Talk of Benchmade availability problems?

I think BM is stupid for selling at msrp for their knives at minimum. I agree with the post someone said about surefires. Yes they sell only for msrp, but even the lower priced ones are built extremely well as well as perform well. I love BMs, but a griptillian at minimum for $100 isn't quite worth that.

Well, either they lower their msrp and sell them for that, and keep someone like me as a customer, or lose a lot of folks by selling for msrp as of now. I think they'll regret this.
 
hardheart said:
These are fair points, but the worry of prices going up is more based on previous actions and stories about BM. MAAP, De Asis literally walking away from a vendor because he sells the knives too cheaply, problems some sites have had with getting stock. BM is offering Ti handles and more lock variety and custom designs in their Red class, so I can see them pushing the pricing up on their classes. I wonder if the consumer will accpet a Red BM as being the same as a Spyderco, and pay higher prices similar to the H-D or Bradley badged knives for other Blues.
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If some sites aren't getting stock it could be due to the transition
- small distributors out of stock and the new supply chain working efficiently yet. Also, I would guess the economy has something to do with the slowdown. Distributors and vendors might have large inventories of other knives and they don't want to increase them now if there is an expectation of lower sales.

Don't forget the on line drop shippers will not be able to do it any more.

I agree with others that I will not pay MSRP or near it for a BM. There are a lot of knife makers out there to choose from.

Give it time - my guess is that prices will not change.
 
I was recently on the BM website. They sell knives retail themselves. It makes sense to cut out the middle man and sell directly to their customers. I run a business and I can see why they wouldn't want online retailers undervaluing their product.

I have definitely taken advantage of online prices, but Benchmades are really good knives and they are worth MSRP.

I have also gone to a magnificent knife store in Fanueil Hall in Boston where I tried out all the knives. I then went home and ordered online. I'd be more inclined to be a patron of the local knife shop if they had competitive prices.

I just got a skirmish and it's nuts!!!!!!! The worst thing about it is that it is too nice to use.
 
Dexter - distributors have been cut out, emails and forum posts have stated that this has happened, and at the official BM forum, one of the regulars, who has an ebay store, listed three sizable distributors who are no longer able to order Benchmade.

The sellers not getting stock I mentioned has occurred over years, not since the announcement of this policy. BM has been against value pricing of their knives for a while.

Also, prices have been going up, not much so far, about 10% as reported by a few. Once old stock dries up and only the authorized dealers are the only game, we'll see how pricing goes.
 
Hmm... At a B&M store a few months ago, I remember the guy saying, "BM requires us to sell at MSRP, or else they won't let us be a dealer." I guess maybe for BM he was telling the truth.
 
To say the truth, the meaning of MSRP (manufacturer's suggested retail price) is that the dealers have approximation of competitors pricing.
The whole practice of setting insanely high MSRP and then offering "discounts" is stupid.
If you set MSRP near current "street price" and let dealers sell for that, what difference will it make? That you can't advertise "you save 40%"?

Though, it is questionable if BM will go this (reasonable) way, or the Strider/CRK way, when your insanely high (and forced) MSRP is an attempt to be somewhat "special".
 
Surefire permits 'LEO' pricing below their MSRP - just not advertised. The local MaPa gunstore gives me good prices - and my last SP assignment, closest thing to 'LEO' duty I ever had in the USN, was during Nixon's reign. I bought my first BM, a 551 Grip in 440C, there, too, nearly five years ago. It was brand spanking new - and so dull you had to heat it up to cut whipped butter! My next - and apparently last - BM was my 201 Activator+ in D2 - also delivered brand new dull as could be from a mail order store over a year ago.

Increased cost - and the confusion over the different colored boxes vs manufacturing site - will likely keep me from future BMs. Consider that every Buck, Kershaw, and Spyderco I have ever bought new was a shaver right out of the box. It is still rather easy these days to buy an American made decent knife that will cut like a laser right out of the box - and at an affordable price. Besides, I thought it somewhat obtuse to refer to your mainly folders as 'cutlery'. Kershaw makes 'cutlery' - they are owned by a Japaneese kitchen knifemaker - that's 'cutlery'!

Oh... and Harley Davidson is the latest to ask for bailout money from the Feds - they anticipate several thousand jobs lost this year alone. I wouldn't want to depend on sales of a H-D knife for my continued existence, sad to say.

Stainz
 
not too smart a move considering how the economy is, they should be doing the opposite; selling to anyone & everyone,now isnt the time to be exclusive....
 
hardheart said:
Dexter - distributors have been cut out, emails and forum posts have stated that this has happened, and at the official BM forum, one of the regulars, who has an ebay store, listed three sizable distributors who are no longer able to order Benchmade.

The sellers not getting stock I mentioned has occurred over years, not since the announcement of this policy. BM has been against value pricing of their knives for a while.

Also, prices have been going up, not much so far, about 10% as reported by a few. Once old stock dries up and only the authorized dealers are the only game, we'll see how pricing goes.
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Thanks for the info - I do like BM knives.
Here is more info on MSRP

http://portland.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2007/08/27/focus9.html
 
huugh said:
To say the truth, the meaning of MSRP (manufacturer's suggested retail price) is that the dealers have approximation of competitors pricing.
The whole practice of setting insanely high MSRP and then offering "discounts" is stupid.
If you set MSRP near current "street price" and let dealers sell for that, what difference will it make? That you can't advertise "you save 40%"?
Click to expand...

Benchmade is not likely to lower their MSRP to current internet prices (or even close to them). That would leave a lot of people that purchased from B&M stores at the much higher prices really angry.

