Spyderco Consumer Announcement

fetzer85 said:
Interesting first post Rebel48...
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Looking for a new pocket knife (last one I bought was about 20 years ago). So I joined a couple of forums to try and make up my mind what I wanted and happened to see that on the spiderco forum and wanted to share.
 
I for one am very happy about Map pricing coming down the pipe from Spyderco. You can not make everyone happy all the time but it makes it impossible to compete when some on line places are out there selling knives at a couple of dollars above what other dealers pay for them. Knife Knuts complain but also complain that there are no local knife shops anymore. With Map pricing at least smaller local knife shops will have a chance to compete and stay in business. Based on this pricing model the prices for most dealers will basically stay unchanged. I am hoping this policy also means that Spyderco will be making more knives in Golden Colorado.
 
Slow moving products will sit on the shelves with MAP pricing. I've gotten a number of Spydercos at 45% to more than 50% off MSRP. These were products that just did not sell and eventually got discontinued by Spyderco. A good example is my Double Bevel which arrived today. Recently discontinued and I got it at 50% off MSRP. A model I wanted but wouldn't have gotten at just 40% off MSRP.

A MAP of 40% off MSRP for Spyderco is not analogous to 15% off for Benchmade or 20% off for Zero Tolerance. Some have more wiggle room in their MSRP.

Dealers will be challenged to come up with new ways to get the customer's Spyderco business. KnifeWorks throws in free Benchmade items. Knife Center and Knives Ship Free have bonus points plans which translate to tier discounts on orders. Some dealers add nice aftermarket scales or anodizing while still selling at MAP.
 
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Spyderco prices have gone far off the charts for the value they offer anyway.
 
Well, I don't by Benchmades anymore. And I sure will be more picky with Spydercos in the future.

Since I'm living in Europe the prices are pretty high for me already so I'm buying all my knives online and mostly from US stores on eBay. And here in Sweden there are hardly no local knife stores anyway so that argument goes out the window (that MAP helps them staying in business). For me, and others from Europe I guess, this just means higher prices in general. And for me, obviously, "buying american" is not an legitimate argument :). All knifes I own except Swedish brands are made overseas in one way or another so for me there is no particular reason not to by Reate, Kizer, Stedemon and other Chinese brands instead except for the fact that I really like Spydercos of course.

Sad but true. I feel that the new offerings from Spyderco is too pricey already.

/ J
 
whitty said:
I for one am very happy about Map pricing coming down the pipe from Spyderco. You can not make everyone happy all the time but it makes it impossible to compete when some on line places are out there selling knives at a couple of dollars above what other dealers pay for them. Knife Knuts complain but also complain that there are no local knife shops anymore. With Map pricing at least smaller local knife shops will have a chance to compete and stay in business. Based on this pricing model the prices for most dealers will basically stay unchanged. I am hoping this policy also means that Spyderco will be making more knives in Golden Colorado.
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On one hand, of course a dealer would say that. ;)

On the other hand, very solid points. I'd certainly like to see more brick & mortar knife shops.
 
In a highly competitive marketplace, manufactures have some incentive to make sure that their products stay on shelves. we are not the biggest bunch of buyers, its guys who walk into shops and see a thing they like. If its not on the shelf, too bad. If the big dealers want MAP, then its within their rights to ask. would you rather that instead of MAP, they off-shore more and more units? can't have it both ways, fact of the matter is that costs are costs. Instead of chasing every last penny, we can then look for better customer service, more dealer unique models or combos, and other such things. I've been told for a long time, never deny a working man his wage. If the price is X, either the market will support it, or not. A lot of guys got all hot and bothered about benchmade's MAP, personally if I could get an aussie legal mini-grip, I'd have one in a heart beat. They are gray where I live, so I don't get one.

