Pre order lottery, seriously?

[Punisher252]

Did you get a refund?

 

[Drew Riley]

I wouldn't let a small portion of custom makers' selling methodologies ruin the hobby for you. There are still established makers, and even more up and coming makers, who are putting out a decent product that is still accessible if you have the money and patience to wait for it.

I'm sure we'd all love to own a piece or two from this maker or that maker, but the same reason we'd like it is the same that a million others would as well (flippers and the like aside), and the math just doesn't work out to let everybody have a shot. Supply and demand is a pretty well established principle, and I don't think it's gonna change anytime soon.

 

[timberweasel]

Did you get a refund?

If that was for me, P252: to his credit, the Maker would not accept a deposit--it's the only reason he shall remain nameless on my part. At the end of the day, I'm only disappointed by the lack of communication and the fact that I was unable to acquire a knife I really wanted.

I reckon it's the principle of the thing. Lots of us work for a living. If I had an employee that just stopped showing up for work as scheduled and nobody called in to explain the absence, it would warrant a pink slip. And maybe a call to the next-of-kin or police to check welfare and ensure they are not dead...

-Brett

 

[IamMatt]

Until today when a rather well know knife maker announced a lottery for being able to pre order one of his knives.

To me a good business relationship entails that I only pick up as many orders as I can entertain within a reasonable time, and I don't artificially make products more scarce than they are. Maybe it is my thinking which is at fault here.

I do like custom knives, but by now there are only a few makers left which produce edc/user knives worth their money.

Just curious, what is your idea of a better alternative?

If a guy makes 50 knives a years but there are buyers for 150 or 200 a year, what is the best thing to do? First come, first served, fill up 3-4 years of backlog in 1 year, and everybody else is out in the cold?

Or do as the laws of economics would suggest and raise his prices til there are only 50 buyers a year left willing to pay the higher price, but I guess we don't like that solution either.

Or he could make 150-200 knives a year by making them much worse, but then he would lose a lot of his customers.

I am not even arguing with you, I am just wondering what your idea is of the best way to handle it? Maybe it comes down to having to choose the least bad of several bad options.

 

[KELAMA]

This "evil" capitalism you guys are always bemoaning is the same system that allows you to live in a 1st world country, work in your climate controlled offices, drive your cars and enjoy your lifestyle.
Nobody's making you buy these blades at inflated prices, whining 'cause it's too much is your problem, not the sellers.

From the socks you wear, the toothpaste and brush you use, the food you eat, the water you drink, is all sold for a profit. Your employer makes a profit off of you.

You show me an economy that doesn't run on profits, i'll show you a failed/failing and corrupt country

^ Word! Some people just love to whine. :single_eye:

Stupid, is everywhere.
With all due respect.
rolf

^ Yes, yes it is Rolf!

I don't see the issue here?

If there was one, there would be no such thing as a "pre-order lottery"

Some may not like it, but try to remember that everyone is different.

Giving someone a free shot to get into your books when otherwise the opportunity is not there sounds like a cool thing to do, but that's just my humble opinion.

What is the big deal here? I agree with JR88. It would seem to me to be a positive thing that the maker is giving the avg joe an opportunity to get one of their knives, when thy otherwise never would. How is that bad? If you can't afford a high end knife how is that the makers fault? Heck, I would like to have a new Porsche gt, but those turds won't make one affordable to me.......and by gosh I would like to have one. Guess I'll just have to buy one of those hundreds of other cars out there.

I think that if someone has invested enough of their time, effort, and money into building a desirable brand/product/service, they deserve to reap the rewards. If a Knifemaker can earn a living selling his/her wares based on a customer lottery system, more power to 'em. If they open their books, have ten years worth of work reserved and customers that are still willing to wait in the queue for 'their turn', so be it.

But I'm sure even the most in-demand Maker has customers who flake-out on their orders or disappear when their turn comes around. I can see there being spontaneous gaps in the Maker's production schedule. How would one fill these gaps and still be fair to their customers in waiting? A lottery perhaps? Who knows...

As to the knife-flippers, well, profiteers will always be around like seagulls on a wharf. Swoop and snatch. If you want what they have, you pay their price (or you don't) and move on.

I do have an issue with Makers who misrepresent the wait time to deliver. I once placed an order with a well-known Maker and was told 18 weeks for completion. I waited over 2 years with no response to my casual order status requests (which amounted to maybe 3-4 e-mails over the course,) so I sent a polite e-mail to let him know that I was no longer interested. That, too, went unacknowledged. If he had told me from the get-go that he was too busy to accept new orders, I may have considered future business. Sadly, that bridge is burned. I still marvel at his knives, though.

Just my 2¢...

-Brett

^^^ Totally agree with these.