Attention BIG CHANGES: New Shop, New Website, New Fiddleback Friday, New Team Members

Fiddleback Outpost Fiddleback Outpost

Previously, the mailing of Fiddleback Friday knives was done on the following Wednesday because Mondays included final sharpening.

Will the cycle be changing so that
a) The for sale pics will be of sharpened knives, unless Allen ever does the sharpening? (still gotta give Allen a hard time about that Minuteman :D)

b) Shipping will happen a smidge faster, unless it's for Choppa's knives? (in which case I've hacked USPS to reroute all of his packages to go to my address ;))

Just thought those could be potential :thumbsup:differences.

Thanks
 
Any thoughts as to how you might handle the Fotki photo archive(s) for Fiddleback Fridays moving forward?
I always liked how it was possible go back to earlier week/month/year to look at previous knives that had been offered.
Phillip was doing the photos... I suppose that will now be transitioning to Robert? Will the FF pictures still be uploaded to your Fotki account?
 
The knives will be sharpened when Robert receives them..

Wait, Robert will be sharpening now?? Awww hell, now we're in trouble for sure! lol

Any thoughts as to how you might handle the Fotki photo archive(s) for Fiddleback Fridays moving forward?
I always liked how it was possible go back to earlier week/month/year to look at previous knives that had been offered.
Phillip was doing the photos... I suppose that will now be transitioning to Robert? Will the FF pictures still be uploaded to your Fotki account?

I vote that Robert loads at least 1 pic of each FF Friday knife. Having that history and reference there is sooooo rewarding and fun to search back through.

And shooot, this will surely cut down on the ability to call Dibs or to track down a knife that you really wanted and someone bought but is just sitting in a safe. Btw, that is a benefit for potential sellers as well as those who missed a knife. I keep thinking of positive things and negative things here, but at the end of the day they're really neither positive or negative .. as Andy said, it is just change given growth.

Fiddleback Outpost Fiddleback Outpost
One idea for could be that the Newsletter or Fiddleback Friday sales page has a link for the "Well its Friday" thread that could promote that as a discussion medium. Unless people get nasty (which I doubt) I can only see this as a benefit for business since it will raise interest beyond the BladeForum community. I know that Makers often struggle with "BladeForums is a good start but I need to expand my market" but this whole deal should expand the market plus potentially raise interest/activity for the Fiddleback BladeForum area. Plus, it would give a place for customer feedback that could otherwise not be captured. (eg Challenges or questions with the checkout process)


PS Thanks for considering any of our ideas/feedback
 
Wish I signed up for the letter a few days ago! I probably would have jumped on that Desert Ironwood Monarch or one of the Old School Kardas. Beautiful knives!
 
I hope this question will not be in poor taste, as it is not in my nature to quibble over the little things, but it might be of interest to others besides myself.

Andy and Phillip had recently mentioned a discount of 10% on a subsequent purchase of knives (when bought directly from Fiddleback) for anyone who posted a review of a Fiddleback Forge knife outside of this sub-forum. The intent, I believe, was to encourage us to spread the word about the knives to folks who may not have had exposure to the brand. I still believe that it’s a worthwhile idea, as it benefits all parties involved. I’m not aware of any other discounts being offered, but the same question applies....

With the new checkout process, will there be a chance to claim a discount? Or will this discount deal no longer exist?
 
I hope this question will not be in poor taste, as it is not in my nature to quibble over the little things, but it might be of interest to others besides myself.

Andy and Phillip had recently mentioned a discount of 10% on a subsequent purchase of knives (when bought directly from Fiddleback) for anyone who posted a review of a Fiddleback Forge knife outside of this sub-forum. The intent, I believe, was to encourage us to spread the word about the knives to folks who may not have had exposure to the brand. I still believe that it’s a worthwhile idea, as it benefits all parties involved. I’m not aware of any other discounts being offered, but the same question applies....

With the new checkout process, will there be a chance to claim a discount? Or will this discount deal no longer exist?
THAT is a good question! Andy has long offered a $5 discount for Blade Forum members with gold membership or higher. There was a 10% discount on a direct Fiddleback purchase after purchasing from/ supporting a dealer (1 time, 1:1 only). And there's the (pretty sure 10%) LE/ military discount. I think you can only take up to 10% + $5. But I also know Robert has said in the past that post- purchase discounts aren't possible through Fiddleback Outpost. The website platform is the same so it would still seem impossible to get discount codes AND still quickly shark a knife. Hmmmm

Andy/ Robert, if ya'll need a couple cases of brew to sit over and work this out, let me know the preferred beverage and where to send it. :D
 
Has the ability to call the shop and purchase a knife from "inventory" gone away??
Thanks!
 
Has the ability to call the shop and purchase a knife from "inventory" gone away??
Thanks!
And if it is an option, does a person call Robert who has finished inventory or literally the Fiddleback Forge shop? More brewskies ;)
 
First off, I want to thank everyone for embracing the change and being incredibly positive in all of your feedback. We're all thrilled that everyone seems to like the updates! I'll try to answer some of the questions below.

OK, here goes. This is going to be a long one....

