NOBODY gonna like this!

S

shane justice

Joined
May 12, 2003
Messages
1,606
Ok...all you lousy khukuri junkies...it is time somebody said it...

Hell...I don't got many friends in the forums anymore...so it might as well be me...nothing to lose...

Some of you might remember when I first started posting in the Cantina...a while back...I metioned that Wendy(my wife) fell in love with the Kothimoda...

Well, I finally got one for her...and I got a little one for my daughter's collection...

Looking at both of them...there is one thing I can say that nobody is gonna want to hear...

Yangdu needs to RAISE the prices!

...and you stingy bastards know it!

One of my failures as a businessman...is to undercharge for my knives. A top name maker told me in Atlanta last year...that this leads people to believe that your knife isn't as good as the next guys.

Well, HI offers a damn neat product...unique craftsmanship..and a quality tool!

Go ahead...argue with me...I am ready for a flame war!

I am dead serious....Yangdu needs to RAISE her prices significantly...

If it was me...I would charge no less than $750.00 for a Kothimoda...

...and all the other Khuks at regular price...should go up...at least $25 to $75

the daily specials are such a great idea...keeps everybody hungry for more...

...but after that...PAY UP SUCKERS!

Everybody here has benefitted from the generousity and kindness of these good folks...not to mention their damn nice sense of doing business...

How often do we see HI saying..."Problem? Send it back...we'll make it right!"

...and they DO!

The only down side I can see...is there might be a concern that they price themselves right out of their market share....

Honestly...I don't think it will happen...I couldn't re-create their work...for less than about $300....to $500...and that is for the simple smaller blades...

I have...and will always love the khukuri in shape and form...my goal...if I ever go back to making knives...is to forge big blades like these...nearly exclusively....

But for now....you guys better learn that HI is making the BEST "Honest to GOD! khukuri's in the WOLRD! ...and start treating them with the respect they deserve..and that means...get out your check books!

Damn it..that is what i think...and that is my final word on the matter.

Shane
 
LOL Noah... that was brilliant. Rep for you. :D :D


But, I do agree, hate to say it, but I do. I don't know if it makes the correct business sense or not, as pricing oneself out of its own market is a bad thing.

But, these khuks are worth much more than we pay. Not that I want to pay anymore mind you...

~ b
 
Hope I'm not speaking out of turn here - folks, correct me if I'm out of line.

Shane, the question is ... what's the goal.

HI, as I understand it from Uncle Bill's writings, operates with twin goals. First, to provide folks like myself with access to world-class knives. Khukuries that are frankly, as good or better than you'd find anywhere else, and from a company that you can trust will ensure that's true.

If that were the only company goal, I'd say you've hit the nail on the head ... Yangdu needs to raise prices, to signal the quality of the products.

But HI's other goal is to provide employment to the kamis. More employment, at fairer rates, than could be offered in "traditional" ways of doing business. This means moving the product out, so that demand is high, so that more kamis can be supported. If the prices are already higher than competing khukuri sellers (and they are), then the kamis already get a better pay-packet than they would working for another outfit.

It might be that HI's overall profits would rise if prices took a substantial hike ... and depending on the size of the increase, perhaps the higher prices wouldn't discourage too many potential buyers from purchasing. But you'll want to very carefully walk a line here, to ensure that the kamis and their families are the ones at the centre of the picture. Less work for them, even if HI becomes more "successful", means not meeting a crucial goal.

Tom.
 
I don't know about you, but I'm poor. I own nearly nothing. Ropemaking isn't all flash and glamour like on TV. Himalayan Imports was my only chance to own such a large amount of handforged blade, and I could only sort of afford one at that. If I bought CDN$120 of hammered steel down the street, I'd have ended up with a crappy litte inch-and-a-half tanto or arrowhead, instead if a silver fitted 17 inch beauty crafted by the Royal Kami and a team of experts. Sure, I had to spend a month watching the DOTD like a hawk to do it, and HI products are worth 2-3 times what we pay. But then I see a lot of really beautiful knives that I could never buy on the internet.

It seems not a much about price as it is opportunity.
 
On topic:

What's best for the kamis? Short & Long?


==================================

Morgane ?

Tell us about your ropemaking.

What type/how, for who/why/uses put to...............

inquiring minds want to know.



~
~~~~~~~~~
<> THEY call me 'Dean' :)-fYI-fWiW-iIRC-JMO-M2C-YMMV-TiA-YW-GL-HH-HBd-IBSCUtWS-theWotBGUaDUaDUaD
<> Tips <> Baha'i Prayers Links --A--T--H--D
 
As an avid collector of bent blades, I say...Shane GO AWAY! :grumpy:

I'm broke enough as it is.




:D


Semp
 
In all seriousness, what Shane says is correct, the HI product COULD be sold for more, based on the quality.

But the impression that Shane is relating to us in his thread starter is what I like to call "perceived value." When a product or service is believed by a customer to have a high degree of value for the price, that high "perceived value" makes the customer feel good about the purchase, and will likely result in repeat business. HI delivers this effect, which is part psychological and part real. Most of us will attest to the general overall level of quality and workmanship in a given HI model, even the blems, so the intrinsic value of the product is there and well established. The DOTD represents an even greater value for specific items.

HI sets the price, which includes shipping. That way you know what the bottom line is right from the start. The "other" outlets exclude shipping. And that's part of marketing, which also enters the picture. Fact is, HI sets the pricing and while they COULD sell product at a higher price point there is some merit in having the price point at a level that provides acceptable margin and brisk sales volume. Raise the price and some sales volume WILL go away. Raise it further, and more will go away.

It's HI's price to set, despite the valid points made by Shane. The HI product has intrinsic and perceived value, and on that point I am in agreement with Shane.

Noah
 
For the record, please note that Shane only brought this up *after* he got the one he wanted...and a Kothimoda to boot!

;)

The idea is to keep all of the kamis busy...*that* is the profit here...not maximum value of each piece. I know this is foreign to American knifemakers...but the kamis...well...they're *foreign* after all.

Bill had other ways to make money...and probably could have done a hundred other things to help the kamis and their families...but he wanted them to have the dignity of catching their own fish.

Want to help? Continue to buy as many as you can...numbers count!

.
 
:D :D :D :D

Rep to Nasty for 4 *excellent* points.



Ad Astra





Himalayan Imports Khukuris... nobody can own just one!
 
Guys!

I don't take meds...should I? Can I smell the colors better that way?

I don't have an MBA....BTW...what's an MBA?

I stand by my thread strarter...and in this I am unanymous(?sp)
unanimoos(?sp) ....hmmm unanamouse(?sp) ...

I am unwaveringly, unflinchingly, subliminubly decided.

Besides...those Kamis need a bonus!

Shane
 
The meds just help the voices make even more sense than they do now...

Yes...I told him. What? I wasn't supposed to mention you? Yes, I'm online now...why?

.
 
<<those Kamis need a bonus>.

I agree with that so to help you should buy more, and feel free to send an extra $20 each time for the kamis bonus fund.
 
Azis said:
I agree with that so to help you should buy more, and feel free to send an extra $20 each time for the kamis bonus fund.
Click to expand...

See? Now *that* is the kind of thinking that Uncle Bill hoped would happen. :thumbup:

Azis...I am proud to be here with you...lemme buy you a Heinekin!

.
 
Nasty, which one of you is buying this time?



And keeping slightly on track ~ I also agree that the kami's probably deserve a bonus. It is my belief that almost everyone I know deserves a bonus. Most people work damn hard to make a living.

I don't want HI prices to go up either. But I do agree that they are worth more than we pay. That just means they are a super quality product, and the fact that they are affordable only adds to their quality.

Yangdu and Uncle Bill started this company and it seems to be running just fine. Of course, I, nor most of us, have any idea about the real financial situation, and honestly I don't want to - unless there is a problem. Then, let me know, tell me to buy a knife to help out, and I'll buy a knife. It is somewhat similar to when we chipped in to help buy an airline ticket.

I feel like I'm rambling so I'm just gonna stop and wait for those Nasty Beers to come around...

~ b
 
Which of Rusty's abandoned Nevada mineshafts should we throw Shane's body in?

>>>>>>


Seriously! Shane is a very good guy. These are wonderful blades. I've never seen HI offer so much variety. And Yangdu is listening to you guys- she changed the bolster.

I wouldn't want to see HI Blades priced out of many of our means, though, and sale numbers and overall revenue for her and the Kamis drop.


munk
 
Bamboo said:
Nasty, which one of you is buying this time?
Click to expand...

Bamboo...you're just jealous because the voices don't like you. They told me so...


munk...I actually talked to Bill about this...he told me that the idea was to keep them busy...all the time...busy.

I may not know the details of why, but that's what he told me.

.
 
I'm in the market for a sword. It's got to feature good steel, an attractive handle, and useable balance. It needs to be differentially hardened. It ought to come with a scabbard, too - preferably wood with a leather or similar lining. It should be keen enough to slice paper and durable enough to chop wood.

Forged by hand with the maker's mark on it is a plus. I also appreciate a good warranty.

Oh, yeah...it's got to cost less than $200, too.

Not too many places that can take care of me, but one did. The website has a DOTD every day. Those prices are a steal.

Shane got it right. How about some pics of that there kothimoda?
 
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