Why do I have to "call" to get a price on a Benchmade knife?

[JTR357]

I know this is an old issue. I remember when they first started doing it years ago, but forgot or never learned WHY?
I'm scrolling through the knife type I'm interested in buying on my knife store of choice & whenever a BM knife comes up, instead of the price it says "Call".
What is the sense of doing that? In this day & age of wanting instant gratification, people are more likely to just go to the knife with the price listed. I just don't get it.

......I did a search too on BF & google & couldn't find anything

 

[Old Biker]

They are probably selling, for less than Benchmade's MAP price. (Minimum advertised price.)

O.B.

 

[knarfeng]

They are probably selling, for less than Benchmade's MAP price. (Minimum advertised price.)

O.B.

What he said.

 

[JTR357]

Okay thanks guys

 

[mongomondo]

If this is the retailer I'm thinking of you don't need to actually call. Just add the Benchmade knife to your cart and go through the checkout process. Right at the end before clicking the purchase button it will show their price for the knife.

 

[NorthernSouthpaw]

Yup.
MAP means Minimum Advertised Pricing. Where the brand tells dealers they are not permitted to advertise prices less than xx. (usually no less than 20%-40% off MSRP)
So if a dealer wants to charge less than what the brand wants you to, "Call for pricing" is the work around so they don't lose their AD status with the brand.

In other words, the cost should be less than the ones you see from other sites that are showing you prices. So It might just be worth it to make the call.

 

[aue123]

just buy direct from BM and use military pricing? usually shaves off a good $100 off msrp

 

[kylemiller]

I've got a local shop that destroys MAP pricing on Benchmade and ZT. Enough so that you could almost make a living buying there and selling on a swap if you were buying the hot models.

 

[BD_01]

just buy direct from BM and use military pricing? usually shaves off a good $100 off msrp

Please explain how this is done.

 

[sabre cat]

Please explain how this is done.

You call Benchmade directly and purchase from them. They offer discounts for law enforcement and military personal.

I checked into it once and the price they told me was not anywhere near $100 off. I found about as good of deals on the web. Some web deals were even better because of free shipping.

Things may have changed some though because this was all before MAP.

 

[brownshoe]

In my area slow-selling gun shows often have better BM prices than on-line.

 

[Silent H]

Please explain how this is done.

They use Id.Me to verify Mil/Vet/First Responder status now. I believe it's a 30-35% discount, so it's slightly better than MAP.

 

[BD_01]

They use Id.Me to verify Mil/Vet/First Responder status now. I believe it's a 30-35% discount, so it's slightly better than MAP.

Thanks. That’s what I thought.
I’ve heard a few different things from a few different sources, so I may shoot them an email or phone call.

I’m not a huge BM fan, but they have a thing or two that interests me.

 

[Wasatch11253]

One thing I've noticed with one particular big box retailer is that the Benchmade's are all at or just above map pricing, however they are offering $25 and $50 gift cards with the purchase depending on price. Guess that is one way to work around the pricing issue.

 

[jakemex]

If you have to ask the price... you can’t afford it.

 

[BillZee]

I do ask price......buy it.........and can't afford it.....LOL.
I've had some really sad lunches.....with a new knife in my pocket.