Exclusive wave 2022

[DSH007]

As others have mentioned, I am also of the opinion that the wave of exclusives coming out now have likely been in the queue for quite a while (years!).. as all of the exclusives in the queue are eventually released, I imagine we'll see the results of the "freeze" within the next year or two and people will be begging for their return!

I can give or take the exclusives.. I don't mind their existence, and some variations are very tempting to me, but my interests largely lie with trying out new & different models.. so generally, each new Para 2/3 that comes out in a shiny new color interests me less and less. I'm excited at the prospect of Spyderco focusing manufacturing energy at releasing new models during the exclusives freeze.

I will say though, I do actually like the way exclusives are released vs sprint runs. The occasional server meltdown notwithstanding, I find that it's generally easer to buy 1 of 1200 knives from one dealer than 1 of 3-8 knives from one of dozens of dealers. That said, I don't really see any other way to make the release of sprints fair to all of the dealers (except maybe cutting them all out completely and making the SFO the sole distributor of sprints) so I guess it is what it is..


Idk, i'm rambling at this point.. ride the wave!

[WilliamMunny]

As others have mentioned, I am also of the opinion that the wave of exclusives coming out now have likely been in the queue for quite a while (years!).. as all of the exclusives in the queue are eventually released, I imagine we'll see the results of the "freeze" within the next year or two and people will be begging for their return!

I can give or take the exclusives.. I don't mind their existence, and some variations are very tempting to me, but my interests largely lie with trying out new & different models.. so generally, each new Para 2/3 that comes out in a shiny new color interests me less and less. I'm excited at the prospect of Spyderco focusing manufacturing energy at releasing new models during the exclusives freeze.

I will say though, I do actually like the way exclusives are released vs sprint runs. The occasional server meltdown notwithstanding, I find that it's generally easer to buy 1 of 1200 knives from one dealer than 1 of 3-8 knives from one of dozens of dealers. That said, I don't really see any other way to make the release of sprints fair to all of the dealers (except maybe cutting them all out completely and making the SFO the sole distributor of sprints) so I guess it is what it is..


Idk, i'm rambling at this point.. ride the wave!

Not that Spyderco owes us anything but it would be good to know when they are pausing exclusives. It would effect my buying pattern. If I knew 2023 would be very slow on exclusives I might be more inclined to by them now and now wait until 2024.

There is a fine line between FOMO and buying an exclusive knowing the chance wont be there for awhile.

[cjk]

I have no issues with the exclusives. They're probably significant moneymakers for the retailers. I am completely unopposed to more exclusives.

Just for the sake of comparison, say Spyderco makes a sprint run of 1200 pieces which gets spread out over 100 retailers. That's just an average of 12 knives per retailer. There are probably more retailers than 100 in reality.

A run of 600 for one retailer all goes to that one retailer. I expect the retailers that can or do order those really love them.

[DSH007]

As others have mentioned, I am also of the opinion that the wave of exclusives coming out now have likely been in the queue for quite a while (years!).. as all of the exclusives in the queue are eventually released, I imagine we'll see the results of the "freeze" within the next year or two and people will be begging for their return!

I can give or take the exclusives.. I don't mind their existence, and some variations are very tempting to me, but my interests largely lie with trying out new & different models.. so generally, each new Para 2/3 that comes out in a shiny new color interests me less and less. I'm excited at the prospect of Spyderco focusing manufacturing energy at releasing new models during the exclusives freeze.

I will say though, I do actually like the way exclusives are released vs sprint runs. The occasional server meltdown notwithstanding, I find that it's generally easer to buy 1 of 1200 knives from one dealer than 1 of 3-8 knives from one of dozens of dealers. That said, I don't really see any other way to make the release of sprints fair to all of the dealers (except maybe cutting them all out completely and making the SFO the sole distributor of sprints) so I guess it is what it is..


Idk, i'm rambling at this point.. ride the wave!

Not that Spyderco owes us anything but it would be good to know when they are pausing exclusives. It would effect my buying purchases. If I knew 2023 would be very slow on exclusives I might be more inclined to by them now and now wait until 2024.

There is a fine line between FOMO and buying an exclusive knowing the chance wont be there in the near future.

