How many knives for a show?

[sclawshark]

Nice conversation. As a buyer there are 2 reasons I would go to a show.

1) to get around a waiting list of a popular knife maker;

2) to see someone's work in person. Beautiful pics can sometimes make knives look better than they do in hand. It is also difficult to impossible to appreciate the weight or size of a knife from pics.

Learning points for makers: always have a little something to sell and always keep a little something in reserve that people can touch. I wouldn't be offended if I went to a table and there were a couple of demos that would be for sale at the end of a show (you could collect a waiting list to sell those or sell them first come after a certain date/time).

 

[Turtlecreekknives]

I'm a full blown rookie with knife making. I love doing it. And in the past year I personally believe I have come a far way. My first chunk of knives were crap haha! With encouragement from my mother I have kept at it! Well I decided this year I want to go to the Blade Show and show my stuff. I personally myself want to just make nice hunting skinners and camp style knives with a little of authentic look that people can afford easier. i started out wanting to make knives that are expensive and what not. but it really isnt what i wanted after I have been making knives now. Obviously it has to be cost efficient. And I faithfully take all my finished knives to people who hunt and do a lot of outdoor activities and get their opinions. It's helped a ton! Their the customers not me! So I myself will be taking as much of hunting skinners and camp/trail knives that I can and obviously other knife styles. And I hope to be able to reach the market that im going for. If any of you have tips for me as a noobie, please go ahead. I need all the help I can get.

Tanner Graham-TurtleCreekKnives

 

[JParanee]

I have attended I custom knife shows for 20 + years

The last few I have been working at them

So I definitely have an opinion

Every maker wants to sell out as fast as he can. It does not matter if they have 8 knives or 80

Your either hot or your not and the hot guys with empty tables either sold out quickly or did not have time to make many knives

When Snody fills a table it emptys because people know if they don't grab them when they can they will be gone

When a maker that is not in huge demand puts a ton of knives out the perception is that there is no hurry he will have some left so if I don't find something else I like I can always come back

A hobbie maker can do what ever he wants but a guy that wants to maximize his sales better learn to market and create the perception that the customer is lucky to get a piece of his work

The best part of this is that most the knives that hit the tables from the very popular guys have been picked over the night before the show

 

[Jason Fry]

I read most of this while working at my day job, so I wasn't able to comment much as so many people put out pearls of wisdom. I'm a crappie fishing hobby maker (excellent analogy, Snody) , but I have an eye and mind toward the bigger picture.

Since my production rate is fairly low and I sell them all fairly quickly, I have to stop selling knives in order to do a show. It seems a little backward to me. On the other hand, I can turn off the sales and turn up the producton for 6-8 weeks and end up with 15 or so knives of the best quality I can produce. As some of you said, selling is the bottom line, but networking/visibility/etc makes it worth the risk to hold out from selling in order to do a show.

I shoot for some variation in style and price point in my spread, and I always try to have at least one that represents something new, better, or just above my typical work. I sell most of my knives to my mailing list, and have primed the list and the internet with the idea that I'm holding out right now for the show. I hope to sell out, but realistically will be pleased if I sell 50-60% and have a few for my mailing list.

I've only done a couple of small shows before. As someone said, the show in question is the Lone Star Expo, with maybe 40 makers. I also just got published in Texas Monthly in March. The bigger show after a recent publication makes this an important opportunity for the future of my business. Trying to stay focused making good knives, but working hard to study up so as not to make a fool of myself as a little fish in the bigger pond.

Thanks for the good thoughts.

Couldn't find a crappie picture.... all I had uploaded to the net were carp. At least it was a two-fer.

 

[Snody]

It is So Difficult not to Alienate anyone or piss anyone off because you guys all know that the we have not even touched on the politics of knife shows.
For Instance. I have an individual client who has spent over $15,000.00 on my knives this year and he can not travel to shows.
How do you think he feels when I post completed pictures of show knives for my table and he calls me wanting to buy one.
Should I sell it to him? Should I alienate a client who has already spent 15k in 2013 and refuse to sell him the knife so I can put it on my table and let strangers handle it.
My collector friend will just love reading the Show Thread on his favorite forum and seeing pictures of guys standing in front of my table posing with a beer in one hand and the knife he wanted to buy in the other. Does that sound like good business to you guys or I am missing the big picture? What happens when you sell the client the knife and then another client calls.
The top collectors Work Hard behind the Scenes and they know Everything that is going on. The internet has permanently changed everything.

