Making a buck (or a thousand) off of Dale Earnhardts death.

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Was on rec.knives the other day when some bozo jumped on trying to sell Dale Earnhardt Commemorative Case knives. Most agreed it was in poor taste. Most felt he should have let the body get cold before trying to pickthe bones clean . Some said that's life and went on their way. Others said that's business.

Not me! I feel a man should have some dignity in death, and his family should not be subjected to this shameless profiteering.

So what do you guys think?

BTW was on Yahoo Auction this AM and saw a set for $1000 start. Guy said his reserve was high, but well worth it. I saw no bids.



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Peace

Paul
Circle P Knives
 
Gollnick

Gollnick

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Collectors should be very careful in a time like this. Aside from the fact that the market may be flooded with Earnhartdt memorobilia (much of which is complete junk and will never be worth anything), prices tend to spike dramatically following such a loss. Those prices may well exceed what the item will ultimately be worth.

People often feel that by buying such a thing they are helping the family. Aside from the fact that I suspect Mr. Earnhardts family are not in grave financial need, the fact is that little if any of the money paid for such items goes to the family.

Finally, people often spend money as a way of expressing their grief in a tangible way, to prove how upset they are. Instead of throwing your money at some "collectible" trinket, I would suggest making a generous contribution to whatever charity the Earnhardt family has suggested.


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Chuck
Balisongs -- because it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing!
http://www.balisongcollector.com
 
I agree completely Chuck.
It is a sad fact that some people will try to profiteer from something like this. They know it is the best time to make the most money on the things they wish to sell.
Personally I would rather make the charitable donation that Chuck mentioned than to ever support the greed of these people.

Keith.
 
If you think profiting from Dale Earnhardt's death is wrong, then you should boycott the many television stations that ran it as a story, and I'm sure there will be many more "tribute" programs that we wouldn't have seen had he not killed himself. How many people do you think tuned into the news specifically to hear about Earnhardt's dying?
My advice would be to get off the holier-than -thou highhorse. Either that or set up picket lines at your local funeral homes.

JK
 
You know last i heard this was a free country and I had a right to my opinion. If you don't like it fine, no need to be rude. And if you want to continue in this vein, email me. I brought the topic up for discussion and you turn it into a personal affront. Lighten up!



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Peace

Paul
Circle P Knives
 
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">I brought the topic up for discussion
and you turn it into a personal affront. Lighten up!</font>
Click to expand...

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">when some bozo jumped on trying
to sell Dale Earnhardt Commemorative Case knives.</font>
Click to expand...

Perhaps you should lighten up.

JK
 
I also think that this is in very poor taste. Yes, it is a free country, but I hope that people would have the proper sensibilities about things like this.

I like being on my high horse, the view is better!
wink.gif
 
JEDI,

First off, Dale Earnhardt most assuredly didn't "kill himself". That is a pretty callous statement and I hope it was just a poor choice of words.
Secondly, to equate the news media reporting on a legitimate news story, with parasites trying to capitalize on a tragedy, is to say the least, a flawed analogy. Also, don't begrudge people who tune in to tribute shows and news reports their right to grieve by making the inference that they are being duped by media profiteers.
Please refrain from taking cheap shots at people trying to mourn what was to them,(and me) an American Hero.

Paul,

I agree with you about the people selling those knives. There is a woman who works with my wife that went out with her husband on the night of Dale's death, and bought everything they could that had his name on it. She went to the department stores and bought all of the clothing, and he went to the toy stores and bought all of the die cast cars. They then went right to E-Bay. She even had the lack of morals to come to work on monday and brag to people about how "smart" they were. I really wish people like her were smart enough to take a step back and see the type of image they are projecting to other people.

Take care,

Jim McCullough

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Next time you feel your life is sooo tough, read this- Some American Heroes
 
I was in a local KMart yesterday, watching as the clerk removed the sale price stickers off all Ernhardt collectibles. They left all other merchandise on sale.

That made me sick enough to stay away from that store, forever.

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It's not the pace of life that concerns me, It's the sudden stop at the end.
 
I, too, feel that it is in poor taste, but, as H.L. Mencken once said, "No one ever went broke underestimating the poor taste of the American people." That said, I would suggest that those who object simply look away and grit their teeth. If you want something truly tasteless, I remember a pipestore selling a carved meerschaum pipe in the likeness of John Kennedy's head along about July of 1964. I asked the pipe shop owner if it was supposed to turn blood red as you smoked it instead of amber as meeschaum usually did. He finally took it off of the shelves after he had had too many complaints about it.

