How long to keep a knife

Ryan Minchew

Ryan Minchew

Well-Known Member
After reading the how many knives to take to a show and after a few other threads I was wondering what is the appropriate length of time to keep a knife? I have a knife I tried to sell in February at the Wannenmacher Show and I will have it with me at the show in November. I have seen makers have the same knife on their table for 2 years.
What do you do with them if you can't sell them?
Do you offer a discount? If so what does this do with collectors or others who have bought a similiar knife for a higher price?
 
I really do not know the answer, but I would say not very long.
You have time and money in the knife so you want to get it back to reinvest it in more knives.
Right?

Sometimes like Les would say if a knife does not sale very fast maybe it is priced to high?
But than again the maker may not be that well known yet, EVEN though the knife should be worth the asking price?

It can be tough sometimes, I was reading on another forum the guy said... " It was easier to make the knives than to sale them."

It's a good question, maybe some others will way in with their opinions?

Good day.

Todd


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Ryan, you know I'm no expert, but I just had a similar experience. Made a knife in late June and posted it for $200. Got offers of 150, but held out. Kept the post active for nearly 3 weeks, reducing it slowly down to 160. About 10 days ago, reposted it at 160. Let it sit another week, and reduced it three times, ultimately selling for 140. I've never had to hold on to one that long before. I hated to let it go so cheap, but needed cash for a trip this weekend. I'd say that how long you keep it is directly related to how bad you need the money that the knife represents.
 
jkf96a said:
Ryan, you know I'm no expert, but I just had a similar experience. Made a knife in late June and posted it for $200. Got offers of 150, but held out. Kept the post active for nearly 3 weeks, reducing it slowly down to 160. About 10 days ago, reposted it at 160. Let it sit another week, and reduced it three times, ultimately selling for 140. I've never had to hold on to one that long before. I hated to let it go so cheap, but needed cash for a trip this weekend. I'd say that how long you keep it is directly related to how bad you need the money that the knife represents.
Click to expand...


If it's the zebrawood skinner your talking about, it would have been hard for me to let that one go at that price it was nice.

I could sell the knife I have right now at home no problem. It would be nice to get the money, but I've been trying to push my name out past the friends and family. That's been a hard cycle to break. Everyone in Texas wants a mesquite handle skinner it seems.

I had the knife at two different shows and one show it had alot of interest and sold other models like it, but with different handles. Another show I think it was handled only a couple of times.

Thanks for the input guys.
 
If you have had a knife for too long it is either priced too high or priced too low. Some customers will look at a knife that is priced low and say to themselves"what's wrong with it?"

Sell it so you can move on to the next knife, don't become a collector of your own knives.
 
Hey Ryan, I am no expert. But I have been observing my teacher (Les Voorhies). And he get's this problem all the time. When he comes back from a show he has some left over blade's. as soon as he get's back they go online. Most of the time they sell but ounce and a while he will have one or two that just don't want to leave. I don't think I have ever seen him budge on his price. Seeing as it's usually the same price as all the other ones he has sold. The one thing you have to remember is that the person it appeals to has not seen it yet, And unless you show it at as many forums and shows as you can. They won't. Basicly don't under cut yourself unless it's absolutly nessisary. If the other knives are selling then why worry about one knife.

That's just my observation. So if any long time makers have any input on this, feel free to jump in and let me know also.

Thank's,
Jake
 
I've thought this for a while after seeing tons of knives sold on forums. If a knife is spectacular, and it is priced just about right (or at least priced for it's quality) it will sell within a month, but once the maker drops the price, I feel that all of his knives have dropped in price. Once he starts dropping prices, then people will be less likely to buy it right away at the full price, but instead after he's dropped the price.

I'm really still a newbie, and haven't sold any knife yet (except to my dad to pay for a couple supplies) so I might not make any sense in this, but it's just my thought.
 
Go Mike said:
I've thought this for a while after seeing tons of knives sold on forums. If a knife is spectacular, and it is priced just about right (or at least priced for it's quality) it will sell within a month, but once the maker drops the price, I feel that all of his knives have dropped in price. Once he starts dropping prices, then people will be less likely to buy it right away at the full price, but instead after he's dropped the price.

I'm really still a newbie, and haven't sold any knife yet (except to my dad to pay for a couple supplies) so I might not make any sense in this, but it's just my thought.
Click to expand...

Don't EVER drop your prices on the forums - Make good knives and raise your price.

Just saying ----- :D

Todd


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T.A. DAVISON said:
Don't EVER drop your prices on the forums - Make good knives and raise your price.

Just saying ----- :D

Todd


.
Click to expand...

I don't know about "ever"

when your first starting out and don't have a good idea of what the value of your work should be, don't be to proud to lower prices slowly to find an appropriate spot.

