I'm turning into an ebay junkie.

Keith Montgomery

Keith Montgomery

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I am finding myself checking out the knives on ebay more and more often lately. I have even bid on a few. Haven't won any yet. It seems that every knife I am interested in goes into a big last minute bidding war that I have yet to win. Maybe next time.

There is a lot of crap on ebay, but every once in awhile there is a gem for a great price.

Anybody else spend way to much time checking out knives on ebay?
 
OMG yes! I've bought something like six knives from ebay auctions or buy-it-nows in the last six months. Let's see...

2 Spyderco Vesuvius'
1 Benchmade Nimravus Cub
1 Spyderco Bill Moran Featherweight
1 Spyderco Peter Herbst
1 Spyderco Military (GREAT deal on a like-new knife)
2 Spyderco Almite Navigators (gave one away as a gift)
1 Benchmade Dark Star is on the way from ebay right now
(couldn't resist mostly because the name is so cool!)

Okay, so the count is NINE, and all from ebay, and all in the last six months. Perhaps I've overindulged...

But you know what? I'm planning on getting myself an ATR probably pretty soon. I think it's what I've been searching for. I think that an ATR with a blade shaped like that of the Vesuvius would be the last knife I'd ever truly feel it was necessary to buy...

---Jeffrey

P.S. It's not hard to get some great prices on ebay. I paid $80.01 for that Military incl. shipping! It was *mint*! I paid only $50 or so for the Herbst, and only $30 per Navigator! $65 plus shipping for the Dark Star! Compare these prices to online stores and they're way better.
 
a little last minute ebay bidding trick.

Use odd numbers. ie. instead of bidding a reserve of say 50.00 dollars bid 51.07. Its simple and I've won many bidding wars by doing it.
 
Originally posted by la_goata
a little last minute ebay bidding trick.

Use odd numbers. ie. instead of bidding a reserve of say 50.00 dollars bid 51.07. Its simple and I've won many bidding wars by doing it.
Click to expand...
How does that work?
Yeah, the bidding wars at the end makes winning a gem for cheap harder than normal. I normally don't really buy the knives from ebay. The sellers aren't always as truthful as they should.
I got a catcherman "mint" that has signs that says it has been carried.
 
Ebay can be a lot of fun. You can see some great knives there from custom makers. I won a Trace Rinaldi Sharkstooth for a rediculously low bid. The seller didn't know what he had and didn't describe it well but I knew from the one lousy pic what it was.
Tips:
Don't bid while drunk or sleep deprived...trust me on this one.
Ask for more and better pics.
ask every question you can think of. Has it been carried at all. Sharpened at all. Cut anything? Scratches,dings? Does it have the original packageing?
Feel free to respectfully ask what the reserve is if it is a reserve price auction. Most will tell you what the reserve is. Always be polite...it goes a long way to getting the answers you need.
Don't get sucked into a bidding war. Decide exactly how much the knife is worth to you and bid that and no more.
Factor in the shipping costs. If the shipping costs are high and you know that he's using the "shipping and handling" to up his profit. Are you sure you really want to buy from him?
Check his feedback. If he has negatives find out why and how did he handle them.
check past auction endings for the knife if possible.
Have fun!
 
Keith,

Do you have alerts set up to notify you if certain key words appear in an auction? For example, you could set up an alert that notified you if an item appeared in Collectibles/Knives and Swords with the phrase "Ron Newton" and a minimum price of $500 (the minimum price is mostly necessary to filter production knives if the maker also works with the production companies).
 
I like to cruise the Spydies and Al Mars on Ebay. Some fairly rare stuff pops up from time to time. Just yesterday an old (unchamfered) Spyderco Executive went for a little over sixty bucks. It even came with the original box. I was sick when that one got away!

Great place to watch and learn.
 
Gabe, you can't always use a minimum price to filter out the chaff. Most of the knives that I sell on E-Bay are in the $400 to $1000 range and very seldom do I use a reserve and my starting bid is always $9.
 
Originally posted by BurkStar
Gabe, you can't always use a minimum price to filter out the chaff. Most of the knives that I sell on E-Bay are in the $400 to $1000 range and very seldom do I use a reserve and my starting bid is always $9.
Click to expand...

Burkestar, how does it work that you've never gotten hosed with that strategy?
 
Hi Boink,
The answer is pretty simple. Excitement create sales. The trick to successful Ebay selling is getting a few people bidding early on. Then,,others see that and say "oh,,I better get in as well". Before you know it you have people competeing for the item. It's hard not to bid on a $9 custom with no reserve. It also helps if you've bought the knife at a a low price but that just stands to reason.:D
Low starting price auctions almost always do better than those that start at big $$. Just my .02.

