I want to sell a knife in order to fund the purchase of another knife. I’ve never sold a knife and am unfamiliar with process. I’m unsure of the value of my knife. Do you need a membership to sell a knife through these forums? My previous post came too close to a “solicitation” and I was told to “purchase a membership to ask these types of questions” . So here’s my incredibly vague cry for help on advice on how to sell my knife.
How to sell a knife on BladeForums
- Thread starter Calebb
- Start date
you need a gold membership to be able to post a for sale thread, you need to figure out the price of your knife, ebay, facebook, previous sale, the price of it new all help you define the asking price.
Here's some info on the Gold Membership from https://www.bladeforums.com/pember/membership-new
30.00 USD for 1 year
The Gold Standard. Allows sales in the Exchange, Avatar, Signature, Private Messaging, hidden forum access, media gallery & more.
Exchange Areas: For Sale by Individuals, Reply to WTB
Private messaging: 100 conversations, 250 total messages
Avatar: Yes (30k)
Signature
Media Gallery: Yes (20Mb)
Create Resources: Yes
Here's some info on the Gold Membership from https://www.bladeforums.com/pember/membership-new
30.00 USD for 1 year
The Gold Standard. Allows sales in the Exchange, Avatar, Signature, Private Messaging, hidden forum access, media gallery & more.
Exchange Areas: For Sale by Individuals, Reply to WTB
Private messaging: 100 conversations, 250 total messages
Avatar: Yes (30k)
Signature
Media Gallery: Yes (20Mb)
Create Resources: Yes
- Joined
- Apr 11, 2016
- Messages
- 18,648
Yes, you will need at least a Gold membership to sell here. Then you can post in the applicable sub-forum within the Knife Exchange.
The $30 would cut into my margins substantially. I have no intentions of buying, selling, or trading any knives after this. So the gold membership doesn’t seem like the route to go. Is eBay is my best bet or is there some other place to sell knives that you’d recommend? Also, can a purchase a knife from the forums without a gold membership?
- Joined
- Apr 11, 2016
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Yes you can purchase without a paid membership.
Regarding ebay, keep in mind that you will have to pay the ebay final value fee, which is 10%. So that cuts into your "margins" as well.
And that the membership helps keep the site open so you can ask how and where you can take your support/business elsewhere.
BP_
Platinum Member
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2015
- Messages
- 2,749
It’s going to cost you either way. Might as well do it here and gift yourself the never ending knowledge and brotherhood this forum offers. If you don’t care about knives and don’t want to stick around, put it on Facebook or craigslist and call it a day. But to say you don’t want anything to cut into your margins but want to sell something online, is kind of an oxymoron. Just about everywhere and everyone (except us, only PP fees 
) charges money to sell. So good luck with that. 
) charges money to sell. So good luck with that. I appreciate good tools that I get use out of. Unfortunately I purchased a knife that doesn't get used. I’m just looking to recoup what I can to put towards a harder use knife (shaman).
Didn’t mean to be rude asking about other selling methods. Just would prefer a smaller loss on my bad purchase.
I’ll definitely consider getting a gold membership and posting it on here. I’ve seen a few sell pretty quick in your forums for what it cost new. Thanks for the input!
Didn’t mean to be rude asking about other selling methods. Just would prefer a smaller loss on my bad purchase.
I’ll definitely consider getting a gold membership and posting it on here. I’ve seen a few sell pretty quick in your forums for what it cost new. Thanks for the input!
KingMC
The Pun-isher
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- Jul 25, 2014
- Messages
- 11,600
Everywhere you are going to sell that's worth selling on will take a cut. Ebay's the only other route that's mostly safe to sell on, otherwise you have the swamps like Facebook marketplace or Craigslist.
The perk of selling here is you're reaching buyers who are very into what you're selling, knowledgeable buyers know what a knife is worth. Sure, the possibility of cashing out big on a knife sale here isn't as high as on Ebay, but on Ebay you also run the risk of someone getting a great deal off of you due to lack of interest as well. Selling here is predicable and safe, if not lucrative.
I may be a bit biased and I didn't purchase my membership in order to sell knives here, but selling here is easy and safe. Only selling one knife here might not be worth the membership, though, that's a personal choice.
BP_
Platinum Member
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- Aug 26, 2015
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- 2,749
You’re definitely going to get a better deal here than anywhere else on your Shaman. That’ll offset your membership price some right there. Plus you’ll be able to sell yours on here. So you really can’t lose.
