Talk of Benchmade availability problems?

I use many retaliers but I go to your corner store and Pacific North West Products a lot.

I have yet to find a single place that has the lowest price on ANY knife I am interested in but your corner store is certainly one of them. Good service and low prices for the most part.
 
Lets face it, MSRP is outrageously priced. My wife bought me a Spyderco at full retail and I couldn't bear telling her how stupid that is. I could have bought two knives at any reasonable dealer for what she spent. I hate to say it, but every time I pick up my gift I cringe knowing what she paid for it. I don't mind paying for quality but the MSRP is like the price the hotels post on the back of their door. It's the highest possible price they can charge, no where near the price they can normally get. BM will still have their govt contracts but anyone who pays full price for a grip, let alone a top shelf blue class will be reeling from sticker shock. I love BM's but this, if true, will end my collection exactly where it stands today. On the plus side, my knives will certainly appreciate in value. Thats not why I buy knives though so this is definitely not good news. Spyderco will end up eating their lunch on the civvie side though. Enjoy Sal.
 
Maybe I'm mistaken but won't authorized BM dealers still be able to do the "Price too low to list... add to cart for price." This just prevents them from advertising their prices. Am I in error here? This would only stop non authorized dealers from buying wholesale and advertising lower prices than the authorized dealers. I am not saying what BM is doing is good for them, because if in fact the prices do all go to MSRP then my BM buying days are done as well.
 
gmarthur said:
Maybe I'm mistaken but won't authorized BM dealers still be able to do the "Price too low to list... add to cart for price." This just prevents them from advertising their prices. Am I in error here? This would only stop non authorized dealers from buying wholesale and advertising lower prices than the authorized dealers. I am not saying what BM is doing is good for them, because if in fact the prices do all go to MSRP then my BM buying days are done as well.
Click to expand...
The place I shop already does that. Supposedly, BM is oging to not distribute to them.
I already got a preorder in for the orange Grip so I at least know my dealer of choise is set :D
 
Is this confirmed, or just rumor? What source has anyone seen, firsthand? Just want to know before I make buying decisions.
 
I think the details are still fuzzy, but the basic idea is confirmed. I cant find a link, check BM's forum.

If they start charging MSRP or close to MSRP for their knives, I will not be buying anymore. That would be a shame too, because they are probably my favorite company. Personally I think they are all about 15-20 dollars too expensive even at the discounted prices.

Link: (Possibly not a scholarly source)
http://shotshownews.com/?p=572
 
Last edited:
I might have started my collection a little late judging by the feedback.

Bought a 950 Rift, traded for a Dejavoo, and just got my yellow mini-grip today from NG (thanks for the great service), all in the last month. I wouldn't pay full MSRP for any of them.

If I had a brick and mortar store nearby (not one within a 30 mile radius of me), I wouldn't mind paying a little more than what I can get on the internet, but if I can expect to pay full retail, then forget it.

It was mentioned before about going to the higher priced makers. If I have to pay $250 for a BM, I'd rather pay $300+ for a semi custom. I'll just buy fewer of them...
 
gmarthur said:
Maybe I'm mistaken but won't authorized BM dealers still be able to do the "Price too low to list... add to cart for price." This just prevents them from advertising their prices. Am I in error here? This would only stop non authorized dealers from buying wholesale and advertising lower prices than the authorized dealers. I am not saying what BM is doing is good for them, because if in fact the prices do all go to MSRP then my BM buying days are done as well.
Click to expand...
Well, since it is direct, BM can cut off individual retailers selling the knives at 'too cheap' a price, hurting the premium line image BM wants to hold. Even if they still have some allowable pricing control from BM, if BM sticks to only shops with a physical storefront - sales staff, rent, electricity, etc., these guys have higher costs than online only, and pricing is gonna be higher to cover the cost of doing business.
 
I'm glad that I have left the ONLY Benchmade I like. The older 550 Griptilian with the oval hole and saber flat grind.

I think BM's management makes some really bad decisions.
 
The other thing I wonder about is how many new Benchmades we will, or won't, be seeing at local knife shows. The folks that bought through distributors won't have that source, and others that are auth dealers with a storefront may not be retained by Benchmade regardless. Potentially one less place to actually get a knife in hand before deciding if you want to buy it, and that's a loss for the customer.
 
Well, speculation or not I picked up a 950 in addition to yesterday's 615. When I told my wife the rumors she suggested buying as many and whatever I wanted :eek:

I'd love to support local shops exclusively, but twice internet prices makes me feel like a dummy.
 
Last edited:
It's true, I had this news in December when I became a dealer and thus had a "benchmade blowout sale." They're all gone from me and my distributor.

Basically, buy them while you can get them cheap, either from your favorite dealers or on evil-bay. All those wonderful cheap prices on evil-bay are sure to disappear. Only storefronts will be able to purchase benchmades, and that alone will raise prices. Storefronts have rent, electric bills, etc....They naturally charge more to get a larger profit. Your typical 551 Griptilian that sells around $70.00 give or take $5, will probably run you what cabela's or bass pro charge for one, roughly $89.99 plus your local tax. Might as well get a Ritter Grip if you are going to pay near full price for a griptilian.

I don't know the reasoning for BM to do this, it will probably hurt them more than anything. The average joe who gets that one or two "Good" knives that last a lifetime will be reluctant to pay near full MSRP for a knife he/she knows nothing about (a few weeks for us knife knuts :D).

I know that if the prices do raise, the only BM's I'll be buying are Ritter Grips, and those would be for me/myself/and I :o
 
That's a real shame.

I know my vote won't count for much, but I do have a 710, 720, 2 mini grips (556) and a grip (551).

I bought the mini grips and grip last year, if BM stops selling via my favorite knife shops at the current prices ( GPKnives.com ) I'll be done with BM.

Kershaw, Spyderco, SOG, and other brands of knives will be where I'll be spending my money.

Bad bad decision, Benchmade, if you think you can dictate what consumers are willing to pay for. Your knives are very nice, but not MSRP nice that we won't look at alternatives.

I love the AXIS lock, but man if another maker can have some decent alternatives (like the SOG copy) then they'll be getting my money.

I hope Benchmade wakes up from this foolish nightmare. I've spent $1k in the last 18 months on knives and it would be a shame for BM not get any more of my money.
 
I called knifeworks and the lady said not to expect any price or inventory changes. Not sure what to believe but hopefully she knew what she was talking about.
 
It sounds like New Graham is not getting more and they have a storefront. It seems like they could get them straight from BM??
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top