What’s Going on with Buck Prices?

Don W said:
I dont know. I think everything has and will continue to go up in price, but at my local Wal-Mart we have a standard 110 with leather sheath for 34$ and a 110LT with nylon sheath for 19$. They have the standard 119 for a decent price too, but I dont remember what that was.
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I wrote that last march.

Yesterday at Walmart I saw that they raised the price of the Buck 110 to $60.00. That went from 34.47 up to 60.00.
Ive GOT to get my employer in on that rate of increase. (based on the raise I got over summer that Buck 110 would only cost 35.50)
They had none of the 110LT and I still didnt get the price on the 119.
 
I think Buck held the line for a long time. They streamlined and modernized and moved. All that helped them keep Basically the same prices for years and still make a profit. Now the only way to keep making a profit is to raise their prices.

The 110 my Dad bought in the early 70’s was a big deal. He had to save up to buy it. He bought a house for $12,000 a new truck was $4000 the Buck was about $20 I believe.

I don’t see the prices now as high, but see the Buck the prices in the 90’s and 00’s as bargains.

Over the last 15 years I’ve bought enough knives and tools that my kids will never have to buy one ever.
 
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I believe Walmart was selling those as "loss leaders", and part of the increase was their change of heart on continuing to do so.

A Buck 110 for $34 never made economic sense to me. It possibly even gave folks the impression that all of the other knives Buck had were over priced.
 
Remembering what we went through 45-50 years ago, I fear we are still quite a ways from being through this round of inflation (the political will to stop it is currently lacking IMHO). My feeling is anything we can buy today, not just knives, will be seen in the future as a "screaming good deal"... *sigh*
 
Buck prices have increased beyond reason. I don’t know of another factory knife maker that has increased their prices by $5-10, each and every year, for the last 5 years. This predates covid, though I think Buck and their consumers have used covid as an excuse for the increase, forgetting (or pretending not to remember) that this began in 2018.

I think this is likely due to them hiring a new CFO in 2017. It should be noted that this same guy began working at Fender in 2015, and the following year, consumers began calling attention to steep and steady price increases. This trend has continued to this day, though now we hear the same covid justifications, as if pre-covid increases never happened. Buck also hired a new President last year, whose bio explicitly boasts to the public of his ability to drive up profitability, and that he “enjoys the challenge of delivering great value to stakeholders.” Well at least someone is still getting a great value, though I’d argue this is something to privately brag to your stakeholders and not publicly to your working class consumer base, whose wages have uniformly stagnated over the last half century. Certainly most of us aren’t making twice as much money as we were five years ago.

I think Buck has forgotten their Uncle Jesse base, and moved toward catering to a Boss Hogg breed of clientele, where knives serve more to look pretty than to work hard, mirroring the ethics and lifestyle of this niche consumer group. When I saw the price of the 112 with 440c at $360 it became clear to me this is no longer a company that represents my values, and will no longer be getting rich off my dime. Additionally, with the quality control issues that have been arising, they aren’t even meeting these cumulatively extreme price increases with higher craftsmanship.

It’s understandable to want to defend a company that has a long national history as well as a personal one for many of us, but the producer-consumer relationship is a two way street. I’m tired of rationalizing “it’s still a good deal” for knives with very basic stainless steel (albeit a fine heat treat) and resin handles, as if it would be reasonable for them to cost more than they already do. The 110 has literally doubled in price in 5 years time, and many other models have as well. And as far as I know, Buck hasn’t seen fit to address any of this with their customers.

Forgive me if you disagree or are offended, but as an American I believe in open and free discourse, and as a consumer I don’t think it does any good to not talk about, or to rationalize away, an obvious problem. Buck ought to hear about the raised eyebrows and head shakes when consumers are confronted with what I for one think are ridiculous prices, driven by a corporatism that means gauging your customer for the explicit benefit of your stakeholder.

Not looking to argue, as I don’t think going back and forth on Internet forums is a good use of time, so feel free to disagree, but I’ve said my piece; it’s something I think needs saying, and I don’t see the need to reiterate or defend it from here. I don’t know if any of this violates some idea of ethics on this site. Don’t really care. It’s a website, not a sovereign nation. Best not to take it too seriously.

