Question for Collectors

over heard at a recent gun/knife show...

knife dealer had approx 100+ knives on his table.
Guy was just looking for a using knife so while I was looking over their collection of sharpening supplies I heard the following.

Buyer: How much is that one ?
Dealer : $65

Buyer: And the one next to it ?
Dealer : $95

Buyer: and the one 3 knives back...
Dealer: You asked me all these prices last time you came by , why don't you write them down ?

Buyer: Why should I ? You didn't....

I chuckled , and the guy was actually looking to buy a knife and did buy one from the dealer , but he could have just as easily walked away annoyed.

No tags... don't expect me to stop ( unless you are a maker/dealer I know or are intrigued by ).

Think of the opening hours of blade , customers are scurrying to get knives before all are gone. Customer's may easily bypass your table if the only knowledge they have of your knives is secondary market pricing , leaving them the impression they can't afford them , however seeing the makers prices clearly marked , could very well grab their attention and halt them in their tracks.
 
In my opinion, I think putting a price sticker on the side of the knife that is up throws off the lines of the knife. I will generally place a price sticker on the underside of the knife so that a buy can simply admire the knife and when they pick it up to check it out can see the price. I didn't realize there were people who do not even like stickers on the side that is down. Some times I do put hang tags thru the thong hole and let the price be shown. I also usually put the pointy end facing me as kids and some adults will just place their hands on the table to talk or balance themselves while moving past the table.
 
This is how i would like to see in your table..

n692941559_1005445_355.jpg



Put a price sticker or use a pen 2 write the price there.
Pls have a pen ready cause if we buying ur knife we are ur fans. we needs you to sign ur names on the certificate card or write something there just for us. oh yeah!! forgot pls have the birthday of the knife on the card also.
 
John T Wylie Jr said:
people actually care about the exact date the knife is made ????
Click to expand...

I've seen some folks who seek out CRK knives with a certain DOB to match the month and day of their own DOB or some other significant date. Info/specification cards about knives are nice, particularly if it's a special model or variation, but a "certificate of authenticity" seems much more ornamental to me.


70939488 said:
Pls have a pen ready cause if we buying ur knife we are ur fans. we needs you to sign ur names on the certificate card or write something there just for us.
Click to expand...

If a maker didn't have certificates with their knives and, subsequently, nothing to sign, would that dissuade you from buying their knives at all?
 
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There is a prevailing sentiment that pricing knives so it is immediately seen, it will dissuade a purchase based upon pricing only.

A prospective buyer should be educated and by having them linger will offer a chance to explain the details.

I don't buy it.

Current collectors and buyers in our world have more education than ever, and are very ready to understand the distinctions. Those who don't will get this understanding soon enough, but forcing them to ask, I would think, is going to lose more than gain. I know I move right on when I am barely interested in someone's work and there is no pricing.

To have to engage in a conversation when the buy-or-not decision-making is predetermined is futile for both parties.

I say let the quality speak for itself.

That said, I don't find a pricing sticker on the backside of a knife such a bad idea. Yes, it forces me to pick up the knife to examine the price, and doing so forces me to examine and hold it. One step closer.....

That said, I have picked up plenty of knives, examined both the price and the knife, placed it back down, and with a smile said "Thank you" and moved along. I don't need to discuss further, and I have lots to do and little time to do so.

Good post, Tanya.

Coop
 
I really appreciate Tanya asking this question, as it has been a real eye opener for me.

At one time, I used tent cards exactly as seen in the photo provided by Roger. I quit using them because I felt that my table had the appearance of being over crowded (it looked like a miniature Boy Scout camp). Even without the tent cards, there are times that I feel that my table is over crowded because I have too many knives on the table. When I have over 8 to 10 knives on the table, it seems that customers are overwhelmed by the visual overload and cannot focus on individual pieces. Often, the smaller knives on the table go virtually unnoticed; I think because the customer’s focus is on the larger knives. I often leave some of the knives that I bring under the table to minimize the problem. Then, when someone walks away from my table without finding a piece that interests them, I am left standing there wondering if I had something under the table that they would have liked had it been on display.

I don’t want to hijack this thread, but how much is too much on the table? Do people really have a hard time focusing on individual pieces when the table has a lot of stuff on it? I will definitely go back to using the tent cards, but now am concerned again with how crowded my table will look.
 
sculver said:
I don’t want to hijack this thread, but how much is too much on the table? Do people really have a hard time focusing on individual pieces when the table has a lot of stuff on it? I will definitely go back to using the tent cards, but now am concerned again with how crowded my table will look.
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This is a good question and a valid concern. I don't know that there is a short answer, however. Best advice I can offer is to walk the show floor and get some display ideas from your fellow knifemakers. Two makers can have roughly the same amount of knives on their table, but one looks crowded and the other not.

