Share your thoughts on proxy buying please.

JustinFournier

JustinFournier

Joined
May 7, 2012
Messages
4,971
I wanted to get some feedback from the members on Nathan's sub specifically. So the context of this question is Nathan's Friday sales. Not proxy buying in general or anything else.

With that in mind...

Nathan said that knives should be fun.

I don't think anyone here believes the Friday sales model is fun when one simply cannot "win" a knife even after multiple attempts. Some people even missed by just a second or two after taking a day off work to try.

When I see people who miss, and are getting frustrated making comments like, "Guess this is not the brand for me." or similar, I just ughhhh. I really hate to see that. I believe in Nathan and Jo. I believe they have an amazing synergy with Lorien right now and are truly putting out some amazing knives with all things considered.

Originally I wanted to proxy buy to help friends and forum members who couldn't be present for the Friday sales, or couldn't get in fast enough. I have never done it for or had ANY personal gain. I am simply trying to help.

However recently I have started to think more about the newer people who are just finding CPK. It seems that some of us older fans have our posting methods worked out well, and as we continue to buy, that means there is simply less room for new people. The field is stacked against a new buyer, and that guy that is now in 11 would have had a knife if not for that proxy in the top 10.

On the other hand, there is a person who has a knife now, that wouldn't have had one. Someone is getting a knife either way. But is it really up to the person proxy buying to determine the distribution?

I am not sure that new guy missing and the proxy buy is good for the long term. I don't want to see a toxicity develop in here. I sincerely want to new people and personally I want to find the atmosphere friendly an inviting. I don't want people to read through a bit, get a bad vibe, miss the sale and not come back.

The coming sale with the special handles was the catalyst for this. I imagine 10 knives would go to 10 people who have all bought before in literally 2 seconds or less. That is not going to be supportive to more casual sale attendees or inviting to new people on the sub. They are just going to think, why even bother?

So should proxy buying stop? Should it be limited? Maybe we only do it on normal sales, after they calm down a little?

I dunno the answer, but I figure it's time we revisit this topic as there are a whole lot more people here than when we had this topic come up last time.
 
I understand you're in a trickey situation but in my opinion, i don't think you are doing anything wrong or negative. I don't give a shit about proxys. If someone wants a knife, can't get one, asks for a proxy, cool, go for it, i don't care.

I agree with the whole "Do whatever you want as long as it doesn't negatively affect anyone else" kinda thing. If anything, you are doing something positive by helping someone get a knife with a proxy.

The only negative thing i could think of would be someone doing a proxy buy for like 5 people lol

"I'll take 5"

Half the knives that week gone in one post. That would kinda suck. Just keep the proxy buys to a minimum each sale is the only thing I would say
 
Thanks Bacon,

I have been doing a single proxy buy per sale. Otherwise I could literally buy anything not already spoken for on a sale and still not fill a list. This seemed to most reasonable approach at the time.
 
With one word overkill.

Edit: I think I got it wrong. I thought you meant proxy-servers.
 
Last edited:
Normally I would think that my opinion is hardly relevant, but since you asked so politely and it does impact me; my thoughts –

Clearly it is Nathan’s business (in both senses of the word) entirely how he chooses to sell his work. This method works well for CPK and certainly filling up pre-order books is an approach that really should come with a Here There Be Dragonnes endorsement. Many a maker has foundered on those rocks.

The regular sales are at 4AM Saturday morning for me and my internet is via a highly unreliable mobile broadband connection. Never going to work unless I go visit someone with a better connection at 4AM on a Saturday. Not likely to work that well either. Boohoo me.

I really like Nathan and Jo and prefer to deal with them direct than to buy off the exchange.

If you hadn’t offered to proxy for me, I wouldn’t have a Light Chopper. But you did and I do, so Yay me. Thanks a lot.

A lot of people seem to have a fair bit of fun with the sales. Good for them. Probably works reasonably well for the majority of CPK’s customers and even I love checking how quickly each batch sells out and how oversubscribed they are.

I really think you have it about right, Justin. If you have the connection, life and skills that gives you an inside running on this particular sales method then it is generous of you to spread that around. And I hope you have fun doing it, too. I reckon one or two proxies per sales is a good way of spreading the love of fine design and execution without messing up the fun for others.

I jumped on the Field Knife pre-order thread because that method suits my circumstances better. I hope it works out for Nathan and Jo and they keep doing this method into the future.

There you go. My thoughts, for what they are worth. Probably even less than those of Chairman Mao but you asked.
 
Yup I'm still looking for a chance to vet a cpk one day
Right now I am just hoping they do pre orders on the survival knife
 
For purely selfish reasons I would prefer if you didn't proxy, as it means I would have a higher chance of getting a FK for myself!
My internet is very slow satellite internet, with latency of around 2 seconds. This means that they're all sold out before it even updates on my screen.

That being said, there's nothing actually wrong with it.

I also really hope there's a pre-order for the SK, as buying in this current fashion is only fun for those who win. For the rest it just sucks.
I would rather get on the list and wait it out.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
 
Justin thanks for bringing up this topic in such a constructive manner. IMO I think proxies are finr. As mentioned above if they are buying mx knives at a time not so much. Another negative I see is if the proxy are always getting a knife.

I also think the way Nathan is doing selling his knives is a blast. Although I am biased/lucky in two ways. I have Fridays off and own a lc. My computer skills suck so odds of scoring another knife this way is not very good. As others have said hope to see a preorder again.