Long live the right to speak your mind, disagree like gentlemen, and align your pocketbook with your principles.
 
Well, times change. The evolution you witnessed is transferable to almost everything. I bought my first brand new Rolex Submariner for under 1.000 Deutsch Mark, my first Mercedes S Class for under 10.000 Deutsch Mark. Today I returned from the gas station and paid a little over 2€ for one litre of Diesel. It's crazy. But I guess Buck knives are still very affordable. When I started collecting knives about 35 years ago I bought Striders, Reeves, Randalls for a price you would'nt even get the paperwork for nowadays. Bucks are still the most bang for the buck, in my opinion.

Sorry for the poor English. German.
 
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Top Gunner said:
Buck prices have increased beyond reason. I don’t know of another factory knife maker that has increased their prices by $5-10, each and every year, for the last 5 years. This predates covid, though I think Buck and their consumers have used covid as an excuse for the increase, forgetting (or pretending not to remember) that this began in 2018.

I think this is likely due to them hiring a new CFO in 2017. It should be noted that this same guy began working at Fender in 2015, and the following year, consumers began calling attention to steep and steady price increases. This trend has continued to this day, though now we hear the same covid justifications, as if pre-covid increases never happened. Buck also hired a new President last year, whose bio explicitly boasts to the public of his ability to drive up profitability, and that he “enjoys the challenge of delivering great value to stakeholders.” Well at least someone is still getting a great value, though I’d argue this is something to privately brag to your stakeholders and not publicly to your working class consumer base, whose wages have uniformly stagnated over the last half century. Certainly most of us aren’t making twice as much money as we were five years ago.

I think Buck has forgotten their Uncle Jesse base, and moved toward catering to a Boss Hogg breed of clientele, where knives serve more to look pretty than to work hard, mirroring the ethics and lifestyle of this niche consumer group. When I saw the price of the 112 with 440c at $360 it became clear to me this is no longer a company that represents my values, and will no longer be getting rich off my dime. Additionally, with the quality control issues that have been arising, they aren’t even meeting these cumulatively extreme price increases with higher craftsmanship.

It’s understandable to want to defend a company that has a long national history as well as a personal one for many of us, but the producer-consumer relationship is a two way street. I’m tired of rationalizing “it’s still a good deal” for knives with very basic stainless steel (albeit a fine heat treat) and resin handles, as if it would be reasonable for them to cost more than they already do. The 110 has literally doubled in price in 5 years time, and many other models have as well. And as far as I know, Buck hasn’t seen fit to address any of this with their customers.

Forgive me if you disagree or are offended, but as an American I believe in open and free discourse, and as a consumer I don’t think it does any good to not talk about, or to rationalize away, an obvious problem. Buck ought to hear about the raised eyebrows and head shakes when consumers are confronted with what I for one think are ridiculous prices, driven by a corporatism that means gauging your customer for the explicit benefit of your stakeholder.

Not looking to argue, as I don’t think going back and forth on Internet forums is a good use of time, so feel free to disagree, but I’ve said my piece; it’s something I think needs saying, and I don’t see the need to reiterate or defend it from here. I don’t know if any of this violates some idea of ethics on this site. Don’t really care. It’s a website, not a sovereign nation. Best not to take it too seriously.

Long live the right to speak your mind, disagree like gentlemen, and align your pocketbook with your principles.
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I only keep track of 110 and 112 prices. While I agree that the increases by percentage are high, I keep in mind that they held the prices fairly low, probably for too long. Going from $35 to $60 for Buck 110 at Waldemart is a big increase in terms of percentage, but $60 is still really reasonable for what you get. I think they just waited too long to adjust to the current market conditions. I would have been far less happy had they been $90 last year and jumped to $95 this year.
 
Was there another retailer who sold 110s at Walmart's price? If not, then using that number as a basis for claiming that the 110 nearly doubled in price is a little distorted.
 
mauser9 said:
Better buy now like many of us have already done. Whether knife prices go up or down think we will have less disposable cash when gas and oil hits over $5 a gallon. Might be in for a rough ride for a while.
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That really sucks skyhorse! Bet we will all see a price like this before too long. Pretty stupid shutting down that pipeline but look who got in as president. Old enough to recall the Alaska Pipeline back in 70s. That was suppose to help the U.S. become less dependent. Ended up sending it to Japan.
 
