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Blade purchases on BF's Fair Prices?

Twindog said:
What bothers me is the nearly uniform practice of removing the price after the knife is sold. If people left prices up, we'd have a more fair market for everyone. Removing the prices just helps out the players who are trying to make an unfair profit.
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I've never understood that. I leave the price there. I thought I was breaking some rule by not removing it.
 
When I hope to profit largely from a sale I list the knife on Ebay, start with a low bid around $40, and then let the bidders decide how much they want to pay for it.

It's a gamble because I risk having to sell a $100+ knife for $40. I don't seek a large profit often but when I do I list on Ebay, not here. Sometimes it works in my favor and sometimes it doesn't and I'm fine with that.

I might sometimes list a knife on Ebay after listing it here at a fair price if it generates no interest here. I think I've done that only once and it sold for more than I listed it here but again, it was the bidders that decided how much they wanted to pay.
 
I don't care for flippers and assiduously avoid them, but I'll freely admit that I don't at all abide by the, "we're all friends," or the deeply bizarre and mildly disturbing, "you're all like my family dog," thing. There are a lot of awesome people here on BF and I've really enjoyed getting to know some of them and hope to know more in the future. There are also a load of chowderheads that I'd rather snap the tip off my knife than be personally associated with. And with whatever group, when selling or buying it's business, to be handled as professionally as possible and I will always do my utmost not to let any of the personal stuff interfere at all in that.
 
I think this issue is similar to many others not only here on BF, but in everyday life. By that I mean there are folks who conduct themselves with honor and integrity and there are those who do not. Those who do not conduct themselves admirably/honestly have a major flaw of character. I stay away from those folks. There are so many good people here that the bad apples are nothing more than a blemish on an otherwise fine community!
 
There are for sure some "flippers" on here but there are also a lot of great deals with a well educated group of buyers matched with safe sellers.

Just look at the speed that the knives sell when offered for a reasonable price.
 
KELAMA said:
Happy Memorial Day weekend, TD! :)

I couldn't agree more, with your OP! :thumbsup:

Like yourself, I've been seeing more or more people here, blatantly flipping a knife that they just purchased a month or two prior, for what I'd consider an obscene profit.

These people remind me of a so called, loyal family dog that you rescued & invited into your loving home for the next 8 years...taking a big crap in the kitchen (hoping no one will see), then running back into into the bedroom and jumping up on the bed with you.

I have no problem, as long as these "flipper's" at least attempted to use a little discretion, and flipped the knives they scored, elsewhere...

What irk's me for example:
Is when Zero Tolerance, would have one of their infamous Limited Edition sales (the one's that would sell out in a matter of minutes). These sales, would always be accompanied by a GKD thread, filled with anticipation and excitement. Some of the BF member's here, whom were fortunate enough to score one these highly coveted L.E. models, would have it listed here in the sales exchange within a few days; usually at a nice inflated profited. To me, this is like a big, F- you, to the rest of the community; member's whom they knew, desperately wanted one of these L.E.'s solely for their collection.

FWIW: I've given more sweetheart deals here (to people I've considered my BF brother's), than I'd like to admit. This so called hobby/passion of mine, has been a losing proposition. I will forever be deep in the red, with no chance of ever getting out.

One of these sweetheart deals, was for a CRK Umnumzaan, which I sold for $280...only to see it listed about 6 or so months later, for $450

And now I'mView attachment 713901 View attachment 713902 looking for another, old pivot Zaan. :p

Live and learn...
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?????
 
I pay little to no attention to flippers, never mind do I get upset about it. Why? Because it is NOT worth it. It is not worth getting upset about the act or the prices they seek. Life is too short and I sure won't let them ruin my interest in knives.

Maybe I am a contrarian, but simplicity is truly a beautiful thing and "more" is not always better. If I don't need a flipped knife, then I can afford to pay what I want, when I want, or just settle for having a tiny bit less without all the drama and frustration. At the end of the day, it really is no biggie for me. Of course, YMMV. :)
 
Doesn't bother me if someone flips a knife I sell here. I generally price 25-30% below eBay's lowest price at the moment....at LEAST.
Whatever someone does with a knife I sold here is none of my business. It no longer belongs to me.

But someone DOES make a profit I hope they at least do two things:

1. Buy a Gold membership and help support this wonderful place.
2. Take that profit and buy someone else's knife here when they decide to post one for sale.
3. Leave feedback.

