Brick-and-Mortar Sellers No More?

I will give a little perspective from the other side of the fence even though I'm not a commercial retailer of anything.

B&M store have huge overhead that has to be paid, especially if they are in a large shopping mall. Rent or mortgage, heat, hydro, water etc all take a piece of the pie. Online retailers on the otherhand can be ran from someones house where all those expenses are already taken care of rather than being and additional expense.

I will take a rough guestimate and say that for every 20-30 knife fondlers that walk thru the door, the retailer probably sells one or 2 knives. Most likely 50% of the other fondlers that walked thru the door never had any intention of buying a knife and were there just to get a feel for the knife before they went home and ordered it online for less. The other 50% for one reason or another didn't buy (prices too high, can't afford to drop the cash this month, kids need braces, already has 48 knives at home and the wife would kill him if he brought home another, etc.) This situation as well as less people in general buying/carrying a knife exacerbates the problem.

This is most likely not the way it started. I'd guess in the beginning, the retailer was losing a few sales to online retailers when the retailer's knives were at MSRP. Eventually he was losing more and more sales to online retailers and was selling less and less knives. Less volume of sales thru his shop meant he had to make more profit from each knife he sold in order to keep the doors open and pay his bills. That in turn resulted in less sales and having to bump the price up more. Sad to see but eventually he will have no choice but to close his doors.

Don't get me wrong, I too like to save money where I can and I've bought a knife or 2 online as well. I guess in the case of knives, it's an evolution of the internet but it also applies to many things we buy. Cheap imports from China kill the manufacturing sector here because no one wants to pay the price that North American manufacturers need to charge for a comparable machine and no one in North America wants to work for 2 dollars a day so that the N.A. manufacturer can sell at a comparable price. The only solution I can see to that problem is to either quit exporting our resources (iron ore, scrap metal, etc.) or shut down the border to stop the cheap imports from coming here.

Its all a vicious circle. Is there a way to fix the B&M store problem? No easy one that I can see. Thats my opinion on the topic anyway, take it for what its worth or look online for a cheaper one ;)

Brad,
www.AndersonKnives.ca
 
I know of two brick and mortars that specifically deal in knives. One is in Frederick, MD. The other is in Lancaster, PA. Edgeworks in Frederick and Country Knives in Lancaster. Both are MSRP or above, Edgeworks has special editions, CK has discontinued models. Other than that, I have been to Bass Pro Shops near BWI in MD, a Gander Mountain in York, PA, assorted Dicks Sporting Goods, and assorted Walmarts. Selection has gone downhill dramatically at Gander Mountain, the Walmarts and the Dicks sporting Goods. Bass Pro Shops has some great knives, but prices higher than the Net. I have heard that there is a store in Baltimores Inner Harbor, but have never been. There are a few assorted flea markets in the area, with some dealers who carry good knives. One guy I know sets up at a flea market outside Lancaster called Roots. Another sets up at a flea market on North Point BLVD in Baltimore. One guy sells mainly junk, but has Kershaw off on the side, at a flea market in York called Morningstar. He is hit or miss, always getting busted for selling el cheapo autos to undercover cops. There is a store in DE, called Willeys Knives, I wanted to check out. There is also a place called Stubby Gear in York, within walking distance of Morningstar flea market. Sometimes his prices are good, sometimes they are downright bad. One indoor range outside of Belair MD, sells Chinese Schrades. One indoor range closer to me, Freedom Armory, has a few Benchmades, mainly Kershaw and CRKT. Have Microtech and Lone Wolf autos on consignment right now. A few Ace and True Value hardware stores have some good knives, mainly SAK's, and mainly expensive as all outdoors. I've seen some of the local Home Depots carrying SOG and Buck knives, along with Leathermans. Seen some good knives at a few local pawn shops, but nowhere near worth what they were asking for them. Westminster Gun and Pawn about ten minutes south of Westminster MD has some neat customs from time to time. Tractor Supply Company has some Chinese Schrades, but I have seen some yellow handled slipjoints, unsure of the brand, but I believe they are a clothing brand, contracted by either Boker or Queen.



I'm flat broke right now, but have traded with several of these places.
 
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silenthunterstudios said:
but I have seen some yellow handled slipjoints, unsure of the brand, but I believe they are a clothing brand, contracted by either Boker or Queen.

