Worth of a Busse

Jeepnut22

Jeepnut22

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Joined
Jan 17, 2007
Messages
5,599
How can one tell if the price of a knife is realistic or not? Resources? Don't want to ask openly about any knives specifically... Am I crossing the bounds here by even asking? How can someone protect themselves agains paying too much or charging too little when buying and selling knives, specifically Busses...
 
Ive paid alot for a Busse others wouldnt, I dont care because I wanted the knife. PM and I might be able to help.
 
the best way is to track prices for a while, that way you can see what the knife you want has sold for recently. you can also do a search to find the knife and see how the prices have tracked. this is of course dependent on whether the seller has left the price in, which i think many from this forum do for just that reason.

i suspect that many of the long time attendees here wouldn't mind an e-mail asking what's fair and what's not, although i don't like to speak for anyone else and there is also some subjectivity to this.

bottom line - and it's been said here before - is that if you're happy with what you paid for it then it's a fair price. i've gotten a couple pretty good deals, and also overpaid for what i wanted at the time, but i was willing to pay and have no one to complain to about it but me.

good luck,

Winston
 
Do some searching on the exchange forum for past prices on the knives you are interested in. Follow the Busse forum to get a feel for what is rarer, how many of a given knife might have been produced, etc. After some time, you'll get a pretty good idea of what the price range is for most items.

The other really valuable "tool" is build some relationships with other people on the forum. They will prove to be invaluable resources for this and all types of information, plus its great to get to know other people with this same passion.

If you don't have anybody now that you can turn to, try one of the old time hogs like Porkerson or Porkducci (hope you guys don't mind being listed, but its really just that you have good street cred.)

Feel free to drop me a PM if you want as well, and I'll do what I can to help out too.

Dan
 
Honestly, I get PM'd quite often as to the possible worth and/or availabilty of Busses. I am honored that anyone would think I am remotely qualified to answer, but I do search and and chat with folks a bit. That, and the fact that the REAL HOGs and PIGlets are very helpful in assisting the addiction move along. I guess what I'm saying is, don't be afraid to ask around, but do your homework first. One of the first suggestions will usually be to do a search.
 
gimmejr said:
Ive paid alot for a Busse others wouldnt, I dont care because I wanted the knife.
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Winston Smith said:
bottom line - and it's been said here before - is that if you're happy with what you paid for it then it's a fair price.
Click to expand...

ditto; this is what I have learned. The values are set by what someone is willing to pay. If one guy pays an extra $50 to get something, others may see the item as more valuable (especially if it is rare) and the price will go up the next time one is for sale.

If you are hesitant about buying something, it could be a sign that, in your eyes, the price is greater than the intrinsic value. Don't compromise with yourself, even if someone tells you its a good deal.

side note: I did not hesitate buying an argonne assault because I wanted one really bad...even with the $1k+ price tag. I do not regret it :D

EDIT: oh yeah...searching is important too :)
 
I wish the site owners would "encourage" people to not erase their prices when a knife is sold. ARFCOM is really helpful in getting prices on AR's, AK's, and other gun-related items b/c they "encourage" people to leave the prices up as a research tool.

Of course, the downside to that site is their search is lame and only goes back 30 days. :(
 
If it's a newer Busse (fusion line) or a "one of (less than 100)" it's difficult to put an exact price on it. Someone looking for a particular finish combination might be willing to pay significantly more, maybe $50 - $100, for the exact combo they want. Likewise, someone may be willing to buy colors they're not particularly fond of to get a particular pattern, but won't pay as much. Tracking the exchange may be more difficult, if only a few of the blades have been sold and if your material combo hasn't been posted.
 
you can't buy or sell on the busse forum... but you can ask what people think current values are. just make sure the mods don't think you are selling or buying or advertizing a blade, they will know and nuke you.

now.... what are you selling and what are you buying and where can i look at it? ;)
 
Can someone tell me the logic behind why people delete the sales prices on the exchange after a sale?
 
idahoskunk said:
you can't buy or sell on the busse forum... but you can ask what people think current values are. just make sure the mods don't think you are selling or buying or advertizing a blade, they will know and nuke you.

now.... what are you selling and what are you buying and where can i look at it? ;)
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Almost got me to actually answer your question!! :D

Not selling anything on this forum! ;) Mainly looking for resources to help a Busse noob make an educated decision. Easy for us noobs to get sucked in!! :eek:
 
rt014 said:
Can someone tell me the logic behind why people delete the sales prices on the exchange after a sale?
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I also was wondernig that. From what i have read, the buyer sometimes does not want people to know how much he/she paid for it. That is in case they want to sell it after or are hidiing the price from theire wife.
 
Jeepnut22 said:
Almost got me to actually answer your question!! :D

Not selling anything on this forum! ;) Mainly looking for resources to help a Busse noob make an educated decision. Easy for us noobs to get sucked in!! :eek:
Click to expand...

pm someone you trust and ask if the price is fair, i have done this many times and have always rec'd good advice.
 
I read the Asking Prices on this and other Forums and Ebay, and watch trends over time, While considering How many Are for sale at that time and how many have sold recently, and where the particular knife fits into the Most common collections.

In the last year the prices have gone up Faster than I thought they would, but the Direction is Consistantly up over time for most of the Most commonly collected Busse knives.

But there are a few that have been pretty stable over the last 6 or 7 years, and those are the knives I currently direct people to not sell, but to Buy and hang onto, as I think the Rarity Factor of knives out of production 6 or more years will drive prices up as people decide to round out existing collections.
 
Dennis in MA said:
to not erase their prices when a knife is sold.
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Sometimes it helps to quote their original post when asking a question.

One way to preserve the "market" values....

I too wish people would just change the price colour to silver or something, mark as sold, and stop there.

Oh well.....:rolleyes:
 
papathud said:
But there are a few that have been pretty stable over the last 6 or 7 years, and those are the knives I currently direct people to not sell, but to Buy and hang onto, as I think the Rarity Factor of knives out of production 6 or more years will drive prices up as people decide to round out existing collections.
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Sounds exactly like the stock market. :D

Great advice everyone. Thanks!
 
Another thing to keep in mind is that some of the newer models will be coming around again in the production rotation. Unless Jerry specifically states (as he has for the tiger striped LE's) that they will not be offered again, I would not pay much of a premium over original price, but that's just me, and is a function of your patience. If I need a user quickly I already have a small group from which to choose.

The discontinued models are a whole different game. If you want one for a collection, buying it earlier rather than later is wise. The only Busse I have ever bought that has not seemed to appreciate in value is the Tali-Whacker,
which I don't understand because it is a great little knife.
 
MikeH said:
The only Busse I have ever bought that has not seemed to appreciate in value is the Tali-Whacker,
which I don't understand because it is a great little knife.
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I've noticed that as well....for that 'little' knife :-)
 
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