At the same time I know that doing it online is an expensive and labor intensive proposition. The sale was cancelled in either 2013 or 2014 due to the team having done too good a job at quality control and not having enough seconds. If I get a vote on the Shadowy Council of Spyderco Fanatics, it would be to postpone this year and wait until 2021.
Yeah, I guess it depends on how many they have. If it is a small amount then perhaps holding them over until next year is best. If they have a ton they want to move quickly, maybe an online fire sale could work and could be fun for people who don't get to attend in person. Increase the minimum order to $200 then to reduce the # of orders they have to ship, blow them out at 10% of MSRP, make the notch bigger and/or stamp a big old "S" to reduce flippers, max order of $500 and limit of one of each mode to further reduce flippers, because aside from flippers who needs $500 worth of knives at 90% off every year?
Collectors and enthusiasts.
Also, pricing isn't a general across the board discount. The discount varies by knife and sometimes the same model will even be priced differently.
In my experience, the inventory never completely sells out. There are always knives from previous years that don't sell and then there are more added each year. I'm not exaggerating when I say its hard to imagine how many knives there actually are to look through. The 'flaws' are not always purely cosmetic. Like Pokey said, sometimes the knives are used and damaged. People will be getting those knives if it is an at random online sale and seconds do not come with a warranty and can not be returned.
That's why I suggested a $200 minimum order and 90% off. :D Not sure if Spyderco could make that work, but I think if most people were able to get 5-10 knives for $200 they could live with some issue. If people are worried about it they can wait until the next in person sale so they can obsess over every detail so they can feel like they are getting a "like new" knife for 90% off. I think a lot of us here just want a chance to grab a bunch of users in different models and steels to hammer on and put through the paces as work knives, so as long as the knife is safe I could care less about some imperfections at that price.
CRU-CARTA THE SEKI MODELS! AND BRING US THE DODO-FLY!
I don't think an online sale would be possible. We also have the OpFocus 2nd sale that we do for Police, Military, Fire Fighters, first responders, etc.
I know that Eric, Gail and Kelly have been trying to figure out a way to safely have the 2nd sales, but at this time it's not nailed down.
At the same time I know that doing it online is an expensive and labor intensive proposition. The sale was cancelled in either 2013 or 2014 due to the team having done too good a job at quality control and not having enough seconds. If I get a vote on the Shadowy Council of Spyderco Fanatics, it would be to postpone this year and wait until 2021.
Yeah, I guess it depends on how many they have. If it is a small amount then perhaps holding them over until next year is best. If they have a ton they want to move quickly, maybe an online fire sale could work and could be fun for people who don't get to attend in person. Increase the minimum order to $200 then to reduce the # of orders they have to ship, blow them out at 10% of MSRP, make the notch bigger and/or stamp a big old "S" to reduce flippers, max order of $500 and limit of one of each mode to further reduce flippers, because aside from flippers who needs $500 worth of knives at 90% off every year?
Collectors and enthusiasts.
Also, pricing isn't a general across the board discount. The discount varies by knife and sometimes the same model will even be priced differently.
In my experience, the inventory never completely sells out. There are always knives from previous years that don't sell and then there are more added each year. I'm not exaggerating when I say its hard to imagine how many knives there actually are to look through. The 'flaws' are not always purely cosmetic. Like Pokey said, sometimes the knives are used and damaged. People will be getting those knives if it is an at random online sale and seconds do not come with a warranty and can not be returned.
That's why I suggested a $200 minimum order and 90% off. :D Not sure if Spyderco could make that work, but I think if most people were able to get 5-10 knives for $200 they could live with some issue. If people are worried about it they can wait until the next in person sale so they can obsess over every detail so they can feel like they are getting a "like new" knife for 90% off. I think a lot of us here just want a chance to grab a bunch of users in different models and steels to hammer on and put through the paces as work knives, so as long as the knife is safe I could care less about some imperfections at that price.
I forgot to add that many people go to the sale to get user knives. Most people, actually, are probably there to buy a handful a knives to really use. A large majority of the knives I use have come from the seconds sale. I was just saying, other than the flippers that are there, collectors and enthusiast are typically the ones interested in buying that many knives each year.
90% off MSRP is just unrealistic. I must not be understanding you correctly.
90% off MSRP is just unrealistic. I must not be understanding you correctly.
I was just thinking they want to blow everything out to get rid of it all and have the prices be so low that people won't complain about the defects. I mean first responders get brand new knives for 50% off MSRP, so 90% off MSRP seems feasible for defective knives. Maybe 80% off MSRP is more realistic.
CRU-CARTA THE SEKI MODELS! AND BRING US THE DODO-FLY!
They really should change the name from "Seconds Sale" to "Customer Appreciation Party". That's what it really is. I've been to six or seven, and I usually go up a bit early. I talk to the crew (and probably get in their way) and see how hard they work on this. Trust me, they don't do it "because it's their job". Their reward for all that effort is getting to meet their customers and interact with them first hand. They get to share in our enthusiasm and see that we appreciate them as much as they do us.
