Is the hype genuine?

mmarkh said:
I guess Rick wants to keep production low to inflate prices. Chris Reeve doesn't have a problem keeping up with demand and I would put his production quality on a par with ANYONE. I really wanted to try a XM18 but not at prices where I could get a nice 1911.
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Why would Rick want to keep production low to inflate prices? His retail prices to qualified buyers are as low as CRK and lower than Striders and of better quality. He doesn't get anything from secondary pricing. He has a very small crew and smaller production facility than Chris Reeve. Why? I guess because he likes his operation the way it is. I'd love to see him expand and open up buying to everyone, but until he does, I'm still going to buy his knives because I like them. Demand is high so secondary pricing isn't going to fall anytime soon...
 
If you get a chance to handle one you will see what the hype is about. Hinderer knives besides being works of art are ergonomically superior to almost all other knives Ive handled. They are overbuilt and built out of the best materials available. They are easy to disassemble/assemble and there are lots of aftermarket parts available to customize to your personal taste. It is difficult to describe why they are worth the money but trust me they are! I thought people were crazy paying that much for a knife but once I handled one I had to have one. My XM-24 quickly made every other knife in my collection seem like garbage. It is by far my favorite knife that I own and I plan on keeping it and passing it down to my child when the time comes.
 
Sold off all my Sebenzas, Umnumzans, my VECP, Wilkins, Les Voorhies, ZTs, and now I only have Hinderer's and Mnandis. Please don't ask if Mnandi's are worth the money.;)
 
Maprik said:
Why would Rick want to keep production low to inflate prices? His retail prices to qualified buyers are as low as CRK and lower than Striders and of better quality. He doesn't get anything from secondary pricing. He has a very small crew and smaller production facility than Chris Reeve. Why? I guess because he likes his operation the way it is. I'd love to see him expand and open up buying to everyone, but until he does, I'm still going to buy his knives because I like them. Demand is high so secondary pricing isn't going to fall anytime soon...
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That is your choice but to me it's too much. He can run his business how he wants so obviously he's not in it to make a fortune. If he was he would follow CRK's example of super high quality knives that are available to everyone without having to overpay.
 
I just saw a Hinderer XM18 at a dealer for $895. If Rick isn't price gouging why is he allowing authorized dealers to charge so much?
 
Maprik said:
Demand is high so secondary pricing isn't going to fall anytime soon...
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I think you're correct about the pricing. Don't see it falling myself.
He has a great marketing plan, and he knows it. If you limit something, and cause the aftermarket price to be high, people will be wanting the knives, and he knows this. It must start with a well made product though, and he makes one.

I don't care for the design myself because I don't like a knife with that much drop in the handle, but they are a very well made knife. I much prefer the Sebenza design for a framelock, but its only because of the straight handle.

He's a marketing genius, and there is nothing wrong with that.
 
With knives, and any other manufactured good for that matter, increases in quality cause exponential increases in price. It is a lot harder to make something 0.2345 inches in length as opposed to 0.24. Some people want to have that 'perfect' fit feel in their knives, and thus it is worth it to them. Does this change in tolerances have a notable effect on the performance of the blade? Unlikely.
 
mmarkh said:
I just saw a Hinderer XM18 at a dealer for $895. If Rick isn't price gouging why is he allowing authorized dealers to charge so much?
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bpeezer said:
Because people are paying that much.
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Then why are people getting upset that someone would get an EMT friend to get the knife for them? If Hinderer can shaft non rescue personnel why can't someone have a friend save them some money? Rick is obviously making money on them at $400 so why pay double if you don't have to?
 
mmarkh said:
Then why are people getting upset that someone would get an EMT friend to get the knife for them? If Hinderer can shaft non rescue personnel why can't someone have a friend save them some money? Rick is obviously making money on them at $400 so why pay double if you don't have to?
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It's not like he's the one charging double to people. Maybe he gets a percentage of the markup from the dealers, or maybe he sells them at a fixed cost. I wouldn't know, I'm not a dealer. What I DO know is that dealers are charging that much and still can't keep the knives in stock. Hinderer doesn't decide how much people will be willing to pay for his knives, he just chooses to offer a supply substantially lower than the market demand.
 
mmarkh said:
Then why are people getting upset that someone would get an EMT friend to get the knife for them? If Hinderer can shaft non rescue personnel why can't someone have a friend save them some money? Rick is obviously making money on them at $400 so why pay double if you don't have to?
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Because it seems like the majority of ppl trying to bum off their military friends are doing it just to resale the knife for profit and not to actually use it. You get benefits for your job and they have theirs some ppl just have different morals such as not stealing when you can not cheating on that college exam whatever it may be.
 
bpeezer said:
It's not like he's the one charging double to people. Maybe he gets a percentage of the markup from the dealers, or maybe he sells them at a fixed cost. I wouldn't know, I'm not a dealer. What I DO know is that dealers are charging that much and still can't keep the knives in stock. Hinderer doesn't decide how much people will be willing to pay for his knives, he just chooses to offer a supply substantially lower than the market demand.
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EMT's and Military get them 1st then the dealers.........

