What's going on with Benchmade?

Is there a thread that lists the reputable online stores for buying Benchmades and stuff? The search function doesn't work for me unless I only use 1 word, and not even that all the time. If not, anyone mind listing some? Thanks.
 
Midget said:
just to throw it in there...

oakley also fixes prices. it appears to be a common practice among "top shelf" brands.
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Midget brings up something that I have noticed concerning marketing strategy:
Sometimes companies will price-fix in order to dupe the consumer in to thinking that they are buying a superior product.
Folks think that since a certain product is never or seldom discounted then it must be in very high demand.
So soon, a inflated non-negotiated price come to equal "top shelf" in the minds of some consumers.

A good example of this is designer jeans.
Tommy jeans are no better than Levis, but the price is usually higher for the Tommy jeans.

Allen.
 
I'll try to explain. The decision to stop selling Benchmade was mine. They dropped the distributor from which I used to buy most of their products as well as my secondary source leaving me only with a distributor clear across the country or another that I view as a competitor and won't patronize. So buying Benchmade became more difficult. Buying from them directly is not an option. I wouldn't do it and neither would they. They didn't do anything to me personally. I just dropped the line to avoid the hassle of not having an Eastern source with fast service of supply.

Benchmade is trying to stop selling through distribution entirely. They want all dealers to buy directly, mostly to have more control over pricing. They cut margins for dealers who bought from distributors a couple of years ago so the line hasn't been really very profitable. The control over pricing is actually a good thing for dealers but, of course, a bad thing for consumers. I think they've not paid attention to who it was that paved their growth in the late 90's and it wasn't their direct customers. At any rate, that's what's up. I've always viewed Benchmade products as good. It just isn't a good line for me to sell.

Sorry, if this has inconvenienced anybody.
 
allenC said:
Midget brings up something that I have noticed concerning marketing strategy:
Sometimes companies will price-fix in order to dupe the consumer in to thinking that they are buying a superior product.
Folks think that since a certain product is never or seldom discounted then it must be in very high demand.
So soon, a inflated non-negotiated price come to equal "top shelf" in the minds of some consumers.

A good example of this is designer jeans.
Tommy jeans are no better than Levis, but the price is usually higher for the Tommy jeans.

Allen.
Click to expand...

CRK, Strider, and WH do this as well.

I cannot blame them. The knife makers have a right to tell dealers how much to charge. Dealers have a right to disreguard their suggestion and sell at whatever price they want. And then the knife makers have the right to not sell any more knives to that dealer.

Several years ago Gibson lowered the price of their guitars. Their sales dropped dramatically. Like... scary drops in sales. People did not see Gibson as a high-end brand when their prices went down, even though the guitars were the same. It is the buyer's (as a whole, not each of us) fault.

I would not say Benchmade is a top shelf brand, though. CRK, Strider, and WH are top shelf brands. That does not mean BM cannot "price fix". I think it means they are trying to appear higher-end than they really are. Maybe to try and make more people think they are actually a top shelf brand. A lot of the reason CRK, Strider, and WH are considered premium brands are because their prices are premium prices. If you could get a (new) Sebenza at far below MSRP just like you can any Spyderco, BM, Kershaw, or Buck, then they would be more attainable, and maybe less special. But CRK, Strider, WH (and Gibson and many other "premium" brands) also earn their status with good products. It is a combination of good product, and hype though price control. The companies have a right to sell to dealers and distributers they want to if it feels it will help their business and image.

I do not think BM wanting to control their prices is wrong. I think Les De Asis' disrespect towards Michael Dye was wrong. Saying "Michael, you need to charge more for your BMs or we will no longer deal with you" is a business move. Walking away from Michael while he is talking to you is just being a jerk. Of course, BM will still deal with NGK, they just are making them a less valued dealer.
 
jimmy123 said:
New Grahman is a VERY QUALITY COMPANY THATS GOES ABOVE AND BEYOND FOR SERVICE!
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+1

If Benchmade decides to act disrespectfully toward people I respect, then they're out (at least) one formerly loyal customer.

Besides, they don't make slipjoints anyway.
 
treats the transaction in an amoral light. When a dealer goes out of his way to provide quality service and excellent prices for his customers, and a manufacturer threatens that, it angers me. Do manufacturers have a legal right to influence dealer pricing? Of course. That doesn't mean I can't take that behavior into consideration when making my purchase.

I love the Benchmade axis lock because of it's ease of one hand opening and closing, safety and ambidexterous nature. I own 2 BMs. However, just bought a Spyderco Poliwog and love the ball lock. If the market supports the ball lock, Spyderco will respond with more ball lock models. And I will be waiting. :)
 
I think it's 80% BM trying to protect either the middleman or the brick and mortar stores. It would be interesting to know what percentage of sales come from retail bricks and motars vs of the net.

IMO, manufacturers should NOT try and protect bricks and mortar stores. My reasoning is sooner or later those stores will represent a small percentage of sales, and if you don't have a internet outlet, because you've honked off all those people then you be SOL.
 
The Mastiff said:
I like benchmade company. I have more than 10 of their knives. I will not buy any of their knives for suggested retail price however. None. Same for Spyderco, Kershaw, CKRT etc., etc.

I have become so spoiled by the internet that I expect this....nay, demand this discount. I'd bet I'm not the only one. I'm aware they mark the MSRP up accordingly.

