Custom knife dealers- what do you expect?

[Les Robertson]

Hi Joss,

Two different links for Tommy, because they are two different styles of knives.

Everybody does it their own way.

As I pointed out earlier, my site is still only 2 clicks to get to any maker or the style of knife made by those makers.

If you buy a knife from me I promise to put it in the 'upgrade" fund.

 

[RogerP]

I just had a very productive transaction with a dealer. I decided about a week ago to consolidate a few knives from my collection to fund a performance upgrade to my car. My choice to do both.

Anyway, I have the skills and the capability to extract every single dollar out of the knives by listing them individually on forums and/or eBay. (My photo skills are a plus, as you would know.)

Regardless, there is value in time and so I also decided to contact a reputable dealer for his proposal on my knives (I have a selection. He chose four.) Although I know I could do even better (possibly) on my own, I don't mind supporting this dealer with a transaction which will benefit both of us.

Bottom line, we struck an agreeable deale and I sent them to him. Upon inspection, he sent me a note about a concern with a minor, fixable scratch on one of the folder blades. Back and forth to the maker would be worth $50 in shipping and time. OK with me?

Yes. Absolutely. No biggie, and I know if a knife isn't really 'mint' it's hard for a dealer to substantiate selling it as such.

So my dealer worked with me, negotiated pricing, was honest in his needs, and I am ready to buy or recommend him again.

That dealer was Robertson Custom Cutlery.

The pendulum swings two ways. :thumbup:

Coop (Who hasn't spent the time editing his for sale album. Ooops. You'd better call first..... )

Gosh, Coop - it sounds almost as if you were taking the time to communicate with this dealer. Clearly you have too much time on your hands.

Roger

 

[Les Robertson]

Hi Kevin,

You still haven't addressed, Checks, Money Orders, Wire Transfers (preferable from outside the US) and Trades.

So how would you handle those sales?

 

[Lorien]

All the customs dealers websites I have gone to exhibit much more personality and dedication than any other kind of knife related website, well except places like this, but that's different.

Hey Les, in order to generate the extra income, maybe you should consider carrying Mantis knives or some other super high quality production knives. Ya know, pad that margin?

The custom knife shops online are the most dynamic out there, as products change completely once sold. It's not like they carry the LOTR collector's sets, or other mass consumed, impersonal, made in China type product.

As such, the personality of the purveyor is key. Their personality sets the tone. I know, I own a store front retail business. People come here a lot of times because I am here. That's not boastful, it's just a fact. It's 'cult of personality' or whatever you want to call it.

I may be a second rate business person, but I have loyal clients, and the best thing a business person can do is take care of their loyal clients. Getting new ones is always good, but if that's the sole focus, the business will not last, especially if getting new clients comes at the cost of losing your loyal ones.

Of all the custom knife dealers talked about in this thread, I have only really seen clients of Les' chime in on his business ethic, and 'way'. Regardless of how some people may feel about Les' quirks, it's obvious to me that his clients absolutely trust him and have no hesitation in stating the fact. I think that means a lot. Maybe more than anything. But don't let that go to your head Les!

 

[Les Robertson]

Hi Lorien,

Factory knives??? No thanks.

It is interesting how many dealers call themselves "Custom Knife Dealers" and have a lot of factory knives on their sites.

Anyway, I got into custom knives when I was in the Army because I saw factory knives fail. Not just mine but others...name the factory producing knives in the 1980's....they failed in the field. The handle of my Gerber came off. I saw a cold steel tanto break in half cutting a piece of "commo" wire (about the same thickness as stereo wire. I saw the tip of a a Randall 14 break off at Northern Warfare school...etc.

You pad your sales by providing excellent selection, excellent customer service and listen to what your customers want.

You already know this as you are doing this with your business.

If it is cost effective I do like the system that Arizona Custom Knives and Phillip Doss's Knife Cellar employ.

Joss, Kevin, et al.... I have two phone calls into web site developers.

The problem with the automated system is that it only address' CC's. So other preferred methods of payment still have to be entered manually.

The turn over of inventory can be an issue for getting things done in a "timely" manner. As timely for some is defined in nano seconds.

My "quirks" stem directly from two sources.

My love for custom knives and that the sale exclusively of custom knives is my full time job.

More times than not my "quirks" are designed to narrow focus, pre-qualify and save time (as this is the only thing you cannot make or buy more of).