- Joined
- Nov 1, 2022
- Messages
- 1
Let me see if I understand. Once I purchase the membership, there will be a link I can click and begin listing knives for sale?
sbh06
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2015
- Messages
- 3,177
Yes. Once you purchase the membership, the specific subforum on the Exchange (For Sale: Folding Knives, for example) will no longer have the "You have insufficient privileges to post threads here" statement at the bottom lefthand side below the listed threads and a button above and to the right the threads will appear that says "Post Thread" that you can click to start creating your sales listing.
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Once you have the membership, you can post in the appropriate areas of the Exchange. Right now you can only view the Exchange, but can't post there (except in the "want to buy" area)
Peter Hartwig
Gold Member
- Joined
- Feb 29, 2008
- Messages
- 5,438
With a basic membership you could try to trade the knife.
That may or may not work out.
That may or may not work out.
Hey all,
Great thread to what I'm looking for, I literally just signed up today. I must have been living in a cave, because I've been collecting knives on and off since I was young, and I just now have signed up with this site. I would hear of people and YouTubers mention this site, but never connected the dots.
My question though, after purchasing and posting knives for sale, what should I expect as the next steps? Do I go to the post office and ask for a box to ship the knives in? How would I receive payment? Totally new to the forum buy/sell thing.
Thanks in advance to any help you may have.
Great thread to what I'm looking for, I literally just signed up today. I must have been living in a cave, because I've been collecting knives on and off since I was young, and I just now have signed up with this site. I would hear of people and YouTubers mention this site, but never connected the dots.
My question though, after purchasing and posting knives for sale, what should I expect as the next steps? Do I go to the post office and ask for a box to ship the knives in? How would I receive payment? Totally new to the forum buy/sell thing.
Thanks in advance to any help you may have.
Locutus D'Borg
Platinum Member
- Joined
- Dec 1, 2012
- Messages
- 4,846
Read how others sell their knives. Some included multiple paragraphs on who does what first, etc. Others, like myself, use a single sentence. Read a few and then decide what will work for you.
Almost ALL sellers require payment before shipping using PP, Venmo, etc. It is easy to set up PP or Venmo if you haven't done it before. But once payment is made, you should ship ASAP.
Almost ALL sellers require payment before shipping using PP, Venmo, etc. It is easy to set up PP or Venmo if you haven't done it before. But once payment is made, you should ship ASAP.
Awesome, thank you. I was just doing that as well, and read the forum for exchange rules. I've noticed a lot of people using the PayPal friends and family, when I read it was discouraged. I've never used anything like Venmo or Zelle, or even PayPal before. Is there something I'm missing with people still preferring the pp way?
Locutus D'Borg
Platinum Member
- Joined
- Dec 1, 2012
- Messages
- 4,846
I use PP G&S. Most people are fine with it if you insist, but some may require a small fee to cover the PP fee. I rarely sell a knife so I'm not concerned with PP reporting it as income (which I would contest). I also set up a Venmo because it was easy and free to set up. That way I can give people a choice.
Got it. Thank you for all the pointers and help. Much appreciated.
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2005
- Messages
- 7,489
Electronic payment is far preferred, with PayPal being the dominant one. PayPal allows you to send money in two ways, one, via Goods and Services, is intended for commercial exchanges, and the other, Friends and Family, is meant for non-commercial transfers like splitting rent, repaying someone for dinner, or giving a gift. PayPal charges seller fees for G&S. There are no fees for F&F if paid by bank transfer, but the sender pays fees for F&F if the fund source is a credit card.
F&F is widely used to sell knives against PayPal's Terms of Service because it allows the seller to evade PayPal's fees and because a tax law change two years ago now requires payment processing companies like PayPal to issue and report 1099 forms each year for people receiving G&S payments. Theoretically we were always supposed to pay taxes on net income received like this, but no one did it. It's a hassle because it requires you to keep a log of your collection inventory acquisition dates and cost basis so you can file the transactions on your taxes. Falling to keep track would mean the feds would assume ALL the reported income was net profit and would dramatically increase the tax burden from it, since you were not able to document the cost of goods sold.
However, using F&F to accept payments for knives sold is tax evasion and also against PayPal's ToS, hence, it's also common to see people who do not accept PayPal, as many have had their accounts shut down for selling goods and requesting payment by F&F.
Taking payment by G&S is not entirely without risk, though, as PayPal has vague policies that are sometimes arbitrarily enforced against transactions where knives are sold. So it's a matter of something that is DEFINITELY against their policy (misuse of F&F) versus something that is not against their policy but which could be arbitrarily treated as though it was with no explanation or recourse. However, they're are also plenty of examples of sellers who had to resort to seller protection and were covered when someone who had used F&F would just be out of luck.
That being said, personally I price and request for G&S, but if people pay me by F&F, I don't refund and have them pay by G&S, I just ship them their knife. It's only against policy to request F&F payment for commercial transactions. If people pay that way even though I said to do it by G&S, I feel like I did my fair part.
