After a year of shopping via internet, I finally purchased my first over 100 dollar knife. It's a Spyderco Civilian and it's a beautiful tool. It's also my first spydie. I found a terrific price at www.ultout.com. This ain't an add, but the price was 106.61, including shipping! My email about order status was answered very promptly. I did have to wait a couple of weeks, but after shopping for this knife for over a year, I didn't mind the short wait. My thanks to Cliff Hanks at Ultimate Outdoors.
Knife nut on a budget
- Thread starter Bob Irons
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Checked out the site. Yup. That's a list of prices that are within pocket change of wholesale.
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- JKM
www.chaicutlery.com
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- JKM
www.chaicutlery.com
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What do you mean Hammer?
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Best Regards,
Mike Turber
BladeForums Site Owner and Administrator
Do it! Do it right! Do it right NOW!
www.wowinc.com
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Best Regards,
Mike Turber
BladeForums Site Owner and Administrator
Do it! Do it right! Do it right NOW!
www.wowinc.com
- Joined
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Mike- It took me a while to find it but what I wanted to say was "The fecal matter is about to impact upon the rotary osciillator". (http://www.bladeforums.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000164.html) I just knew I butchered it hence my appoligies. Concerning the premonition, if Sal had a problem with the other internet dealer's advertised prices it stands to reason he'll really have a problem with the site listed by Bob above.Hope I'm not stirring the pot since those prices are excellent.
Hammer you are right. Hey anybody e-mail some of the dealers and see how they are responding
I bet those prices wont be there long.
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-Greg Johnson
ICQ#4236341
[This message has been edited by gregj62 (edited 07 February 1999).]
[This message has been edited by gregj62 (edited 07 February 1999).]
I bet those prices wont be there long.
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-Greg Johnson
ICQ#4236341
[This message has been edited by gregj62 (edited 07 February 1999).]
[This message has been edited by gregj62 (edited 07 February 1999).]
Hey Ultimate Outdoors!
Fight the machine! Don't bow to the opressors! Keep advertising those Beautifully low prices!
YeK
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"No, it's a Vaquero Grande in my pocket, but I am happy to see you!"
yekimak@hotmail.com
MegaFolderians Unite!!
Fight the machine! Don't bow to the opressors! Keep advertising those Beautifully low prices!
YeK
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"No, it's a Vaquero Grande in my pocket, but I am happy to see you!"
yekimak@hotmail.com
MegaFolderians Unite!!
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Oh I gotcha. It has been my experience that these places who advertise such low prices don't either last long or run into major problems with customer service. Plus most internet dealers are matching the low prices anyway which shortens their life span even further. But I could be wrong and they could last forever. I too would like to see the overall reaction to many of the new policies concerning prices released at the Shot Show.
I do not think the fecal matter will be impacting anytime soon
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Best Regards,
Mike Turber
BladeForums Site Owner and Administrator
Do it! Do it right! Do it right NOW!
www.wowinc.com
[This message has been edited by Mike Turber (edited 07 February 1999).]
I do not think the fecal matter will be impacting anytime soon
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Best Regards,
Mike Turber
BladeForums Site Owner and Administrator
Do it! Do it right! Do it right NOW!
www.wowinc.com
[This message has been edited by Mike Turber (edited 07 February 1999).]
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I'll share some impressions from an outsider and newbie to the cutlery industry but one with a lot of business experience. The site in question with the single digit margins is either buying market share or trying to act as an ordering service by saving up orders until there are enough to make inbound freight economical. There have been some companies with success at selling to the public with single digit margins-Sam's Club and Computer Discount Warehouse come to mind-but these are very high volume operations.
I'm skeptical that this site could develop enough volume in such a specialized marketplace to make single digit margins profitable. Amazon.com hasn't managed it yet and it's in a giant marketplace compared to cutlery. So if he wants to just take a few points while moving product from here to there, it's not likely to become profitable. The "critical mass" required is well above the maximum potential I've estimated for my site, at any rate. Maybe I've underestimated the potential but I have some experience at internet selling and I don't expect to get to the point where single digit margins would prove to be profitable. As volume increases so will overhead. It's unavoidable.
If he is buying market share then things will change when he either has the market share he feels he needs or has developed enough volume to be unable to afford the time to provide this service. He'll need to invest in some expensive things like employees and space and then increase his margin. I think it's unavoidable. Without profit it can't succeed. No business can.
In the meantime, it's a good thing for consumers. I would encourage readers of the forums to take advantage of it for as long as it is destined to last. If it lasts for a long time, then I will have learned
something new myself. I'll be watching from the sidelines with interest. Take care.
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Fred
Knife Outlet
www.knifeoutlet.com
I'm skeptical that this site could develop enough volume in such a specialized marketplace to make single digit margins profitable. Amazon.com hasn't managed it yet and it's in a giant marketplace compared to cutlery. So if he wants to just take a few points while moving product from here to there, it's not likely to become profitable. The "critical mass" required is well above the maximum potential I've estimated for my site, at any rate. Maybe I've underestimated the potential but I have some experience at internet selling and I don't expect to get to the point where single digit margins would prove to be profitable. As volume increases so will overhead. It's unavoidable.
If he is buying market share then things will change when he either has the market share he feels he needs or has developed enough volume to be unable to afford the time to provide this service. He'll need to invest in some expensive things like employees and space and then increase his margin. I think it's unavoidable. Without profit it can't succeed. No business can.
In the meantime, it's a good thing for consumers. I would encourage readers of the forums to take advantage of it for as long as it is destined to last. If it lasts for a long time, then I will have learned
something new myself. I'll be watching from the sidelines with interest. Take care.
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Fred
Knife Outlet
www.knifeoutlet.com
Bob....
Thank you for pointing out this site.
Everyone else,
I spent a little time surfing it, and am pretty surprised at the content. It would seem that this is no home buisiness with all of the items claimed to be had in stock. There is an extensive firearms inventory, and the prices on those appear to be very reasonable. Aside from the Spydercos, the rest of the knives seem to be prices in the "discount" range (purty dang good for retail), but the Spydercos seem to be priced in the wholesale range, or within a few dimes of it. Being that Ultamate outdoors plies it trade (apparently) in more expensive items, what it might be doing is letting the Spydies (being that it is a well known company, and well in demand) go for a near zilch profit to help drum up business in the form of repeat customers. It could be possible that they are large enough to order from Spyderco direct, and be large enough to get Distributor rates... just Speculation...Too bad I am still boycotting Spyderco because of their archaic pricing policies...(sometimes I think I am the only one).
At any rate, it should be fun to watch..
YeK
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"No, it's a Vaquero Grande in my pocket, but I am happy to see you!"
yekimak@hotmail.com
MegaFolderians Unite!!
Thank you for pointing out this site.
Everyone else,
I spent a little time surfing it, and am pretty surprised at the content. It would seem that this is no home buisiness with all of the items claimed to be had in stock. There is an extensive firearms inventory, and the prices on those appear to be very reasonable. Aside from the Spydercos, the rest of the knives seem to be prices in the "discount" range (purty dang good for retail), but the Spydercos seem to be priced in the wholesale range, or within a few dimes of it. Being that Ultamate outdoors plies it trade (apparently) in more expensive items, what it might be doing is letting the Spydies (being that it is a well known company, and well in demand) go for a near zilch profit to help drum up business in the form of repeat customers. It could be possible that they are large enough to order from Spyderco direct, and be large enough to get Distributor rates... just Speculation...Too bad I am still boycotting Spyderco because of their archaic pricing policies...(sometimes I think I am the only one).
At any rate, it should be fun to watch..
YeK
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"No, it's a Vaquero Grande in my pocket, but I am happy to see you!"
yekimak@hotmail.com
MegaFolderians Unite!!
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Not so fast! Did you look at their price for shipping? When you take this into account, the "wholesale" price becomes about in par with the rest of the "discount" prices. Still at the very lowest of the discount range, but rather misleading
sjc
sjc
Whoa! I didn't mean to stur things up so much. Apologies to anyone offended by what I considered my good fortune. This indeed must be a loss leader to bring in customers. On my limited budget it was very welcome.
The knife was shipped to me via priority mail and the cost was 5 dollars and change. The package was marked 5.00 for the priority mail service. The total cost was 106 and change, including shipping. As I said in my original post, Cliff was extremely responsive to my emails, and I appreciated that.
I do order from other, better known web sites such as the knifecenter and discountknives and a few others. I will probably be ordering from some of the other sites mentioned here on this forum, so I don't always order from the lowest price site.
