Brick n' Mortar VS. online sales

I wish there were more dedicated knife shops out there. However, they tend to be 2+ hour drive for me. Nice thing about them is that you can handle the knife before you buy it. There have been several knives where I just didn't like it (usually very underwhelmed). Downside is that you have to pay tax and usually a markup. You can easily end up paying an extra 50 than what you'd get online. Trade off is its immediately yours (like overnight shipping)

Box stores never sell the "good stuff" and the knowledge of the staff is non-existent. Surplus stores take it a step further and mall ninja it up
 
I have one knife I bought online I really don't care for at all, like you said it just doesn't feel right in my hand, but when ever I buy online I first have to see s design that catches my eye. Picture being worth 1000 words and all. Then ill read the sprecs and see if im still interested, then i always price shop around and also while doing so i'll read as many reviews as possible from multiple different sites, and make my final decision based on those two things, proper specs I'm comfortable with + positive reviews I feel comfortable enough with.
 
Boris74 said:
I prefer buying in a store. I've only ordered about 10 knives to be delivered in my life and of them 10, 4 have been stolen or "lost" during delivery. My brother in the past two months has had three stolen or "lost" In The past two months that he has ordered.

A real pita to fix sometimes.
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I've ordered several hundred knives, had ONE get lost in delivery, and the seller not only immediately shipped me another one, they threw a little neck knife in with it at no charge to make up for the loss. Where the heck are you and your brother ordering from?

As for the store vs online deal, well, in most stores around here, you won't ever FIND stuff like an Endura, or any other Spyderco, or a Benchmade, or a Cold Steel, you'll find a mix of Kershaw, SOG, Buck, and cheap junk like Smith & Wesson, Tac Force, etc.

And if you do find something, here's a couple comparisons of prices from the cheapest store nearby vs those at BladeHQ(and you might be able to find these cheaper on Amazon or other dealers):
Kershaw Leek(silver handle, plain edge):$69.99 vs $44.99
SOG Trident Mini:$79.99 vs $51.25
 
You Tube works wonders. If you can't handle something before you hit the buy button, watching someone else handle it is a very good alternative. I made the decision to buy a Spyderco Sage 1 just on YT vids alone. It was the second best purchase I ever made online.
 
Thing is, physical knife shops will never be able to sell pieces for the low price you can find through big online retailers, or ebay.
As the op stated, the big pro to a physical shop is that you can hold the knife and play with it before buying.

Just so happens that Spark's 1 Stop Knife Shop is in my neighborhood..
 
I seldom return things I purchase online (mail order). So, when I became interested in an Endura because of all the comments here on BF, I looked at one in a local sporting goods store. Paid a bit more relative to online pricing. Afterwards, I decided it was not the knife for me to edc due to its length. I seldom return things to regular stores either by the way. It was my second Spyderco knife. I actually purchased two of them and it is one of the rare knife models that I own that I own two (plain edge and fully serrated). I also do not sell my knives here on the exchange. They just get dumped in my Rubbermaid knife tub. Might change my mind later, ya know?

A large knife store here in TN gets a lot of my business simply because I can handle many of the knives there that I might be interested in. I visit that store a couple times a year generally and yes, pay sales tax. I don't generally look at a knife in a store and then buy online unless I simply have not made up my mind. That store is a substantial drive for me. So, if I decide later, I am not going to make that drive special.
 
From my experience, the more I buy knives of all kinds, the more I understand what my hands likes to hold to the point where I look at a knife review, I can tell quickly what I would like or not like. Wont really help with new knives I've yet to try such as a Sebzena knife or a strider knife. But ZT knives gives me an idea of what a higher knife would provide in craftsmanship.

Besides, based on your name of "Joe Physician" I'm sure you can apply some sort of science approach where you can make a list of all the criteria that makes your hand happy and your experience sharply smooth. That is the beauty of knife hobbies; the more you play with knives, the more evidences you gather over time of what works for you and what doesn't to the point where you can blindly buy a knife from a good brand and have a higher chance of it working for you before you ever touch it.

Hope that helps.
 
LadyEarth said:
...Besides, based on your name of "Joe Physician" I'm sure you can apply some sort of science approach where you can make a list of all the criteria that makes your hand happy and your experience sharply smooth.
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Weird as it is, Physician is my given last name. Back in the 19 teens gramps immigrated from the Ukraine and his name was changed from something with 3 z's 2 y's and other letters that collectively spelled a barely pronounceable name. Sounded vaguely like 'physician' so that's what it became.
Lycosa, it would be interesting to test that theory, I keep my receipts, what's the best price you can get online for a Benchmade Mini Griptillion 557 Tanto? I got mine after fondling it for a bit for 69.95 out the door. Delivery was free because I drove it to my house myself. :)
Ideally everyone would have a knife shoppe in their backyard but the reality is not that. Heck I was reading on here last week about an owner of a store spending copious amounts of time with a customer who then orders the knife in question on line from a cellphone WHILE RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE GUY!!
I will pay for the privilege of walking through a door and everything good that goes with purchasing a knife in a face to face transaction. How else am I gonna meet other weirdos with obsessive traits?
 
Yo Mama said:
Most stores in my area have generic high volume knives. No variety. For a model that's harder to find, online is the King. With vendors here on bladeforums, you know they will make it right if you're not satisfied.
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I had to save up to buy a knife that I had spotted online and took a fancy to. Once I had enough money I ordered it. To my disappointment it was not the right knife. Correct model, handles etc but did not have the Mosaic Pins as depicted in the picture. On contacting the VENDOR I was told that it was the wrong picture in their ad and if I wanted I could send the knife back and get a store credit. Of course this would push the price of the knife up when they got one in stock. Now it is just a "Plain Jane knife - nothing to brag about.
 
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