Buy Sprints, then Flip Them at a Profit?

[chuck_roxas45]

Right on. Uncle Joe and Chairman Mao knew exactly how to deal with people like that.

Yup, we know what the lesser EVIL is.

[JNewell]

Separate post on this topic.

I recently found myself in need of another orange CS P2. I hooked up, by pure coincidence, with a member of SF and BF. He recognized me as a fellow member and immediately offered to take a huge amount off the price, saying he couldn't profit at my expense. I wrote back and said I was deeply grateful, but market price is market price and we are both consenting adults. :) Why should he take a loss relative to market value? I guess you can say I put my money where my mouth is. I want to say that when the knife arrived, I found a very nice Spyderco "extra" in the box. :)

Given the direction this thread is taking, I'm not going to name him here unless he tells me it's ok to do so, but I do want to emphasize that I think the criticism of speculators is, among other things, a pretty sharp contradiction to what most of us say, think and do every day.

[Gerard Breuker]

Never sold any knife yet.
Don't feel strongly about people who do however nor about people who overpay for a specific model.
Just the way the world turns.

[Donut]

How about this one. I pre-ordered an EDC Forums Manix 2, someone else that I know pre-ordered one.

When they arrived to EDC Forums and were ready to ship, the person I know didn't want his, so he passed on his pre-order to me. I paid for it and had it sit for a few months. I ended up trading his Manix for three knives whose totals added up to double what I paid for the Manix.

[chuck_roxas45]

How about this one. I pre-ordered an EDC Forums Manix 2, someone else that I know pre-ordered one.

When they arrived to EDC Forums and were ready to ship, the person I know didn't want his, so he passed on his pre-order to me. I paid for it and had it sit for a few months. I ended up trading his Manix for three knives whose totals added up to double what I paid for the Manix.

That's an excellent result that came from your passion for spydies.

[Donut]

I right out told him what I paid for it and he told me he was fine with the trade.

[chuck_roxas45]

I right out told him what I paid for it and he told me he was fine with the trade.

I admire your integrity.


But then I know that already. :D

[Jay_Ev]

I detest speculators.

+1
Speculating, profiteering and capitalizing on the less fortunate is repulsive. But as was made abundantly clear earlier in the thread, it's none of my **** business what people do. If somebody wants to bend somebody else over who am I to complain.

[jeffc]

I really dont care what anyone does with anything they buy as long as no law is broken. Everyone has sold something for profit and for the record I have yet to flip a spydie for profit but cant say I wouldnt if the situation arose that I needed some cash.

Now lets take out knife and replace it with car for the sake of argument. I would be hard pressed to believe that many people would pass on a great new car for what they know to be 50% of market value. My example would be something like this...... Hello sir, i know you have been approved for a 25,000 dollar loan today and boy do I have a deal for you. You see that shiney knew corvett in the corner? I have to sell it today. I know its worth 50,000 but I have to move it out of here or I cant get this other car I want in here........ I find it hard to believe many would pass when they can afford it and could turn around, sell it, and pay for most of the car they walked in there for. Now I know this doesnt relate exactly but I think you get the point. If there is a deal to be made then people will do what it takes to make a profit.

[Evil D]

The only time i think this is semi ok is like this...Lets pretend i bought two 20CP Para 2's because i'm a USER not a collector, and i buy a second one as a future replacement because i know they'll be hard to find.

What if I come to find out that i don't really like this steel at all, it doesn't suit my user needs the way i thought it would? Now i have two knives i don't plan on using so i'm gonna sell the replacement and keep the user because i've already jacked around with the bevel a bunch and it's dirty and wore and used. Am i a bad person for selling the second one for whatever someone is willing to pay for it? I don't think so, but at the same time i can tell you in all honesty that if i found someone here on the board who was wishing they could buy one and couldn't find or afford one at the inflated prices, i would sell it to them for whatever the going price was when they were on preorder.

On one hand, like they say don't hate the player hate the game. If people are crazy enough to pay 2 and 3 times the original price for a knife, then that's their loss and my gain. Then on the other hand there's more to this than just knives and selling/buying, there's a community here, there's a culture that we're all a part of, and i guess my inner do-gooder would just feel guilty cashing in on someone like that. I've always said that worth is only what someone is willing to pay, but it does seem a little unfair. I spent about $50 more for my 20CP than i could have, so i've been on the low end of this deal. I could probably sell it right now and recoup 90% or better of what i paid, but that's just not my style.

[NoFair]

I don't. Mostly because imho it isn't worth the effort and it just drives prices up and availability down. I'd rather see Spyderco and dealers making money than flippers.

[mikerestivo]

Churning knives is the only way I can afford to buy the Spydies I want.

This is the case with me. Often I am not sure if I am going to end up carrying a particular model until after I have had it awhile. If I find that I am not carrying it much after a year or so, I sell it. Sometimes it sells for more than I pay for it, sometimes not. That all depends on the demand, which I don't control. For knives I have sold, I have done all via E-bay auction. The bidders control what it sells for. Sometimes I trade. Depends on my mood. I do have some that I don't carry that I save and will never sell because I like them that much.

I have never bought a knife and then turned around and sold it in the same week/month that I bought it. I can't figure the logic on doing that. I do a an annual spring cleaning of those that I don't carry much. I do this so that I don't end up with 400 knives (I usually have about 30 in my collection at one time and feel like a hoarder if I keep more than that), and to defray the cost of future Spydercos. Without some degree of churning my collection, I could not afford my hobby.

I don't usually buy more than one of a knife unless I am pretty certain that I will love it. I have only bought a second of a model on three occasions - one for carry and the other to keep in reserve. On one occasion I did not love the knife like I thought I would and later sold them both.

