While I'm not real happy in general with WalMart's business practices, it's a matter of practicality on occasion.
I live in a town of about 1200 people 30 miles outside Salt Lake City in Utah. Our nearest larger population center is ten miles/ten minutes to the south, where the old WalMart store was replaced by a Super Walmart about four years ago.
We now do most of our grocery shopping at that WalMart, largely because it has more of what we tend to buy than any other grocery store in that town.
I fully sympathize with the Mom & Pop stores in being run out of business by larger chains, and for years I've paid more at the little places in certain areas because of that, and the fact that they seem to know more about their merchandise than the rotate-a-clerks at the big places. I also naturally have more sympathy for the underdog.
I can give you one example, though- for about four years after we moved out here, I tried to buy locally at one small gunshop/sporting goods place in "WalMart Town". He rarely had anything I needed in stock when I needed it, but I kept trying just on principle. Time after time I'd drive ten miles, go in there for reloading components and small equipment, hear "Don't have any but I can order it for you", and have to then drive to a bigger place in Salt Lake 30 miles away (backtracking ten miles) to get what I needed because I couldn't wait for an order to come in. That was 10 miles to find out the little guy didn't have it, 10 miles back to my starting point, 30 into Salt Lake, 30 back home. 80 miles traveled in trying to buy from the little guy. When a chain store opened up in WalMart town that did usually have what I needed when I needed it, I still tried to go to the little guy first, then I'd still end up driving to the chain store on the other end of town to get the stuff. Finally I just gave up on the little guy, and started going to the chain store first.
On this Spyderco Native thing, being a professional borrower I got a sample of the black serrated Native a while back to look at. I think it's one of Spyderco's most interesting little designs, and well executed, but I personally dislike a blackened blade because I tend to scratch them up & then the looks bug me, and I personally dislike a serrated blade because the serrations are limiting for my uses and harder for me to sharpen when they wear down. Those are, I emphasize, personal preferences and not criticisms.
I had resolved to chase down a plain edged "white" bladed Native when I got around to it, and put the idea on the back burner. The black bladed Native has been here in the office ever since, and I take it out of the box now & then to remind myself how much I like it.
When I first saw this post, I was quite interested to hear that the version I wanted might be coming to a store very near me, and at a very good price. Look at it this way- I wanted that exact configuration. I could have ordered it direct from Spyderco at an MSRP that was much higher than WalMart's price, plus shipping. I could have driven 30 miles into Salt Lake and probably bought the knife at around $55-$65 +- at a little knife shop I know, or at one of the mall shops if I could locate one amid the Chinawan ninja junk under the glass. That'd be a 60-mile round trip with gas at $2.70 a gallon, plus at least 90 minutes out of my life. Or, I could drive the ten miles to our WalMart for the weekly grocery run I had to do anyway, walk over to the Rifle/Ammo/Knife booth, convince the clerk they really did have something called a "Spyderco", and buy it right there for $39.95 plus tax when she dug it out. The exact knife I wanted, the easiest way to get it, and the cheapest price I could find anywhere.
I'm old & lazy, and sometimes I just take the easy way out. Time has to be split so many different ways already, I'll still put some reasonable effort into a principle now and then, but I also have to be practical on occasion.
I'm delighted with the knife, and I thank those who brought this to my attention on this forum.
If Spyderco only offers this one knife via WAlMart, I don't see it as the end of life as they know it for their regular distribution/retail chain.
I am, however, a bit skeptical about the Native doing much to introduce Spyderco to a new knife-buying public. I hope I'm wrong, but I think two things will work against that- the fact that a high percentage of the people who buy knives at WalMart wouldn't know a higher quality knife from a Chinawan Cheapie (nor would they care), and the sales people don't know enough about the difference to point it out to prospective knife buyers.
When you buy a knife or a gun at WalMart, it's not a matter of going up to the counter and asking for the best this or that (or any advice, really), it's a matter of either already knowing what you want, or not having a clue & just looking for a good price on a gun, or knife. Counter people there usually know nothing about guns, knives, or ammo.
Anyway, thanks again for letting me know about this.
