Best place to buy a knife

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Slow7

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Everyone want's to go to a local retailer and personally choose their own knife, but in the day of internet sales it's just not possible. Or in my case there is not a store in Sacramento that has a good Benchmade selection.

Production knifes should all be the same, should be, so how do I buy one without taking the chance of getting the runt in the batch. Is the any retailer out there who will take the time to hand pick my new 940-1

What online retailer do you trust?
 
One of the problems is that we cannot mention stores that do not support this forum. I know of a place that ships knives free ;) that is good about helping. I buy most of my knives from knifeworks.com.
 
Benchmade knives are sold under a strict Minimum Advertised Price policy, so pricing should be nearly identical across most resellers, with the exception of exclusives and special factory orders that are unique to particular dealers. There's a list of Bladeforums sponsoring member dealers (who have paid for a membership here that we can mention. Others we cannot.

The list:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1089879-Paid-Dealer-Members-List
 
jc57 said:
Benchmade knives are sold under a strict Minimum Advertised Price policy, so pricing should be nearly identical across most resellers, with the exception of exclusives and special factory orders that are unique to particular dealers. There's a list of Bladeforums sponsoring member dealers (who have paid for a membership here that we can mention. Others we cannot.
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All the Benchmades I have seen in person have been way over the MAP price online. If you have a brick and mortar near you that is competitive with online MAP resellers count yourself lucky.

Most of the paying dealers here will hand select a good knife for you. Further, if you get a runt most paid dealers here will be very good about taking a return.

Paid dealer list: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1089879-Paid-Dealer-Members-List
 
Slow7 said:
Everyone want's to go to a local retailer and personally choose their own knife, but in the day of internet sales it's just not possible. Or in my case there is not a store in Sacramento that has a good Benchmade selection.

Production knifes should all be the same, should be, so how do I buy one without taking the chance of getting the runt in the batch. Is the any retailer out there who will take the time to hand pick my new 940-1

What online retailer do you trust?
Click to expand...

Benchmade does a great job at quality control and they have map pricing so all the dealers will be the same price. It will come down to customer service. While we have some on order, we are out of this knife at the moment. I'm sure many of the dealers would be happy to inspect your purchase to make sure you get a good one. Usually, you can enter some order notes at check out. You will LOVE the 940-1
 
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craytab said:
All the Benchmades I have seen in person have been way over the MAP price online. If you have a brick and mortar near you that is competitive with online MAP resellers count yourself lucky.

Most of the paying dealers here will hand select a good knife for you. Further, if you get a runt most paid dealers here will be very good about taking a return.

Paid dealer list: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1089879-Paid-Dealer-Members-List
Click to expand...

Not just Benchmade knives but all of the quality knives I have seen in stores have been priced to where you would be foolish to not buy online. I will never forget when I was in Foley, AL. a few years back at a knife store and they wanted $150 for a Spyderco Sage 1. I was so close to buying it till I pulled out my phone and realized that it was waay cheaper online. When I was in Gatlinburg, Smokey Mountain Knife was competitive in prices though so I guess it just depends
 
Absolutely not true. Some Benchmade dealers mark the knives higher than MAP.

KnivesShipFree said:
Benchmade does a great job at quality control and they have map pricing so all the dealers will be the same price. It will come down to customer service. While we have some on order, we are out of this knife at the moment. I'm sure many of the dealers would be happy to inspect your purchase to make sure you get a good one. Usually, you will can enter some order notes at check out. You will LOVE the 940-1
Click to expand...
 
KnivesShipFree said:
Benchmade does a great job at quality control and they have map pricing so all the dealers will be the same price. It will come down to customer service. While we have some on order, we are out of this knife at the moment. I'm sure many of the dealers would be happy to inspect your purchase to make sure you get a good one. Usually, you will can enter some order notes at check out. You will LOVE the 940-1
Click to expand...

Ben, this is totally off topic but my brother bought a buck knife from you guys earlier in the year. I can't remember who he said he talked to but he said you guys were really nice (he isn't much of a knife guy) and helped him a lot. I just want to thank you for helping him out and giving him great customer service.