Peace to all. I enjoy this forum and the great information exchange it provides.
The knife was shipped to me via priority mail and the cost was 5 dollars and change. The package was marked 5.00 for the priority mail service. The total cost was 106 and change, including shipping. As I said in my original post, Cliff was extremely responsive to my emails, and I appreciated that.
I do order from other, better known web sites such as the knifecenter and discountknives and a few others. I will probably be ordering from some of the other sites mentioned here on this forum, so I don't always order from the lowest price site.
Peace to all. I enjoy this forum and the great information exchange it provides.
- Joined
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On Yekim's suggestion, "It could be possible that they are large enough to order from Spyderco direct, and be large enough to get Distributor rates... " - Small dealers can buy directly from Spyderco too, but they ain't buying directly from Spyderco if they're selling retail at those prices, which one normally sees at a liquidation sale.
However, opportunities for dealers to buy below wholesale do sometimes occur. Go to "Mammoth Mart" and check out their prices on Leatherman tools. You may find them even slightly below what I and other low-volume dealers pay our distributors. If Spyderco just had a handfull of models with a few variations, like Leatherman, they could possibly make money with the mass-market deep-discount route, as Leatherman does. But I doubt if "Mammoth Mart" is about to carry the whole Spyderco line at those prices. In order to support Spyderco's variety in the long run, it has to be possible for dealers to make money selling the whole line.
- JKM
[This message has been edited by James Mattis (edited 07 February 1999).]
However, opportunities for dealers to buy below wholesale do sometimes occur. Go to "Mammoth Mart" and check out their prices on Leatherman tools. You may find them even slightly below what I and other low-volume dealers pay our distributors. If Spyderco just had a handfull of models with a few variations, like Leatherman, they could possibly make money with the mass-market deep-discount route, as Leatherman does. But I doubt if "Mammoth Mart" is about to carry the whole Spyderco line at those prices. In order to support Spyderco's variety in the long run, it has to be possible for dealers to make money selling the whole line.
- JKM
[This message has been edited by James Mattis (edited 07 February 1999).]
The only other possibility that I can think of is that possibly UltOut is a member of a sporting goods buying co-op. I have heard alot about these groups, many outfitters up here are part of one. A group of separatly owned stores get together to be able to purchase larger amounts of goods, thus being able to get a larger discount on them. It was basically a way for smaller businesses to combat and compete with the buying power of "Mammoth Mart".
I have seen other Spydero values too, Cheaper than Dirt! (their exclaimation point, not mine) has Enduras and Delicas for under $40. The local "Mammoth Mart" wants approx 46/42 for these items.
All in all, I find this tread extremely interesting because I am considering selling knives to to the locals up here. Noone carries a full line of any knife here, and the knife dealers here sell for at or over MSRP. Much of the time they are only selling cheap United knives, which really irks me. I'd like to make it easier for those who are on a budget get high quality knives.
YeK
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"No, it's a Vaquero Grande in my pocket, but I am happy to see you!"
yekimak@hotmail.com
MegaFolderians Unite!!
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Ah! Dealer heaven is a customer base that will pay full freight for United! United's wholesale price is so far below "MSRP" that the what's a deep discount with any other line is still a pretty fair profit with United. Too bad they only make one knife that looks interesting to me (Rigid RG80), and somebody just told me that one's been discontinued.
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- JKM
www.chaicutlery.com
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- JKM
www.chaicutlery.com
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Could the guy just be mad a Spyderco for some reason. Is he making a statement against the minimum advertised price policy?
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Fred
Knife Outlet
www.knifeoutlet.com
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Fred
Knife Outlet
www.knifeoutlet.com
Daniel L
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If those "in stock" figures are true for all the firearms, accessories, ammo, knives.. etc then this guy has a lot of $$$ in inventory - and is no small business. I would guess knives isn't a big line for them, maybe as a loss leader to generate traffic on the web site. We all visted, didn't we?
Yekim's theory about the co-op seems the most likely tho.
I say take advantage of the prices while you can! If it lasts, great. If it doesn't then you might kick yourself for not having picked up a great deal.
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Daniel
A knifeknut in New Zealand
Yekim's theory about the co-op seems the most likely tho.
I say take advantage of the prices while you can! If it lasts, great. If it doesn't then you might kick yourself for not having picked up a great deal.
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Daniel
A knifeknut in New Zealand