Would you prefer if Spyderco boxes were improved in any way?

Discuss Spyderco's products and history.

Would you prefer if Spyderco boxes were stronger or improved in any ways?

Yes
11
14%
Yes, but only if it would not effect the overall prices by very much.
6
8%
No
60
78%
 
Total votes: 77

Mystery Flavor
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Would you prefer if Spyderco boxes were improved in any way?

#1

Post by Mystery Flavor »

What do you think?

I have had some Spyderco distributors simply throw the brand new box in a padded envelope, with zero other padding or packaging and they ship it like that. I've had several different sellers do this. It has led to me getting a smashed or ripped up Spyderco box a couple times. Luckily it never damaged the actual knife or sheath in the box, but I am sure that does happen, even if very rarely.

My thinking about this question mostly has to do with that period of time when our Spydercos are being shipped to us from a seller. I think a stronger, more rigid Spyderco box could only help, unless it added a significant price increase. It would likely benefit the end-user, the distributors, and Spyderco itself in the long run.

Packages get beat up all the time. Anybody who orders much of anything online has had it happen and nobody is happy when it happens. Things get smashed, holes punctured through the packaging, or much worse. During shipping is the biggest time period for when I believe a stronger box could do a lot of good.

I am sure Spyderco does not prefer for customers to buy brand new items and have them arriving in less than new looking condition. First impressions can make a big difference, especially to someone new to Spyderco. If Spyderco used a more rigid box they would probably have less losses that they have to deal with when packages get ravaged and eventually returned to them from the distributors. I wonder if a box change like I'm talking about could actually end up SAVING Spyderco money in the long run??

Have any of you ever received a NEW Spyderco and it actually had damage that effected the knife itself due to poor shipping/packaging? Scuffs, chips in the handle, that kind of thing??

Most people buy Spyderco products online, especially since most people don't have any decent knife shop near where they live. So the vast majority of Spydercos spend at least some time in the mail.


Or a different approach could be for Spyderco to try to educate their distributors so their shipping departments take more care when shipping off our knives. But I have a feeling that wouldn't work too well.
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Woodpuppy
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Re: Would you prefer if Spyderco boxes were improved in any way?

#2

Post by Woodpuppy »

Well I voted before I read your post. You make a good point, but I’d rather just see the vendor take more care in their shipping. One knife I ordered came in a padded envelope with no other packing- result, mashed corner on the box. 3 other vendors had very careful packing and contents arrived perfect. I’ll remember that when it’s time to make the next order. But I’ve never had damage to the knife itself.

The worst packaging I’ve ever seen comes from Amazon... and Grainger is second. From both a protection and efficiency standpoint.
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Re: Would you prefer if Spyderco boxes were improved in any way?

#3

Post by brainfriction »

I say if it ain't broke don't fix it. I've yet to receive a Spyderco that's been damaged. Most reputable sellers ship in a priority flat rate box. If someone is too cheap to spend 7 bucks on shipping for a $100+ knife I'd rather not buy from them anyway :D
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Re: Would you prefer if Spyderco boxes were improved in any way?

#4

Post by Mystery Flavor »

Woodpuppy wrote:
Tue Sep 25, 2018 6:13 pm
Well I voted before I read your post. You make a good point, but I’d rather just see the vendor take more care in their shipping. One knife I ordered came in a padded envelope with no other packing- result, mashed corner on the box. 3 other vendors had very careful packing and contents arrived perfect. I’ll remember that when it’s time to make the next order. But I’ve never had damage to the knife itself.

The worst packaging I’ve ever seen comes from Amazon... and Grainger is second. From both a protection and efficiency standpoint.
I think I set up the poll so that anyone can change their vote by re-voting.

Another thought I didn't mention is I think at least some people would prefer the Spyderco boxes to NOT be printed in China. But that is an entirely different perspective. I'm mostly focused on strength or rigidity improvements to the boxes.
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Woodpuppy
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Re: Would you prefer if Spyderco boxes were improved in any way?

#5

Post by Woodpuppy »

Huh, I didn’t notice that. I always prefer to keep the cash in the home economy myself, but that’s getting harder and harder. Personally, I’d be fine with a recycled brown cardboard fold up style box with no embellishment.
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steelcity16
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Re: Would you prefer if Spyderco boxes were improved in any way?

