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My experience with the mall knife store

T

tom poe

Joined
Apr 19, 2002
Messages
89
i'm checking hi and low for a 2002 commander and i wander into the mall to check out the 2 knife stores. well, one is a kiosk. anyway, kiosk dude has a 2002 mini commander for $99. not too bad a price but not the configuration i want. so i keep moving. store 2, ask to see emerson, guy points me to the case then starts talking smack about emerson knives. says they're overpriced and not finished well. also says they're no tougher than benchmade, emerson is a small time company, never should have got in the production business and has gotten by all these years on his name after a write up in some mag by a former seal. then praises BM most of the time i'm there.

saw the 2 knifes he had on him, one was a spyderco modified for wave opening and the other unidentifiable. thought it was odd he didn't carry a benchmade since he thought so much of them. he claimed the unidentifiable one hadn't broke yet, his only reason for not getting a BM yet. kinda felt like maybe he just needed to move some stock or made more $$'s off the BM's.

just wondered what everyone thought. i am new to knives and haven't been in many knife stores.
 
I think you happened upon one of those "know it all" clerks, with lots of opinions but nothing to back it up.

I've found over the years, in different stores, clerks with an vast working knowledge and love of knives to those who I'm afraid to stand near for fear of being cut open.

I have an '02 mini-commander and it has been a great working knife, and the fit and finish are flawless. $99 is a good price for a new one.

Benchmade is a great company and produces quality knives, but so do others, including Spyderco, Buck, Camillus, Microtech, etc. Just buy something from all of them ;)

Do some reading and research on this board about particular knives before you go to a store and you'll fare well :)
 
i believe you are correct sir. i finally found a dealer that can get me one. he called his supplier and they say they've got em. he's going to verify it before he ships it to me. so hopefully i'll have it first of next week.

i don't mind the clerk, the stores are way overpriced anyway. i use them to handle the knives to see which i want then order online.
 
Tom:
Don't you feel just a little guilty for taking up the clerks time when you knew all along you weren't going to buy from them? Inline space in a mall is very expensive.
 
avenger, no more guilty than he feels when he rapes somebody for full retail on a knife. example: BM ares-store $174.99+14tax=188.99 on the net $106+no tax+$5shipping=$111 difference of $77.99!

not sure what you mean by "inline" but it was the middle of the day with nobody else in the store. when a customer came in i left. if you're talking about rent for the space, that's his prob not mine. he doesn't give ME a break cause i have to pay MY rent.
 
Tom-- I think Avenger brings up a good point. If you value B&M knife stores as a resource for looking at different blades in person and actually being able to hold them, then it makes sense to buy from them once in a while, or else they won't be there.
--Josh
 
Not to be a devils advocate but...
The guys online are not paying 4-5k a month in rent, plus the insurance and employee expence like it runs in the mall either! Plus local sales tax and TPT tax on top of that.

Most Web sites are FAR less expensive to maintain, however You are right "That is there choice".

I buy online also because it makes sense!
 
i was in the area and stopped in, i'm buying a commander regardless. i don't place so much value on the store being there or not. if you buy one there and wind up selling it you'll take a bath! i don't have money to throw around, i'm on a budget. lowest price gets my business.

when i find a site with solid customer service and fast shipping i'll stick with them, even if i have to pay a little more over another vendor. but full retail i will not pay.
 
botach has the worst customer service. a member on another board does buy from them when they run a sale, they run some really good specials, he uses his cc. he's had problems with them twice not sending merchandise and getting charged for it. both times he turned the cc security posse loose on boatach. both times the problem was resolved and the order was sent overnight.
 
Thus, instead of tongue in cheek, I used the "finger to the back of the throat" when trying to be a bit humorous....
 
Eh, you mostly don't buy from a local store because it makes financial sense. It's just fun to walk out with a new piece when you go home. :D Plus if your are really lucky, there's a knifeknut there that makes it a fun place. :D I buy whats I finds locally and internet order the exotic stuff. :cool:
 
he doesn't give ME a break cause i have to pay MY rent.
Click to expand...

Well said.

Some people almost sound like they want to promote businesses just because they are stupid enough to provide a service for free (yes it´s free if they can´t sell anything to me while I´m there).

Let´s make a comparison with my country were BM stores would take about $250 for a regular Commander. If I buy it on the net from a good source it would cost me $165 plus $10 shipping. I almost don´t want to mention "Tool-shop" here in Europe that makes a killing with their horrendous prices.