I consider this a place of friends. No need to get upset or get huffy or puffy. I try my best to keep positive and not trivialize these issues. :)
 
(1) Whether or not I like the prices, I think it's better for everyone that they flip here than elsewhere. Driving business away from Bladeforums, helps nobody here. An active Exchange helps everyone here... the site gets paid memberships and the buyers and sellers here benefit from a more active Exchange. So I would suggest not to drive them away. I don't know if some meet the dealer volume level--that's up to the moderators. Like many said, don't buy if you don't like their prices.

(2) I do think in some ways it benefits GEC that a lot of knives are bought for resale. If folks didn't break even or make a profit, I seriously doubt that folks would buy as many knives as they do. There are all sorts of knife enthusiasts. For some their hobby is to resell for profit. For some the hobby is to buy one of everything, take some group photos, and then resell. For some it's to buy whatever they can get and they'll sort out what they really want later. Some folks are buying knives months in advance and may change their mind later when they actually see the knives--they might buy more conservatively if they thought they'd take a loss. Etc. Etc. Etc. So this reselling is driving up demand for GEC... and driving up GEC dealer sales.

(3) Some folks are selling at higher than retail because they bought the knife higher than retail.... or they bought another knife higher than retail and they are passing the buck. It's not uncommon for flippers to use the same excuses though!

(4) There are a lot of folks who have money riding on GEC knives. The GEC secondary market has stifled critical discussion. And Case and Queen are used as punching bags. I'm not saying there isn't reason to criticize Case/Queen. But posts about only buying GEC and not Case/Queen or giving up on Case and only buying GEC are pretty over the top negative campaigns. As enthusiasts, we should be supportive of the few American companies that are making knives, not trying to drive them out of business. In contrast critical discussion of GEC is not well received. Or there's very little reply or complete silence. Too much money riding on it to be critical. Elsewhere, there is some discussion that GEC quality is slipping. I'm not sure if I'd agree. Small flaws are inevitable on handmade knives. We should be objective and fair in forum discussion.

(5) The market will work itself out. Hopefully GEC will be in business a very long time. The second run of beer scouts shows how more runs affect secondary market prices. As others have said, if we don't like the prices don't buy.
 
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In our free market society, the best that you can do is to educate your fellow knife collectors, and that is exactly what you are doing. We don't have to support inflated prices. If GEC and whoever else choose to up their production, the profiteers will flounder.
 
on_the_edge said:
It is not worth getting upset about the act or the prices they seek. Life is too short and I sure won't let them ruin my interest in knives.
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^ :thumbsup: I agree totally with this. I don't get upset either.

In the scope of life- knife issue's don't even register on my spectrum; however, I won't do a second transaction with certain member's here. There are just way too many decent people here on this forum, I'd rather deal with. You're either in my so called "brotherhood," or you're not. I'm a straight shooter, & I expect the same core value's from people I consider, friend's. :cool:

shortsocks said:
But someone DOES make a profit I hope they at least do two things:

1. Buy a Gold membership and help support this wonderful place.

I consider this a place of friends. I try my best to keep positive and not trivialize these issues. :)
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^ :thumbsup::thumbsup:

You're one of the really good guys here! :) :thumbsup:
 
All you can do is decide if you want to pay the price or not. If you don't like the price you can try to get it down or move on.
Sometimes it's best to pay (price may continue up)other times it is best to wait and the price will drop. More often then not the price starts dropping after a period of time and the mania has worn off.

For the record I make no attempt to profit on my sales-And I am very good at it:)
 
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The first 6 or more years that I was a member here, I sold everything at a loss or break even (same price, not same price after fees and shipping). I did so even when others were selling the same exact thing for profit. Reselling GEC for profit has really exploded in the last few years. Also the way people buy knives has changed. I see high dollar sales topics with no photos get sold. I see people fighting over low dollar sales that don't have any photos. In one case, people were frantically responding to a low dollar sales thread in which it wasn't even clear WHAT was being sold except that it was made by GEC.

One thing that I notice over and over is that a lot of opinions change depending on whether someone is buying or selling. Some complain about high prices when they are a buyer but when they are a seller they are happy to benefit from high resale prices.

I try not to make more of it than what it is. I had an active forum member say his price (several times retail... around $300 on a $90 knife) for a knife was firm and later offer me less than asking price of antique knife that I was selling for under $30. I don't think it's he's a bad guy though. I didn't buy his knife. And someone else bought my knife. I've also sold knives and days later seen them resold for more money. I won't get upset about it. My selling price is up to me and it's up to the buyer if he wants to resell it for more.

