Prices losing touch with reality?

Every time you think the price of some knife is high, think about people living in Europe. In one online shop I found Drunken for 460 €. That is around 530 USD. So yeah, it could be much worse.
 
Danke42 said:
Weird; they were just about par with BHQ on the VTOKU Stretch. BHQ just got theirs a few weeks earlier.
Click to expand...
Ya
I think the stretch is marked up $10cad,
That’s not too bad.
The rex45 military is still there for $290cad/$220usd.
I think it was $190usd at most places in the US.
I was still willing to pay the extra to avoid having to deal with the foolishness at our border.
 
It's a free market. While those prices are high, the market will decide if they sell or not.

Like you said, great other options out competing for your money.
 
Yes, the prices on some knives are out of proportion to what you get.

My first thought was inflation, but these are new knife prices that you're talking about.
 
Just a note that Taiwan in Asia is a special country. Very similar in terms of worker's comp, health insurance, IP protection, education, free travel, etc., than the US. You should expect Taiwan and Colorado prices to be similar and independent of location. And some of my coolest and best made Spyderco's have been made in Taiwan. Also, you will notice that Taiwan made Spydercos feature all kind of exotic steels (e.g., 10v, M4, LC200N, etc.), while mainland China made Spydercos (or any other PRC-made knives don't) - this is due to export restrictions to PRC, which do not exist for Taiwan. In some ways, Taiwan is to the US what Cuba used to be for the USSR.

To the original point: I'm a Sinkeviech fan, and was really tempted by the Drunken. And I agree with Rusty, toys cost money. But this one is too much for me for what it is, in particular as it is quite small. The fancy "Drunken" pattern would scratch up very quickly in my use. And, a >= 4" blade would be much more tempting. As is - the Drunken is too similar in function/shape to my 0456, and I can resist :)

Roland.
 
Last edited:
Maybe this is Spyderco's way of reaching out to Millennials by being ironic?...Paysan actually means "Peasant" in France, but you have to actually be rich to buy one. :D

I've noticed that at least IMHO quite often Spyderco seems to charge a min $100 premium for any knife with a designers name attached to it. The problem I think is there are a lot of company's out there that no longer charge a large premium for designer knives like CRKT for instance. This means a lot of people no longer see the value in having a designers name attached to it.

Sad thing is these knives are priced right at the point where they won't fly off the shelves and will be discontinued right away.
 
IMO Spyderco knives of sprint runs / dealer exclusives in the range of sub-$200 are the best valued knives to purchase. This is generally the range I will try to stick to going forward.
 
Rusty_shackelford said:
Ya
I think the stretch is marked up $10cad,
That’s not too bad.
The rex45 military is still there for $290cad/$220usd.
I think it was $190usd at most places in the US.
I was still willing to pay the extra to avoid having to deal with the foolishness at our border.
Click to expand...
I didn't really look at the Military but I'm bummed I didn't get the PM2. It was about level and I was headed to town that week. Sold out before I got there there.

When the Respect is in stock I"ll likely get from them. It'll be a bit of a slower mover than the Sprints.
 
The price of everything seems to be approaching the point of insanity these days. For both consumers and small to mid sized business owners.
Spyderco stills has a number of models that I find value in. For example, the recent Dlt exclusive Manix in 20cv for $130. What a great knife! I will say that the asking price on the Spyderco Abel knives blew my mind.
 
Last edited:
Sal Glesser said:
We operate on relatively fixed margins. If the knife cost X to make, then the pr ice is X+Y. We don't charge as mich as the market will bear. We think that's biting the hand that feeds you.

And FYI sal drives a 2013 Acura.

sal
Click to expand...
Yes, but is it a sprint run 2013 Acura? just for the lolz...

I'm a fan of you all producing so many designs and offerings for the market. R&D must count for quite a bundle. Keep on truckin'
 
ferider said:
Just a note that Taiwan in Asia is a special country. Very similar in terms of worker's comp, health insurance, IP protection, education, free travel, etc., than the US. You should expect Taiwan and Colorado prices to be similar and independent of location. And some of my coolest and best made Spyderco's have been made in Taiwan. Also, you will notice that Taiwan made Spydercos feature all kind of exotic steels (e.g., 10v, M4, LC200N, etc.), while mainland China made Spydercos (or any other PRC-made knives don't) - this is due to export restrictions to PRC, which do not exist for Taiwan. In some ways, Taiwan is to the US what Cuba used to be for the USSR.

To the original point: I'm a Sinkeviech fan, and was really tempted by the Drunken. And I agree with Rusty, toys cost money. But this one is too much for me for what it is, in particular as it is quite small. The fancy "Drunken" pattern would scratch up very quickly in my use. And, a >= 4" blade would be much more tempting. As is - the Drunken is too similar in function/shape to my 0456, and I can resist :)

Roland.
Click to expand...

Lived there for 4 years and speak the lingo. Very fun place. I miss paigu mian (fried pork chop with soup noodles) and many other delicacies. After marrying my wife I've only traveled to Japan (her home) and have not been back. By the way, Japan rocks, first place of all the east Asian countries! Mainland China - nope, did a school year in the 90s. S. Korea and Taiwan are comparable in terms of level of development. Good times there also. The P.I. is radical... glad I was able to extricate myself after my year there. Hong Kong is the NY of Asia, in transit through there many times.
 
Some knives, not just Spydies, are priced more than I’m willing to spend for them...my personal choice or maybe I’m out of touch with reality.
 
$642.49 for the Paysan was the best price I found if I want one in Spain. And for that price, I get the same plane jane steel clip as on a budget Tenacious? LOL.

 
It's not the prices that are getting out of touch, it's reality that's getting out of touch with reality. Face it, a cheap gas station knife can fulfill the real knife needs of the vast majority of people. All the fancy designs, all the exotic material, all the custom collaboration, is jewelry, artistry. If those things are not worth the price tag to you, then don't pay it. There are a lot of things I want but can't afford. The last time I checked, that was called "life".
 
These are not Artisan knives, sorry.

They are production knives.

They have the supply chain, the manufacturing capability, the brand recognition way beyond that of a small shop. I don't think for 1 minute they couldn't do better on the price. And if they couldn't they're doing something wrong because all the other major manufacturers can.
 
I think Spyderco has excelled at offering knives at a wide variety of price points. IMHO, the quality of what they are putting out there justifies the price of admission. I'm not arguing that I like how every knife they release is priced, but they seem to get it right more often than not.

The Kapara hit this one right on the nose for me. I have not seen the quality of that knife matched at a sub $200 price point.
 
Danke42 said:
Crazy world. Saw some cheese at the store for $50, what's that for? Sheep don't need money.

Then some blackberries for $2.00, those should be free. They grown wild.

Steel? Iron's laying around on the ground. They can pick it up for nothing.
Click to expand...

You sound like someone who complains about the price of a $28 chicken dish in a restaurant who says they can get a package of skinless breasts in a supermarket for $4. Completely ignoring rent, labor and other costs.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top