Ever heard of GSM Outdoors? They just bought Cold steel.

Quiet said:
I love how you keep bringing up Monday morning, as though this sale happened on Friday. It didn't.
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Maybe your reading comprehension just is not up to par, so I will try to keep it simple-
Most places don't conduct business on weekends. Today is Sunday. Tomorrow is Monday. Thats when most places begin their work week. So, once people get back to work on Monday maybe more information will be made available. Anything else you don't get don't be afraid to ask....
 
Quiet said:
First of all, you continue to be objectively incorrect on your assertions that no one knows the workings of this deal. Proof has been provided, but because you’re upset and don’t like the situation as it has developed you choose to use the “disappointed parent” routine and attempt to chastise us for our understanding. I know you don’t get it, but perhaps one day you will.

LT sold out, Sold Steel got bought and the company was gutted in the first hours of the acquisition. I don’t know how much clearer it needs to be made for you and your amazement and disappointment (LOL), but those are the facts. It’s been explained in this thread. The warranty language was changed IMMMEEEEEEDIATELY. The contact info was changed IMMMMEEEEEEDIATELY. One of our members in good standing with no reason to lie, called Sold Steel’s offices and an employee states that they had all been terminated. Lynn then put out a hostage video (blink twice if they have nukes, Lynn! LOL) in an effort to get people to not slam them or write off Sold Steel products (because the customer base is what GSM was buying).

This is a clear understanding we have. Then you come in talking about how we couldn’t possibly know the inner workings of the deal or the outcome of this. I mean...Sold Steel as we knew it was taken out back and shot as soon as the ink was dry, it’s clear to anyone without blinders on what’s going on here.

Do try to keep up.
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I'm very interested to know where you got your degree in psychology... Amazing how you can make such analysis from my brief and simple opinion on this thread. :rolleyes:
One again, I merely offered my opinion (far more so on the tone of the posts here than the actual sale and associated outcome) but because it's different than yours, you can't accept it. I can't help that.

If you don't like my opinion, that's fine. If you don't like what LT does, start your own knife company. Neither he, or anyone else, owes you or I or anyone here anything. So far, the sale is absolutely typical of what has been seen forever with many other companies in many industries. People on this forum have been affected by similar sales or buy-outs.

The goal of the overwhelming majority of people in business is to make money, not to cater to a small minority of their customers who consider themselves enthusiasts (of which all of us here likely are). Business owners do what they want. If you're a preferred stock holder, you may get to voice your opinion with a vote. If you're not, or the business is privately held, whatever they do is none of your business. We really just have two choices: buy their products or don't buy their products.

Complaining is fruitless. Criticizing the business decisions of the founder of a very successful company is questionable. I don't know... maybe you have more business acumen than Mr. Thompson.
 
Arathol said:
Maybe your reading comprehension just is not up to par, so I will try to keep it simple-
Most places don't conduct business on weekends. Today is Sunday. Tomorrow is Monday. Thats when most places begin their work week. So, once people get back to work on Monday maybe more information will be made available. Anything else you don't get don't be afraid to ask....
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please explain then why Thompson posted his video explanation in the video YESTERDAY WEEKEND SATURDAY NOT A WORK DAY?
thank you

amazing on a forum how opinions are not allowed
if I said a buck 119 was the greatest knife of all time we would argue forever
it is not a fact it is opinion
opinions are not allowed???????//
 
Arathol said:
Maybe your reading comprehension just is not up to par, so I will try to keep it simple-
Most places don't conduct business on weekends. Today is Sunday. Tomorrow is Monday. Thats when most places begin their work week. So, once people get back to work on Monday maybe more information will be made available. Anything else you don't get don't be afraid to ask....
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Again, seriously? Corporations don't sleep. That warranty page was changed today. Sunday. Weird huh?

At any rate, tomorrow is indeed Monday. So you can call and get us some facts. Oh, but you'll need to dig a little to find the actual Ventura number. Let me know if you need it.
 
gatorsnake said:
please explain then why Thompson posted his video explanation in the video YESTERDAY WEEKEND SATURDAY NOT A WORK DAY?
thank you

amazing on a forum how opinions are not allowed
if I said a buck 119 was the greatest knife of all time we would argue forever
it is not a fact it is opinion
opinions are not allowed???????//
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Do you recognize the difference between stating "in my opinion, the Buck 119 is the greatest knife of all time", versus "the Buck 119 is the greatest knife of all time." One sounds like an honest opinion. The other, like malarkey.
 