For instance:

Joe Maker makes his first Slab handled hunting knife with a 4 inch blade, 5160, reasonably decent satin finish, micarta handle.
Joe lists it on the forum for $220 because he talked to Mike Master smith and that's what Mike said it should be worth.
two weeks later, Joes knife is still sitting there with just a couple of "nice knife" comments and no real interest.
Should Joe drop his price to $200 and see if he gets any interest?
How is Joe ever going to realize that his $220 knife isn't going to sell until he gets down below $150?

he'll sit on that knife for a LONG time is he won't budge from $220.......

now, when Joe has been making knives for several years and is REGULARLY selling his 4 inch hunter for $220 and just happens to hit a lull in the market (maybe there was a big show last weekend and most people are tapped out for a while, maybe he just picked a handle color that doesn't appeal, maybe, maybe, maybe) then I would absolutely agree with Mr Davison. Joe does himself and all of his customers a disservice by lowering the price. It effectively lowers the value of every 4 inch hunter Joe has sold....
 
I know what your saying there is true - BUT if it was me and IT WAS.....

When I joined Bladeforums - Oct. 2005 I was a nobody. (And I'm still pretty much a nobody according to some?)
Even though I had made knives almost 25 years.
When I listed my first folder there for $425.00 it did not sale - it did not get any replies at all.
Here is a link to that thread if you want to see? I removed the bad photo.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=370625

Did I lower my price for that knife? - NO way, I sold the knife else were.
The knife was worth it, I got $425.00 for it.

But I had to come way down on my prices for the forums to get people to buy there. So yes, you may have to come down on your prices?
I'm just saying do not lower them on a knife you have marked for a curtain sale price. Lower on the next one like your giving them a deal?

I don't know if you remember Cockroachfarms - Holger from Bladeforums?
But he was a very good friend of Niel Ostroff and a very good member of the forums. He was one of my first customers and he tried to tell folks there that my knives were a very good deal.
It helped some? But I really had to keep making them and listing them at a very low price and slowly work my way back up. Raising my price as I improved the knives even more.
Holger is gone now, but I met Neil at the last Blade Show. He told me the last time him and Holger met up, Holger had one of my knives with him. They always had a knife to show each other.
And Neil said Holger always thought highly about my knives. Neil bought three knives from me at Blade and would like more.
I have just been too swamped to get him some but I will get him some more some time?
Any way I have collectors tell me now that my knives are up there with Tony Bose's knives. And that's very flattering, but I'm not and probably could not get Tony's prices out of them.
I have to keep earning it. Just like I did from the start there.
Maybe if I would have started years ago putting my work out in the collectors market I would be a lot further ahead now. But I didn't I just wanted to make knives and that's all I really want to do now. I don't care about being famous. And Tony Bose will always be my hero & master of the craft.
You may say than why raise your price than? Well cause I would like to make more than $5.00 an hour? :D

You can lower your price on the forums if ya want? But I think it would be like shooting your self in the foot..... :eek:

People seeing and reading that stuff are some of the top collectors in the market. Selling your knives at a lower price is what Holger called paying your dues. And that's what I did - I paid my dues.
Heck we all pay our dues in this business.
So I would say if you do any thing start out low were your knives are selling to knife collectors on the forums. And work your way up.
Like I said make your knives better - and raise your price.
Get the old supply and demand thing working for you.

I have three dealers that would buy all the knives I could make right now.
But I can hardly keep one supplied.

So after all the blabbering...... what I'm saying is start of low enough.
Cause you could really piss some collectors off if they pay a premium price for some of your knives. And than you come along and lower the prices.

Have a good night - take care.

Todd


.
 
Thanks for the input guys. If this wasn't a standard model that I made I might be more inclined to lower the price. But like was mentioned I've got several of this model out there for the asking price, it's just this one I haven't sold. The guys who bought that knife for X amount are going to be unhappy if it sells for less than that down the road.
But ya'll think it looks bad to a collector who goes to a show and a guy has the same knife year after year after year? That collector/customer may notice that knife every time, regardless of the fact that the other 8 knives are different EVERY show. Does it get in their head that guy's knives are not desirable because he can't sell a knife?

Thanks to everyone answering questions in here
 
Ryan Minchew said:
Thanks for the input guys. If this wasn't a standard model that I made I might be more inclined to lower the price. But like was mentioned I've got several of this model out there for the asking price, it's just this one I haven't sold. The guys who bought that knife for X amount are going to be unhappy if it sells for less than that down the road.
But ya'll think it looks bad to a collector who goes to a show and a guy has the same knife year after year after year? That collector/customer may notice that knife every time, regardless of the fact that the other 8 knives are different EVERY show. Does it get in their head that guy's knives are not desirable because he can't sell a knife?