So it would make since the dealers can't keep them in stock if they are that limited....

It's not by accident, it's by design....
 
Ankerson said:
EMT's and Military get them 1st then the dealers.........

So it would make since the dealers can't keep them in stock if they are that limited....

It's not by accident, it's by design....
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I recognize that this is exactly what he wants, but I don't recognize why people think that is a problem.
 
Here is the deal: pay the price for the knife or not, but please don't judge other people on what they spend their money on. I don't judge people who claim they won't spend over $25 for a knife. It is a free country, with a free market governed by supply and demand. If you want the prices fixed, move to North Korea. Maybe they force vendors to sell XM-18's for $370. Me, I'll pay what I choose and what I can afford.
 
Locutus D'Borg said:
Here is the deal: pay the price for the knife or not, but please don't judge other people on what they spend their money on. I don't judge people who claim they won't spend over $25 for a knife. It is a free country, with a free market governed by supply and demand. If you want the prices fixed, move to North Korea. Maybe they force vendors to sell XM-18's for $370. Me, I'll pay what I choose and what I can afford.
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There will always be those who are willing to pay whatever for a product no matter what it costs for various reasons and nobody is holding a gun to their heads making them do it.

For the rest of the people there are plenty of other options available on the market along with customs.

The title of the thread is:

Is the hype genuine?

That was answered and for a lot it was NO and the OP decided it was also NO for the marked up prices.
 
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Locutus D'Borg said:
Here is the deal: pay the price for the knife or not, but please don't judge other people on what they spend their money on. I don't judge people who claim they won't spend over $25 for a knife. It is a free country, with a free market governed by supply and demand. If you want the prices fixed, move to North Korea. Maybe they force vendors to sell XM-18's for $370. Me, I'll pay what I choose and what I can afford.
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I think I'll pass on N.Korea, and a Hinderer because it still is just a production knife. You and everyone else can over pay if you want because unlike N.Korea this is a free country.:) I will just have to suffer with my Sebenza which many would say I overpaid for.;)
 
Oakengroves said:
Many companies and knives are guilty of excessive hype to various degrees. None of them come close to approaching the incredible amount of hype that surrounds Hinderers. The hype is not justified for the following reasons:

1. The hype is primarily caused by inflated after-market prices that are a result of Rick's unreasonable and borderline absurd business practices. Supporting individuals in active duty public service roles is a reputable concept, but creating an elitist "holier than thou" aesthetic around your product by selling your product exclusively (for all intents and purposes) to them is a distasteful marketing concept that has created abuses in the system. By all means, offer reasonable discounts to LE, but going so far as selling products at twice the price to "everyone else" is disrespectful to most consumers, untastefully elitist, and serves to do little more than artificially inflate product value.

2. The Hinderer "holier than thou" aesthetic has bred the misconception that his knives are greater than the sum of their parts. Do not misunderstand: Hinderers are outstanding knives. But they are not better, and are indeed surpassed, by a number of other "hard use" folders on the market at half the price: ZT, BM, Spyderco, CRK, and Strider offer comparable or better models to name a few.

3. Hinderers' designs are also riding a major fad right now for flippers and titanium frame locks. These are fads because superior materials (various blade steels and handle materials) and deployment mechanisms exist on the market (axis lock, triad lock, arc lock, speed safe, etc). However, flippers and ti frame locks have enjoyed disproportionate popularity the last few years. All trends die.

4. Finally, the hype is sustained by collectors who drop $400-$700 on knives that do not justify such a high price tag considering the factors discussed above. People go to -extreme- lengths to defend the validity of their purchases, especially when those purchases are expensive.
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Amen brother!! Personally, IMO, you cant beat CRK.
 
My first Hinderer 25th Anniversary XM-18 3.0. Built like a tank, buttery smooth action. I bought this on the secondary market and to me it was worth every penney. I'm not rich by any means just a retired knife addict on a fixed income.
 

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While getting the opinions of others is always important, there's no substitute for first hand experience. If you REALLY want to know if the hype is true then you have to try it yourself. I don't think any of the hype is faked in order to gin up sales for RHK. If people gush about the knife and how much they love it chances are it's a GENUINE feeling, not just an effort to "fit in" with a group. And regarding PRODUCTION vs. CUSTOM knives, I've paid more for customs that I don't own anymore because of my own perceived value scale (price, use, support). I've also paid more for Production Knives (Balisongs) that I don't own anymore...
 
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