Buying From Amazon?

Short simple answer, no I don't trust knives from Amazon.

I have several reasons. While Amazon buys directly from manufacturers, they will also buy elsewhere if they get a lower price. It's difficult and rare for a jobber to undercut a manufacturer, but counterfeiters can do it with ease. From what I understand, Amazon also co-mingles their own stock and that supplied to them by "fulfillment by Amazon" third party sellers. That opens another avenue for counterfeits to enter the mix. And finally, their liberal return policy coupled with their habit of putting returned goods back into stock after what is, at best, a cursory inspection gives scammers an opportunity to buy a real knife from them and return a fake.

OTOH, that same liberal return policy means that, as long as I'm buying a knife I'm reasonably confident has not yet been counterfeited, I know I can return it if it turns out to be a lemon.
 
Never bought a knife from Amazon but have had many positive experiences with Ebay.
Many of the vendors on Ebay are AD's with their own independent sites and can be researched as such. Items listed as "new" are as advertised and returns, if needed, are possible. The primary advantage in dealing with
these folks is that they usually offer free freight; I am fed up with absurd shipping charges based on the dollar value of the purchase rather than the weight of the package. I am convinced that more than one "lifetime
return, no questions asked" policy is financed by artificially high freight charges.
 
I think what matters here is the knife community...
At the end of the day, Amazon is a site where you can buy everything more or less. But what you can't buy is the interaction, experience, and passion that you get from Forums like this one and dealers...
It might be me but even as an international buyer, and despite it is easier for me to buy from Amazon, but the overall good feeling and experience that I gain from communicating with a known dealer like Blade HQ or GP knives, or from various members in this respected Forum is what knife collection/passion "if I dare say" is all about...
Needless to mention that on Amazon, you can't talk to a custom knife maker or a modifier .
Long story short.... Now if I want to buy a 10 $ or a 1000$ knife I start here and check the known dealers websites... this is the least I can contribute to knife community.
 
I won't buy knives off Amazon. I will use trusted dealers, and a forum that it is my home.
 
Has anyone here bought a knife from Amazon that is verifiably illegitimate, not to be confused with manufacturinh imperfections as unfortunately even with a high standard for QC some will inevitably slip through, and I'm sure the same goes for companies who advertise/participate here and/or who only deal in knives.
 
I agree with the sentiment of supporting Dealers and Members, but If Amazon is the only place that has the knife, then I will buy without hesitation. My preference is to purchase direct from Amazon, unless I trust the authorized Dealer/Seller. I personally have never experienced even the slightest issue with Amazon, regarding returns. Zero hassle.
 
I've purchased a handful (or 2) of knives from Amazon in the past. I've never gotten a fake or what I'd consider a factory 2nd. I also buy from Amazon and not the 3rd party sellers that use Amazon as a front. I say shop smart. If something feels wrong with an items listing, it probably is.

I usually shop around the popular dealers and Amazon for the cheaper price, but in my experience Amazon's prime shipping has gotten bad lately. I'd choose BladeHQ over Amazon just based off of the shipping time alone.
 
I think for production knives they are OK. Amazon has become sort of an online version of Walmart. If your buying a mass produced knife, you may find a good deal. They also sell a lot of knock offs & stuff from Pakistan & China. If your buying a Damascus steel hunting knife with bone handles & a leather sheath for $39.99, you will probably get a POS.
BTW, I second the notion of buying from the exchange. You can find some deals on gently used knives.
 
Without going into too much detail..I dont buy from Amazon because it is owned by Jeff Bezos..you can do your own research why thats might be a problem to some people

To me its important who i support with my money.
 
There are trusted dealers that sell thru Amazon (GP Knives for example). I have purchased knives from Amazon many times, but almost always where the knife source is a trusted dealer .
 
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The prices and customer service of at least half a dozen proven dealers exceeds Amazon, so I usually see no reason to buy knives from Amazon.

That being said, doing so is a lot like buying off eBay. Sometimes you're buying from Amazon itself or a legitimate sporting goods or cutlery retailer. Sometimes you're buying from a kitchen table business. You can't just say "buying off of Amazon," because that can encompass so many potential purchases. Odds are that if you are smart about buying there and aren't just looking for the lowest dollar price to the exclusion of all warning signs about the seller, you'll be fine.

But I also agree with those who said that they'd buy all more expensive knives from known dealers. The odds of fakery go up on Amazon because there tend to be more middlemen. I always buy expensive knives from established dealers or distributors who get their stock directly from the manufacturer. Otherwise there's just too much chance that some ignoramus or fraud deliberately or through ignorance is reselling fakes.
 
GAGL said:
Without going into too much detail..I dont buy from Amazon because it is owned by Jeff Bezos..you can do your own research why thats might be a problem to some people

To me its important who i support with my money.
Click to expand...

Do you know the personal details of every CEO of every company you purchase from?
 
JR88FAN said:
I have no comment on if the knives from Amazon are legit or not, or if they are "factory seconds" or whatever, I can't verify any of that...

All I can say is that as a knife enthusiast I support other knife enthusiasts and actual knife retailers.

Than means I purchase 100% of my knives off of Knife forums or from knife retailers that live and love this hobby....
These small retailers are incredibly important to the hobby, and knife enthusiast are incredibly important to them.
Click to expand...

Well said.
 
I have bought several knives from Amazon and haven't had any problems with fakes.

They did mix-up and give some of them in different colors than what I originally wanted, I kept the knives regardless of that though.
 
marcinek said:
I buy a lot from Amazon, and I trust items where the manufacturer has a "store" (like Levi's or Timex), and/or that are "Ships from and sold by Amazon.com."

I trust them. They are huge and I have never had any problems.

But.

For a knife...something that I enjoy and an industry/hobby that I enjoy being involved with as a consumer/enthusiast...I go with BF supporting dealer members. They can be trusted implicitly and they have great (and personal) customer service.
Click to expand...

This has been my experience with Amazon and is my current general knife buying policy. I like to support the vendors who associate with BF.
 
If you buy a knife on amazon... buy it DIRECTLY from Amazon in my opinion. As amazon has 2 options buy from a third party on amazon or buy directly from the amazon corporation. The amazon corporation is worth over $363Billion so it is a pretty trust worthy company to buy directly from haha.
 
The majority of the companies that sell knives on amazon are in fact dealers of those brands. I have never had an issue with Amazon before buying name brand knives like Zero tolerance or Benchmade or Emerson.
 
i did once buy some of my knifes from amazon.com,until i found out they drop-shipped most all there knifes from other vendors!some amazon did stock,but most where drop-shipped from some other place (not dealer mind you) there return policy is o-kay and they stand behind it,but now a days i would rather pick the dealer myself or buy on the forum hear,hey we all start some place!i started on amazon and moved on.
 
PuddleMonkey said:
You're fools for trusting Amazon.

http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2016/10/31/amazon-counterfeit-cds/
Click to expand...

Haha who buys CD's anymore? Yeah I agree you're a fool if you're buying cheap CD's on Amazon expecting them to be legit.

It's easier to fake a CD or DVD than it is to fake a knife...

Obviously shop smart. Don't buy knives that are listed at the cheapest possible price. Compare to other dealer prices. If there's a Spyderco listed $20+ cheaper than every other site I'd be a little wary.

That being said, I've yet to hear about anyone getting fake knives from Amazon.
 
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