GEC Price Guide?

knifeswapper

knifeswapper

Knife Peddler
Joined
Sep 3, 2004
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Just wondering - would there be a significant interest in a full price guide on all GEC general production products? I have never written a book or price guide; but I once carried around my "Pocket Knife Traders Guide" everywhere I went (that there might be knives).
 
I think it would be useful to know what the retail prices were at release. It would become very time consuming to run a "here's what this pattern in this cover is worth now." As soon as it's printed, it will be out of date.
 
I'm in and still willing to include it in the book if that comes first. I have been thinking a lot lately about how hard that might be right now considering the crazy swings in secondary prices I've seen but I think it is a worthwhile effort.
 
Save your money Mike. Price guides are obsolete from the moment they're printed. If interested in secondary prices for a knife, someone should simply do a "Sold Items" search on eBay. That is the best gauge for where the market is on a particular knife.
 
rpstrimple said:
I think it would be useful to know what the retail prices were at release. It would become very time consuming to run a "here's what this pattern in this cover is worth now." As soon as it's printed, it will be out of date.
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That would be nice info to have but is actually very, very difficult to gather for earlier years...unless you went with one or two dealer's prices who happened to keep track all this time. I tracked all dealer's retail prices for a period of time in 2018-2019 and it was a lot of work.
 
A website that was a GEC price guide might be usable, even an app of some sort, that could be updated regularly. A printed book though, as others have said, would be out of date pretty quick.

And the variance in prices on the secondary market is pretty wild. I guess you could so some sort of 'lowest price paid/highest price paid' entry. There is already one site that does that sort of thing for collectibles though. I think they charge a membership fee to access their listings. A GEC only site would be pretty niche.
 
I think a data book with information, rather than price value, would be pretty cool to have. Photos of all the variations with quantities, release dates, etc. Maybe covering the first 10-12 years of GEC production knives.
 
As others have stated I don't think a 'price guide' would be very useful. Now a product guide with more pics and information than is already available on GEC's site would be helpful. Thinking along the lines of a coffee table type book that would include all the handle materials and special limited runs and things such as the recent Wounded Warriors raffle knife.
 
GEC Secondary Price Guide: :D
If the model is still available on shelves... 120% of retail
Once the shelves are empty of that model... 200% of retail
After a year with no repeat on the model... 300% to 500% of retail

*This guide was created in fun and actual percentages were made up. :p
 
Create a book cataloging every knife ever created, with a small empty box next to a photo of each knife. Call it "the GEC collector's check-list" and let collectors try to check off all the boxes. lol
 
The example I used was the "Pocket Knife Traders Guide" was put out every few years and was not an attempt to catch market swings - it was solely an attempt for people to spot the more valuable variations and see production numbers, etc. Also I think it would be interesting to get some factory "commentary" on patterns and market analysis. Anything electronic would be a full time job of updating prices. And I am not interested in tracking day to day prices, etc. But I have recently seen knives just list as normal knives on sales threads, eBay, etc. that were actually from tiny production runs and most would never know. There is actually little sense in putting a market price on anything made in the last 5 years.
 
I think that a small pocket book (or app) that listed ALL the products, to include SFOs, etc, with specifics to include numbers made would have lasting value.
 
knifeswapper said:
The example I used was the "Pocket Knife Traders Guide" was put out every few years and was not an attempt to catch market swings - it was solely an attempt for people to spot the more valuable variations and see production numbers, etc. Also I think it would be interesting to get some factory "commentary" on patterns and market analysis. Anything electronic would be a full time job of updating prices. And I am not interested in tracking day to day prices, etc. But I have recently seen knives just list as normal knives on sales threads, eBay, etc. that were actually from tiny production runs and most would never know. There is actually little sense in putting a market price on anything made in the last 5 years.
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You should do this. You've been so idle lately.:D
 
knifeswapper said:
But I have recently seen knives just list as normal knives on sales threads, eBay, etc. that were actually from tiny production runs and most would never know.
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This is a good point, I have also noticed this. I am by no means an expert in every pattern or its run(s). But, when I have time, I try to look up the pattern on GECs site to see how many were made. I am so thankful that they post their production totals on there.

Of course this can also make one depressed when you realize a knife that had a run of 500 is selling for 5x+ retail while one that had a run of 50 slipped through the cracks lol.
 
Almost every GEC is a “rare variant” once it’s on the secondary market and more than a year since made. It’s really not hard to look them up on eBay. The only thing is, some minutiae might be hard to price exactly. Ex: if a TC Barlow is $225, it might be hard to find ebay comps for a 1 blade sheepsfoot vs a 2 blade clip vs the same knife in ebony or jigged bone.

But in the grand scheme of things, you could spend $25 of your time agonizing over $25 of value difference. For most of us it suffices that all three knives are generally going for $200-300. It would be really hard to get more specific than that.
 
rpstrimple said:
This is a good point, I have also noticed this. I am by no means an expert in every pattern or its run(s). But, when I have time, I try to look up the pattern on GECs site to see how many were made. I am so thankful that they post their production totals on there.

Of course this can also make one depressed when you realize a knife that had a run of 500 is selling for 5x+ retail while one that had a run of 50 slipped through the cracks lol.
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Tons of 1of2; 1of8, etc. etc. That is more what I was thinking. With GEC's once you get over 25pcs; there seems to be little price impact due to rareness up to 1000pcs.
 
A coffee table book of gorgeous colour photes of the rarest GECs...
And without wanting to sound negative about the whole website/app thing....If GEC cant uodate its own site to keep up with its priduction totals ....whos gunna uodate the app etc ? eg the 23 LL autumn bone single blades arent there and yet I have one en route...
 
I like it Mike the more info I have the better I like it ,sort of like a gun guide .Tom
 
knifeswapper said:
Just wondering - would there be a significant interest in a full price guide on all GEC general production products? I have never written a book or price guide; but I once carried around my "Pocket Knife Traders Guide" everywhere I went (that there might be knives).
Click to expand...

Yes, I think there would be interest.

If you included GEC produced Northwoods information you would have a long term seller.
 
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