Reselling Donated Custom Knives...good or bad?

Mark Terrell said:
Kind of just re-stating what's been said, but I try not to peruse the auction sites/forums (for sale areas....)/ whatever b/c once it's gone, it's gone and you can't live and die by each individual knife you make.

If you get too caught up in the 2nd market or re-sale aspects of your own work, then you'll end up being pissed and very unproductive.... I know several makers that are/were so caught up in every knife they made and where it went, how much it went for etc..... that it ruined them.
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A bit off topic, but while I agree with you that a maker shouldn't get "too caught up" in the secondary market, neither do I believe that this is something that a maker should ignore completely.

Roger
 
Dale,

Mark brings up an excellent point. More than one maker is guilty of "seller's remorse".

What many makers don't understand about the after market is that it is merely a "snap shot" of the market at that moment. Some have actually used the current price(s) in the after market to raise their prices.

The problem is when the prices come down it is difficult for the maker to lower their prices to meet that new downward price.

Question for you Mark,

How you would you have felt it the guy who bought the knife realized that he got caught up in the auction and really couldn't afford the knife. Then sells is for 20% less to cover most of his expense of the purchase.

Would you feel inclined to give him the 20% to make up for his loss?

Les Robertson
Custom Knife Entrepreneur
www.robertsoncustomcutlery.com
 
I know you guys are right, but the fact that the knife was turned over so quickly still bothers me to some extent.

I donate knives because it makes me sleep well at night, and I know that I owe a moral debt to charitable organizations and Collectors alike. Both have helped me in the past.

My intention as a custom maker is to allow the new collectors to own a custom knife that (in my opinion) is high quality, well made, and affordable. I know most of these knives will be eventually sold on a secondary market in order to promote the now established collector to build his collection with names bigger than mine, I am fine with this… It promotes custom knife collecting, which helps us all.

Yes, the knife did perform its intended purpose of generating needed funds for a low income Daycare facility, and yes, the winning bidder wanted the Dagger more than other bidders.

I guess I wanted the Dagger to go to a new collector who would appreciate the work involved in making it. But, on the other hand there is a chance that this will still happen.
 
Les Robertson said:
Hi Dale,

You probably already know this, but your homepage is no longer owned by you.

Do you have a new one?

If so what is it and you may want to update your profile.

Les Robertson
Custom Knife Entrepreneur
www.robertsoncustomcutlery.com
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Thanks for letting me know this.
My original server went down with Katrina. When it was back online I was unable to transfer the original site, so it is now www.dalebaxterknives.com
I have updated my profile.

Thanks,

Dale
 
Les, on the question you asked......... While giving the $ to the guy who gets caught up in the moment would be nice to do, it simply wouldn't be a prudent business decision.

It's inevitable that every maker will have knives that sell for less than original price because of a litany of reasons (need for money, loss of interest etc......). Just so long as your market value keeps stable and the majority of them go for a healthy "same as (100% of purchase price)" or better, then life is good.

I kind of equate it to the 80/20 rule. Just so long as the 80% is the healthy side of the market for you (80% are selling for more than or equal to purchase price) then the 20% that aren't shouldn't hurt you.

Back to the original question though, Ultimately, it is the buyer's responsibility to be a consumer with constraint and diligence in making a purchase, and I can't make up for someone else's buying practices. We all make impulse purchases, hell, I just have to stay away from Home Depot. But when I do buy something at say......Edwin Watts Golf (I'm an avid golfer)... and I get the old buyer's remorse, I don't sell it, then call Edwin Watts and tell them "I overpaid for this there, but I really wanted it. I just resold it for 100$ less than I bought it for, would you mind covering me on that 100$?????".

I feel for the guy overextending himself, but I've owned my own business(s) for a number of years, and I've learned that you have to maintain self-control, and know your finances, otherwise you're doomed. This problem right here, is what plagues the knife industry today. People don't know their own spending, so they max out credit card after credit card buying knives only to get the bills, realize they can't pay them, then have to sell everything and their dog just to pay them back (almost) and start the whole cycle again.....


Sorry to get off topic, or go on a rant.....


MT
 
Les Robertson said:
Hi Roger,

How does the maker only "partially" get caught up in the after market? :D

Les Robertson
Custom Knife Entrepreneur
www.robertsoncustomcutlery.com
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By being aware of it and the prices his knives bring on the secondary market, but not by following a knee-jerk response of substantially raising his prices based on a small sampling of re-sellers turning a quick profit.

