low end knives in outdoor stores

cut it out

cut it out

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Apr 11, 2010
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ok so I was in the moutains of PA last weekend and stopped in a sporting goods store(not a big name chain either) and all he had for knives were cheap made in china knives. this store is about a hour or so from CASE cutlery!!!!! and the knives were $35 and up. why wouldn't they carry CASE or buck or victorinox or something like that that you can spend $35 on and get a good knife? I mean if your in the moutains and loose your knife or drop it in the kinzua river fishing and went to get something or your a local and need a knife thats the only place around. it just bugs the hell out of me cuz for thoses prices you could get a decent knife and or carry the local brand(CASE). these were just pocket knives not tactical flashy weapons just slipjoints and lockbacks.
sorry for ranting but it really bugged me, lol
 
remember they arent in the buisness of selling knives, just whatever knife like import can fetch them the most profit per unit. sadly most people would pass up a 35 dollar case for an 8 dollar who knows what.
 
I'd have to imagine that the profit margins are infinitely higher on the cheap-o M.I.C. knives, and the VAST majority of consumers (let's not be fooled, that's what the masses are) are simply looking for a cheap, disposable cutting tool to take on whatever camping trip to the local user-friendly camp ground they're headed to.

It's saddening, but I showed a friend my SMF the other day, and his friend says "yeah, I've seen those in the gas station." Sigh. The reality is, most people don't appreciate fine cutlery, and given that fact, and the fact that many retail outlets these days are simply about the bottom dollar, I'd go ahead and guess THAT to be the reason.

Low cost. Big profits. Happy business owner.
 
cut it out said:
ok so I was in the moutains of PA last weekend and stopped in a sporting goods store(not a big name chain either) and all he had for knives were cheap made in china knives. this store is about a hour or so from CASE cutlery!!!!! and the knives were $35 and up. why wouldn't they carry CASE or buck or victorinox or something like that that you can spend $35 on and get a good knife? I mean if your in the moutains and loose your knife or drop it in the kinzua river fishing and went to get something or your a local and need a knife thats the only place around. it just bugs the hell out of me cuz for thoses prices you could get a decent knife and or carry the local brand(CASE). these were just pocket knives not tactical flashy weapons just slipjoints and lockbacks.
sorry for ranting but it really bugged me, lol
Click to expand...

They carry what sells the most.

Most people aren't knife people so they really don't know the difference between a $8 knife and a $50 knife except one costs more.....
 
Of the big name brands you mentioned (Case, Buck, Victorinox), it just so happens that these brands are fairly picky about whom they allow to market their products. If I'm not mistaken, they must be a so-called 'authorized' dealer. This is how the manufacturers ensure that their brand will be represented & backed properly (for service issues) in the marketplace. It may be that this particular store isn't able/willing to meet the criteria to represent the better brands.

Just my two cents... :)
 
The other thing about becoming an 'authorized dealer' for a popular brand, is that it usually requires the dealer to maintain a fairly large inventory of that brand. That can be an expensive investment, especially for a stand-alone store (non-chain store, in other words). In terms of carrying sheer numbers of knives, it no doubt would be cheaper to stock up on the cheaper stuff.
 
Interesting..

Yeah, my local hunting/fishing store almost only carries crabby stainless knives in their oh-so-fancy glass monter, the only decent thing i found is one or two EKA knives, but i find their designs to be somewhat outdated and weird. Steel's good though.
 
I didn't realize the rules for being a dealer/distibuter, its just so close to the CASE factory I just thought they would really push there knives localy more and this was a small store/ bait store so maybe he couldn't or didn't care to invest in a nice display..... like I said though these knives wer'nt $8 they were $25 $35 knives so I would think even non knife people would see the value of a american or swiss made pocket knife over a china knife. thanks for calming me down lol I get worked up about really "cheap knives in outdoor / sporting good stores since theres alot of good knives in that price range (buck, case, victorinox ect...). and I'm not dissing foreign knives some of my best knives are made in japan its just a cheap knife is a cheap knife regardless of where it comes from.
 
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