SanLuisObispo said:
Do you recognize the difference between stating "in my opinion, the Buck 119 is the greatest knife of all time", versus "the Buck 119 is the greatest knife of all time." One sounds like an honest opinion. The other, like malarkey.
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But many of us are not simply offering opinions here. We are inferring through known quantities based on the information given as well as personal experience working in business and applying the track record of other companies purchased by similar investing firms. Many of us are using logic to postulate (yes postulate, not prove) that we are concerned how this purchasing is going to affect OUR community. I really don't care how LT's bank account is doing or how he sleeps at night or if he hopes i say a little prayer for him for spearheading a company that designed knives I wanted to buy. I dont owe him any more than he owed me what I ordered and received.

Cold Steel, after expense and cost of goods sold, has probably earned a couple thousand dollars from my purchasing directly. So while I may be putting in more than 2 cents worth, I'm not bashing the company nor wishing anyone who enjoys the product ill will. I, like others, are applying experience to the situation at hand. We are poorer as a community to not have a CS owned by LT, but this is where we are.

I simply think that its wishful thinking and whistling past graveyards that this buy out is going to end in any other way short of a lesser product not aimed at US but aimed at those who may recognize a brand and care nothing for quality and pedigree of what came before.

The long and the short of it is that LT made Cold Steel what it is. Loud, proud, and over the top. LT personified his very company: a larger than life dude that was larger than average that tested his products onscreen and was clearly having a good time doing so. I can respect the hell out of that. But that's over now. At the absolute best, we can hope that LT stays on and helps the new design team keep the CS brand on scope. However, he is no longer the boss, the big dog. He's now just an employee and CS simply cannot be what it was without his lunatic genius steering the S.S. Hog-Whack to warm sands.

In my humble, honest, and educated opinion working in the business world with companies often purchased by investment firms, CS as we know it will never be as good as it was last week. We can tilt against windmills and "well we just don't KNOW!" all we like. It doesn't make it any less likely to be the outcome that we want.

The king is dead. Long live the king...in a blister pack on a sporting goods shelf.
 
Steely_Gunz said:
But many of us are not simply offering opinions here. We are inferring through known quantities based on the information given as well as personal experience working in business and applying the track record of other companies purchased by similar investing firms. Many of us are using logic to postulate (yes postulate, not prove) that we are concerned how this purchasing is going to affect OUR community. I really don't care how LT's bank account is doing or how he sleeps at night or if he hopes i say a little prayer for him for spearheading a company that designed knives I wanted to buy. I dont owe him any more than he owed me what I ordered and received.

Cold Steel, after expense and cost of goods sold, has probably earned a couple thousand dollars from my purchasing directly. So while I may be putting in more than 2 cents worth, I'm not bashing the company nor wishing anyone who enjoys the product ill will. I, like others, are applying experience to the situation at hand. We are poorer as a community to not have a CS owned by LT, but this is where we are.

I simply think that its wishful thinking and whistling past graveyards that this buy out is going to end in any other way short of a lesser product not aimed at US but aimed at those who may recognize a brand and care nothing for quality and pedigree of what came before.

The long and the short of it is that LT made Cold Steel what it is. Loud, proud, and over the top. LT personified his very company: a larger than life dude that was larger than average that tested his products onscreen and was clearly having a good time doing so. I can respect the hell out of that. But that's over now. At the absolute best, we can hope that LT stays on and helps the new design team keep the CS brand on scope. However, he is no longer the boss, the big dog. He's now just an employee and CS simply cannot be what it was without his lunatic genius steering the S.S. Hog-Whack to warm sands.

In my humble, honest, and educated opinion working in the business world with companies often purchased by investment firms, CS as we know it will never be as good as it was last week. We can tilt against windmills and "well we just don't KNOW!" all we like. It doesn't make it any less likely to be the outcome that we want.

The king is dead. Long live the king...in a blister pack on a sporting goods shelf.
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Steely_Gunz said:
But many of us are not simply offering opinions here. We are inferring through known quantities based on the information given as well as personal experience...
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Just look at what you wrote...

No matter what you base your opinions on in this context -- hard test data, emotion, perceived value when purchasing, it's still ultimately your opinion.

Thus, there is a world of difference in stating: "I think the Buck 119 is the greatest knife of all time" or "For my money, the Buck 119 is the greatest knife of all time" or "in my opinion, the Buck 119 is the greatest knife of all time", VERSUS "the Buck 119 is the greatest knife of all time." The first three come across as honest opinions, particularly if they were further backed-up. The fourth one is just an eye-roller.