Saying "do it online" is like saying "we want you to do three times as much work and sacrifice your reward". We, the end line users, are their bosses. I for one don't want to be that kind of boss. I'd rather see the sale cancelled
I don't think an online sale would be possible. We also have the OpFocus 2nd sale that we do for Police, Military, Fire Fighters, first responders, etc.
I know that Eric, Gail and Kelly have been trying to figure out a way to safely have the 2nd sales, but at this time it's not nailed down.
sal
Hi Sal. Where do we find more info on the Opfocus 2nd sale? I've been attending the seconds sale for the last 3 yrs and feel like I finally "figured it out". Although I just heard about Opfocus on this site earlier this year, I've never heard of the 2nd sale.
I'd be bummed to see it cancelled, but fully understand if it is.I agree online sales seem disastrous. I've sold a handful of seconds knives online, specifically highlighting the imperfections and the requisite marking indicating it as a second quality blade. Nearly half of those boomeranged back to me because once received, people claim they didn't know about the nick in the jimping or felt the imperfection was worse than anticipated. Credit card charge-backs and returns requested would make selling them online a nightmare.
May not be the place (or my place), but Spyderco did announce some days ago over on BF that it was cancelling its annual appearance at the Oregon gathering NEXT APRIL... With that kind of caution, I’d be very surprised if this year it will host an event that sounds like the storied madness of Filene’s Basement.
Apologies. 2020 appearance (not 2021 appearance) cancelled. Neglected to note when alert was posted... :o
Last edited by wrdwrght on Mon Aug 24, 2020 8:11 am, edited 2 times in total.
-Marc (pocketing an M4 Sage5 today)
“When science changes its opinion, it didn’t lie to you. It learned more.”
If I may ask, how low is low? Maybe just a ballpark figure for a certain model or two for us to have an idea. :)
@Nerdlock... below is an example of some of the pricing from a past sale. Last year I was able to snag a Shaman Cruwear for $132.00
As Jabba stated a majority of my knives in rotation are 'Seconds', love the fact that I can put these wonderful models through the wringer without having to worry about them.
The only issue I've ever encountered was a Miltary in CTS-204P where after months of use I noticed a hairline crack above the Spydie hole; no biggie though as I don't put that one through hard use. When you're there and in the fray it's sometimes hard to closely scrutinize the entire knife before checking out!
My treasure this year was an absolutely perfect Military in M4 except that the printing/etching on the DLC blade was somehow carried over onto the presentation side by the Spydie hole :D
With the amount of knives on display, as others have already stated people really need to see/examine these first hand.
If I may ask, how low is low? Maybe just a ballpark figure for a certain model or two for us to have an idea. :)
@Nerdlock... below is an example of some of the pricing from a past sale. Last year I was able to snag a Shaman Cruwear for $132.00
As Jabba stated a majority of my knives in rotation are 'Seconds', love the fact that I can put these wonderful models through the wringer without having to worry about them.
The only issue I've ever encountered was a Miltary in CTS-204P where after months of use I noticed a hairline crack above the Spydie hole; no biggie though as I don't put that one through hard use. When you're there and in the fray it's sometimes hard to closely scrutinize the entire knife before checking out!
My treasure this year was an absolutely perfect Military in M4 except that the printing/etching on the DLC blade was somehow carried over onto the presentation side by the Spydie hole :D
With the amount of knives on display, as others have already stated people really need to see/examine these first hand.
That’s amazing. I’m going to have to fly to Colorado one of these days to attend the sale.
If I may ask, how low is low? Maybe just a ballpark figure for a certain model or two for us to have an idea. :)
@Nerdlock... below is an example of some of the pricing from a past sale. Last year I was able to snag a Shaman Cruwear for $132.00
As Jabba stated a majority of my knives in rotation are 'Seconds', love the fact that I can put these wonderful models through the wringer without having to worry about them.
The only issue I've ever encountered was a Miltary in CTS-204P where after months of use I noticed a hairline crack above the Spydie hole; no biggie though as I don't put that one through hard use. When you're there and in the fray it's sometimes hard to closely scrutinize the entire knife before checking out!
My treasure this year was an absolutely perfect Military in M4 except that the printing/etching on the DLC blade was somehow carried over onto the presentation side by the Spydie hole :D
With the amount of knives on display, as others have already stated people really need to see/examine these first hand.
Here’s what part of a Seconds Sale used to look like for those who’ve never been to one. Imagine 8’ (2.4m) tables end-to-end and forming a square, roughly 20’x20’, (6m x 6m). Now imagine three of those squares, stacked with trays of knives three deep, and hatchets, plus other tables for first quality over-runs. Then, there are tables with sharpening accessories. You get the idea.
It’s usually pretty quiet except for the sound of flick, flick, flick.
I hate it when you guys speak about the great opportunities that *I* will never get to benefit from, cause I live a zillion miles away...
But for you guys, happy hunting!! Don't miss to show off your catches afterwards, I love the burn of salt in my wound!
Just in case it's happening.
Michael 48 Spydies, 44 different models, 43 different steels . Grail knife, still to be acquired: original Tuff by Ed SchemppFeel free to help me find one at a reasonable price...
No, it's more like holding Willie Wonka's Golden Ticket. The real kicker is there are more trays in the back. They keep bringing out fresh stock all day.