I don't think that Benchmade is going to go the route of some other manufactures and not allow their dealers to discount their knives. They just want to be able to keep the discounting at a level that will ensure that the B&M dealers can make enough profit to make it worthwhile carrying Benchmade knives.
 
I don't know who reports use tax, but states are also trying to force online businesses to charge sales tax on transactions to citizens of their state, even though the business has no presence there. Amazon is suing New York over it. So, if you end up paying sales tax and shipping, a 20-30% hike in net prices to make B&Ms more competitive, plus a much smaller number of online sites even carrying the product - it is just not a winning formula imo.
 
Keith Montgomery said:
I don't think that Benchmade is going to go the route of some other manufactures and not allow their dealers to discount their knives. They just want to be able to keep the discounting at a level that will ensure that the B&M dealers can make enough profit to make it worthwhile carrying Benchmade knives.
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This statement makes sense to me. How many times do we see a post where someone goes to a B&M store to compare and handle different models before buying online. That practice subsidizes online stores at the expense of local merchants and is unfair to local merchants.

If B&M stores can't make a profit at internet pricing and you want B&M stores around, then Benchmade's decision is wise.

But the bottom line is that the knife industry is competitive. In a relatively free market, competitive pressures will keep prices reasonable.
 
It looks to me as if they're changing their distribution structure as an attempt to cut out the secondary market.

By producing fewer or no limited editions and fixing retail prices they reduce the profit margins of private buyers and small dealers who stock up on exclusive items and then resell when there is demand at a higher price point. If you can't get cheap knives to resell around or above retail there will be less scalping of short-run models.

It also seems like they're pushing the red line as it's expanded to include more and pricier models that people may be enticed to buy when reasonably priced USA-made models are do longer cheaper than retail.
 
Luckily I've never paid full price for the eight or so BMs I own since working in the industry nets me a decent discount. I work in the retail industry and unfortunately our company keeps product at MSRP since were a small store and don't purchase in bulk. I've noticed a significant decline in interest in BM purchased at my store and if BM prices go up from where they already are, I can see a lot of smaller retail stores severely reducing the number of BM knives they stock, or eliminate their entire BM line. IMHO...

I do have to say though I've been a pretty loyal customer of BM and if their pricing skyrockets, I'll still be a loyal customer...with connections.
 
RIP Benchmade!
I'll find another knife brand. For all the international buyers that move is like a spit in a face :(
 
looking how knife center's benchmade prices are up a good $15, it looks like I am going to be buying More spydies, and maybe now I will finally get into Lone wolf.
 
HotSwat said:
I was recently on the BM website. They sell knives retail themselves. It makes sense to cut out the middle man and sell directly to their customers. I run a business and I can see why they wouldn't want online retailers undervaluing their product.

I have definitely taken advantage of online prices, but Benchmades are really good knives and they are worth MSRP.

I have also gone to a magnificent knife store in Fanueil Hall in Boston where I tried out all the knives. I then went home and ordered online. I'd be more inclined to be a patron of the local knife shop if they had competitive prices.

I just got a skirmish and it's nuts!!!!!!! The worst thing about it is that it is too nice to use.
Click to expand...

The trouble is that we're not seeing competitive pricing from the factory. Benchmade consistently overvalues their knives.

It's been mentioned over and over again, but the Griptilian is not a $100.00 knife. I don't think anyone here would be happy with the knife if they purchased it at that price point, and I don't know how many of us would have even purchased it if that were the market value of the knife.

At the MSRP, they're just not going to remain competitive with the other sellers that are out there, especially when you can find massively discounted versions of higher-end knives online.

Case in point--Not a Benchmade, but I recently purchased a Native IV. There's NO WAY I would've picked one up at their MSRP, which is about $280.00. I've seen them at a store at that price point, and it was tough not to laugh.

As a consumer, having that knife available for $170.00 makes it a saleable item. Another $120.00, and I would've been looking elsewhere.

If that's what Benchmade has decided it wants from its consumers, so be it, but it sure doesn't seem like a very bright business move, especially with the current economy.

Add to that the fact that they've opted not to maintain a forum here so they can control what's being said about the company, and it looks to me the company is content to quietly shoot themselves in the foot while making sure no one can make them feel bad for doing so.
 
I'm a Spyderco fan, and to be honest, I've never payed full MSRP for a knife. I know that a Military isn't worth the $200 MSRP, so I find a local dealer I'm willing to support and pay somewhere around $130-140 depending on shipping.

The use of MSRP (in my mind) is as a convinence. For both the consumer and the producer. If you make a product, it's easier to sell it to retailers in batches of ten, twenty, hundred, or whatnot. It's harder to take the time and effort to sell a single item.

The MSRP price should be the price you would pay the company for buying their product directly. You're saving both you and the manufacturer money by not buying from them, and instead going to a retailer.

What would be the cost to buy a single pack of Oreos directly from the manufacturer? You probably wouldn't be able to because they don't have the time or effort to make individual sales like that. For a company to make that time, cost money. Thus the MSRP should be higher then retail.

However, once you start going to your retailers, and forcing them to charge full MSRP on a product, you're going to hurt everyone. Your retailers, yourself, and the end user.
 
Posting my thread and info:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=618333

Here's what I heard from a reputable dealer.
Benchmade no longer distributes to THIRD parties - no middle man.
If your store buys from Benchmade and they advertise the MAP price, they're good.
If your store buys from a distributor, you're SOL.
Maybe that's old news, if so I didn't look too hard. And really, it doesn't sound all that bad.
 
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