I saw on eBay that someone selling a Benchmade said that that company had determined to only sell its products through brick and mortar stores. If that's true, it's a boneheaded decision because it's a form of protectionism. I applaud their dedication to such stores, but you've got to be very confident in your demand to pull off a policy like that.
For years I've advocated one free market idea. Discount.
Years ago, there was a chain of stores in the East called Best Products. The management rented some real rat holes and stocked them full of cameras, sporting goods, jewelry, luggage—even health and beauty items. Military families soon found they could buy stuff there cheaper than at local area PXs/BXs. Business was booming until the owners decided to hire a six-figure executive manager. The first thing this guy did was to upgrade the stores. No more dirty floors and dingy walls—he wanted new counters and polished floors; he wanted new, more sophisticated stocking modes and he determined to remodel everything. Well, the result is, there is no more Best Products. People don't remodel for free and cutting back on people only angered people who no longer could get service. I sold cameras like an Arab merchant and read up on all the stock so I knew what to recommend. I didn't have a future there, but they got rid of many knowledgeable people and replaced them with low grade morons. Prices went up and our customer base lost interest.
People don't care if they have to walk on sawdust floors, they want a good deal, a good price. They would shop at Best, but would buy somewhere cheaper. Now many people buy through the Internet. Anyone can be a dealer and sell things at good prices because they have no overhead. Knives have a place at Wal*Mart and big discount stores, but single, dedicated shops are rapidly becoming a thing of the past, and we should probably be glad to see it happen. It's free enterprise and nothing can stop it.
In Paducah, Kentucky, years ago, all the brick and mortar stores rose up and opposed the building of a new mall. The very downtown was threatened. The legal avenues failed, of course, and the mall was built and the businesses didn't survive. Now I think there are at least two malls and everyone's adjusted. The type of protectionism the businesses wanted just doesn't work. I, too, hated to see them go. I loved walking down Broadway and dropping into gun and knife stores, five and dime places with a counter and cotton candy. (Hell, I can smell it in my mind just thinking about it.) But nothing could save the old ways.
Benchmade quality is great, but I don't like many of their blade configurations nor their blade sizes and serrations, etc., and while there are many knives they put out that I really like, I don't think they can compete when their folders are going on eBay for more than a hundred bucks. A hundred and fifty dollar knife on eBay would cost close to two hundred plus dollars in a B&M store, because employees have to be paid, rent, customer service, etc. Does Benchmade feel so secure that it can snub the online retailers? I hope not, especially as we get in deeper to the current depression.
I've always loved B&M stores, but I can no longer afford them. Products are now made cheap overseas by people who get zero benefits. The old American way of doing business just isn't going to survive, neither can it be made to survive. One day, soon perhaps, the government is going to make the unpopular decision to tax the Internet, and then, my friends, things will change again. But isn't that what we wanted? Change?