When the bell rings and the show opens we run a simultaneous virtual internet knife show and everything on the table is for sale.
If you are wheel chair bound you can get on your computer from the comfort of your home and have the same opportunity to buy a table knife as an individual who physically traveled to the event. If you are in Botswana you can get the same chance as the guy who flew from Boston.

If a 1000 people lined up in single file and each one only took 3 minutes before passing off the knife to the next guy it would still take 50 straight hours for them to pass.
It is unrealistic to think that Hundreds of Potential Buyers will be handling your knives at any event.
If you want Thousands of Views buy a Knifemaker Membership and post pictures of your work on Bladeforums.
I started out doing exactly what some of you are talking about regarding display pieces until I had pissed off about 50 people by telling them "No I can not sell you this knife it is for display". You think people get upset when they come to an empty table with pictures let them pick up a knife they REALLY want to buy and you tell them no. They get pissed off dude.
Tell Les Robertson "No" and see what he says. I have already been there and done that. "What the hell do you mean you cant sell it, I traveled from Qatar to get here and I want to buy the knife from you now" I had one guy sit down on the floor in front of my table with his legs crossed chanting while he bobbed his body back and forth holding the display knife for over 30 minutes.. I have had dealers curse me. I had people go complain to Steven Dick at the Tactical Knives Table that Mike Snody had an Ad in his magazine and I was refusing to sell them a knife from my table. There is alot of money in custom knives and this is how dealers feed their families. I have had people pull my personal folder out of my pocket and demand I sell it to them. There is no one size fits all rule.

 

[GTH11]

Im getting ready to do my second show, Im gonna be bringing around 17-18 pieces. These pieces will be a presentation of my skills, and I will have a little something for everybodys price range up to about 400 dollars! This year I will have a digital picture frame but it is gonna backdrop an WIP that I will have on the table. I sold 9 my first show, and got tons of feedback, and a couple custom orders too. This year Im also offering custom turned cigar pens in matching materials to go with a few knives, as well as my free beer cuzzies to paying customers!!
Greg

 

[Snody]

I read most of this while working at my day job, so I wasn't able to comment much as so many people put out pearls of wisdom. I'm a crappie fishing hobby maker (excellent analogy, Snody) , but I have an eye and mind toward the bigger picture.

Since my production rate is fairly low and I sell them all fairly quickly, I have to stop selling knives in order to do a show. It seems a little backward to me. On the other hand, I can turn off the sales and turn up the producton for 6-8 weeks and end up with 15 or so knives of the best quality I can produce. As some of you said, selling is the bottom line, but networking/visibility/etc makes it worth the risk to hold out from selling in order to do a show.

I shoot for some variation in style and price point in my spread, and I always try to have at least one that represents something new, better, or just above my typical work. I sell most of my knives to my mailing list, and have primed the list and the internet with the idea that I'm holding out right now for the show. I hope to sell out, but realistically will be pleased if I sell 50-60% and have a few for my mailing list.

I've only done a couple of small shows before. As someone said, the show in question is the Lone Star Expo, with maybe 40 makers. I also just got published in Texas Monthly in March. The bigger show after a recent publication makes this an important opportunity for the future of my business. Trying to stay focused making good knives, but working hard to study up so as not to make a fool of myself as a little fish in the bigger pond.

Thanks for the good thoughts.

Couldn't find a crappie picture.... all I had uploaded to the net were carp. At least it was a two-fer.

You will do excellent. I can feel your enthusiasm and your work looks great.
If your ever down around Corpus give me a call and I will buy you lunch.
Much Respect. 361 443 0161

 

[2knife]

Whether or not you are doing this as a business or as a hobby, it is a nice gesture to make to your loyal customers to offer them VIP passes. The early one-day admission to Blade is over $50 without. Even if the customer is filthy rich, it still matters.
David

 

[The Amazing Virginian]

So what?

I tried to explain "so what," namely:

I am just suggesting that if you are going to a knife show with many hundred or even thousands of potential customers, you might want to view one or two of your knives as tools to help you make future sales.

