What Production Knives Do You Consider To Be Over Priced?

MAP = Controlling the brand keeping current owners happy.

good for the brands consumer.

GermanyChris said:
There FTFY
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Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, I see your point: MAP = Insurance against buyers remorse, the premium going to the manufacturer's bottom line.
 
RamZar said:
I had a similar thread in November 2015: Overpriced knives in terms of materials, quality & service

I no longer think Rockstead are overpriced just expensive.
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When an aluminum framelock with a ZDP-189 or YXR-7 blade is almost a thousand dollars, I think it's over priced. I get that it's got CRK-like fit and finish (I've handled a couple and yes they felt very CRK-like to me, nothing more than that though) and a polished blade, but it feels like it's all about name recognition and using premium pricing to target the folks who that marketing is effective on. It's not like it's the cost of the materials involved that make it expensive; I paid a little over $200 for my ZT 0450cfzdp, and it came with bearings and a flipper as a bonus . . . ;)

They have some nice looking fixed blades too--that $3,800 one on BladeHQ is really pretty, but IMO also overpriced. Everyone, of course, should buy whatever they like. It's also okay if we don't all agree about these things.
 
^ the 65.00 fee to send it to japan for resharpening doesn't help . ive been tempted a bit on the their cheapest folder, ive seen it for 600,if you call that cheap, but with that ultra mirror polished edge I would never be able to cut anything and risking a scratch on it...
 
MAXACE knives. Fit and finish looks good but then you get TC4 titanium. High end Chinese knife...
 
Sergeua said:
MAXACE knives. Fit and finish looks good but then you get TC4 titanium. High end Chinese knife...
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What's the problem with TC4 titanium? I've seen it frequently referred to as being grade 5 titanium, equivalent to our 6Al-4V, is that not the case? Assuming it's not actually that equivalent, are there failures happening in knives made from TC4? I have some knives made from TC4 and I've never seen them behave any differently than 6Al-4V knives, at least as far as the material itself. They're just as strong, lock bars are just as springy, they scratch the same way, etc.
 
marcinek said:
Nope. Do they sell? Then they are not overpriced. Do they not sell? Then the price gets lowered.
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Maybe the op was addressing discerning knife enthusiasts who use their knives as tools, rather than the general knife buying public who are overly susceptible to marketing. Some knives are overpriced to knowledgeable knife people with middle class budgets. Or not.(!).
Marketing is the secret to success of many retail companies.
 
whp said:
Maybe the op was addressing discerning knife enthusiasts who use their knives as tools, rather than the general knife buying public who are overly susceptible to marketing. Some knives are overpriced to knowledgeable knife people with middle class budgets. Or not.(!).
Marketing is the secret to success of many retail companies.
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If I had a "middle class budget," you would see me posting way more knives here. :D
 
abbazaba said:
This is exactly what I am talking about! Specific examples appreciated, thank you! As my knife obsession evolves, I feel like I am becoming more aware of questionable pricing practices, but increasingly skeptical of my own ability to avoid being taken advantage of.
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You re getting there. Remain somewhat skeptical. :thumbup:
 
powernoodle said:
Almost all of them >$100, and many below that threshold. Consider just for example the mini Griptilian. $100 for a small, no-frills knife with a plastic handle. That's nuts. But people keep throwing money at the manufacturers as the prices continue to skyrocket. The worst offenders are Emerson, CRK, Strider, etc. "Premium pricing strategy" works, and I don't blame the makers for maximizing their revenue. That's why they exist. But we love our toys, and so we throw handfuls of money at the makers and vendors, so prices stay high. Such is life.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premium_pricing

I have a $45 Victorinox Explorer in my pocket. And it actually cuts stuff. That will show them!
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Excellent observations.. I m currently carrying a Cold Steel Lawman I got on sale for 57.00. Great work knife.
 
evilgreg said:
IThat said, after the first $50 - $100, there are wildly diminishing returns as far as utility and function improvements. By about $200 you're into knives that have great materials, great function and great fit and finish, by about $400 - $500 you're in "it really doesn't get much better than this" territory. Spending more than that is just chasing some subjective appeal or seeking some brand recognition.
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This is, I think, exactly right.

To answer the OP, the knives that leap to my mind are high-end ZT Hinderers which cost as much as an actual Hinderer. It has been pointed out to me that they are still cheaper than getting an all-titanium Hinderer but I actually like that little slab of colorful G10 that comes on base Hinderer's so ... to me, overpriced. Another lesson in subjectivity.
 
evilgreg said:
... after the first $50 - $100, there are wildly diminishing returns as far as utility and function improvements. By about $200 you're into knives that have great materials, great function and great fit and finish, by about $400 - $500 you're in "it really doesn't get much better than this" territory. Spending more than that is just chasing some subjective appeal or seeking some brand recognition.
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For my needs, based on quality, materials and customer service, they can be satisfied in the $160-$260 range. Beyond that, is want.
 
MAP=controlling the brand so that your long time retailers and distributors don't get pissed off at you because someone is selling as a hobby on the interwebz.
The Burgh said:
MAP = Controlling the brand keeping current owners happy.

good for the brands consumer.



Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, I see your point: MAP = Insurance against buyers remorse, the premium going to the manufacturer's bottom line.
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How many "discerning knife enthusiasts" actually use their knives as "intended" as opposed to staring at them, flipping and occasionally cutting a piece of string? Read the previous comment about being afraid to scratch up polished edge. Have you ever heard the term "too pretty to baton" applied to some alleged hard use blade? ;)
whp said:
Maybe the op was addressing discerning knife enthusiasts who use their knives as tools, rather than the general knife buying public who are overly susceptible to marketing. Some knives are overpriced to knowledgeable knife people with middle class budgets. Or not.(!).
Marketing is the secret to success of many retail companies.
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Emerson.
Microtech.
Strider.

In that order. And yes I own knives from all these makers (even customs).
 
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This thread is a great wakeup call to keep from having a lot of expensive knives for no reason and living in your car because of them.Ha.It shows the unnecessary value we are placing on these knives.I love this stuff as much as anyone else ,but it is really getting out of hand,and I for one cannot do 300+ every time a new knife comes along...
 
I hate to say this but Spyderco (I was playing with my Manix 2 while reading through this thread) , almost completely because of MAP. Add some of the new for 2017 folders like a 3" bladed S30V steel Japanese made folder that costs $50 more that the Manix 2 S110V G10 that's made in the USA. That sealed it for me. It's unfortunate because I really love Spyderco. SOG, worst knives I have. At least they were free. I kind of hate to say that because they were a gift from my brother that's no longer with us but it is what it is. I wouldn't pay more than $20 for either and I know my brother paid $70 or more for each of them.

Now to deal with MAP.
People are cheap, impatient, and lazy by nature.

Now anyone that thinks MAP helps out the little guys, you might not have thoroughly thought it through. It only helps the big guys. Oh yeah, everyone says they have scruples, morals, standards, common decency, and kindness towards the common man and only buy from local or small shops (everyone now has a rescue dog too). Of course that's a load, otherwise Walmart or Amazon wouldn't exist. Why don't we start with cheap?

Here is the "deal". Spyderco will be used but this applies to all MAP using companies. A Manix 2 G10 S110V cost about $141 dollars at BladeHQ or Knifecenter. It also costs $141 at Pop n' Moms Blade Shanty, MAP. They could be just starting out or maybe they've been in business for years, they're the little guy. So which do you buy from?

Well like every human on the planet you now check into what is essentially a secondary cost because the item price has been taken out of consideration, shipping. BHQ ships free at $99. PMBS can't do that, they don't have the sales volume, but they can do it at $150. That means you have to spend either an extra $9 you didn't want to spend to get the free shipping or pay anywhere from $7 to $21 extra for the item to be shipped. That brings the total price to either $150 or at least $148. Guess which shop 99.999% of people are going to buy from?

Before MAP I noticed prices were better at the PMBS type places which means they probably were shooting for volume over price. Usually they seemed to charge 50% + $5. So it would run $123, now shipping becomes less of a problem. They don't make as much money per piece but moving product keeps them in business. I'm not going to lie, I'm human and they got my money every time. Now they only get it when it's a non MAP using company. I'm just being honest.

Being impatient? Even though PMBS type places usually shipped in a day or two, you still might have to wait up to four days. They usually don't have a dedicated shipping and receiving guy. The other side gets your order out like clockwork. I don't recall waiting more than two days for something to ship from places like BHQ.

Now, lets talk lazy. Once you know that the price will be exactly the same at both places no matter what, people tend to stop even looking at the other PMBS type sites. Now you just go to BHQ so you don't waste your time and PMBS dies a slow death.

So, who gets my money now? Smaller shops that sell Cold Steel, price to quality went up immensely when they started using CPM and CTS steels. I never really considered them until I saw how well finished the my Taiwan made knives from Spyderco were. They added the CPM and CTS steels and I haven't purchased a Spydie since. I still love my Spydies, unless something changes though I'll keep buying CS folders instead.

I can get a CS Broken Skull with DLC and CTS-XHP from a small shop for $77 or a Spydie Endura 4 with TiN coating and VG-10 for $80.97. XHP is just a better steel so far. DLC seems to be the tougher coating too. Plus no Map pricing. I might even find the CS stuff cheaper somewhere else, I don't need to check anywhere else for the Spydie though.

I guess MAP does have one advantage, it helps your competition;)
 
mastiffhound said:
Now to deal with MAP.
People are cheap, impatient, and lazy by nature.

Now anyone that thinks MAP helps out the little guys, you might not have thoroughly thought it through. It only helps the big guys.
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Great post on MAP mastiffhound. When I first learned about MAP after Benchmade decided to flip out on the online dealers, I figured that the push towards MAP style fairness was probably coming from places like Cabelas, Basspro, and other major sporting goods stores who were upset because no poor suckers were paying full MSRP for knives. These stores have the "muscle" with companies like BM because of the size of the orders they place. Does anyone really think MAP changes happened because a bunch of little dealers complained?

Either way, MAP just makes the cost of already overpriced knives even more inflated.
 
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