Market trends, pricing, and availability

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G3 said:
I was actually checking EU stock yesterday and was surprised at how many are available overseas.
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We had a bunch in a finish website a few months ago and they went very fast, maybe because the website did some social media communication on them. The ones in the Netherland website are still here, maybe because there was no communication whatsoever about them.

And don't forget that they are easily 150 USD more expensive on our side.
 
Theres a dealer up here who has a bunch of 24's and 18's in stock.. not really moving that fast....

I got the one I wanted... after waiting two weeks to pull the trigger...
 
Mister_Punchy said:
We had a bunch in a finish website a few months ago and they went very fast, maybe because the website did some social media communication on them. The ones in the Netherland website are still here, maybe because there was no communication whatsoever about them.

And don't forget that they are easily 150 USD more expensive on our side.
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I still don't think it would be as much.
 
Edited to reflect the topics involved as I see them related.

Also, any thoughts on lotteries, exclusive drops, Instagram, and how it relates to the current status of availability whether by dealer or maker.

Is it out of necessity or well into exploitation at this point?
Does it help or hurt the the consumer or the business market?
Does it force pricing to stay higher based on supply and demand?
At which point someone decides to purchase at an over inflated price based on their want vs value (not in functionality but in base pricing) becomes a factor that changes baseline pricing and trends?

Just some things that I think of when I see these types of listings.
 
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Peter Hartwig said:
I have, but that was an era of very short supply and high demand. Eventually times changed and those that paid the inflated prices took a significant hit.
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Probably before my time.

I've avoided overpaying for a lot of knives (even ones that I really want) by sticking to my self-imposed and arbitrary price limit for buying knives.

That limit is currently $500 (including sales tax and shipping costs, if any).

I did make a 1x exception to this limit to buy a ZT0600 for $550 earlier this year -- because was the lowest priced ZT0600 that I have ever seen and the extra 10% did not seem cost prohibitive to me -- but I have NOT gone over $500 for the 25 other knives that I have also purchased so far this year

And, unless someone offers an original CTS-XHP Spyderco Slysz Bowie in LNIB condition for $550 (including any sales tax and shipping costs), I'm not going to break this limit again any time soon.

Obviously, I'm not going to hold my breath waiting for that to happen, given the current state of the "market" for this knife. LOL! ;)
 
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G3 said:
Also, any thoughts on lotteries, exclusive drops, Instagram, and how it relates to the current status of availability whether by dealer or maker.
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Of those trends, one I feel familiar with is related to exclusive drops: boutique knife designers working with OEMs in China and releasing small drops. EMP EDC is a good example: The Nymble is a $200 knife made by QSP, but drops sell out at the $300 asking price.

There's nothing inherently wrong with that; no one's forced to buy them, and I don't begrudge the designer or QSP making a living. But IMO the sticker price is only attainable because of the small-drop business model coupled with a measure of exclusivity and a dollop of hype -- and I find that fascinating.
 
sgt1372 said:
Probably before my time.

I've avoided overpaying for a lot of knives (even ones that I really want) by sticking to my self-imposed and arbitrary price limit for buying knives.

That limit is currently $500 (including sales tax and shipping costs, if any).

I did make a 1x exception to this limit to buy a ZT0600 for $550 earlier this year -- because was the lowest priced ZT0600 that I have ever seen and the extra 10% did not
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It was in the early days of Hinderer. They had low production numbers and to buy direct you had to be a 1st responder. A few made it to dealers that marked them up and they sold out immediately. Ti scales were extremely rare . There were also very few companies making mid tech. But like many things it was a case of want not need. Used trended $600-$800 varying over time. Latter I was able to buy custom XM-18s for less.
Since then they have ramped up there production substantially.
My Gen2 3 in. Slicer Non flipper was pretty cool. Wish I had kept it.
 
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sgt1372 said:
Probably before my time.

I've avoided overpaying for a lot of knives (even ones that I really want) by sticking to my self-imposed and arbitrary price limit for buying knives.

That limit is currently $500 (including sales tax and shipping costs, if any).

I did make a 1x exception to this limit to buy a ZT0600 for $550 earlier this year -- because was the lowest priced ZT0600 that I have ever seen and the extra 10% did not seem cost prohibitive to me -- but I have NOT gone over $500 for the 25 other knives that I have also purchased so far this year

And, unless someone offers an original CTS-XHP Spyderco Slysz Bowie in LNIB condition for $550 (including any sales tax and shipping costs), I'm not going to break this limit again any time soon.

Obviously, I'm not going to hold my breath waiting for that to happen, given the current state of the "market" for this knife. LOL! ;)
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I'm pretty much in the same boat. I have a line and will only cross it on rare occasions for special knives. I'm just not willing to regularly spend that much on a knife, unless I have a sudden windfall of filthy lucre. I don't hesitate to spend anything under $300 on a knife, but there was a time when I would have balked at spending that much on anything, so those goal posts can move. There are knives that are within my limit that I won't buy because I feel they're grossly overpriced for what they are, unless I'm a huge fan of the designer. Know your limit stay (mostly) within it.