It's a great little design in good steel, and I hope the knife works out well for the company.
Denis
I live in a town of about 1200 people 30 miles outside Salt Lake City in Utah. Our nearest larger population center is ten miles/ten minutes to the south, where the old WalMart store was replaced by a Super Walmart about four years ago.
We now do most of our grocery shopping at that WalMart, largely because it has more of what we tend to buy than any other grocery store in that town.
I fully sympathize with the Mom & Pop stores in being run out of business by larger chains, and for years I've paid more at the little places in certain areas because of that, and the fact that they seem to know more about their merchandise than the rotate-a-clerks at the big places. I also naturally have more sympathy for the underdog.
I can give you one example, though- for about four years after we moved out here, I tried to buy locally at one small gunshop/sporting goods place in "WalMart Town". He rarely had anything I needed in stock when I needed it, but I kept trying just on principle. Time after time I'd drive ten miles, go in there for reloading components and small equipment, hear "Don't have any but I can order it for you", and have to then drive to a bigger place in Salt Lake 30 miles away (backtracking ten miles) to get what I needed because I couldn't wait for an order to come in. That was 10 miles to find out the little guy didn't have it, 10 miles back to my starting point, 30 into Salt Lake, 30 back home. 80 miles traveled in trying to buy from the little guy. When a chain store opened up in WalMart town that did usually have what I needed when I needed it, I still tried to go to the little guy first, then I'd still end up driving to the chain store on the other end of town to get the stuff. Finally I just gave up on the little guy, and started going to the chain store first.
On this Spyderco Native thing, being a professional borrower I got a sample of the black serrated Native a while back to look at. I think it's one of Spyderco's most interesting little designs, and well executed, but I personally dislike a blackened blade because I tend to scratch them up & then the looks bug me, and I personally dislike a serrated blade because the serrations are limiting for my uses and harder for me to sharpen when they wear down. Those are, I emphasize, personal preferences and not criticisms.
I had resolved to chase down a plain edged "white" bladed Native when I got around to it, and put the idea on the back burner. The black bladed Native has been here in the office ever since, and I take it out of the box now & then to remind myself how much I like it.
When I first saw this post, I was quite interested to hear that the version I wanted might be coming to a store very near me, and at a very good price. Look at it this way- I wanted that exact configuration. I could have ordered it direct from Spyderco at an MSRP that was much higher than WalMart's price, plus shipping. I could have driven 30 miles into Salt Lake and probably bought the knife at around $55-$65 +- at a little knife shop I know, or at one of the mall shops if I could locate one amid the Chinawan ninja junk under the glass. That'd be a 60-mile round trip with gas at $2.70 a gallon, plus at least 90 minutes out of my life. Or, I could drive the ten miles to our WalMart for the weekly grocery run I had to do anyway, walk over to the Rifle/Ammo/Knife booth, convince the clerk they really did have something called a "Spyderco", and buy it right there for $39.95 plus tax when she dug it out. The exact knife I wanted, the easiest way to get it, and the cheapest price I could find anywhere.
I'm old & lazy, and sometimes I just take the easy way out. Time has to be split so many different ways already, I'll still put some reasonable effort into a principle now and then, but I also have to be practical on occasion.
I'm delighted with the knife, and I thank those who brought this to my attention on this forum.
If Spyderco only offers this one knife via WAlMart, I don't see it as the end of life as they know it for their regular distribution/retail chain.
I am, however, a bit skeptical about the Native doing much to introduce Spyderco to a new knife-buying public. I hope I'm wrong, but I think two things will work against that- the fact that a high percentage of the people who buy knives at WalMart wouldn't know a higher quality knife from a Chinawan Cheapie (nor would they care), and the sales people don't know enough about the difference to point it out to prospective knife buyers.
When you buy a knife or a gun at WalMart, it's not a matter of going up to the counter and asking for the best this or that (or any advice, really), it's a matter of either already knowing what you want, or not having a clue & just looking for a good price on a gun, or knife. Counter people there usually know nothing about guns, knives, or ammo.
Anyway, thanks again for letting me know about this.
It's a great little design in good steel, and I hope the knife works out well for the company.Denis
