Desperate:Please give advice!!!

KlayKutlery said:
I think some people are getting the wrong idea of what I'm trying to do. I'm not talking about going into a full blown business and I'm not talking about going to trade shows and knife shows to set up and sale. I'm simply talking about setting up a booth at a flea markets on the weekends and selling knives. Nobody ask the origins of where a $12 knife was made and the kind of steel it was made from. I'm not trying to sale $200-$300 dollar knives. I'm trying to set up $1-$5-$10-$20 tables and just ssale some cheap knifes and make a little extra money.
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Crag the Brewer said:
Get some ziplock baggies, and sell beef jerky, and M&M's.....instead.

You can thank me later
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Shorttime said:
I know what you're saying. Except here, Kershaw and CRKT are almost unheard of. Buck, Gerber, Leatherman, are the standard stock. People here also buy knives from Browning, Winchester, and Smith & Wesson because of the firearms association.

Go to the places where you want to set up your booth, and talk to the other vendors. Not as "Klay Kutlery", but just as a regular person who's there to browse, and maybe buy something for your nephew, who's into knives.

Doesn't matter if you really have a nephew, or not. Just for conversation purposes.

Obviously, don't take notes right in front of the other vendors, but you should be able to get an idea of what does well, and maybe where there are some unmet needs in the retail space. So to speak.

You may find that "knife adjacent" products are what really does well: gardening knives, machetes, axes. You may also have some success selling vintage axes, and painted sawblades, but we're a long way from strictly knives now, aren't we?

There's a fine line between "realistic" and "cynical", and even I have trouble telling which side of it I'm on. I know from the flea markets and suchlike in this area that "good" knives are a hard sell. Most of the guys who start out trying to sell Cold Steel, Kershaw, or CRKT, eventually either move to another market, or liquidate their stock. If people do well selling knives, it's because they're cheap and cool. Balisongs, "tactical" knives, and tantos, do well. These same vendors also sell pepper spary, and cloth goods celebrating the 2nd Amendment.

Before you get too deep in money or time on this, I would caution you to take a long look at your reasons: do you want to make money, or do you want to sell "good" knives? Because those two things may not be the same.

And, while I was writing this, @220-9er said it shorter. Oh well.
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That's all great advice. I appreciate you taking out the time to respond in such detail. As far as the KlayKutlery thing it doesn't exist. Just something that popped in my head as I was creating my account with the forum. Tbh honestly I wish I would have just went with my name because it makes me look like I know what I'm talking about and that's not the case at all.lol
 
I am in the less is more camp. I would start with a few mixed selection of high quality knives first. Engaging the customer, most people have friends, word of mouth goes a long way. Most non- knife people think cheap or less money, however come to realize one expensive one is usually more dependable and cheaper in the long run, Don’t give up, no one can get in your way but you.Troy
 
KlayKutlery said:
I think some people are getting the wrong idea of what I'm trying to do. I'm not talking about going into a full blown business and I'm not talking about going to trade shows and knife shows to set up and sale. I'm simply talking about setting up a booth at a flea markets on the weekends and selling knives. Nobody ask the origins of where a $12 knife was made and the kind of steel it was made from. I'm not trying to sale $200-$300 dollar knives. I'm trying to set up $1-$5-$10-$20 tables and just ssale some cheap knifes and make a little extra money.
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(None of us really know what we're doing, we're just faking it, and hoping nobody calls us on it)

This sounds like a viable business plan. You're offering an alternative in an established market segment. It's low-risk, and low buy-in, so you should be able to make it work. Just pay careful attention to how much time you're spending on this business, because it will eat up all your "free" time, if you let it!
 
Shorttime said:
(None of us really know what we're doing, we're just faking it, and hoping nobody calls us on it)

This sounds like a viable business plan. You're offering an alternative in an established market segment. It's low-risk, and low buy-in, so you should be able to make it work. Just pay careful attention to how much time you're spending on this business, because it will eat up all your "free" time, if you let it!
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I was in a bad car wreck at the beginning on Jan and currently still in recovery but my injuries are extensive and going to be lifelong injuries so all I have is free time. I'm actually driving myself crazy just sitting around because I can't walk yet on my own. This whole idea came about because I can buy product online-i wouldn't have any employees or advertisment to pay for and the best thing is that it would be tax-free. Literally the only thing I would have to pay for is the product and rent on the booth. Everything else is all profit. Honestly I'm just bored and don't have anything else to do and other than setting up the tables there wouldn't be any physical labor involved.
 