I'm flat broke right now, but have traded with several of these places.
Click to expand...

Boker has a line of Cinch knives. Are those the ones?

With all those stores, no wonder you're broke! :p
 
I remember when I got into higher end knives and going to this same B&M store... well here it is almost 7 years later , and they still have the EXACT same knives ( old BM Elishewitz collabs ) still there in the case.
So how can they expect to make $$$ if they sit on the same knives for 7 years + ?

Rather than take an arm and a leg from 1 person , if they just went for a few fingers or a wrist , they would have more repeat customers :)

Online or the forum selling areas is where I buy my knives ( customs I buy from the maker 75% of the time ).
 
This is the case for all products basically. I used to buy DVDs are insane prices from Borders thinking it was normal to pay $20-30 for a regular movie. Now I get them for $7-12 on Amazon and I don't pay tax either.
 
Teknition wrote:
"... Less volume of sales thru his shop meant he had to make more profit from each knife he sold in order to keep the doors open and pay his bills. That in turn resulted in less sales and having to bump the price up more. Sad to see but eventually he will have no choice but to close his doors...."
Click to expand...

You bet he'll fold !! In business that's called a 'death spiral"...
"I'm selling less so I have to charge more to make up for it."
With a strategy like that, his last knife will be priced at $infinity !!
 
Teknition said:
I will give a little perspective from the other side of the fence even though I'm not a commercial retailer of anything.

B&M store have huge overhead that has to be paid, especially if they are in a large shopping mall. Rent or mortgage, heat, hydro, water etc all take a piece of the pie. Online retailers on the otherhand can be ran from someones house where all those expenses are already taken care of rather than being and additional expense.

I will take a rough guestimate and say that for every 20-30 knife fondlers that walk thru the door, the retailer probably sells one or 2 knives. Most likely 50% of the other fondlers that walked thru the door never had any intention of buying a knife and were there just to get a feel for the knife before they went home and ordered it online for less. The other 50% for one reason or another didn't buy (prices too high, can't afford to drop the cash this month, kids need braces, already has 48 knives at home and the wife would kill him if he brought home another, etc.) This situation as well as less people in general buying/carrying a knife exacerbates the problem.

This is most likely not the way it started. I'd guess in the beginning, the retailer was losing a few sales to online retailers when the retailer's knives were at MSRP. Eventually he was losing more and more sales to online retailers and was selling less and less knives. Less volume of sales thru his shop meant he had to make more profit from each knife he sold in order to keep the doors open and pay his bills. That in turn resulted in less sales and having to bump the price up more. Sad to see but eventually he will have no choice but to close his doors.

Don't get me wrong, I too like to save money where I can and I've bought a knife or 2 online as well. I guess in the case of knives, it's an evolution of the internet but it also applies to many things we buy. Cheap imports from China kill the manufacturing sector here because no one wants to pay the price that North American manufacturers need to charge for a comparable machine and no one in North America wants to work for 2 dollars a day so that the N.A. manufacturer can sell at a comparable price. The only solution I can see to that problem is to either quit exporting our resources (iron ore, scrap metal, etc.) or shut down the border to stop the cheap imports from coming here.

Its all a vicious circle. Is there a way to fix the B&M store problem? No easy one that I can see. Thats my opinion on the topic anyway, take it for what its worth or look online for a cheaper one ;)

Brad,
www.AndersonKnives.ca
Click to expand...

Thanks - I suspected this was the case but you put it eloquently. Sometimes, I think the only B&M place that will be able to offer anything close to Internet prices is Walmart. I've already seen that on a couple of recent purchases.
 
Esav Benyamin said:
Boker has a line of Cinch knives. Are those the ones?

With all those stores, no wonder you're broke! :p
Click to expand...

Yep, they're Cinch knives. They're in a locked case with a bunch of cowboy stuff etc.

I have got some brick and mortars to come down on their prices, to be more in line with something less than MSRP. I still lost my ass, but not as bad as if I would have just walked in and bought something without asking about the price. Most B and M places will not haggle on new, current production stock, but some will negotiate on discontinued stuff etc.
 