The other thing I don't get are those that buy 5 or 10 of a sprint. I don't care whether it's in the name of collecting or flipping - it still takes more out of circulation for those that would want one. There are a few folks out there that I have seen that have serious issues with this.

So upon reflection, I suppose that I am not a flipper. Flipping implies a quick turnaround sale after purchase. I have not done that and don't plan to.

[bh49]

For some reason every time, when we have hot sprint or exclusive, such threads show up. Fortunately we live in capitalism so as long as we have people, who are willing to pay ridiculous prices for hot knives, somebody will sell them. During last six years of my Spyderco addiction I didn’t miss any sprint, which I wanted to get. There is no magic here, just put some efforts in advance. Place pre-order.

Every sprint in the last 2 to 3 years I have seen go for absurd prices on both ebay and bst sections of other forums.

This is not correct. It is applicable to some sprints. Quite a few sprints available for a long time. I paid $170 for my Shabaria shipped at NGK about a year and half ago, you can pick it up for $130 now on secondary market or at GPK for a few bucks more. I sold my Zowada right away, because I didn't like it loosing only $15.

To answer the poll, yes, I often buy Spydies in order to resell, trade or as gifts. Churning knives is the only way I can afford to buy the Spydies I want.

+1

[Sonny]

If you've checked the classified forums recently, you'll see a whole potful of orange Para2's on there...for about $215. That's called either legal larceny or good business, depending upon whom you're talking with.
Sonny

[jtoler_9]

I don't. Mostly because imho it isn't worth the effort and it just drives prices up and availability down. I'd rather see Spyderco and dealers making money than flippers.

I don't see how you can separate the 2. Spyderco dealers and spyderco, sell to, and make money off people who buy, sell and trade knives. I see it as a symbiotic relationship. I feel confident that if BST folks didn't exist, then places like CS and KW wouldn't sell sprint run knives as fast as they just did. Nor would you see as many new sprint run knives being commissioned by vendors.
If there is a market where I can commission a sprint and sell out and pay off my loan in a month, then I am probably going to do it. So if you kill off the "flippers" then you probably kill a few future sprint run knives because there is more risk for the dealers.
I could be wrong here, I am not a dealer. And my "flipping" is limited to probably 10 knives in 2 years. So I am still new to this, but the market is the market. It's the same thing that happened to the housing market. People were buying and flipping homes because they knew that the equity would continue to go up "forever" or so they thought. At some point people will settle down and stop dropping 400+ for a CF Para 2 S90v and the flipping will slowly diminish. What is surprising is that I don't think we have found the ceiling yet. There is no moral high ground here. It is what it is. Most of us have cool new sprint run knives because there is a market for it.

[jeffc]

I don't see how you can separate the 2. Spyderco dealers and spyderco, sell to, and make money off people who buy, sell and trade knives. I see it as a symbiotic relationship. I feel confident that if BST folks didn't exist, then places like CS and KW wouldn't sell sprint run knives as fast as they just did. Nor would you see as many new sprint run knives being commissioned by vendors.
If there is a market where I can commission a sprint and sell out and pay off my loan in a month, then I am probably going to do it. So if you kill off the "flippers" then you probably kill a few future sprint run knives because there is more risk for the dealers.
I could be wrong here, I am not a dealer. And my "flipping" is limited to probably 10 knives in 2 years. So I am still new to this, but the market is the market. It's the same thing that happened to the housing market. People were buying and flipping homes because they knew that the equity would continue to go up "forever" or so they thought. At some point people will settle down and stop dropping 400+ for a CF Para 2 S90v and the flipping will slowly diminish. What is surprising is that I don't think we have found the ceiling yet. There is no moral high ground here. It is what it is. Most of us have cool new sprint run knives because there is a market for it.

Well I couldnt agree more!!!! If I could put my thoughts on paper this well I would probably never shut up.

[Papa_K]

If you're buying a limited-run Sprint, just to flip it, you're a ___________. (Fill in the blank)
On Sprints that sell out quickly, you've forced Sypdie users to pay more.
Good business? Money grabbing?
The funny part is to see something that's still available at normal prices, and on SALE at the 'bay for twice the retail price.

[JNewell]

I don't see how you can separate the 2. Spyderco dealers and spyderco, sell to, and make money off people who buy, sell and trade knives. I see it as a symbiotic relationship. I feel confident that if BST folks didn't exist, then places like CS and KW wouldn't sell sprint run knives as fast as they just did. Nor would you see as many new sprint run knives being commissioned by vendors.
If there is a market where I can commission a sprint and sell out and pay off my loan in a month, then I am probably going to do it. So if you kill off the "flippers" then you probably kill a few future sprint run knives because there is more risk for the dealers.
I could be wrong here, I am not a dealer. And my "flipping" is limited to probably 10 knives in 2 years. So I am still new to this, but the market is the market. It's the same thing that happened to the housing market. People were buying and flipping homes because they knew that the equity would continue to go up "forever" or so they thought. At some point people will settle down and stop dropping 400+ for a CF Para 2 S90v and the flipping will slowly diminish. What is surprising is that I don't think we have found the ceiling yet. There is no moral high ground here. It is what it is. Most of us have cool new sprint run knives because there is a market for it.

Agree. Reminds me of a dealer that raised the price of a sprint above the prevailing street price (but still below MSRP) a few years ago. The dealer was widely vilified here and elsewhere. Never made sense to me.

[jtoler_9]

If you're buying a limited-run Sprint, just to flip it, you're a ___________. (Fill in the blank)
On Sprints that sell out quickly, you've forced Sypdie users to pay more.
Good business? Money grabbing?

If you're buying a limited-run Sprint for ANY reason, you're a ______ CUSTOMER

[JNewell]

This paying thing is over-rated. I think I deserve sprints for free. :eek: :confused: