Will Power
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That mirrors my view. :thumbup: But apparently, some people's main thrill is out of beating other people to a 'must have/must sell..' knife
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Selling of GEC SFO's. How to do it fairly?
- Thread starter knifeswapper
- Start date
That mirrors my view. :thumbup: But apparently, some people's main thrill is out of beating other people to a 'must have/must sell..' knife
That mirrors my view. :thumbup: But apparently, some people's main thrill is out of beating other people to a 'must have/must sell..' knife
And this will just lead to one person seeing them, buying a bunch and then doing what they please with them. At least the reserves limit people to a certain number of knives, usually one with how fast things fill up.
No matter what you do, people will bitch.
knifeswapper
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Probably somthing your sick of being ask Mike but since your considering a new system is there any chance us crazy Canadians will be aloud to partake in this new version
I have a whole blog post on this. Not in any way related to this issue
I was on the committee for the 2009 Bladeforum knife. It was 180 knives, and keeping it all straight was tough. There is always a percentage of high maintenance people that would have requests, that may seem minor, but add the, all up and keep it organized became a problem. I guess it is a good problem to have, being a merchant.
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As is evidence of all of the group photos people post to the traditonal forum, this is not the case. There are a lot of people who get the text alert, see it is going to be a high-demand knfie, check every box as sure then hit submit. When they arrive, they take a couple of pictures, then put them back in the tubes (likely never to be used) or flip them on ebay for 2-3 times the original price. I think posting them on the website with a purchase limit of one per customer would allow more people to enjoy these fantastic limited edition knives, without having to deal with insane after-market markups. Heck, just limiting people to one reservation per sfo knife would be huge. It would discourage the profit flipping behavior, and being that there are plenty of people who want these, they will all be reserved either way. More people recieve a barlow from Mike without having to pay 2-3x price off ebay = more repeat customers.
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As a person that was in this round of reserves and had all of my reserves moved to stand by, I cannot complain. I think the system is fair and I think you do everything you can to work things out to the benefit of the customer. I think the system works and no matter how you change the system, someone is going to miss out. I work with the public as well. You can never make the people happy.
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Agreed with Clint.
I honestly don't know how hard it is to understand that during this reserve cycle for the 77 barlows some people just didn't make the "cutoff line" for the totals you received so far and were pushed to standby. It ain't a broke system. I can understand the disappointment if you were pushed to standby but it is what it is.
If everyone were moved to standby as soon as they reserved 'sure' that would be so horrible either.
It would however mean people wouldn't be able to "prepare" for the knives by saving up but if you're buying these knives I expect you already know they're a luxury, not a necessity and should have funding allocated in case.
And here is where your observations are clouded. Who says that they're getting all of these SFO's strictly from Mike as you're assuming??
Anyone posting these pics of multiple knives saying "here's my group shot of all the variants, got them all at Collector Knives!"?
Many guys buying multiples get on several dealer reserve lists or snag them on the few sites that do open sales, I've been there myself. When Mike sends out a text notice, and makes it known that he may only get 5-10 of an SFO, there isn't even time to check all the boxes in the reserve. You have to be lightening fast to even check one box in time.
I don't understand why it's so difficult for these hard headed whiners to understand that you have to do your homework and pay attention to the other dealers sometimes. I've missed Mike's text notification and have been able to get plenty of SFO knives from other dealers without issue.
In the case of the 77's, those reserves were open for quite a few days before being filled and locked up. The previous run with the single spears and spear and coping blades was a giant run and the reserves were open for weeks. If you missed out, stop blaming everyone else. No one prevented you from getting one.
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These 77s were only available through CK, and the reserves were closed within 30 minutes of the text message being sent out. Not even going to entertain the rest of your rant, "hard-headed whiner."
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I was moved to standy on this one and since I only ordered what I plan on keeping (1 knife), I will likely be empty handed. Similar things have happened with THREE other dealers as well. In two of the situations the knives were stocked but over sold. So I'm not sure that one system is any better than another.
