Worst knife deals you ever saw?

In Taal Batangas, Philippines, the road leading towards the Basilica is lined with Balisong Shops. You can usually find (or beg) for a nice bali with brass liners and bolsters, inserts of wood or bone, and a decent steel blade for maybe 1,000 Pesos ($21). But ordering them by mail in the US costs $100. Note also that Batangas balis have peened piviots and these are stiff when new. It'll take several weeks of oiling and manipulation before they're loose enough to flip. US buyers are always disappointed.
 
Wo
hank_rearden said:
In Taal Batangas, Philippines, the road leading towards the Basilica is lined with Balisong Shops. You can usually find (or beg) for a nice bali with brass liners and bolsters, inserts of wood or bone, and a decent steel blade for maybe 1,000 Pesos ($21). But ordering them by mail in the US costs $100. Note also that Batangas balis have peened piviots and these are stiff when new. It'll take several weeks of oiling and manipulation before they're loose enough to flip. US buyers are always disappointed.
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Wow! Talk about inflation. My parents lived in the Philippines in the mid 80s. When I went there on vacation I would visit the town of Balisong and buy hundreds of knives directly from the makers. They cost around 20-30 Pesos piece. When I took a flight back to Switzerland I would take them with me in the cabin and put them under my seat and no one had anything to say about that !!! Then I had a stand on the Lausanne flea market and sold them for around 20 Swiss francs a piece ( $ 15 ). Payed for the flight, and this was before Easyjet or Ryanair.
 
Most of the neck knives. I mean, shouldn’t they be the easiest to make? Yet they cost as much or more than many folders or proper fixed blades.
 
Michel Droz said:
Wo

Wow! Talk about inflation. My parents lived in the Philippines in the mid 80s. When I went there on vacation I would visit the town of Balisong and buy hundreds of knives directly from the makers. They cost around 20-30 Pesos piece. When I took a flight back to Switzerland I would take them with me in the cabin and put them under my seat and no one had anything to say about that !!! Then I had a stand on the Lausanne flea market and sold them for around 20 Swiss francs a piece ( $ 15 ). Payed for the flight, and this was before Easyjet or Ryanair.
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The last bali I bought was in 2014, for 600 Pesos.
 
Blues said:
^^^^^
That's a cold way to treat someone's open sale thread. Keep that in mind if someone does the same to you. Just sayin'.

(Not saying you're wrong.)
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Meh...I think all of Kramer's stuff is insanely overpriced. If you ever see me buy hype like that and try to unload it here feel free to mock away😂
 
Benchmade Bugout Configurator builds - specifically because its required to get an uncoated blade and a basic black G10 ($235) or titanium handle ($325).

You want a unique color combo, etching, or steel upgrade then I get it. But that price as the only option for a basic black handle knife with uncoated blade is outragerous.
 
All the Spyderco PM2s going for more than retail at the exchange forum just because supply is limited right now....

Kramer has a $50k chef's knife... so there's that.
 
For pure price vs. what you get honourable mention to Tracker Dan.

$750.00
28205679808e5d9433a5388f281cab87.jpg
 
not2sharp said:
Worse deal? Probably Phil Collins purchase of the Musso bôwie.

Link:
www.houstonchronicle.com

Phil Collins' $15 million collection of Alamo artifacts is flashy, but how much of it is real?

Historian Bruce Winders says he's repeatedly warned his superiors about the sketchy...
www.houstonchronicle.com www.houstonchronicle.com

Link2:
www.texasmonthly.com

The Next Battle of the Alamo!

Is Phil Collins's legendary collection everything it's cracked up to be? An adapted excerpt from ‘Forget the Alamo: The Rise and Fall of an American Myth.’
www.texasmonthly.com www.texasmonthly.com

n2s
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Tee hee, I had no idea they were claiming to have Bowie's sword as well as his Bowie. What a mess!
 
I'm from the Netherlands and there is a big webshop here (one of the bigger parties in Europe) which I suspect of offering such bad deals, that it's literally illegal.

Not all of their deals are bad, but I've seen a lot of deals that are blatantly false advertising. They do this trick where they do a fake discount. Case in point. They are offering the excellent EKA Swede 8 for about € 35. They claim it's been priced down from €60 and that this constitutes a 41% discount. However, it has never been sold for € 60 and a quick look around tells me that € 35 is the going price elsewhere too. This is not the first time I've noticed this, as I do keep track of certain prices (a side effect of wishlisting knives and lusting over them for a long time).

A quick google tells me this is actually in breach of Dutch law and other companies have been fined €350.000,- for this.

I'm not a lawyer, so I'm not sure if there's some kind of legal loophole they're exploiting, but I do know that I find this to be in extremely bad taste.
 
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hank_rearden said:
In Taal Batangas, Philippines, the road leading towards the Basilica is lined with Balisong Shops. You can usually find (or beg) for a nice bali with brass liners and bolsters, inserts of wood or bone, and a decent steel blade for maybe 1,000 Pesos ($21). But ordering them by mail in the US costs $100. Note also that Batangas balis have peened piviots and these are stiff when new. It'll take several weeks of oiling and manipulation before they're loose enough to flip. US buyers are always disappointed.
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Unfortunately, most imported blades are generally overpriced in the Philippines. And it’s generally a hassle to make use of the warranty outside of the US, with shipping costs and such. If you find the right maker though, there are some wicked bolos and ginuntings over here. Tough carbon steel.

Funny enough, I’ve yet to add a balisong to my collection. Guess I’m more of a folder guy. Do you have a bali from the PH?
 
At this point, any GEC on the secondary market. They're nice but unless you're able to score one you wanted from a dealer when it drops, they're not worth anything close to what they're going for. I like the knives but I've decided I'm just not playing around with them anymore. If I see something I like, I want to be able to just buy it, even if I have to wait for a backorder or something. Otherwise, I'm not interested.
 
Lodd said:
I'm from the Netherlands and there is a big webshop here (one of the bigger parties in Europe) which I suspect of offering such bad deals, that it's literally illegal.

Not all of their deals are bad, but I've seen a lot of deals that are blatantly false advertising. They do this trick where they do a fake discount. Case in point. They are offering the excellent EKA Swede 8 for about € 35. They claim it's been priced down from €60 and that this constitutes a 41% discount. However, it has never been sold for € 60 and a quick look around tells me that € 35 is the going price elsewhere too. This is not the first time I've noticed this, as I do keep track of certain prices (a side effect of wishlisting knives and lusting over them for a long time).

A quick google tells me this is actually in breach of Dutch law and other companies have been fined €350.000,- for this.

I'm not a lawyer, so I'm not sure if there's some kind of legal loophole they're exploiting, but I do know that I find this to be in extremely bad taste.
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Why is this illegal in Holland ? It's very typical in the US at least. Just check any new Spyderco knife for instance, they are all "discounted" ~30% at least from the price (MSRP) stated by Spyderco. As long as the factory sells it for MSRP, and at least 1 other dealer (and there are a couple), saying that there is a discount is true, no ? Not saying that you are wrong, just wondering.
 
Regarding the question in the OP, I'm always puzzled by sales in the exchange with higher prices than if I buy the same knife still available new at dealers.
 
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