Ultimately these are Nathan' knives and he can sell them how ever he wants, if I get a knife great. If not I most certainly will live and the world won't stop. What I dislike most about these threads is the negative nancies. If uou can't handle the rejection don't try. (wait does saying this make me a negative nancy [emoji12] )

Good luck everyone with the upcoming sale. Thank you Nathan and Jo for what you do.

Cheers
 
I think the way he sells them is really fun and fair. I'll never get one with the Friday sales program but that's just because it's a hot item. The proxy buys kill it for me. I won't even try. I got on the list in the pre sale thread but if I would've missed that thread, I'd probably be one of the people that would lose interest and not persue the knife
 
Last edited:
I think half the fun is the adrenaline rush......win or lose. I am no computer whiz....far from it. Often I've had work conflicts that have kept me out of the Friday sales, but I've managed to come up with most of the knives I've wanted. I've purchased off the exchange, I've been contacted by friends that had extra, I've scored through the preorder.
But.....my most satisfying was the EDC I scored in a Friday sale. I was # 15 with 15 knives available.......and the truth of it was I was 16 and someone who was quicker was simply flexing their ninja skills and bowed out.
Now if he had proxy'd for someone instead ; that adrenaline rush would have been the agony of defeat rather than the thrill of victory.

As far as proxy sales go...... I'm OK with it, I probably wouldn't use one for my reasons above. I can see where people get discouraged when they see the same screen names at the top week after week. Some complain as you noted, but some move on without saying a word.

Personally, I got my EDC in the sale and I'll humbly move aside with thanks to Nathan and Jo for the opportunity. That adrenaline rush for a new CPK buyer winning a Friday sale trumps proxy buying any day.
 
I'm hoping to benefit from a proxy ninja.

Here's the thing, to me, being here is all part of being in a community that I really appreciate. If I want to show up, buy something, and never interact with anyone I will shop at a box store. I come here to get to know people. To help others with what I can do (I make custom handles and I have shared openly about how I do it, shared tips and tricks, and shared the handles themselves). I really, really enjoy getting to know the guys here and it is all about interacting with like-minded knife enthusiasts. Part of that is trading favors.

Yesterday over on the Fiddleback Friday a guy apparently lost his favorite Fiddleback and it was his birthday. Something like 6 sharks made a proxy bid for a knife he said he liked in the preview, with a simple message - "happy birthday, Joe." It was awesome.

If I get a knife from a Proxy, part of that knife's story is "this is the knife that ---- helped me get!"

Proxy buys build community. It's just a way to contribute.
 
Last edited:
I'm fine with proxy buying. My friend Rick Lowe scored a EDC for me while I was in the hospital having a couple of coronary arteries unclogged during the Friday sale. It sure made my day when I received his email informing me he had scored one for me. I will treasure this knife for the rest of my life!:thumbup::)

 
Last edited:
LukeTheSpook said:
I think the way he sells them is really fun and fair. I'll never get one with the Friday sales program but that's just because it's a hot item. The proxy buys kill it for me. I won't even try. I got on the list in the pre sale thread but if I would've missed that thread, I'd probably be one of the people that would lose interest and not persue the knife
Click to expand...

This is a very compelling argument too. The powers that be need to heed to this type of fan and buyer!
 
Casinostocks said:
This is a very compelling argument too. The powers that be need to heed to this type of fan and buyer!
Click to expand...

Why doesn't Luke contact Justin and have him get one for him? Unless he just likes the thrill of getting it himself.
 
Justin my friend, if you are asking if you should stop doing as many proxy buys for folks, then it is my opinion that it should be solely at your discretion.

1. Nate has already said he's good with them, and I have confidence in his ability to squash anything that gets out of hand.
2. We haven't seen anyone snapping up big numbers in the sales. I can't recall anything higher than a two-piece order in a single sale, so perfectly acceptable.
3. You've helped a lot of folks get knives, you're not doing it for profit, and you're helping forum regulars first. I don't see a problem here bud.

Now if we're talking more about the upcoming specialty sale, maybe that's a little different animal. Myself, I will not be asking anyone to proxy for me on a sale like that, nor would I proxy for another on a sale like that (like I'm fast enough for anyone to want me to proxy :rolleyes: ) But that's just my personal take, not something I'm trying to hold anyone else to. I probably won't be fast enough to score anything on that sale, but if I do, with the specialty options, it will be that much more treasured. I do love the thrill of the hunt on Nate's sales :)

Cheers
 
Last edited:
I am not overly thrilled with the concept of proxy buying in this instance because I think that the consensus is that some folks are at an advantage simply based in part on their location relative to the server. If the ground was truly even--say Nathan used a random number generator to pick posts from everyone who posted their interest in the first hour after the thread was opened--then I would not care about proxies AND Nathan would still have every knife sold. If you want to double your chance, simply get a proxy to help out. It would not necessarily need to be someone who lived right next to the server, had a fast connection or a fast computer.. The way proxies work under the existing scheme, speed and proximity to the target (server) comes into play, as well as how fast your connection and computer are. And some folks are clearly faster than other folks.

It's easy to see how some who miss out might become bitter or discouraged by repeated failed attempts to get a knife. After all, what will change for them the next time such that they might be able to actually score? More knives? No. They are faster? No. There are fewer folks competing for the limited knives? No. Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results has occasionally been called the definition of insanity. It is what it is I guess.

When it is all said and done though, it is Nathan and Jo who decide how sales will be conducted, and it is they who should decide how the sales will be conducted.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top