Favorite retailers & purveyors?

TheFinerStrings

TheFinerStrings

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I've been collecting a long while, and as my collection has become nicer, my hunting grounds have become fewer and further between.

What sites do you folks visit? I tend to check Arizona Custom Knives, Recon1, Perry Knifeworks, Knife Purveyor, and Friedly Brothers.

What are your favorites?
 
betzner said:
Nordic Knives and Knife Legends. I stay firmly away from Arizona Custom Knives.................
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Yeah, I've had a couple bad experiences from Arizona. Also a couple good ones, but it really doesn't seem like they even glance at the knives they sell. They always describe them the same, and I've seen them proven wrong. May I ask what led you to stay away?
 
Kurzweil said:
Yeah, I've had a couple bad experiences from Arizona. Also a couple good ones, but it really doesn't seem like they even glance at the knives they sell. They always describe them the same, and I've seen them proven wrong. May I ask what led you to stay away?
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What you have just described above is exactly why I stay away. I always have the impression that they have no understanding of knife pricing or condition, based on their pics and condition information they provide in the listings. I review all of their new listings on a daily basis and my opinion never changes, lol.
 
Totally agree, but remember they're just consignment sellers who take a 25% cut. Their prices likely reflect the optimism of their previous owners, coupled with their knowledge that they're only getting 75% of asking.

So the prices are usually inflated, but every once in a while there's a fair price on something unusual. And they absolutely do a lousy job really inspecting the knives closely, and I've told them as much. I've also learned that they realize they don't do a great job on that front, so if you find a detent or centering that isn't "nice" (as they invariably describe them), they'll take it back no hassle and no fees. That is to say, their return policy is generously flexible, because they know they're not keeping up with the volume of what they're handling. (They do about $9m in sales annually, I hear!)

But that's mostly academic, because you're right...they can't really be relied upon, so I tend to avoid them unless I get an alert that something has been listed that I can't live without.
 
Their return policy, as I recall, requires a 10% restocking fee, and with the less than decent condition descriptions they show, good luck with that
 
betzner said:
Their return policy, as I recall, requires a 10% restocking fee, and with the less than decent condition descriptions they show, good luck with that
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Not to defend them too eagerly, because I agree their descriptions are generic and useless, but I actually have had good luck with returns and have never been charged a fee. They know they're not describing those knives well or accurately, so I've found that they are very happy to take returns, no questions asked. I've tested it several times, and can confidently say that they're not going to charge fees if you have any kind of reasonable issue. FWIW and YMMV, and all that. ;)
 
I do not trust them, that is probably the best reason, because they are not truthful with their descriptions. Why would anyone buy when descriptions are so so poor? But again, enough of the negative........
 
betzner said:
But let's not dog AZCK too much more since this should be a positive thread, huh? :)
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I'm glad every retailer is out there, particularly AZCK. I figure competition is good, they've done a lot to expand the audience of this hobby, and ultimately I can always vote with my dollar. 😉
 
For someone who agrees their condition descriptions suck, you are sure trying to sell AZCK here, esp being a new user??? And yeah, this now belongs in gb&u, probably. I am done here
 
betzner said:
For someone who agrees their condition descriptions suck, you are sure trying to sell AZCK here, esp being a new user???
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Wow, are you being serious right now?? LOL. Not sure what your axe to grind with them is, but I'm merely sharing my experience, and I'll wager that I've spent more with them than you. Not even sure what to do with your insane suggestion that I'm somehow shilling for them.

Look. It's not that they're dishonest, it's that they haven't hired enough people to keep up with rising volume. I've SAID this to their head of consignment sales. You're attributing to malice what is more easily explained by bad management. And they compensate for it by not actually charging a fee (did you get charged a fee recently, and if so, why? I really doubt it.) The fee needs to be there to discourage people from returning due to buyer's remorse, or other BS reasons, because that really adds to the overhead of a business.

Maybe think these things through a bit before ranting.
 
Who are you? I at least display my name. Kinda makes it very convenient for you to insult me and to take a position as you have. Goodbye.
 
betzner said:
Who are you? I at least display my name. Kinda makes it very convenient for you to insult me and to take a position as you have. Goodbye.
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Adieu, mon ami. I will always cherish our time together, even if you did foil my nefarious plan to boost AZCK's stock price. You were too clever for me, and you won this time, but I'm sure our paths will cross again...
 
I've gotten a few really cool pieces on AZCK, and on the couple instances I had buyer's remorse they took the return with no problem. No need to be negative, they're just one option of many in the market! Sometimes I have to just chuckle at the prices some folks ask for Hinderers though, over $1,400 on a 3V Monkey Edge xm-18 the other day, yikes.
 
To add to the list, love DLT Trading for the somewhat frequent fun exclusives (Hinderer, Demko, etc), and KnivesShipFree for the once or twice a year they drop a new Northwoods :) New Graham Knives because it's basically my local shop. GPKnives because GECs tend to stick on their site just a little bit longer than some of the others (slightly inflated prices drives that).
 
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