Lets talk GEC!

I'm not a flipper. I buy knives. I don't sell them ;) I've sold exactly two knives and given away four in the last couple of years.

That said, I'd sell any of my GEC's, with a couple of exceptions, for $400. I'm not going to go out of my way to do it, or exert any energy at all, but if somebody walked up to me and said I'll give you $400 for your #38, I'd say "Here ya go. Is there anything else I can interest you in? A 2003 Dodge Caravan with less than 100,000 miles on it perhaps? Such a deal I have for you" deal.gif

I mean really. I've got an old BMW motorcycle that I have no desire to sell, but if somebody offered me $20,000 for it, I'd probably hurt myself in the rush to find the title :D

Anyway, I'm free range thinking. I need to drink some coffee.
Here's a pic:
38 1.JPG
 
texmex03 said:
I hope they don't pull that crap. If they announce a pattern they need to announce all of the pattern.
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What if they didn't announce it because the NF 85s have typically been CKs and they are going to let Mike announce it with an early reserve? Would you be ok with that?

Of course this is purely speculation by me and I have heard no rumors and have no affiliation with CK.;)
 
I personally like the northfield trim on the 85s more, but I am interested to see how the bone turns out on this one. Have they ever done a "smooth natural bone" before? A quick google shows smooth white bone of course and antique autumn, anyone have a pic they can share of a smooth natural bone?
 
I'm not nearly as experienced as many here. However, on the subject of flipping, I have been musing on the morality of flipping. I do sell knives here and there - usually because of the size of my collection or because I want to free up some funds to buy something else. I sell for what I paid, or often a little below. Partly, because I enjoy the community of collecting and want the knives to go to those that appreciate them. Also, because I believe in the golden rule. On that note, I wonder if flippers that are also collectors experience any cognitive dissonance in regards to flipping knives to other collectors.
 
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mbkr said:
I'm not a flipper. I buy knives. I don't sell them ;) I've sold exactly two knives and given away four in the last couple of years.

That said, I'd sell any of my GEC's, with a couple of exceptions, for $400. I'm not going to go out of my way to do it, or exert any energy at all, but if somebody walked up to me and said I'll give you $400 for your #38, I'd say "Here ya go. Is there anything else I can interest you in? A 2003 Dodge Caravan with less than 100,000 miles on it perhaps? Such a deal I have for you" View attachment 1495578

I mean really. I've got an old BMW motorcycle that I have no desire to sell, but if somebody offered me $20,000 for it, I'd probably hurt myself in the rush to find the title :D

Anyway, I'm free range thinking. I need to drink some coffee.
Here's a pic:
View attachment 1495575
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Well put!
 
I like the Northfield 85s also, that coffee house I recently posted is a Northfield and I've had others and it would be nice to see a CK 85EO
 
Jiki said:
What if they didn't announce it because the NF 85s have typically been CKs and they are going to let Mike announce it with an early reserve? Would you be ok with that?

Of course this is purely speculation by me and I have heard no rumors and have no affiliation with CK.;)
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Sure if Mike would kindly swap my two reserves over to the imaginary at this point NF SFO =)
 
knifeswapper said:
Please elaborate on how you would achieve this, specifically.
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Not sure what you mean. I do not have any power to increase GEC's production output.

I do think that some dealers could help the flipper situation by implementing some type of anti-purchase bot protection since I suspect that a lot of the flippers are using purchase bots to make sure they score on the next release. It may not work for dealers like yourself who do early reserves, and maybe you already have certain other protections in place, but maybe it would help things for dealers like DLT and KnivesShipFree.
 
Viper84 said:
Not sure what you mean. I do not have any power to increase GEC's production output.

