What about lower prices on RC knives?

I love options,being I have the RC3 & RC4 with molle back now If I could buy the colored RC's with minimum sheath or knife only would be a big plus to me I could pick up every color and a PE & SE of each and just swap sheaths out !
 
kgd said:
I'm not so sure about that Cpl. I believe most marketting folks will tell you that the $100 mark is a real psychological tipping point. The marketed price of the RC-3s hovers right around the $90-$105. Sliding this down to $70-$85 would make a real difference in many peoples minds and also drop the knife away from several other competitors in the price category.
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Guess that's why I'm not in marketing.
:D
 
Jeff,

Personally, it think both options are nice adn would appeal to some. Personally, I like the sheath for the RC4 so much I wouldn't hesitate to buy it with sheath. However, the option to buy just the knife or minimal sheath is perfect.
I'm in retail business and it's true that options drive sales. Too many, of course, can be bad, but I think you've got t he right idea.

IMHO,

Brett
R.A.T. said:
OK folks....get ready for more option ideas:

This is not for sure yet but we're thinking about offering the RC-3 without the MOLLE Back like we do the standard version of the RC-4. This would lower the retail cost a little. Instead of coming with the MOLLE back it would come with the boot clip and a set of MOLLE locks.

We would also like your feedback on this possibility: what if you could buy just the knife (any RC knife) with no sheathing. We realize that some folks want to make their own sheaths or have a custom sheath made. This would drastically lower the price of an RC knife. With that said, I'm not sure if some of our dealers would want to stock it that way but we're thinking about all types of end-user oriented options.

None of this is for sure yet but we're interested in your feedback.

Jeff
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kgd said:
(p.s. I think BRK&T makes excellent knives and I'm not trying to troll a war between RAT and BRK&T, I'm only trying to provide my perception of a market analysis).
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Would never even think that. BRK&T makes a great product, IMO, and one that deserves every bit of the credit it receives. Unless some asshole just decides to pick a fight with RAT Cutlery, you won't see us entering into turf wars with anyone. There's enough room in this industry for 3 times the amount of knife manufacturers that we have now. Who needs the in-fighting anyway? Even after Ontario's little stunt with RAT Cutlery, we still feel that way. We wish everyone, and I do mean everyone, the absolute best of success in this industry.

Back to the question: I think some folks are misunderstanding this. If we did offer an option to dealers/distributors of "knife only" or "no MOLLE back" then it is ONLY an option. The dealer can either take the option or stay just like they are now. I will say this though: I think the dealers who do not offer the choices will lose some sales to those who do offer the choices. This thread is an obvious testament to the fact that USERS LIKE CHOICES. That's why Capitalism works and also why competition is good for business. When it gets down to one choice in *most* (not all) industries, that product will eventually fail because no one wants to be forced or herded into a corral.
 
I had a kydex sheath made by Normark for a RAT-3. No tek-lok, only a belt loop that works great.

This could be a cheaper option for "normal" people. (non leo or military)
 
One thing is for sure....if it becomes an option, we'll carry it. We intend to carry the full line with the bells and whistles!
 
I think that the option would be nice, I have no use for the full sheath system myself. I tend to use the basic kydex only and will never (At least I think) use the molle part. Having an option can only be good in my mind anyway.

I would also like to see some type of leather available for the knives at some point. Either from RAT or another vendor that would be known for equal quality to go with the knife. Anyone already offering RAT leather?
 
If this option becomes available, we'll contract out some spectacular leather to pair up with them. ;) Capitalism at work.
 
Now you got me intrigued Derrick.....Let me re-evaluate my position regarding base sale of RC-knives :)
 
texastonydobbs said:
I love options,being I have the RC3 & RC4 with molle back now If I could buy the colored RC's with minimum sheath or knife only would be a big plus to me I could pick up every color and a PE & SE of each and just swap sheaths out !
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I would like to see the knife only options as well.
I find that I am favoring the RC4 just because of the sheath so far. I do however like the molle back but I wouldnt be against having a leather sheath made for them.
Then I could also get all the colors ;)
 
okbohn said:
If this option becomes available, we'll contract out some spectacular leather to pair up with them. ;) Capitalism at work.
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OK, now this sounds great. I love capitalism a little more now! :)

Maybe spectacular leather, and normal beater leather too! Oh man, options are sounding better and better!
 