Phillip :)
 
I spend a ridiculous amount of time looking at knives on ebay. Mostly slipjoints. Great place to find some older pieces and provides a good guide as to what something is really worth.

While I have never sold anything on ebay, it seems to me that stuff with a low opening bid does seem to do better.
 
i bought a kukri knife on ebay ...turned out to be made of monkey metal and wouldnt take an edge...aw well **** happens.anyway lesson learnt.
 
Originally posted by Keith Montgomery
Anybody else spend way to much time checking out knives on ebay?
Click to expand...


I have purchased quite a few knives on ebay
Usually you save 15% to 20% off websites.
occasionally you get a great deal.
I have bought nearly all my customs on ebay
I saved about $25 on a Reeve one piece Got a Dozier toothpick for the same price Bob sells them for but it came with three different kydex sheaths.

There a a bunch of custom makers that sell their knives on ebay, Some do it indirectly.
Ray Ennis of Entrek has a person selling his blades on ebay so does Mineral Mountain Hatchet works. Frank Dilluvio, sells his folders on ebay.



I like ebay more for knifemaking materials.
Last year I got a 40"x 48" x 1/2' piece of black paper based micarta for less than $170.00 shipped. I just recently got a 26"x 24"x 3/8" piece of brown canvas micarta for $37 I looked up in several of the supply websites and a 5"x 12" piece would cost me almost $20

Tool steel and brass are other things I save big on, usually about 1/2 off retail.

I buy my belt sander belts from a seller I found on ebay.

Drew
 
If you're patient, and you pay attention, you can really score on the Bay. A guy was offering NIB Militarys (all blade types) on weekends in December at no reserve, and they were selling from $50 to low $70s. I paid $52 for PE, S30V...and it came NIB perfect! Why didn't it bid up higher? Because you guys weren't paying attention!!!
Click on the "Watch This Item" button to track potential deals on your "My eBay", and see where the bidding goes. Sometimes people are asleep and items slip thru cheap. I always put in my 1 and only bid with 30 seconds til end and win 8 of 10 times. My bid amount rarely exceeds 75% of the cheapest price I could find an item for from a web store.
Always, pay attention to seller's feedback, ask questions, and factor in shipping.
 
I visit Ebay quite abit...mainly check out anything from Buck. For the most part, I haven't been disappointed. I'll check out the item, ask questions, check out how similar items did in the past, determine what I'd pay for it if it was right in front of me now, jot down my bid and don't bid anymore than that price. Probably 'win' about 75% of the items I bid on.
 
Ebay is the reason why I have spent enough money to rival that of some small countries (okay, I'm lying). But I've spent enough money buying knives on ebay to shock the average person.

Started mostly buying Benchmades, and for good prices too.

Then I found this place...*&#@!$%^&*!! I spend more here than I ever did on Ebay, and I haven't bought more than a handful of knives from Ebay since joining BF.com. Now I have some customs and have moved to blades that include exotic materials.

Ebay is evil, like foie gras. Can't get enough of it, but it can kill you (yes, I love goose liver). Been back from the dead several times!

And to top it off, I work across from the new Ebay office in BC. It's just sick!
 
Glad to hear I wasn't the only one checking out ebay's knives.:D
I've gotten some deal off of it. Anyone noticed the exorbitant shipping charges some sellers charge? I've seen $12.00 shipping plus and option $1.30 to mail a Spyderco CRICKET...and not even the all stainless version.
 
As a seller on ebay (and yes, got some knives up at the moment) there's a reason for the flat rate. It became time consuming to have 20 potential bidders email daily wanting shipping estimates: "what is the shipping cost to 90210??" I now just put a flat shipping rate on and they can pay me right away and item gets shipped faster.

Now I must admit that $12 for a cricket is out of line.

steve
 
I've been e-baying a long time.It is addictive and I find many unique and bargain priced items.My most recent purchase was a Chris Reeve Green Beret.Utilized the "buy it now" option and paid only $225.00 New/unused.Not bad considering it normally goes for 299.00.No bidding war just clicked buy it now.I love e-bay!!:)
 
I've bought 2 Steks, a CS Laredo Bowie, a Camillus Fisk OVB, a Cuda Maxx, a Cold Steel sword, and 2 antique kukris on ebay. Haven't been burned yet, and saved quite a bit off retail on the production knives.
If you're losing on ebay, check out www.esnipe.com
It's a bidding service. So you don't have to track the auctions, or try to bid at the last second. It's worked for me.
 
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