Places to shop for custom knives

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Barnum7

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There have been a few threads for this in the past, but since things change, I'm just seeing what people think.

Places where you can buy and sell custom knives in a "Marketplace" environment, that isn't consignment etc.

BladeForums.com (obviously)
Etsy.com (small selection)
JustCustomKnives.com (New, but solid)
CustomMade.com (though this is intended for made to order knives)

The
arizonacustomknives.com
http://www.bladehq.com
of the world are consignment based, which is kinda a pain, so I'm leaving them out.
 
What's wrong with a consignment based site? I think they serve a useful purpose. Prices have to be competitive or else it won't sell.
 
I'm not hating on them. They are fine for some people and some situations, but they often charge 25% of the sales price, which I think is too steep for what they provide. I am looking to list cheaper, or even free, websites that allow everyone to buy and sell directly, without having to ship my knife off to a 3rd party.
 
Barnum7 said:
I'm not hating on them. They are fine for some people and some situations, but they often charge 25% of the sales price, which I think is too steep for what they provide. I am looking to list cheaper, or even free, websites that allow everyone to buy and sell directly, without having to ship my knife off to a 3rd party.
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For the most part what consignors such as Blade Gallery, Nordic Knives, Knife Purveyors, Arizona etc provide for their 25% is contacts or exposure for your custom knives to worldwide buyers who are willing and able to purchase them for what they are worth. I found during my early years of collecting (before building up my own contacts) that even after paying commissions my net would often be more selling via consignors than selling on my own.

Selling custom knives and getting what they are worth is all about having desirable knives to sell and having contacts.
Frankly, I wasn't impressed with Etsy.com (small selection); JustCustomKnives.com (New, but solid) or CustomMade.com (though this is intended for made to order knives)

Personally, I find forum custom knife classifieds areas good places to buy knives buy not so much to sell knives.
 
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It seems, by your rationale, the reason online consignment shops are superior to a site like etsy or ebay is that they offer a niche market only for knives, and the knives don't get lost in the sea of other listings. This brings true knife connoisseurs to the sites because they will be able to browse custom knives, and not get distracted with other things. There are also a number of consignment sites that have been around for many years and they have a footing in the industry, while sites like JustCustomKnives.com and CustomMade.com are relative new comers.

However, it is my view that consignment is an old idea, and in time will be displaced by a superior alternative. You say that "exposure for your custom knives to worldwide buyers who are willing and able to purchase them for what they are worth". That doesn't seem to be a benefit of consignment, but more a benefit of the Knife Purveyors of the world having a footing in the marketplace as they have been around longer.

For me I still prefer to pay less then 25% commission, or none at all, though to do that I agree that you need people looking at your knives that actually want to buy them, and for that I'm looking for alternatives to consignment. It sounds like your experience with selling knives online was earlier in your career and perhaps you don't have much experience with this new breed of websites where we can sell knives?

I have very little experience selling my knives, as I'm a newbie, but I have to believe something like Etsy.com (alot of traffic looking to buy) or JustCustomKnives.com (niche and free) will be a solid option in the future, as I don't wanna have to ship my knife off to a 3rd party, and then wait for them to sell it, then send me the money, only to have them take 25%...dunno.

What is your experience with the Blade Forums marketplace (not to bring heat to you)?
 
If you don't want to pay someone else, you have to do it yourself.
It is actually really easy.
1st you will need to build a decent website.
Then you need to get a merchant account to process credit card payments.
or you can use paypal. Either one will charge around 3% to process the payments.
You will want to make sure you take professional photos of your knives and keep your website updated daily.
Be sure to answer all emails within hours, not days.
When something is purchased be sure to ship promptly.
Insure whatever you mail.
Keep a financial buffer to deal with refunds for returns or lost items.
Make sure you do a good job marketing yourself so people will know to come to you when they want to spend money on a custom knife.
Nothing to it.

and.....make knives people will want to buy.

My opinion is that the knife sellers are definitely working for their money.
 
Barnum7 said:
It seems, by your rationale, the reason online consignment shops are superior to a site like etsy or ebay is that they offer a niche market only for knives, and the knives don't get lost in the sea of other listings. This brings true knife connoisseurs to the sites because they will be able to browse custom knives, and not get distracted with other things. There are also a number of consignment sites that have been around for many years and they have a footing in the industry, while sites like JustCustomKnives.com and CustomMade.com are relative new comers.

However, it is my view that consignment is an old idea, and in time will be displaced by a superior alternative. You say that "exposure for your custom knives to worldwide buyers who are willing and able to purchase them for what they are worth". That doesn't seem to be a benefit of consignment, but more a benefit of the Knife Purveyors of the world having a footing in the marketplace as they have been around longer.
Click to expand...

The traditional Knife Purveyors for the most part have been able to get a footing in the marketplace by having inventory to offer as a result of consigning knives.


Barnum7 said:
For me I still prefer to pay less then 25% commission, or none at all, though to do that I agree that you need people looking at your knives that actually want to buy them, and for that I'm looking for alternatives to consignment. It sounds like your experience with selling knives online was earlier in your career and perhaps you don't have much experience with this new breed of websites where we can sell knives?
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I just don't see that the 'new breed of websites', as you call them, have much to offer.

Even thought I have my own contacts now and sell my knives, as I adjust my collection from time to time, via my collector website, I still follow all the major custom knife purveyor websites to help me keep in tune with knife values. I recommend all collectors who are interesting in tracking values to do this. Newer collectors can especially learn quite a bit about custom knives by following the better Purveyor websites. Guys like Dan O'Mally, Dave Harvey, Michael Donato, Dave Ellis, Paul Shindler just to name a few are among the most knowledgeable people in the custom knife community.

