Are spyderco knives overpriced?

I never held one but I think the southard is over price $240 . And for those people that say it will cost more if it was built in the USA . Look at ZT new knife coming out 562 with m390 steel . MSRP $250 .

That said spyderco are the best priced knives IMHO .
 
Let me begin by saying that I am an extreme value shopper. I spend as little as possible for the best and longest lasting products that I can find, and I do pretty exhaustive research before buying just about anything. That being said, I think most, if not all, models are very reasonably priced. Great materials and designs aside, the added piece of mind of the company's reputation for workmanship (from any factory) and customer service is definitely worth an extra buck or two if you even perceive that to be the case.

Though I will add that I haven't quite figured out the reasoning behind the MSRP. It reminds me of things like skis and other seasonal gear, where the MSRP is totally inflated and except for a small period of prime time during the year, you'll never have to pay that much. I can understand the mechanics behind that, but knives aren't seasonal and their prices hardly fluctuate at all. I've never noticed a peak season where knife prices are jacked up to MSRP. I remember learning a term for this kind of marketing in one of my psychology classes in college, but I can't remember it. Why knife companies do it is beyond me, and especially Spyderco. They seem to have one of the largest discrepancies between MSRP and average actual price, though that may be the key right there. It may be a hint to their popularity. If they didn't sell so well, retailers would have to charge much closer to MSRP to make up for lack of volume. But anyway...

But then there's resale value. Ok, I've ranted long enough already, but when people are asking more for a standard PM2 second hand (NIB or not, it's second hand) than most retailers are asking, shipping included...come on. And then there are the sprints and exclusives. No thanks, I'll wait till the next round. No offense to collectors, of course. I'm just a user.

I would argue that statement slightly. In my own experience, the discrepancy between street (well online) price and "MSRP" is tremendous in the world of watches. I'm wearing a Bulova Precisionist right now that my wife paid roughly $265 for, after we had seen it in two or three jewelry/watch stores that all wanted $650 or better. One bud of mine has multiple Tissots, same thing. Bought online for vastly cheaper than prices seen in stores. I see similar differences in price on watches of other brands. Another buddy of mine is an Invicta collector. He pays between $100-$250 for watches that always have tags attached with listed MSRPs of $1,995 or whatever.

So, to me, MSRP is a fake number; It doesn't mean anything.
 
Oh I just meant in the knife world. I know nothing about watches. Or economics for that matter. I just like to speculate. It is an interesting phenomenon, though. I just wish I could be in the room when they decide these things. Some day...
 
Just to add on to the comment I made about never paying more for a sprint run etc. It didnt cross my mind before but I would be willing to pay more if whatever the new version of the original is dramatically different from the original (ex. Damascus)I feel like I'm paying for something more unique but again my opinion
 
Oh I just meant in the knife world. I know nothing about watches. Or economics for that matter. I just like to speculate. It is an interesting phenomenon, though. I just wish I could be in the room when they decide these things. Some day...

I know a fair bit about Economics and other business topics (of course, I don't know everything), but like you, I'd also like to be in the room when numbers are being discussed, because sometimes I suspect that they're just made up. "Well, these knives look and feel pretty awesome, so I'm thiiiiiinnnnking (taps teeth with pen)....$350." Then the distributor sells the knife to the resaler for much less, but oddly, so much less (apparently) that the seller can mark up a knife to say, $150 or whatever, make a sale, and still make a profit and stay in business.

As an example, my aforementioned Spyderco Gayle Bradley was purchased from an online seller for $130* shipped. Listed MSRP is $279.95. So, that seller made a profit after being able to sell a knife to me, so logic suggests that he paid less than $130 to the distributor. He had to have made a profit on the sale after all.

So, where does the $279.95 number come from? Who knows, I sure don't.

*Again, from a seller on That Big eAuction Site
 
To answer the OP, I don't think Spyderco's knives are overpriced. There are some that are more expensive than I'm willing to pay, but that doesn't mean they're overpriced. Just that I'm not interested enough in the knife to fork over the money. Value is a different subject entirely, as value is dependent on the price to performance ratio. Higher quality materials may cost a lot more, but only perform a little bit better.

Addressing the reason behind manufacturing in Taiwan vs. the US. There are a few reasons. Before the Sage model came out, very few of Spyderco's knives were made in Taiwan. If I remember correctly, back when Sal was shopping the Sage idea around, he met with lots of knife makers, many of them in the US. The Sage was an ambitious project, with one handle size and shape accommodating various lock mechanisms. It was a huge engineering challenge as every variation would have to be re-engineered to make the project possible. There were a few makers that were capable of the quality that Spyderco demands, but the Taiwan maker was the only one who was both able and WILLING to take on the project. The Sage was a success and naturally all the other Sage models would be made there.