I do think that some dealers could help the flipper situation by implementing some type of anti-purchase bot protection since I suspect that a lot of the flippers are using purchase bots to make sure they score on the next release. It may not work for dealers like yourself who do early reserves, and maybe you already have certain other protections in place, but maybe it would help things for dealers like DLT and KnivesShipFree.
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Bots are a myth - some type of automated purchase function is something jolted buyers say when they miss a drop. Been in technology all my life on the smallest and grandest schemes and have never seen an automated process developed that could add to cart, checkout, pay in an automated fashion. Yes, bots can watch a page for changes - if you know what page to watch. But the theory that someone is using bots to purchase knives fully is just silly in my mind.

Back to GEC's production. I didn't assume you could increase GEC's production in reality. I'm asking you - if you were president of GEC; what would you do differently (specifically). You have a factory that has stations for 30 employees; and those employees can produce an average of 120 knives per day. There is no more floor space and no more local talent.

Go! How do you increase your quantity without sacrificing your quality?
 
Viper84 said:
Not sure what you mean. I do not have any power to increase GEC's production output.

I do think that some dealers could help the flipper situation by implementing some type of anti-purchase bot protection since I suspect that a lot of the flippers are using purchase bots to make sure they score on the next release. It may not work for dealers like yourself who do early reserves, and maybe you already have certain other protections in place, but maybe it would help things for dealers like DLT and KnivesShipFree.
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I think bots are pretty much a myth. I can get in and out in under 10 seconds on most sites, as can many other people. If there are 20 knives available and there are 50 people capable of checking out that quickly, I can see how it would seem that there is some algorithm pulling it off.
 
so was it a bandwidth/internet speed/server issue? Your site was jammed up pretty good for a good ten minutes I want to say.
 
Old Engineer said:
Are you wanting to start an Old Barlow collection ???
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Not really, but kinda... I guess I'm mostly just looking for a few nice old pieces to display in my knife cabinet... Like the Camillus and Keen Kutter i got from you. :cool::thumbsup:

Misplaced Hillbilly said:
Like the guy that buys a Ford Raptor and never so much as drives it on a dirt road
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Kind of off topic, but given the content of this thread lately it's a nice change of pace. :D
I have a good friend that is exactly that person. Has a beautiful Ford Raptor, loves to mention how valuable it is, and dreads the day he gets his first little scratch in it. Raves about its off-road capabilities but refuses to leave the pavement.

And something relevant to the thread... My first GEC knife purchased off the shelf...
 
knifeswapper said:
Bots are a myth - some type of automated purchase function is something jolted buyers say when they miss a drop. Been in technology all my life on the smallest and grandest schemes and have never seen an automated process developed that could add to cart, checkout, pay in an automated fashion. Yes, bots can watch a page for changes - if you know what page to watch. But the theory that someone is using bots to purchase knives fully is just silly in my mind.

Back to GEC's production. I didn't assume you could increase GEC's production in reality. I'm asking you - if you were president of GEC; what would you do differently (specifically). You have a factory that has stations for 30 employees; and those employees can produce an average of 120 knives per day. There is no more floor space and no more local talent.

Go! How do you increase your quantity without sacrificing your quality?
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I know for a fact that people have created programs that do exactly what you are claiming is a myth. They were used widely for purchasing Playstation 5 consoles which people flipped for 2-3x the cost. A simple internet search will reveal a lot of information about purchase bots that can add an item to your cart, fill in shipping and billing information, and complete the purchase in milliseconds. This is why many sites implement captchas because the bots have a hard time getting past them.

I am not a knife production expert, so I will not attempt to answer your question, but the production issue right now is just a sad reality that we have to live with. I'm just hoping it improves somewhat after COVID.
 
knifeswapper said:
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.
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That's the problem. Picking them up retail from an honest dealer is the new challenge. More dealers are essentially approaching the flipper level. Not you of course. You only have limited ability for a buyer to get one at a fair price. Everyone is funneling towards you and it's even more challenging. And you do the best you can with the circumstances that are handed to you. Even when this situation was not out of control, people choose you and their first attempt, so a potential customer had that challenge to do business with you. Now it's a whole new level.
 
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