As some of you who have been reading in hte Community Forum may have noticed, I care very deeply about this from a very long history of love of auto racing and of hurt from its propensity to eat its own, so I am especially displeased at this attempt to make cheap profits on Dale's death. But there are people who will fill a perceived need, as Golllnick says, by buying these cheap pieces of junk. It will give them something with which to remember their hero, and that is important, so let it be. For those people, it is filling a need, and for those who know better, there are other, better ways. As the saying goes, "God works in mysterious ways, His miracles to perform."

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Walk in the Light,
Hugh Fuller
 
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">I was in a local KMart yesterday, watching as the clerk removed the sale price stickers off all Ernhardt collectibles. They left all other merchandise on sale.</font>
Click to expand...

Very, very tacky indeed. But, don't just complain here. Let' K-Mart know what you saw and how you perceived it.

customercare@bluelight.com

Lori V. Gagnon
Director of Customer Care
P.O. Box 356
Lewis Center, OH 43035

1-866-KMART4U (866 is toll free; like 1-800)



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Chuck
Balisongs -- because it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing!
http://www.balisongcollector.com
 
The whole thing is about profits, plain & simple.
Dale endorses products for profit, the stores sell Dale merchandise for profit, people sponsor Dale for profit, the media covers his death for profit ( because that's what people want to see ), people buy & sell Dale merchandise for profit, the funeral home buries Dale for profit, etc..

The list goes on & on, but in short, it's all about profit, plain & simple.
Dale's Family and friends are probably the only ones not trying to cash in on his death, and even they aren't totally immune.



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mikemck@austin.rr.com
 
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">First off, Dale Earnhardt most assuredly didn't "kill himself".</font>
Click to expand...

Did he not know he was taking a chance with his life when he got in the car? Was he not "blocking" i.e. putting his car in the path of cars trying to pass him, in order to allow his son and his other car to win? Sure his death was tragic, as death characteristically is, but he certainly had made several conscious decisions concerning the events leading directly to his own demise. Sometimes the fog of grief can obscure reality.




[This message has been edited by 12 Gauge Shogun (edited 02-21-2001).]
 
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">
The whole thing is about profits, plain & simple.
Dale endorses products for profit, the stores sell Dale merchandise for
profit, people sponsor Dale for profit, the media covers his death for
profit ( because that's what people want to see ), people buy & sell
Dale merchandise for profit, the funeral home buries Dale for profit,
etc..

The list goes on & on, but in short, it's all about profit, plain & simple.</font>
Click to expand...

Well stated! How refreshing.



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Posted from a shared computer terminal.
 
I wish no ill toward anyone and am saddened by personal tragedy. The Earnhardt family deserves our reverent and quiet respect in their time of sorrow. Quite aside from that, the NASCAR hardcore, zealots, heroes and fans are a sub-culture in every sense of the word. Rational values and reasonable predictions of behavior do not apply. No surprises here. Darwin is validated.
 
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by 12 Gauge Shogun:
Did he not know he was taking a chance with his life when he got in the car? Was he not "blocking" i.e. putting his car in the path of cars trying to pass him, in order to allow his son and his other car to win? Sure his death was tragic, as death characteristically is, but he certainly had made several conscious decisions concerning the events leading directly to his own demise. Sometimes the fog of grief can obscure reality.


[This message has been edited by 12 Gauge Shogun (edited 02-21-2001).]</font>
Click to expand...

By this logic, every soldier that has ever gone to battle and never returned home, every fireman that didn't make it out, every cop that didn't finish his watch, every sailor that went down to the sea, all of them are suicides.

Kind of surprising to see a "new member" choose such a childish idea to defend with their first two posts.

Unless of course you're a troll.


Viper, I agree with you and some of the others.
Although I have never been a big fan of Nascar, I sure know who Dale Earnhardt was, and the world is a poorer place without him.
The buzzards should show a little of the respect Mr. Earnhardt deserves, but sadly, they won't.
There will always be carrion eaters among us.


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Tráceme no sin la razón, envoltura mi no sin honor
Usual Suspect
 
This has kinda stopped being about knives. as such, let's continue the discussion in the community forum.
David

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NC Custom Knifemakers Guild member
NC Knife Knuts member
 
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