Dealer Exclusives

Free Radical · #1

Since we are discussing sprint runs in the other thread, I thought now would be a good time to bring up dealer exclusives.

I probably wont get the majority to agree since most of you are probably in the United States but does anybody think that Spyderco should only supply dealer exclusives to dealers who will ship international? If not then at least have some supply at Spyderco online store to buy for those outside of the US?

DeathBySnooSnoo · #2

As a Canadian I totally agree!!

spyderfan123 · #3

agree! :D

DeathBySnooSnoo · #4

The trouble is, and I could be wrong here, but I think that the dealer is the one that says hey, I want to do a knife like this Model, steel etc...and then fronts the cash to get it made. So I can't see any reason for Spyderco to say anything to any dealer that wants to do that. Sure it sucks for us non-US people...but there are ways around it.

angusW · #5

It would be great to get into some of the Dealer Exclusives that don't ship Internationally but for Spyderco to dictate to a dealer that they will not be doing business with them unless they ship Internationally would not be good for the open market. I could not consciously buy a knife if I knew a dealer was forced to sell it to me in Canada. Remember it's a private business so if they desire to only sell within a certain country or state or to people with brown eyes and a limp then that is their prerogative.

Free Radical · #6

Sure, a dealer fronts the cash for a knife to be made but Spyderco can easily say no, you don't qualify because we want people around the world to have a chance to buy this. Spyderco dictates the terms, not the vendor.

Having it at the Spyderco online store should be an option.

Pinetreebbs · #7

Is the buyer going to assume all the risks and additional costs for delivery, filing documentation etc, or will those costs be passed on to domestic customers?

yablanowitz · #8

It's called a Dealer Exclusive for a reason. If it is available at the SFO, then it isn't exclusive to the dealer unless the SFO is the dealer. Why should Spyderco turn down a sale because the customer has had shipping problems in the past? I've sent a few packages to different countries (just a few) and quite frankly, I can't fault anyone for not wanting to go through that on a regular basis.

If Spyderco is going to start telling dealers "You have to ship internationally or we won't sell to you", they might as well lock the doors now.

jabba359 · #9

Would this also apply to dealers who won't ship to New York?

If you want a dealer exclusive from a dealer that won't ship internationally, then it means you just need to hit up a buddy or two here on the forums that will order an extra and ship it on up to you!

RedRunner · #10

Well the one thing we can learn from this thread is that Spyderco must produce some of the most amazing knives in the world if people from around the world complain about not being able to get every single one of them. That's a very positive statement for the product!

Of course we sometimes here the same comment for other types of governed product like guns and cars. Look at the strict regulations about importing cars. Remember the old Porsche 959 or most of the Mercedes diesel 4 Matics, the Lotus Elise Series 1 or 2, or the BMW C1 scooter. None of which were ever allowed to be imported but people were clamouring for them.

Spyderco has reach a point at which it is in incredibly high demand. Kudos to Sal & Co! And I'm thankful to live in the same country as Spyderco is home to. :D

gunnut35 · #11

Why not just find a dealer in your location and try to convince them to do a exclusive run, then you wont even have to worry about shipping or customs. :)

RedRunner · #12

You can also do the Collector's Club with a local dealer and they will be able to receive all knives for you.

The Deacon · #13

You're suggesting that, for totally altruistic reasons, Spyderco should refuse to make knives for someone who is willing to pay for them. While Spyderco is far from greedy, they're dependent on sales for income, so I'm not sure how well that idea will go over with them.

You do have some options. For one thing, many dealers own one or more "all variant" Collectors Club numbers just so they're assured at least that many pieces of hard to get variants to sell. Those dealers receive CC#d specimens of all Dealer/Distributor exclusives. Am sure at least some of those dealers will ship internationally. Another option would be to have someone in the US purchase one for you and ship it to you. A number of folks on this forum, myself included, have done that in the past.