Something totally new

:cool::thumbup:
Great points, Les.
 
Les Robertson said:
Burt is too savvy a businessman to pay for this out of his pocket. Ultimately the end user will pay for this service...which is fair.
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Les, perhaps this is a bold question from someone who spends more time reading here than writing, but it here it goes: What is the pertinence of this statement?

As any capitalist knows, the intent of any business is to not only pay for itself, but to produce a profit and as you properly stated, that is fair. But to say that Burt is not investing in this out of his own pocket and to infer that this is some sort of Ponzi scheme where everyone, but the progenitor, bears the burden of risk seems to me a little dismissive of the facts and more than a little disrespectful.

Burt, maybe I just don't know any better, but if this is isn't a totally new idea then at the very least it seems like a great evolution of ideas. I'll be looking forward to witnessing the first big step on opening day.

Scott
 
thepaintedbird said:
As any capitalist knows, the intent of any business is to not only pay for itself, but to produce a profit and as you properly stated, that is fair.
Click to expand...

Yep, Les said this.

thepaintedbird said:
But to say that Burt is not investing in this out of his own pocket and to infer that this is some sort of Ponzi scheme where everyone, but the progenitor, bears the burden of risk seems to me a little dismissive of the facts and more than a little disrespectful.
Click to expand...

I don't see where he said this.

Roger
 
HI Scott,

My point was and is that while the initial cost for the site will have to be paid for by Burt. He will need to recoup those costs from those who use his service. As this will be a business venture, if it is not cost effective with a positive cash flow, the site will close.

My understanding is that if you want a full profile with this service the cost is $25 per month (not per knife) and $20 a month if you just want to post the knife.

So if a maker chose the full profile and did so for a year it would cost them $300.

Paypal will be the preferred method of payment. A question would be who is going to pay the approximate 4% fee for using this?

When you use a credit card to purchase something the merchant usually has to give the bank 2% - 3%. A merchant can lose their account if they try to add on that percentage to the price of the item for sale.

Here and on other knife related Internet sites you will often see the seller list that the buyer will pay the Paypal fees. If the seller has to pay the fees that is another 4%. Perhaps the buyer and seller will split the fees?

I don't know so this is pure speculation. I suspect that Burt will want a particular quality level of the photos that go on his site. That is to say professionally done. Which is something every knife maker should have done for the majority of their knives. However, there is the cost for the photo and the shipping costs associated with sending a knife to the photographer.

Again, Burt is not going to pay these fees...nor should he. As I said previously, Burt is offering the knife makers and collectors a service and he should be compensated for it.

Where you got that I was suggesting this was some kind of ponzi scheme I have no idea.
 
thepaintedbird said:
But to say that Burt is not investing in this out of his own pocket and to infer that this is some sort of Ponzi scheme where everyone, but the progenitor, bears the burden of risk seems to me a little dismissive of the facts and more than a little disrespectful.
Click to expand...

You're smoking crack if you read that in Les' post. This is not what he said.

(With this said, Les could be wrong in the sense that it could be a service free to makers and buyers, and paid for some other way, e.g., advertising. But his key point - the need for a profit - is correct and doesn't imply that Burt isn't taking any risk or investment.)
 
Les Robertson said:
Burt is too savvy a businessman to pay for this out of his pocket.
Click to expand...

Roger and Joss,

I don't know Les, but I'm assuming that you do and I'll trust you when you're telling me that I'm reading way too much into the above statement.

Les,

I apologize as it appears I took your remark out of context and thought I perceived some underlying intent that simply just did not exist.

Scott
 
Hi Scott,

Joss was right, I missed where Burt wrote there was going to be a fee to post.

Both he and Roger were also correct in that I was merely pointing out this would be a business venture and as such it would have to..at a minimum...pay for itself.

There is already one "Virtual Knife Show" on the internet. Sounds like Burt is going to take this up a notch.
 
From the perspective of someone who cannot afford to attend knife shows in the USA - but still prefers to buy customs direct from the maker when possible - this sounds like a fantastic idea to me.

