Please Read if you Sell Knives on BladeForums!

waynejitsu said:
What someone paid for an item does not even enter the subject when selling. The price someone paid has no bearing at all on the selling price. If someone gave $50 for a $100 knife, it's value is still $100, not $50.
I mean, if you get a knife for a gift (free), does that mean when you decide to "sell" it, you have to give it away because you have no money in it?
No, that is silly. Price is set by market value, supply, demand, not what someone paid for it.
As an example, I tried to sell a cell phone today. I paid $200. I asked $30 and only $5 shipping. The phone is in mint condition, the protective cover is still on the phone, that is how little it was used and how well it was taken care of.
Did it matter to the potential buyer that I paid $200?
No, only the value of the phone NOW, at this time, not when I bought it.
I would also prefer to see the price stay up. I don't care if someone paid $10 and is selling for $50, especially if it is a $100 knife, I am still going to buy it, I am still getting a deal and he is turning a 5x profit, we would all be happy, however, I understand there would be those that gripe, but hey..., they will find something to gripe about, if not this, it WILL BE something else, LOL!!
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Wayne, if you pay $50 for something, by the very definition of value, the value is $50. Anything else is an artificial construct.

Knife forum private sales are a lot like the real estate market. When times are good, we all believe the nonsense about how production knives are a good investment, how custom knives never lose value.

Now that things are not entirely rosy, the real values are more apparent.

Trying to sell something in this market will expose the real value of it. The value is whatever someone is willing to pay for it.

You'll have your bumps, a lot like the idiocy going on with balisongs (BM42 in particular) but at the end of the day, if you sell it for $50, then the value of that item is $50, not $100. We all want something for nothing, but the real value is at the value of exchange, not the perceived or imagined value.
 
All very interesting responses from everyone!

I appreciate everyone's input and participation. :thumbup:

By no means do I expect BladeForums to make a rule about leaving or not leaving prices up, but I was more curious as to why people prefer to remove the price that they are asking or have received.

I have sold a handful of knives here 20 or so and have never had a buyer ask me to remove the price. I personally leave it up to see what those people valued the knife at that time.

As many stated already, I find it a useful tool so one is not cheated by accidentally selling a knife TOO cheap or perhaps selling a knife TOO expensive. By a quick search you can find recent sales and see what a particular knife recently sold for therefore giving insight for one's decision to buy or sell a knife.

Obviously the sole decision to price a knife or buy a knife is down to the individual person, but for me I like to physically see the most current market value.

Some answers here for removing prices I have not even fathomed and I can respect one's decision to remove a price for an individuals privacy.
 
i remove prices simply because people do not read. I still get thirty or so emails or PMs from noobs who see OP first with price and do not look at date of thread and either post or pm or email me saying they will take it. Its a waste of time for me.
 
LorenzoL said:
What do you mean exactly? That people would be ashamed to make such a huge profit?
I am not sure, pretty much everyone knows that Rick's price on those is $385, but then dealers have very different prices, some even higher than $700. Or the seller could have bought it on a forum for an already inflated price...
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The case I was refering to was someone that obviously bought a knife and tried to make 200% profit on it. There are lots of those and over time it is obvious. It was an earlier observation and nothing more.
 
Bryan J said:
What's far more annoying to me is when people bump their thread with a "SOLD!" post once their item sells instead of simply editing the original and letting the thread sink.
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I agree, it's a knuckle-headed inconsiderate thing to do.

I don't remove prices from sales ads. The next time I sell a knife on here I am going to make that clear in the ad, so I can avoid any requests and/or confusion.

Ren the devils trailboss said:
i remove prices simply because people do not read. I still get thirty or so emails or PMs from noobs who see OP first with price and do not look at date of thread and either post or pm or email me saying they will take it. Its a waste of time for me.
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I put SOLD next to the price, never had an issue...
 
Personally, I would like the prices to stay but I can understand why they are often removed. How do you know that is what was actually paid? I would rather they be removed than incorrect or inflated.

I would also love to see it be required that the original Title of the thread be edited to reflect SOLD. It would also be great if people edited Titles that included multiple knives to show just the knives that are still available.

Sometimes, it's almost impossible to sort through the Sold's on a thread with multiple knives. It's great when people gray out the Sold's or move the Sold's to the bottom of the post.

Just my $0.02
 
It is a personal preference thing; some leave the price up and some remove it as soon as the item sells.
And that my friend will probably never change because 50% want it one way and 50% want it the other.......................
 
