Lets talk GEC!

[mcc850]

Where’s the “Knife Collecting is War” guy?

He had a night a couple weeks ago where he said some pretty wild stuff (all hilarious btw) and some people were unkind to him. To me, his posts are some of the more entertaining you will find on this here porch. I hope he comes back soon, and I hope people will get off their high horses when he does. The man loves knives.

 

[bbfish]

With such high profit margins you’re always going to have people profiteering. I imagine it only gets worse the higher the margin goes. At this point I have to scold the people paying 400, they’re fueling the fire, but I guess it is there right to light their hard earned money on fire. I hope they are mostly wealthy people, if you are someone who has tight finances and are paying these prices, mark my words, it is a mistake.

 

[Will Power]

Remembering times past, when I in Europe could buy a used GEC (this one) on the Forum Exchange for less than what it cost new. Also, I've given away a number of GECs to fellow Forumites who had only just started their collections of GECs or who needed a knife. These current hyper prices will put a stop to any altruism on the Forum, a sad day.

 

[Jiki]

Remembering times past, when I in Europe could buy a used GEC (this one) on the Forum Exchange for less than what it cost new. Also, I've given away a number of GECs to fellow Forumites who had only just started their collections of GECs or who needed a knife. These current hyper prices will put a stop to any altruism on the Forum, a sad day.

I disagree, the community will still take care of each other regardless of what is going on in the market. Personally I sold 2 vipers at cost because I was fortunate enough to get extras. There are many others like me here I know several that I speak to regularly.
That said some people here are the flippers you all speak of, I don't know who, but I guarantee we have a few that their on line persona is a big facade.

 

[Alex.Y.]

You people complain about how hard it is to get GEC in USA. Try get them in Europe, where we have just two dealers, and only one of them is really operating and answering your messages. You feel my pain now?

 

[LastRodeo]

I disagree, the community will still take care of each other regardless of what is going on in the market. Personally I sold 2 vipers at cost because I was fortunate enough to get extras. There are many others like me here I know several that I speak to regularly.
That said some people here are the flippers you all speak of, I don't know who, but I guarantee we have a few that their on line persona is a big facade.

I agree, I will gladly sell an extra to a porch regular, who I know and trust isn't buying to flip. More often than not, those regulars aren't needing one.

 

[bbfish]

I disagree, the community will still take care of each other regardless of what is going on in the market. Personally I sold 2 vipers at cost because I was fortunate enough to get extras. There are many others like me here I know several that I speak to regularly.
That said some people here are the flippers you all speak of, I don't know who, but I guarantee we have a few that their on line persona is a big facade.

To be totally honest I suspect most of them are on here and in the f-book groups. I imagine most just lurk for information but I suspect some of the "regulars", on f-book are flippers themselves.

 

[Fox79]

Probably just like many of you, I myself am worried about being priced out of the GEC hobby. Right now, I can really only afford to get a new GEC at what I thought was a fair price. I don’t have the disposable income to pay $400 for just one knife to “collect it” in a safe. I never buy one from a so called flipper just because the price point goes so high.

I have paid more than retail for an older new GEC but the most was $360 and I still feel kinda bad (77 barlow in copper sawcut).

I’m not upset anymore if I get priced out or can’t obtain them anymore from a dealer. ThTs the second part of the equation: getting them on the drop is becoming much harder.

 

[JTB_5]

This is me exactly including the 85 in canvas micarta.

Good luck on the 85!

 

[mcc850]

Ive never sold a knife - period. But I see these prices on the auction site and start to think that I could sell one knife and it would fund my year's knife purchases. Would that make me a bad person, or not a friend to the porch? I am not a rich man by any means, and my wife thinks im crazy for buying knives when you only "need" one. I think every person on the porch has a different situation, and I cant fault someone for letting one go in auction if that pays for daycare, future knives, etc. Who am I to tell someone what to do with their finances? Are you a flipper if your house sells for 2x what you paid for it? Yes, but nobody cares. I think flipping is about the same as owning hundreds of knives that never see the light of day. At least the flippers get the knives into the hands of people that want them. Nobody is holding a gun to anybody's head and forcing them to pay $480 for a sweet TC Barlow. Basically my point is people are going to complain regardless, and nothing is going to change the way supply and demand work.