There are a number of great blades that I appreciate seeing cool pictures of. I don't feel bad or envious that I don't have some of those knives, because you can't own them all and that's a unhealthy way to go about collecting anything. The closest I get is: that's pretty cool, maybe someday I might get one of those.
 
The Grendels said:
I don't hesitate to spend anything under $300 on a knife, but there was a time when I would have balked at spending that much on anything, so those goal posts can move.
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FWIW, while my buy limit is $500, the average price for the 26 knives that I've purchased this year is just under $300.

I overpaid for a couple of rare & hard to find knives that I had been looking for for some time -- in fact there's another one like that that I'm debating about buying now -- but, of course, I generally try to buy knives that I think are under priced or at least fairly priced, whenever possible.
 
G3 said:
Just some things that I think of when I see these types of listings.
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Seems to me, you cherry picked this listing to prove a point. This listing does not reflect reality and is in fact very far out of the norm. Not much value in using as evidence unless you need a strawman to get at what you really want to say.

This one example does not reflect a market trend at all.
 
craytab said:
Seems to me, you cherry picked this listing to prove a point. This listing does not reflect reality and is in fact very far out of the norm. Not much value in using as evidence unless you need a strawman to get at what you really want to say.

This one example does not reflect a market trend at all.
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It was chosen because I haven't come across a listing like that since the times Peter was mentioning.
I know not all dealers would do this.
There's Strider as an example also.
At what point did current aftermarket prices become acceptable?
When someone listed and someone paid, that's it.
So yes one example does not equate a trend, but it starts somewhere.
I can't track every sale or listing either, perhaps there are more.
 
This is a recurring thread theme, somebody sees what they consider an outrageous price for a knife and then concludes that people are somehow being taken advantage of.

1. If you see a knife available for an outrageous price, the key word is not 'outrageous,' it is 'available.' By definition that means that so far everyone else agrees it is overpriced, which is  why it's still available.

2. There is always someone who misreads what the market value is on their consignment knife. Many consigners will have a price they want for the knife, and I know the major knife consignment place in the southwest is happy to let you insist on a high price as long as you're happy to see it unsold.
 
Eh, for some people, it’s not about extracting max value for a luxury item. Get a big bonus or close a big deal, and the difference between $500 and $1000 for something you’ve long wanted isn’t all that significant.

Keep in mind the blade world has had a lot of gun collectors arriving. A bargain AR is more than a perfect CRK.
 
sgt1372 said:
FWIW, while my buy limit is $500, the average price for the 26 knives that I've purchased this year is just under $300.

I overpaid for a couple of rare & hard to find knives that I had been looking for for some time -- in fact there's another one like that that I'm debating about buying now -- but, of course, I generally try to buy knives that I think are under priced or at least fairly priced, whenever possible.
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I had a plan this year to only buy a dozen knives this year, but as of this moment I have bought and ordered 35, so that didn't exactly go to plan. A couple frenzy periods (late January and the end of summer) threw things off a bit. I'm planning to dial it back for the last quarter of 2022 and I exercise patience on purchasing the more expensive knives, but when they're on for half price you gotta pounce.
 
sgt1372 said:
FWIW, while my buy limit is $500, the average price for the 26 knives that I've purchased this year is just under $300.

I overpaid for a couple of rare & hard to find knives that I had been looking for for some time -- in fact there's another one like that that I'm debating about buying now -- but, of course, I generally try to buy knives that I think are under priced or at least fairly priced, whenever possible.
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I have a similar rule.
 
G3 said:
It was chosen because I haven't come across a listing like that since the times Peter was mentioning.
I know not all dealers would do this.
There's Strider as an example also.
At what point did current aftermarket prices become acceptable?
When someone listed and someone paid, that's it.
So yes one example does not equate a trend, but it starts somewhere.
I can't track every sale or listing either, perhaps there are more.
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What that example amounts to is a single secondary market data point that is far outside the norm. Strider is also a poor example. If you don't know why, you may need to do some reading.

The example you started this all with is not "current aftermarket prices".

I know the allure of being a hot take artist. But this one is a big reach.
 
craytab said:
What that example amounts to is a single secondary market data point that is far outside the norm. Strider is also a poor example. If you don't know why, you may need to do some reading.

The example you started this all with is not "current aftermarket prices".

I know the allure of being a hot take artist. But this one is a big reach.
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The allure of being a hot take artist with my strawman argument?
That's good. 🙄
Congratulations, you win the buzzword usage of the day.

Feel better now?

In not new here or to the hobby bud, so I'm fully aware of the way it went with Strider.
Nice try deflecting to "do some reading"
I'm not doing your work for you, you have a reason they are not a perfect example, you supply it.
 
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