Thanks to everyone answering questions in here
Click to expand...

Personally I've not had a knife like that yet

if I did it think one of my brothers or my father/father in law would get a nifty present. after a year or two I would find someone to give it to

mostly because I would just get tired of looking at the damn thing
 
Once again, I'm just commenting as 100% my opinion, because I have no experience in any of this, but without knowing the price, design, specs, etc, it would be hard to describe what you need to do.

Maybe you should keep that one as a personal user, and then basically use it for advertising to show other people some of your work. I mean, since you made it, you should like the knife, and be proud to show it off, right?

I agree that since you made other knives of this style and sold them higher, DO NOT sell this one cheaper. I feel it is demeaning to your other customers.
 
Given that situation I would VERY much agree with you. My comment was based on a new maker that had not sold more than 2-3 knives.

T.A. DAVISON said:
I know what your saying there is true - BUT if it was me and IT WAS.....

When I joined Bladeforums - Oct. 2005 I was a nobody. (And I'm still pretty much a nobody according to some?)
Even though I had made knives almost 25 years.
When I listed my first folder there for $425.00 it did not sale - it did not get any replies at all.
Here is a link to that thread if you want to see? I removed the bad photo.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=370625

Did I lower my price for that knife? - NO way, I sold the knife else were.
The knife was worth it, I got $425.00 for it.

But I had to come way down on my prices for the forums to get people to buy there. So yes, you may have to come down on your prices?
I'm just saying do not lower them on a knife you have marked for a curtain sale price. Lower on the next one like your giving them a deal?

I don't know if you remember Cockroachfarms - Holger from Bladeforums?
But he was a very good friend of Niel Ostroff and a very good member of the forums. He was one of my first customers and he tried to tell folks there that my knives were a very good deal.
It helped some? But I really had to keep making them and listing them at a very low price and slowly work my way back up. Raising my price as I improved the knives even more.
Holger is gone now, but I met Neil at the last Blade Show. He told me the last time him and Holger met up, Holger had one of my knives with him. They always had a knife to show each other.
And Neil said Holger always thought highly about my knives. Neil bought three knives from me at Blade and would like more.
I have just been too swamped to get him some but I will get him some more some time?
Any way I have collectors tell me now that my knives are up there with Tony Bose's knives. And that's very flattering, but I'm not and probably could not get Tony's prices out of them.
I have to keep earning it. Just like I did from the start there.
Maybe if I would have started years ago putting my work out in the collectors market I would be a lot further ahead now. But I didn't I just wanted to make knives and that's all I really want to do now. I don't care about being famous. And Tony Bose will always be my hero & master of the craft.
You may say than why raise your price than? Well cause I would like to make more than $5.00 an hour? :D

You can lower your price on the forums if ya want? But I think it would be like shooting your self in the foot..... :eek:

People seeing and reading that stuff are some of the top collectors in the market. Selling your knives at a lower price is what Holger called paying your dues. And that's what I did - I paid my dues.
Heck we all pay our dues in this business.
So I would say if you do any thing start out low were your knives are selling to knife collectors on the forums. And work your way up.
Like I said make your knives better - and raise your price.
Get the old supply and demand thing working for you.

I have three dealers that would buy all the knives I could make right now.
But I can hardly keep one supplied.

So after all the blabbering...... what I'm saying is start of low enough.
Cause you could really piss some collectors off if they pay a premium price for some of your knives. And than you come along and lower the prices.

Have a good night - take care.

Todd


.
Click to expand...
 
I keep them for as long as it takes to sell, if I get tired of trying to sell it, I will keep it and use it. I may have a new camp knife to use this hunting season, it seems to like it here.
 
Ryan I am sure that knife is worth what you are asking.

Jason I hated to see that zebrawood knife sell so cheap. It was a great knife worth what you wanted.
 
Personally, if I post a knife for a certain price, then that is the price. That is part of the pricing game. To pick a price where your knife sells, but you make enough to stay in business. I think it is bad to lower a price on the internet. For instance if I put up a couple knives, all the same model and sell the first few for one price and discount the last one because it doesn't sell, don't you think the first two guys who bought them would be kinda miffed? I do, that's one reason why I don't change prices. The other is my prices are based on the amount of work and materials put into the knife.
-John
 
I have sold a few knives on forums. I have found that if you price your knives fairly and the work backs the price they will sell. Buyers will search and look at your work the feedback and comments on that work. I have found that your reputation is everything in this business. I had a skinner for sale with a green micarta handle. I had sold 9 with black handles couldn't give the green away. Went to the shop removed the green put on black sold in a day. I have found that you never know what will sell and what won't. You said you could sell the knife at home hey sell it. Make something else to get your name out there.
 
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