To All of the For sale forum PRICE POLICE

[David Brown]

Hi Everybody

I have been getting a few "Helpful" E-mails from certain people lately & here is a response.

What possesses people to PM, E-mail, or what ever a person selling a XXXX knife for far below retail, a link to a site on the internet selling the same knife for a few dollars over wholesale, or at wholesale?

When did it become illegal to actually make a dollar or two?

Or consider for a moment that I actually went into a store and paid full retail for the knife, people actually still do that every once in a while right ?

Should I loose money because XXXX internet company is happy making 5.00 on a 220.00 knife ?

Do you check that these sites actually have them in stock?

Do you consider shipping?

Is it just to be insulting by saying; "Hey dummy I know that the MSRP of the knife your are selling is XXXX & you are well below 35% of that, but hey look this internet, drop shipping, with no over head & paying below wholesale company actually may be selling the same knife for 2 to 5% less than you are ?!!!!!!!!

What ever happened to the days of being polite, & if you did not want to buy something saying no thank you or better yet nothing at all ?

Am I trying to make a little over what I paid for these knives I am selling? , Honestly YES, but when did that become illegal in America ?

So if you would like to buy my knife please do lord know I could use the money

If not please just move along & buy it from some internet site you like

 

[Gossman Knives]

I know your frustration. I sold factory knives for seven years and have finally given up because it's impossible to make a profit. The internet and places like Wal-Mart have made it impossible for the small dealer to make a profit.
Scott

 

[BurkStar]

Depends on how they're phrasing their e-mails. Unless if you state in your ad that there will definitely not be any price decrease, if they're just asking if you can match the other price, then its a legitimate question and you just answer no. If they're actually complaining about your price then your complaint is legitimate.

If you walk into a car lot, are you just going to pay whatever price is on a sticker, heck no, you're going to comparison shop at other car lots and see who can come up with the best price. But if you go into that same car lot and tell them that you can get it cheaper at a car auction then they have every right to kick you off the lot.

 

[godot]

Ditto what BurkStar said.
BTW, I think during 2004 I've bought $1500 worth of knives over the net and I don't even consider the MSRP , let alone the B&M price. I always check the discount net knive store's prices first before engaging in a purchase.
Happy Thanksgiving

 

[donovan]

David,

I did what you suggested. I've been interested in a Skirmish, I saw your ad and thought you were high (I guess I mean that both ways) and I moved on. But since you brought it up I'll admit to having had some negative thoughts as well. Let me preface this by saying that you can price your knives as you see fit and if you can find a buyer, more power to you. Although I wonder how that buyer feels when you drop the price $10 a week later (maybe you guys made a deal-I don't know). However, New Graham has those priced at closer to 20% lower shipped, have them in stock and have excellent customer service. I think that the general feeling is that the Individuals For sale forum is a place for guys to recoup some money on a knife that they bought and didn't like or want to trade up on. The fact that you had two more up for sale after the first one sold makes me think of you more as a dealer. There's a different section for that. And if you did pay full retail for the knives and then offered them at a $50 loss, well, you might want to reconsider your business plan.

Jack

 

[TheBadGuy]

Am I trying to make a little over what I paid for these knives I am selling? , Honestly YES, but when did that become illegal in America ?

I don't think its illegal in any aspect, however in my opinion buying several of the same model knife for the purpose of financial gain by selling them at a higher price makes that person a dealer. If your a dealer, than it should be posted in the dealer section.

Either way, I hope it works out for ya

 

[Danbo]

My opinion is that if these people aren't planning on buying fromyou, they should mind their own business.

 

[Knife Outlet]

My opinion is that if these people aren't planning on buying fromyou, they should mind their own business.

That's pretty well said and I agree.

However, making a living at selling anything is difficult and is hard work. The reason you run into this kind of problem on the forum or other problems on Ebay is that these are venues that don't take much work and risk. In other words, they are worth what you invest in them.

Whoever commented above that the forum isn't a good place for dealers said it right, I think.

