Too Many Exclusives?

[Johnnie1801]

There are so many exclusives coming out these days it's hard to keep track of them all yet I haven't seen a new sprint run come out in a while. Exclusives are great and all but they're not widely available like sprints. Any chance Spyderco could consider limiting distributors and vendors to 2 exclusives each per year and then concentrate resources and capacity on new designs and sprints?

[Wright.88]

I love that Spyderco does so many exclusives. It’s fun seeing different steels and handle materials/colors on popular models. Sprints are good, too. They're all good :)

[Evil D]

The question is, is it a simple matter of production capacity that slows down production of new models, and would it matter if there were fewer variants of current models coming out of the factory? It seems like new models would take priority once they're actually ready for production, and in the meantime they would want other production maxed out to stay profitable. With some of these exclusives being practically guaranteed to sell out it would be foolish to deny them. That wouldn't be the best business decision would it? I'm sure they try to find a balance somewhere.

[steelcity16]

I say not enough. Exclusives are great for the scales and steels that may not have the wide appeal to the masses for a production knife, but they have enough appeal to warrant 1200 pieces. I would almost guarantee that all of the future M4/Jade from BHQ and M390/Red from DLT knives sell out just as quickly as the last ones as long as they stick with the popular Golden-made models (Military, PM2, Para 3, Manix, Native). I would bet if either of them decide to do the Shaman or Lil Native in those combos they will sell out as well. I myself can't wait for the Native in M4/Jade and I hope to see more and more of them. I rarely buy any production knives, but that is only because I prefer Cruwear, M4, and 52100, which are only available in exclusives and sprints.

[curlyhairedboy]

I agree with steelcity, there aren't enough exclusives!

[twinboysdad]

It has cheapened the sprint runs IMO, maybe those with unlimited funds disagree

[RickC27]

I personally am pretty happy with my core group of Spyderco knives right now (6) total. I feel like anything new I'll be looking for will most likely be a sprint run or exclusive. Won't see much hard use, but will look good and be nice to have.

[Bodog]

It has cheapened the sprint runs IMO, maybe those with unlimited funds disagree

Too much of something makes that something less valuable.

I personally have a hard time understanding how in this day and age a company would front its own money for these. I think it would make much more sense to take a poll, take fat deposits from those willing to put up or shut up, and then commission the exclusive based on how many people actually paid for the commission. 300 people paid a deposit? Great, make 300 pieces por favor.

[PStone]

I really like all the exclusives. I like that they come available more often throughout the year. Rather than just waiting for the next sprint.

I only own one sprint run. A ppt cf s90v. But I own 4 exclusives. M4 cf pm2, 204p Millie, green native from KC, and the orange positron. I bought them because I wanted more than a regular production knife. And they were available at the time. Yet I placed a preorder for the vtoku2 endura back in December, and am still waiting(not complaining at all! Totally worth the wait I think. Just saying)

What I’m trying to say is, had those exclusives not existed, I may not have bought anything at all. Just continued to wait for the ppt and endura.

But maybe Spyderco agrees with the OP and flash batches are the new “sprint”. Who knows. I just hope they keep on a comin’!

[curlyhairedboy]

in general, I appreciate the variety! Spyderco already has one of the deepest catalogs around, the exclusives are gravy,

[bearfacedkiller]

I assume that the exclusives are a better deal. Spyderco has another company put up the capital to make it happen and the company gets a good price by buying a boatload of knives. Sounds like a win win. It also takes some of the risk away from Spyderco since some sprints don’t sell as well as others.

To me when it comes to the core models like the Military, Para2 and Delica I could care less if it is a sprint vs an exclusive. Six of one and a half dozen of the other. Where sprints really stand out is in that they are sometimes more obscure or long discontinued models. BHQ has done the Lums which is different. We previously only really saw old models come back as sprints and exclusives were predominately variations of current hot sellers.

I just like variety. There will always be more knives than I need or can afford. Does it really matter how many more?

[RickC27]

^^ Agreed. Of my 6 different Spyderco knives I currently have, something about the PM2 I really like, even though it's overkill for what I need it for on a daily basis. Something about it I gravitate to. So if over the years there ends up being 10 more exclusive runs, I'll probably end up with 5-7 PM2's in my stable. As you said, I like the variety. Dying for a chance for one of those BHQ exclusive versions! People can hate on the natural g10 and DLC blades all they want, that knife screams "I want your money Rick"

[anycal]

It has cheapened the sprint runs IMO, maybe those with unlimited funds disagree

I can see that. Especially if you look at the $$ of the hobby; if you are looking for exclusivity and resale values. For those in this hobby for a while, I can see how it changes things.

For me, it makes a greater variety of knives more accessible. And I don't have unlimited funds. For myself, I would certainly have less :spyder: folders if the variety of steels wasn't there.

[zhyla]

Any chance Spyderco could consider limiting distributors

If I have a business where a distributor orders something (probably at a slight premium since it's a custom order), why would I ever say no? When you're saying no to profitable orders you need to fix the reasons you're saying no (add capacity, etc).

It's a business.

[Johnnie1801]

I'm not knocking the idea of exclusives but I think they should be limited to 2 per year per company. Yes there are some models that sell well but so many more are still left on the shelf. The knifeworks millie's in s90v and 204p (awesome knife by the way) are still on the shelf after a couple of years and look at the knifecenter Positron, they're almost giving it away at $89,95. If they can only commission 2 exclusives per year then they can focus on quality specs and Spyderco can free up capacity to bring us models like the Caribbean and Rhino that we've been waiting far too long for.

[allhatnocattle]

Exclusives offer great variety of options for the consumer and even more variables for customization through blade and scale swaps. However it is off putting that some retailers (eh hem... bento box) thrive on what seems like only exclusives.

[Evil D]

...Spyderco can free up capacity to bring us models like the Caribbean and Rhino that we've been waiting far too long for.

Again, are we certain this has to do with capacity and not R&D?

They have X amount of capacity. Models are discontinued to make room for new models. If those new models are not ready to be produced due to development hurdles then there is a gap in production, and that gap means a loss of money. That gap is filled by exclusives, production continues, we all benefit.

It's easy to just look at what comes out and assume that because knife B came out before knife A that it was given priority, but it could just simply be that knife A was not ready so knife B came first.

[PayneTrain]

I love the variety, and while most of the recent exclusives are a total miss for me and some themes are getting a little out of hand (looking at you, BHQ!), it's always exciting when one comes along that they clearly commissioned with me in mind. It's not that I want them to do less, it's that I want them to do the ones that I want. :D Speaking of which, still waiting on that blue G-10 Delica! Come on dealers, who wants Payne's money?

About the production scheduling, I don't know how much we can really conclude from our position. There are too many variables to say what delays a release and writing from within a busy manufacturing facility (literally, I'm at work right now), I can't bring myself to blame the delay of the Caribbean on another Pakkawood run. It may very well be, but unless Sal says so, we really can't conclude that. Maybe their workers are wasting too much time on forums too...

[Deadboxhero]

What?

GIVE US MORE!!

[shunsui]

I don't have a problem with dealer exclusives. I think it adds a lot more variation to what's available.

Then again, I did save a ton of money on the fact I don't care for jade green G-10. :D