We're spoiled.The Buck 110 was underpriced at Walmart for years.We are now paying closer to what its actual value really is.I get it,everybody likes a deal though.
 
I shop at walmart probably once a week. That’s 52 opportunities to eventually toss a new buck 110 into the cart. Something i would do once,twice sometimes 3 times a year. It was always arbitrary but when the impulse arose good ole wally was there for me.
Same with Henry lever action rifles. MSRP $1096.00 but my friend wally had them for $600-$750. At those prices it’s a no brainer.
Something about a company that doesn’t over do the profit they make. And i seem to be attracted to objects made of wood, brass and steel! FA95B93D-5F47-4ED9-A486-F1BE6E1341CB.jpeg
Covid and the economic whoas that followed curtailed a lot of spending but hopefully good times will return. 🙂👍🏻
 
Top Gunner said:
Thanks for the replies, everyone. Lots of good thoughts. I agree, there is still a good value for Bucks today.

I suppose my whole point is this: I've always seen Buck knives as high value. I've never seen them as high-end. These are tools that working people can afford and depend upon. For this reason, I don't think comparing them to the cost of high-end knife makers is wholly relevant. I've always thought it was great that Buck would offer some of their knives with specialty steels or handle materials, for the niche group that wants a higher end Buck. But I always saw the cocobolo line as a way for more middle-of-the-road folk to have something "fancy" of their own, without breaking the bank. The discontinuation of that line, timed with the introduction of the pro line, at 2-3x the cost, leaves me shaking my head. But it is what it is.
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I'm very late to this party, it's now fall September 2024!

Buck's prices now are astronomical, but as a weak defense they're not the only company charging more for less. Everything is more expensive, and that's a fact but I personally won't pay the prices Buck are asking now, I can't see the quality or materials to warrant what they charge, it's just not there.

Concerning Buck's Cocobolo handled knives, they don't actually have Cocobolo wood being used, it's Birch. Cocobolo is the what Buck call the color that they've dyed the wood laminate.

Buck did off genuine Cocobolo wood handles as a custom option but that finished back in 1989 I believe?

If you search for Buck Cocobolo handled knives you'll eventually find a thread where a fella spent a whole bunch of dough on his "Cocobolo" Buck knives collection only to then find that the handled weren't Cocobolo but were/are dyed Birch. He wasn't a happy man but Buck was, let's say less than forthcoming with the information about their "Cocobolo" handled knives line, not actually being genuine "Cocobolo" wood.

Cocobolo is apparently now a protected species of South American Red Hardwood so Buck don't use it anymore but I think I read that Cocobolo can be ethically sourced but it's very expensive.

I have a substantial Buck Knives collection but my appreciation of the brand has dropped off dramatically since I found out about some of their less than open approach to their customers on a number of matters.

Their "Walnut" handled knives don't have genuine "Walnut" wood either, it's just the name of the color that Buck calls the Dymondwood used.

I'm a huge fan of the knives made in the years when Al Buck ran the company, that was the golden era of Buck Knives.
After he sadly passed away in 1989 the company's ethics took a nose dive.
Al would never have started doing business with the Chinese, nore would he have had to as there are more than a few US knife making companies that make their knives only in the USA and they made and still make enough to stay in business.
Even if Buck had taken a financially hit by not giving US dollars to China, Buck had more than enough in the bank to weather the storm, they should've kept their integrity but they sold out as many other companies did.

I find it hard to say that buying a Buck knife is a patriotic act aswel as becoming the owner of a high quality knife because it's sadly simply not true.

I'll stick to buying the vintage Al Buck era knives, they give be the feeling of satisfaction that just isn't there when I hold a Chuck or CJ Buck era knife.

These are just my humble opinions,(the Pro series knives I bought were very badly made though!) maybe I'm a just old fashioned?
 
I'm guessing that the huge price jump on the WM 110s is due to a long-term contract. Buck signed up to give them a bargain price and for many years it worked, and when the agreement expired and was renegotiated the price went up significantly.
 
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