My understanding is that they have already "paused exclusives," in that they are not allowing dealers to place any new orders for exclusives.. knives already ordered by dealers and in the manufacturing queue will continue to be made and released, which is why we're still seeing them pop up in normal numbers. Dealers order the exclusives months to years ahead of their eventual release, so it's very likely that there are many still in the queue.. I foresee them eventually drying up for a bit in a year or two as production catches up with existing orders. At some point well in advance of that, I'm sure orders for dealer exclusives will be opened back up. Exclusives are lucrative for dealers and for Spyderco, so I'm sure they'll find a way to mitigate the drought as much as possible..

Of course, you're right.. Spyderco owes us nothing and I'm just making guesses based on stuff i've read on the internet haha.. In my head, the only certainty is that no company can please every customer at once. I feel like Spyderco tries harder than most to please as many customers as possible and will arrive at some sort of balance that makes sense..

[Mushroom]

Ramzar quoted a number of relevant posts but this is one from the source thread that this thread is in response too -

The lead time for exclusives has been at least a year plus for a while now, so the exclusives we are seeing this year were most likely ordered before Spyderco put a freeze on allowing dealers to order exclusives. As far as I know, that freeze is still active and dealers are still not allowed to order exclusives.

Around this time next year, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see people asking about where all the dealer exclusives have been because there will be so few.

The dealer exclusive freeze was preceded by an increase to the minimum number of pieces per order. This increase was the result of customers complaining that these limited runs were selling out too fast. That increased minimum per order could be a direct reason why we are seeing some of the more recent exclusives stay in stock longer than they have in the past.

Seems like they’re now playing catch up with regular production after getting a little bit ahead of themselves with dealer exclusives.

I was first told about the dealer exclusive freeze while I was at SFO in November 2021 but it could have been in effect before that.

[apollo]

<clip>
I know my english is not what it should be but i try to be as clear as possible all the time. So sorry if it maybe seems that i was angry I assure you everything is fine between us.
<clip>
And especially that i am not angry at you in any way because you seem like a nice person!

No worries, we are fine, you and I. Your english is very good, better than many native speakers.

I fear my english is good and bad at the same time. My sentences and words are rather okay but i have difficulty with the emotions behind the words. It is not the first time someone thought i was angry or mad at something or someone when i am totally not. I always dubbel and triple check my posts to find mistakes but when i post them i see no problems in them anymore. But then a native English or dare i say “American” speaker comes along and is shocked or even offended by something in my words. And then i am shocked myself.

[Rinzler]

Keep the exclusives coming, and even make it a tidal wave! Myself and many others I know in real life have zero interest in the typical factory models but we buy the heck out of exclusives and sprints.

[cjk]

reading through the thread, my interpretation (ie, guess) is that there is just a freeze on new orders for exclusives. Exclusives that are in the queue still get made. When Spyderco feels they are caught up enough to accept new exclusive orders, they probably will. I'd be surprised if the flow of exclusives slows down in any perceptible way for the folks out there shopping for knives.

[araneae]

I'm waiting for some more new models to pique my interest. I'm about exclusived out on the models I like enough to buy multiples of. The result is I've been buying other brands in the meantime. Can't wait to see some truly new stuff in the lineup here.

[RamZar]

I was first told about the dealer exclusive freeze while I was at SFO in November 2021 but it could have been in effect before that.

Per Sal they started cutting back on Exclusives on June 22, 2021:

Hi Ric,

At this time, Eric just announced that we will be cutting back on exclusives until we can catch up with regular production.

sal

[Mushroom]

I was first told about the dealer exclusive freeze while I was at SFO in November 2021 but it could have been in effect before that.

Per Sal they started cutting back on Exclusives on June 22, 2021:

Hi Ric,

At this time, Eric just announced that we will be cutting back on exclusives until we can catch up with regular production.

sal

That may be when Sal decided to tell the forum about it but I spoke with the gentleman from Spyderco responsible for coordinating dealer exclusive orders.

The freeze has been active since at least November 2021.

[RamZar]

Due to finite production capacity there has to be a balance between keeping regular production models in stock at the factory, producing new regular production models and then Sprints & Exclusives.

Last year there were shortages of many regular production models at many dealers before recovering somewhat at the end of the year.

