Overpriced knives in terms of materials, quality & service

[Zero_Time]

No knives are overpriced. If you think a knife is overpriced clearly you're a poor loser who is just a hater and you need to go work harder so you can stop being bitter. Every knife is worth whatever it's being sold for, by anyone, even if there are other sellers selling it for substantially less. Any other opinion is just sour grapes.

Zero

 

[knifedude802]

CRKT and Sog seem like obvious choices. I hate to say it...but lately I've been feeling like Benchmade and Spyderco ask quite a bit for some of their models where the materials are just...meh.

 

[Kwon Kwang]

No knives are overpriced. If you think a knife is overpriced clearly you're a poor loser who is just a hater and you need to go work harder so you can stop being bitter. Every knife is worth whatever it's being sold for, by anyone, even if there are other sellers selling it for substantially less. Any other opinion is just sour grapes.

Zero

Pretty narrow-minded way of looking at it, AFAIC.

 

[Jim malone]

Some of the latest knives of Spyderco are way overpriced. The basic Spyderco knives (FRN-VG10) are affordable but most of the custom collaborations are way overpriced on their MSRP (yes i know you can find discounts but i am from Europe so i need to import them because knife shops here need to import the knife on request and pay MSRP on them).
I have an extended Spyderco collection (80+) but with the prices the last couple of years it's almost impossible to buy the knives i like.

 

[KenHash]

Well that's going pretty far, but in principle yes a knife (or any product) that is "overpriced" is one that does not sell because the price point is higher than the buyers' perceived value. If a knife that is priced ridiculously high is selling, in numbers satisfactory to the seller, then it's not "overpriced", just expensive.
If the knife does not sell at the high price, the seller accepts that it was "overpriced" and reduces it so sales will increase. People seem to be using the term "overpriced" to mean "in MY opinion and within MY budget the knife is priced too high". Perfectly fine, lots of knives will fall into that category for everyone. But that's not the same as being "overpriced".

Simple example of "overpriced" is when a particular dealer(s) sells a model for significantly higher than other dealers. Yes that dealers sales will drop and he will have to
reduce his price to match or undercut he others. He was "overpriced".

 

[vanslem6]

$200. I don't care who makes it or what it's made out of, I'm not buying any pocket knife that costs > $200.

 

[flipe8]

$200. I don't care who makes it or what it's made out of, I'm not buying any pocket knife that costs > $200.

I wish it was that easy for me!!!

In all seriousness, it's nice to have some sort of limit to keep things in check. Based on my own experiences and personal definitions, I think there are a number of knives out there that are "overpriced", but I try to base it on what other knives they're comparable to.. The most obvious, for me, were the XMs when sold on the secondary market a while back, because I compared them to Striders and CRKs. Today, the pricing is more in line, but they're still too much for me because they simply don't meet personal tastes enough to justify buying another one. In contrast, the Taichung Spydercos I've owned were somewhere between "fairly priced" and a "good deal", because I didn't feel I was carrying a lesser knife in comparison to the CRKs, Hinderers, Lionsteels and Striders I've owned, eventhough they cost less. I don't consider the MSRP unless that's the price I paid for a Spydero(have never paid MSRP).

We all have our own definition in terms of value, I guess.

 

[goldie]

Buying off the exchange if you find the knife you want can really help cut the cost of buying.ive gotten some great deals. id rather just not own it, or wait for it to come up months later when the thrill of it being new is over.

 

[Brusiedmeat]

No knives are overpriced. If you think a knife is overpriced clearly you're a poor loser who is just a hater and you need to go work harder so you can stop being bitter. Every knife is worth whatever it's being sold for, by anyone, even if there are other sellers selling it for substantially less. Any other opinion is just sour grapes.

Zero

LOL.. I think some serious rock kicking would do you some justice..


Some of the tools I see are kinda insane for ti pry bars and bottle openers... 1k? seriously come on..
Maybe I am just a "Poor loser, who just a hater"..
See that rock skip?

 

[Akcir]

No knives are overpriced. If you think a knife is overpriced clearly you're a poor loser who is just a hater and you need to go work harder so you can stop being bitter. Every knife is worth whatever it's being sold for, by anyone, even if there are other sellers selling it for substantially less. Any other opinion is just sour grapes.

Zero

I don't think you are a hateful, bitter, sour grape, lazy loser, if something isn't a good value to YOU. Everyone has different preferences regarding materials, workmanship, and customer service and what they are willing to pay for those things.
Like the OP stated, subjective opinion. I make a very good living. But I won't spend a dime on something that's worth a nickle TO ME.

 

[shqxk]

No knives are overpriced. If you think a knife is overpriced clearly you're a poor loser who is just a hater and you need to go work harder so you can stop being bitter. Every knife is worth whatever it's being sold for, by anyone, even if there are other sellers selling it for substantially less. Any other opinion is just sour grapes.

