What happened to GEC?

JSutter

JSutter

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Their pocketknives used to be much easier to find & buy. Now, the retailers are out of stock when I look to buy. Even with the emailed notification being used by some. I see some folks know how to get the new releases before the distributors list them, good for them. :)

But, I’m not paying resale prices, and have about given up on that brand.
 
The factory is only producing 5 knives per year, so they sell out quickly ...... :)

Seriously, this question gets asked nearly every month and the replies tend to be the same every time.

Unless someone has not been in the forum for a few years these threads and trends are hard to miss.

They are currently fashionable and too many people want to buy them to keep or to resell, so they sell out fast.
GEC has been making a lot, but there is limit to their production capacity.

Many miss the old days when they could sit in the shops for a few months allowing us to decide slowly what to buy.
 
Some resale prices here (on the Exchange) are reasonable. Look for the list price, add a margin for shipping and taxes, and they will show up unless it's a rare model. Also a WTB add can help. Worked for me.

This one I got for sale price from another kind member seeing my WTB add.

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Luckily for me, GEC is horrendously popular and the knives are getting expensive and hard to buy.
This has helped to curb my GEC purchasing habits.

Great company, and I wish them all the best. Maybe one day the GEC market will come back down to earth.
 
Demand has outstripped supply. Back in the earlier years, in particular when the Great Recession was in full swing and winding down, they were not hard to come by. When people's income and willingness to spend disposable income recovered somewhere in about 2015 or so, demand exceeded supply. The demise of several competitors in the same space (Queen, Canal Street) further reduced options in the "US-made traditional style knives" segment, at about the same time as people seemed to become more interested in the traditional patterns after years of having been out of fashion.

Nothing much has happened to GEC, the company. They are still making a very good quality traditional knife in the US. What has happened is that the market for those products has changed significantly.
 
calm said:
The factory is only producing 5 knives per year, so they sell out quickly ...... :)
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Funny joke, but a kernel of truth in that;
In the small town of Titusville, finding workers has always been a problem. And most have to be trained - there is no formal apprenticeship in the cutlery industry - a niche market at best!! We all love knives but face it, we are a small percentage of the general population!!

I know Bill has an ongoing problem keeping workers! It seems people don't want to 'stick to it', or find the skillsets too onerous to acquire!! I certainly don't know the answers, but admire Bill for his tenaciousness, and dedication to sometimes thankless training, which is needed on a continuous basis!! Certainly, someone off the street is not able to make these beautiful objects we love without consistent, skillful instruction!!

Part of the reason I participate, is in admiration of what GEC has done!!
Complain if you must, but keep a view of the big picture!!
 
waynorth said:
Funny joke, but a kernel of truth in that;
In the small town of Titusville, finding workers has always been a problem. And most have to be trained - there is no formal apprenticeship in the cutlery industry - a niche market at best!! We all love knives but face it, we are a small percentage of the general population!!

I know Bill has an ongoing problem keeping workers! It seems people don't want to 'stick to it', or find the skillsets too onerous to acquire!! I certainly don't know the answers, but admire Bill for his tenaciousness, and dedication to sometimes thankless training, which is needed on a continuous basis!! Certainly, someone off the street is not able to make these beautiful objects we love without consistent, skillful instruction!!

Part of the reason I participate, is in admiration of what GEC has done!!
Complain if you must, but keep a view of the big picture!!
Click to expand...

Why not raise prices and salaries ? Obviously, the flipper dominated market can take it, and the money much better be channeled to the makers, no ?
 
waynorth said:
I know Bill has an ongoing problem keeping workers! It seems people don't want to 'stick to it', or find the skillsets too onerous to acquire!! I certainly don't know the answers, but admire Bill for his tenaciousness, and dedication to sometimes thankless training, which is needed on a continuous basis!! Certainly, someone off the street is not able to make these beautiful objects we love without consistent, skillful instruction!!
Click to expand...
I think knife lovers often forget that, for most folks, working in a cutlery factory, is not a great job :rolleyes: John Maleham once told me, years ago, one of the local colleges used to refer lads to them for apprenticeship. None of them lasted, and eventually he drew the conclusion that it wasn't college boys they were looking for. When I left school, there were still plenty of cutlery factories operating in Sheffield, but nobody with any choice went into one :thumbsup:
 
waynorth said:
It seems people don't want to 'stick to it', or find the skillsets too onerous to acquire!!
Click to expand...
Jack Black said:
When I left school, there were still plenty of cutlery factories operating in Sheffield, but nobody with any choice went into one :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Sure... all the fast cars, money, drugs and women make being a cutler seem like a dream job, but in the end it catches up with most of them.
"It's better to burn out than to fade away" - the most famous cutler.
 
