I really don't understand this company. They have all the awards, great designs and name recognition you can want but they still play this silly supply and demand game. Every awesome knife that they come out with seems to be limited edition. Just in recent memory here are some knives that were impossible to get your hands on ...0801CF Rexford, 0454 Sinkevich, 0600 RJ Martin and the soon to come 0392 Hinderer. Why? Why are you doing this Zero Tolerance? Are the designers stopping you from producing these knives in mass? That wouldn't make much sense as the idea of partnering up with these well known designers on a production knife is to get it in front of as many people as possible. Is the material so expensive that it is actually costing you money? I haven't heard of one company that would intentionally and consistently lose money just for the name recognition and advertising. I understand that these knives are hot sellers but scarce quantities start before they are even released, all of them were marked as limited edition instead of production. Maybe you just like to see your customers gouged on Ebay and other second hand stores? Anyway, after racking my brain on this ludicrous practice for some time and I have finally given up. Maybe someone out there could give me an answer. Thanks.
I understand your frustration. In most collecting hobbies, and especially before the advent of the internet, the joy of collecting was in the hunt; the chase to find that rare item that few had in their collection.
Today, however, we are fed by the internet, where if you have enough money almost any rarity is in your grasp, a few days away via paypal and usps.
When people now run into something that they can't just pony up the due and expect the package to summarily arrive, people now become angry, frustrated, disappointed.
The fact is that the big knife companies aren't making tons of money off of the super limited editions since they are so expensive to produce. There is opportunity cost in producing a high-labor low-volume product in that it takes factory space and ability away from making the hundreds of thousands of knives on which the factory actually rely upon to make a profit and stay in business.
There is a premium on the aftermarket for these limited edition items (be it a knife, a baseball card, whatever) where there is not enough supply to meet demand.
Perhaps you would be less frustrated if you focus your collecting on production knives that are more available and less expensive.
I do love ZT, for full disclosure, and I am a fan and collect their products. ZT as well as the other higher end manufacturers all make production knives. ZT tends to make a production version of the limited editions, the zt0560CBCF has the standard zt0560, the upcoming zt0392 has the similar zt0562. There is no standard production version of the ZT0454, ZT0600, ZT0888 to name a few, and that makes those knives harder to get. It is what it is.
I highly doubt that the powers that be at any of the major manufacturers sit in a meeting and discuss purposely limiting the supply of knives just to drive the secondary market crazy; the faster they produce and ship, the faster they get paid.
Bottom line, collecting is more about instant gratification due to the immediacy of being able to find the rarity of your choice.
I'm getting sick and tired of them too. Every time I get my "discretionary spending account" rebuilt I find other ZTs I want. You should call them and let it be known how wrong they are "doing it".
I hear you! Now I am relegated to selling off my OB's to buy more. It's a sickness.
best
mqqn
