Long-term value of MIB BM and PC Bali's?

Professor

Professor

Gold Member
Joined
Apr 6, 1999
Messages
3,427
Gentlemen,

I've got several mint-in-box BM and PC production Balisongs that are safe in the safe and when speaking to a fella the other day, he told me I'd be better off selling them now since they are at a premium. I told him I'm no genius, but wouldn't they appreciate even more in 10 to 20 years?

Then I went downstairs and cracked a beer. What's you guy's take on this? Thanks fellas.

Professor.
 
I'm sure people thought that a year ago when prices of a BM44 were about $150. Now just look at how much they run.
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Dave

My collection
 
Any investor will tell you, the goal is "Buy low, sell high." Knives, in general, have a very poor history as an investment. The market is very unreliable. Keep in mind that collectables in general tend to be "fair weather" investments. When the economy is hot, people are doing well, when they have "disposable" income, then people tend to buy things for their "collectible" value and not just their utilitarian or intrinsic value. In the last few years, the economy has been doing well. Prices are up for collectibles across the board.

How long will this current strong economy continue? I don't know. I do know that these sorts of things tend to go in cycles. If you decide not to sell on this up cycle, then you may have to wait out the next down cycle.

The last two sales of customs on Bladeauction.com have floored me. Prices have been running very high lately. For me, it really makes me wonder: keep the collection, or move into a nice new house?

My advice would be that if you're interested in making money on these knives, sell 'em now. Will they be worth more in 10 or 20 years? Maybe. But, if you sell 'em now and invest the money in a nice mutual fund, the chances of having more money in 10 or 20 years is much, much greater.

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Chuck
Balisongs -- because it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing!
http://www.balisongcollector.com
 
There's only so many customs that were made, that number won't increase. The number of people who have entered the ranks of bali-song enthusiast's have increased ten-fold in the last year alone. Bench Made has given us the 42 that they can't make enough of, do you believe they will produce a knife of the same caliber as a custom? Or will anyone produce a knife that will equal the original? I don't think so. Don't get me wrong and think there won't be fine knives made, they just won't be the same as the old PC's, and customs. The last 2 auctions have shown the value of the older bali's. But if you do decide to sell, do it on the forum so we can all share in the fun.

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First off, keep one for yourself...you'll probably want it in the years to come and if you sell them all now, you would probably regret selling them down the road. So...I would advise keeping at least one. Of course, I'm saying this b/c I don't even have one. I remember having the opportunity to by a BM 45 about 2 years ago for $110. Now that sounds like a steal. Then, it was the going rate...or at least I thought it was. Which ever the case may be, I couldn't bring myself to spend that much $$$ on a knife at the time (I still have a hard time doing so). The point of all this is; it's a good time to sell now, especially with the 42 just being (relatively newly) introduced. That one knife has jacked up prices for all the old BM's and PC's. I guess for Bali-song cutlery's as well. If you are really caught between what you should do, you could send them to me and I'll make sure that they'll find a happy home.

Steve
 
Professor, I would have to say hang on to them, and if all else fails, you can sell them to me in the future, I'll probably always be willing to buy some if $$ is short and I am not totally broke.
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But I would imagine that they will go up in value. 42's are nice, but with no others currently on the production list, and none really planned (according to Travis a couple days ago) I would imagine that we will always be searching for diversity among our bali's and therefore always picking up older ones to maintain some level of quality.
 
Professor, I would suggest holding onto one (your favorite one), then auctioning the rest off on Blade Auction (one at a time). I would at least try to auction one on BA; if it doesn't do well, just hang onto the rest. I doubt the prices of your custom balis will drop drastically in the next few years, but demand is unpredictable.
 
Hey Professor! IMHO I would hold on to them....Chuck has a good point about the more or less guaranteed return on a mutual fund but how much fun is it setting back and looking at a piece of paper?!? The bottom line is that there won't be anymore made like the ones you have and you could bet on that!!! I don't see the market going any place but up with the newly found resurgence in butterfly knives. Les knew a good thing when he saw it 20+ years ago and he's probably kicking himself for not producing the 42 way before now! The Sampson ground customs are, to my notion, about as good as investments in knives get without buying Scagel, Cronk, Loveless, etc.... in the 5 figure areas. I feel the same way about the new-in-the-box PC's and earlier BM models. Do what you want but......CALL ME FIRST!!!
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Someone ought to produce a 'value guide' for balisongs based on the prices they have been going for and the perhaps the economy or something of that matter.
maybe a few of you could start a new topic and keep it updated.
just a thought.
 
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