Why don´t BM stores accept the fact that knives probably will be something extra you throw in with a low price-tag in a bigger deal.

Another example would be BM42:s that some internet places sell for $79.95. How much do they take for those in a BM store? Check it out and do some math and soon you will see that the BM probably works with too large margins.

I´ll never buy from a BM store because:

a) They are waaay too expensive.
b) They usually don´t have any knowledge (like the salesperson in the initial post in this thread).
c) I´m doing my part in cleaning up the non-profitable businesses.

If you can´t make it as a BM knifeseller maybe you should do something else?

/Colinz
 
Not all stores that sell knives are in malls. Therefore, they may have much lower overhead costs - hence, much lower prices. If they also sell knives as a sideline, chances are the prices will be lower.

I regularly frequent a local "military" surplus store just a few miles from my house. I buy a lot of Benchmade knives and they have them. The prices are very reasonable - a little above internet prices, but not by a lot.

Example, the cheapest I can buy a Benchmade 705 on the net (that I know of) is $93.75 - at my local store it sells for $99.75. Is the Internet price cheaper - yes. But, I get to fondle all sorts of Benchmades at the B & M store, I have a relationship with the dealer, they know I buy knives there so I can fondle a lot of knives for free.

Now as to whether this is unusual. I don't think so. I was in Alabama a couple of weeks ago. I stopped in a "Sportman's" store there and they had even better prices on Benchmades.

I hope we always have B & M stores to shop and buy knives in, it is a good experience.

Oh, by the way - I buy knives from Internet dealers like Mike Graham, The Knifecenter, and Bayou Lafourche - all of whom give great prices and great service.

Both have their place. The bottom line is to enjoy your purchasing.

I've seen some B & M stores that I would never go in again due to very high prices and very low knowledge.

Dean
 
To : ALL

I've bought from BOTH Remington cutlery ( that was when I was in
Connecticut )AND the 'net ; when Remington had sales ( for example:
I got a Spyderco 203 Sharpmaker for $38. You can't beat that with a stick on the net )I got some REALLY GOOD DEALS. It's just a question of shopping around for the BEST price, not that buying on the 'net is
better, to which I say to such advocates : "How about all those .com
failures?" ( here today, GONE TOMORROW! }Stores like Remington, however were around longer than the "fly-by-night" .com 'net "stores".
And, I really like the "hands on" approach before a purchase.

Black Belt in shopping.

A.E.T.
 
I try, I really do, to buy a knife occasionally from my local Remington or Chesapeake Knife & Tool stores, but the Remington store near me where I used to shop has so severely cut their sock of reasonable knives, replacing them with POS knives, and generally replaced their knives with all kinds of "Sharper Image Junk" that I can never find anything of interest there any more, while CK&T seems to stock only the damned serrated versions of everything that they sell. I asked about that and they told me that the corporate HQ has decided that these are the knives that sell and not the plain-edged ones. Well, I guess so, but only to the kids as far as I have seen. In the meantime, I will kook at them in their serrated or combo form, ask to buy one in a plain-edged version, and then usually walk out because they do not stock any plain-edged versions. I am, thus, forced to the Internet to do my shopping.
 
I just bought a Buck 110 online for $35. You can get them at Home Depot for $35.

However, at Chesapeake Knife & Tool = $69.95

I know why they have a price difference, and I don't like it. Home Depot buys in BIG bundles and gets a lower price.

CK&T can only buy so many and doesn't get a lower price. Then, since they're in the mall, the price goes up higher. Add to that a cheesy saleswoman and the generally high markup on everything else...big price differential.

Here's the kicker, though: The knife I got online came with a 100-year-anniversary medallion on the handle. Neither the Home Depot version, nor the CK&T model had it.

Why pay more?

I would have, if they would have had the medallion. I was looking for reasons to support them, but couldn't find even one.:(

Dan
 
Not that I'm supporting WalMart (they really irritate the h*ll out of me), but unfortunately they have recently re-done their knife sections and are selling mid-range knives (Burk, Gerber, Kershaw etc.)
at ridiculously low (almost wholesale) prices. I.E. Buck 110 for $29 and Kershaw Chives for $29. Between the net and these large chain mega-stores I'm afraid that the local knife shops are soon going to be a thing of the past.
 
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