 

[knifeswapper]

He had a night a couple weeks ago where he said some pretty wild stuff (all hilarious btw) and some people were unkind to him. To me, his posts are some of the more entertaining you will find on this here porch. I hope he comes back soon, and I hope people will get off their high horses when he does. The man loves knives.

I received an email from him that said his computer had been hacked for the second time and he was turning it off for good and getting off the internet. I only know him from communications and he has gotten quite aggravated that I could not accommodate some of his request. He seems like a good guy down deep but runs very hot and cold. Maybe he will get his technology issue resolved and be back.

 

[dantzk8]

You people complain about how hard it is to get GEC in USA. Try get them in Europe, where we have just two dealers, and only one of them is really operating and answering your messages. You feel my pain now?

I know an American seller who I have been buying from for years and who is very understanding and very helpful. He is not a contributor to this forum, so I cannot give his name here but I sent you a private message.

Dan.

 

[LastRodeo]

To be totally honest I suspect most of them are on here and in the f-book groups. I imagine most just lurk for information but I suspect some of the "regulars", on f-book are flippers themselves.

Many are blatant flippers and some readily admit it.

 

[rpstrimple]

The dealers selling on the auction site for exorbitant prices have much more to lose than flippers I would think. If GEC really did want to do something, they would stop supplying such dealers. Flippers generally have no real "skin" in the game. It's all about fast cash, and once one product drys up and loses interest, they are onto the next. Literally no emotion involved. You see this in multiple hobbies.

I also think remote work has exacerbated the issue, flippers tend to be more tech savvy and if they are at home with notifications set up, it's nearly impossible to compete if you are going in to work. Some flip as a secondary or even primary source of income. People actually make a living doing this which is sickening in itself.

 

[Misplaced Hillbilly]

I honestly don't think allot of the flipping is from members here. Here's my reason for thinking that. Albers Cutlery produces knives that approach or are custom level fit'n'finish. Though I've not handled one yet everyone here who posts pictures rave about their quality. From those pictures I can see the quality of the knives. Here is a maker, just one guy, producing a very limited supply of knives at GEC or better fit'n'finish that sells directly to customers. Sells them at a price that to me is astounding considering he produces them by hand himself. If flipping was about the rareness or quality then Albers Cutlery should be a flippers dream. Yet when I searched the bay about 10 minutes ago out of curiosity, not a single listing much like the reference to Rolex earlier its about brand recognition. To further illustrate, I was very into Jeeps when the Rubicon package came out. I remember every soccer mom and upper middle class Guys just HAD to have one. It was an elite off road package costing 1,000s more than a normal Wrangler, had a big decal on the hood to show everyone you had a RUBICON! There was one car lot in Lincolnton North Carolina that was getting Rubicon special rims from people putting after market rims on their rig. Then they had a vynil decal machine in the back cranking out the hood decal. I stopped and looked of 10 or so "Rubicons" on the lot ZERO were real ones . 3 was Jeep YJ models with the square headlights (like my own at the time) which ended production in 95, first year Rubicon was 2003. They'd sell jeeps off that lot in a week,people buying Rubicons at 8-9,000 less than the big car lots. But selling a 5,000 dollar YJ for 15 grand But hey it had the Rubicon name.
Bad enough to pay inflated prices but to do so for s fake is a tragedy. Glady at this time GEC are hard to fake but I'm sure someone is trying somewhere

 

[bbfish]

Many are blatant flippers and some readily admit it.

Yep, I often see these guys scooping up multiples of each knife in a run. Obviously I dont know their financial situation but my assumption is that they buy extras with the intention of flipping to offset the cost of the knives they plan to keep. Otherwise these guys are spending lots of money monthly, and while its tough to tell online, my "judging a book by a cover" read on most of them are that they probably aren't super wealthy. Alot of assumptions here, and perhaps ive got a tinfoil hat on, but ive had my 3rd coffee of the morning and am feeling chatty.