To be fair Betzner mentioned that Knife Legends sold their Curt Erikson (of course his Avatar has probably more to do with that mention than anything...followed by "this sounds like a commercial...oops). Which it was.

 

[Lorien]

I was joking around Les. I don't think you should sell Mantis or any other kind of crappy knife. You're doing a great job serving your niche and your customers, by the looks of things:thumbup:

 

[Les Robertson]

Hi Lorien,

Not it was good you made that comment. Dan Delevan and Dave Harvey have had a lot of success selling both. Of course they both have stores...which requires a huge inventory of all different types of cutlery. As well they each do a custom knife show.

So there is a business model for selling both that has been very successful.

As you say my niche for the last 13 + years full time...selling custom knives.

Had I been selling both I doubt I would have worked with the makers to create two different brands of custom knives. Writing the book and writing for the magazines, etc.

When you are focused on only one aspect of the custom knife world you can really dig into it.

I have been involved with custom knives for over 25 years....and I am still learning all the time. For me it never gets old and it is always interesting.

I suspect it is the same for anyone who is passionate about the work they do.

 

[Kevin Jones]

Hi Kevin,

You still haven't addressed, Checks, Money Orders, Wire Transfers (preferable from outside the US) and Trades.

So how would you handle those sales?

HI Kevin,

I listed the knives as "Sale Pending" because of threads like this. Customers seemed liked they wanted that.

I tried it, I found for me it was not something I wanted to incorporate to my web site.

It is the same for the "Sold" sign. I too get very few returns. However, on the rare occasion it happens, it takes time to re-list it. Remember, before you say that should only take a couple minutes. You are the one who doesn't want to spend 15 second sending an email to check the status of a knife.

Les, first I didn't say if only takes a couple of minutes to re-list a knife, however considering the very small percentage of knife sales that a reputable dealer as yourself will have "fall short" it shouldn't be much of a burden at all to re-list one in that rare instance.
Second, I didn't say I didn't want to spend 15 seconds sending an e-mail. I said the problem was waiting in some cases for a day or two to get a response back from the dealer as to if the knife was available.

Hi Kevin,

You still haven't addressed, Checks, Money Orders, Wire Transfers (preferable from outside the US) and Trades.

So how would you handle those sales?

Les, I wouldn't handle them as I'm not a dealer. But some of the top (if not the top) on-line knife dealers in the world don't have any trouble handling those procedures while still keeping there sites up to date while doing it.

The point I'm making here Les is that in the 20 years of my owning and operating a chain of Auto Parts stores taught me that the easier you make it for your customers to buy the more they will buy.

 

[Les Robertson]

Hi Kevin,

Im going to be blunt here because several people here (including me) value your opinion. The fact that you are saying you know who the top dealers are is incorrect. As well how they handle "Lag" time and eliminate it subsequently, giving customers real world on the scene information is also wrong.

Les, I wouldn't handle them as I'm not a dealer. But some of the top (if not the top) on-line knife dealers in the world don't have any trouble handling those procedures while still keeping there sites up to date while doing it.

The point I'm making here Les is that in the 20 years of my owning and operating a chain of Auto Parts stores taught me that the easier you make it for your customers to buy the more they will buy.

I understand your point....that you really don't know what you are talking about.

First, as you are a stickler for facts and figures. You have no way of know who is the top on-line dealer or what position any dealer occupies in the over all on-line market. The reason is that you have no idea what gross sales are and more importantly what the net profit is of any dealer in the world....none.
Even if you had access to 3 years of tax returns for 3 or 4 dealers ...you still wouldn't know who was the top dealer. To insinuate that you know who the top dealer(s) is at best mere speculation and at worse pure bias on your part.

Second, you base the way to run a web site on your 20 years of operating a chain of Auto Parts stores. As you know (or don't since your not a dealer) selling and replacing custom knives is not a simple as getting low and contacting the distributor for a couple of cases. I agree with you about the easier you make it for someone to buy something it will increase your sales.
When someone walked into your Auto Parts store, payment was immediate. There were no trades (Im just guessing here), I suspect there were no wire transfers or money orders. Payment was Credit Card, Check or Cash. You knew the person was happy with the part...because they had the chance to look it over before purchase. As well there was no shipping time....as the items were in the store.

Sound business principles are applicable to a large degree across the board. However, business specific knowledge does not alway translate across different business's.

The truth is the knife is not sold until the customer receives it and is happy with it. Then and only then is the knife sold. So the handling of the "Lag" time that you are seeing handled by the Top Online Dealer is merely an abberation of reality and not actual reality. Consequently, the information you are using to come to your conclusions is flawed.