Why not try making money with what you already have? You said you have a decent sharpening set up and a lot of free time on your hands.

Now I don't know if you are to the point in your recovery where you can sharpen yet, but if you are I would start offering a knife sharpening service that can be done from the comfort of your home. You can advertise on social media and local hometown websites. If you are a good sharpener and as you say every male in your area carries a pocket knife - seems like it might be a good business to take a shot at with less overhead than the flea market.

Just one warning though, if you are going to offer sharpening services, make sure you are good at it. If you are not currently good at it, get good at it before touching anyone's knife - word of mouth travels fast it can literally make or break a business.

PS - Sorry to hear about your accident and hope you make a quick recovery.
 
Squidman24 said:
Why not try making money with what you already have? You said you have a decent sharpening set up and a lot of free time on your hands.

Now I don't know if you are to the point in your recovery where you can sharpen yet, but if you are I would start offering a knife sharpening service that can be done from the comfort of your home. You can advertise on social media and local hometown websites. If you are a good sharpener and as you say every male in your area carries a pocket knife - seems like it might be a good business to take a shot at with less overhead than the flea market.

Just one warning though, if you are going to offer sharpening services, make sure you are good at it. If you are not currently good at it, get good at it before touching anyone's knife - word of mouth travels fast it can literally make or break a business.

PS - Sorry to hear about your accident and hope you make a quick recovery.
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That's a great idea to. I'm not expert by no means or anything but I can put a decent edge on a blade. I'd want to practice alot more before I actually done something like that though. I'd be terrified of ruining someones expensive knife. And they'd all probably be expensive knives because nobody sharpens cheap knives. They just throw them in a box or drawer and buy another. Or that's what I do at least.
 
KlayKutlery said:
I know I'm not going to get rich off this in the beginning
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At all. You won't get get rich at all.
KlayKutlery said:
With that being said the majority of what I'll sale will probably be $1-$10 cheap gas station style knives simply because they look cool to the buyer.
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Don't do that, you don't want to be selling junk knives.
 
Zulus said:
big online chynese seller of cheap "goods"
advertising such places are not allowed here !
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After researching, thats the information I was looking for. I need to read up on the rules here more. I'd hate to get kicked out for saying something that I didn't know was allowed. Thanks Zulus!
 
KlayKutlery said:
😂. It's not a business plan guys. I'm just going to sale some knives at a flea markets. If I make a little money then great. If I don't then I'd still kept myself busy for awhile. I'm going stir crazy!lol
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I feel like y'all are just being jerks now. Not everyone can afford high end expensive knives. Definitely not where I'm from. So I feel like my market will be the cheaper knives.
 
KlayKutlery said:
😂. It's not a business plan guys. I'm just going to sale some knives at a flea markets. If I make a little money then great. If I don't then I'd still kept myself busy for awhile. I'm going stir crazy!lol
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I'll sale will probably be $1-$10 cheap gas station style knives simply because they look cool to the buyer.

That's the plan :^D
 
The average salary in my area is $18k a year. Do you really think people are going to pay a months worth of work for a pocket knife?
 
KlayKutlery said:
The average salary in my area is $18k a year. Do you really think people are going to pay a months worth of work for a pocket knife?
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You can still have inexpensive knives that are good quality. Take a look at some of the cheaper Kershaw models. Then you also won't have to feel bad when a customer slices off their finger after the lock on the cheap gas station knife failed.
 
KlayKutlery said:
The average salary in my area is $18k a year. Do you really think people are going to pay a months worth of work for a pocket knife?
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My area aren't so affluent neither :^)
But I don't sell anything locally

BTW - I may have some not-so-expensive knives for you
If good remember some 100-200
all new in boxes
Just contact me
 
Ohh.. We got separated or something throughout the msgs. Forgive me this forum type msging is foreign to me. I thought y'all were talking about like the higher up knives. In my book a Kershaw isn't a "expensive" knife so to speak. I plan on selling Kershaw,crkt,Gerber, Case,and other brands like those.they will be my high up knives. But I'll probably sell a lot more cheap china knives. I was thinking you were talking about essy, Spyderco,boker, benchmade type knives. My bad.
 
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