Benchmade resale value? Why so low?

wtlj

wtlj

Joined
Jun 30, 2014
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I'll be honest I'm more of a spyderco user but like to try knives from Benchmade, ZT, etc. I can usually always sell my Spyderco's, ZT's, etc for 5%-10% less than retail if they are BNIB. It seems every time I put a Benchmade in the exchange I have to give it away or keep it. For example I have a Mini Presidio, 484 Nakamura, & 300-1 Flipper for sale now and have dropped the prices numerous times to 20%-30% below retail and still haven't sold.
So is Benchmades retail value the lowest in the game or do I just have bad luck with them?
 
Cue the complaining about MAP...

But seriously, I don't know. The new price at an online knife retailer is almost always going to be 85% of the MSRP a listed on the Benchmade site. Until sometime late in 2013 advertised prices were lower, so many consider BM knives to be overpriced now. But knives like the 484 weren't released then.

I think it also depends on the popularity of the particular model.
 
I think you have answered your own question there at the end.
I have encountered the same thing and I also think it's because you can buy them at retail stores everywhere. IE flooded market.
If I were to leave my house I could tell you 10 places that are near me that sell BM and only 2 that sells Spyderco.
Those two only sell Delicas and police models no cool stuff.

I don't think serious knife guys see the same perceived value. It's hard to pay $110 for a mini grip when for the same price you can get a Manix 2 or better yet a Para2.
ZT and Spyderco seem to push out currently relative designs by collaborating with makers who are in demand.
Osborne,Pardue,Lum,Mchenery & Williams, VS Bradley,Southard,Lum,Anso,Wilson,Goddard,Perrin ,Terzuola, Schempp etc etc not to mention the Glesser family is pretty good.
I admit I am a Spyderco fan boy but I do like BM knives I just don't ever remember getting excited about a new one that's coming out.
 
I really think it has more to do with the volume of BM out there. I'm surprised that almost every little gun/knife store will carry a few BM's as their top line. As someone has mentioned, it's almost like the mkt is flooded with them. I've pretty much stopped buying them except for their LE's. And even those lose value. On the other hand, ZT Hinderer......
 
I think there are several factors. MAP enforcement is fresh so a lot of people instantly think, "last year I could have got that for less (if that model were available)." But bigger than that is the models you picked. They are really good knives, but these models are not hard to find (lots of retailers, no shortage) and aren't best sellers (ritter griptilian, 940, etc). Also, the price range is a tough one for the nakamura and flipper. There is a real sweet spot in the $85-115 range for quality EDC and these are being released just beyond that. They are nice knives, but they don't knock it out of the park or haven't picked up a following. I really like the 300, but I like my griptilians more.
 
You can search eBay "sold" listings to give you a good idea what your knives have recently sold for. To give you an idea, I bought a new 300-1 right before the MAP increase for ~$100.
 
aquaman67 said:
You can search eBay "sold" listings to give you a good idea what your knives have recently sold for. To give you an idea, I bought a new 300-1 right before the MAP increase for ~$100.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip...but my question was why are they so cheap on the secondary market not what are they worth. Thanks for all the answers guys.
 
Spyderco fan boy here. :D

I owned a mini grip years ago and it never caught on to me. I just bought a 484 Nakamura off the exchange and got it yesterday. It is a nice knife, but there is no way it is a $225 retail and $190 street price knife. I see it more as a $125 street price knife.

I will buy more Benchmade knives in the future, but it has to be a really good deal.
 
wtlj said:
I'll be honest I'm more of a spyderco user but like to try knives from Benchmade, ZT, etc. I can usually always sell my Spyderco's, ZT's, etc for 5%-10% less than retail if they are BNIB. It seems every time I put a Benchmade in the exchange I have to give it away or keep it. For example I have a Mini Presidio, 484 Nakamura, & 300-1 Flipper for sale now and have dropped the prices numerous times to 20%-30% below retail and still haven't sold.
So is Benchmades retail value the lowest in the game or do I just have bad luck with them?
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Sorry but for 5%-10% off the new price I would generally just buy new. To buy on the used market, even LNIB, I wait for something closer to 20%-30%. I guess for the BMs I have sold post MAP I have experienced the opposite of you. Mine have all sold very well and for more than I would have been able to sell them for pre-map.