The stalk buyer button is not visible in Chrome. Please fix so I know who to pester
Should we just copy you on all orders?

Fiddleback Outpost Fiddleback Outpost

Previously, the mailing of Fiddleback Friday knives was done on the following Wednesday because Mondays included final sharpening.
Shipping is Monday-Friday (except major holidays). Knives will ship next business day. Because shipping speed has improved, we've bumped free shipping to USPS First Class Mail...but you have the option of upgrading to USPS Priority Mail at checkout (paid upgrade). We've shipped 1000's of packages and have found that 1st Class Mail is typically only a day or two longer than Priority in most of the country...so even with that change, because they'll go out the door faster, the packages should see a faster delivery time than before.

Any thoughts as to how you might handle the Fotki photo archive(s) for Fiddleback Fridays moving forward?
I always liked how it was possible go back to earlier week/month/year to look at previous knives that had been offered.
Phillip was doing the photos... I suppose that will now be transitioning to Robert? Will the FF pictures still be uploaded to your Fotki account?
Keep in mind that Fotki was a necessary evil before as the photos put here into Blade Forum had to be hosted on another site to embed them. With the new website handling this function already for the actual listings...there's no systematic reason to post them there also.

I'll have to think about a way to maybe create an archive of past sales on the site...but the problem there is that it would make the search function almost useless for people trying to find a specific knife that is actually for sale as they would be bombarded with every listing ever. I'm not sure how to combat this one at the moment...I'll have to noodle it.

I vote that Robert loads at least 1 pic of each FF Friday knife. Having that history and reference there is sooooo rewarding and fun to search back through.
...
Fiddleback Outpost Fiddleback Outpost
One idea for could be that the Newsletter or Fiddleback Friday sales page has a link for the "Well its Friday" thread that could promote that as a discussion medium. Unless people get nasty (which I doubt) I can only see this as a benefit for business since it will raise interest beyond the BladeForum community. I know that Makers often struggle with "BladeForums is a good start but I need to expand my market" but this whole deal should expand the market plus potentially raise interest/activity for the Fiddleback BladeForum area. Plus, it would give a place for customer feedback that could otherwise not be captured. (eg Challenges or questions with the checkout process)
Not sure yet on the Fotki alternative...any strategy should keeps number of resource down...in other words...keep it on Blade Forums or on the site without having yet another place to go look at things. Would make it easier on everyone. I'm noodling on it. Of course, maybe we could give you the Fotki login and let YOU manage it. :cool:

So are you selling knives at Blade?
Forge is at Table 4E and Outpost is at Booth #648. Both will have knives.

Andy and Phillip had recently mentioned a discount of 10% on a subsequent purchase of knives (when bought directly from Fiddleback) for anyone who posted a review of a Fiddleback Forge knife outside of this sub-forum. The intent, I believe, was to encourage us to spread the word about the knives to folks who may not have had exposure to the brand. I still believe that it’s a worthwhile idea, as it benefits all parties involved. I’m not aware of any other discounts being offered, but the same question applies....

With the new checkout process, will there be a chance to claim a discount? Or will this discount deal no longer exist?
As of right now, the only discount we have in place is the military discount (I'll create a post on this today). HOWEVER, there may be something wonderful coming down the road for people who evangelize elsewhere. It's in the works.

THAT is a good question! Andy has long offered a $5 discount for Blade Forum members with gold membership or higher. There was a 10% discount on a direct Fiddleback purchase after purchasing from/ supporting a dealer (1 time, 1:1 only). And there's the (pretty sure 10%) LE/ military discount. I think you can only take up to 10% + $5. But I also know Robert has said in the past that post- purchase discounts aren't possible through Fiddleback Outpost. The website platform is the same so it would still seem impossible to get discount codes AND still quickly shark a knife. Hmmmm

Andy/ Robert, if ya'll need a couple cases of brew to sit over and work this out, let me know the preferred beverage and where to send it. :D
The checkout will only allow one discount at a time, so there's no way to combine two. I'll create a thread on the Service Member discounts.

On the sharking using a discount code...I can now create a URL that has it built-in, so using that link would skip the need to enter the promotion code, however, as with anything in life...have a backup plan! I don't know how it's affected when "double linking". For example, I don't know how it would work if you clicked the discount code to go to the site...but then clicked a newsletter link to land on the specific page. So, one would need to keep the promotion code handy.
 
Thanks for the clarification. I'm ready to get my next Fiddleback.

BTW, I enjoyed the guild pictures. I recognized most of the makers and Dennis' knives looked great as usual.
It's interesting that after a couple of Trackrocks I can look at the pics and identify the makers.

You got that dehumpedback coming your way...

I vote that Robert loads at least 1 pic of each FF Friday knife. Having that history and reference there is sooooo rewarding and fun to search back through.

And shooot, this will surely cut down on the ability to call Dibs or to track down a knife that you really wanted and someone bought but is just sitting in a safe. Btw, that is a benefit for potential sellers as well as those who missed a knife. I keep thinking of positive things and negative things here, but at the end of the day they're really neither positive or negative .. as Andy said, it is just change given growth.

