Law Of the Sharks, Rules, Tips, and Tricks

Comprehensivist said:
....8) Conclusion: I am very sorry that I have angered so many of you this week. That was not my intent. I apologize for causing so many hard feelings among the loyal visitors to Andy’s place of business.

Even though there is no rule against multiple purchases in a single post or a single week, I will personally commit to never using the “cast a wide net” strategy again. I will also commit to only buying one knife per week going forward. I willingly make this commitment because I value the friendships and sense of community here much more than scoring multiple knives in a week.

Thanks for reading my lengthy reply.

Best regards,

Phil
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And yet another example of why I love this forum, and subforum in particular.

Phil, I can't speak for anyone else, but I wasn't angry at anyone. I'll tell you the same thing I told another friend earlier, I don't think you did anything wrong. It's impossible to commit a wrong that hasn't been so named. The way things have moved so fast lately, If I had the money, I would have been snagging two or three at a time myself...I think I won't be happy till I have at least one of most of the models Andy makes. I could just see tensions building and offered ideas on some possible options to try to make things run smoother and less stressful for all involved on both sides of the equation. I think it is clear that there are more people aware of Andy's skill and craftsmanship than there were five or six years ago. The time of having minutes and sometimes even hours to decide on a knife has gone. I'm cool with that, I like seeing the success Andy has now. Personally I have for the most part stepped back out of the way on Fridays because other than having to come up with the money for two very specific models I needed for projects, I am too broke to be buying for the sake of buying for a while. I have the knives I need for those, and now that the weather is breaking, I need to focus on making more money, much more than spending it. This winter sure has cost me enough money. However it has also cost me a few of my prized Fiddlebacks that I will definitely be looking to replace later. So don't get used to me not being in the shark pool as a shark. I know every model and pretty much all handle configs, so it doesn't take me long to spot what I want. The only thing that holds me back lately, is trying to decide if I can swing it financially. Once I know I can again, there will be no hesitation, and I have even beaten Willic to the punch before :D
 
Just to be clear though- if I was consistently posting "I'll take knives w,x,y,z and the EDC", and somebody were to PM me with a request for one of the blades that I sharked, I most likely would give it up, unless it was my first of that particular variant. I mean really, collecting is one thing, hoarding is another.
 
Joe Duder said:
Just to be clear though- if I was consistently posting "I'll take knives w,x,y,z and the EDC", and somebody were to PM me with a request for one of the blades that I sharked, I most likely would give it up, unless it was my first of that particular variant. I mean really, collecting is one thing, hoarding is another.
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Joe can you PM me a list of knives in your collection please?? :D
 
MajorD said:
Joe can you PM me a list of knives in your collection please?? :D
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Hahaha. To tell the truth, I'm more of a bottom feeding shark- I play the flea market. I do have a tapered tang Ladyfinger and a bolstered Ironwood Bushcrafter that I'll be posting on the exchange in the next week or so.
 
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MajorD said:
Mist you said what I was trying to say so much better! :D LOL Nicely done.
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LOL, I've gotten lots of practice at writing lately :) But here I can relax and just be myself ;) I thought you said it quite well.


Joe Duder said:
I mean really, collecting is one thing, hoarding is another.
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This sounds like part of a conversation I had with my wife a while back, but...then this winter took care of my little hording problem :) Pity it didn't do the same for hers lol


MajorD said:
Joe can you PM me a list of knives in your collection please?? :D
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My list would be rather short these days...


Joe Duder said:
Hahaha. To tell the truth, I'm more of a bottom feeding shark- I play the flea market. I do have a tapered tang Ladyfinger and a bolstered Ironwood Bushcrafter that I'll be posting on the exchange in the next week or so.
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The flea market has been my friend both ways lately. Man, the KE Bushie I got from VAsticks is just gorgeous!
 
I was very close to picking that bushie up myself. If it would have had more guard, I would have picked it up. Nice score Mist, nice price too.
 
Joe Duder said:
I was very close to picking that bushie up myself. If it would have had more guard, I would have picked it up. Nice score Mist, nice price too.
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There is only one guarded Bushie ever made, want to guess who has it ? :)
 
This is the first one I had about three or four years ago




This is the one I just got, and by the way, I'm really glad you didn't get it! :)

 
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mistwalker said:
This is the first one I had about three or four years ago




This is the one I just got, and by the way, I'm really glad you didn't get it! :)

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Your pictures make me want to buy more Fiddlebacks. I've literally purchased a Kephart, Recluse, Sneaky Pete and I want a Woodsman because of your pictures.
 
