Selling on Ebay

Y'know, your son should just go out and get into the job market, he can get a job working retail etc,

He has a job....actually makes about 1/3rd more than I do. All the money for his education paid off.

He is trying to put as big a down payment on a new house as possible and doesn't want me to give him the money. The knives aren't doing anything but gathering dust so I figured it was something he could do in the evenings.

He's supposed to pay me for them when he sells them. I won't take it though.
 
Sounds like you raised a good man, Don!

Nothing like having a good mom and dad at yer back...... :)
 
Dang just got back from my 21 year old going to the Emer room he's OK TG

(By the
way, you could do me a big favor by linking to me from your site,
though I can't offer you a reciprocal link.)

I'm not sure this was for me or part of a quote ?
I do have you linked to my site I'm sure you know that.

good points to why the first are listed the way they are
Jay Maines site is sunrise and I've talked to him about what he's doing
and I believe if I'm not mistaken a lot has to do with linking and he had
other stuff he did also. I'm fuzzy on why some of the links run high with no
key word metas and at one time I knew the reason why and I was thinking it was pay related ?? don't quote me on that but if it was for free or didn't take forever to do
I would have jumped on it. maybe Jay will jump in here to comment?

yehup trying to do it the wrong way can get you band from the things completely,, black listed if you will.
I'm not sure why some of my subed sites do better than the domained sub domained? if that make cent to you..

but when studying the sites I always look at the ones 3 or 4 down from the top the top ones are being done different than I'm doing them for sure I think? :) also submissions done to many times can get a page bumped too.

links still if only a part of it helps,
text for links other than "click here" helps in page relativity and there are a whole host of things they think will help but as you say it's interesting to say the least to why some things happen and others don't..
 
Dan -
(By the way, you could do me a big favor by linking to me from your site,
though I can't offer you a reciprocal link.)

I'm not sure this was for me or part of a quote ?
I do have you linked to my site I'm sure you know that.
Click to expand...

That's part of the quoted article..
 
OK Guy's now you are way over me head please talk so I can understand.
Dan you say that more people are looking for Hunters than Bowie's I am sure this is true but for me to sell hunters is a lot harder to do than selling Bowie's. However I have a quantity of hunter blades in ATS34 that I am going to finish so we will see.
Another thing that I have found is that I can not sell a knife that has a price that is under $175. I built a line of knives out of ATS34 Paul Bos heat treat, Blades 4" and under and hollow ground, Marcarta handles, half dozen profiles in a nice pouch sheath. These were nice EDC knives. I started these at $150 and did not sell even one, lowered the price to $125 no sales, kept lowering the price to $60 sold a few over a year, gave the last few away to customers who bought a Bowie for several hundred dollars. These knives were similar to EDC knives that others were selling for $195 to $250. This is one reason I build Bowie's, I get PAID for them.
Thy were posted several places on the web for sale. The only sale was from
Circle C Knives. Any suggestions any one?
Well I have ranted enough. Gib
 
That's a problem that's not unique to you Gib. First, your hunters at $60.00 would be gobbled up in the right market. You should hit the hunting related sites like Realtree several months before the season starts.

If you frequent knife and gun shows you will see a lot of junk makers and junk knives. All seem to be selling in 125.00 to 150.00 range. Most people have a bad taste for that price.
The last show I went to I took my monster Bowie I chopped my head with. I didn't want to sell it (I was just showing off) I had a dozen people nag me to buy it and every time I said it wasn't for sale, they'd go up on their offer.

Many people want what they can't get. The more expensive, the more they want it.

Your Bowie's are stunning Gib. I wish I had the talent to make knives like that. They will also be your big ticket items. The problem all makers have is that while they are getting famous for their art, they have to eat. This means selling knives in a reasonable quantity.
If I could suggest something....

first, search out every hunting and fishing board out there...I suggested Realtree because I used to be a Mod there and I know GOOD hunters like yours would sell. There are thousands of sites like that though.
Look at the site and spend some time watching the posts. This will give you an idea what people want. There are also Kayaking sites, fishing ...on and on.