I've also previously had people email me offers on knives that I had posted in discussion. I had about a dozen offers on my GEC 81. If people hadn't wanted it so bad, I wouldn't have listed it at all on the Exchange. I would have kept it. It sold quick. I liked it but a lot of folks wanted it much more than me and I have other knives to enjoy.

I've also had a couple people pay me MORE than my asking price. Sometimes gifts are exchanged too. I've also done giveaways and been the recipient of gifts or giveaways.

It's easy to get caught up in the frenzy but in the end its only up to me whether or not I choose to buy at higher than retail prices. I have sometimes. Some aren't worth the high price to me. I think most dealers have some GEC knives in stock. And every day GEC makes more knives.
 
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Ive seen tons of price gouging. People buying solely to flip for profit. And it does bother me but there is nothing I can do about it. Sometimes I don't even know what planet people are on when they price a knife within 2% of the new from a dealer price. I find its just best to roll my eyes and move on as there really is nothing that can be done about it. I think though that what bothers me more is misrepresentation of the condition of these knives. Ive seen people selling knives so obviously carried and used as like new in a box (even if they aren't including the box) you wonder how they even manage to sell a thing to anyone.
 
Neko2 said:
I've thought the same thing when looking at sales threads, especially for GEC.
I'd like to pick up one someday but many of the offers I see come up are even higher than the price I couldn't pay when they were new.
Every once and awhile a really great del pops up but they seem to be few and far between lately on the Greet Eastern Front.
I don't begrudge anyone their sale at a fair market price... maybe the market is just running high.
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The problem with this example (GEC) is that the MSRP has even gone up, so whatever the price on a #15 Boys Knife or a #62 Court House Whittler was 3 years ago, it's a bit higher now. The fact that prices are left or not are irrelevant at that point. GEC knives have been in this rut for 3+ years now.

When you have a brand that attracts flippers and speculators, that in and of itself can ruin the experience for some. It's happened with several brands, specifically those that like to run LE batches of a certain knife. This topic in itself comes up every year or so. The answer is that it is up to the seller to decide.
 
TinyDog said:
Hello All,

Years ago I used to purchase all of my blades through Ebay and or other auction type sites. I saw many folks purchasing blades mainly GEC blades on SPF dozens at a time, and although not a crime reselling blades for 100% or more profit on Ebay! After a bit it turned me off. Just something about a business model like that doesn't sit well with me. It's not the same a business producing a knife and making a fair market profit. Yes its a free market for those to do what they may, I understand. This still will not change how I feel about this. To me it is a touchy subject but I feel it is price gouging.

Now I am seeing the same thing here more frequently, sellers trying to make 100 or more % profit on sales. Please don't tell me it's their prerogative to do so, It is and I agree. I already know this, I just turn away. Any blade I have ever sold here was sold thinking about a BF member, I always think about offering a good deal if not a great deal. Profit is OK I have no problem with that too, but reasonable profit, I would never gouge someone here as all of us buy and sell everyday as a community. I like to think of us all as friends even though we may never meet, this is our place to talk blades and discuss blades. As we get good deals we offer good deals....

Have any of you seen this type selling here? what do you think about it? To me it takes away from my experience. Its not about making money, its about the community.

Please share your opinion, all are welcome.
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Who is it that makes a 100% profit? I've been buying and selling here for over 10 years and I'm struggling to "break even". MOST of the time I lose money on about 80% of what I sell. I guess I'm doing something wrong I'm not a dealer. This is just a hobby for me. I sell the ones in my collection that I get tired of an buy something new to fondle and admire. I'm not looking to make a killing on anything I sell but it sure would be nice to break even. I know it's my choice on what price to sell at. I'm not complaining or blaming anybody. It just seems lately things are real slow. Economy I guess or lack of.

Mark T.
 
I can't add much to the discussion other than when I see GEC's being bought at the prices they are currently being resold at it makes me feel better about my tendency to purchase one-off customs.

I don't begrudge someone for buying and reselling. If I like the knife and feel comfortable with the price I will buy it, if not I will move on and find another.
 
Wolverine666 said:
Interesting thread.

But what is "GEC" and "SFO"?

I've sold @ 10 or 12 knives in the exchange here over the last 8 years. And I've made each sale a "good deal" for the buyer. And I'm happy to do so since the knife is going to a fellow knife enthusiast. It's nice to have a place to sell knives from my collection that don't appeal to me anymore to other knife guys.

I realize that money talks. But selling a knife for a signifugant mark-up just because you can isn't a business model I follow here on the BF exchange. Outside of here , different story.
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GEC = Great Eastern Cutlery

SFO = Special Factory Order
 
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