- Joined
- Dec 7, 2008
- Messages
- 7,187
Over the past weeks a few things have happened that gave me the kick in the butt needed to get me to make some changes.
So I decided to clear out all of my inventory and close my web store.
With each of these things my first reaction was to get pissed or defensive. But after a few days thinking about things that turned to embarrassment and I made the decision to do something about it.
1st thing was an email I got from one of my regular customers.
He said, maybe it is just my imagination but it looks like the quality of your wood is not what it was before.
I wish I could remember who it was because I owe them an apology.
I replied that I had great wood but it just sold quickly. I may have been a bit short with him so if that was you, my humble apologies.
This year in addition to the really good stuff I carried some medium grade woods in our store. The super good stuff sold super fast and the not as good sold not as fast, actually very slow. So unless you were at the webstore within hours of my posting the really good pieces all you would see were the medium grade stuff.
2nd thing was a new supplier from Australia selling Ringed Gidgee.
This is a wood that was difficult to get and very expensive having it shipped from Australia. It is a type of wood I was importing by request because US makers were unable to get it elsewhere. The new supplier had good pieces and prices lower than I could do so I sold off my remaining Ringed at a loss. Makes more sense to buy from them than me as long as they stick around.
3rd thing was one of the knifemakers selling stabilized walnut blocks as a means to supplement their income. Same type of wood I had by the same stabilizers at a bit lower price than mine. Actually I was embarrassed that a knife maker was able to provide the same thing as I was for a lower price. The way I price my wood is I charge enough to cover the cost of the wood, stabilizing, pay me for the labor and hopefully have enough left over to buy more wood. So I decided to clear out all my walnut at a discount and not carry that wood anymore.
These were the things that prompted the changes that I probably should have made years ago. Sometimes things happen that piss you off at the moment but in the end they are tools for change for the better. I hope I am making sense.
So some of the changes I am making are;
No more wood you can easily get elsewhere, especially if you can get it cheaper.
No more medium grade woods.
The only woods I will have in my store will be super good stuff that you are unable to find elsewhere. Some will be hard to find woods. Others will be examples of the best possible quality of wood and figure. There will also be some really strange stuff.
The way I will decide what goes in my store will be simple.
If I get excited about it it goes into the store.
If I don't get excited about it then it goes into the reject pile to get used for other stuff.
When I started out with knife handle materials I set some goals.
1st was to be able to support my family from knife handle wood alone.
2nd and equally important was to get to the point where the knife makers thought of me as the first place to go for the very best woods.
Any input from you guys is welcomed.
I should be able to get the store re-stocked and re-opened within a day or two.
There won't be as many pieces but they will all be super nice stuff that I get excited about.
So I decided to clear out all of my inventory and close my web store.
With each of these things my first reaction was to get pissed or defensive. But after a few days thinking about things that turned to embarrassment and I made the decision to do something about it.
1st thing was an email I got from one of my regular customers.
He said, maybe it is just my imagination but it looks like the quality of your wood is not what it was before.
I wish I could remember who it was because I owe them an apology.
I replied that I had great wood but it just sold quickly. I may have been a bit short with him so if that was you, my humble apologies.
This year in addition to the really good stuff I carried some medium grade woods in our store. The super good stuff sold super fast and the not as good sold not as fast, actually very slow. So unless you were at the webstore within hours of my posting the really good pieces all you would see were the medium grade stuff.
2nd thing was a new supplier from Australia selling Ringed Gidgee.
This is a wood that was difficult to get and very expensive having it shipped from Australia. It is a type of wood I was importing by request because US makers were unable to get it elsewhere. The new supplier had good pieces and prices lower than I could do so I sold off my remaining Ringed at a loss. Makes more sense to buy from them than me as long as they stick around.
3rd thing was one of the knifemakers selling stabilized walnut blocks as a means to supplement their income. Same type of wood I had by the same stabilizers at a bit lower price than mine. Actually I was embarrassed that a knife maker was able to provide the same thing as I was for a lower price. The way I price my wood is I charge enough to cover the cost of the wood, stabilizing, pay me for the labor and hopefully have enough left over to buy more wood. So I decided to clear out all my walnut at a discount and not carry that wood anymore.
These were the things that prompted the changes that I probably should have made years ago. Sometimes things happen that piss you off at the moment but in the end they are tools for change for the better. I hope I am making sense.
So some of the changes I am making are;
No more wood you can easily get elsewhere, especially if you can get it cheaper.
No more medium grade woods.
The only woods I will have in my store will be super good stuff that you are unable to find elsewhere. Some will be hard to find woods. Others will be examples of the best possible quality of wood and figure. There will also be some really strange stuff.
The way I will decide what goes in my store will be simple.
If I get excited about it it goes into the store.
If I don't get excited about it then it goes into the reject pile to get used for other stuff.
When I started out with knife handle materials I set some goals.
1st was to be able to support my family from knife handle wood alone.
2nd and equally important was to get to the point where the knife makers thought of me as the first place to go for the very best woods.
Any input from you guys is welcomed.
I should be able to get the store re-stocked and re-opened within a day or two.
There won't be as many pieces but they will all be super nice stuff that I get excited about.