Joe Duder said:
Your pictures make me want to buy more Fiddlebacks. I've literally purchased a Kephart, Recluse, Sneaky Pete and I want a Woodsman because of your pictures.
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Yeah, sorry about that,but you have listed off my favorites :) If I have to part with my Woodsman, this KE Bushie that it took me three years to get, I am going to be one seriously angry man lol
 
My original post was not intended to kick a hornets nest or be directed at one person. I am neither upset at anyone nor feeling entitled in that I feel I should be able to log on and just buy whatever I want when I want. There would be no point to Fiddle Friday if I could, and Andy's work would lose appeal for me if I could have whatever, whenever. I have no problem getting sharked .24 seconds before I post for a knife, I don't scream and throw things, even though I have been outsharked for a Runt for the last 9 months straight, it's part of the game.

The last few months have seen some serious increase in traffic on fridays. I simply do not like the advance notice that some people can get with fotki. I like a nice even playing field across the board for old timer or first timer and I believe everyone should have the exact same chance at obtaining one if they have a friday to spend.

Probably not as eloquent as Mist, eloquence really isn't very high in my skillset.:D
 
Hey Phil, you sharked both knives I was interested in by 10 seconds. I hope you flip your bike over and knock your two front teeth out! ;)

OBVIOUSLY KIDDING... I'm going to say the same thing I said last Friday. Enjoy them brother. That was some true sharking. You have nothing to apologize for.

This has been an interesting discussion. I wanted to think about it over the weekend and give it some more thought before responding again.

I think some of the suggestions have good potential IF Andy thinks they are necessary.

The one knife per post would certainly help spread the wealth a little bit. And I thought Dave's point in the last sentence below was a very good one.

MajorD said:
I'm probably in the minority but I really like the idea that you post for the knife you want. (your priority knife) If you have a 2nd choice then simply post again for it. It's that simple. If you don't get your 2nd choice then obviously that knife was more important to someone else as it was there "1st choice".
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The idea of posting the sale pics in a private fotki folder also has some potential (and would be a trip back to days gone by). The pics could be moved over later to a public folder for historical viewing (which many of us would appreciate). It was certainly more exciting in the days before fotki previewing when you really had no idea what was coming. A question is how much the fotki preview and Andy's twitter updates contributed to the formula that resulted in more people coming to Fiddleback Fridays. I could certainly see a contribution because they created some visibility into what will be offered each week and also some predictability on when the sale post will hit (based on when the fotki pics go up). The last one could be overcome if Andy committed to giving a rough ETA on BF or twitter each Friday. (To cut off the "I don't have a twitter account" crowd, neither do I. You don't need one to view a twitter page. Andy has a link to his twitter page on his website. It says "Twitter." Click on it.)

The idea of one knife per member per day is probably too much of a sales deterrent. If Andy or any knifemaker came to me as a friend and said he/she was thinking of doing that, I would probably say "Are you crazy?" (but with more French).

These are all IF Andy thinks any change is necessary. I think the "what if" slippery slope of where things are headed may be a little overblown. If someone says "I'll take everything," Andy will first have the choice of whether to allow that sale. If that person were to start blatantly profiteering, do you think Andy would ever sell to that person again. Or do you think the mods or Spark would allow someone to "play" dealer without a paid dealer membership. Would there be much profit after that. It would only take one report to get Andy's or the mods' attention. I don't know; I just don't see it happening. And I don't see Andy allowing it if it even starts looking like things are realistically headed that way. I think he deserves more credit than that.

I think the shut out of new buyers may be a little overblown as well. You currently have about an hour to grab something on Fridays. And as Bonafide mentioned, there is always some stock at the dealers. You may not be able to get exactly what you want. But you know what, I didn't get exactly what I wanted on my first purchase. But I bought something to try it out. I realized I liked the quality. And I realized what I thought I wanted probably wasn't right for me anyway. If you can't be online on Fridays, try to make friends. This is a great community. I know at least one person who would proxy for me. And there are a few others who I would feel okay at least asking. Likewise, I would be willing to do the same for many here.

I'm fine however this turns out; status quo or changes made. But I definitely see more than one side to this.
 
All I know, is I'm watching it all on the big monitor in the living room with a bowl of popcorn this Friday if I have time :)

I'm thinking I should have thirty minutes to spare for that at least :D
 
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A beer and a lap top for me this Friday. My 2 year old son doesn't mind watching along with me as long as we look at a few JD tractors from time to time :D
 
NoFair said:
A beer and a lap top for me this Friday. My 2 year old son doesn't mind watching along with me as long as we look at a few JD tractors from time to time :D
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LOL, and thanks for reminding me! Note to self, pick up more beer :)
 
Skystorm said:
The last few months have seen some serious increase in traffic on fridays. I simply do not like the advance notice that some people can get with fotki. I like a nice even playing field across the board for old timer or first timer and I believe everyone should have the exact same chance at obtaining one if they have a friday to spend.

Can you explain how Fotki isn't an even playing field and how/why it's not available to everyone?
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