Spyderco Price Increase Impact Survey

[James Y]

It won't affect me, because I rarely buy knives anymore, and when I do, I really think it out over a period of at least a month or more before pulling the trigger. Nine times out of 10, I end up not purchasing anything. I long ago passed the point of 'needing' any more knives, anyway.

Do I like price increases? Hell no. Who does? I'm willing to bet that most companies, or at least specialty companies like Spyderco that appeal to a niche market, would rather NOT increase their prices, if they didn't absolutely have to. They may dread the price increases as well, wondering how many of their loyal customers who regularly buy their sprint runs and variations of the same models will continue buying their product. Or how many potential new buyers might feel their prices are out of reach.

I highly doubt that Sal says, "I want a new vacation home on a tropical island; let's raise our prices so I can get it ASAP."

I don't run a knife manufacturing company, so I don't know about the operational costs that go into it. One BIG difference between a company like Spyderco and Cold Steel is that Spyderco, besides contracting to overseas companies, also has its own manufacturing facility in Golden. Cold Steel does not manufacture their own products; they're all made FOR them on contract. I don't know much (if anything) about the knife business, but I DO know that having your own manufacturing facility makes a BIG difference in terms of costs.

Jim

 

[Reitwagen]

I bought one Spyderco last year and it will be my last for some time, if not altogether. For me it's the collective effect of many price increases that have put Spyderco and many other brands out of reach. Just as well, I'm ready for something different. My plan for future purchases is to buy my next knife in Solingen.

 

[Boxer .45]

I dumped Spyderco in 2016 when the MAP was lowered to 35% from 40%. The 40% price floor was understandable because Amazon was a bottlenecking threat, but the subsequent Amazon boogeyman scapegoat excuse for the 35% was a lie because Amazon complied with the 40% MAP. Also, notice that Spyderco did not reduce the MAP this time but tried to disguise/conceal the price hike to the general public by simply increasing the retail pricing.

but yeah, in late 2016 I sold off my entire Spyderco collection at discount on Ebay to deny Spyderco profits and then became a happy Cold Steel customer. Cold Steel is where the value is now.

People who say "uhh, price hikes are inevitable" are apologists. Spyderco never initiated these dramatic price increases while the internet was still dormant and thus their popularity was suppressed. The internet greatly increased their publicity since about 2013 and they accordingly jumped the gun by greedily jacking the prices. You can counter this threat by boycotting the company until they bring their prices back to reasonable standards.

I had no idea the internet started in 2013.

 

[ucfgrad93]

You can counter this threat by boycotting the company until they bring their prices back to reasonable standards.

“Reasonable standards” is decided by each individual. My wife bought me the KnifeWorks exclusive PM 2 for my birthday. For $145, I think it was a great value. However, the Delica at $78 with VG-10 steel is an awful deal in my opinion.

 

[Stays Sharp]

Logically, the more money dealers make, the more knives you buy, not the other way around. Dealers are the most important link in the chain..and when it stops making sense, blame the free market (ex. Amazon) AND China: always bring up China. Works everytime. It's freezing out, blame Amazon and China.

 

[JimMD]

In 2017 when I got a CF G-10 Chaparral for $100 and a SpydieChef for $187, I thought those were great prices for outstanding knives. I was glad to get a used Sage 5 for $120 last year. If I lost those knives now, I'd probably buy them at current prices, but each year incrementally their appeal relative to their prices is going down.

I'm less inclined to try newer Spyderco designs, and increasing price weighs in that decision. Spyderco has been announcing some really interesting designs lately. I may someday get an Ikuchi, a Smock or a Kapara, but at those knives' prices, there are a lot of nice options these days. I'll be interested to see what the Drunken and the Paysan are like, but their prices butt up against those of nice "mid-tech" knives and some customs. In the current market, they'll have to be outstanding products to seem worth the asking price. Maybe they will be.

 

[Rykjeklut]

I don't buy that many Spydercos to begin with, and with a PM2, PM3, Delica, and ROC in my collection I'm good.

I heard talk about a PM3(or 2?) tanto which I'll check out, but honestly I think I'm a bit done. Everything is getting more expensive, and I've got less money floating around.

 

[on_the_edge]

I find it interesting how things seem to be panning out 5 weeks after starting this thread. It seems that the crowd is pretty evenly split--@ 50% with no anticipated change in purchasing Spyderco knives and @ 50% buying fewer Spydercos. Reading through the thread, I see reasons like $ is tighter, they don't represent as good a value as they once did, folks already have enough, etc.

More interesting is how Spyderco will respond if in fact fewer knives are being purchased. Fewer models? Less exotic steels? Price reductions? Something else????

Of course, it's all just speculation at this point, though I am sure Sal and many others think about the future and how things might play out. Time will tell.

 

[Sal Glesser]

We always listen and try to respond. More FRN. A few variations of China made.

sal