Buy & Sale?

[Veracious Coyote]

There are some knives I would like to sell to fund other purchases (Just got an Esee Izula and I must buy more Esee knives) I'm just not sure how the whole paypal thing works.

 

[MaxFactor]

I never really buy and sell with the intention of pulling in a profit. Although there was one time I scored a Shot Show Mini-Grip xxx of 250 that was supposed to be serrated but had a plain edge. Sold it to some Russian buyer on ebay and make like $70. That was a pretty unique situation though. But I do very rarely "catch & release".

For the most part, any knife I sell is one that I've bought and just don't end up using. Or is a knife that just doesn't live up to my expectations. The fact that there aren't any reputable knife retailers in my area doesn't help either.

Some I've let go include: Lionsteel SR-1 Ti (too shiny), Strider SnG (moved up to an SMF), DPx Hest 2.0 (got in trade, didn't intend to keep), Microtech DOC (like everything but the TERRIBLE clip), Microtech Ultratech (couldn't legally carry), and Benchmade 810 Contego. And of all those I've sold, the only one I regret selling is my Contego. When I bought the Contego it was super off center and either way too tight or too loose. Sent it back to Benchmade and it came back to become one of, if not the, smoothest knives I've ever used. Pretty much just needed money, so I foolishly sold it.

There's one knife of mine that I repeatedly try to sell but never goes. My pimped ZT 0561. It's got an anodized Ti side, Lightning Strike CF scale, acid/stonewashed blade/liner/clip, copper LBS, copper lanyard bead yet every time I list it, it just sits. Really quite boggling. I've basically taken it as a sign that I'm meant to keep it. Not to mention the fact that I've put over $400 into it and at one point dropped my asking price to $215. I guess the "honey-moon" period is really over with that one. But I guess I'll keep it around for now.

 

[SOLEIL]

For me, research includes all the factors mentioned above, and then some. It helps to know one's own needs and preferences, it helps to understand the tendencies of different makers (I mean what properties they typically emphasize in their models), and it helps to frequent the forums here to get a sense of who prefers what and why. Over time, these factors have allowed me to very accurately assess the suitability (for my tastes and needs) of knives I'd never handled until I bought them.

Of course, handling a knife in the store is preferable if possible, but many of us lack that opportunity where we live.

+1. A big part of research for me is also handling every knife that even slightly interests me if given the chance. After handling thousands of knives and knife types it is pretty easy for me to decide if I will like them before handling one. The only knives I have disliked were defective ones. I did get a pleasant surprise with the Kershaw Blur. For years I thought I would not like it because I'm not real big on aluminum scales and sub 3.5 blades. Then I won one in a contest and once handled realized how great of a knife design the Blur is. Now I have a few of them :thumbup:.

 

[DShiflet]

I've never resold any of my knives. I don't buy most of mine as users, I buy them for aesthetics, I like the look and feel of knives, so if they turn out to have poor ergos, or a bad edge, or whatever, I just put them in the case and don't consider them as one of my users. I have plenty of knives I can use if I so desire(I don't actually need dozens of folders, or 20 different machetes, afterall), so if I get an occasional one that turns out to be a lemon, it's no biggie...unless it also turns out to look like crap, then I'd just give it away. But I always make sure to see pics and videos of the item before I buy it, so I should at least know what it looks like beforehand.

 

[spketch]

I'll usually try them out and give it more than a few days, but I do resell all the time. I'm really not a collector, more of a knife renter. I like to keep my stable under ten or so and sell off what I use the least to fund new purchases. Since I buy most of my knives used on the exchange with the value already lowered, the slight loss I usually take upon reselling is worth the chance to check them out.
I need an opportunity to carry and use a knife to really try it out. Just holding an example in a store is not enough for me.