As a custom knife dealer I can tell you (since you are not a dealer), speaking only for my business. Inventory and the status of that inventory is in a constant state of flux. Knives come and go daily...as a dealer I have to take into consideration "Lag" time. As I deal in reality and not abberation.

You want real time information...send an email or pickup the phone.

 

[SharpByCoop]

Les,

I am going to be Devil's Advocate, so allow me.

You are unique in that you ONLY deal in Custom knives. Full time. You remind us often.

That's OK. I like specialization, and it is working for you. (Heck I don't stray out of my photography niche one iota. I'm a fish out of water....) I am not full time though. I would reconsider, if so.

I am reminded, though of when I worked at a prominent motorcycle shop. There are only three brands that are capable of being successful as a standalone franchise: Honda, Harley Davidson, and BMW. (This isn't the rule, but it's darn close.)

That said, the smaller Japanese brands were insistent that you carried more than one other dissimilar brand. According to their experience, the dealerships that didn't diversify were prone to fail. Kawasaki would not license you a franchise unless you had something other than them.

I think that this model isn't out-of-whack with our industry either.

Nor do I think you or Knife Legends will be selling Case and Mantis soon. I am impressed at your fortitude, but I wouldn't be surprised if you stated it was inevitable to diversify with factory AND handmade.

You learned the hard and fast lessons of the quality distinctions back in the eighties. Haven't productiuon knives increased quality tenfold by now?

I say don't shoot yourself in the foot with your own insistence. After all, business is business.... :thumbup:

Coop

 

[Les Robertson]

Hi Coop,

As you said I am "unique". My kids tell me that is the PC word for "weird". LOL A little known fact is that I had a factory deal in the late 90's. Made a couple thousand dollars for little or no work. I didn't pursue a second deal. Knowing what the factories were looking for. I made part of my conditions with the makers regarding the Vanguard knives is that the knives (design rights) cannot be sold to the factories. I had to fire a very well known maker for doing just this.

Never Say Ever...however ,I can foresee of no circumstances that would have me selling factory knives. I agree that they have improved in the last 20 years....then again so have custom knives. The situation is not where one market gains in leaps and bounds and the other stays stagnant.

Fact is, if wasn't for custom knives and their makers companies like Kershaw, CRKT, Benchmade and others would not exist today as we know them. They have embedded themselves with custom makers (smart business move). Although their prices will be going up in the very near future. Seems a container shipped from China was $4,000 per...it is going up to $8,000 per. Get ready for Wal-Mart to roll forward those prices!

Another consideration is: Why sell the factory copies when you can sell the custom originals?

Personally I feel if I was selling factory and custom knives. The drive to discover new makers, develop something like my Vanguard knives, do seminars for makers and collectors, write a book, etc.would probably not be there. Or would be diminished...as you always had the cheap factory knives with the bigger margin to fall back on.

Like I said others have been very successful with this business model. It is just not for me.

Note, if I was to consider carrying factory knives I would sell Swiss Army Knives. I love those things!

As you say business is business....but just like you I get to pick and choose what my business is about. :thumbup:

 

[Lorien]

well that pretty much sums it all up Les.

"I don't like the handle it's too long, and the damascus fittings seem out of place, that giraffe bone and mocume is sooo yesterday...blablablabla!" People have an innate talent for wanting to see others implement the ideas we suggested. Maybe that's about leverage, I dunno

The trick in business is to understand where you personally are at, and taking and implementing suggestions is secondary to not burning out. Hearing suggestions continually as a business owner is hopefully balanced by comments of appreciation! The trick is, there are lots of great suggestions out there, so you don't want to entirely reject them out of hand, but man your brain gets full! Feedback is important. But tiring

Keeping the joy in it is so important. Like a knifemaker which is inflated for a beenie baby moment who comes crashing down or a sitcom kid who's now the clown at Orange County birthdays- Burning out has lasting impact, slow and steady wins the race in the end.

Les, if you ever decide to sell your business, I hope you'd let me know! Lots of 'goodwill' and systems that are extremely valuable developed and in place. Throwing money at a business is one way to go about it, but the real value is in the blood, sweat and tears.

 

[Kevin Jones]

Hi Kevin,

Im going to be blunt here because several people here (including me) value your opinion. The fact that you are saying you know who the top dealers are is incorrect. As well how they handle "Lag" time and eliminate it subsequently, giving customers real world on the scene information is also wrong.