Now this next part is speculation, but based on economic realities (and little bits of info that I've gleaned from posts here and there by Sal). The Sage was released in 2008, the very same year that the economic crisis hit. Part of the fallout of this crisis is that businesses started playing it safe, not expanding, as new buildings and machinery are expensive, they had no idea how future business would be affected by the economy, and it was a bad time to borrow money. Concurrent with the depression/recovery years, Spyderco continued introducing new models and while also becoming more popular. As popularity and sales increased, the Golden plant couldn't handle all the demand with their current capacity, but expanding at that time was still too risky of a venture. Taiwan had done an excellent job with the Sage, had a good working relationship with Spyderco, and -very importantly- had the manufacturing capacity and skill to take on more models. So in that economic climate, it made sense to hedge bets by offloading work rather than taking on the economic risk of expansion, as their is a very real risk of expanding too much or too quickly. Fast forward a couple years and things are currently looking good with Spyderco. Golden capacity is maxed out and they decided to expand their plant, which they are currently doing. But this takes time; they have to build the buildings, train the workers, and the lead time on some large specialty equipment can be years.

The good news for those that want to buy domestically is that Golden will be producing more in the near future. Expansion is underway and I recall Sal saying they have been training new employees (IIRC, it takes a good 6 months). I understand the desire to buy American and, while I choose to buy the Taiwan models I like, am fine that others choose not to.
 
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To answer the OP, I don't think Spyderco's knives are overpriced. There are some that are more expensive than I'm willing to pay, but that doesn't mean they're overpriced. Just that I'm not interested enough in the knife to fork over the money. Value is a different subject entirely, as value is dependent on the price to performance ratio. Higher quality materials may cost a lot more, but only perform a little bit better.

Addressing the reason behind manufacturing in Taiwan vs. the US. There are a few reasons. Before the Sage model came out, very few of Spyderco's knives were made in Taiwan. If I remember correctly, back when Sal was shopping the Sage idea around, he met with lots of knife makers, many of them in the US. The Sage was an ambitious project, with one handle size and shape accommodating various lock mechanisms. It was a huge engineering challenge as every variation would have to be re-engineered to make the project possible. There were a few makers that were capable of the quality that Spyderco demands, but the Taiwan maker was the only one who was both able and WILLING to take on the project. The Sage was a success and naturally all the other Sage models would be made there.

Now this next part is speculation, but based on economic realities (and little bits of info that I've gleaned from posts here and there by Sal). The Sage was released in 2008, the very same year that the economic crisis hit. Part of the fallout of this crisis is that businesses started playing it safe, not expanding, as new buildings and machinery are expensive, they had no idea how future business would be affected by the economy, and it was a bad time to borrow money. Concurrent with the depression/recovery years, Spyderco continued introducing new models and while also becoming more popular. As popularity and sales increased, the Golden plant couldn't handle all the demand with their current capacity, but expanding at that time was still too risky of a venture. Taiwan had done an excellent job with the Sage, had a good working relationship with Spyderco, and -very importantly- had the manufacturing capacity and skill to take on more models. So in that economic climate, it made sense to hedge bets by offloading work rather than taking on the economic risk of expansion, as their is a very real risk of expanding too much or too quickly. Fast forward a couple years and things are currently looking good with Spyderco. Golden capacity is maxed out and they decided to expand their plant, which they are currently doing. But this takes time; they have to build the buildings, train the workers, and the lead time on some large specialty equipment can be years.

The good news for those that want to buy domestically is that Golden will be producing more in the near future. Expansion is underway and I recall Sal saying they have been training new employees (IIRC, it takes a good 6 months). I understand the desire to buy American and, while I choose to buy the Taiwan models I like, am fine that others choose not to.

Well thought out and very informative post. Thanks for taking the time to put that together.
 
I never held one but I think the southard is over price $240 . And for those people that say it will cost more if it was built in the USA . Look at ZT new knife coming out 562 with m390 steel . MSRP $250 .

That said spyderco are the best priced knives IMHO .

I thought it was a little high, but I bought one anyway. Haven't stopped carrying it since I got it. The clip blows but otherwise it's an awesome knife.
 
Collaboration models are always going to be priced higher than an equivalent

Basically true, but look at the difference between collabs like the Moran or the GB compared to (my favorite whipping boy) the Leafstorm. Some of the designers clearly look for a whole lot more on sales than others.
 
They are overpriced. Cost of production and materials is probably very small but price is much much higher.
 
I agree, it would be really cool if spyderco were a volunteer/not for profit organization.

Oh yes if they donated their knives to us for charity that would be lovely!

