Sort of an example: here's my $35 Buck 110 from Walmart, and my $65 Buck 112 from North40. They are both made of the same steel, the same materials, the same manufacturing techniques. Both came with the same nice leather sheath, and as you can see, both are equally well-made (scratched bolsters were my fault, but I don't see any good way to avoid those, not in brass). The 112 is actually SMALLER and uses less metal and wood to make, so logically it ought to be cheaper. And as you said, Buck doesn't sell anything at a loss, so clearly they COULD sell a 112 for $30 and not be loosing money. Granted it's North40 that is charging $65 for them, and they I am sure paid less than that for it, but the 112 orders for $77 on Buck's own site! They must either assume that some people will gladly pay a premium just to order directly from the maker, to ensure they are getting "the real deal", or they have it all worked out where Buck intentionally charges MORE for the knives to make buyers feel like they are getting a good deal when the see the same knife for $10-20 less at on online store (or in Walmart), which makes them hurry up and buy while the iron is hot. Doesn't matter to Buck if they loose direct customers this way, they are much happier making and selling millions of knives in large guaranteed contract batches than trying to make and sell a million knives piecemeal to individuals on their website. They still DO it, it's just that it's easier to do the other, so I'm sure they don't mind that they loose customers by charging more. As long sa the customer is still buying a Buck.
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