Anyway, that was my suggestion, but I see that your business works better for you if you view your knives as only "finished product" so I guess we are talking past each other here. It was just a suggestion from one buyer's perspective, but I don't sell knives so I am sure you know how to do that better than me and if you think that not having any knives for buyers to inspect does not affect your sales, then great.

That argument is "apples and oak trees". We're not talking about auctioning off the ranch, we're talking about moving finished product.

Well, I think we are in agreement there, as I certainly was not talking about auctioning off the ranch. However even the Cutco guy carries some knives with him whenever he makes a sales call. I was talking about a mindset of viewing one or two of your knives not as just a source of income today, but as tools for generating future income tomorrow. I think that makes it . . . apples and . . . apples, but of course YMMV.

Selling every knife they have available is not going to stop any maker from continuing business for any longer than it takes to get back to their shop.

I can only speak for myself, but it will very likely stop a maker from doing business with me if I cannot examine any of their knives first hand. But of course I am only one tiny fish in a sea of sardines. However, there just might be a few other little fish like me out there . . .


However it seems like this is all moot as it sounds like you are one of those guys I mentioned earlier who can already sell 'em as fast as you can make 'em anyway. So in that case it really doesn't matter. That is a great position to be in, and kudos! I think that puts you in a small minority of makers, which is a tremendous achievement.

We can always make more, and continue to take orders in the meantime... :

Again, probably not from me if I don't ever get an opportunity to examine the quality of what I am buying.

I cannot imagine why anyone would be prompted to place an order for a knife that they want to keep and collect from someone whose work they have never seen firsthand, simply because they heard some "buzz" that the maker sold out his knives at some knife show. Then again, I am not a flipper or knife speculator, so i can't speak to that (BTW, who are these guys paying all these jacked up prices to flippers and knife speculators, anyway? Is this like musical chairs?). But hell, I can hardly fathom why a lot of folks do a lot of the things they do.


Anyway, it sounds like your plan is working great for you, and that is all that really counts. So, congrats and best wishes for your continued success!

a guy that wants to maximize his sales better learn to market and create the perception that the customer is lucky to get a piece of his work

Like I said earlier, one is born every minute. I guess this is why real estate on Madison Avenue is so expensive. When I start spending stupid money on knives because of some halfass Jedi mindtrick like this, I hope someone does me a favor and puts one right between my eyes.

 

[JParanee]

Virginian

You collect high end knives, go to a big show and watch what Jerry Busse , Hinderer, etc does

You do not think what Loveless has / had is not hype. A stainless steel stock removal knife that sells for the price of a car and has a 5 year wait that isn't / wasn't even made by Loveless ?

Just because you and I may not understand the logic don't be silly enough to think that it does not work on the many that stand in line and beg for a chance to get a knife

The sub culture of the knife world is this.....I am not speculating

 

[Ed Fowler]

When a show promoter advertises his show as one where many sold out, we have to consider that those who came to the show on the last day arrived to find that many of the actors had left before the final curtain. Makers then dance with the wallflower and proclaim the greatness of the show, just to protect their image. Some call it sales man ship, others note the dishonesty and refuse to participate.

When we realize that the direction of the future knife community depends on those patriots who play the game straight our health is assured. As you can read in the above posts, some have figured it out - it is nice to see they are not bashful about sharing their knowledge.

 

[seedsacker]

I go to trade shows quite often for the plant industry. I go to see products. I don't buy anything there but I do write orders and get information like catalogs, phone numbers and web addresses. The chances of me wanting to do business with a company is going to depend on the quality of what they have to show me. If there aren't any azaleas for me to judge, then how do I know if they're worth buying.

Now I know you guys aren't selling trees but I believe you're missing out on future sales by not having any physical product left to show. Could you imagine fords booth at the Detroit auto show being empty because they sold all of there show cars on the first morning? The people who showed up on the second day probably wouldn't be satisfied with a picture of what they could have seen.

I guess in the end you have to decide if this is an actual show, or just a 'farmers' market for knife makers.

 

[JParanee]

So let me get this straight

A maker who is in very high demand only has time to finish ten knives ...... He comes to blade and the morning of the first day he/she sells all 10.

What is he supposed to do, not sell them so he can have knives on the table ?

 

[Berno]

Good thread.
I will attend my first show next year and I am even thinking about getting a table. If I do and I am really lucky with shop time, I may have 3-4 knives to bring at best. What I was thinking is:

Can you ask buyers to leave their knives there until the end of the show?

