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Used knives worth it......
- Thread starter James w
- Start date
I don't have a problem with used knives. As long as they aren't beat up, and they are priced accordingly. If it there is only a few dollars savings for a knife that shows some wear, I will go with the new knife...
One thing I still don't understand is people listing a used knife for MORE $$$ than you can buy a new one. I just saw this the other day. I guess they figure they can pull a fast one on somebody, but this is a knife forum, many of us know what knives sell for new...
One thing I still don't understand is people listing a used knife for MORE $$$ than you can buy a new one. I just saw this the other day. I guess they figure they can pull a fast one on somebody, but this is a knife forum, many of us know what knives sell for new...
I have bought and sold knives on Ebay. I think you have a better chance of finding a deal on Ebay than even the exchange here. If you get tricked into buying a clone, just use Paypal to get your money back. I saw a Sebenza 25 go for $200.00 on Ebay this spring. Nuts.
Sometimes I have a hard time putting those first marks on a new knife that is mint. I have had the enjoyment of using some really cool knives that someone else had already lightly used and put some marks on it. A lot of those knives I probably would never have used myself if they were sitting in my collection still in new/mint condition.
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2012
- Messages
- 513
I hear you on that, if I am up in the air on whether to keep a knife or sell it I am far more likely to put it in my pocket and carry it a little bit before I decide on it if it is a light user, if it's mint I tend to keep it that way until I know for sure that it is staying for a while. Basically for me, light users bought at a substantial discount from retail prices have allowed me to purchase far more knives, use & carry them, and get my money back from the ones I decide not to keep. A better "knife life" if you will.
I think knife forums are a excellent place to purchase new and used knives. I most often go for hard to find collector pieces so sometimes I have to pay more than they were purchased for but are unavailable otherwise so I pick and choose according to availability and collectibility and evaluate the purchase price from their .
As far as buying users I have seen and sold some very nice lightly used knives for way below purchase price. On certain knives I have no problem cutting someone some slack who otherwise would not get a chance to own such a knife due to its higher retail price in NIB condition.
I have met some really cool people and done a lot of off forum deals with people who know I collect certain brands and that is something you can't buy .
So are forums or is Blade forums a good place to buy used knives ... Yes it is. But try to weed out the lazy people who can't be bothered to post at least some clear pictures and are just plain vague about the whole transaction . I can tell by the first sentence if I am going to deal with this person or not .
As far as buying users I have seen and sold some very nice lightly used knives for way below purchase price. On certain knives I have no problem cutting someone some slack who otherwise would not get a chance to own such a knife due to its higher retail price in NIB condition.
I have met some really cool people and done a lot of off forum deals with people who know I collect certain brands and that is something you can't buy .
So are forums or is Blade forums a good place to buy used knives ... Yes it is. But try to weed out the lazy people who can't be bothered to post at least some clear pictures and are just plain vague about the whole transaction . I can tell by the first sentence if I am going to deal with this person or not .
Used knives are definitely worth it as long as the person selling the knife gives an accurate account of the condition of the knife.
Most issues start when descriptions and images are misleading about just how 'used' a used knife is......
Most issues start when descriptions and images are misleading about just how 'used' a used knife is......
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2005
- Messages
- 4,527
The "new knife" market on BF has almost turned me off of the exchange to be honest. No longer are they knives, but collector pieces that must be scrutinized with a magnifying glass to find any sign of an imperfection, calipers taken out to ensure dead perfect centering, and price marked up 20% on a g10 handled Delica!!! Sadly I'm only partly tongue in cheek, and all you have to do is read the GBU to see for yourself.
Honestly I try to only entertain the purchase of a "new" knife from a private member on BF is if I'm a) entertaining an offer from another member in a trade- with the stipulation to them that I don't generally place a premium on new status but do respect market values, meaning I like the knife for the knife, not for the condition, and "new" isn't a positive selling point to me. Or B) replacing a lost knife-like those taken in my home invasion two days before my birthday, hard to find a user Benchmade Rukus/Skirmish or Moon Song Sebenza that I bought in memory of my mom; and those were some of my favourite users, but I don't like them enough to pay the bloated price for what's on the market because perfect knives can inflate like crazy. The demand for me isn't enough to pay the price that the market bears for new ones. So be it. I did a fair trade for a Centofante 4 because he contacted me after I said I was looking. As far as I know it was new, so I tried to offer knives that I saw that would be commensurate to its value. But it wasn't new as zoo. As he said he was happy with the knife I sent him!