I understand your point....that you really don't know what you are talking about.

First, as you are a stickler for facts and figures. You have no way of know who is the top on-line dealer or what position any dealer occupies in the over all on-line market. The reason is that you have no idea what gross sales are and more importantly what the net profit is of any dealer in the world....none.
Even if you had access to 3 years of tax returns for 3 or 4 dealers ...you still wouldn't know who was the top dealer. To insinuate that you know who the top dealer(s) is at best mere speculation and at worse pure bias on your part.

Second, you base the way to run a web site on your 20 years of operating a chain of Auto Parts stores. As you know (or don't since your not a dealer) selling and replacing custom knives is not a simple as getting low and contacting the distributor for a couple of cases. I agree with you about the easier you make it for someone to buy something it will increase your sales.
When someone walked into your Auto Parts store, payment was immediate. There were no trades (Im just guessing here), I suspect there were no wire transfers or money orders. Payment was Credit Card, Check or Cash. You knew the person was happy with the part...because they had the chance to look it over before purchase. As well there was no shipping time....as the items were in the store.

Sound business principles are applicable to a large degree across the board. However, business specific knowledge does not alway translate across different business's.

The truth is the knife is not sold until the customer receives it and is happy with it. Then and only then is the knife sold. So the handling of the "Lag" time that you are seeing handled by the Top Online Dealer is merely an abberation of reality and not actual reality. Consequently, the information you are using to come to your conclusions is flawed.

As a custom knife dealer I can tell you (since you are not a dealer), speaking only for my business. Inventory and the status of that inventory is in a constant state of flux. Knives come and go daily...as a dealer I have to take into consideration "Lag" time. As I deal in reality and not abberation.

You want real time information...send an email or pickup the phone.

Les, you seem to be having difficulty reading and understanding my post today. I didn't say I based the way to run a web site on my 20 years of operating a chain of Auto Parts stores. What I did say was that operating a chain of auto parts stores taught me the easier you make it for customers to buy the more they will buy. I haven't claimed that I know how to run a website, only that I prefer the way certain websites are updated.

Since you opened the door I will also be blunt.
I find it very ironic that you are offering so much expert opinion and information on how knife dealer websites should be run considering how yours compares to the likes of Knife Legends, Blade Gallery, Knife Art, Nordic, Arizona, Ars Cultri and so on. I totally agree with Joss' previously post and assessment of your site.

And again, since you opened the door in comparing the simplicity of operating an auto part business to a knife business and gave inaccurate information regarding such, I will share correct information with you. My company maintained a 7 million dollar inventory made up of approx. 127,000 individual part numbers that many of which would go obsolete if not properly managed by replacing with new incoming part numbers each year. 65% of my business was wholesale to repair shops, garages, fleets, new/used car dealers, airlines, municipalities and was mostly charge sales. I typically maintained a fleet of 15-20 delivery trucks and employed in the neighborhood of 40-50 people chain wide.

So not quite as simple as getting low and contacting the distributor for a couple of cases. By the way Les how many knives do you have in inventory?

And you are 100% correct Les in that I nor anyone else knows for sure what position web dealers occupy in the overall on-line market and again if you re-read my post you will see that I did not state that I did. However after following the dozen or so most well known sites daily for six years or more I would bet you a lot that I could fairly accurately rank the top six websites in order of sales. You obviously spend very little time looking over other dealer's websites. But you being a MBA and all, I'm sure you know how important it is to keep abreast of what your competition is doing.

And no Les, I won't e-mail or pick up the phone. I will just buy from a dealer that keeps his/her website updated.

 

[cnorbut]

Since this thread is still going strong, I wanted to try to get a little more feedback while I had the opportunity.

I suppose I should give you a brief introduction first, since I imagine most people reading this don't have any idea who I am. I've been working for Julie at Arizona Custom Knives for just under two years now and share in all the duties of a dealer that entails. Anything that has been written on our website in those two years, knife descriptions, policies, messages on our front page, and so on was done by me.

I also laid out the design of the current website which was launched last July. We didn't accomplish everything we set out to do (I still have a huge list of changes and additions I want to make), but from our experience and the customer feedback we received it was a big step in the right direction. Like Julie, the knife business is my full-time job and not just a hobby, so I do take it seriously and am always looking for ways to improve our site.