For my dollar, Sal is doing everything he can to try to get spydercos into australia as best he can by lobbying, as well as making knives I can have. So he gets my dollars right now regardless. not many other manufacturers in general even care. Zen Imports does alright, but having all leatherman products come in one channel means the markup is insane. Benchmade has what, three folders that are for sure legal here? SOG has a handful, but they are the Chinese ones, CS isn't worth my time, and Vic is enshrined in law, so I'll happily give that nice swiss family a few bucks now and again. Other gear is worse. I'll take MAP over an import cartel any day. At least with MAP there is some chance for some type of competition. (not saying Zen is a cartel, they do fantastic warranty service and are a great bunch, working to change laws here. Cascade designs stuff is all locked up by a single importer agreement. Not so cool.)
 
It will be interesting to read all the creative writing stories about why it is ok for Spyderco to do this but not other companies.
 
jazub said:
It will be interesting to read all the creative writing stories about why it is ok for Spyderco to do this but not other companies.
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Yeah it sucks. Just the whole idea of it for a customer.

But my go to dealers are at consistent 45% and 43% off respectively and they are the deepest discounters, majority of dealers online AND brickand mortar are well below that.

The bottom line is the Bottom line (money) and it doesnt seem like anyone will take much of a hit at 40% if any at all. Even Amazon sells Spydercos at below that percentage. It's pretty much putting a cap on dicounts at 40% compared to 15%. If the math excuse isn't good enough then too bad, you can agree to disagree with Spyderco appologists.
 
Kwon Kwang said:
Brand favoritism makes people do and say funny things.
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Yes, it does. Looks like MAP will go from a "moral" problem to an economic excuse. But we'll see; we can't absolve space aliens or the "other guy's" political party from culpability just yet...
 
jazub said:
Yes, it does. Looks like MAP will go from a "moral" problem to an economic excuse. But we'll see; we can't absolve space aliens or the "other guy's" political party from culpability just yet...
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You kidding me.

It was always ALWAYS discussed as an economic issue with some throwing in moral angles in the discussion. Vaaast majority of people slowed down or stopped buying because of cost lets not play dumb here.

Im willing to post dozens of threads on here and perhaps hundreds of individual posts through the past couple years of members complainning about price, cost, and economic impact.
 
Stays Sharp said:
You kidding me.

It was always ALWAYS discussed as an economic issue with some throwing in moral angles in the discussion. Vaaast majority of people slowed down or stopped buying because of cost.

Im willing to post dozens of threads on here and perhaps hundreds of individual posts through the past couple years of members complainning about price, cost, and economic impact.
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Thanks for all of your attention to my posts. I also have been reading Bladeforums daily for years. But I believe you when you write that you are willing to dredge up hundreds of threads to assist your current perception. Please do that and post them here.

While you do that, I am going to step outside to enjoy some sunshine and eat a sandwich.
 
So, the Southard with a MSRP of $420 is going to have a MAP of $250?

It was nice knowing you, Spyderco. Good luck unloading those Draper folders at $300 each. I'm sure people will jump all over spending Sebenza money on a production VG10 liner lock.
 
We are also not raising prices on nearly all of our product line.
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emphasis added by me.

so, they will be raising prices on "some" knives....

fwiw, you can still buy benchmades for less than the old "pre-MAP" prices on ebay... just look for the dealers that accept offers...
 
^
MSRP on Spydercos go up by a little bit every year. Usually $5 increments or a couple percentage points.

I think shes saying they wont for 2016 to sweeten it up.
 
My take on this is two sided. I do not like the idea of MAP pricing and generally avoid products sold with that policy.

I don't know how many people realize it but Spyderco is probably the number one knife that is counterfeited today. Last gun show I went to there were more fake knives than real ones being sold and I could spot the difference. There wasn't a single real Spyderco in the arena for sale. One guy had buckets of all models with a sign on it. All Spyderco knives $40.00. Give him the money and pick a fake for $40.00.

While I do not support the MAP policy they are going to use now, I do support them protecting their brand and I believe that's more to do with it than price. I mean let's face it, even at MAP pricing they make some great knives for the price at every level. You know you get something good from the low end to their high end and you don't pay as much as you really could.

In the end I believe it will be better for the consumer not buying a fake. It will make finding the retailers selling fakes much easier. Well that retailer has it $10.00 cheaper then blade hq, you will know it's not real.

It's more protection for the consumer as I see it.
 
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