Thanks,
 
KnivesShipFree said:
Benchmade does a great job at quality control and they have map pricing so all the dealers will be the same price. It will come down to customer service. While we have some on order, we are out of this knife at the moment. I'm sure many of the dealers would be happy to inspect your purchase to make sure you get a good one. Usually, you will can enter some order notes at check out. You will LOVE the 940-1
Click to expand...

I love you KSF but I agree with what others are saying. The brick and mortar stores around me sell higher than online MAP. Now, if you are comparing prices between online resellers you would be correct. MAP has forced online dealers to price basically the same. The store fronts in my area have not gotten that memo yet.

And as for QC, there are tons of very well documented cases from longtime and respected members here that show BM does let through some runts. The OP would be wise to buy from one of you guys, they paid dealers here, and have his knife inspected for centering, blade play, and grind consistency. This way he can support the dealers who support our community, get the best price possible, and get a perfect knife.
 
"The OP would be wise to buy from one of you guys, they paid dealers here, and have his knife inspected for centering, blade play, and grind consistency. This way he can support the dealers who support our community, get the best price possible, and get a perfect knife"

Thanks to all of you who posted, that is exactly what i have done is order my knife from a dealer here.

Thanks everyone
 
Slow7 said:
"The OP would be wise to buy from one of you guys, they paid dealers here, and have his knife inspected for centering, blade play, and grind consistency. This way he can support the dealers who support our community, get the best price possible, and get a perfect knife"

Thanks to all of you who posted, that is exactly what i have done is order my knife from a dealer here.

Thanks everyone
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congrats! Let us know how you like it when it arrives!
 
The three I deal with mostvare also all 3 supporting members of the site:
bladehq
Knifecenter
Knifeworks

I speak highly of all 3, and while there are some others i've used as well (not to be named), as I like to shop around for best prices and deals, between those three more often then not I find what I want at a fair market price.
 
Smooth_Operater said:
Not just Benchmade knives but all of the quality knives I have seen in stores have been priced to where you would be foolish to not buy online. I will never forget when I was in Foley, AL. a few years back at a knife store and they wanted $150 for a Spyderco Sage 1. I was so close to buying it till I pulled out my phone and realized that it was waay cheaper online. When I was in Gatlinburg, Smokey Mountain Knife was competitive in prices though so I guess it just depends
Click to expand...
Pretty sure which shop you're speaking of, and I've been there. Was looking at some CRKs and ESEEs there, and the salesman there told me not to hesitate on making an offer on anything, super nice guy. My local shop where I bought a plain small Sebenza, they actually had the smalls listed for a bit less than online prices (the large 21s, 25s, and Zaans were all considerably more). After a little haggling, I got it tax and all a few dollars less than I wouldve gotten it online. Since MAP, their Benchmades have also become cheaper than online. That's what I do like about B&M stores is the ability to haggle. Some play ball, some don't.

For online dealers, I don't mind paying a few dollars more for good service. I'll stick with the paid dealers for recommendations. Knifeworks and National Knives have both been good to me. There are some non-paid dealers I've had exemplary service with also.
 
Smooth_Operater said:
Ben, this is totally off topic but my brother bought a buck knife from you guys earlier in the year. I can't remember who he said he talked to but he said you guys were really nice (he isn't much of a knife guy) and helped him a lot. I just want to thank you for helping him out and giving him great customer service.

Thanks,
Click to expand...

Thanks for the kind words. We love wowing people.
 
In sacramento, CA. Wild Sports on greenback lane. excellent benchmade and spyderco selection. They have the benchmade 940 and 940-1 on display and in stock
 
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i've gone through Tony @bladecousa several times and he's been more than helpful with assisting me on choices... in addition Jim and Barb from Howes Knife Shop have been awesome as well. For more popular production choices (or cool sprint runs) I've usually gone through Knifeworks.
 
My 3 favorites here are GP Knives, KSF and usamadeblade.
Excellent service.....they all go above and beyond!
 
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