GEC Value

Triton said:
Oh it will burst never fear. Ask the Hinderer guys. Buy low sell high.
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hinderer bubble popped because of the new shop and drastically increased production. I don’t see GEC doing that. If anything, this whole COVID mess slowed down production.

I quit when I can’t just go to a site and order one. The whole preorder before even seeing them, monkey race doesn’t appeal to me. If they make something I just have to have, we’ll, I’ll worry about it then. I will not pay 300% though. Or even 150%. That’s custom knife territory there.
 
SVTFreak said:
hinderer bubble popped because of the new shop and drastically increased production. I don’t see GEC doing that. If anything, this whole COVID mess slowed down production.

I quit when I can’t just go to a site and order one. The whole preorder before even seeing them, monkey race doesn’t appeal to me. If they make something I just have to have, we’ll, I’ll worry about it then. I will not pay 300% though. Or even 150%. That’s custom knife territory there.
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Agree with you there. My thought though is that either they will increase production or someone will emulate them to pick up the slack. What they are doing in terms of design and materials isn't really that hard to replicate. Or failing that more and more people will get bored /frustrated and find other avenues like customs at those prices. Tulips used to be pricey too!:)
 
I own too many GECs. But my carry/non-carry is regardless of make. I have a like new relatively inexpensive ($32??) Case that I cannot bring myself to carry. I have carried my small CRK Regular numerous times; I am sure I can get $500+ (maybe $600+) plus for it. I have several collectible GECs that I have carried extensively. I have several non-collectible GECs that I have not been able to bring myself to carry. Don't ask me why LOL.

My current carries is a $12 Schrade-Walden peanut, and for the weekends, a $85 Le Thiers Chambriard.... for whatever that is worth.
 
There is no way someone is going to compete with GEC anytime soon.
What they are doing is extremely hard to replicate, mainly because Bill Howard’s love and knowledge of traditional knives and experience of so many years cannot be matched.
The catalog of patterns, knife design, process, graphic art, even the way they are sold, is really an amazing alignment of stars.
I think GEC knives will continue in very high demand.
 
Elgatodeacero said:
There is no way someone is going to compete with GEC anytime soon.
What they are doing is extremely hard to replicate, mainly because Bill Howard’s love and knowledge of traditional knives and experience of so many years cannot be matched.
The catalog of patterns, knife design, process, graphic art, even the way they are sold, is really an amazing alignment of stars.
I think GEC knives will continue in very high demand.
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You could well be right, my crystal ball isn't working all that well. I do however have faith in both market economics and the fickle nature of knife collectors. People were saving their beanie babies to pay for their retirements once upon a time.
 
The GEC bubble will never bust, because of their business model of quality over quantity. If the quality of the brand ever starts to decrease, then the it will be less desirable and possibly fade out. But the older ones will become even more valuable over time. I only collect traditional as a hobby to share with my grandson and will leave the majority to him. I prefer a modern flipper to carry and use. Plus they are easily replaceable.
 
I've never been one to keep a knife as an investment. I use them and if I find myself not carrying them, I sell them for less than I paid to someone who will (usually on this very forum). I understand people who do though as prices seem to be getting quite high.
 
RICK RYAN said:
The GEC bubble will never bust, because of their business model of quality over quantity. If the quality of the brand ever starts to decrease, then the it will be less desirable and possibly fade out. But the older ones will become even more valuable over time. I only collect traditional as a hobby to share with my grandson and will leave the majority to him. I prefer a modern flipper to carry and use. Plus they are easily replaceable.
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So you drive up the price buying knives you disdain to use for your grandson to sell? Seems odd to me. Why "share" your hobby with him and not his parent, your child?
 
to some extent my collection has been whittled down to mostly gifts or knives purchased from forum members at friend prices, which i would never sell. The only gec that I would consider paying some sort of premium for is a 1/4 15 rendezvous special that i have the other 3 copies of. To this day no one knows where it is went. i already paid a bit of a mark up for third one and im sure if the 4th one comes up id have to do some thinking. Some time ago, collectors have warned me about the ebony 15 single clip which I had really wanted but missed the chance to buy and it was already nearing triple retail price. It has gone beyond what I would care to pay now. Value is a matter of perspective, it boils down to how bad you want it. I am glad GEC did not make much I want this year.
 
I have to wonder if it's not just worth cashing now. While you have the time and energy and prices are good. My uncle's brother had a sizeable stamp collection that he wanted me to sell for him. The stuff was apparently worth good money but there simply wasn't the profit margin for me as an middle man to take on the project given my other commitments at the time (two jobs, family, etc). Fast forward 5 years, he barely knows who he is (senile dementia), my only point of contact, my uncle, passed away this year and it's probably going to go in the waste basket one day soon. I can't see his kids putting together the hundreds of photos of the stuff, putting it up on ebay, tracking the sales, dealing with the shipping, paypal, etc. They're both busy professionals.
 
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I'm not a collector and won't buy a knife that I don't intend on using in some capacity. I don't have the patience to track down hard to find models and am not willing to pay much over retail anyway. I have been amazed at some of the prices GEC knives have been fetching lately. Seems like it might be time for me to start building slip joints. ;)
 
Over the last couple months the bloom has been falling off the "GEC rose" for me. It was a fun hobby, searching for older patterns that pop up on dealer websites. Now those are going north of $350.00 Too many pre-orders and not enough in stock inventory. GECs are cool, and I appreciate the quality...sadly my interest is going back to modern folders.
 
All used... I have more than a few that have done the price jump....

Interestingly enough the only GEC I've sold (kind of had a funds crunch) I still only sold at direct prices. I sold a Beer Scout and a TC Barlow at $120 or so each (below the $150 mark) even though by that time the prices had already gone high. (I gave away my other remaining TC when I saw a member selling his collection because he had a terminal diagnosis, I sent him my last TC to sell, or gift which ever he wanted).
 
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Knife Scalping. That's all it is. People with the right connections buying up every GEC they can from retail and then essentially scalping them on Ebay for 2 to 3 times what they paid. Ordinary people who want one have to pay extortion prices for them. They need to put buyer protection or something in place. One per customer. I've decided to just start buying Solingen Bokers.
 
Not too sure many of those GECs you can see on the Bay for eye-watering prices, actually SELL ;) But, I suppose some desperate type or just uninformed might bite once in a while.....rich profit then yes.
 
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