#6

Post by steelcity16 »

brainfriction wrote:
Tue Sep 25, 2018 6:14 pm
I say if it ain't broke don't fix it. I've yet to receive a Spyderco that's been damaged. Most reputable sellers ship in a priority flat rate box. If someone is too cheap to spend 7 bucks on shipping for a $100+ knife I'd rather not buy from them anyway :D

I honestly dont mind if they ship first class in a padded envelope. Ive never had a knife damaged in shipping. As far as being cheap, if a dealer does an exclusive of ~1000 knives then averaging $4 for first class vs $7 for priority is $3K worth of profit. A pretty big deal to some of the smaller dealers. Doesn't bother me a bit. I'd rather they make money and keep doing new exclusives.
:bug-white-red CRU-CARTA THE SEKI MODELS! :bug-white-red AND BRING US THE DODO-FLY! :bug-white-red
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Re: Would you prefer if Spyderco boxes were improved in any way?

#7

Post by Mystery Flavor »

Woodpuppy wrote:
Tue Sep 25, 2018 6:27 pm
Huh, I didn’t notice that. I always prefer to keep the cash in the home economy myself, but that’s getting harder and harder. Personally, I’d be fine with a recycled brown cardboard fold up style box with no embellishment.
I'd also be plenty happy with some plain cardboard box, if it had strength improvements over what we currently have. That reminds me of the flashlight/headlamp company called Zebralight. All their products come in a brown cardboard box with the most basic black & white sticker to identify for each model. Super simple, but a very strong box.
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steelcity16
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Re: Would you prefer if Spyderco boxes were improved in any way?

#8

Post by steelcity16 »

The OCD in me would be bothered if they change boxes and they no longer match, even though I don't keep my knives in the boxes. I do keep them though in case I want to trade or sell the knife in the future as it definitely loses a little value without them.
:bug-white-red CRU-CARTA THE SEKI MODELS! :bug-white-red AND BRING US THE DODO-FLY! :bug-white-red
brainfriction
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Re: Would you prefer if Spyderco boxes were improved in any way?

#9

Post by brainfriction »

steelcity16 wrote:
Tue Sep 25, 2018 6:30 pm
brainfriction wrote:
Tue Sep 25, 2018 6:14 pm
I say if it ain't broke don't fix it. I've yet to receive a Spyderco that's been damaged. Most reputable sellers ship in a priority flat rate box. If someone is too cheap to spend 7 bucks on shipping for a $100+ knife I'd rather not buy from them anyway :D

I honestly dont mind if they ship first class in a padded envelope. Ive never had a knife damaged in shipping. As far as being cheap, if a dealer does an exclusive of ~1000 knives then averaging $4 for first class vs $7 for priority is $3K worth of profit. A pretty big deal to some of the smaller dealers. Doesn't bother me a bit. I'd rather they make money and keep doing new exclusives.
I don't mind first class, I've bought several things from Blade HQ that were sent first class in a box, but there's only a few ebay shops I'll buy from because I know they actually ship in a box and if I'm absorbing that extra 3 dollars in the purchase price then so be it.
rgrad80
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Re: Would you prefer if Spyderco boxes were improved in any way?

#10

Post by rgrad80 »

The Spyderco box only becomes a problem when trying to gift the knife to someone. A smashed up flimsy box looks like crap and also makes the knife appear cheap.
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Evil D
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Re: Would you prefer if Spyderco boxes were improved in any way?

#11

Post by Evil D »

I've got some boxes that are collapsing from being stacked up with other knives/boxes. I wouldn't mind a heavier card stock as long as it doesn't effect cost or it's super minimal.
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Bloke
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Re: Would you prefer if Spyderco boxes were improved in any way?

#12

Post by Bloke »

We colonials sometimes have our packages opened by Customs who have trouble working out that Spyderco Knife Boxes slide like a match box and find it easier to just tear the end off. :eek:

Crushed boxes are the norm here. :rolleyes:
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knivesandbooks
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Re: Would you prefer if Spyderco boxes were improved in any way?

#13

Post by knivesandbooks »

Yeah, I gave up on trying to keep boxes. They all look like **** so I figured it wouldn't help me trade or sell to present it in a beat up box. Thicker boxes would be nice. Otherwise, I don't care about presentation. I don't need fancy $20 packaging or a zip case or cleaning cloth (though I do always need more of those). Just please never get rid of the model history pamphlets that come with the knife.
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gingerninja
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Re: Would you prefer if Spyderco boxes were improved in any way?

#14

Post by gingerninja »

i get mine shipped about as far they as possibly can be and have only ever had one damaged box and it was customs that did that. if it aint broken dont fix it.
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Re: Would you prefer if Spyderco boxes were improved in any way?