Trust us guys, whatever we do will be in the best interest of giving the user as many options as possible. We realize you can't please everyone and we're not even trying to do that, but offering "knife only" or basic sheath without MOLLE back has a lot of appeal in the market. And if Derrick fires up that motor of Capitalism on leather sheaths, then you could buy a knife and leather from him without having to buy the whole sheath system. Isn't life just grand! :D
 
That sounds great, more than great - ideal!

(Does this mean you'll start shipping out RC-6 without molle-back and/or sheath next week ;) - kidding)
 
I personally love the idea. My two favorite knives are a RAT RC-3 and a BRKT Highland.
I have gotten used to the leather sheath that the Barkie has and would like to get an RC-4 without a sheath to use with a leather sheath.

Who am I trying to kid, I'll end up getting a serrated with a sheath and a plain edge without! Bottom line is I will buy it with or without!
 
Thinking upon this while I slept today, I think the sheathless option is a good one. Not just for those that want to make their own, but also for those that don't really like Coyote Tan, and would rather have a different color kydex offered, they can order the sheath they want, rather than having to order another sheath and have one floating around..

For those who don't see a use for the MOLLE back, it's great for guys like me that like to carry horizontal, or for guys that need to attach it to gear where they might not have it in their line of sight, or just can't guarantee it's staying in place (like soldiers, mountaineers, etc), the extra retention options the MOLLE back offers are worth it. So if you ever might wantt o carry it inverted, horizontal or strapped to your gear, you might want to get the MOLLE back.
 
Im' left handed, so most of the time I have to make my own sheaths. I like the reversable sheaths, but I mostly like leather for my knives, so I would buy one without if that was an option & make my own.
 
R.A.T. said:
OK folks....get ready for more option ideas:

This is not for sure yet but we're thinking about offering the RC-3 without the MOLLE Back like we do the standard version of the RC-4. This would lower the retail cost a little. Instead of coming with the MOLLE back it would come with the boot clip and a set of MOLLE locks.

We would also like your feedback on this possibility: what if you could buy just the knife (any RC knife) with no sheathing. We realize that some folks want to make their own sheaths or have a custom sheath made. This would drastically lower the price of an RC knife. With that said, I'm not sure if some of our dealers would want to stock it that way but we're thinking about all types of end-user oriented options.

None of this is for sure yet but we're interested in your feedback.

Jeff
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I am up for these offerings. Since tastes vary though, you may still have available the MOLLE back option.
If offering the knife without a sheath would lower its price significantly, then I propose you go ahead and do it. I mentioned "significantly", because once someone buys a knife without a sheath, chances are they may have to ship it to the sheath maker, which means additional costs for shipping (including insurance) the knife + the cost of the sheath + the shipping (including insurance) of the sheath and the knife from the sheath maker back to the owner. I know that from first hand experience since I own a large number of Busse's and Swamp Rat's.

I believe your decision, as well as, that of your clientele, will strongly be based on the differential cost. For instance, if the benefit to the buyer would be, let's say, $30 for buying the knife without the sheath, I don't think this would be very appealing simply because it will cost them more to buy a similar sheath from a sheath maker (including al the costs that I analyzed
above).

On the other hand, I don't think that someone would invest in a sheath more than what they invested in their knife. So, if for example I have a $500 knife it will be O.K. to spend another $100 on its sheath, whereas for a $50 knife paying another $50 for its sheath (with all the relevant costs included) would seem rather out of the question.

Take care.
 
Having the options would be great to the end user. Not everyone needs a molle configuration.
I for one wear alot of molle webbing at work so yes that is the route I go, but someone who only uses for outdoors may not need that.

So, I'm all about options. However, I do feel a sheath of some kind should be included.
 
I like that idea, every dollar helps. Plus I most likely wouldn't use the molle backing either, but I think the sheath is built great.
 
I could see having say, 3 different configurations for the RC's.

1. Just the knife (allows for $$ savings and custom sheathing)

2. Knife/Sheath/Molle Back/Molle Loks (Military/Duty carry)

3. Knife/Sheath/TekLok (Civilian Carry)

I'm a huge fan of the TekLok, and think that it would come in more handy than Molle Loks or Boot Clip for a lot of people (if not a majority?).
 
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