Originally posted by RL
TBG, let me play devil's advocate here...again, I am not against the idea of passarounds, in fact I like the idea but I would like to answer the original question as to why I have not participated. Consider this, you are paying 10% of a brand new knife...after it has gone through the passaround, it has been used by 10 people (and possibly resharpened), certainly that devalues the knife. Personally, I don't like buying used knives but that issue aside, what if you don't like the knife?
RL
Well the knife that is used in these passarounds needs to be purchased. So everyone involved splits the costs evenly. As for it being used by 10 people, the value would go down with the wear the knife would exhibit. However I see only one person that should be affected by this, the Winner. I am not sure how many people would be upset by the show of wear on a knife that the paid 1/10th of the sale price. The winner gets the best deal there is out there:
Medic1210- Lrg Sebenza- $30
Lmalterna- CRK Green Beret- $35
Randal16-1- Strider Sng- $40
Razorhunter- Surefire- $40 (Consolation prize)
(I forget who won)- Surefire E2e- $11
I have never seen deals like these before. Of course there are 6-9 other people besides these folks that investing in the knife and only got to handle if for there money right? Of the 5 Passaround/Raffles that have been done. Nearly half the cast has signed up for them all as they feel they got there moneys worth and the odds are just too good to ignore.
These types of passarounds offer more than just a chance to win it of course. The passarounds are designed to give folks a chance to handle high end knives they generally would never get a chance to handle, test, evaluate or sometimes even afford. What have I got out of them?
-I learned that the Sebenza was not just hype, and learned what I was missing. I bought one before the passaround was even complete
-I was able to decide that the CRK Green Beret, although a great knife, was not worthy of being in my Top 10 want list. Simply do to the amount of other great knives out there
-I learned that I was missing out on the worlds best made flashlights and owned a Surefire less than two weeks from the passarounds completion
-I was able to handle a Strider folder, something I wanted to do for a long long time.
The week that I had each of these items made it well worth it to me to pay my share to purchase the item. And even after sending it off, I have had the excitement in knowing it could be returning to me for good.
If you review the passarounds I am refering to, You will see many of the same comements such as (From the winner) "This thing still looks brand new" (From the people who didn't win) "It was well worth the money, when does the next one start?"
One thing is for sure, this style is not for anyone. But if you want to test out some high end knives that you are interested and don't have the means to handle one in person or don't have the money to just spring for one and hope you like it. The Passaround/Raffle is the only way to go