Fiddleback Outpost Fiddleback Outpost
One idea for could be that the Newsletter or Fiddleback Friday sales page has a link for the "Well its Friday" thread that could promote that as a discussion medium. Unless people get nasty (which I doubt) I can only see this as a benefit for business since it will raise interest beyond the BladeForum community. I know that Makers often struggle with "BladeForums is a good start but I need to expand my market" but this whole deal should expand the market plus potentially raise interest/activity for the Fiddleback BladeForum area. Plus, it would give a place for customer feedback that could otherwise not be captured. (eg Challenges or questions with the checkout process)


PS Thanks for considering any of our ideas/feedback

Robert will be sending Phillip pics of the knives so he can write the preview thread. Phillip will load them onto Fotki at that time. You are right, it is a valuable record of the knives, and my level of skill. Thats a great point.

I also addressed the linking to the Well its Friday thread from the newsletter, and that will be happening.

Great points. Keep them coming.





So are you selling knives at Blade?

Yes. And they'll all be sheepsfoot, so no point! Woot!

I hope this question will not be in poor taste, as it is not in my nature to quibble over the little things, but it might be of interest to others besides myself.

Andy and Phillip had recently mentioned a discount of 10% on a subsequent purchase of knives (when bought directly from Fiddleback) for anyone who posted a review of a Fiddleback Forge knife outside of this sub-forum. The intent, I believe, was to encourage us to spread the word about the knives to folks who may not have had exposure to the brand. I still believe that it’s a worthwhile idea, as it benefits all parties involved. I’m not aware of any other discounts being offered, but the same question applies....

With the new checkout process, will there be a chance to claim a discount? Or will this discount deal no longer exist?

More great points. I have re-assessed the discounts and there will be small changes, but nothing big. The discounts and new discount policy is below. Robert is writing a technical "how to" thread on the discounts now.

-Military Veteran/1st Responder Discount - This is not something that I would ever get rid of. Robert has always had this policy as well. It will be continuing.
-Review Discount - This will also continue. The flow of it will look this way. Post a review in a forum elsewhere, post a thread here linking to it, send Phillip an e-mail about the review, and finally Phillip will e-mail you a code to use at fiddlebackforge.com during your next purchase. If you purchase a knife direct via a show or a group buy, the system would work the same. Just calc it at the paypal payment screen, and mention it in the notes.
-Other Dealer Purchase Discount - This will work much like the Review Discount. Buy knife, e-mail Phillip receipt and receive a code that will get you the discount on the website. Alternately for direct purchase, e-mail receipt to Phillip and take discount at PP.
-Gold Membership Level Discount - Unfortunately, this one will not be offered through fiddlebackforge.com. It will still be offered on direct purchases during group buys and also at shows. The site will only let you take one discount.

We have always limited the discount to 1 plus the $5 anyway, so really there is little change.

Just to address it we will continue to donate money to the Give Us Paws folks each week based on FF sales. I didn't serve our country in the military, but I really appreciate those that did.

Has the ability to call the shop and purchase a knife from "inventory" gone away??
Thanks!

Not necessarily. If I have a knife in a tray, and you call Phillip and say thats your dream knife I'm going to sell it to you. Thats what I do for a living. :)
 
Not sure yet on the Fotki alternative...any strategy should keeps number of resource down...in other words...keep it on Blade Forums or on the site without having yet another place to go look at things. Would make it easier on everyone. I'm noodling on it. Of course, maybe we could give you the Fotki login and let YOU manage it. :cool:

That's a thought. How about for a 2nd discount? bwahahahaha

btw, I don't recall seeing the beverage preference amongst all of your awesome responses.
 
More great points. I have re-assessed the discounts and there will be small changes, but nothing big. The discounts and new discount policy is below. Robert is writing a technical "how to" thread on the discounts now.

-Military Veteran/1st Responder Discount - This is not something that I would ever get rid of. Robert has always had this policy as well. It will be continuing.
-Review Discount - This will also continue. The flow of it will look this way. Post a review in a forum elsewhere, post a thread here linking to it, send Phillip an e-mail about the review, and finally Phillip will e-mail you a code to use at fiddlebackforge.com during your next purchase. If you purchase a knife direct via a show or a group buy, the system would work the same. Just calc it at the paypal payment screen, and mention it in the notes.
-Other Dealer Purchase Discount - This will work much like the Review Discount. Buy knife, e-mail Phillip receipt and receive a code that will get you the discount on the website. Alternately for direct purchase, e-mail receipt to Phillip and take discount at PP.
-Gold Membership Level Discount - Unfortunately, this one will not be offered through fiddlebackforge.com. It will still be offered on direct purchases during group buys and also at shows. The site will only let you take one discount.

We have always limited the discount to 1 plus the $5 anyway, so really there is little change.

Thread is up at https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/discounts-for-fiddleback-forge-website.1578400/
Hopefully I covered it all...but probably not :confused:

btw, I don't recall seeing the beverage preference amongst all of your awesome responses.
Bourbon, biltong, bourbon, beef jerky, & bourbon. Not necessarily in that order.
 
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