There hasn’t been much of a slowdown in Exclusives - yet.

[ABX2011]

Will be interesting to see if there's a dearth of exclusives at some point.

[RamZar]

We’ve been averaging nearly 5 (4.7) Exclusives/Sprints per month since January 2019.

In 2021, the average number of Exclusives/Sprints per month was 6.2!

[apollo]

We’ve been averaging nearly 5 (4.7) Exclusives/Sprints per month since January 2019.

In 2021, the average number of Exclusives/Sprints per month was 6.2!

You have got some amazing info everytime you shime in friend.
For the production to be balanced for everyone i would guess 2,5 Exclusives the month will be the magic number. That is about half the % that got the US facility in chaos so that should be manageable to keep normal stock and new models in stock aswel.

[RamZar]

We’ve been averaging nearly 5 (4.7) Exclusives/Sprints per month since January 2019.

In 2021, the average number of Exclusives/Sprints per month was 6.2!

You have got some amazing info everytime you shime in friend.
For the production to be balanced for everyone i would guess 2,5 Exclusives the month will be the magic number. That is about half the % that got the US facility in chaos so that should be manageable to keep normal stock and new models in stock aswel.

There are many factors in the equation, we’re not privy to all the data and we don’t get to decide on production schedules rightly or wrongly.

However, there was something askew with way too many Sprints/Exclusives in 2021. No rocket scientists necessary. Ruderless ship.

[apollo]

We’ve been averaging nearly 5 (4.7) Exclusives/Sprints per month since January 2019.

In 2021, the average number of Exclusives/Sprints per month was 6.2!

You have got some amazing info everytime you shime in friend.
For the production to be balanced for everyone i would guess 2,5 Exclusives the month will be the magic number. That is about half the % that got the US facility in chaos so that should be manageable to keep normal stock and new models in stock aswel.

There are many factors in the equation, we’re not privy to all the data and we don’t get to decide on production schedules rightly or wrongly.

However, there was something askew with way too many Sprints/Exclusives in 2021. No rocket scientists necessary. Ruderless ship.

Sorry if i triggerd something in you with my post but since when is a guess anything scientific or even deciding something for someone? I was only trying to get a possitive note in there for all those exclusive lovers before some of them get worryd.
I am sorry if that seemed that way but that was not my intent.

[JRinFL]

We’ve been averaging nearly 5 (4.7) Exclusives/Sprints per month since January 2019.

In 2021, the average number of Exclusives/Sprints per month was 6.2!

You have got some amazing info everytime you shime in friend.
For the production to be balanced for everyone i would guess 2,5 Exclusives the month will be the magic number. That is about half the % that got the US facility in chaos so that should be manageable to keep normal stock and new models in stock aswel.

There are many factors in the equation, we’re not privy to all the data and we don’t get to decide on production schedules rightly or wrongly.

However, there was something askew with way too many Sprints/Exclusives in 2021. No rocket scientists necessary. Ruderless ship.

Do you honestly think Eric has lost control of the good ship Spyderco? Selling lots of product is the goal of any manufacturer, so from that perspective he’s doing quite well. They seemed to have survived the Covid years quite well. They are even planning an expansion. They may not be doing things the way we want, but they seem to be doing things that are good for their business.

[troutinCO]

I will just say I'm glad they don't listen to us on how to run their business, since we are ultimately guessing at anything on this side of things.
Since we are spit balling:
All this talk about production schedules and no one is talking about the supply chain ....It is hard to make something if you cant get a component/material for that something. It is hard to schedule production of something when you don't know when a component/material will be available for ordering.

It could be nothing to do with production scheduling that was made to prioritize exclusives, it could have been things beyond even Spyderco's control.

Maybe they had choices like laying people off instead of keeping the production shifts busy with exclusives so they could stay at work and keep the business afloat etc. I imagine Eric is as principled and moral as his father Sal and does the right things for people and the business.

[RamZar]

In 2021 Spyderco released 74 Sprints/Exclusives which is a huge number. No supply chain issues. Something went awry since Spyderco had to announce backing off the Exclusives to restock regular production models. Same year they had to fire the factory manager because he produced 1,200 blades & locks for a Siren “fix” which didn’t work.