SOG rebranding by consultancy
- Thread starter sliceofaloha
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I don't understand why anyone cares about the packaging a knife comes in. If my knife comes in anything other than a basic cardboard box and a bag, I get annoyed that the OEM spent money on that rather than just giving me the knife cheaper.
It's humorous to me that the recommendation by the marketing firm is that SOG needs to have better marketing rather than making well-made folders with good designs, steel, and heat treatment, then pricing them accordingly.
It's humorous to me that the recommendation by the marketing firm is that SOG needs to have better marketing rather than making well-made folders with good designs, steel, and heat treatment, then pricing them accordingly.
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I'm more interested in a good product for a fair price then I am in paying a premium for nicer packaging and slicker marketing. Especially from a company with a reputation for lower end products. Luckily enough, there are plenty of other products in the same price range.
Most of their stuff is a little too Rambo for me anyway.
Most of their stuff is a little too Rambo for me anyway.
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How much cheaper? A couple of bucks? For every person like you, there will be hundreds that complain about the packaging. Plus, packaging is part of the first impression.
I care about packaging to a certain extent. It can show that a business cares about its products. Sure, they can put the knife in a blister pack or a cardboard box for close to the same cost. I'll pick the box every time.
As to the marketing firm's recommendations, I am not surprised. They are not in the knife making business. They don't know squat about knives or knife making. As a friend would say, "They don't know what they don't know."
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Thanks for the offer. I'll think about it. Just checked out the Tigershark on search engine. These were already gone by the time I became a knife knut. Looks like a good knife, probably could be used as a camp knife. It also says the Tigershark was one of the iconic SOG knives. Why would they discontinue it? And they now need to hire consultants to figure out why their knives aren't selling like in the past?
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The difficult Tigershark to obtain is the plain edged SK-5 version which was the original Tigershark.
I don't see any big deal about hiring consultants. How do we know their knives aren't selling? I can only guess about the Tigershark model. It was in their inventory a long time with changes in steel and edge (plain edge initially to partially serrated). Knives are discontinued when the sales don't support the manufacture and maintaining an inventory for retailers for the most part as I understand how things go. I do think there is a trend to move away from tactical knives.
I don't see any big deal about hiring consultants. How do we know their knives aren't selling? I can only guess about the Tigershark model. It was in their inventory a long time with changes in steel and edge (plain edge initially to partially serrated). Knives are discontinued when the sales don't support the manufacture and maintaining an inventory for retailers for the most part as I understand how things go. I do think there is a trend to move away from tactical knives.
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About the packaging, yeah, probably true, unfortunately. Although I'm part of the group that doesn't care about that. TOPS and Busse just use plastic bags. I mean, they mail out in a box for shipping, but there is no packaging inside. It hasn't hurt their sales on my end.
Anyone on this forum could have told them what is the problem with their product line. It's nothing short of astonishing the kinds of things that go on in the business world, such as hiring clueless marketing firms, discontinuing some of their most iconic knives....
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About the packaging, yeah, probably true, unfortunately. Although I'm part of the group that doesn't care about that. TOPS and Busse just use plastic bags. I mean, they mail out in a box for shipping, but there is no packaging inside. It hasn't hurt their sales on my end.
Anyone on this forum could have told them what is the problem with their product line. It's nothing short of astonishing the kinds of things that go on in the business world, such as hiring clueless marketing firms, discontinuing some of their most iconic knives....
vjb.knife
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This is the kind of packaging I prefer. When Gerber was a desireable brand they shipped in a plain but, sturdy cardboard box with a sticker on it to let you know what was inside. I agree that pretty much anything fancier than that is a waste of money.
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Agree with the idea that packaging is important to most folks. I prefer a box, but don't want to pay for it. BUT... the box is really important to many, many folks. For example, look at all the (in my opinion, STUPID) "unboxing videos".
"Well, this is the box it came in. I looks like fairly substantial cardboard, and it was taped closed. The colors on the printing are OK, but I think they need to update the design. It seems to hold the knife well, but when opening the box, it might actually be a generic box since the knife seems a little loose when the box is closed. So, it is possible that this box is used for other models of similar size, and at the factory they just attached the barcoded sticker on the box before shipping". Really....? Who needs to know that?
Then they ritualistically open the box. They check inside the box to see is there are any surprises inside beside the knife and its paperwork. Then, final thoughts on the box.
I have literally seen videos with 1000s of views where the guy just takes the knife out of the box! They are everywhere. I think the box haters are a tiny minority. For me, if I keep the knife I toss the box, they don't mean much to me. Really, until I found this place many years ago, I had no idea that anyone kept a box from a knife they used.