 

[knifeswapper]

Regarding how/why the eBay market is at the point it is today - nobody knows. We can speculate, we can provide editorial opinion, we can simply just guess. But there are any number of truths yet to be discovered. I do periodically take older stock that I have either bought back in collections or had in my own collection; thus I have seen some of the trends and folks involved. Some items that go really high are simply dedicated collectors trying to fill gaps that only show up on the market a couple times a year. Others are folks that have good jobs, thus good money, and simply have the same addiction as the rest of us - but funding to climb a bit higher up the bidding scale. I suspect the market in East Asia has gotten very strong as MANY of the buyers seem to be from that area.

One thing we need to keep in mind. Markets go up and markets go down. An up market benefits some and alienates others - as does a down market. If the secondary market has priced you out of GEC's, just pick them up retail when you can and forget about them otherwise. My 2cents; keep the change.

 

[mcc850]

Yep, I often see these guys scooping up multiples of each knife in a run. Obviously I dont know their financial situation but my assumption is that they buy extras with the intention of flipping to offset the cost of the knives they plan to keep. Otherwise these guys are spending lots of money monthly, and while its tough to tell online, my "judging a book by a cover" read on most of them are that they probably aren't super wealthy. Alot of assumptions here, and perhaps ive got a tinfoil hat on, but ive had my 3rd coffee of the morning and am feeling chatty.

haha same boat here with the coffee! Ready for the weekend. Knife content...

 

[mrknife]

I honestly don't think allot of the flipping is from members here. Here's my reason for thinking that. Albers Cutlery produces knives that approach or are custom level fit'n'finish. Though I've not handled one yet everyone here who posts pictures rave about their quality. From those pictures I can see the quality of the knives. Here is a maker, just one guy, producing a very limited supply of knives at GEC or better fit'n'finish that sells directly to customers. Sells them at a price that to me is astounding considering he produces them by hand himself. If flipping was about the rareness or quality then Albers Cutlery should be a flippers dream. Yet when I searched the bay about 10 minutes ago out of curiosity, not a single listing much like the reference to Rolex earlier its about brand recognition. To further illustrate, I was very into Jeeps when the Rubicon package came out. I remember every soccer mom and upper middle class Guys just HAD to have one. It was an elite off road package costing 1,000s more than a normal Wrangler, had a big decal on the hood to show everyone you had a RUBICON! There was one car lot in Lincolnton North Carolina that was getting Rubicon special rims from people putting after market rims on their rig. Then they had a vynil decal machine in the back cranking out the hood decal. I stopped and looked of 10 or so "Rubicons" on the lot ZERO were real ones . 3 was Jeep YJ models with the square headlights (like my own at the time) which ended production in 95, first year Rubicon was 2003. They'd sell jeeps off that lot in a week,people buying Rubicons at 8-9,000 less than the big car lots. But selling a 5,000 dollar YJ for 15 grand But hey it had the Rubicon name.
Bad enough to pay inflated prices but to do so for s fake is a tragedy. Glady at this time GEC are hard to fake but I'm sure someone is trying somewhere

In terms of rolex, I have heard of days where gmt master 2s were around $3,500. That is probably the equivalent of the early days when TC barlows were sticking around $85-90 maybe $110. Alas, no good thing lasts forever. I regret letting my 14060M go and it will be impossible to replace at all these inflated prices. But back to knives, ive have seen some of the facebook group people say what they paid for the sepia and was surprised to see the retail + tack ons some of the dealers added. And of course, so far my favorite story is about the dealer whose allotment suddenly wasn't coming and those reserves were cancelled .

 

[Quiet]

I received an email from him that said his computer had been hacked for the second time and he was turning it off for good and getting off the internet. I only know him from communications and he has gotten quite aggravated that I could not accommodate some of his request. He seems like a good guy down deep but runs very hot and cold. Maybe he will get his technology issue resolved and be back.

Can't say I'll miss his constant name-dropping about dealers he's friends with and how he's buying seven or eight of the new GEC model drop that most folks here couldn't score even one of. Where others see passion for knives, I see passion for making sure we all know he's being taken care of by his dealers when others aren't. That, plus the nature of some of his other comments just makes him pretty offputting for some of us. All I have to say on THAT topic.

Anyhoo, I'm hoping to score at least one of the #85s, having struck out on pretty much everything else for the most part from recent drops.