Victorinox MSRP On Their Knives

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pogo

Joined
Jun 8, 2005
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I read on another forum that Victorinox is putting an MSRP on their knives now much like Levi Jeans did a while back. If you try & sell under MSRP the dealer will be dropped! Whats everyones take on this? I only buy Wrangler Jeans now because of Leiv's decision.
 
I think its a cheap shot at trying to keep up corporate profits, but then again, I admit I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Maybe competion from some 'asian' countries are making them sweat it out. Then there's the downturn in world wide economy maybe hurting them.

For so long, Victorinox has been the standard that I've judged other knives by, fit and finish, if I have to pay a bit more for Victoriox knives, I guess I'll fork it over.

I stopped wearing Levi stuff after I found out they were a huge contributor to the anti-gun groups.
 
Right Jackknife! I am stocked up on their models I like unless something new comes along that catches my eye! Other than that, I don't need anymore Victorinox's.
 
No, not an MSRP - everyone has that and Vic has for years. They're using MAP "Minimum Advertised Price" which is the lowest you can advertise at, not sell at.
If you've ever seen things like "Add to cart to see price", that's a MAP workaround.
 
Most Vics are short-bladed slipjoints, so I doubt new laws are affecting them as badly as many other knives. I wonder why they would do it myself. They have to have a lot of confidence in their dealers' need to carry them. Although it probably only changes things for a few dealers willing to take a very small profit by underselling the bigger dealers.
 
Sorry I don't get it. It's not a commission thing is it? I thought they just buy them at a certain price and sell them for whatever they feel benefits their business most. At least I've bought enough of them (SAK and Butcher) to know I wouldn't mind paying a little more. The more expensive brands don't really have much to sway my loyalty either.
 
Esav Benyamin said:
Most Vics are short-bladed slipjoints, so I doubt new laws are affecting them as badly as many other knives.
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Errr... I'd agree with you, but take a look at these first:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/12/education/12discipline.html?no_interstitial
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,565520,00.html

Maybe Victorinox is also standardizing their distribution network to avoid cutthroat competition amongst their authorized distributors or sellers. Come to think of it, this move would benefit them all, won't it?
 
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Those stories have been big news around BF already. I'm aware. They are NOT new law, they ARE an overreaction by school districts in lieu of working out a reasonable legal stance allowing them to apply discretion.
 
pogo said:
I read on another forum that Victorinox is putting an MSRP on their knives now ...
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You read it on another forum. Well, we all know that anything posted on a forum on the internet is true. :rolleyes:

Did you make any attempt to verify this before posting it here? If so, great! What were the results of your inquiry?
 
jackknife said:
Still, I can't help but wonder what presure is making Victorinox take this measure.
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They're trying to maintain the perceived value of their knives in the eyes of the general public. Some internet and ebay sellers are making very little profit per knife just to do volume sales and make profit on S&H. So, for example, Vic says a particular knife is worth 49.99 on their website and the wholesale cost is $25. Your local knife store sells it for 39.95, making $15 to pay the help, pay the rent, and make a little profit. Some guy on ebay starts dumping them at $26 each - but getting $6 for $2 worth of shipping so he's making the same profit as the store - and now the public thinks it's really only worth $26. Victorinox still gets the same amount for each but now their product are perceived as a lower valued item and they lose dealers. There goes the Vic line from the B&M stores, because customers won't pay 39.99 for something they now think is only worth $26.

Leatherman does the same thing, and has taken action against at least one dealer who did advertise below MAP. I think Benchmade has the same policy but I'm not positive.

I understand what they're doing and why, but that doesn't mean I like it.
Just remember: Don't confuse MAP and MSRP!
 
I completely understand what they are doing. If you are a knife dealer and all of a sudden you can't make any money on Vic knives because an Ebay guy is giving them away, you won't carry them any more. You will find something else to push instead that you can make a few bucks on. I view this as a way for Vic to protect their dealers and themselves and make sure that they are not perceived as a low-margin product. This doesn't mean that their prices will go up, you just may not get that once-in-a-while smoking deal that you may have got before.
 
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