And lets be truthful here about the BF group. When they sell a knife, they always indicate whether it has a box. "Sorry, no box". "Includes the original box!!". "Have box, but in rough shape. I got it this way". That way on other knife sites and even the big auction site.
There are even threads here dedicated on whether to throw the box away or to keep them. So yeah, I think the box has a great deal of importance to a great deal of purchasers.
Robert
"Well, this is the box it came in. I looks like fairly substantial cardboard, and it was taped closed. The colors on the printing are OK, but I think they need to update the design. It seems to hold the knife well, but when opening the box, it might actually be a generic box since the knife seems a little loose when the box is closed. So, it is possible that this box is used for other models of similar size, and at the factory they just attached the barcoded sticker on the box before shipping". Really....? Who needs to know that?
Then they ritualistically open the box. They check inside the box to see is there are any surprises inside beside the knife and its paperwork. Then, final thoughts on the box.
I have literally seen videos with 1000s of views where the guy just takes the knife out of the box! They are everywhere. I think the box haters are a tiny minority. For me, if I keep the knife I toss the box, they don't mean much to me. Really, until I found this place many years ago, I had no idea that anyone kept a box from a knife they used.
And lets be truthful here about the BF group. When they sell a knife, they always indicate whether it has a box. "Sorry, no box". "Includes the original box!!". "Have box, but in rough shape. I got it this way". That way on other knife sites and even the big auction site.
There are even threads here dedicated on whether to throw the box away or to keep them. So yeah, I think the box has a great deal of importance to a great deal of purchasers.
Robert
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I'd take the couple of dollars. You should know who makes good knives without having to look at the packaging. I'd be buying SOG knives if I thought that packaging quality inferred anything about the quality of the knife.
Hinderer ships knives in cardboard boxes with some foam peanuts. That's more than enough for me.
If I'm honest, I'm rather surprised by the current negativity in this post that clearly isn't taking into account SOG's recent attempts to make knives with more premium material. For example, the SOG Pillar Fixed Blade in S35VN comes with a good sheath and has positive reviews. The new premium XR line up including the Seal XR, Pentagon XR, Kiku XR, and vision XR frankly are some of the more promising knife designs I've seen in a while. I do own the terminus XR and was thoroughly impressed with the knife. While SOG besides the Seal Pup Elite, historically hasn't interested me I think their new designs in very promising. I think that should be taken into account with many statements in this thread being what I would consider, dated.
https://sogknives.com/new/
https://sogknives.com/new/
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I think a lot of people are well aware of their new line of knives and still don't want any. I know I fit that description.
Cold Steel "kicking ass"? Not for me, too many better designs and better prices in Asian-made knives, such as Spyderco, AGRussell, SOG, Buck... I stopped lusting after Cold Steel years ago.
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I also have the Seal Pup Elite. Thought it pretty nifty when I got it years ago. I don't have any of their recent stuff. But my sense is that your statement about dated impressions may well be true. Dated impressions are not fair nor are they impartial.
I chucked at the Cold Steel kicking ass comment. They never kicked mine. Like SOG, there is a place for them in the market.
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I would be happy with a few dollars off for generic packaging myself. About 20 years ago CRKT started using plain cardboard boxes with one color of ink. I liked it better than their card stock packaging.
I agree with you, we should know who makes a decent knife without looking at packaging. Then again we are knife nuts. Not your average Joe that thinks fifty bucks is to much money for a knife.
He is not going to have the knowledge or passion that we have.
You like Hinderer’s box w/foam peanuts. I like Benchmade’s box and microfiber cloth bag. The bag is useless to me but, I still like it.
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I wish they'd start having Seki make their knives again like they did back in the day.
When I hold a SOG made in Seki....it's like I'm nostalgic for something I wasn't around for anyway...
Love the older designs, truer to their function of heavy duty military type tasks, the execution of those old designs by the Seki factories...
These really were great knives named after one of the craziest military units in Vietnam.
I think as a company they've been able to ride that special forces wave and Seki making great knives wave for quite a while
but the swell is finally petering out.
When I hold a SOG made in Seki....it's like I'm nostalgic for something I wasn't around for anyway...
Love the older designs, truer to their function of heavy duty military type tasks, the execution of those old designs by the Seki factories...
These really were great knives named after one of the craziest military units in Vietnam.
I think as a company they've been able to ride that special forces wave and Seki making great knives wave for quite a while
but the swell is finally petering out.