In terms of after the sale, you need to ship promptly. Ideally you'd include in the sale post when you can ship and how. This should usually be same or next day of payment clearing, but if you're going out of town or something, as long as you're up front in advance about it, it's fine.
You can get free Priority Mail boxes from the USPS sent directly to your house at no cost. The small flat rate boxes generally work well for most folders unless the knife box is too big (small flat rate box is 1-5/8" tall on the shortest dimension). Koenigs don't fit, and Hinderers are a bit tight. But what I actually prefer now is the small priority box. Not the small flat RATE box, but the 1096L box that is 9-7/16" x 6-7/16" x 2-3/16".
The reason is that these will comfortably fit almost all folders in their factory box and more importantly, they will go Priority Mail instead of flat rate, which means the actual package weight will go on your receipt. [EDIT: This is under dispute, I may be wrong] Since weight doesn't matter for flat rate, it doesn't go on when you use a flat rate box. That's useful in case a buyer claims he received an empty box, because you can prove you sent a box that weighed enough to have the knife in it, and each post office scan actually has the package weight at scan, although the Post Office has to find that info, you can't. But if they have to investigate a lost package, the weight tracking can prove it was lost in transit and not after delivery.
You also need to insure for the full replacement value unless you are willing to eat the cost of refunding the buyer in the event it's lost or stolen before receipt. If it's lost, you refund immediately and hash out out with the insurance, don't make the buyer wait for the insurance claim, which can take a while.
The absolute best insurance, though, is securely taping all edges of the box and padding heavily with bubble wrap or packing paper.
F&F is widely used to sell knives against PayPal's Terms of Service because it allows the seller to evade PayPal's fees and because a tax law change two years ago now requires payment processing companies like PayPal to issue and report 1099 forms each year for people receiving G&S payments. Theoretically we were always supposed to pay taxes on net income received like this, but no one did it. It's a hassle because it requires you to keep a log of your collection inventory acquisition dates and cost basis so you can file the transactions on your taxes. Falling to keep track would mean the feds would assume ALL the reported income was net profit and would dramatically increase the tax burden from it, since you were not able to document the cost of goods sold.
However, using F&F to accept payments for knives sold is tax evasion and also against PayPal's ToS, hence, it's also common to see people who do not accept PayPal, as many have had their accounts shut down for selling goods and requesting payment by F&F.
Taking payment by G&S is not entirely without risk, though, as PayPal has vague policies that are sometimes arbitrarily enforced against transactions where knives are sold. So it's a matter of something that is DEFINITELY against their policy (misuse of F&F) versus something that is not against their policy but which could be arbitrarily treated as though it was with no explanation or recourse. However, they're are also plenty of examples of sellers who had to resort to seller protection and were covered when someone who had used F&F would just be out of luck.
That being said, personally I price and request for G&S, but if people pay me by F&F, I don't refund and have them pay by G&S, I just ship them their knife. It's only against policy to request F&F payment for commercial transactions. If people pay that way even though I said to do it by G&S, I feel like I did my fair part.
In terms of after the sale, you need to ship promptly. Ideally you'd include in the sale post when you can ship and how. This should usually be same or next day of payment clearing, but if you're going out of town or something, as long as you're up front in advance about it, it's fine.
You can get free Priority Mail boxes from the USPS sent directly to your house at no cost. The small flat rate boxes generally work well for most folders unless the knife box is too big (small flat rate box is 1-5/8" tall on the shortest dimension). Koenigs don't fit, and Hinderers are a bit tight. But what I actually prefer now is the small priority box. Not the small flat RATE box, but the 1096L box that is 9-7/16" x 6-7/16" x 2-3/16".
The reason is that these will comfortably fit almost all folders in their factory box and more importantly, they will go Priority Mail instead of flat rate, which means the actual package weight will go on your receipt. [EDIT: This is under dispute, I may be wrong] Since weight doesn't matter for flat rate, it doesn't go on when you use a flat rate box. That's useful in case a buyer claims he received an empty box, because you can prove you sent a box that weighed enough to have the knife in it, and each post office scan actually has the package weight at scan, although the Post Office has to find that info, you can't. But if they have to investigate a lost package, the weight tracking can prove it was lost in transit and not after delivery.
You also need to insure for the full replacement value unless you are willing to eat the cost of refunding the buyer in the event it's lost or stolen before receipt. If it's lost, you refund immediately and hash out out with the insurance, don't make the buyer wait for the insurance claim, which can take a while.
The absolute best insurance, though, is securely taping all edges of the box and padding heavily with bubble wrap or packing paper.
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