I bet they'd sell if anyone could figure out how to buy them....

[Josh Muller]

I agree that the website is bad. Very bad. But websites aren't their business; it's making knives. The website is a component, a tool, of the marketing department. As long as they don't need to market, why devote the resources?

Having owned a business (and, after seven years, I never want to again!) I can assure you that many business owners don't want, and shouldn't want, to grow larger. Bigger is not always better. Bigger can mean that the owner deals with more stress and different duties. That can even mean no longer being able to do the part of the job they enjoy the most. The very reason for going into business in the first place.

They should concentrate on whatever keeps Jerry and those around him happy. If you ever meet them, I'll bet you agree they seem happy. Even Eric seems happy... well, kind of.

They have difficulty meeting current demand. Hence, the high aftermarket prices. Why try and create more sales????

While I fear this last statement will sound bad, since I happily recommend all of the Wauseon blades to anyone who asks, I personally don't care if...

What you are perceiving as negativity is merely frustration.All I want is to buy a knife at the posted price. When anyone asks about availability, its always "soon" or "a couple weeks". Never a straight answer. Always vague.

So how bout' it Eric. Prove me wrong. When will we be able to buy something from the new line?

if eric said "i dont know. i have been told that it will be as soon a they are ready, wich should be soon, and when i ask multiple times, that is the same answer", then its probably the truth. if you were to ask the highest person over seeing the operation to give you an exact date, when they themselves stated that they dont know the exact date due to the variables of production, you would be asking them to put themselves in a position to lie should that date fail because of complications.

"soon" or "within a month, hopefully" may be the absolute truth, as best as it can be stated without lying because there is no known set date.

In a capitalist society, I shouldn't have to twist someone's arm for them to sell me something. They are competing for my dollar, not me for theirs.

i disagree with this. they are only competeing for someones dollar if that person has decided to purchase something else, and said company is in need of the money that you can provide.

that being said, when a knife model is offered, they will take as many orders as they get, and i assume be very happy for them. if they get out of hand or to extensive for their ability to produce knives, they'll put a temporary hold on new orders or whatever it takes to ensure decent ship times.

"twisting someones arm" to sell you something they have in stock or available for order is one thing. twisting their arm to sell you something they dont offer, or something that is not available because its already been purchased by someone else is different. if that was required, they wouldnt really be running their company, as they would be forced to make whatever any customer individually told them to make, wether the company wanted to make it or not.

 

[Scott Hartman]

I wish more folks would read the letter from Jennifer Busse on the home page of the Swamp Rat website: "Here's how it stands at this point in time. The Busse facility will be used during off-hours, (nights and weekends) in order to prevent the interruption of the everyday happenings of our regular business. Our original office space, which although on the same property, is housed in a different building, and has been remodeled. An entirely new staff has been hired to handle production and administration. The Swamp Rat production line will be run as a completely separate business, but will be a division of Busse Knife Co."
Makes me think "Rats" aren't made in mass quantities on a regular basis, but the quality will make them worth whatever the waiting period.
Some custom makers have wait times of more than a year, "2 weeks" doesn't seem too bad

 

[bigbcustom]

. They are competing for my dollar, not me for theirs

If only that were the case lol We are competing for their knives, not the other way around. That is an enviable position for any business person.

 

[Rich_S]

I wish more folks would read the letter from Jennifer Busse on the home page of the Swamp Rat website: "Here's how it stands at this point in time. The Busse facility will be used during off-hours, (nights and weekends) in order to prevent the interruption of the everyday happenings of our regular business. Our original office space, which although on the same property, is housed in a different building, and has been remodeled. An entirely new staff has been hired to handle production and administration. The Swamp Rat production line will be run as a completely separate business, but will be a division of Busse Knife Co."
Makes me think "Rats" aren't made in mass quantities on a regular basis, but the quality will make them worth whatever the waiting period.
Some custom makers have wait times of more than a year, "2 weeks" doesn't seem too bad

So what was the point of creating Scrapyard Knives then?

Busse is known for ultra high quality knives at a moderate price, but they couldn't keep up with demand. So they created Swamp Rat to produce ultra high quality knives at a lower price, which was (obviously) met with even greater demand and they couldn't keep up. Now they're creating Scrapyard to produce ultra high quality knives at a REALLY low price. What do they think is going to happen? The knives will all be sold out within minutes of becoming available and will show up on eBay at a big markup a few days later.

Like someone else said, I just want to buy a knife.

 

[TurnerIII]

One other thing I just wanted to comment on. The term "clique" was used in this thread to describe the forumites, the Rat's in general. I do not think this is at all correct. A clique is generally defined as a group that is exclusive, only allowing certain people to join in.

We do not fit that definition. We are just a group of friends that are hanging out that have the same interests (high performance knives and generally humor )

Clique!! Clique !!?? We's not a clique!!!

We are just a group of friends that are hanging out ..... Right-on Eric!!! :thumbup:

 

[TurnerIII]

This sure is a spirited thread.

the M6 is being shipped to me tomorrow to be in the Company Store as soon as it arrives. If you don't like that one we will be starting another model to be in stock soon.

Nice bit of information here Eric and what migh that other model be??...

MOJO!! MOJO!!

 

[Josh Muller]

So what was the point of creating Scrapyard Knives then?