Barnum7 said:
I have very little experience selling my knives, as I'm a newbie, but I have to believe something like Etsy.com (alot of traffic looking to buy) or JustCustomKnives.com (niche and free) will be a solid option in the future, as I don't wanna have to ship my knife off to a 3rd party, and then wait for them to sell it, then send me the money, only to have them take 25%...dunno.
Click to expand...

I would not buy from a website that didn't require custom knife owners to ship their knives to them.
How can a website represent the knives they are offering for sale if they have never seen or inspected them?

The good purveyor sites hold your knives for good reason while they are listing them for sale.

They have to have them to take good quality photos of them to insure maximum results.
They have to have them to for inspection to insure they are in condition as represented by the owners.
They keep them on hand to insure quick and efficient shipping when sold.


Barnum7 said:
What is your experience with the Blade Forums marketplace (not to bring heat to you)?
Click to expand...

The BF is a good place to purchase knives however not so good a place to sell them IMO.
Typically members list knives at market price then continue to frequently drop prices until knives sell.
Potential buyers often hold off pulling the trigger anticipating further price drops resulting in knives selling less than if owner
had chose other methods of sale.
 
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Consignment takes money from the owner, not the buyer. You'd never find that gal with the moran to sell if she didn't go to the consignment seller. The purveyor has to charge a market price, or else it won't move. Last stop on that train is the auction block...but then a different purveyor buys it and the price is now lower. That's how I got a Mike Franklin one of a kind 6" pocket fixed blade with sweet aged in place ivory micarta for $65 at a gun show.
 
Kevin- regarding your comment about purchasing from dealers that HAVE the knives in hand, only- I have to point out that many of the ones who sell larger volumes of knives don't always seem to inspect the knives carefully. I have had many knives come with blade play, scratches or even rust spots that made me return the knives or contact the maker to see if its worth fixing.

I often consign with Mike Donato because we have done it many times and we have arrangements that work for eachother. He gives me a better rate then anybody.
 
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I don't agree. Why should everyone try to build and run their own website when that isn't what most knife makers are good at?

Who wants to deal with first off creating their own sites, setting up their own ecom, and last (but certainly not least) marketing the site?

Seems a bit redundant when Etsy.com or Ebay.com charges 3%, and JustCustomKnives.com is Free. These sites allow you to setup your own "Store" and have your own listings, plus they have traffic already coming to their websites.

If we all try to build and market our own websites, A.) It will flood the market so that B.) Only the small minority of sites in the top of Google will ever see direct traffic from Google. At least with these marketplace websites, the field is leveled, and it gives buyers and place to shop from more then one maker.

I agree that if you want total control you should run your own site, but be prepared to market it heavily if you ever want any traffic that you don't send their directly with a business card. It isn't what I'm good at.
 
Etsy & Ebay both are harbors for counterfeit, fakes, and other junk, not to mention the unscrupulous people that feed the site by buying and selling there. Lots of horror stories in time, energy, and money wasted not included in the actual price of the item.

If people tried to sell knives with a reasonable starting price to begin with, you'd see a lot less "issues". The Exchange here is a good place to both buy and sell. It works and has worked for years and now better than ever. To say otherwise is almost like using a knife and then throwing it away once it gets dull because sharpening is not a possibility. I'd also say that this site does not see many knives in the $3000K+ range, so this specific place caters to a specific group. If you want collectors attention with bottomless pockets then there are places that will gladly consign your items. You cannot often find a Ferrari at a Cadillac dealership. Knowing who does what and when and for how much is necessary information to play that game.
 
I find that BF is the best place to buy knives. If you find a new maker that you like it doesn't cost an arm and a leg to try out his wares. Some makers on here go on to sell for a lot more money than they started out selling for and all the money goes directly to the owner/maker not into a purveyor's pocket.
 
jonathan brand said:
Kevin- regarding your comment about purchasing from dealers that HAVE the knives in hand, only- I have to point out that many of the ones who sell larger volumes of knives don't always seem to inspect the knives carefully. I have had many knives come with blade play, scratches or even rust spots that made me return the knives or contact the maker to see if its worth fixing.

I often consign with Mike Donato because we have done it many times and we have arrangements that work for eachother. He gives me a better rate then anybody.
Click to expand...

With a couple exceptions, I have had pretty good luck as far the condition of knives received from purveyors and I'm pretty 'picky' when it comes to knife conditions.
 
RevDevil said:
Etsy & Ebay both are harbors for counterfeit, fakes, and other junk, not to mention the unscrupulous people that feed the site by buying and selling there. Lots of horror stories in time, energy, and money wasted not included in the actual price of the item.

If people tried to sell knives with a reasonable starting price to begin with, you'd see a lot less "issues". The Exchange here is a good place to both buy and sell. It works and has worked for years and now better than ever. To say otherwise is almost like using a knife and then throwing it away once it gets dull because sharpening is not a possibility. I'd also say that this site does not see many knives in the $3000K+ range, so this specific place caters to a specific group. If you want collectors attention with bottomless pockets then there are places that will gladly consign your items. You cannot often find a Ferrari at a Cadillac dealership. Knowing who does what and when and for how much is necessary information to play that game.
Click to expand...

I agree with your assessment of Etsy and eBay.

The problem with a "reasonable" starting price" is there will be varying opinions as to what's a 'reasonable' price on any given knife.

IMO, a custom knife's listing price should be based on what the market indicates that informed buyers are paying for a knifemaker's similar knives.
I feel most knives are generally listed at or close to market price here but some sellers are just not patient enough to wait for them to sell at such.

I guess there will be varying opinions as to what's a good place to sell a custom knife based on what the individual's expectations are.
If one's expectation is only to 'get rid of a knife' that's one thing, if it's to get rid of it without losing money or possibly make a profit, then that's another.
 
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