But I also lost a Damasteel bladed G10/micarta/Blue carbon fiber Alan Elishewitz Kaiser folder in that invasion that I bought on the exchange for under $250 after is sat for a long time untouched, probably missed by most because the thread was users. It came to me without any marks I saw, and became one of my most used folders, and with nearly all of his knives was nearly perfect in construction
. There are great deals to be found in used knives. I use my knives, so the used market, while smaller, is great in my opinion. I have many transactions, and am still here so they have gone well enough for me. Yesterday I got a user in the mail, another knife I bought on the forum, and it went straight into my pocket. No issues, a few scuff marks on the coatings, but I don't care. It still came to me sharper than almost all of my new slipjoints come, and had no issues that effect usage.
It's seemed like the exchange has become less fun in the last few years in my opinion, as compared to when I first came here, and that saddens me. It used to feel more like a place for the community to get together but now seems more like a stock exchange and a lot are after each other's throats, out to get as much as they can for as little as they can, with the dollar being the bottom line. Not necessarily so with the personal deals I've had with people from the forum, as great people reach out to each other a lot based on generosity and commeraderie between members who get to know each other. But on the open secondary market new knives just has a different feel, the investor feel if you will. And I believe little of what's said because of it too. Comments like "it's the sharpest knife I own.... Has never cut anything", like new, carried but never cut anything, scuff marks only from opening, near mint..... Other sales tactics turn me away, and I rarely see it in the user market. It's more along the lines of: "used, light patina". "Well maintained, little to no blade play" "a few scratches/scuffs from use", at least to the listings I watch for.
Just my opinion, and I know it's not popular, and understand if you are in knives for profit and that's fine as there is nothing wrong with it or making money off of your collection because of demand. Just why I stay away and frequent sellers of used knives.
Honestly I try to only entertain the purchase of a "new" knife from a private member on BF is if I'm a) entertaining an offer from another member in a trade- with the stipulation to them that I don't generally place a premium on new status but do respect market values, meaning I like the knife for the knife, not for the condition, and "new" isn't a positive selling point to me. Or B) replacing a lost knife-like those taken in my home invasion two days before my birthday, hard to find a user Benchmade Rukus/Skirmish or Moon Song Sebenza that I bought in memory of my mom; and those were some of my favourite users, but I don't like them enough to pay the bloated price for what's on the market because perfect knives can inflate like crazy. The demand for me isn't enough to pay the price that the market bears for new ones. So be it. I did a fair trade for a Centofante 4 because he contacted me after I said I was looking. As far as I know it was new, so I tried to offer knives that I saw that would be commensurate to its value. But it wasn't new as zoo. As he said he was happy with the knife I sent him!
But I also lost a Damasteel bladed G10/micarta/Blue carbon fiber Alan Elishewitz Kaiser folder in that invasion that I bought on the exchange for under $250 after is sat for a long time untouched, probably missed by most because the thread was users. It came to me without any marks I saw, and became one of my most used folders, and with nearly all of his knives was nearly perfect in construction
. There are great deals to be found in used knives. I use my knives, so the used market, while smaller, is great in my opinion. I have many transactions, and am still here so they have gone well enough for me. Yesterday I got a user in the mail, another knife I bought on the forum, and it went straight into my pocket. No issues, a few scuff marks on the coatings, but I don't care. It still came to me sharper than almost all of my new slipjoints come, and had no issues that effect usage.
It's seemed like the exchange has become less fun in the last few years in my opinion, as compared to when I first came here, and that saddens me. It used to feel more like a place for the community to get together but now seems more like a stock exchange and a lot are after each other's throats, out to get as much as they can for as little as they can, with the dollar being the bottom line. Not necessarily so with the personal deals I've had with people from the forum, as great people reach out to each other a lot based on generosity and commeraderie between members who get to know each other. But on the open secondary market new knives just has a different feel, the investor feel if you will. And I believe little of what's said because of it too. Comments like "it's the sharpest knife I own.... Has never cut anything", like new, carried but never cut anything, scuff marks only from opening, near mint..... Other sales tactics turn me away, and I rarely see it in the user market. It's more along the lines of: "used, light patina". "Well maintained, little to no blade play" "a few scratches/scuffs from use", at least to the listings I watch for.
Just my opinion, and I know it's not popular, and understand if you are in knives for profit and that's fine as there is nothing wrong with it or making money off of your collection because of demand. Just why I stay away and frequent sellers of used knives.