Remember the $30 Walmart Native?

K

kc1081

Joined
Sep 2, 2004
Messages
53
They were sold in 2007 or so. I bought one for myself, and several as gifts. My daily rotation includes a Kirby Lambert Whar, a CRK Insigno, and a Yojimbo, but more often than not, I carry my Wallyworld Native. Love that knife!

It would be nice if Sal could work out another killer deal with a large retailer like that one.
 
I remember Walmart selling Natives back then, even think I may have picked one up. Don't recall them selling it for $30, more like $40, IIRC.
 
Yep I had a few myself. They were $39.99 or something. I prefer the new Native 5 lightweight though.
 
They were $39.95 here, and the best deal I ever saw in the knife case at Wal Mart. It would be nice for us to see something like that again, but I think Sal made about a nickel each on them, hardly worth his time.
 
Can someone post a photo of this Wally Native? What was the difference? What steel? 440C? Thanks.
 
There was no difference. Blade steel is S30V
 
Thanks for salting the wound there, rycen. I shall now console myself by carrying my full-price-yet-totally-worth-it Native as my EDC for the next few days. I just don't have the heart to tell it about the twin brother it could have had....
 
brownshoe said:
The funny thing is when a used one sells for $50 :)
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Why is that funny? The Native Lightweights that Walmart sold were exactly the same as the Native Lightweights every other Spyderco dealer was selling at the time with an S30V blade and and FRN handle and the same as those that, while probably due for "retirement" this year, are still being offered new by dealers for around $80. The "difference" was that Walmart got a volume discount and were probably willing work on a smaller margin at a time when 1/3 off Spyderco's MSRP was still considered a "deep discount".

Given that more dealers today are discounting Spydercos by 40% and more, I'm not sure how much of a better deal Walmart could offer on a Native Lightweight, or any other Spyderco.
 
It was an interesting project and we learned a great deal. Walmart came to us and said they wanted to sell a USA made Spyderco. We sold quite a few. Hard to meet their requirements though so it was a good learning experience for us. They decided we weren't selling enough for the space needed so they cancelled the project.

sal
 
Sal Glesser said:
It was an interesting project and we learned a great deal. Walmart came to us and said they wanted to sell a USA made Spyderco. We sold quite a few. Hard to meet their requirements though so it was a good learning experience for us. They decided we weren't selling enough for the space needed so they cancelled the project.

sal
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I know you probably can't answer this, so if not it's no problem, but did they require custom batch production or was it standardized/forecasted? I know many small and medium sized businesses are unable to adhere to Wal-Mart's stocking policies.

Anyway, I love the Native line. I got a serrated Native 4 for $35 because it was missing a clip and slightly used. Best value ever, the linerless Natives are just unbelievably durable and perfect for EDC.
 
i think the BRK first generation natives were only made in japan for a short time!and had GIN 1 steel.
 
tang1510 said:
Were these "real" Spydercos? Not the BRK First Generation?
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They were not only "real" Spydercos, they were exactly the same as every other plain edged C41 Native Lightweight being sold at the time: CPM S03V blade. black FRN handle. Some may have been blister packed, rather than boxed, but so were some made for other high volume outlets. Some folks claimed they could see differences in fit and finish, but some folks claim to have seen bigfoot.

blanex1 said:
i think the BRK first generation natives were only made in japan for a short time!and had GIN 1 steel.
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No, the BRK 1st Generation Natives were made in the USA and used 440A. The first "legitimate" Spyderco C41 Native Lightweights used GIN-1, but were also made in the USA. If you're interested, here's a more long winded version of that story.
 
Walmart offers Spydercos online now. You can pick them up at site to store or have them shipped to your home. Most prices are reasonable, comparable to what most distributors sell them for.
 
I bought some from Walmart on clearance after they were discontinued. Right at $30 each if I recall correctly.
 
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