Second, make a demo knife and offer to loan it to every major sporting goods shop you can find. The Gun makers do it...why not knife makers. If you could get someplace like Bass Pro to carry your knives, you'd be up to your armpits in orders.

Third, make the hunter a little on the heavy side with a thick leather sheath. Chuck pointed out that the first thing people see is the sheath. I couldn't agree more. People also equate heavy with quality. Like the lawyer said on Jurassic Park. If it's heavy, it must be expensive. :D
 
yes yes yes a GOOD sheath can and will sell a knife for sure.
I refuse to sell one with a sheath under $195.00 a buddy of mine that's been make for as long as I have
said to me one time, don't go down on the price it will sell,
and I say now, it's just waiting for it's owner to come a get it, but he needs to see it first.. :) put every one you make on the site then weed out some later that you don't like but show as many as you can customers are funny
:( well not really sometimes...

Gib just a thought here..
if you can't sell them for a low price,, go up,,, not down sounds strange
but sometimes it's the low prices that will keep them from selling,, they'll say
what's wrong with it ? to them selves..
a guy I've been helping with knives for the last 2 or so years found that to be true.
he said it's weird..a good money back guarantee is a must also..
. you're not in competition with the Pakistanis and the factories,,
sure if it's to high, that can be a problem too but you need to be comparable to other knives in that over all
range of product, hand made product, .
the shows help but as you I can't hit but a very few.
I forgot to mention put customer comments on your site also
They are a big plus. I didn't see if you had one or not. but beef it up it can't hurt.
get permission to list their phone numbers and e-mail addys this will at the least say to customers this guy has some Backing and is true ..it's your own show...

what do you have to loose if they an't selling anyway giving them away just leaves a bad taste for them..

edited to add
on your AVAILABLE for SALE page you have no knives AVAILABLE to buy there? maybe the sold Gallery would fit better .
and it may help it to get personal and say (I) not (we) when you talking about the knives you make yourself,
it's a better feel for the customer that it is a knife made by you and not by others not listed,,just some ideas ..

I mentioned this to Jay Maines about his site a long time ago too and I see he changed his from we to I. I hope it helped his sales too...By all means colab's should be said as we as in (Chuck and I) ..we to me is a factory
 
Well, my first Selling on eBay experience was great! The Viking Dagger sold this morning and the buyer threw in extra for overnight shipping. I have the carbon fiber gent's folder listed also and it has quite a few bids.

A big thanks to the buyer of the Viking Dagger and I hope he likes it as much as I do.

So now why do I always feel bad when I sell a large piece of work? It is like loosing a friend. :(
 
Gib Guignard said:
Dan and Don, thanks for the input and interest you Guy's have shone. Gib
Click to expand...

no problem here Gib I don't have all the answers to many things but I always have an opinion :) that is not always good or wanted.. :)

way to go Sean :)
what was the link to it ??
 
Thanks Dan, here is the link:

Viking Dagger

It sold for $1175 and the seller added $100 to cover overnight shipping charges. I had my reserve set for $1149. Ended up with 22 bids and 565 views. At one point I had 28 watchers.

The cool thing is the buyer is an artist and is going to do some rendering of the dagger and send them to me. I can't wait to see them. It will just be icing on the cake after having sold the knife for a price i can be happy with.
 
very nice and a great write up on it and pictures.. :) well done

the lost feeling will go away when you sell the next one :( ;)
 
The smaller knives and pens don't bother me when they go. Crap, I have 3.5 folders and a pen sitting in the cubbord that I wish would go. Hopefully finish up one tomorrow if I ever get my Paua shell.

The big ones like this Viking Dagger and the Jade Fighter kinda hurt when they leave. I think it is because I have so much into them, they take so much longer to get right, and they are unique, that I start feeling like they have a personality of their own.

It feels good now, she is all boxed up and ready for the drive to the UPS store tomorrow to go on a plain ride to RI.

Now I just need to figure out what the next big project is going to be.
 
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