Net or local shop???

S

Siggyhk

Feedback: +31 / =0 / -0
Joined
Feb 8, 2006
Messages
1,645
I have a quick question for you guys. -Do you have any loyalty to your local knife store, or do you perfer to save some money and buy on line? Anyone ever felt guilty after handling a knife at a store, then goin home to order it online to save $25.00?
 
No way, local shops need to get with the times and price there stuff accordingly. Thankfully there are a few shops that actually are worth my time...shops such as grand prairie knives or new grahm(of course they also have online sales as well). Supporting local business is good for the economy, but I will always seek out the best deal, whether it's online or a brick and mortor shop.
 
Theirs a store around here that has decent prices and I love the store and people who work there. I try to support it by buying a couple of knives their along with all my flashlights (good prices on surefires), but i still buy most of my knives from NGK or other online vendors.
 
I once bought a knife from a store at $100 and then found it online for $60something and now i go to that same store just to feel the knives and then go by them online. I dont feel bad, especially since the people working there dont know anything about knives and are just trying to make a sale.
 
I went to my local Gun-Knife store this weekend everything they had was priced $30.00 or more higher than I can get on the net. I just can't justify paying that much more for a knife or anything else for that matter. Im all for making a decent profit but how much is enough. They had a great selection of Spyders, Benchmade's, Buck's you name it I walked out with nothing.
 
It would depend on the shop, honestly. If we're talking one of the crappy chain stores that have huge mark-ups and snotty people behind the counter, then no I'm not buying. If, however, I find the rare mom-n-pop brick and mortar store, with adequate selection and knowledgeable helpful staff, then I'd buy from the local store.

It reminds me of the small music store in the town I grew up in. I went there, and knew when I went there I was going to spend more than at the mall, not because of the price but because of the service. It was a small, locally owned music store that carried music not many of the chain stores would carry- not to mention their extensive collection of bootleg live tapes you could get copied for $8. Sometimes its about more than money, but when it comes to knives there just aren't that many brick and mortar stores anymore. Or music stores for that matter.

-Anthony
 
Sadly I dont even have any places around me that sell customs and only 2 that I know of that sell hi-end prods. Both are gun stores by trade and thats their specialty so knives take the backseat in variety, price, etc. Only guy that was close has closed business a couple years back. He had customs and hi-ends, not to mention was cool for shootin the breeze about knives or whatever. His place was small but jam packed with knives, everywhere you looked. Now my only option is online or the shows and the shows haven't been that great for my purchasing but ok for checking out what's there.
 
GFarrell3 said:
Sadly I dont even have any places around me that sell customs and only 2 that I know of that sell hi-end prods. Both are gun stores by trade and thats their specialty so knives take the backseat in variety, price, etc. Only guy that was close has closed business a couple years back. He had customs and hi-ends, not to mention was cool for shootin the breeze about knives or whatever. His place was small but jam packed with knives, everywhere you looked. Now my only option is online or the shows and the shows haven't been that great for my purchasing but ok for checking out what's there.
Click to expand...
I hear everyone complaining about the prices at local stores, but web sales are simply undercutting brick and morter stores. We're going to see this continue to be the case, too.

One of my hobbies is to keep a couple of aquariums with tropical fish. It used to be that every town had a pet store, if not a fish shop. Now, PetCo, PetSmart and WalMart have put them out of business. Mom 'n Pop stores simply can't compete when their wholesale prices are higher than the big stores' retail prices.

So, whether it's web sales with companies that are able to operate with very little overhead, or the big box retail giants that have the purchasing power of a small country, we're going to continue to lose small shops (that sell knives, fish, or anything else you can think of...) when they're no longer able to compete.

Is this good or bad? Hell, I don't know. Most of us are willing to give up expertise, customer service, and experience for a few bucks. And more often than not, we're able to find knowledgable people online to discuss things with... So, I think it's just an inevitable shift due to technology.

That said, I think it's pretty crummy to go to a local store, pick the experienced owner/employee's brain, handle their product, then deny them the profit that they should have earned by spending time with you and helping you choose the product that's best for you. If you know what you want and don't need any help choosing, go with the web. If you need some help and want to put your hands on something, buy from the local store. If you don't buy locally, do not expect that store to be around for you to abuse much longer...
 
I only have one local knife shop (walmart) and it has only victorinox,buck and crkt. It's a small collection to, I mostly buy online... there are some good bargins out there.
 
$10 or so difference I go local. When it starts to get more, though, I will go online. (Assuming net price will be approximately $100 or more.)

Quibling over $10-$15 is silly, especially when I can actually examine the knife (a big plus IMO).

I do get a bit peeved when I see MSRP on other than non current limiteds/rarities, though.
 
SpyderJon said:
It would depend on the shop, honestly. If we're talking one of the crappy chain stores that have huge mark-ups and snotty people behind the counter, then no I'm not buying. If, however, I find the rare mom-n-pop brick and mortar store, with adequate selection and knowledgeable helpful staff, then I'd buy from the local store.

