Me New Motto Mates!

[Doeswhateveraspidercan]

“If I like it and it is easy and available to purchase I will.”

You know I like many, many others are the customer somehow things have gotten a bit twisted up here in the land of Spyderco as seen yet again with the Knife Joker thread and the bitter disappointment of those missing out on yet another Spyderco product.

Since when does a product poor distribution practices drive the customer? Lol at the end of the day these are just knives, just knives.

Somehow the positions are reversed and the buyer is now the one having to jump through hoops to spend their money.

I do not like that.

I believe this business model is intentional now as it keeps happening.

I will not support that.

[legOFwhat?]

Great, I read that in Nick Nolte's voice :rolleyes:

[Doeswhateveraspidercan]

Lol great series

[TkoK83Spy]

Morgan Freeman voice for me.

[SG89]

It is the way.

[ladybug93]

it seems a lot of people are getting sick of this trend. i doubt its enough to stop it though. i’ve brought it up multiple times on this forum over the last couple of years and i’m usually shut down by the disciples of spyderco. i love my spyderco knives and appreciate the company, but we should be able to have honest discussions and objective views.
it’s pretty freeing to not care about sprints, exclusives, or flash batches, or even the shaman for that matter. i didn’t even know this mess was going on.
if a knife is worth making, just make it and make enough. people will buy it. i don’t want some special knife i won’t use because it was limited and now it’s gone forever.

[SG89]

No need to stop it just don't participate in it. Let the people that like the thrill go for sprints and exclusives and you can focus on production knives with designs that appeal to you. I used to go for sprints and exclusives and now I'm design-focused. I don't need exotic steel for my uses, s30v or vg10 are just fine for me. If you want exotic steels tho you gotta play the sprint game, and i feel your pain there

[ladybug93]

i just wish spyderco would devote the time they are giving to all these small runs toward regular production. they were already building up production models being sold in a variety of steels, but that seems to have fallen off a little in favor of this model. i thought we were going to see more production lc200n. what happened to that? that’s really what i’m waiting for.

[bearfacedkiller]

You cannot lose if you do not play.

Vote with your wallet.

It is a hobby. It is supposed to be fun. If it is not then you are doing it wrong and you should change something.

Desire is the root cause of suffering. Spend more time enjoying what you do have and less time lamenting what you do not have. You will be happier and healthier and you will enjoy the hobby more. Chasing the next consumer high is not the path to fulfillment.

[jdw]

No need to stop it just don't participate in it. Let the people that like the thrill go for sprints and exclusives and you can focus on production knives with designs that appeal to you. I used to go for sprints and exclusives and now I'm design-focused. I don't need exotic steel for my uses, s30v or vg10 are just fine for me. If you want exotic steels tho you gotta play the sprint game, and i feel your pain there

The whole individual retailer exclusive game has become over the top. Sprints and wholesale distributor exclusives at least have multiple outlets with different drop times that allows a reasonable chance to purchase a model if you really want one. It seems to me that these very limited runs create more frustration than fun. And they are definitely benefiting more flippers than Afi's. I am with you on steel choices. I find myself carrying my 440C Cat more and more every day.

[JuPaul]

So, it seems like the issue with dealer exclusives is simply limited numbers. Supply not meeting demand. For the most part, we all can forgive snafus with release times, website issues, etc, so long as people can eventually buy the knife they're after. The problem with supply is that smaller dealers "didn't know what the response would be" (quoting KJ's IG video there) when they commission an exclusive, so they order small quantities. And those smaller dealers especially can't afford to do otherwise. It'd be taking a huge risk. So a pretty simple solution seems to be that these dealers announce the first runs of their exclusives as "test runs," then commit to ordering more if demand is high. I doubt spyderco could or would want to enforce that officially, but I think it'd be a best practice for small dealers moving forward. Limit their risks while keeping customers happy. Or perhaps more extensive market research is in order before an exclusive is commissioned in the first place (but that also might be difficult for smaller dealers to do).

In the end, though, these are just things we're talking about. Things we love, but don't need. I think there are workable solutions out there, but if they never happen, I'm not going to lose any sleep over it.

[SG89]

It is only February, I bet 2020 will have some more LC200N models show up.

[Pancake]

This is the way.

[Hopweaver]

For the past few years I have skipped all of the 'short supply, sprint, flash, sell out in a day exclusive' batches. Maybe I'm too old for it, maybe I just don't care, maybe I don't need something that special to cut my steak. Whatever the reason, I simply decided to get off the ride.

However I'm not going to suggest Spyderco change their process just to suit me. There are lots of people in this community and some people like the thrill of the chase. For those that do, they should be able to have their fun too.

[archangel]

I thought I missed my opportunity to own a Super Blue spydie. I thought I missed my opportunity to own a Super Gold spydie.

Now I do, and I didn't pay extra for nasty secondary market offers. They just popped out at retailers, and I was lucky enough to have been fluent at that times.

I have not buried yet my hope to own a Damasteel spydie some day. Sometimes good things happen to those who are worthy. And patient.

[jdw]

I thought I missed my opportunity to own a Super Blue spydie. I thought I missed my opportunity to own a Super Gold spydie.

Now I do, and I didn't pay extra for nasty secondary market offers. They just popped out at retailers, and I was lucky enough to have been fluent at that times.

I have not buried yet my hope to own a Damasteel spydie some day. Sometimes good things happen to those who are worthy. And patient.

You are right on. I have picked up several disco'd and hard to find Spydies at a reasonable price. Most have been from people on this board selling on BF.

[sal]

It's a problem for us as well. We have numerous companies wanting exclusives....far more than you currently see. We always encourage them to make larger amounts, but they are afraid of getting stuck with inventory.

Kelly, our Director of Sales and Marketing has been dealing with this issue quite a bit lately. Naturally, we're always open to suggestions. Good ideas are always good ideas.

I'll bring this thread to the attention of sales.

sal

[DukeNiemand]

I do not see the problem. I've been able to get any sprints/exclusives I was interested in. Just set a reminder and be ready when the drop happens. I understand shops not wanting to sit on a few thousand units of pricy exclusives if they don't sell as quickly as expected.

This is a very niche product with a small number of knife junkies making up the target market - not many casual knife users will be willing to spend $200 on a limited production knife. This leads to a very inelastic demand, and it's not exactly easy to predict what is the right number of units to order. 200? 500? 1000? 5000?

That said, I do think most exclusive orders could stand to be larger. Maybe around 1000 units.

[GarageBoy]

Is the hype there BECAUSE they're an exclusive?
How does a retailer gauge the success?

Every year Spyderco whips out a few knives that end up discontinued and blown out on sale - the rex45/pakkawood shaman actually took a few days to clear out, and those flippers are making $40 at most...

[DukeNiemand]

I think it depends on the steel. Anything in 3V, Cruwear or 4V sells instantly. Knives in K390 and M390 also sell very fast. But on the other hand, the first Rex 45 sprints from 2018 took over a year to sell out. This new batch of Rex 45 sprints seem to be selling faster. I suspect that's because of Shawn's videos that highlighted the edge stability of Rex 45.