Price gouging on BKT knives just because they folded?

peacefuljeffrey

peacefuljeffrey

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The company, not the knives. ("folded")

So now I was talking with a friend about the movie "Rambo" and we were supposed to see it today but he had to cancel.

I got the Blade magazine with the Rambo knife on the cover, he's obsessed with it. (He's a guy who at this point owns only garbage knives -- he asked me to sharpen some chinese-made rattly crappy folder and I did it for him and he was wowed that it actually can cut something now.) He was intrigued when I told him over the phone about my BKT C.U.-7 so I'm going to bring it to work tonight to show him.

While we were on the phone, I went and did some online searching for the BKT line, and found that all the online knife retailers simply don't have them listed anymore (or, at least, a few major companies don't).

Then I checked eBay, and found at least two people selling the BKT C.U.-7 for about $140!!!!! :mad::thumbdn::mad::mad::eek::barf::mad:

WTF, people?! It's a sixty-dollar knife! Suddenly it commands $144 because what?! It's "collectible" now?! :jerkit::mad:

People are scum.
 
yup.

I heard about the necker after they closed up. I went to ebay to find one, about a hundred bucks. This knife sold for around 30 bucks new.


the good news is they're coming back, so you should be able to get them at affordable prices again.
 
Let’s see if we can find the right forum …
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When KaBar reintroduces the BK&T line this year, the prices will come down... unless you are just hungry for an older model.
 
This sentiment is shared by many (as to price gouging) but its done all the time look at Busse's, Lums and even older Cold Steel knives (to which I can understand they used to be made with better material). It all just goes back to my uncle in the car biz used to say "There is an ass for every seat".
 
The upside is that Ka-Bar will probably do a better job making the knives than did Camillus.
 
No offense to KaBar, but I rarely (if ever) heard a complaint about the Becker series from customers. Regardless, I'll be glad to see them return, they represented an outstanding value for the dollar.
 
Spark said:
No offense to KaBar, but I rarely (if ever) heard a complaint about the Becker series from customers. Regardless, I'll be glad to see them return, they represented an outstanding value for the dollar.
Click to expand...

I only meant in the sense that Ka-Bar's ownership reinvests in production technology, whereas Camillus was mainly about strike breaking.

I've never had a bad Ka-Bar, but had some returns with Camillus products, including a Becker Crewman that zone hardened.:D

The tip was butterknife soft and that blade must have been in a bad spot in the oven.

I agree that Ethan Becker is a great designer and I am glad he's got another chance to impress.
 
I don't see it as gouging.In my eyes it would only be gouging if they were the only knifes available.There are other brands that have similar knives at market prices that you can choose from. Sooner or later the market will catch up to them and somebody (or lots of somebody's) will be stuck with a lot of expensive knives they can't sell except at big loss
 
Chiller, I just think it's a deplorable thing that the ONLY discernible reason for a knife more than tripling in market price is that the company is out of business. If anyone had any morals, they would simply sell off the rest of whatever stock they had for the normal price.

I must be just different, is all. I'm only 36 but I think I have old school values.
 
If a dealer stocked a bunch of them before the company went out of business and sold them off at the same price he had been selling them before, that would make you happy, and it wouldn't hurt the dealer, especially with his regular customers.

But if people (on Bladefourms, for example) are complaining they can't get Beckers anymore, and someone looking to earn a few dollars buys up every one he can and ebays them, what's wrong with him getting what he can for his entrepreneurship?

Neither he nor the system are evil. They are only charging a premium for finding sources their customers could have found, perhaps at the cost of some time and effort, and maybe pay a little bit more than previously that way too.

It's business. Where does a businessman have an obligation to give away money with his products?
 
peacefuljeffrey said:
Chiller, I just think it's a deplorable thing that the ONLY discernible reason for a knife more than tripling in market price is that the company is out of business. If anyone had any morals, they would simply sell off the rest of whatever stock they had for the normal price.

I must be just different, is all. I'm only 36 but I think I have old school values.
Click to expand...

Welcome to the real world. Some dealers did keep the same old prices even after production ceased. Guess who bought up all they had? Guess who is selling them for higher prices now?

You can call dealers "scum" if you want; you can dream about how the world would be "if anyone had any morals" and accuse them of not being "old school" but whatever you choose to call it that's the way capitalism works. Prices are set by supply and demand. Most of us think socialism hasn't worked out any better....
 
it's no different from people who pay $550 for a custom Emerson at a lottery and sell them at $1200, or Ken Onion for $5000 when they paid $2000, or a loveless for $5000 when they pay $3000. Supply and demand and the market forces at work.
 
Why are Becker Knives high? Because no more are currently being made. When there is a limited quantity of anything, the price is high. That's why diamonds and gold are expensive: they are not too common. Put it this way: if you did own several Beckers, then the company folded, would you want to sale your's for what you paid for them, or would you think to yourself "Well, since no more of these are available, and I'll have a hard time finding another one to buy, I'll charge more than I paid for it if I sale it." That is not ripping people off. The knives have appreciated in value simply because no more are being made, and no more will ever be made by Camillus. If you owned an original Indian Chief motorcycle, would you sell it for what it originally cost? If you don't like the prices, don't buy. Wait for KA-BAR to sell Beckers at what will probably be reasonable prices.
 
I think it is kind of ridiculous to expect anyone to sell a knife (or anything) at less than market value.

Camillus was about strike breaking? I think this is a one sided view, and that the decision to close any business is made based primarly on economics, not emotion. The owners/shareholders money obviously showed better return in other investments. We'll probably hear the same comments when Ford shuts their doors (for the same reason).
 
Man, I had no idea they were even gone! I bought several pair of nice Micarta grips for my BK-7 and a couple of others at just $20 a pop a little over a year ago I think. Really dressed up the knives, especially the 7 in Desert Sand color.

I have a couple of the Ka-Bar Extreme D2 knives and they are scary sharp and very tough. I'm sure they'll do a good job with the line.

Norm
 
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