And as TechDoc said, it might be model specific. Me personally, I wouldn't buy any of the models you listed, for even 40%-50% off.

Finally, it can be just dumb luck. I have had grips with G10 scales (cuscadia & REI) sit through several posting cycles with not even a sniff. Then one day, someone finally sees them and they are gone. It may take time.
 
I have to agree with Craytab here. For 5% - 10% off the new retail price or retail in general I would buy new. I much prefer the backing and assurance of a known retailer. Even if stated as NIB or LNIB to me it's still used or second hand. For me to buy off the exchange it's going to have to be a better deal. The exception being rare or discontinued models, not currently in production, production knives.

As far as Benchmade's resale value in general I think they hold their value pretty well if not better then other brands based on my sales and regular review of the exchange. A lot is model specific though, Some models are much more desired then others. That's true of any brand.
 
Op, did you bother to check the exchange before you started this thread?
I just saw a ZT 0560bw lnib for $150 and a lnib 0560 for $170. About $100 below brand new price and far north of the 5-10% below that you quoted.
There are also (3) Benchmades for apx. 15% less than brand new.
I didn't look at Spyderco but you get the idea.
 
Yes I did, however I said nothing about how cheap you'll see them just what they usually bring. It's just been my experience but probably just bad luck. Thanks for all the insight Gentleman. I just sold 3 out of the 4 I had and don't plan on getting any more.
 
It's you....

If you are selling Spyderco's used at 95% of everyday retail, you are golden!!

I don't agree with you. I don't think BM alone is so cheap, I think they are all cheap to a certain extent.

I just paid $106 for a Manix 2 XL, today I found them for $89.

If you have buyers that will pay more than everyday retail for a used knife from you, you are truly blessed!!
 
mudhen said:
It's you....

If you are selling Spyderco's used at 95% of everyday retail, you are golden!!

I don't agree with you. I don't think BM alone is so cheap, I think they are all cheap to a certain extent.

I just paid $106 for a Manix 2 XL, today I found them for $89.

If you have buyers that will pay more than everyday retail for a used knife from you, you are truly blessed!!
Click to expand...

Did you even read the OP? I said New not used resale! I'll admit that most BNIB ones I sell are 10% off the cheapest online source however the Manix S110V & Chapparel I sold last week were 5-6% off.
 
Hi Terry...

I've noticed the same thing with the BMs that I've tried to sell. I often end up using them as trade material instead of outright sales. I think it's a combination of factors that folks have already mentioned. Model popularity has a lot to do with it. The REI Grip in your thread sold fairly quickly. G10 Grips are really popular right now. Beats me why BM doesn't make a G10 option available themselves.

The 300-1 and 484 are probably going to appeal to a pretty specific group of knife users and they may have all they want for now. The 300 has been out a while and the 484 is going to feel really good to some folks and not good at all to a lot of others. Hand sizes are very different and a handle as sculpted as the 484's won't fit everybody.

Also, I think there's still a lot of backlash about BMs MAP policy that's making people see new BMs as significantly overpriced, so they're not willing to buy NIB even with a 5%-10% discount. It just seems that this isn't a good time to "test the waters" with BMs.
 
Dale, I appreciate the insight! That's exactly what I ended up doing is trading for more spyderco's! Only one left is the 484. I wasn't around in the knife world before the map pricing update so not sure how much price was increased.
 
They used to sell online for anywhere from 25% to 40% below retail depending on the dealer and any "specials" they might be runnin'. The more common percentage was around 30% -35% IIRC from the prices listed. As far as the 484 is concerned, I've tried several times to like that knife because of the M390 and AXIS lock. Also, the size is right in my sweet spot for everyday carry. I just can't get past the handle. I suspect I'm not the only one.
 
I don't think your the only one! It seems to be a love hate relationship with me as well. I wanted so bad to edc it but sadly it's just not comfortable for me!
 
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