WARNING! SCAM! Stay away from Dark Ops

Alarion said:
I just said that I've made a search, I've seen some recent praises of Dark Ops, so I wanted to warn you.
Click to expand...
I haven't seen these yet, I'll have to look them up. Not only to get a few good laughs, but because they are probably the rarest species of posts on these forums.
 
This thread has ruined my day. I was just about to pick up a Dark Ops knife and then take out an ad in Soldier of Fortune magazine as a deanimator for hire. What am I supposed to do now?
 
From the looks of that picture, the only activity going on around that booth is a storage area for the trash cans!! :D :D :D
 
I walked past the booth at least 6 times that day and the older man in the pic was the only person I saw that got close enough to look and he was just standing there shaking his head.I saw people move over to the far side of the ilse just to walk past.Frost had far more people at their booth :eek:
 
u812 said:
I walked past the booth at least 6 times that day and the older man in the pic was the only person I saw that got close enough to look and he was just standing there shaking his head.I saw people move over to the far side of the ilse just to walk past.Frost had far more people at their booth :eek:
Click to expand...

This guy? (Picture edited out of respect for my fellow forum buddy who wanted a pic for laughs :D We were there for the blonde)

Anonymous.jpg
 
Saw them they are copies no doubt. They had a nice and professional looking booth but I absolutely cannot stand for ripped of designs. For a starting line they only had to take a few hours of time and come up with their own first designs or try and make deals with makers for designs, instead they went and did this. They obviously have some capitol if they can set up such a nice looking booth and with such banners with expensive graphics and all that trimming. What a waste ! :o :mad:
 
To add yet more interest to the saga, you may find it interesting that Extrema Ratio has canned both of the largest two knife distributors in the U.S. My understanding was that it was "us or Dark Ops" and both of them opted for Dark Ops, probably because the ER line doesn't really sell that well and they might as well take a chance with Dark Ops (just a guess.) Or maybe, like most people, they don't care for ultimatums. So instead of taking on DO legally or working to compete against them effectively in the marketplace, ER decided to shoot themselves in the foot.

The result of this is likely to be that many dealers won't carry the line any longer simply because it will become a hassle to buy and doesn't turn fast enough to warrant enough inventory investment to stock it deeply. I think ER probably needs the knife distributors to make their numbers in this Country (another guess.) So, if you want an ER knife, now would probably be a good time to go for it. I suspect the options for buying them will diminish in the future and, with them diminishing, average prices are likely to rise (not so much of a guess.)

There's your inside industry information for the day. Take care.
 
(off subject, back to Alarion)

The 11K is a 3 inch blade EDC model, so it's about as small as M16s go (as far as I know). The 11K as opposed to 10K means it has a half serrated edge instead of a straight edge. It does use the "razor sharp edge," but I've found it works really well. The blade feels deceptively dull, but in use, very effective. Probably depends on what you're cutting though.
 
is ER even still distributed by anyone in the US? it is becoming steadily harder to find anyone who sells/stocks/can get ER, if they dont start becoming more available the future doesnt look bright imho, not in the US anyway. i have been looking for a nemisis and i know of only 1 source, and they have only 1 in stock and no hope of getting any in the near future..

great folders too imho, expensive but worth it.
 
You can see my post above. Some outdoor distributor has the line. I didn't ask who it was. The problem is we fly virtually all our incoming orders and it isn't economically feasible to do that with a single product line from a single distributor. We need to place multi thousand dollar orders. My only option would be to put in a lot of inventory and this line doesn't turn fast enough to make that a good idea. We can do it with some of the slower selling kitchen knife lines but, at least, they have enough margin to make that work. Deep inventory of slow moving products at a low margin is not the secret to success in the mail order business. I had to drop the line. I'm sure many others will as well. The only folder still available from the main distributor are the Fulcrum and Fulcrum II. Your favorite dealer can certainly order it for you. Get them while you can.
 
SIFU1A said:
is ER even still distributed by anyone in the US? it is becoming steadily harder to find anyone who sells/stocks/can get ER, if they dont start becoming more available the future doesnt look bright imho, not in the US anyway. i have been looking for a nemisis and i know of only 1 source, and they have only 1 in stock and no hope of getting any in the near future..

great folders too imho, expensive but worth it.
Click to expand...

I don't have ANY vested interest in ER or in its distribution. With that said, I chat with Maurizio from ER a few times a year. They do have a new US distributor and the line will be (or is) available.

Maurizio has always struck me as a good guy and ER does a lot of work for EU militaries. They're a small company and the US has never been a major focal point for them. I'd love to see them gain some more ground in the US market, but they'll never be an inexpensive brand. This is only meant to be an analogy, but think about how expensive Strider or Emerson or Mad Dog is in Europe. Relax, I am not comapring the quality, design etc, etc of ER with those brands, I'm pointing out part of the reason why ER costs, what they cost.

Sorry for the rambling reply. Oh, btw, I think that is Frank (former ER distributor) and his daugher in the pics above. Without opening a huge can of old worm, do a seach and you'll see the saga regarding ER USA and Dark Ops (aka Dork Oops.)
 
Yup you gotta wonder what kind of rep just sits there on his duff while customers are hoping for some enthusiasum and service. :confused: ......sad :o
Kap
Keith Montgomery said:
The guy in the booth really looks excited to be there.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top