#15

Post by SpyderEdgeForever »

Not at all. The boxes are fine as they are. I want any and all improvements focused on the knives themselves. Blade and Handle and other materials and mechanisms.

If anything I would prefer it if Spyderco were to keep the boxes even plainer and less advanced than they are, perhaps a generic cardboard box, or something, with no colors or anything other than their emblem, if it means they would be able to focus more resources on making the excellent knives they make.

If you want a box for collector purposes, go with something like a display case, not a cardboard box.
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Re: Would you prefer if Spyderco boxes were improved in any way?

#16

Post by SpyderEdgeForever »

Bloke wrote:
Tue Sep 25, 2018 7:23 pm
We colonials sometimes have our packages opened by Customs who have trouble working out that Spyderco Knife Boxes slide like a match box and find it easier to just tear the end off. :eek:

Crushed boxes are the norm here. :rolleyes:
That is absolutely disgusting of them to do this and it is an inhumane and vicious violation of your rights and freedoms.
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Re: Would you prefer if Spyderco boxes were improved in any way?

#17

Post by Mystery Flavor »

SpyderEdgeForever wrote:
Tue Sep 25, 2018 8:02 pm
Not at all. The boxes are fine as they are. I want any and all improvements focused on the knives themselves. Blade and Handle and other materials and mechanisms.

If anything I would prefer it if Spyderco were to keep the boxes even plainer and less advanced than they are, perhaps a generic cardboard box, or something, with no colors or anything other than their emblem, if it means they would be able to focus more resources on making the excellent knives they make.

If you want a box for collector purposes, go with something like a display case, not a cardboard box.
For me this has nothing to do with wanting a "collector" type of box. I don't want that because it would add way to much to the overall prices. A few posts before yours we were also talking about how a plain cardboard box could be great.

What I'm thinking about is are there improvements that could be likely worth doing to the box, or other things, such as adding more padding INSIDE the box so the knives can't shift around so much with some models. Like I said in the first post there is a chance that Spyderco could actually save money in the long run if they made some changes like I'm bringing up or others not mentioned yet. And if that could be true they could use the saved money on making knives and running their business.

Spyderco is about the only one who could have any real evidence or proof as far as how many returned knives they get that were somehow damaged before they made it to a customer. Maybe that only happens 0.000001% of the time. I'm not claiming to have any way of knowing, but what I do know is that most people PROBABLY don't alert the distributor OR Spyderco about these kinds of issues, unless the knife itself is actually harmed. So there is a real chance the box rips/smash issues could be happening more than is widely known? That doesn't mean something needs to be changed, but I felt like raising the topic for discussion.

It can't hurt to contemplate and discuss potential improvements? I am not trying to pressure any change. Just writing out some of the thoughts I've had since this has happened to me more than once.
jacala
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Re: Would you prefer if Spyderco boxes were improved in any way?

#18

Post by jacala »

Yes please- Stronger boxes.
By the time we in Australia receive our package iow knife, the box is often damaged or a bit sad looking.
Lots of handling by usps, Austpost and customs and then stuffed in the postie's mail sack and then stuffed in a mail box.
I would not mind paying a bit extra.Also would help when/if reselling the knife.
Thanks for reading.
vivi
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Re: Would you prefer if Spyderco boxes were improved in any way?

#19

Post by vivi »

I'd rather have no boxes and pay a few dollars less.
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Bloke
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Re: Would you prefer if Spyderco boxes were improved in any way?

#20

Post by Bloke »

SpyderEdgeForever wrote:
Tue Sep 25, 2018 8:03 pm
Bloke wrote:
Tue Sep 25, 2018 7:23 pm
We colonials sometimes have our packages opened by Customs who have trouble working out that Spyderco Knife Boxes slide like a match box and find it easier to just tear the end off. :eek:

Crushed boxes are the norm here. :rolleyes:
That is absolutely disgusting of them to do this and it is an inhumane and vicious violation of your rights and freedoms.
I probably wouldn’t have worded it as strongly SEF. :)

That said it does annoy me (because I do keep the boxes) though not enough to voice a complaint which most certainly would fall on deaf ears either ways.

Life’s full of little disappointments and too short to be miserable I reckon so if the worst thing that happens on any given day is a crushed/torn knife box it’s a good day. ;)
A day without laughter is a day wasted. ~ Charlie Chaplin
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