Chopweiler, Skinny Ash & Trailmaster - just how badly did I screw myself?

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l2lku2

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I am fairly new to collecting and have a good collection of readily available knives (Benchmades, Spyderco's, RAT, Beckers) that I bought from stores where I could handle the knives. Having only read about Busse's, Chris Reeves, SRKW etc. I have wanted to buy a few but only after I could handle them so I have not bought any online. So I walked into a store last week that had a bunch of these so I lost my mind and just bought a few. I paid $360 for a SRKW Chopweiler without a sheath (paid an additional $65 for a custom sheath), $390 for a Busse Skinny Ash and $250 for a Cold Steel Trailmaster in Carbon V and a few more.

I want to say that the seller was a very nice guy, has a great store and was very knowledgeable so I don't blame him for selling the knives for what he could but I am hating on myself a little for being so impulsive and paying at least $100 per knife too much. I don't mind paying some extra for the convenience of buying them in a store but $100 per knife is too much. I do love the knives and will buy more of them and the joy of the knives will outlast the regret of the prices I paid - money is only money but I could have had added another really good knife in the collection for the $300+ premium I paid on these.

So based on prices posted on websites and forums I think I paid at least $100 per knife over going rates. What is done is done and I am not looking back (and yes, I do like the knives and yes they are worth what someone (me) was willing to pay for them) but I would like some opinions whether I am correct in that assessment. The reason I ask is because I wanted to go back to that store often and drop a lot of cash on knives because of the convenience but I do not want to waste my money foolishly. What are your opinions - did I pay $100 per knife over market value and is that premium fair to pay for the convenience of buying in a store?
 
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can't speak on the SRKW and the busse but the CS Trailmaster in Carbon V is discontinued so you can see it as a collector's piece to justify the premium somewhat. If you want a user, now that you've handled the trailmaster, if you like it, eknifeworks.com (smoky mountain knife works) is selling the SK-5 version for $50.
 
That has happened to me once before so you're not alone in this. The main difference between your situation and mine is that I only spent $40 over what I should have. After that happened I felt sick to my stomach and now I research everything (what I should have done from the beginning) before I pull the trigger. Okay, let's get to the knives and their prices.

Looks like you paid way too much for the CW. There are CW's going on the exchange for just over $200. I got one a little while ago for $160. It wasn't mint, but I was going to use it so that didn't bother me. $65 for custom sheath is about right. The Skinny ASH can be bought fresh from the Busse Company Store for about $300 so you paid about $90 over what you should have; and $250 for a CS TM is a little too much in my book. Those go on the exchange for about $150.

So it seems that you paid about $350 more than you could have paid for the same knives. Though keep in mind that, like you mentioned in your post, you got to handle the knives first. You also didn't have to pay any shipping/PayPal fees that the seller might have tacked on to the price.
 
Thanks for taking the time to respond.

It seems I did indeed pay too much but strangely I feel better having "confirmed" that with others opinions - I think it was the doubt that bothered me more than anything. So now I am just going to accept that I acted like a kid and move on and enjoy the knives. I even returned to that store today a little smarter than last time. I was offered a Busse Badger Attack Limited Edition for $350, some Game Wardens for $320 - $350 and a Scrapyard SOD for $180. I am interested in the Badger and the SOD. The SOD lists for $119 at the SRKW website but I am willing to pay $150 at the store. What would be a reasonable offer for the Badger and what are the opinions re that knife? Some posts praise it as a good do-everything knife while others claim it is too thick for such a short blade, limiting its cutting ability.
 
We all buy a little wisdom sooner or later. Patience can save money. Instant gratification almost always costs more. It's a tossup. You paid a very premium price for those blades but you knew exactly what you were getting and walked out of the store with them in hand. In the future though, there are some very reliable sellers that post very good pictures of the items they have for sale on the forum exchange. If you can wait 3-7 days to get them,- you can save a bunch of $!
 
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Feel good that you probably saved the dealer from forecloser for one more month. Feel good that you can afford to waste money in these tough times. If you can afford it, who cares. You just helped the economy in your own little way.
 
I had a long talk with the dealer and I think I will do better there in future in terms of prices so I pulled the trigger on 4 new ones for now:

2 Badgers (1 LE and one regular / skinny)
Another Chopweiler
Scrapyard SOD

Thanks again for the advice.
 
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Once the dealer realizes you are more knowledgeable about the pricing of knives that interest you, he should work with you within reason. Being a local shop he needs customers like you to keep the lights on, and should now value your relationship as a buyer and offer you deals everytime you walk through the door. You enjoy quality knives and you both know it, so it's up to him to retain you as a customer. Who knows maybe he'll need a 'shop lackey' on his day off and you'll end up getting to 'mind the store' someday. That's when you can fondle to your heart's delight! Fair and reasonable is all one should ask when given a price in a bricks and mortar store. They have overhead that must be paid from profit on a sale, can't begrudge a man his living, but gouging customers will have few repeat walkins, ending up with his store closing due to poor business practices, not a lack of customers. You have good taste in knives enjoy them!
 
Spend some time perusing the exchange here before buying any more - you'll get up to speed pretty quick. ;)

In my experience its almost always better (ie, cheaper) to buy privately from forum members.
 
Today I added:

- a gorgeous Bark River Canadian Special with Antique Ivory Micarta handles. I do use all my knives but this one might just end up being fondled and lightly used. I will add a second one to use.

Yesterday I added:
- cheap but excellent Mora Clipper
- Swiss Army Pioneer Harvester in silver
- Swiss Army Farmer in blue

dobywon - I will PM you the dealer details but only after saying this: I would not have thought it appropriate to send you the dealer details if I were still unhappy with my experience there as I do not want to be unfair to anybody. So I am sending you the details only because after the second round of purchases I am very happy with my overall experience at this dealer. He and I discussed the issue and I feel I got a good deal on the second round - yes I paid more than buying online but he has made excellent sheaths for me, sharpened the knives and provided a wealth of knowledge to a noob like me. So I give the guy an A+ at this point and I will buy from him for a long time. A knowledgeable buyer will do well there - I stormed in there as a starry eyed noob the first time and did not even ask for lower prices so I deserved what I got. Now I ask for better prices and I get it and the service is excellent.

Buffalohump - are you still in Durban? I grew up there; or let's rephrase before my wife calls me a liar about having grown up - I spent the earlier part of my childhood there.
 
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Horizon_Seeker said:
eknifeworks.com (smoky mountain knife works) is selling the SK-5 version for $50.
Click to expand...

Yeah but they're out of stock, as is every other online retailer I've checked so far. To be fair, SMKW at least says so up front.

It bugs me because I'd like to compare an SK-5 to my old CarbonV model... and the last time there was this much of a wait period was when Camillus went belly-up and they got discontinued.
 
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