One thing I noticed that seemed to work for a number of displays was getting some knives up on stands (or on an elevated section of the table) to create some visual separation from the ones lying flat.

If the tent cards prove too cluttered with your knives, there are many other options - a smaller flat card with just the model and price - or even a small plastic price display such as Bailey Bradshaw used below can help communicate important info without excessively intruding upon limited table space.

orig.jpg


(NB - that dagger wasn't $600 - I had pulled a bunch of his knives closer together for the shot).
 
From BOTH a seller and buyer perspective, I like the small round(3/4") fluorescent sticker on the table with model number and price, maybe blade steel indicated.....IF the maker offers a certificate...they can remove the sticker from the table at time of sale, and stick it onto the certificate...or not, depending upon individual aesthetic preference.

Coop is right in that pricing visible from across the room is not going to make the sale, and the number of people who WOULD buy that are swayed by a visible price one way or the other is very small. Pricing of some sort is nice for many of the reasons mentioned

If you have from 6-10 or so knives, table tents can be quite nice, more than that, and it looks cluttered. The very important thing that many sellers miss is to step around the table to the buyer's perspective throughout the day, in order to make sure that they are presenting the image they want.....I missed a candy wrapper balled up and stuck to my table cloth once, and thought that looked horrible.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
jujigatame said:
If a maker didn't have certificates with their knives and, subsequently, nothing to sign, would that dissuade you from buying their knives at all?
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not that i wont. If a maker have autograph in the certificate would be more value to a collector.
If a maker would write something in the certificate is even better cause if sometime in my life i open up my knife collection box i will be able 2 remeber the day i bought the knife and stuff. If we buyer goin to spend $$$ on you. atleast spend a few mins of ur time on us. If that 2 much 2 ask? it dont cost that much 2 print alots of certificate. beside you can use the certificate as ur notepad. befor you make a knife. you already have everything dream up in ur head. what design and what spec on the knife. so use a blank certificate and write down what you needs. blade, bolsters handle,... and so on... and this certificate will be your model serial number 1. the next serial number is just goin 2 be a reprint of the frist certificate. is that to much of ur time? I can see "yes" If you goin 2 make over a few 100 knife a day. If thats the case i m not goin 2 buy your knife. sorry for my english and i m always a lost soul dont know where my mind is at sometime.
 
Keep in mind for blade for example , some makers are finishing knives up right before the show... certificates have little to no meaning to me personally.

Face it though , they are knifemakers , and most do not have someone who can undertake getting these type of things done for them , sure they are nice extra's but how many now actually offer these at shows ?

If we buyer goin to spend $$$ on you. atleast spend a few mins of ur time on us.
Click to expand...
My view , they already spent many hours completing the knife , and that means more to me than any piece of paper would.
 
I’ve been looking at other knife displays to get ideas about my set-up. I never thought that I liked the multi-level display, but I see where it could work well if set up properly. I will use the information you all have provided to plan my table arrangement for my next show.

Walking out to the front of your table is REALLY a good idea. I do this many times through the day. I have found all kinds of stuff left on my table and on the floor in front of it. I’ve found everything from a half eaten candy bar to a used band aid left on the corner of my table. At one show, I was wondering why people were walking by about three feet away from the front of my table. In checking, I found a spilled soft drink on the floor directly in front of my table and people were just trying to avoid walking through the mess.

I provide signed certificates for all of my knives. I have a form on my computer that is very easy for me to fill out and print. One thing that I added to the certificate recently is a photo of the knife. Having a photo of the knife on the certificate proves that the certificate is authentic for that knife.
 
It doesn't take much effort to make a little card with the basic stats for each knife, handle materials, blade steel, etc. That can be set on the table under or right below or next to each knife. The price can be either on the fron of it in a smaller font or on the back. Such cards can be printed with any laser or ink jet printer. I'd suggest getting some heavy paper to print them on so that they won't tend to blow around so easily. Once you've got a template
set up, it won't take more than a couple of minutes to create such a card.

As for certificates, please keep them small. It's not like I'm gonna frame it or something, and I really don't have a good way to carry a huge certificate around with me for the rest of the day. Having appropriate envelopes handy would be appreciated.
 
The merchandise and the price should be well placed and visible
to anyone standing close or approaching the table.

Multilevel displays save viewers from bending over the relatively low
set tables in the show when checking the items.

It the case of my distributor's table at BLADE 2007, the price was quite
obvious, but most everybody asked "How much for the Book".....

All the best,
David Darom (ddd)

picture.JPG
 
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