how safe is Amazon to buy from

[honsbeek]

Hi there ,

I want to buy online , Ebay shows to be a risky place to buy , any advise ?

I was thinking amazon.com , assuming there would be no fakes being sold there

kind regards

Ralph in Korea

[SpyderNut]

Hi Ralph,

Welcome to the Forums. :) As you mentioned, one must exercise caution when attempting to buy genuine Spydreco's from places like ebay. Having said that, there are a few reputable sellers on ebay that I've used for several years without any issue. Amazon may be slightly better, but there have been a few here who have had issues with counterfeits in the past with Amazon (likely because Amazon sometimes uses third party sellers who may not be entirely reputable). If you can manage, the best and safest bet would be to use a genuine Spyderco dealer (such as Howes, New Graham, Knife Center, Blade HQ, etc.). Although the shipping costs may be higher with a genuine dealer, the peace of mind will most likely be worth the extra coin.

[sal]

Hi Honsbeek,

Welcome to our forum.

Trusted vendors are good rule of thumb.

sal

[LC Kid]

Hi honsbeek!


Well Reputed/Trusted Dealers are the Best Bet.

There is an increasingly number of reports of fakes/deffective Spydercos bought on Amazon. While you can't assume all Dealers are the same, because they're not, the risk is there.

If you are begining your collection there's no point to gamble with this, speacilly to save a couple of bucks in S/H.

[spyderg]

Reputable dealers are always your best bet especially if you are looking at something like a Dragonfly for example that is copied all the time. If you were looking at say a Gayle Bradley your chances of a counterfeit are quite small however "new" isn't always the case and shipping headaches far more common.

[joe58]

I've never had an issue from Amazon but I do try to check out the seller as best I csn, and if they have other online presence as well.

On ebay, if the seller has a high, positive, feedback count, I've not had an issue there either. Only one time on a knife seller in Israel. I should have known better.

But do your research. And as others have mentioned, there seems to be 4 or 5 online shops that a lot of members use quite a bit and have been around now for many years.

If you've a question about a particular seller, you could see if maybe someone has bought from them. Dunno.

[christopher]

I would suggest you look up bentoboxshop.com. I have bought several from them, including some specials not available anywhere else, and they have always been completely reliable.

[paladin]

Spyderco Authorized dealers are best...

Jim Howe is my personal go-to-guy for top drawer service!

I've had great luck on eBay...the key is look closely at the pics & be sure you know what to look for in a counterfeit...

eBay is very buyer-centric, so you're usually covered if things go South...don't believe ALL the negative hype...there are charletans lurking there, but mostly they're easy to sniff out...

The biggest issue with Amazon, IMHO, is you only get generic stock photos of what you're buying...immoral jerks will buy a legit PM2 from Amazon, pocket the legit PM2 slip in a fake PM2 & return it for full refund...then an overworked, ill-informed worker recieves the fake, gives it a cursory once-over looksee (maybe), unwittingly/uncaringly restocks the fake and it's resold to hapless Joe SpyderBuyer...

It's not named Amazon by accident-- it's a jungle over there!! happy buying / happy hunting

[dreadpirate]

Amazon is ok - they mean well. I have heard about issues with folks keeping the real knife and returning a fake. The small shops are more conscientious and know better:

BentoBox http://www.bentoboxshop.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Blade HQ http://www.bladehq.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
National Knives http://www.nationalknives.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Knife Center http://www.knifecenter.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Oh So Grande Knives http://www.osograndeknives.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Cutlery Shoppe http://www.cutleryshoppe.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Knife Works http://www.knifeworks.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Kershaw Guy http://kershawguy.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Blade Play http://www.bladeplay.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The Classic Edge http://www.theclassicedge.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Bud K http://www.budk.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Kellam Knives http://kellamknives.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Knives Ship Free http://www.knivesshipfree.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Collectors Knives http://www.collectorknives.net" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[The Deacon]

Amazon is great for a lot of things. I spend over $1000 a year there, but none of it is spent on knives. When it comes to those, like the others here, I prefer to do business with dealers I trust. New Graham Knives has been my favorite for the 12 years I've been in the hobby, but Howe's Knife Shop, The Cutlery Shoppe, Knifeworks, AG Russell, and BladeHQ have all given me excellent service as well.

eBay is a reasonably safe place to buy some Spydercos IF your are knowledgeable enough about the brand to know the models to either use extreme caution when purchasing there, or avoid buying there altogether. There are models like the Q, Jess Horn and Spyderkey where eBay is both safe and pretty much the only option, and others like the PM2 and Military where it's neither.

