Starting over?

[Liquid Cobra]

Thanks for all the great input everyone. My collection last year had to have some give and take in order to keep funding purchases. Luckily it's a healthy collection so I've decided to sell of some of it while keeping the ones I absolutely love or have sentimental value. This way it's kind of win win.

Thanks again!

[paladin]

Yup, last year I sold off all the Spydercos I knew I'd never use, that lacked the ergos for me, and that I just didn't want...all one of them

[Surfingringo]

I have often regretted having too much stuff but I have never ever regretted simplifying my life by getting rid of it. Sell. Its liberating. :)

[SG89]

I have often regretted having too much stuff but I have never ever regretted simplifying my life by getting rid of it. Sell. Its liberating. :)

This.

[Liquid Cobra]

I have often regretted having too much stuff but I have never ever regretted simplifying my life by getting rid of it. Sell. Its liberating. :)

It is actually. You're so right. What's not liberating is having to ship 12 knives to 12 all in one day. Sigh...

[paladin]

I have often regretted having too much stuff but I have never ever regretted simplifying my life by getting rid of it. Sell. Its liberating. :)

Better than that...GIVE it all away...I personally know someone who's really "in need"

[DRKBC]

I have refined my collection over the last couple of years, I am now down to about 20 knives from various makers. I buy what I like from specific companies, where Spyderco is concerned I have really narrowed it down to the harder to find models, sprints and tried and true users like the Para2, Salt series, Manix, Native etc. I am hoping to buy a couple more Spyderco sprints this year, Para2 and Military. When it comes to the high end Spyderco models I have strayed a bit and ventured out into other makers.

[Mad Mac]

...What I would really like to see is a nice Spyderco gathering of all of us Forumites for not only a fun get together event but also for a buy-sell-trade session amongst ourselves. Surely there must be a nice hotel in or near Golden, (central US location), where such an event could be held and perhaps a visit to the SFO could be included in the festivities. Anyone else like this idea, or no? This might be a way to find good homes for some great knives that several of us seem to have an excess of according to this Topic. :)

This year is the 40th Anniversary of Spyderco and I suggested a get together in another thread,
Spyderco 40th Anniversary 2016 to include a trade session. You are on the right track, El Gato.

Spyderco stories are like real estate stories. There are only two kinds.
The one I should have bought and the one I should have kept.

Barring that, what is the best way to sell knives? eBay, Amazon, a knife forum?

[SG89]

I've only ever sold on eBay. Never had any issues.

[DigDug72]

Hey MM, I just sold a bunch of knives, mostly Spydies on bladeforums. First time actually thinning out the collection, felt good. 2 of the 6 buyers turned out to be local (one only 6 blocks away from me!) and now I have some new knife buddies too. plus loot for a new mantra and some lift tickets, so I'm geeked. So I'm recommending the BF 'for sale (by individuals)' for sure.

[farnorthdan]

...What I would really like to see is a nice Spyderco gathering of all of us Forumites for not only a fun get together event but also for a buy-sell-trade session amongst ourselves. Surely there must be a nice hotel in or near Golden, (central US location), where such an event could be held and perhaps a visit to the SFO could be included in the festivities. Anyone else like this idea, or no? This might be a way to find good homes for some great knives that several of us seem to have an excess of according to this Topic. :)

This year is the 40th Anniversary of Spyderco and I suggested a get together in another thread,
Spyderco 40th Anniversary 2016 to include a trade session. You are on the right track, El Gato.

Spyderco stories are like real estate stories. There are only two kinds.
The one I should have bought and the one I should have kept.

Barring that, what is the best way to sell knives? eBay, Amazon, a knife forum?

I have not sold any of mine yet but think that if I were the exchange would be the best place, they seem to fetch top dollar there and if its a LNIB item and a popular disco'd piece they seem to go real fast.

[SpeedHoles]

Never sold all of mine at once.

I guess I just have a good idea of what I like, and what I don't. If I don't like something or won't use it, I just won't purchase it.

[Capt'n Boatsalot]

This topic has been on my mind lately. I buy my knives to use, and even though the number I own is too many to carry each knife sufficiently, each of them do get carried and used. Late last year, I decided to start selling off my less loved knives mostly because I honestly didn't like them in some way, which meant that I didn't carry them often. I think that previously, I would look past some issues simply for the love of knives in general. At this point, however, i was able to see issues that caused me to not appreciate each as much. Mostly other brands were sold, and also one or maybe two Spydies. I thought I would be pretty disappointed when I let them go, but it was kind of a relief. Then towards the end of the year, I let go another 4-5 knives, including half Spydies, for similar reasons. All told, I wold 8 knives last year.

Last week I somewhat seriously considered selling off nearly all of my knives, keeping just a small set of actual users. I think this came about due to the realization that I had bought a ton of knives over the past two years (2014: 26 and 2015: 15) and the opportunity cost that the spent money represented. The good news about knives, of course, is that you can often sell knives losing only a few dollars on the transaction. Ultimately,I didn't do anything rash, still have much of my "collection of users", and am not looking into truly Starting Over. But I try to be more aware when buying a new knife and try to objectively evaluate if its really a keeper. This means in most cases not ordering up a new model the day it drops.