With that out of the way, I'd be interested to hear if there are any more "deal-breakers" that would stop you from buying from a dealer. I'm mainly concerned with problems you might have with the dealer's website, but anything is helpful. Any comments that specifically address our site would be great too if you are familiar with it, but I don't want to hijack the thread. I'm probably more critical than anyone about our site, so chances are if something annoys you it annoys me too.

I think the whole "Sale Pending" issue has been beaten to death pretty thoroughly here, and the system we use works well for us, so there's no need to go back into that. The important part to us is that if a customer sees that something is "In Stock", it is in fact in stock and they can place their order online with the confidence that it will be shipped promptly to them without any hassle.

I believe we have most of the other concerns raised in the thread covered, with the exception of:

I also like to be able to browse inventory by maker or by price (I find the "browse by knife type" less useful).

I know this wasn't specifically addressed to me, but sorting by price has been on my "to do" list for long enough and it should be something we can put in fairly quickly. Expect to see it soon. Any other suggestions would be appreciated as well.

Thanks.

 

[RogerP]

Personally, I find sorting by knife type vastly more useful than sorting by price.

If I go to a dealer site that carries a broad range of knife types (well, most do) I'd like to be able to see, for example - all the slip joints they have at all pice points. Or all bowies. Or all hunters.

When I am web shopping, I generally have a type of knife in mind - and my budget is what it is. I don't generally go to a site wanting to see everything they have - bowies, tacticals, gents folders, hunters, traditional slip joints, fighters etc. - at $1000 or less (or whatever).

Show me all your slipjoints on one page - I will be able to figure out for myself whether I'm in the market for a $2,500 Bose or a $250 Alsdorf all by myself.

Roger

 

[Kevin Jones]

Actually Chris, I don't see a lot to improve upon. Your site is obviously designed with the customer in mind. In addition to making knives available in a logical and user friendly manner with all the information that a potential customer needs to make an informed purchase, sites like yours also also perform a service in helping to educate the knife community.

I really like your sold knives archive http://www.arizonacustomknives.com/products/?id=4534 in that you offer an extraordinary amount of valuable information. I notice you also include "price sold" which is rare. I see good reason to support either side of the issue as to whether archive price should be shared. The most obvious being the customer that asked why the current price is so much higher or lower than your previous sale of that maker's knives. Myself, I like to see the current asking price more than previous as it can be a good indication if the maker is improving his position in the market and if his knives are appreciating in value.

Thanks for lightening this thread up a bit Chris as your post can lead to good productive discussion.

 

[martinr]

question for you guys. what do you think of an online dealer/purveyor that does not list prices for all the knives on his site? it seems the high end, expensive stuff has a price of $0.00. when i asked about this i was told it was because some people don't want others to know how much you paid for the knife. that sounds like BS to me. the same dealer told me to make a cash offer on a knife i was interested in after telling me he would "work with me on the price". that was after i was quoted a price and responded that it was too much for me right now. i don't like the idea that the price isn't the same for everyone. if you are known as a big spender don't you think the price quoted would reflect that? it doesn't seem fair and it makes me question the dealers business practices and honesty.

 

[Bladeandbarrel]

Since this thread is still going strong, I wanted to try to get a little more feedback while I had the opportunity.

I suppose I should give you a brief introduction first, since I imagine most people reading this don't have any idea who I am. I've been working for Julie at Arizona Custom Knives for just under two years now and share in all the duties of a dealer that entails. Anything that has been written on our website in those two years, knife descriptions, policies, messages on our front page, and so on was done by me.

I also laid out the design of the current website which was launched last July. We didn't accomplish everything we set out to do (I still have a huge list of changes and additions I want to make), but from our experience and the customer feedback we received it was a big step in the right direction. Like Julie, the knife business is my full-time job and not just a hobby, so I do take it seriously and am always looking for ways to improve our site.

With that out of the way, I'd be interested to hear if there are any more "deal-breakers" that would stop you from buying from a dealer. I'm mainly concerned with problems you might have with the dealer's website, but anything is helpful. Any comments that specifically address our site would be great too if you are familiar with it, but I don't want to hijack the thread. I'm probably more critical than anyone about our site, so chances are if something annoys you it annoys me too.

I think the whole "Sale Pending" issue has been beaten to death pretty thoroughly here, and the system we use works well for us, so there's no need to go back into that. The important part to us is that if a customer sees that something is "In Stock", it is in fact in stock and they can place their order online with the confidence that it will be shipped promptly to them without any hassle.