[JD Spydo]

Amazon is great for a lot of things. I spend over $1000 a year there, but none of it is spent on knives. When it comes to those, like the others here, I prefer to do business with dealers I trust. New Graham Knives has been my favorite for the 12 years I've been in the hobby, but Howe's Knife Shop, The Cutlery Shoppe, Knifeworks, AG Russell, and BladeHQ have all given me excellent service as well.

eBay is a reasonably safe place to buy some Spydercos IF your are knowledgeable enough about the brand to know the models to either use extreme caution when purchasing there, or avoid buying there altogether. There are models like the Q, Jess Horn and Spyderkey where eBay is both safe and pretty much the only option, and others like the PM2 and Military where it's neither.

I agree with the Deacon wholeheartedly on the dealer recommendations he gave>> however I quit using Ebay all together for various reasons. Rather than Ebay I would recommend getting a Gold Membership at Bladeforums>> most all of the guys and gals I've dealt with over there have been great. In ten years I've only had problems with one member and it got resolved in a short period of time. But I only do deals with Gold or Platinum members over there.

New Graham is not the cheapest place on the web but their integrity is rock solid>> I always go to New Graham before I do with anyone else. Grande Prarie is another dealer I've had excellent luck with. Also his recommendation of AG Russell is a great one as well. His reputation is solid as well. Be very careful who you deal with because there is a growing number of fakes and almost perfect looking counterfeits as well. We have a place here in Kansas City called "Super Flea" which is a mega-flea market and they are loaded with every kind of fake you can imagine. Stay the **** away from flea markets unless you know them personally. Most of the guys have given you fairly solid advice but be careful buying anything on line because it has turned into a real "mine field" in the past 5 years.

[miyamotomusashi]

I can vouch for Knife Center http://www.knifecenter.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, and Kershaw Guy http://kershawguy.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. Great folks I've had good experiences with.

[rml]

Anybody heard of ABCD Sales, selling through Amazon? Are they an authorized distributor of Spyderco?

[The Deacon]

Anybody heard of ABCD Sales, selling through Amazon? Are they an authorized distributor of Spyderco?

I've never heard of them, but I would not purchase knives from Amazon, regardless of whether it was from them directly, from a third party with "fulfillment by Amazon" or from a third party that does their own shipping. I like saving money as much as the next guy, but there are just too many excellent and trustworthy online knife dealers.

FWIW, I doubt they're a Spyderco distributor, because Spyderco's distributor agreement does not allow distributors to sell directly to the public, only to dealers. I doubt they're an authorized dealer either, as that requires physical location. That's not to say the knives they're not a legitimate dealer selling legitimate Spyderco knives, only that they're probably one of the many dealer that purchase Spyderco products from a Spyderco distributor, rather than purchasing directly from Spyderco.

[rml]

Thanks a lot, appreciate it.

[jalcon]

You'll probably be fine from Amazon, but alot of people buy a fake, and a geniune, then do a return on amazon. Guess which one amazon gets?

Than some other unlucky soul get's that fake one down the line.

Just buy from a reputable dealer and be safe..

[mtngunr]

Howes and Knivesshipfree have both dropped the line...

[Mic1]

I would suggest you look up bentoboxshop.com. I have bought several from them, including some specials not available anywhere else, and they have always been completely reliable.

I second this as well as Blade HQ, Knife center, any of the big knife shops. Some have some great deals.

[iwolf81]

I've never been disappointed by Cultery Shoppe, Knife Works, New Graham, Grand Prairie, or Knife Center. Their prices are always within a couple of bucks from each other, though all have occasional super sales where I found some excellent deals. Jeff at Cutlery Shoppe hand picked some Spydies for me that I was giving to a friend heading to the "Sandbox" overseas. You can't get service like that on Amazon.

Note that I'm am NOT knocking Amazon as we get deliveries from them several times a week. I have bought some basic FRN knives from Amazon that were great deals, but be sure to still with the Amazon LLC seller and not a third-party one, unless they have a great reputation such as Poor Fish.

Regards,
Ira

[aquaman67]

Spyderco Authorized dealers are best...

Jim Howe is my personal go-to-guy for top drawer service!

Howe's no longer carries Spyderco