How should Collector Knives sell GEC SFO's

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I won a reserve for the ironwood last night. Seeing all the posts about not getting drawn makes me feel extremely lucky. Out of respect for those that didn't get drawn I almost didn't post this, but thought I should because I have been participating in CK's lottery process from the start. Even though I won a reserved slot I am not a fan of knife lotteries in general. I knew this was coming and know that with the popularity of some brands we will likely see more lotteries from other dealers in the coming years.

I read earlier someone posted something about the 77 barlow for the bladeforums knife. The folks that have been running the BF knife for the past few years may want a break and I sure would like to see what Mike would come up with for a BF knife. I would welcome the change from prior years. Something on the 77 or 85 frame that Mike tends to run during the same year as the 77 barlow would be great!
 
Squidman24 said:
I’m wondering where all these people came from. Based on what I’ve seen in this thread, forum members didn’t have much success at all. The forum members who did win might be keeping it quiet so as not to rub it in though.
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Yep !!! You just described me . Some of us are the ones who bought them when many people didn't and we posted pictures of them and told people how nice they were . Early on they were up for reserve for a week or more and when they came in , if you did not have a reserve , you had time to look at them before you lost them out of your basket . Mike has been a class act through all of this and has been able to bring us some very nice knives without brass liners.
This is why right now , I have a 77 Barlow in each pocket . Stag & Old Red Sawcut with clip.
Thank you very much Mike & GEC and Congrats to all of you winners of a Reservation and especially to you people who will be getting your very first 77 Northfield Barlows . Oh Yes !! I am a lucky guy because I will get an Iron Wood. Something that I have wanted for years . It will also be made of Unobtainium .

Harry
 
knifeswapper said:
I will tell you there are many people upset over disqualifications, because they were innocent mistakes. Several were upset over disqualifications because they didn't take time the read the rules and insure everything was sorted before entering. And a handful were upset because they were disqualified for entering SEVERAL times under different email addresses or from different devices. If it weren't for this thread, this would be the majority of the folks I got to hear from - so I want to thank you very much for actual support.
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Echoing what several have said, I appreciate all the effort you put in to make the process fair and available to all that wanted a chance.
 
Squidman24 said:
I’m wondering where all these people came from. Based on what I’ve seen in this thread, forum members didn’t have much success at all. The forum members who did win might be keeping it quiet so as not to rub it in though.
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I think you hit the nail on the head. There are many that drew at least one reservation and it might be a little volatile to parade success around. Not to be negative, but if you notice it doesn't actually take a lot of people to seem like a lot of people - until you take a headcount.
 
I was also 0-5 and coincidentally on or near my phone for every draw so I probably would have gotten one had it been first come first serve. Oh well I guess. Hopefully I can pull one via trade even though it will require parting with one I care about. I'm fine with a lottery I just wish it wasn't possible for people to win more than one when so many got none. Maybe that will get sorted out in the future.
 
Squidman24 said:
I’m wondering where all these people came from. Based on what I’ve seen in this thread, forum members didn’t have much success at all. The forum members who did win might be keeping it quiet so as not to rub it in though.
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Facebook and Instagram groups probably add a fair number of people is my guess. A large number of BF members must not be posting here because it seems that only 20 or 30 people are regularly on this thread.
 
knifeswapper said:
All future high demand reserves will be unannounced placement on the ERS with no additional limitations. Easy for me.
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After all this work and drama, I can certainly understand why you'd decide to go that route. Some folks will be glad, some will be disappointed. In that respect, the end result is the same, I suppose. I'm glad I got to participate in this lottery experiment. :thumbsup:
 
cbr1000 said:
Facebook and Instagram groups probably add a fair number of people is my guess. A large number of BF members must not be posting here because it seems that only 20 or 30 people are regularly on this thread.
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There is a Facebook post on the GEC page with 114 responses if that is any indication. More activity in my other groups as well.
 
0 for 5 myself. Ouch. Oh well, such is life....I'm sure I'll survive. LOL

Thanks, Mike. No ill will here in regards to the process. Appreciate all of your hard work dedicated to this endeavour!
 
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Squidman24 said:
I’m wondering where all these people came from. Based on what I’ve seen in this thread, forum members didn’t have much success at all. The forum members who did win might be keeping it quiet so as not to rub it in though.
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I got lucky on the first and third draws and didn't enter the fourth. So that's one forum member.
 
Jsega51 said:
So no notifications will come through the “Remind” app or through text like the rest of the reserves work?
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They can't. That puts 500+ people on the site within 20-30 seconds and it WILL crash. It came close last week with just @200 on the #46, #15, and #44 announcement (I should have staggered them). That was the main reason for the search for another solution to begin with. So, by not announcing them, the traffic will be distributed as people find them or at least until announcements start trickling in to social media platforms. I don't like it, but at this point I have exhausted my attempts to find an alternative.

It is funny, because I thought I could just use some other system to take names, like the RandomPicker site. So the first giveaway test we did I intentionally had about 250 people hit within a few seconds to enter their email on the commercial website for RandomPicker and it hung their system up for a couple minutes. Their commercial server, made for this function alone, could not handle half the traffic I am trying to find a solution. So, I worked with a developer for a couple weeks and come up with the simple form on my own new platform. But collecting names, enforcing rules, begging forgiveness when enforcing said rules, and taking the chewing I took when someone was not drawn - is simply not worth it.

If I can figure out something else that will work for all involved, I will implement it. But at this point I am a couple thousand dollars into a solution that only got people more angry - and I'm exhausted.
 
Completely understand Mike and I don’t envy your situation. I think your proposed solution may only delay the inevitable crash though, once word gets out that they dropped the avalanche would begin. I think marking them up so that all your fees and expenses were covered and putting them on eBay was a good recommendation made earlier. Even better yet, could they be listed on a site like Amazon? Trust me when I tell you their infrastructure can take the onslaught of traffic!
 
Squidman24 said:
Completely understand Mike and I don’t envy your situation. I think your proposed solution may only delay the inevitable crash though, once word gets out that they dropped the avalanche would begin. I think marking them up so that all your fees and expenses were covered and putting them on eBay was a good recommendation made earlier. Even better yet, could they be listed on a site like Amazon? Trust me when I tell you their infrastructure can take the onslaught of traffic!
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Either one of those would work, but complicates the backend a bit. I dedicate 3 minutes every night between prayer and falling to sleep in pondering possible solutions :D
 
Could you text me at least? :D

I believe the way you structured this was the most fair. Of course not all scored a knife, but it was an equal opportunity. The same applies to an instant drop, not all will get a knife, but at least with the lottery everyone had a chance.

There are ALWAYS going to be some who lose out.

Thanks for your efforts and taking it on the chin for trying to find a fair solution.
 
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