My goal this year is to keep it to 8 or fewer knives, and so here's to hoping that Spyderco doesn't drop all of their Military and PM2 Sprints/Exclusives at the same time!

[Blerv]

Mine is always being reevaluated. Still have a nice lot but more eccentric then the typical manix2 or Para2.

It's a nice hobby you have a chance of recovering or even profiting from a sale. Certainly not like my herd of modded cars :).

[tvenuto]

Not long ago I "thinned the herd" for a few reasons. Mainly, I refined what is important to me in my collection, and I sold off the knives that didn't bring me happiness to have. I wouldn't call that a starting over, though. As I can't see myself rebuying any of the knives I let go of.

[Mad Mac]

There is an old saying, "Beware the man with one gun." The idea being that he will be proficient with it. The theory applies to cameras, computers, software and many other things in life as well. In my opinion, there is a lot to be said for the notion and it is one to which I have subscribed, until now.

For 25 years, I was perfectly content with an Endura SE for EDC and a Delica PE. Then about a year ago I fell down the Spyder Hole and have bought a dozen more. (Listed in my signature.) Whereas, I had no problem buying, trying out and selling a score of handguns until I settled on a keeper, and I sold a popular Brand X knife within days of receiving it, letting go of a Spyder has proven difficult.

[DougC-3]

Great thread! I carried just one knife for decades then bought my first spydie about 3 years ago and have averaged 2/month since then (plus a few for a foreign amigo). I've thought of thinning the herd several times and have used that possibility to justify new purchases, but (straining the metaphor) when those beautiful bovines look up at me and blink their big brown eyes, I just can't let them go. I've only sold one, a backup Cruwear Millie. It's easier when you sell them to one of our famous forumites and you know they'll go to a good, well deserving home.

I'm not a collector in the sense of getting all of a certain model, keeping them mint, etc, but I like to sample a lot of different designs, handle materials, countries of origin, blade steels, lock types and so forth. When eating out, I'm the guy who wants to try everything on the menu -- in my price range -- no truffles or chateaubriand.

I don't recommend getting rid of old knives on a whim, because there have been too many times when I tired of one and laid it aside for a couple of months then rediscovered it and it was like getting a new knife all over again. This has been especially true when I put one aside new-in-box because it was so rare, valuable, etc, then finally decided to "give it to myself" and use it. Also I've heard too many people say how much they regret getting rid of some favorite.

[StuntZombie]

I stopped collecting knives a few years ago, and only keep ones that I use now. Some don't see a lot of use, but they still get carried every now and then. My goal is something like MichaelScotts, find a few knives that cover everything I need. I've got the work EDC and around the house EDC's, now I'm just trying to decide on a smaller dressy knife and a fixed blade Spyderco.

[Liquid Cobra]

I thought I would post a follow up for anyone interested. I ended up selling the following knives:

UKPK orange s30v
UKPK green s30v
UKPK cf s30v
UKPK blue FRN
UKPK grey FRN
Urban orange g10
Urban green g10
Pingo orange FRN
Squeak
Yojimbo 2
Pkal
Szabo
Ronin 2
Endura blue
Pacific salt
Pm2 cts20cp
Pm2 Elmax
Pm2 s35vn
Pm2 cts-204p
Pm2 xhp satin

Basically I sold the ones that don't end up in my rotation or were duplicates of the same model with a variation.

Here's a pic of what I kept:



What did I do with the money you ask? Ok, you didn't ask but maybe someone out there was curious. I bought my dream rifle, a Springfield M1A.

Thanks for the discussion and all the ideas. Back to your regular scheduled program.

[demoncase]

I'm at a point now- at the 100 mark or thereabouts- it would eat me up a bit to have to sell off and start again.
There's more than a handful that I simply couldn't part with.....But if it's about keeping the wolf from the door, then the rest would have to go

I have sold off other collections....at one point I had an example of every US camouflage uniform issued from 1955 to 2005- when I realised that getting the equipment/web-gear to go with them amounted to the price of a decent car (and I was driving around in a £200 rattly old VW) things had to change. Plus it took up a whole room of the house.
I'm doing to a small collection of Vietnam War kit- stuff that is slowly (but steadily) appreciating.

I know that- if I wanted to expand that uniform collection again then there is stuff that I would now find impossible to get.

That's the bittersweet joy of collections and collectors- there is a finite number of things made.
Many of those things get used up- consumed as intended, damaged, lost, forgotten. (Indeed- in the case of militaria: the DOD will purge their inventory and practically give away the old stuff when their latest kit comes in- the OG107 shirts that change hands now for upwards of $40 could be had in bundles of 20 for $5 in the 1980s. Painters and decorators wrecked them. It cuts me up to think of!)
That just makes the hunt more interesting.
But to do it all again....that'd hurt!