I believe we have most of the other concerns raised in the thread covered, with the exception of:



I know this wasn't specifically addressed to me, but sorting by price has been on my "to do" list for long enough and it should be something we can put in fairly quickly. Expect to see it soon. Any other suggestions would be appreciated as well.

Thanks.

The most useful thing for me is an email like Nordic does alerting me to new knives. I have a life and don't have time to check purveyors websites all the time...

 

[Les Robertson]

Hi Martin,

question for you guys. what do you think of an online dealer/purveyor that does not list prices for all the knives on his site?

If the knife is in stock, it should have a price. If you can order the knife it should have a price.

it seems the high end, expensive stuff has a price of $0.00. when i asked about this i was told it was because some people don't want others to know how much you paid for the knife. that sounds like BS to me.

The High-End custom knife market is very small and to a large degree all the collectors know each other. You would be amazed at how often the knives change hands between these collectors with each one trying to make money on the transaction.

Consequently, it is fair for the buyer to ask the dealer to remove the prices. The simplest thing for the dealer to do is either remove the knife or mark it SOLD.

the same dealer told me to make a cash offer on a knife i was interested in after telling me he would "work with me on the price". that was after i was quoted a price and responded that it was too much for me right now.

A lot of high end/in demand knives have a "trolling" price (a premium added to the retail price) on a web site. Because of a customer notification of new knives like Nordic Knives and Arizona Custom Knives offers (Im sure other high end knife dealers do the same thing). Good customers get first shot at all the new knives...which is fair as loyalty should be rewarded.

So when you see a knife actually get posted...all the collectors who were on the notification list have already looked at it and passed. This is why some dealers will probably list one price and offer you another price on the phone or via email. They know their main collectors have passed on the knife and now it is time to move it. This helps further the illusion that the price asked was the price received. The fact that the dealer offered you a bargain, should lead you to understand two things...1) If they did it for you, they have and will do it for others. 2) After market prices are probably inflated (again the abberation and not reality). This only affects the person who buys it and then only when they go to sell it.

Understand this as well, not one of the dealers out there is physically forcing anyone to buy any custom knife you sell. It is up to you as the buyer to do your homework before you buy any knife.

A couple of great questions to ask are: 1) If came to you to sell this knife 3 months from now what would you pay me for it. If they give you the "market is fluid and I don't know what the price will be in 3 months...it's probably not best to buy a knife with a high premium as the dealer is telling you the price is near the top...and you are the one buying it.

2) If I want to trade this knife in within the next year how much would you allow me in trade. If the answer is not 100%. They are telling you again, they don't feel the knife will hold its value.

Either of these answers should give you pause to think about the purchase. But if you have to have it....you have to have it!

Let me say this about the notification of customers with an email with new knives is a great service and I plan to incorporate that by the end of the year. I wasn't implying that anyone who does this is trying to rip off people,e etc. Thought I would add this as I can see where someone might misconstrue it.

I list knives as incoming on my site, many of those never make it to the site. More of a notification of what is coming in....more of a passive marketing as opposed to the email list which would be permission marketing.

i don't like the idea that the price isn't the same for everyone. if you are known as a big spender don't you think the price quoted would reflect that? it doesn't seem fair and it makes me question the dealers business practices and honesty.

In the area of collectibles, especially when the prices are above the makers list price. Will lend itself to this practice, fair or not.

Again, doing your homework prior to a purchase will give you real time intel.

One place to start is contacting the knife maker and asking what the retail price is. Then ask what their waiting time is. Another factor is, does the maker raise their prices after taking the order...in other words not guaranteeing the price. If this is the case, a knife that you would have to wait for 3 years and the price will probably go up 25 - 30% during the waiting period.

Than buying a similar or same knife from a dealer with a 25 - 30% premium and getting it today is not a bad deal. As 3 years from now you would pay the same price.

 

[cnorbut]

The most useful thing for me is an email like Nordic does alerting me to new knives. I have a life and don't have time to check purveyors websites all the time...

We offer this by allowing people to select their favorite artists and/or knife categories and send out an email each time a new knife that matches one of their selections is posted.

I'm not sure if there is a need for us to offer a blanket notification as another option in addition to that. It would be a bit simpler but would generally hit people with 50+ emails over the course of a week using our current setup. I do know of a few people that basically do that, by signing up for our "Custom Folders" and "Custom Fixed Blades" categories they are notified about all our new customs, so that option exists.