ferider said:
Why not raise prices and salaries ? Obviously, the flipper dominated market can take it, and the money much better be channeled to the makers, no ?
Click to expand...
The flippers' money doesn't go to GEC, and I'm sure that Bill doesn't want to get into the fragile "Greed Game"!!
He's not a wealthy guy, and I pay increasingly high prices wholesale for the knives, when I can order them!!
Jack Black said:
I think knife lovers often forget that, for most folks, working in a cutlery factory, is not a great job :rolleyes: John Maleham once told me, years ago, one of the local colleges used to refer lads to them for apprenticeship. None of them lasted, and eventually he drew the conclusion that it wasn't college boys they were looking for. When I left school, there were still plenty of cutlery factories operating in Sheffield, but nobody with any choice went into one :thumbsup:
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I'm sure no one gets rich making knives!!
 
JSutter said:
Their pocketknives used to be much easier to find & buy. Now, the retailers are out of stock when I look to buy. Even with the emailed notification being used by some. I see some folks know how to get the new releases before the distributors list them, good for them. :)

But, I’m not paying resale prices, and have about given up on that brand.
Click to expand...
Good on you!

The only way to stop the practice of scalping is not to buy from scalpers.

Let the scalpers sit on their inventory for years, force them to either hold or sell at a loss, and you'll see the prices come down and availability go up.

Walking this talk, I have missed out on knives I've wanted because I care more for the health and sustainability of the community than I do satisfying my own fleeting desires.

That said, when in business as a manufacturer it's ridiculous to believe that no policing of your retailers is needed. Every business I've worked with or consulted for has enforced price controls on their retailers. Don't want to play by the rules? Find another manufacturer's products to sell. Posts like this are evidence of how not enforcing some rudimentary standards on your retailers ultimately damages the reputation of the manufacturer.
 
last few months? Theyve made nothing I want, so Im good.
Last few years? Everyone else has mentioned and discussed it in some way.

In before this gets moved to Feedback or merged with that ongoing complaint thread
 
ferider said:
Why not raise prices and salaries ? Obviously, the flipper dominated market can take it, and the money much better be channeled to the makers, no ?
Click to expand...

Titusville is a very small town. it maybe has about 6,000 people? I see more than that on the subways into the city. If Bill raised the prices/salaries, he would undoubtedly alter the economy of that small town. I dont know about you, but I enjoy paying $4.50 for a whiskey coke when I visit the cross creek resort in Titusville for rendezvous time. That town has lived through the boom bust cycle of oil in the 1800s. It probably wont do the town terribly well if suddenly Bill raised all incomes to $50 an hour just to get people to make knives as fast as they can. The knives probably wont meet Bill's standards.

Also, no not really. If you have more sense than money yes, then chase the knives to your heart's content. Unfortunately, the influx of new interest also include people with more money than sense, so youll see very hard to get knives or very rare knives end up in the hands of new people cause money walks. I've essentially been priced out as I refuse to play the games, or pay more than retail. At this point, there are very few gecs I absolutely must have.
 
birdsbeaks said:
Good on you!

The only way to stop the practice of scalping is not to buy from scalpers.

Let the scalpers sit on their inventory for years, force them to either hold or sell at a loss, and you'll see the prices come down and availability go up.

Walking this talk, I have missed out on knives I've wanted because I care more for the health and sustainability of the community than I do satisfying my own fleeting desires.

That said, when in business as a manufacturer it's ridiculous to believe that no policing of your retailers is needed. Every business I've worked with or consulted for has enforced price controls on their retailers. Don't want to play by the rules? Find another manufacturer's products to sell. Posts like this are evidence of how not enforcing some rudimentary standards on your retailers ultimately damages the reputation of the manufacturer.
Click to expand...
Yup, it's not just the scalpers charging crazy high prices. GEC really needs to take a look at their existing dealer pool...
 
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