If you honestly don't see the difference, I'm not sure what to add?

Steely_Gunz said:
...We are poorer as a community to not have a CS owned by LT, but this is where we are.
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I think that's probably true. But it's true because of the loss of the energy, love of the business, knowledge and skill that LCT brought to CS. That's not being recognized on this thread for the most part. The focus is on the inherent evil of conglomerates. That's ridiculous.

I do have the feeling that LCT's favorite part of being CS's chief was in developing and introducing new products, and not dealing with the myriad of minutia that comes with running a business. Thus, there's is a fair possibility that LCT will still be active in new product development.

There's also the (gasp) prospect of introducing new talent into CS. Not one person on this thread has posting on that possibility from what I have read.

Steely_Gunz said:
CS as we know it will never be as good as it was last week...
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That might very well be. I know nothing of CS's new owners. I also don't know what sorta shape CS's books were in at the time of the sale. As someone who has been involved with the acquisition of companies over the years by the company I worked for (a respected operating company, not an M&A house), things don't always go sour. Not by a long shot.

It's interesting. A number of years ago I wrote-up a case study related to this sorta stuff -- the good/bad aspects of conglomeration. For nearly the last 40 years, there has been a backlash to the what's known as the "Geneen Machine" -- the building of conglomerates, based on the work of Harold Geneen, the former CEO of ITT. Of course before that, CEOs like Geneen were being celebrated.

Anyway, the company I wrote the case study on was Remington -- long before Cerebus bought it. I focused on DuPont buying Remington -- a process which began during the Great Depression and ultimately benefited both companies for decades.

I do wonder, if CS was much much larger and more attractive and Berkshire-Hathaway bought them -- a company with an excellent record in accumulating companies, would the bitterness on this thread still exist?
 
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Mecha said:
"We at Mad Science Forge deeply apologize to any of our loyal consumers that they feel that way regarding our decision to sell to GSM. Rest assured, with their abundant marketing and product sources, they can take the brand to greater successes and places than I ever could."

EeDWCfC.jpg
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Steely_Gunz said:
But many of us are not simply offering opinions here. We are inferring through known quantities based on the information given as well as personal experience working in business and applying the track record of other companies purchased by similar investing firms. Many of us are using logic to postulate (yes postulate, not prove) that we are concerned how this purchasing is going to affect OUR community. I really don't care how LT's bank account is doing or how he sleeps at night or if he hopes i say a little prayer for him for spearheading a company that designed knives I wanted to buy. I dont owe him any more than he owed me what I ordered and received.
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So there are some who are making assumptions based on unconfirmed information, thats true. This will only affect the community if you let it and approach the issue with negativity and anger. It would seem the lynch mob is already in the street and being whipped up by the Cold Steel fanbois....


Steely_Gunz said:
I simply think that its wishful thinking and whistling past graveyards that this buy out is going to end in any other way short of a lesser product not aimed at US but aimed at those who may recognize a brand and care nothing for quality and pedigree of what came before.
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Probably also true but the ultimate outcome is yet to be determined. However....
I have never been a CS fan, never owned one that I can remember. Most of the stuff seemed either over priced, over hyped or geared toward the mall ninja crowd or shall we say the less mature buyer. I don't need tactical combat gear either. I have been looking at recent offerings, things have not changed that much. Some expensive stuff thats a bit on the outrageously oversized side, some more expensive stuff that may or may not be useful (machetes and Khukris and the like do have their place), some somewhat expensive tactical gear as always, but still lots of inexpensive knives and other stuff that has little actual usefulness outside certain circles. I don't think that the majority of the catalog items would have to change all that much to fall into the Walmart blister pack category. Some of what I see is pretty close to being there already. But then again, there may be someone who doesn't see the company as a means to an end, ie to turn a profit at the expense of all else, and that someone may just keep the status quo and put some apparently much needed capital into the company. Maybe you might yet see those knives made from A2 steel. Just maybe the low end junk will be weeded out and the brand could be moved upscale instead of down, producing a smaller quantity of knives of a better quality. Or maybe not, we will need to wait and see.......Many that have claimed to be long time CS fans have jumped ship because things are getting a bit rough and are pointing their fingers at Thompson because they need to have somebody to blame for this. Maybe they should support him more at least until all the facts are known. I'm not taking sides here, and it doesn't bother me either way, it just seems like judgment has been passed without full disclosure. If information released or uncovered in the days to come is indicating a less than good outcome, only than should we resort to the pitchforks and torches.....
 
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