Although I appreciate that shipping knives overseas does present a certain amount of hassle, the reality is that the net has opened up the market to the entire world.

So why not take advantage of this greatly expanded group of buyers?
 
Nope, that's not me. Not sure who it is. This general idea of having a place where makers can post their own knives for sale directly to the public is not new. What's new is the way I'm going about it. Any maker who's interested can get a hold of me via the links at: www.virtualknifeshow.com and I'll get them all the details.
 
Burt - this all sounds very promising indeed, and I commend you and any others involved for the initiative and effort this project will entail. Given that your web site is already one of the very best maker sites out there, I don't doubt this will be done up right. Looking forward to seeing it come together.

Scott - you're my bro, bro! :)

Roger
 
Using PayPal and taking Credit Cards increases your potential customer base through ease of payment and an increased sense of security. The increased sales will offset the cost of doing business.

Better / Professional quality photos will maximize a Makers return on the knife offered for sale so any associated cost will again be offset by increased sale prices and increased sales volume.


As a Collector / Buyer I like the concept of Burts Site because it will put more of the purchase price into the hands of the maker.

Increasing the number of professional quality photographs needed will possibly increase the demand for professional knife photographers.

Increasing the availability and ease of purchase of custom knives could increase the customer base and the market as a whole can expand. Sure each custom knife maker can have their own site but combining the sites into one location reduces cost, increases traffic and allows the knife makers to focus more on making knives instead of maintaining a website.


I like the idea. My wallet has concerns though.

Mitch
 
braillediver said:
Using PayPal and taking Credit Cards increases your potential customer base through ease of payment and an increased sense of security. The increased sales will offset the cost of doing business.

Better / Professional quality photos will maximize a Makers return on the knife offered for sale so any associated cost will again be offset by increased sale prices and increased sales volume.


As a Collector / Buyer I like the concept of Burts Site because it will put more of the purchase price into the hands of the maker.

Increasing the number of professional quality photographs needed will possibly increase the demand for professional knife photographers.

Increasing the availability and ease of purchase of custom knives could increase the customer base and the market as a whole can expand. Sure each custom knife maker can have their own site but combining the sites into one location reduces cost, increases traffic and allows the knife makers to focus more on making knives instead of maintaining a website.


I like the idea. My wallet has concerns though.

Mitch
Click to expand...

From Burt's first post on this thread, I was trying to figure out as
a collector how this will actually work out. You Mitch, really put things
in order and if it will work out as suggested, this Site will become one
of the more frequented attractions for knife enthusiasts...

Best of luck Burt!

All the best,
David Darom (ddd)
 
I'm a bit confused and though that may sound familiar, could someone explain how this is going to be different from what someone can do in BF and currently in CKCA? In fact in CKCA, it is even better. Members can list knives as part of their membership in the classified section and anyone can make purchases of knives. Members currently include both makers and collectors and dealers and the annual or multi-year memberships are extremely reasonable. Members will also have the privilege of being able to purchase member makers knives prior to their being listed in any other fashion if the maker so desires to participate in this endeavor.
 
Hi Murray,

I think the big difference will be in the presentation, but quoting from post number 1 in this thread, "Here are the basic features of the site:
1. The site is being professionally designed and will look and feel as good as the knives being sold. It will present custom knives in a way that will communicate to visitors the artistry involved.
2. The entire site will allow e-commerce, online purchasing of knives listed for sale."

By the way, I checked out the CKCA for sale section and did not see an e-commerce option, but maybe I missed it.

Bill
 
Murray,

Yeah, Bill's right. That's the basic difference. The site is designed not to just sell knives from the same makers to the same collectors, but to present those knives to the big 'ol world in an environment that compliments them.

Though I've done my own web site and I did the charity bowie web site, I'm having this site professionally built. It is going to be several clicks above either one of the ones I've done both in the quality of the graphic design, the features and the functionality. Just for perspective, I had two quotes that were over $25,000 to build this thing. It's that complicated behind the scenes, but it will appear very clean and easy to use on the front end.

By the way, it's not costing me quite that much, but it isn't cheap. :)
 
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