There is a great B&M store here in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and they sell at about $1 over the internet prices. I found my G-10 Cara Cara for about $.50 more than at New Graham. Its off of I-585 on Asheville Highway. Its also a Hardware store, but about 1/5 of the floor space is dedicated to knives. It has a fairly good selection, and a catalog to order anything you can find.
 
There are two stores within 50 miles of my house that sell knives. That is if you exclude the big box stores like Walmart and Target. And last weekend I found out that they are owned by the same person. It's not that big of a deal, except the owner of the store was to the point of being rude on my first (and last) visit to his establishment. I had money to spend, at least 150. But the knives were at least 10 percent over retail. Its just too much when the same knive can be had at a closer big box store for cheaper. Who pays 70 for a Buck 110 (not a custom)?

On another note, I was out of the state back a couple months ago. Huntsville AL to be specific, and there was a small shop with a suprisingly good selection of the major brands. That man (I take it the owner from our conversation) was the kind of person that made you want to stick around and take another look. For great service, and a great business atmosphere I would pay the marked up price. Sure, the net has his knives for cheaper, but I think that is the kind of place that I would like to buy all my knives from.

Until recently I had never purchased a knife from the internet. But until my job moves me somewhere with a better selection/price range I am going to have to stick to checking out the knives I want online.
 
As the owner of a B & M store the simple truth is that carrying factory product simply isn't worth it.

The internet is incredibly competative when individuals can set up a web site and sell knives from a local wholesaler's catalogue. Get paid. Drop by the wholesaler to pick up those knives. Go home mail them out. Pay the wholesaler 30 days later when the invoice comes in.

No financial risk, no money tied up in inventory, no cost for the facilities because they work from their kitchen table.

The second major problem is new product lines coming out weekly from the major makers. There is seldom enough time to sell the sell the old product before the new stuff hits the market and must be stocked in the stores.

The main reason that I bother with the store is that it is attached to my workshop and a good place to show and sell my own knives but I would never again stock factory product.

George
 
There aren't any local knife shops here, unfortunately. However, whenever I travel I usually try to look up any knife shops ahead of time if I can. There was a very nice family run knife and gun shop in Edmonton when I visited there and it made buying my first knife (that wasn't over the internet) much more enjoyable.
 
I live in Vancouver, BC , thankfully I'm just 3 blocks from my local B&M store. I go in there every week, cause the owner is really cool and I can take a look at the knives in person. They sell online as well of course, but they only ship in Canada ( i think a customs issue? ), all prices are well below MSRP, and the owner puts a selection of stuff up once a week on sale for an additional 10-15% off their already discounted prices ( 2 weeks ago I think I picked up a Native for $44 Canadian ). I don't want to come across as a shill here, I just really think it's a great place.

I won't actually buy online anymore, because I can place orders through the B&M store and get his discounts. It also has saved me a ton, because there are a lot of knives that I see in pictures that look great, but when I looked at and handled them in store I didn't like them.

I haven't seen too many customs, but then I think that has to do with most custom makers being based out of the US ( again, customs issues? ).
 
Where I live there are a few B&M stores nearby....problems is though they`re so overpriced it`s redicilous.

My most recent buy has been a Leatherman Charge TTi. US retail price over internet 130 us dollars.

price in that shop...€190 euros!!!!!
That `s over 350 us dollars....they also had Crkts...cheap ones like tge kiss and rollock knives. Inet price around 12 dollars.

They had a €50 tag on them..thats over 80 dollars.

With prices like that it`ll be a cold day in hell before they see any of my money.
 
No brick and mortar stores as such in this area, the DC metro area. Until a year or so ago we had a chain of mall stores, "Chesapeake Knife and Tool." They had some pretty good selections, at very high prices. They are gone now. There is a "sword store" scheduled to open at the nearby mall sometime soon. I'm curious what they will be carrying.
 
I think I may have lost my backup SAK (the TSA got my primary a few months ago). As I was driving across town just now I decided that I would probably have to order it on the internet. I specifically want a Victorinox Adventurer model SAK. The last time I searched around town I couldn't find one at any price. I decided that the internet had become the "Great Midwestern Hardware Store" for the country. Nobody in town is going to bother carrying anything that might sit on their shelves for 3 months. It's mainstream or the internet. There is some exception for really high markup products, but not for economy models.
 
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