Correlation Between Experience, Skill and Value

betzner said:
Les is right on. And the lesson he teaches above is one makers need to always keep in mind.

Before the economic downturn when knife prices kept climbing, I remember one maker - famous worldwide - who just kept upping his pricing, trying to capture as much of the increase as he could. Of course, the increases in market value were because his collectors were in the market, creating that value within that secondary market. But he thought he deserved the market value, not the collectors.

Result - his best collectors left him. I was one of them.

Since the downturn in the economy, that maker's knives have lost perhaps 40% of their value.

Bob
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Actually, the reason many collector's left was because he claimed the collectors were "killing his market" when they went to sell some of their collection! He actually went so far as to say that the only ones who should be selling his knives other than himself, were his dealers!
And, the after market value has dropped almost 50% at this time.
 
Les Robertson said:
Hi Juice,



You are buying from the wrong dealer(s) then.

Hinderer's, Emerson's, Loveless"s, Onion's. Bose's (Reese and Tony) and other extremely in demand makers will be sold at a premium on Dealers tables sites and at their table. Too include me.

The other exception would be that if the maker does not give the dealer a discount. If that is the case....they will have to mark up their selling price.

If a collector has a question, contact the maker. Find out what the knife sells for and what their delivery time is. If you don't want to wait that long (understanding that delivery times are not in stone! LOL).

Then it is up to you to either wait or pay a premium (if there is one).

But either way you are making an informed decision on your knife buying.
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I was mostly referring to those types of knives. Hinderers, Emersons, Mayos, etc. Usually if the maker is still taking orders, I won't buy a knife from anywhere but that maker (unless it's a one-off or the wait is extraordinarily long). Most of my knives are from dealers, though (including Robertson Cutlery).
 
delander said:
Actually, the reason many collector's left was because he claimed the collectors were "killing his market" when they went to sell some of their collection! He actually went so far as to say that the only ones who should be selling his knives other than himself, were his dealers!
And, the after market value has dropped almost 50% at this time.
Click to expand...

Who is this maker?
 
Hi Martin,

He actually went so far as to say that the only ones who should be selling his knives other than himself, were his dealers!
Click to expand...

First, I like the way this maker thinks! :D

Who is this maker?
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Next: Come on now you know they don't name names when comments like that are made.

Hell most people don't even use their real names...they use a screen name.

I would suggest if you want to know to contact Bob offline.

BTW, Bob may be referring to one maker...but this happened to a lot of makers over the past couple of years!

The lesson for the makers....careful about chasing the illusion that is the after market.

You can always raise your prices....but lowering them is a "No No".
 
Les, you probably already know to whom I referred.

Martin, no need to contact me because I never, ever reveal names. In fact, I try not to make comments as I've done here, but it really fit the thread and Les' remarks perfectly and complemented the thread.

Bob
 
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