Can you make money collecting and re-selling knives (part 2)?

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bobobama

bobobama

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Hope I'm doing this right. There's a recent thread with this same title that somebody had necro'd and then was locked out, and I really wanted to reply because I just went through the process of selling off a portion of my collection and found this subject very relevant.

I certainly did not make any money after selling off about 25 knives that I've accumulated over the years. I worked with a vendor I met at a local knife show, and when all was said and done I got about 65% of the money I originally spent on the knives back from him. I didn't need these particular knives and was glad to pick up some spare cash, but still...

I thought maybe I just went about this wrong, but reading the other thread the general consensus seems to be that more often than not, you won't make money selling knives, at least if you're an average Joe like me. Has anybody had the same experience? Is there a way to do better when selling knives?
 
It depends, if you happen to find a store that is going out of business, yard sale, estate sale, etc, you can potentially make a little money especially if the seller doesn’t know the value. Knives are one of those things that condition and rarity play a huge role in resale. However, just paying retail and reselling usually results in a financial loss.
 
I’ve noticed that, unless you take the time to sell off a collection piece by peice and don’t mind waiting for the right buyer willing to pay full value, 65% is pretty much what you can expect for a return on just about anything you can ‘collect’, especially when selling in bulk to a vendor. Now there are obviously exceptions on specific pieces, and certain variables that will effect the return(+/-) on your ‘investment’. If you want quick cash expect roughly 60%; knowledge, timing, and patience is required for receiving full value.

I collect and have collected quite a few different things since childhood, and this has been my experience across the board and what I consider a general rule.
Also, notice how I said % of value. I’m not speaking in terms of what goods originally cost the investor. Anyways I could expound more in this subject but I think I sufficiently explained the overall gist.
 
knives as collectible for profit is just like depression glass or other collectibles. you need to find someone who will pay the price you want. the collecting/identification sub forum may say $100 but you need to find the person willing to pay that.
 
It's possible given the right choices and time, but I think there are better and more profitable ways to get a return on your money. Todays hot sellers are often duds down the road. Someone once mentioned Knife makers guild knives as good investments, but I haven't looked into if that works or not. For me it is just a hobby, and I certainly haven't made any money. In fact my losses are pretty substantial.
 
I do my best not to -lose- money, but profit is more difficult to achieve unless one actively pursues it - which is generally frowned upon, since it almost always involves purchasing items that are in demand and charging a premium to those who were too late to get it at vendor prices.

The secret is not going through other parties; if you sell to a vendor, you get significantly less than true market value from them because they in turn need to charge a premium to make a profit. Think of how pawn shops work - they give you as little as possible and turn around to sell the same item for 2-4 times as much. Selling directly to the consumer is how you avoid loss of capital, but it is significantly more involved.

Additionally, knowing when to be patient when searching for a good price on a knife and when to jump at a new release is key. Inflated prices from the secondary market will almost always lead to loss if you later sell it, unless the item increases in value over time. Identifying which items will be in demand later will help you prioritize your purchases and sales.

TL,DR: Sell directly to other collectors and wait for a good price when both buying and selling.
 
rxavage said:
I’ve noticed that, unless you take the time to sell off a collection piece by peice and don’t mind waiting for the right buyer willing to pay full value, 65% is pretty much what you can expect for a return on just about anything you can ‘collect’, especially when selling in bulk to a vendor. Now there are obviously exceptions on specific pieces, and certain variables that will effect the return(+/-) on your ‘investment’. If you want quick cash expect roughly 60%; knowledge, timing, and patience is required for receiving full value.
Click to expand...
Thoughtful post. I also think 60-65% is probably about right, but I have little experience. One thing to take note of is that knives are slowly getting more expensive or at least "good knives" are and recouping what you paid for a knife is okay, but still may be a bargain to a buyer, especially a collector. Generally speaking I really don't pay any attention to the secondary market. I notice the GEC SFO's are fairly rapidly getting more expensive now (after just being about the same price as a regular GEC release) and personally always thought they were under priced for the seller's risk.
 
The only way i've found to avoid losing money is to buy a "user" knife, and keep it well maintained. Then when you're ready to sell, it's still a user, and you can essentially list it for the same price you paid. Of course, if you sell for the same price as you paid, you'll end up eating shipping...

I have come to learn to never expect to make money on any knife sale. It's that simple. I set my expectations low.

One time, about a year or so ago, I tried to sell a knife for what I had in it, and it just didn't sell. @bladesmith3 gave me a great piece of advice that I still remember, and follow to this day. He said to make sure I know the going rate of the knife and then list it for a price that will make people feel like if they don't buy it right now, someone else will buy it. That element of risk motivates a potential buyer to get off his butt and pull the trigger. It means you lose money, but at least you make a sale where otherwise the knife is "dead inventory."
 
I have inherited a couple of knife collections over the years and have (not purposely) built one of my own. The results as far as money goes are exactly the same as when I was buying and selling firearms.