Benchmade hasn't made a knife yet I can't do without. Joe.
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I think that is why so many companies are trying to enforce their retail prices. Everyone is used to lower prices because of the internet and huge chain stores. Look what discounting did to Schrade; shut down on their 100th Anniversary. Sad really.
 
Hair said:
CRK, Strider, and WH do this as well.
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And they do this because they can sell more than they can produce at their full asking price.

Many of you say you would never pay retail for a knife from anyone. The above companies are not marketing to you. They know that there are plenty of people out there that would buy their product for their price, and they are confident in that. Sounds like a good position to be in if you ask me.
 
DaveH said:
IMO, manufacturers should NOT try and protect bricks and mortar stores. My reasoning is sooner or later those stores will represent a small percentage of sales, and if you don't have a internet outlet, because you've honked off all those people then you be SOL.
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I certainly hope that doesn't become the case. If the internet forces retail cutlery stores out of existance (along with other specialty retail shops), how long before the internet forces all other brick and mortar stores to go under? That would be bad for everyone.

I'm not suprised that there is legislation in the works for very substanital internet taxes.
 
Steven Roos said:
I certainly hope that doesn't become the case. If the internet forces retail cutlery stores out of existance (along with other specialty retail shops), how long before the internet forces all other brick and mortar stores to go under? That would be bad for everyone.

I'm not suprised that there is legislation in the works for very substanital internet taxes.
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I don't agree. I can sit in the comfort of my own home and purchase items that I can't even find locally and at good prices. There is no knife dealer within a hundred miles of me. Why should I be penalized just because I don't live in a large metropolitan area?

I think the government should stay out of Internet sales. I would think that they have other things to worry about other than to squeeze every last dollar out in taxes. I don't understand your interest in allowing the government more taxing authority.
 
Ogie said:
I don't agree. I can sit in the comfort of my own home and purchase items that I can't even find locally and at good prices. There is no knife dealer within a hundred miles of me. Why should I be penalized just because I don't live in a large metropolitan area?

I think the government should stay out of Internet sales. I would think that they have other things to worry about other than to squeeze every last dollar out in taxes. I don't understand your interest in allowing the government more taxing authority.
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I personally am not for the addition of any new taxes. We don't need to turn into the UK, but I don't want to see the end of retail stores in general.
 
DaveH said:
I think it's 80% BM trying to protect either the middleman or the brick and mortar stores. It would be interesting to know what percentage of sales come from retail bricks and motars vs of the net.

IMO, manufacturers should NOT try and protect bricks and mortar stores. My reasoning is sooner or later those stores will represent a small percentage of sales, and if you don't have a internet outlet, because you've honked off all those people then you be SOL.
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They are getting rid of the middle men. They are protecting the retail stores and also the direct mail order and on line dealers.

Benchmade does sell to internet dealers directly also so they aren't abandoning the entire on-line business. They are trying to make life more profitable for the dealers and for themselves since dealers pay a higher price than distributors.

I have no idea what percentage of knife industry sales come from the internet but it is only about 15% or so for the overall economy. Maybe a little more. The issue is that the internet merchants are more profitable than the retail stores because it is a higher volume operation and more efficient. So, in the end, the internet will win the majority of market share. Higher efficiency always does. Getting there will be a rocky road.

The odd thing is that making things more profitable for internet dealers will speed their market share gain over retail stores. Efficiency always wins rewards in business. So Benchmade is swinging a double edged sword, I'm afraid. It's all academic to me since I'll be watching from the sidelines.

Don't worry about on line availability. Most dealers who buy through distributors continue to sell the BM products and those that buy directly from BM will continue to do so when the last distributor is gone.
 
Steven Roos said:
And they do this because they can sell more than they can produce at their full asking price.

Many of you say you would never pay retail for a knife from anyone. The above companies are not marketing to you. They know that there are plenty of people out there that would buy their product for their price, and they are confident in that. Sounds like a good position to be in if you ask me.
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Steven, there is a big difference between CRK, Strider, and WH in regards to Benchmade. They are specialized niche companies that can control pricing through availability, reputation, and quality and have very little direct competition. Benchmade has dozens of SKUs, does some production overseas, is more of a mass marketer and has lots of competition at varying price points. I think they are confused if they believe that they can be successful offering knives at 2X the price of a comparable Spyderco or Kershaw. At least that is my perspective.

Jack
 
Steven Roos said:
Benchmade might be cracking down on the online places that heavily discount their knives. What is the point of an MSRP when the knives are sold online for just about wholesale?
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Steve -

What is the markup between what the dealer pays for a bunch of knives and what the individual buyer pays for the one special knife? If MSRP is $89.95 does the dealer pay half that or $45? How much profit is built into knife sales? It always seemed to me that some were high priced for no apparent reason that I could see.

Thoughts?
 
DGG said:
Steve -

What is the markup between what the dealer pays for a bunch of knives and what the individual buyer pays for the one special knife? If MSRP is $89.95 does the dealer pay half that or $45? How much profit is built into knife sales? It always seemed to me that some were high priced for no apparent reason that I could see.

Thoughts?
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It varies greatly. It can be as much as half off, or it can be next to nothing. Also consider that the dealer pays for the shipping from the manufacturer. If an online dealer sells for barley above wholesale, and then throws in free shipping to the customer, how do they make anything?
 
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