Advance notice is really helpful. The more in advance the better. And I think that's been changing for the better.
As things are with the limited numbers, if you don't order more than you're keeping than you may end up with nothing. And there are going to be flippers as long as folks are willing to pay more than retail. In some cases, people's opinions change whether they are buying or selling.
I've paid more than retail for some knives on the secondary market. I try not to. But I often miss out on the scrambles. I'm more selective about what I'll buy for higher than retail. I'd rather that money go to GEC and the dealers. Of course I'd rather pay retail.
Advance notice is really helpful. The more in advance the better. And I think that's been changing for the better.
As things are with the limited numbers, if you don't order more than you're keeping than you may end up with nothing. And there are going to be flippers as long as folks are willing to pay more than retail. In some cases, people's opinions change whether they are buying or selling.
I've paid more than retail for some knives on the secondary market. I try not to. But I often miss out on the scrambles. I'm more selective about what I'll buy for higher than retail. I'd rather that money go to GEC and the dealers. Of course I'd rather pay retail.
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Not going to entertain the logic behind getting SFO's from the many other dealers that provide them? That's fine. Again, it's people who don't do the little bit of legwork to find them that are the consistent ones whining when they miss out.
Oh well, as has been said multiple times in this thread and the many others regarding this subject, not everyone will get a certain knife and not everyone will be happy. That's the game. If you aren't happy playing it, then find a new hobby....because that's exactly what this is. A hobby. Some of you people act like it's life or death and if you miss a TC Barlow or any other sought after SFO, that you've been somehow intentionally screwed over. Unfortunately, someone was simply a little faster, did more searching, sent more emails, and paid more attention.
I agree with you 100% I was only weeks into collecting traditional pocket knives when I found This beautiful place and between following the thread's and watching all the dealers of GEC knives I was able to hook not one but two of the GEC SFO'S I was Looking for. I was amazed at how many people that appeared to of been collecting alot longer than me were complaining about how they Not only didn't get that SFO but seem to miss everyone that comes available. I don't mean to pass judgment but it took a little leg work and some willingness to put in time on my part but that was it. I've gotten every new SFO that I've been interested in ever since. I believe it comes down to wether your up for the hunt or not.
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This is not a reply about Collector knives but about the recent comments about ordering knives in general. GEC shorted the orders. Not much Mike could do about that.
I do agree "that's the game". I think that's unfortunate though. And I think it's unfortunate to suggest folks leave or not take the hobby seriously. Of course, it's not life or death. But if you don't care about knives, then why be here at all? The flippers don't care about anything other than money. Puts "the porch" in a different perspective for sure. I think discussing the ordering process only makes sense. It really shouldn't be this disorganized. Whining and expressing entitlement is another story... though that may be part of "the game" as well.
I don't think those who are available within a moments notice to respond during a short time window are necessarily working harder. The folks who spam dealers with email order requests and phone calls might be working harder. It's not particularly desirable. I've tried it. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't.
I also want to note the we should be discussing this in a constructive manner.
I do agree "that's the game". I think that's unfortunate though. And I think it's unfortunate to suggest folks leave or not take the hobby seriously. Of course, it's not life or death. But if you don't care about knives, then why be here at all? The flippers don't care about anything other than money. Puts "the porch" in a different perspective for sure. I think discussing the ordering process only makes sense. It really shouldn't be this disorganized. Whining and expressing entitlement is another story... though that may be part of "the game" as well.
I don't think those who are available within a moments notice to respond during a short time window are necessarily working harder. The folks who spam dealers with email order requests and phone calls might be working harder. It's not particularly desirable. I've tried it. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't.
I also want to note the we should be discussing this in a constructive manner.
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I don't want to sound harsh in my responses but this discussion comes up all the time. It's been in this section of the forum many times and also in the "Let's talk GEC" thread.
Unfortunately, no matter what the GEC dealers do, people will miss knives, reserves, short runs, whatever it may be. There is simply many more buyers than there is knives available. As I said in my previous response, I like that many of the dealers do things different. If you miss a knife from one, there's always another to try from.