If you want to profit from selling knives then you need to go way beyond venues of this type. I don't sell knives either on Ebay or on the forums because it isn't profitable to do so. Profits are earned, not provided on demand. You need to work for them.

I've made my living exclusively from selling knives since 1998. I can assure you it is a very full time job and not an easy one. I may not have all the answers but at least I have enough experience to comment. Have a good Thanksgiving.

 

[David Brown]

Thanks to those who get it.

To those that think I am a "dealer" , you could just do a search on the knives I sell on the forum & see that I sell quite a bit fewer knives than some of the other regular people here on the forums.

The only thing I am a dealer of is kydex sheaths & holsters I make.

as far as me dropping my price a whole 10.00 well maybe I found that the knives were not selling at my original price. I have to recoup the money I spent on these things.

I understand being frugal & I look for deals also but there is a MSRP for a reason

Again if you do not like my price or someone elses price just walk on by.

A freind of mine Duane Weikum, of EDC knives ( a very reputable dealer) said this on his site

"Some of the prices on this site are Benchmade's Minimum Advertised Price. As a direct Benchmade dealer, we can not advertise them for less. We do everything we can to provide our clients with all limited edition collectibles as they are released and keep our prices competative."

He sells the Skirmish for 165.00 shipped! free shipping.

Again I am not a knife dealer just a simple dumb ol' sheath maker from Tucson with opinions about the little guy getting stepped on.

Just because other dealers choose to violate their contract does not make it right.

This is the exact reason why the little mom & pop knife stores are going out of business just so some frugal people can save a buck or two & let the bigger guys keep getting bigger.

Well I think I have said my peace & again I really appreciate those who get it.
Just had a bug in my bonnet & I am tired of seeing some of my dealer buddies have to go out of business.

 

[Keith Montgomery]

The internet has done a great deal of damage to many types of businesses, large and small. That is only going to get more prevalent in the future.

Knives being sold at below the recommended lowest advertised price of the manufacturer is the fault of those same manufacturers. They either sell directly to the dealers that low ball their products, or they sell them to large distributors that then sell them to the dealers. The manufacturers could put a huge damper om this, but that would be at the expense of company profits. Most companies will talk the good talk, but will not back up the words with actions. After all, companies are looking to increase profits, not reduce them.

As far as people emailing you about your price being too high; it is my opinion that they should just move on. It seems some people get off on showing their knowledge of internet knife pricing by sticking their noses where they don't belong. If the price is too high for you then don't buy. It might not be for someone else. If the price is too high for everyone the seller will get the message and either lower the price or fail to sell the knife.

As far as dropping the price is concerned, when your price is higher than people are willing to pay, that is what you have to do to sell the knife. When I sell a knife I put a price on it that I want to get. If no one contacts me wanting to purchase the knife then I realize that my price is too high and I either drop it or take the knife of the market. Having checked out the for sale forums quite a bit, I think that most people do the same. If I see a knife at a price that I am willing to pay, I buy it. The fact that the price might go down if I wait a day or two doesn't even enter my mind. Besides, if I wait until the price goes down I just might miss the chance to get the knife I want. If I think the price is too high then I will email what I think is a fair offer and leave it up to the seller to decide if the offer is good enough. If not, no hard feelings, I just move on.

 

[roshi]

As far as dropping the price is concerned, when your price is higher than people are willing to pay, that is what you have to do to sell the knife. When I sell a knife I put a price on it that I want to get. If no one contacts me wanting to purchase the knife then I realize that my price is too high and I either drop it or take the knife of the market. Having checked out the for sale forums quite a bit, I think that most people do the same. If I see a knife at a price that I am willing to pay, I buy it. The fact that the price might go down if I wait a day or two doesn't even enter my mind. Besides, if I wait until the price goes down I just miss the chance to get the knife I want. If I think the price is too high then I will email what I think is a fair offer and leave it up to the seller to decide if the offer is good enough. If not, no hard feelings, I just move on.

