% off from a place like Knifeworks or 1SKS !!

Even their " on sale " stuff is still way over priced.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I know. There's only one place in town I go to for bargains on good knives, and they're kind-of-sort-of transitioning to on-line business. It's their HQ, and their largest retail store, so it will probably stay open to the public for a while longer. Eventually, though, I suspect they will move their bargains to an "available only on-line" approach.
 
Years ago (perhaps 20), there was an old fashioned cutlery store at a local mall. I have fond memories of my father taking me and my brother there; some of my first knives were purchased at that store. Sadly, the store is long gone. In recent years, I have looked high and low for a good brick and mortar cutlery store but have had little luck. Most of the places I checked out either had no knives, or only stocked low quality imports (I have nothing against imports in general, but when it comes to tools, I am rather picky about quality). I finally did manage to find one brick and mortar store about 20 miles from where I live, however, all the knives were priced at full retail. When you add in sales tax, the total price comes close to 110% full retail. I did manage to haggle a bit, but considering many online stores offer knives at 30-40% off retail, don't charge sales tax, and sometimes offer free shipping... well, you get the picture.

These days, I end up buying the majority of my knives online. I think I have gotten used to it, but there's just something about walking into a store and actually seeing and handling the knives that is very satisfying.
 
Along the lines of AMRaider's post, I'd like to point out that the online retailers I'm most familiar with do have brick-and-mortar stores where you can shop in person and fondle knives before buying.

But are they "local" brick-and-mortar stores? They are for many lucky people...
 
Bob W said:
Along the lines of AMRaider's post, I'd like to point out that the online retailers I'm most familiar with do have brick-and-mortar stores where you can shop in person and fondle knives before buying.

But are they "local" brick-and-mortar stores? They are for many lucky people...
Click to expand...

Yes... "fondle"... Not just handle, but "fondle". A true knife lover. :)
 
I wouldn't be surprised if shops close down. I don't see how they can stay in business if they sell knives 20-50% higher than online stores.

Examples:

Delica online: $50; in-store: $80
Civilian online: $150; in-store: $250
Mini Grip online: $55; in-store: $90
Kulgera online: $120; in-store: $200

The price gap is ridiculous. I simply can't afford to pay MSRP at an in-store B&M shop.
 
I've noticed the same thing. I can't find a knife store locally anywhere. About the only time I can fondle before buying is at the Indy 1500 Gun & Knife show. But at least there's usually a good selection!
 
I don't have any B&M knife stores that carry custom knives. And as a matter of fact, there is only one store where I live that carries knives.
 
Our bigger sports stores have knife sections---you can get a deal from time to time---limited selection.

I don't think we've had a dedicated knife store here since the late 80's--early 90's prices were high but they did have a decent selection for the time period.

If I have a serious fetish for something new--I go online first----sometimes I'll stumble upon a deal like I did today---Midway not known for good knife prices---but their clearances are decent.
 
there is a store in my city which has a very large and varied stock of knives. I go there to examine and handle the knife and then buy it online.

I don't care if they're local, they are charging ~100% markup ON TOP of MSRP. :eek:
 
I work at a b&m store that carries most of the major manufacturers--we're one of the only stores in the entire north-east to carry Benchmade gold class pieces. We usually have a piece or two by Lamonte Coombes, too. Lots of limiteds and specialty pieces, as well as hard-use examples. No cheapies either. Even straight razors. All in li'l 'ol Bar Harbor. :D

Our business continues to grow, but it may be because of the strong tourist destination. Everything at MSRP or below. We've actually seen record profits this year, believe it or not.
 
What's your market for knives? Online dealers can sell to the whole country or to the world. A local store can only sell to locals. The temptation then is to sell cheapies, since the locals aren't going to support stocking really high-end knives in any great selection. So the profit margin is too low to stay in business ...

IF the local store can sell to an augmented market -- tourists, locals, wide local area attracted by a better selection -- then you've got a business that can actually grow its own market. Having better knives to show may eventually encourage customers to see knives as something beyond throwaways.

I think that's what FortyTwoBlades has accomplished. Now if FortyTwoBlades had an internet presence, it might be able to buffer the local store with even better selection and a second income stream.
 
Hmm. A few of the Big Brands, like Dicks, Wal*Mart, Target, REI, and GOPC carry knives, although the latter two are over priced.

I mainly do my knife shopping at a gun and knife store, when I shop in town. They have good selection, and I like to browse, and fondle knives there, and can't go there without buying something, but I prefer to buy online- more selection.
 
I have no real access to storefront shopping around here -- in one of the densest, wealthiest parts of the planet. :)

But I've got Bladeforums, and I bet if I went over my last few years' purchases of knives and gear, I bought twice as much from members here as from dealers.
 
Just spent a few days in the Smokey Mountains so had to go to SMKW. Went inside and looked around a minute, then noticed the Benchmade section. Walked over and looked at the Mini Rukus just like the one I had in my pocket that I bought from New Graham. SMKW had it listed for $278, I had purchased mine for $135. Quite a difference, left after that.
 
Guess I am the lucky one, a friend of mine owns a pawn shop, he has been a Case dealer for as long as the store has been open, my friends father opened it in the 30's then my friend has it and he has always bought knives from collectors that have died and has a great collection and the new Case ones as well. They have hundreds of different ones, if not thousands to look at and fondle. My friend loved the stag Case knives and kept one of each model to himself for as long as they made them, I know he started keeping them in the early 70's. I get to look and lear, but I always need to leave bills, CC and checks in car, lest I have to have one or two. Great old store, great friend.
James,
BTW: No, I will not share.:p
 
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