And this discussion isn't just about Collector Knives 77 barlows, Mike asked about the selling of all GEC SFO's and by each dealer doing the selling of them a bit different, that's about as fair as the "system" can get.
Unfortunately, no matter what the GEC dealers do, people will miss knives, reserves, short runs, whatever it may be. There is simply many more buyers than there is knives available. As I said in my previous response, I like that many of the dealers do things different. If you miss a knife from one, there's always another to try from.
And this discussion isn't just about Collector Knives 77 barlows, Mike asked about the selling of all GEC SFO's and by each dealer doing the selling of them a bit different, that's about as fair as the "system" can get.
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Mike's definitely trying to make a system that works. I also appreciate his candor.
knifeswapper
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OK, since we are already in the GBU forum...
You are running early reservations and you are ready to take money. You have 50 knives and 100 people that want one. Tell me specifically how you get the knives allocated in a timely fashion insuring that each person has sufficient time to respond in their turn. Just interested in the allocation at this time, not the reservation process itself.
My process follows with typical outcomes, but I would be delighted to hear improvements. This is an optimistic outcome because if I am not the only source the standby customers with go elsewhere in large numbers; which is expected.
Day 1: 50 customers notified with 24 hour time limit ==> 42 purchases (8 still available)
Day 2: Next 8 customers notified with 24 hour time limit ==> 5 purchases (3 still available)
Day 3: Next 3 customers notified with 24 hour time limit ==> 3 purchases (all sold)
You are running early reservations and you are ready to take money. You have 50 knives and 100 people that want one. Tell me specifically how you get the knives allocated in a timely fashion insuring that each person has sufficient time to respond in their turn. Just interested in the allocation at this time, not the reservation process itself.
My process follows with typical outcomes, but I would be delighted to hear improvements. This is an optimistic outcome because if I am not the only source the standby customers with go elsewhere in large numbers; which is expected.
Day 1: 50 customers notified with 24 hour time limit ==> 42 purchases (8 still available)
Day 2: Next 8 customers notified with 24 hour time limit ==> 5 purchases (3 still available)
Day 3: Next 3 customers notified with 24 hour time limit ==> 3 purchases (all sold)
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Mike, It's a first come first serve approach. Pretty standard. If I recall correctly, you've said you didn't like the lottery approach used at Blade Show but that's another option. I think Frank suggested something along those lines.
A shortage isn't really something that can be controlled. You could always assume a shortage... but you could end up with even less.
You could try to get everyone at least one knife from a run. But that's a lot of extra work. And there are folks who want to collect an entire run. There's also a lot of flipping but some folks do want to collect every knife. I don't think they have any less right to a knife than another.
From the perspective of the buyer, the best way to ensure you get something is to order more than you plan to keep. This promotes flipping or reselling. Preordering also promotes reselling since folks don't know what the knives are going to look like yet and won't know if it's a keeper until they see it. (Preordering also has benefits. Not saying it doesn't) And a limited number of knives and high demand will in general promote flipping. So basically, there's going to be flipping. One knife has already been sold on the Exchange even though it hasn't been received yet.
knifeswapper
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The reason I formed the question the way I did is because I am wondering if anyone specifically has a better way of getting the knives allocated given that it will A) be done in a timely fashion, and B) be offered in the exact order the reservations were made. I have had a recommendation that I give each person on the list a 3 day period to respond to their notification; which makes this simplistic process above a 9 day event. Which just made me wonder if others feel the same or if there are solutions to accomplish the process (still given A & B) that haven't occurred to me.
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If you want to use a first come first serve basis. And you want to complete the orders in a timely fashion. Then going in order of the reservation and allowing a 24 hour limit will be more timely than a 3 day limit.
Are people having trouble paying within 24 hours? I haven't heard complaints about it.
Are people having trouble paying within 24 hours? I haven't heard complaints about it.