Same way I buy/sell on forums. Do I buy on e Bay? Yes once in while when there is a great bargain (Got a Protech Brend dagger for under $ 100 a couple of months ago). Do I buy locally at a B&M? No, there aren't any except spoting goods stores that have a poor selection priced over MSRP. Most of my knives are bought from on line dealers. I prefer to shop with those that support this and other forums.

Do I get insulted when some one emails me or PM's a low ball offer or a crappy trade offer? No. It's part of being in the human race.

I do get pissed off when some one shows their poor manners by noting the pricing in some one elses post is too high. Fortunately, that behavior is usually only seen in new users.

 

[spyken]

depends on the tone and diplomacy in the mail. I have entertained all offers, except rude and tactless ones.

perhaps, the ones who contacted you may really be trying to help - if they see that you need to sell (for eg. extenuating circumstances) and that it's not sold yet, it might have been because you were unaware that the same thing was available at a much cheaper price so no one would bite.

personally, if the price is too high, I'll just walk on by.

 

[DaveH]

Personally I don't care how you price your knives and if you want to recoup and make a buck or two.

For me, if someone has just a regular production knife I might be interested in, they need to be at least 20% - 30% under New Graham price before I'll even consider it. It's just too easy to call up and order then to mess with sending someone a MO, waiting for them to get it, waiting for them to ship it, etc..

 

[Architect]

The internet has done a great deal of damage to many types of businesses, large and small. That is only going to get more prevalent in the future....

Keith - I don't really understand what you mean by "damage". That strikes me a bit like saying that the automobile did a great deal of damage to horseshoeing businesses.

In regard to trying to sell knives for a profit - well....it is your business, not mine. Know it alls that are trying to ask for a price drop in a back-handed way (like showing you a lower price from another seller, dealer or no) deserve the silent treatment, just hit "delete". I will say that it is a bit unreasonable to expect to sell a knife here on BF that is currently available for anything approaching the lowest internet dealer price. However, unreasonable doesn't mean that you deserve to get a bunch of passive-aggressive emails.

 

[SIFU1A]

as far as i am concerned its your stuff, sell it for whatever makes ya happy, but i wont buy anything thats listed for sale on an internet forum thats anywhere near MSRP, imho thats silly as an individual isnt set up to deal with warranty issues, or other problems, if ya are a dealer ya provide a service along with the sale (in a perfect world anyway) so i guess its ok for them to charge a premium but most wont pay MSRP anyway, not on the net were ya cant handle item, etc.

like said before, if ya are a dealer ya are posting in the wrong place, if not, good luck to ya, but i cant believe ya would be suprised if ya post a very high price and people dont buy/make offers, after all we are talking about a BM not an emerson spec war or mayo or something that might be worth a premium.

good luck to ya

greg

edited to add: also imho its also certainly no reason to get mad/make a "fuss" if someone offers ya a decent price on something, WTF???

 

[huh]

For those who complain about the damage of internet: Tehre's something called evolution. Consider those ancient monkeys who refused to stand up and use tools, they remained being monkeys. And those who learned how to use tools became human.

 

[huh]

I have no problem someone selling his knives way beyond the internet "street price" on this forum. But I consider emailing that kind of offers to forumees who have been around this forum for years an insult on the intelligence of the receiver.

 

[Temper]

as far as i am concerned its your stuff, sell it for whatever makes ya happy, but i wont buy anything thats listed for sale on an internet forum thats anywhere near MSRP, imho thats silly as an individual isnt set up to deal with warranty issues, or other problems, if ya are a dealer ya provide a service along with the sale (in a perfect world anyway) so i guess its ok for them to charge a premium but most wont pay MSRP anyway, not on the net were ya cant handle item, etc.

like said before, if ya are a dealer ya are posting in the wrong place, if not, good luck to ya, but i cant believe ya would be suprised if ya post a very high price and people dont buy/make offers, after all we are talking about a BM not an emerson spec war or mayo or something that might be worth a premium.

good luck to ya

greg

edited to add: also imho its also certainly no reason to get mad/make a "fuss" if someone offers ya a decent price on something, WTF???

Would it have really hurt to type 'you' instead of ya?