Roger
 
how about marking the donated knives. like if you had etched "2008 charity auction for katrina" or whatever on the blade, it may prevent the high bidder from reselling the knife for a quick profit. either that or it adds value for collectors :D for me personally, i see these items as trophies more than anything and if you mark them as such, subsequent buyers may be turned off by the personalized markings? or maybe the markings may sway the buyer from reselling?

and the best way is to personalize it with the winner's name, cuz nobody wants to buy a knife with some OTHER dude's name on it :D
 
Thanks for your generous donation and you should feel proud of what you've done. Hopefully the guy is kicking himself for letting it go.


"and the best way is to personalize it with the winner's name, cuz nobody wants to buy a knife with some OTHER dude's name on it"

That's just pure evil but brilliant.


Mitch
 
The charity benefited from your donation, the auction winner who took a chance on your work profited, the new owner of the knife got something he really wanted and was willing to pay a premium for, and you got to see that your secondary market is strong enough to fuel your primary customer base.

To me, it sounds like everyone is a winner is this situation.
 
madfast said:
how about marking the donated knives. like if you had etched "2008 charity auction for katrina" or whatever on the blade, it may prevent the high bidder from reselling the knife for a quick profit. either that or it adds value for collectors :D for me personally, i see these items as trophies more than anything and if you mark them as such, subsequent buyers may be turned off by the personalized markings? or maybe the markings may sway the buyer from reselling?

and the best way is to personalize it with the winner's name, cuz nobody wants to buy a knife with some OTHER dude's name on it :D
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Very good points.

But, marking the knives would be dificult at best.
Not knowing the winning bidders would be a nightmare race at 100mph to get it done. The cost of the stencil would be a factor as well.

I donate knives because of a Karma debt to charitable organizations and collectors alike, and it makes me sleep good at night.

I should just get the disappointment out of my head and move on.
 
Stuff like that is always disappointing, but you have to look at it from a customer perspective...........

Both customers are happy, both benefited from a product you made, and they both will look favorably towards you as will the charity...

It really is a a win/win/win......,

It may be the first time it's happened, but it wont be the last.......



MT
 
We donate knives every year to organizations that we believe in and want to support. We don't care how the organization uses our donation, whether in a raffle or as a door prize. Either way it is up to the organization get the most benefit it can for our donation and we attach no sentiment to it. We have had people that have won our knives put them to use and others that have resold them. Many of our donated knives have introduced people to "custom knives" that were unaware of their existence and are now users and collectors. Many times we have had the individual that purchased the knife at a charity auction come to us and buy additional knives, sometimes years later they are still good customers. People that weren't the winning bidder at a charity auction often contact us about making knives for them later. We have never given a knife solely for the advertising benefit, but from the additional sales that donated knives have generated, it is worth considering making charitable donations on that basis alone.

The only time that I would consider marking a knife would be if a customer requested it. I would not want to do anything that might reduce the value of the knife to a prospective owner because it might also reduce the benefit that the organization I donated it to could receive from it.

I think that any knifemaker would be thrilled with the results that Dale got with his donated knife just as the charitable organization was. Give another knife to the same organization next year and see what happens.
 
of course it would have been better had the reseller taken the rest of the money and re-donated it to the charity. (maybe he donated the money for the bid knowing that he could flip the knife and make a profit, but I will give him the benefit of the doubt and think his wife flipped on him when she found out he had "donated" that much money to get a sweet knife he wanted anyway and made him sell it)
 
Dale Baxter said:
I donate knives because of a Karma debt to charitable organizations and collectors alike, and it makes me sleep good at night.

I should just get the disappointment out of my head and move on.
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Reread what you said. Maybe you should rethink your plan. It sounds like you haven't slept very well on this one. There are other ways to make a nice difference.

Coop
 
you donated a knife for a worthy cause and that is a good thing. unless you put stipulations on what could be done with the knife after the auction as a condition of your gift ....people are free to do with it as they wish.

i would just move on satisfied that you have benefited someone else with your generosity


i could understand being upset if you made a knife for someone at a special price or as a favor and they turned around and sold it for a profit...barring some calamity like illness or job loss etc
 
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