-Anthony
Click to expand...

I agree with SpyderJon. I found out about a local knife shop (Toms Cutlery in Rockford, IL) about 2 - 2 1/2 years ago from a friend of mine who knew I was into sharp stuff. Since then I go there at least once a month, help the owner with his future website, and I made friends with a guy trying to hang in there in a business that most regular people don't care about. I'll spend the extra cash to keep it local and he knows that so he tries to keep the prices as low for me as possible.:thumbup: Plus Tom knows what he's talking about, he's a knifeknut like the rest of us. And... you get to handle stuff before you buy it which is the benefit over Inet stores. If I ever hit lotto I always planned on buying him out. I don't care if I ever sold anything I just want to be able to play with all the nice shiny stuff.:p
 
I have few qualms about going into a mall store, looking at a couple knives I'm interested in, then leaving without buying anything. Part of their exorbitant prices are because of overhead (shop space in a mall ain't cheap), but a big part is also preying upon the ignorant--impulse buyers. I was talking to one of the guys who works at one, and after talking shop quite a bit, he was pretty frank about their pricing and their typical customers. We're talking retail here; $300 for a Protech I can get for $160, $750 for a Microtech I can get for <$400. But they have no problem selling these knives at those prices. They see a MT Scarab and it's the coolest thing they've ever seen. They can't resist buying it. Nevermind the fact they can get a Scarab for $400 online (give or take), they'll spend $750 (plus tax!) because they don't know any better. Still, if the clerk is helpful and friendly, I'll likely end up walking out with a bottle of Flitz or a Space Pen refil or something like that.

As for a brick and mortar store, there's a very good one in town with reasonable prices. Slightly higher prices than online, but you don't have to pay for shipping, wait a week, and you can handle before you buy. I haven't been there in a while (it's a long bike ride), but I've probably plunked down a grand there for MT and other autos as well as some other knives. On a couple of these, I've even saved money buying locally vs online.

Even with a nice B&M store here, I have no qualms about buying from vendors like GPknives or Newgraham, since they're still B&M stores, just somewhere else, and they've always done me right. Now if it's online/B$M vs. Wal*Mart...
 
I don't have any problems with paying extra from B&M stores. They provide a service that no Internet store will ever be able to duplicate. They let you handle the knives. I can't tell you how many knives I've thought I'd love, only to see and touch one in person, and find that it really wasn't my cup of tea. I may have paid more for the knife I chose to buy, but I’ve saved a lot more money overall, from not buying certain knives, than I'll ever save from buying on the Internet.

With that said, the closest B&M store worth shopping at is over an hour drive from my home. I mainly shop on the Internet out of shear necessity. It’s a special occasion to be able to shop in a store for a knife.
 
I don''t have any places around here that sells custom knives either. I have been buying my knives online for years, and plan to continue to do so!
 
Being in the Uk, a good knife shop just doesn't exsist, so 90% come from ebay.
So NO BIDDING AGAINST ME ON THE SOG SEAL!!!!!
 
I wouldn't buy on line just because of 15 or 20$ but the problem is that, almost in any place in Europe, the american production knives cost like the double than in internet.

I'm not going to pay 160$ in a store here for a Griptilain when I can have one for 70/80$ shipped ordering it overseas. I really can't understand why is the difference so huge, maybe it's because of the taxes but it's too much for me anyway.

If I could have some similar prices on a local store than in internet I'd go to the store, check de knife and get it right away, I'm pretty impulsive buying and it's fastest if you have a problem with it to go to the store. :)
 
I'm loyal to my local B and M (Plaza Cutlery in Costa Mesa) and if they have something I want I'll pick it up and put it on the credit card. My primary loyalty is to myself and I don't mind ordering through the Internet, as it so conveinient compared to getting in my car, fighting traffic, fighting for a parking space, dealing with the crowded mall etc. I'm not too sure about going to knife store, looking at a knife, then going home to order on the internet. Yeah you might get the same model knife off the internet but you don't have the advantage of inspecting it and you might get sent one that isn't quite "up to snuff".;)
 
ThreadMoving.jpg
 
I tried to buy from a local shop twice. I then told them I could get the same knife online for almost $60 cheaper. They told me they couldn't compete and they never will be able to. I told them that I'd buy elsewhere then. If I could buy for $10-$15 more at B&M shops than online I would. Most of the time however the B&M shops go way overboard on their prices. I saw one local shop trying to sell a regular Benchmade 720 for $143. That's just crazy. The same shop wanted $90 for a regular Griptilian. I can buy one online for $59 most places.

If they actually had knowledgable people in the local store I would. However they don't. I end up knowing more than the salesperson does so why should I pay extra? They are not giving me anything except a place to stand out of the weather.

I can handle knives before I buy them with a passaround or just wing it and buy one.

Brick and Mortar shops will go out of business if they can't keep up with Internet prices. It's that simple.

I don't feel bad for them at all. It's survival of the fittest.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top