Is Spyderco about to raise their prices?

[Bushido185]

Heard that Spyderco will be raising their prices across the board sometime during 2015. Any truth to this?

 

[The Deacon]

Heard that Spyderco will be raising their prices across the board sometime during 2015. Any truth to this?

I suspect the price of most manufactured goods will increase in one way or another this year, as will the price of most food. No crystal ball needed, those things have been true, to a greater or lesser degree, virtuallly every year for as long as I can remember. Why should 2015 be different?

 

[Insipid Moniker]

Spyderco is pretty transparent about their pricing policy. Mr. Glesser has stated that they set the prices so they make a set percentage, so the price may fluctuate based on the cost of labor or materials, but their profit margin does not change. That makes it likely that prices will increase this year, but since they manufacture using so many different materials and in many different countries I'm sure the increase won't be uniform.

 

[GatorFlash1]

With dollar so strong, foreign products and labor are cheaper. VG-10 etc. should cost less in 2015.

 

[seedubs1]

In general, oil and commodity prices are down right now, however, they are quite volatile. However, labor prices are either stagnant or increasing. I'd wager that prices will be relatively stagnant this year.

With dollar so strong, foreign products and labor are cheaper. VG-10 etc. should cost less in 2015.

 

[Bushido185]

With dollar so strong, foreign products and labor are cheaper. VG-10 etc. should cost less in 2015.

The person that told me this would definitely know but he didn't elaborate. I agree, prices should be going down but I'm not in on the board meetings to know what Spyderco reasoning might be. One thing for certain is Spyderco has a reputation of offering knives at the best value for the money. I don't expect that to change unless absolutely necessary for them to maintain their profit margins.

 

[Stays Sharp]

It is a balancing act. On top of what everyone has already said, I'm sure they still want to offer knives at certain/target pricepoints. Glad that my users and favorites fit that mold, Delica/Stretch/Endura, PM2, LWT Manix, other FRN models.

The high end models like the Slyszbowie and Rubicon is already at or close to 500 MSRP, already up there. I'd love to have them but I'm currently priced out because of my other hobbies/habits.

 

[Bushido185]

I suspect the price of most manufactured goods will increase in one way or another this year, as will the price of most food. No crystal ball needed, those things have been true, to a greater or lesser degree, virtuallly every year for as long as I can remember. Why should 2015 be different?

Very true, however I hope this isn't another Benchmade move.

 

[Stays Sharp]

With dollar so strong, foreign products and labor are cheaper. VG-10 etc. should cost less in 2015.

I'm not disagreeing with anything in your post BUT I travel to Japan multiple times a year and everything is sooo expensive there. With their cost of living that out rival NY/SF, I can only imagine that Japanese makers that Spyderco employs charge accordingly. A knife like the VG10 Worker is $170 street price is the result. Just an observation.

 

[calc]

Spyderco is pretty transparent about their pricing policy. Mr. Glesser has stated that they set the prices so they make a set percentage

Right. Prices may go up, or they may go down, but I trust Sal enough that I don't doubt any change is for a good reason.

 

[Muchblade]

Most things in Japan are expensive compared to U.S prices. However, prices for most items have gone down over the last few years. Since many factors go in to pricing any product, who knows if Spyderco prices will go up or down. For myself though, if there is Spyderco already in production that I plan to buy but haven't yet, and it's a knife that doesn't appear to be going out of production any time soon, I make sure to buy it at the beginning of the year. Just bought one a couple of days ago.

 

[Wolverine666]

Very true, however I hope this isn't another Benchmade move.

Just the thought of this makes my brow furrow.

 

[calc]

Just the thought of this makes my brow furrow.

I'm not worried when it comes to Spyderco. Sal seems like a very decent person who simply wants to put out a quality product at a fair price while pushing the design boundaries a bit. Whenever anybody I know asks about which business leader I look up to, I send them this link:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...ent-Mule-Team-Cruwear?p=10031253#post10031253

It's one thing to admit a mistake. But it's entirely another to so candidly say so in a publicly accessible forum. He's the Gabe Newell of the knife world, and the world needs more people like that.

 

[Sonnemann]

He's the Gabe Newell of the knife world, and the world needs more people like that.

And funnily enough, Gabe Newell is a huge knife nut and I would be very surprised if he didn't own a few of Sal's knives

 

[calc]

And funnily enough, Gabe Newell is a huge knife nut and I would be very surprised if he didn't own a few of Sal's knives

I wouldn't be surprised if he just switched usernames... and I also wouldn't be surprised if he owned a few Spydercos, they both seem to have the same ethical outlook on life and business

 

[EagleScouter]

I wouldn't be surprised if he just switched usernames... and I also wouldn't be surprised if he owned a few Spydercos, they both seem to have the same ethical outlook on life and business

The biggest difference is that Sal can actually count to three.

 

[knife_fan]

I hope this isn't true. The price of gas has dropped.

The knife industry is already overpriced.

 

[Wolverine666]

IMO , an incremental increase in price to keep consistent with the inevitable raised cost of materials is normal as it is with every other manufaturer in the world. Can't complain about that.

But to jump prices a ridiculous 30-35% all of a sudden like BM did without giving the customer anything more in return is total nonsense. Again , my opinion here.

I have found Spyderco to be the best value in the production knife world. And the quality is just outstanding. Golden and Tai Chung Spydies especially.

 

[skyhorse]

I'm confident Spyderco will continue to be the best priced value for quality knives in the industry.

 

[vanslem6]

I suspect the price of most manufactured goods will increase in one way or another this year, as will the price of most food. No crystal ball needed, those things have been true, to a greater or lesser degree, virtuallly every year for as long as I can remember. Why should 2015 be different?

It is fiat currency by definition. The USD was designed to expand each year, with a target inflation rate. That inflation rate is essentially the percentage of value that your dollar bill loses each year. With all this quantitative easing going on, the value of the dollar should be going way, way down (and it is) - which has shown itself in food prices. Anyhow, a long story short, this shouldn't be a surprise at all. Things are more expensive than ever, and the economy is on the brink. Currently there are more companies going out of business than there are being started in America, for the first time in roughly 35 years. But keep on printing that money and you may need a wheel barrel full of cash to buy that new PM2 sprint. It wouldn't be the first time, certainly not the last.

Compare the price of your favorite Spyderco in Japanese Yen. They started the money-printing game, and they're paying the consequence.