High price to pay

Buck_Fan

Buck_Fan

Basic Member
Joined
Oct 14, 2008
Messages
954
Hi all,
I am wondering how much more you are willing to pay to support a local dealer? There is a dealer about 14 miles from me and they are the closest Case dealer to me. It is a large knife only store. Has thousands of knives. BUT, there prices are just about full suggested retail. They are located in a "touristy area". For instance a knife I wanted from my favorite online dealer is $45.99. The local store wants $72.00. :eek: To me that is just to much of a difference. How much higher do you pay?

Thanks,

Bill
 
Im all for supporting the idea of buy local, sell local, etc support your local area, but if were telling the truth Id have to say a $26 dollar mark up would be just too much for me. But at the same time I dont have really any knife stores in my area like that other that for used stuff. If we were talking $5-7 bucks maybe. What are the chances of bringing it to the attention of the store managers attention, maybe you could work something out.- Joel
 
I'd pay a couple dollars, maybe even a ten dollars more depending on the price range, for the privilege of having it right away and being able to inspect the knife before buying.

But $20, $30, or $40? No freakin' way.

Plus, I generally get better service from online stores than from local businesses anyway...

I usually shop at Shepherd Hills Cutlery for Case Knives, either online or at their Lebanon, Missouri showroom.
 
I know the store you are referring too. I no longer buy from them because their prices are 30-50% higher than any of the online shops I buy from. I'd be glad to pay a bit more to keep a good knife store open, but they are so much more expensive than everyone else that I just can't justify buying from them.
 
This is much what I ran into when I was a dealer. Internet sellers, or large chains, were able to cut costs well below what I could. My answer was to sell for cost plus shipping plus 10%. This was the best price I could do and not lose money...didn't really make any either but hopefully a customer would buy an accessory or two as well. So on that knife you are talking about...lets say my cost on it was $40...

$40 plus $7.50 shipping plus $4 = $51.50

That would be acceptable to me...wouldn't feed my family but for a customer that bought other items like ammo, accessories, etc, I would try to make them happy. But if you had never bought anything from me and never shopped in my store before I doubt I would make you that good a price.
 
Thanks for your input. I would pay 5-10 more in that price range, but not that much. I have not talked to them about it. Other times I have brought up the subject at other stores, it does not always go over very well.

My favorite online dealer is what Bob W mentioned. Shephard Hills. I think I am on there site every day drewling. Great service. Great prices and a great website. And a number of exclusives. What more could you ask for.

Bill
 
My favorite online dealer is what Bob W mentioned. Shephard Hills. I think I am on there site every day drewling. Great service. Great prices and a great website. And a number of exclusives. What more could you ask for.
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As I mentioned, and as you probably know, they aren't only an online dealer either. They have several "brick and mortar" stores staffed with friendly and helpful employees. If you get a chance to visit some day, you'll love their super-duper-closeout-sale display case!

Case-Ruger swing guard Cheetah, full retail of $132, Shepherd Hills' regular price of $82, on super-duper-closeout for $42. I cried with tears of joy...
 
We have one shop in town that I vary rarely go to because the prices are just to damn high... I did stop there the other day and the had a Schrade LB7.
definetly been used and had no sheath. 75.00 :eek:
 
The key here that you mentioned, is the "touristy" area.

This dealer is not really selling to a local population, but is targeting tourists who are passing through, and spending money as they go. So when you boil it down and filter it out, you're not really supporting a local mom and pop store. It's a high dollar tourist clip joint, from the sounds of it.

We have the same thing here, with all the historical sites in Maryland and Virginia, not to mention Washington D.C. I'll see the same item in a swanky store near or in a tourist area for full retail. The idea is the tourist is in a good mood, having a nice time, and he's not going to shop around.

I'd say pass him by. You're not part of his target customer base anyway.
 
I am familiar with the store. I have relatives in the area and stop in once a year. It's a family business with the wife, husband and daughter working most of the time and they live above the shop.

I've tried to "deal" but it didn't work. They are quite comfortable sticking with MSRP. Gotta respect a man who knows his business and it works for him.