Zero

Overpriced or not are depend on each to their own opinion... I always thought that my Strider, Busse or $400 discontinued BG42 Spyderco's Military are overprice for what I paid for but I don't care because I like it...

To judge others "a poor loser" or "hater" just because they have different opinion, that's just real ignorant.

 

[Dextin_A]

Just my opinion not looking to offend. I beleive reate knives are underpiced for the quality and materials you get from them hard to find full titanium with m390 for the price point of reates. I havent had a hinderer but like someone said in a previous post why spend on that when zt puts out the same stuff at 1/4 the cost in many instances. Ive had a few Medfords and i wouldnt necessarily call them overpriced but i didnt think they were worth what i paid

 

[wazu013]

Benchmade, MAP pricing smells like overpriced to me.

 

[MementoMori99]

For me Brous Blades, Medford, Rockstead, Strider, Emerson, Defiant7, MicroTech, Benchmade Gold Class, Pohl Force, Extrema Ratio, etc. It doesn't mean all their models are overpriced but mostly yes.

I don't think Chris Reeve and Hinderer are overpriced.

For me, based upon msrp, I consider Extrema Ratio, CRK and Strider overpriced. On the other hand, I still like them despite that fact. Fortunately, I have been lucky enough to find the latter two on the secondary market at what I consider to be fair market value. In the end, when all is said and done, it can be said that there are different strokes for different folks. While everyone is entitled to their own opinions, I consider putting a value on something a mostly subjective exercise.

 

[Charlie Mike]

The knife is not overpriced.

You are underfunded.

 

[Screwdriver]

I stepped away from the forums for a few months and come back to another one of these threads with many of the same posters.

People have many many watermarks for perceived value. Someone eking by with money is going to have a higher watermark in what they are willing to pay. Someone making a good living will have a lower....to some extent.

I'll use Emerson. Yeah, they might be overpriced, but they manufacture their main line of knives 100% in the US and in an area where cost of living is high and they want their workers to make a living wage. Plus, as big as Emerson appears to be....they are a small family owned company. Personally I think their knives are a good value....

 

[Rapt_up]

No knives are overpriced. If you think a knife is overpriced clearly you're a poor loser who is just a hater and you need to go work harder so you can stop being bitter. Every knife is worth whatever it's being sold for, by anyone, even if there are other sellers selling it for substantially less. Any other opinion is just sour grapes.

Zero

Too bad no one got that you're joking...

 

[Dean Crail]

Ehhh , CRK is overpriced if Strider is overpriced. And microtech is not overpriced at all, you can get a Ultratech for $250 and the next closest knife is an H&K OTF that is only $30 cheaper and uses lower end materials.

 

[RetiredGuns]

Expensive yes, overpriced - the market dictates. The new Nirvana by Spyderco has an MSRP of $719.95. Even with the full 40% discount that the new MAP policy dictates makes it a $431 knife made in Taiwan. We already know that Taichung can make fantastic knives, but now we are in CRK, HK & Strider pricing territory where smaller shops operate employing folks on our turf. (For me) it has cut down my purchases big time. I got what I wanted and will be very picky, likely buying good used knives from here on out.

**edit to add. I bought a new Glock 43 for the price of a Micarta Sebenza. Is there an equal amount of time, resources & costs going into the knives? Which do you reckon has a larger profit margin?

 

[Catabis]

Axon

sloth357 has a great point. I've never understood the prices charged by "custom" knife makers compared to production knives unless the knife is truly custom. Custom, to me, means to MY specifications-basically a one off. THAT is worth substantially more because it must be made to certain specifications. My (a little late) point being that if MY particular knife is $450, OK; that does NOT mean the makers nice knife he made is worth $350. Not to me at any rate.

Totally agree with this. These "customs" are not custom at all they are merely production knives made in very small quantities. I have been jeweler for 20 years and have made thousands of "customs" that were identical; the only difference being the stone, maybe metal choice and ring size. I have and cannot ever consider those custom. IMO customs means a truly unique, one off piece. Piecing together parts that ultimately fit a preconceived design is hardly custom. I mean I WANT some of these "customs" but I'm not fooled into thinking it IS a custom piece, it's just Lego to me, so what I chose the color of blocks to use to build it, the end result is identical in shape and design from the other 1000s made. I do get the idea that these smaller shops probably do put more quality control into their pieces and have better heat treats than their production counter parts, but they friggin better considering the volumes produced....if that is the only difference I feel my money is better spent on a production that has established a strong reputation than to spend excessive amounts of cash for what ultimately isn't worth it. But damn I do want a Busse, William Henry, Begg, and so many more.