State of the Market (Spyderco Specifically)

CDHumiston

CDHumiston

Gold Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2009
Messages
1,409
I've been collecting for many, many years and I've decided to move some of my collection. Specifically, Spyderco knives.

All are brand new in the boxes with all paperwork.

I don't know if people aren't buying, or my prices are too high or what, but I can't seem to move anything!

Spyderco knives have always been good sellers and collectible. I'm just curious.

Here's a link to one of my threads.

I'd like some honest opinions about what I'm selling and my pricing. Am I off base or what...

 
I looked at the two Knifejoy knives you have listed and one was $10 under msrp and the other was $30 over (I do understand that they are out of stock, but don’t know anything about the Spyderco secondary market). As a rule, any knife that isn’t selling is overpriced. You can only charge what the market demands.

I’m about to start listing some knives for sale myself, but haven’t done so in a while. A few years ago when I sold most of my CRK’s, Hinderers, and Shiro’s, even selling LNIB (as in I owned it, put it in my pocket for a few hours, and then listed it) I had to knock off $100 to get the knives to move. Otherwise, why buy from me instead of BNIB from a dealer? At a certain point you just have to price them so they move and you can recoup whatever you can. I’ll be taking a hit on all of mine here shortly, that’s for sure.
 
no politics, just economics.......

foreclosures are rising, credit card debt has been rising to record levels, auto loan delinquency and defaults have been rising to the highest levels in 30 years. corporations are reducing good paying jobs and scaling back spending. commercial loans defaults are rising rapidly. add in high food costs, fuel costs, auto and homeowner insurance costs, housing costs and on and on.......

doesnt leave a lot of disposable cash for knives or hobbys.

best bet is to lower your prices til they sell, if ya need to sell or sit on the sidelines and wait til it changes......
 
Those prices are fine, not bad. Same with the knives. I have had a knife, lowered and lowered the price, removed it or sold it and then I have five people in my inbox clamouring after it. It's really a matter of who sees what when. For the right person, these are gonna go.

Heck, if I had the cash on me, I would try the full weight para 3 right now. Will check back when I do.

Doubt they will lose the value.
 
People are buying knives. Certain models have a level of hype and markup that I'll never understand, and unique discontinued knives are being sold at a premium as well.

I only saw sprint runs of PM2's in your listing, a very common knife. Some sprints have gone up in price before, but now Spyderco is releasing tons of sprint runs left and right, in addition to all the runs that are already out there. If a buyer wants one particular sprint and can't get it, chances are he can just get a very similar one in a slightly different steel or color.

Add to that the rise of high end Chinese brands that release dozens of new models per year to see what sticks, and the market is flooded with more options than anyone can keep track of. Something has to be really unusual to command a premium. Now more than ever, rare doesn't mean valuable.
 
Definitely not my area, but I'd like to add that I think since the market is heavily saturated, it's hard to stay relevant with the ever changing trends, and to maintain that relevance is a step harder.
so companies lurk in forums and on YT to see what people buy, talk about, show off, and sometimes use 🤪
Lot more collectors these days, another thing companies need to be aware of, in order to offer and price accordingly
 
Last edited:
Awhile back I listed a Maxamet Native 5 here. It was carried once & never used but had a slight discoloring in one spot. Maxamet patinas from looking at it. I think I paid around $210(+tax/shipping) for it & dropped it down to $150. There were crickets chirping. Like most of my sales, I withdrew it. I thought I could get back at least 75% of what I had into it. Reselling is frustrating to say the least. I'd rather just keep it than give it away for half price.
 
I recently scored a (*basically) "NIB" Yojumbo, for a buck-and-a-half in The Exchange, and couldn't be happier with the current "Market"... (*"Retail" is over $200)



20240419_044341 (BF).jpg



*For those of you looking to dump a Shaman in this "Market", I'm comin' for you next.
 
I agree timing is everything. Right now Spyderco seems luke warm. I had a Native 5 Magnacut Salt plain edge unused with a new Lynch deep carry clip, out of stock everywhere for months; after 25% off and still no takers I pulled it.

It’s another reason why I usually prefer trading these days if I’m pining for something else.
 
JTR357 said:
Awhile back I listed a Maxamet Native 5 here. It was carried once & never used but had a slight discoloring in one spot. Maxamet patinas from looking at it. I think I paid around $210(+tax/shipping) for it & dropped it down to $150. There were crickets chirping. Like most of my sales, I withdrew it. I thought I could get back at least 75% of what I had into it. Reselling is frustrating to say the least. I'd rather just keep it than give it away for half price.
Click to expand...
100% agree.
 
I'd hold on to what you have right now, whatever the brand. The market is terrible. Besides, your collection will be more valuable after some companies start closing. Look at Ontario Knives for one example.
 
Cost of living where I am is up 3% from last year. 16% from 4 years ago. Those are the official gov numbers and I think they are actually way lower than reality. My wife uses target circle and it shows the amount paid for an item by us in the past, and comparing that real number to today's price is absolutely ridiculous. People just don't have the free cash to spend on unnecessary items right now. Groceries and mortgages are higher priorities. My wife sells some handmade goods on Etsy, something that is definitely a splurge or unnecessary item. She's done good for years but this last year or more it's really slowed down. Folks just can't spend the extra cash. It's not that spydrcos knives ain't good no more. That's my take on it anyhow
 
I think there had already been a growing sentiment for some time that people were tired of playing the sprint/exclusive game, and were sick of scalpers snatching them all up and hoarding them or selling them at inflated prices on the secondary. To Spyderco's credit, I think they recognized this and now we have knives like the CruCarta series in the regular catalog, perhaps further diminishing the demand on the secondary for some of these other configurations.

It likely has more to do with the economic factors mentioned above, but I do think it could be a factor. For me personally, I collect Spydercos in various steels and configurations so that I can experience interesting steels in what I feel to be ideal cutting tools, so honestly whole the idea of a Spyderco market doesn't even really jive with the way I enjoy the brand.
 
Your prices aren’t bad but they aren’t low enough for the current market. I’d probably lower the prices by $25 at least and or separate the aftermarket scales and make them an option to buy.

I saw you put “offers considered”… that’s a good option.
 
I would agree that the knives need to be stock and the accessories need to be separate.
 
Definitely a tough time to be a seller. It's a great time to buy if you're lucky enough to have the funds and are savvy enough to avoid scammers!

I may be cheap, but as a buyer, I like to see at least 15-20% off retail for LNIB pre-owned production knives. When I sell, I try to price aggressively, because im usually selling to fund the next knife purchase rather than recoup every penny I've got in them. I won't usually pay retail for a used knife unless it's a CRK or similar - some sort of collector's item unobtanium that I just have to have. There's always a little bit of risk involved in buying used knives, so if it's not a great deal, than I'd rather wait for a dealer to put it in sale. As a buyer I'm usually covered a little more if I buy from a reputable dealer.
 
I feel Military CF/TI and Slysz Bowie (1st release) are among the very few Spyderco models that can be sold with prices higher than retail. Most other Spydercos, even LNIB, will have to be discounted at least 20% of the retail price in order to move quickly, which is pretty much true for most other brands. A few brands like RHK and CRK retain their value better. CPK is clearly an outlier.

Another factor is Magnacut. This steel has attracted so much attention and interest such that I feel it is negatively affecting the sales of knives in other steels, including in the secondary market.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top