We see this one more than the charging PP fee's topic:p


I've sold a good bit here, and only taken my price down once (by request).
IMO it's totally up to the seller/buyer, and they can, and should be able to do as they wish. I wish they would all leave them up unless asked to remove, but its really none of my/our buisness what people do.
If I had to vote, I'd vote leave it to the people....we don't need no more stinkin rules:p


Wait, we do need ONE more rule. Someone mentioned people who bump a thread just to say SOLD. Some have another item and want a free bump, and some do it for no reason I can figure out??? You would think they would just edit it as SOLD, or better yet, lock it and let it drift away.
Now I would vote that these folks need a permanent 10 point infraction:D
 
Ken44 said:
Wait, we do need ONE more rule. Someone mentioned people who bump a thread just to say SOLD. Some have another item and want a free bump, and some do it for no reason I can figure out??? You would think they would just edit it as SOLD, or better yet, lock it and let it drift away.
Now I would vote that these folks need a permanent 10 point infraction:D
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Actually, Spark enabled thread title editing for paying members specifically to address this problem. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=8215478&postcount=1
 
Unless you are either the buyer or the seller, it's none of your business what the knife ended up selling for. Anybody but the people involved, wouldn't begin to know what transpired; might be a cash sale, might be a cash/trade thing, etc...
 
braillediver said:
I see it as you wanting the easy way out.

There’s a reward for spending the time, paying attention and learning the market. The items here are not commodities they are collectables. The previous sale price is interesting but not necessarily reflective of the current market.

The experience earned by learning and paying attention to the market is knowing a deal when you see it. Otherwise there’d be a page listing the current price for all items ever sold on BladeForums.

The transaction is between the Seller and the Buyer- what the Buyer paid is private.

Also the listed price doesn’t necessarily indicate the actual price.


So to me the bottom line is- knowledge is money and you earn that knowledge by paying attention, spending the time and learning the market.

If you can’t or don’t want to spend the time you pay accordingly.
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Fundamentally, I disagree with this statement because not everyone here is into buying, selling and trading. These are the people who track the market. Many here may be just into knives and tools. Buying, selling and trading may only happen now and then. I think it's unreasonable to ask someone to suddenly have to become market savvy by having to look off this site. Arguably, that's the point of this thread, so that someone who hasn't been actively tracking the market can buy, sell or trade can take a quick look at what things are selling for on a site that has knife knowledgeable people. What better market research?
Ultimately, I don't think this is a big deal. I'd like the prices to be left up for a convenient reference, but respect anyone's desire for privacy. The price doesn't affect my judgment other than as a reference. I don't care if someone makes a deal except that I may have missed it. If it's taken down, I'm not going to cry about it.

just my .02
 
Simple solution is to lock the thread after it sold. Ta-Daaaaa, no more people bumping it up.

We don't have a policy on past pricing. As far as I'm concerned, past pricing doesn't mean anything; what was cheap yesterday may be rare today, or vice versa.
 
Most blades sell for less than the price posted even if the price stays up.
 
Karda said:
Actually, Spark enabled thread title editing for paying members specifically to address this problem. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=8215478&postcount=1
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Thanks. I did notice I could now edit mine, but didn't know why.


Here is one from this morning that I just can not figure out:confused:
Why do people bump a thread almost a month old just to tell its not available.
He could have just locked it and let it fade. No one wanted it anyway.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=779145
 
I have only ever sold two knives on the forums. Both were expensive knives. In one instance I left the final sale price up and in one instance I removed it at the buyer's request. As a licensed appraiser (real estate not knives) I appreciate the access to sale price information more than most and I agree that leaving them up is preferred, however, from a seller's perspective, I understand the need to keep the buyer happy. - ;)
 
I find the pricing in a thread to be only marginally instructional when I do a search to try and find out what a particular maker/model is selling for as there are many variables in pricing and I do not lend too much value to this information. As an example I almost always put TRADES AND OFFERS CONSIDERED in my knives for sale threads. As often as not I accept an offer or trade for a given knife. I do not go back and edit my thread to reflect what the conditions of the trade were or what I accepted as an offer. I do not see others doing this either. I guess my point is that the information concerning pricing in a thread is more or less valuable depending on many factors.

I do wish posters would do a better job of indicating when an item has been sold or withdrawn and locking a thread once a transaction is fully completed.

All the above IMHO.
 
Ken44 said:
Thanks. I did notice I could now edit mine, but didn't know why.


Here is one from this morning that I just can not figure out:confused:
Why do people bump a thread almost a month old just to tell its not available.
He could have just locked it and let it fade. No one wanted it anyway.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=779145
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yeah, that is kinda sillly!!!

If you are selling a knife and there's been no activity for several weeks it's obvious no one is interested. best to just let the thread die as I doubt any really cares if it's still available!!!
 
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