He often has some unique things and some NIB older knives, that due to his prices haven't sold. They are pretty nice people and have a wealth of information. With my 85 yo relative buying a swiss army knife for a graduation gift, they had the patience of Job. I've bought things from him that are unique or old, such as closed out W&H evolution, the spyderco matriarch and David boye knives. These cannot really be gotten cheaper elsewhere.

They really don't care if you just look and you can always buy a Blade mag :)
 
I've gotten discontinued models from the store in question, but have been able to hold off on big purchases. They are great people, the owner is very knowledgeable, as are his staff. It is in a touristy area, but is off the beaten path IMHO. When I am in Lancaster, I drop in. I always get something from them, ask to see a lot of stuff. He knows my feelings on his prices, and has given me his reasons for those prices, after one conversation about it, that was enough. He has been able to weather the markets, and will probably do so in the future. I will go back, and look for other discontinued or sprint run models. I would much rather have New Graham Knives in my backyard, for their prices, but the store in question has great customer service.
 
$26 is too much for me. I don't have any really good knife stores in my area anyways. Local business, especially in Michigan, is doing poorly right now. I'd be glad to support them rather then online stores.

$10-15 is my price range. If I can get it online for $50, but I can have it in hand now for $65, I'll do it.
 
Bob W said:
I'd pay a couple dollars, maybe even a ten dollars more depending on the price range, for the privilege of having it right away and being able to inspect the knife before buying.

But $20, $30, or $40? No freakin' way.

Plus, I generally get better service from online stores than from local businesses anyway...
Click to expand...

I agree totally.

One thing to remember, guys, is that a lot of online shops are "mom and pop" outfits these days as well.
 
I've been to the store a few times myself as we spend some time with the kids at the amusement park nearby. I love the look of awe my son has while were there and enjoy talking to them while we're there. I've bought a couple of things there but like everyone else has said it's been items that I knew weren't going to be found for that much of a difference.
 
I am willing to pay a convenience charge somewhat above and beyond the mail order price+shipping. Most B&M stores are strange in that they offer good pricing on some lines and what I would consider outrageous pricing on others. For example, I can pick up a CS tomahawk at my local shop for around $30, but a Kershaw Ti Bump would cost me about $225. A median example would be a BM mini-grip. New it would cost me between 50 and 60 dollars mail order, but the shop has them for 70 or 75 dollars. That kind of mark up is tolerable. I do wish the shop was more enthusiast oriented as the staff know more about their clocks than about their knives.
 
supporting your local economy is always good by lets say 5$ DIFFERENCE BUT 22$ MORE NO THANKS
 
One shop I go to has Benchmade full sized Grips for $100 which is a decent price here in Canada, very decent actually, but right next to that he will have the Spyderco Lava I bought online for $80 for $140!!! Spyderco's are priced crazy there so he has some really rare ones in stock like a NIB Dodo, Lum Tanton in folding and fixed, several large Manix's and several small ones.
 
I'm pretty sure I know the store as well. If it is the one I'm thinking of, I remember when the father was still alive and running the store. Been going there for 23 years or so.

Yes their prices are full MSRP. Sometimes I'll pay it, sometimes I wont. The difference is a lot less noticeable on some items - even on line you'll only get a few dollars off MSRP. I try to stick to those items. That said, I have spent as much as $40 over online prices there. Normally I wouldn't spend that much, but for me, they're different. Its a combination of nostalgia and never having a bad experience there. They treat you like a person, not an ATM. In this day and age, that's getting harder and harder to find.

Leo
 
I gladly pay more for the ability to check out the particular knife in person. I'm a perfectionist, and it matters to me. Also, there's no shipping charge in person, so that must be taken into account.

Generally, the knives I buy are between 100-200 dollars, so if we imagine that the knife I'm buying is 100 online, I'd be easily willing to pay 115, and maybe even 120. I mention the initial price because a 15 dollar increase a 30 dollar knife is massive, where in this territory, it's much less significant.

There is a knife store a couple hours from here that's very nice, but they do charge MSRP, so generally, you're looking at paying about 100% more than NGK. And that's too much.
 
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