What Production Knives Do You Consider To Be Over Priced?

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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Over priced? I have to be really convinced that a knife is "worth it" over $200. I begin thinking about cost at $100 regardless of the brand. So like Powernoodle, there are a lot of knives that are beyond my willingness to buy. Quality doesn't even matter at that point. The question is "Are they overpriced?" People buy them. I don't understand how you can build a business model on something like that and succeed as you are likely cutting out 75% of potential buyers. But some companies are doing it. People see value in some of these mid-techs. I am comfortable with a much more modestly priced knife personally, so many are way too expensive for me to even consider. But since people seem to buy them, I assume they are not overpriced.
 
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Buck makes some 60 dollar and up fixed blades that use 420hc. To me that seems absurd to pay in that price point and get that steel. Nothing against the steel I have several Buck knives I really like (Bucklite Max folder 679, 110) however I wouldn't pay more than 30/40 bucks for them.
 
Years ago I worked at a large auto repair franchise, they raised the price of a front brake job from 59.99 to 99.95 our store tripled its brake business! Charge more and people assume they are getting a better product!


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The worst thing about map pricing is when the new year comes. I notice the same dealers who already have these knives in stock at the old price raise the price to the new map price.They already had it at last years price,so now it goes up cause of the new price when nothing else changed. they didn't get a new batch and price of materials went up. this is the biggest ripoff ive seen when it comes to map pricing.
 
In the late 70s a Buck 110 in 440c was 60 dollars in Canada. The Gerber folders were more. This at a time when average wages were probably less than 5.00 per hour. Not much is overpriced now in comparison.
 
The Burgh said:
.... MAP = Insurance against buyers remorse, the premium going to the manufacturer's bottom line.
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Can't speak about all companies that use MAP but, it is my understanding that Benchmade did not raise their prices to the retailers, so the premium goes the retailer's bottom line, not Benchmade's.

Of course that was back in 2014, IIRC, and BM has raised their prices since then without batting an eye.
 
About the only place that I have seen charging anything close to MSRP since the demise of the mall stores was We Be Knives on Pier 39 in San Francisco. But they had a good excuse. They had to pay Pier 39 rent AND stay in business in San Francisco. ;)
EDCanAdamas said:
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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The KA-BAR mini dozier is definitely overpriced, 25$ isn't that much but considering that the buck 482 is American made and only 20$ then the mini dozier is certainly overpriced.
 
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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Keeps resale value high you mean
 
Medford - D2 is cheap, just enlarged versions of any other Ti frame lock
Emerson - Fit and finish issues - lock bar that wears out too fast being pure Ti
Strider - Just a bit pricey for what you get
Hinderer - Offer nothing more than ZT, but i do like that they still use washers instead of bearings
Shiro - Pulled apart to inspect everything, yeah it s a nice knife, but no more precise than a Sebenza, plus the bearings are microscopic, the bearing cage is terrible but pretty looking, not worth the asking price for machine milled titanium, it has looks and fit and finish done nicely tho. Threading on pivot is cheap looking and too short when compared to CRK and others. Hardware should be beefier but still elegant.
 
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Ah yes the Spyderco Ouroboros. What a joke for the price.

sent from a highly secretive CIA base somewhere in the deep jungles of South America shhh
 
Its overpriced if the product doses not meet with its specifications or my expectations for a particular edge tool.

To put it simply, those folders that I don't use/edc often is overpriced and those I frequently use are not.

Every person have different requirements, but it did take quite a number of brands/models to realise that the sebenza, griptilian (both variant), PM2, XM18 3.5" and esee 6 fits with my requirements and these are the knives that I frequently enjoy using. The rest are either inadequate in comfort, cutting performance, reliability, functionality etc.
 
A product satisfies certain needs.
Having an exclusive product is such a need, that demands a premium.
I've a friend who finds my Endura overpriced.
 
50-100$ is great for cutting stuff with a real gap in overall quality
100-200$ is my usual range to get for more exotic materials and smoother operation
 
Ok. I'll play..yes they have plenty of good options for a great price. But lately...ta da....Spydercos newer stuff..I'm sorry but some of their offerings are ridiculous in price and I hate MAP pricing.. OK let the hate flow
 
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