Bonne question également Patrice ;-)

Cela se fait de temps en temps en France. Mais cela peut être aussi une source de tracas. L’artisan doit veiller sur un couteau qui a été vendu. ( Risque de vol, ou couteau abîmé….)

This is done from time to time in France. But it can also be a source of worry. The artisan must ensure on a knife that has been sold. (Risk of theft, or...)

 

[Snody]

When a show promoter advertises his show as one where many sold out, we have to consider that those who came to the show on the last day arrived to find that many of the actors had left before the final curtain. Makers then dance with the wallflower and proclaim the greatness of the show, just to protect their image. Some call it sales man ship, others note the dishonesty and refuse to participate.

When we realize that the direction of the future knife community depends on those patriots who play the game straight our health is assured. As you can read in the above posts, some have figured it out - it is nice to see they are not bashful about sharing their knowledge.

I have read your book a dozen times. I have huge respect for you but everyone is not as tough as you Ed.
I remember you talking about being so broke that you had to eat dead cows.
What if we have a family to feed. What if we dont want to sacrifice to the point that we are forced to eat a bloated animal that died of unknown causes.
Your talking about Patriots assuring our health?? Is that good health? You already stated that you lived under the poverty level most of your life.
Is that what it takes. Eating dead cows and living in poverty to insure the future of the knife community??
What if I love knifemaking and I want to support a family?? I am not willing to eat a dead carcass when I can work hard and buy Rib Eye.
Have a great weekend and please understand I am posting with total respect.
I simply do not understand your message

 

[Don Hanson III]

So let me get this straight

A maker who is in very high demand only has time to finish ten knives ...... He comes to blade and the morning of the first day he/she sells all 10.

What is he supposed to do, not sell them so he can have knives on the table ?

Joe, I am scratching my head also.....

 

[Snody]

I go to trade shows quite often for the plant industry. I go to see products. I don't buy anything there but I do write orders and get information like catalogs, phone numbers and web addresses. The chances of me wanting to do business with a company is going to depend on the quality of what they have to show me. If there aren't any azaleas for me to judge, then how do I know if they're worth buying.

Now I know you guys aren't selling trees but I believe you're missing out on future sales by not having any physical product left to show. Could you imagine fords booth at the Detroit auto show being empty because they sold all of there show cars on the first morning? The people who showed up on the second day probably wouldn't be satisfied with a picture of what they could have seen.

I guess in the end you have to decide if this is an actual show, or just a 'farmers' market for knife makers.

Great Post.
I think some of the members here are getting Trade Shows and Knife Shows confused.
For instance, SHOT is a Trade Show.
When I work the Benchmade Booth at SHOT we do not sell knives..
SHOT is for display and orders.

Blade is a Knife Show.
When I work the Benchmade Booth at Blade we sell knives..

Different Venue, apples and oranges.

What I am trying to say is that Trade Shows greatly differ from Gun Shows / Knife Shows..
Have a great day my friend.
Much Respect.

 

[russianpolander]

Wow, this is a spicy thread right here. Why not have for display one version of each finished model that is unfinished? By that I mean just no edge on it. This would be similar to having a trainer for each model. That way everyone gets a feel for each one and if sold out, they can then order one. Also, most people would probably accept this rather than a finished knife that is " just a display model".

 

[Don Hanson III]

Great Post.
I think some of the members here are getting Trade Shows and Knife Shows confused.
For instance, SHOT is a Trade Show.
When I work the Benchmade Booth at SHOT we do not sell knives..
SHOT is for display and orders.

Blade is a Knife Show.
When I work the Benchmade Booth at Blade we sell knives..

Different Venue, apples and oranges.

What I am trying to say is that Trade Shows greatly differ from Gun Shows / Knife Shows..
Have a great day my friend.
Much Respect.

Spot on bro! I did trade shows many years ago, but not knife related.

 

[Patrice Lemée]

Sorry, I did not mean to create or at least fuel discord.
My main concern was to have at least a knife/knives to show my fellow knifemakers and online friends I may only meet at shows but this could be done at the pre-show I guess. I still need to learn a lot more about knife shows.

Berno, if I ever go to France to visit family, I'll do my best to see if there is a knife show nearby.