If you can buy a gun/knife or anything else collectible at a hugely advantageous price, then you can sell it and make money. Other than that, I learned a few things the hard way. YMMV...

- what is popular today won't be popular tomorrow. Look at all the steels that come and gone with knives where a "supersteel" from two years ago is definitely a "meh" now

- knife brands (and guns) go in an out of favor. The market gets confused and a true investor/speculator won't tolerate that. For example, "did you hear that Benchmade/ZT are having QC issues?" Rumor, smut and hearsay can kill the value of a good product. Truth has nothing to do with it

- Google has changed the game. Incorrect information is the norm. It is easy to find postings and rants from unqualified people that have hurt feelings, an odd lemon, or unrealistic expectations, or simply don't have any idea of what they are talking about. For the guy trying to find out what the opinion is of a product, they realize that maybe several thousand people have seen a review or a video that was slanted to make a person's point that could be damaging to the value of an object. And now that any idiot can use their phone to look up "value" while they are standing in front of you, they can easily be swayed one way or another, but mostly towards the negative. I read years ago that out of 100 people that buy an object, less than one will review/post (bet it's less than that) if they get a good representation of a product, but 3 out of 100 will review/post if they feel slighted

- investments usually don't keep up with inflation. Here is a nifty calculator that I use often when reminding myself of my "investments". Feel free to play around with it (might be depressing if you consider all the other factors), I checked it against other sources and it seems to be pretty accurate:
https://goo.gl/hbQDMV

- If you develop a collection of your investments and want to liquidate, you will be surprised (ask me) at how hard it is to find someone that appreciates your skillful purchasing and acquisitions like you do. I needed some money to help pay for parent's health and really took a bath on some rifles that should have sold for 3X what I got out of them. I patiently tried to sell them one at a time to folks that turned out to be looking for an extreme bargain. I put a lot of effort into it since it was going to a good cause. I gave up, took it to a shop that could sell a true collector's rifle (he had the eyeballs, I didn't) for something close to the expected price. On each rifle, he got about 25% less than I thought, but then I paid him 35% commission to sell them on top of that. He had a couple of the guns for about a year

So lessons learned. Don't buy anything you don't enjoy owning. Don't buy anything you can't flip immediately. Keep up with your market so you will know when it is time to get out. Only buy at a great price; yesterday's highly collectibles are mostly just items of interest now, with only a precious few understanding and agreeing to your personal value of an object. And fewer of those are willing to pay collector's prices for your "treasure".

Robert
 
Short answer, if you’re good at turnin’ A nickel into a dollar like my mom’s bf then the short answer is yes. Unfortunately the answer is not that simple. I have made money on every knife I’ve bought to make money on.

What that means is I bought it cheap, usually way under msrp and I’d held onto it long enough to realize my purchase price plus a profit.

The reality is that it’s nearly impossible to predict what current trends will make make big profits tomorrow but the smart person realizes a great deal and takes advantage of one when it presents itself. They also know quality when they see it and if the substantial profit isn’t immediately realized they can wait some more or enjoy a quality’s knife for what it is.

My mom and her bf have been buyers and sellers forever. They buy and sell everything from heavy equipment to Realestate and antique vehicles. Well her bf taught me a long time ago how to make a profit in the business of buyin’ and sellin’.

First the skill set to find a great deal and realize it.

The money or the value of what you realized to be a good deal. If you spot one but can’t act on it then the skill means nothin’. I’ve traded for everything from knives to cars and motorcycles with no money. Just having something somebody else wants can put you in a good position.

Next you need to have someplace to keep/store it, quite possibly for many years. Now not so big of a problem for knives but when you deal in bulldozers and excavators you need more room. Mom’s bf bought a Newark diesel city bus for $500 at auction. Drove it home and it sat for years. Eventually he sold the Cummins diesel for $2,000 and the bus for another $2,000 to some guy who turned it into an office.

$500 investment and he put a set of batteries and a dealer plate in it and we drove it to the salvage yard. $1,500 profit, that’s 300% profit after a few years.

Finally ask a fair price, know your market value and wait. If you do that and have the time to wait it out, you’ll always turn a profit.

See how simple it is? ;) Remember if the person’s really good at what they do than it’ll always look effortless and easy. That’s how you know they’re good.

JMHO & YMMV
 
midnight flyer said:
Keep up with your market so you will know when it is time to get out. Only buy at a great price; yesterday's highly collectibles are mostly just items of interest now, with only a precious few understanding and agreeing to your personal value of an object.
Click to expand...

This is a great point. Many will buy new model knives (new/used) when they first come out and then hold onto them for a year or so only to find the market price has fallen. I typically wait until a knife has lost it's "new luster" before buying. Much easier to flip for around the same value or a minimal loss if I don 't end up liking it.

I think the only knife I ever made money on was my Slyze Bowie. Bought it before it was discontinued and then sold it after. Made quite a bit on that one but it just dumb luck in my timing.
 
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