/sarcasm

This thread and others like it are silly. Manufacturers aren't pricing things randomly. They have accountants and people involved in looking at cost to determine pricing. If not they would go out of business. Spyderco knives are overall some of the best production knives out there for the money. They aren't for everyone. They offer a very wide range of models to suit various tastes. The materials used and fit and finish warrant the prices. The Taiwan models aren't cheaply made 8cr budget Kershaw or Enlan knives. They use premium materials, a wide range of premium steels and a number of locks and designs.

Anyone claiming the Taiwan models are overpriced should buy and use a Gayle Bradley. Try finding a similarly built knife with CPM-M4 steel, carbon fiber, super smooth action and absolutely solid lockup for around $145. Try. That knife is a tank and worth every penny.
 
Personally and generally speaking it's a mixed bag. There are some downright terrific values, like GB, and even more expensive ones that are still good value, like Southard. I think that some of the newer ones and those from Japan are too expensive for what you get.

As an aside, I still think of the Spyderco knives coming out of the Taichung plant as some of the highest-quality production knives out there be that a $100 Sage 1 or a $210 Southard.
 
However, the post your were initially responding to was...well, I'll self-censor. :rolleyes:
 
I have owned and have some of the Taiwan models and I must say I think highly of them and most of them are price IMHO spot on . My only issue with spyderco is that they say they can't build a knife like the southard for 240 in the USA . So how come Zero Tolerance can build knives like the 560 and the new 0562 for the MSRP $250 . Even the Domino $200 when you have ZT 801 $170 MSRP . I like the dominio but I won't buy one unless I can get it at the exchange for a good price :)

In fairness to spyderco they do make the blade steel in the USA and have to ship them over sea and then get then shipped back .
 
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My only issue with spyderco is that they say they can't build a knife like the southard for 240 in the USA . So how come Zero Tolerance can build knives like the 560 and the new 0562 for the MSRP $250

Size of the company.
People seem to forget that Spyderco started off making NO knives (importer).
Now they have a factory where they can make some knives.

But, people want MORE knives...and more models...
Which involves the CONTINUATION of importation in order to meet the demand.

Do you not want more variety? Spyderco could produce a few models in the USA at decent prices (think Yojimbo 2 and Military), but there wouldn't be the wide range of models to choose from.

Just like the grocery store; if you limit yourself to things from the country you live in, you limit the options.
 
To answer the OP, I don't think Spyderco's knives are overpriced. There are some that are more expensive than I'm willing to pay, but that doesn't mean they're overpriced. Just that I'm not interested enough in the knife to fork over the money. Value is a different subject entirely, as value is dependent on the price to performance ratio. Higher quality materials may cost a lot more, but only perform a little bit better.

Addressing the reason behind manufacturing in Taiwan vs. the US. There are a few reasons. Before the Sage model came out, very few of Spyderco's knives were made in Taiwan. If I remember correctly, back when Sal was shopping the Sage idea around, he met with lots of knife makers, many of them in the US. The Sage was an ambitious project, with one handle size and shape accommodating various lock mechanisms. It was a huge engineering challenge as every variation would have to be re-engineered to make the project possible. There were a few makers that were capable of the quality that Spyderco demands, but the Taiwan maker was the only one who was both able and WILLING to take on the project. The Sage was a success and naturally all the other Sage models would be made there.

Now this next part is speculation, but based on economic realities (and little bits of info that I've gleaned from posts here and there by Sal). The Sage was released in 2008, the very same year that the economic crisis hit. Part of the fallout of this crisis is that businesses started playing it safe, not expanding, as new buildings and machinery are expensive, they had no idea how future business would be affected by the economy, and it was a bad time to borrow money. Concurrent with the depression/recovery years, Spyderco continued introducing new models and while also becoming more popular. As popularity and sales increased, the Golden plant couldn't handle all the demand with their current capacity, but expanding at that time was still too risky of a venture. Taiwan had done an excellent job with the Sage, had a good working relationship with Spyderco, and -very importantly- had the manufacturing capacity and skill to take on more models. So in that economic climate, it made sense to hedge bets by offloading work rather than taking on the economic risk of expansion, as their is a very real risk of expanding too much or too quickly. Fast forward a couple years and things are currently looking good with Spyderco. Golden capacity is maxed out and they decided to expand their plant, which they are currently doing. But this takes time; they have to build the buildings, train the workers, and the lead time on some large specialty equipment can be years.

The good news for those that want to buy domestically is that Golden will be producing more in the near future. Expansion is underway and I recall Sal saying they have been training new employees (IIRC, it takes a good 6 months). I understand the desire to buy American and, while I choose to buy the Taiwan models I like, am fine that others choose not to.
Great post! I can't wait for some new golden made models!!!
 
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