Busse is known for ultra high quality knives at a moderate price, but they couldn't keep up with demand. So they created Swamp Rat to produce ultra high quality knives at a lower price, which was (obviously) met with even greater demand and they couldn't keep up. Now they're creating Scrapyard to produce ultra high quality knives at a REALLY low price. What do they think is going to happen? The knives will all be sold out within minutes of becoming available and will show up on eBay at a big markup a few days later.

Like someone else said, I just want to buy a knife.

i beleive they were created to make the other price points (45-150$ range) available while the main lines are still in produciton.

busse is out of most peoples price range (240-400$ for standard models), thats why they made the basic line, wich was considerably cheaper. this allowed troops who were on a limited budget, and civilian consumers, to purchase a knife that was specifically made for hard use.

its my understanding that swamp rat came into being partly for the same reason, to create a line of knives that was cheaper then the busse line and affordable to more people. but swamp rats prices, as they have moved away from resiprene c handles to the more expensive micarta ones. they are still cheaper then busse, and still provide a knife that is made specifically for hard use.

scrap yard is still an unknown as far as what its relationship to busse or the busse compound is. it appears as though they are taking the baton of the original swamp rat idea, and before that the basic line, and before that the busse feild grade designated knives; providing knives that are built specifically for hard use at a low cost to those buying them.

all of these things refer to the knives from the companies themselves, not the after market *third party sales*, wich is a different matter.


when busse and swamp rat have a line of knives available for purchase, they make them and ship them according to what is ordered. the new busse protocol was put into place to help lower ship times (while providing more options per model). when they have knives that are offered for sale, they do keep up with demand for the knives offered from what i can tell.

 

[smithsnoh]

If you-all have been following a sub-plot of this thread, M6 is here (post #51)

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=408161&page=3

 

[smithsnoh]

Eric, I've been impressed. Calm, polite reasoned responses in the middle of a little storm. Where's "The Bully"?

 

[FWO]

No doubt a good product. When Andy Prisco sold them you could get a knife in a reasonable amount of time. No matter how many excuses you have over a great number of years, why you do not deliver, one cares little about your problems. There was a time they offered a free knife if they could not deliver on time. They did not and I would never accept a free knife to make like happy. I would stop making excuses and deliver or just say no to the orders you cannot fill. Let the people shop instead of holding up hopes and they become unhappy. Just say try the competition. Do not answer mail, phone calls or reasonable requests and you put your self out of business, not matter how good your product is. Most makers are not business people. Some are artists, they do not like business. These are my opinions and I speak for no others. These are just critical obsevations.

Be well
Floyd O`Leary

 

[Rat Finkenstein]

Eric, I've been impressed. Calm, polite reasoned responses in the middle of a little storm. Where's "The Bully"?

I think he is about to give you a swirly.

 

[Rat Finkenstein]

No doubt a good product. When Andy Prisco sold them you could get a knife in a reasonable amount of time. No matter how many excuses you have over a great number of years, why you do not deliver, one cares little about your problems. There was a time they offered a free knife if they could not deliver on time. They did not and I would never accept a free knife to make like happy. I would stop making excuses and deliver or just say no to the orders you cannot fill. Let the people shop instead of holding up hopes and they become unhappy. Just say try the competition. Do not answer mail, phone calls or reasonable requests and you put your self out of business, not matter how good your product is. Most makers are not business people. Some are artists, they do not like business. These are my opinions and I speak for no others. These are just critical obsevations.

Be well
Floyd O`Leary

I swear. . . from time to time there is a shortage of crack rocks, so these people come out and post on bladeforums.



SEEK REHAB! :thumbup:

 

[Eric Isaacson]

No doubt a good product. When Andy Prisco sold them you could get a knife in a reasonable amount of time. No matter how many excuses you have over a great number of years, why you do not deliver, one cares little about your problems. There was a time they offered a free knife if they could not deliver on time. They did not and I would never accept a free knife to make like happy. I would stop making excuses and deliver or just say no to the orders you cannot fill. Let the people shop instead of holding up hopes and they become unhappy. Just say try the competition. Do not answer mail, phone calls or reasonable requests and you put your self out of business, not matter how good your product is. Most makers are not business people. Some are artists, they do not like business. These are my opinions and I speak for no others. These are just critical obsevations.

Be well
Floyd O`Leary

Floyd,
Thanks for stopping by the Swamp Rat forum to join in this "bash fest" However, you must be a little confused as we have never had any association with Andy Prisco (we are a separate company from Busse Combat), we have never accepted phone calls(check the website, we don't list a phone number and we specifically ask that all correspondence be handled via email), we do not accept any custom orders or special requests(never have) and to my knowledge we have not had any significant complaints in regards to answering emails.
You also state "one cares little about your problems" and to be honest I don't know what you are talking about as I've never complained about any problems or made excuses. I have stated that there have been backorders(not a complaint or an excuse, just a fact) and that the website needs updating (once again not a complaint or an excuse it is a fact which I have admitted) Also, we fill all orders that we accept, we don't accept orders if they can't be filled (there have been long waits but I have been honest about this and it even states 8-12 weeks for delivery on our order form)

While you may have a beef with some company it is definitely not Swamp Rat that you are complaining about because none of your comments hold up to scrutiny.

This thread has been interesting, it has gone from a complaint about the website to a full fledged bashing on the Company, a few personal attacks have been thrown in for good measure and that is why I'm locking it. (Floyd if you'd like to respond to any of my comments I can be reached at ratknives@insightbb.com )

Website needs updating...point taken