Seconds Sale 2020

[Buddafucco]

Mystery boxes are a gambling gray area. I couldn't see Spyderco doing that.

[wrdwrght]

The analogy of fitting a square peg into a round hole is nagging at me.

[odomandr]

I wouldn't touch a mystery box. I don't play casinos or lottery either though.

[JonLeBlanc]

I can't see mystery boxes either, too much room for reactions that I reckon Spyderco doesn't want.

[samdasnake]

Yes, in the thick of it, in Sonoma County. Thanks.

In Yolo county here. Thankfully we’re just getting the smoke. My thoughts are with you, brother.

[cabfrank]

Thank you very much. Seems a bit better today. Try not to breath too much smoke!

[Cambertree]

I’d go for the mystery box idea.

As Standy said, it gives other people a chance too, who can’t travel to Golden.

Any requests would be a nightmare to coordinate - you get what you get.

Maybe a random Spydie in each box plus a byrd or two, maybe a piece of sharpening gear or whatever other seconds are lying around. I’d be happy.

[yablanowitz]

Read all so far.

2nds Mystery boxes.

My idea would be random knives in a box

$200 per box + shipping. Limit 2 boxes per order.
No returns.

Sold online via Spyderco

Gives us Overseas guys a go......And how cool are mystery boxes.

Given that 99.99% of the knives at the sale are of no interest to me, I can't really get behind this idea. Odds are good that I'd get a box containing nothing I'd buy if I was shopping in person.

[samdasnake]

While I like the idea of mystery boxes I think it may result in a lot of hard feelings and dissatisfaction. Inevitably people who scored in their mystery box would be posting pics of their awesome acquisitions which would just make people who didn’t get much green as an alligator! The only way to make it work for everyone is to make the price so low that no one could feel cheated, in which case Spyderco would be passing on a sizable amount of money. So bottom line, while I’d like to see it happen, I don’t think mystery boxes are practical. Sorry to say it because I really want a Spydie mystery box :)

[standy99]

That’s the thing with a mystery box.

Only the people who are game for it go for it.

I would be happy to get something I probably wouldn’t buy. Give it a go and you never know it might lead to a purchase down the line.

$200 mystery box from Spyderco is a shut up and take my money.

Not as if I’m gunna get anything but a few Spyderco’s

As far as being upset that someone got a better mystery box than you. Have that feeling every time I miss a sprint :D

[mb1]

Haven’t read all this, so this may have been mentioned. Busse does “grab bag” sales occasionally. They’ll have like $500, $1000, etc “bags.” You get what you get, but the value is guaranteed to exceed what you’re paying, so people eat em up. (By “people” I mean not me. Lol)

All that to say I love the mystery box idea. I think it would be a hit.

[yablanowitz]

How happy are you going to be when you rip open your much anticipated $200 mystery box and find a PITS folder with an action so rough it takes both hands to operate and a titanium CaraCara with a bad grind? Those are both things I've seen at the sales, $175 for the PITS and $35 for the CaraCara, total value $210. No returns or exchanges and no whining on the forums allowed.

The words "business suicide" come to mind.

[standy99]

How happy are you going to be when you rip open your much anticipated $200 mystery box and find a PITS folder with an action so rough it takes both hands to operate and a titanium CaraCara with a bad grind? Those are both things I've seen at the sales, $175 for the PITS and $35 for the CaraCara, total value $210. No returns or exchanges and no whining on the forums allowed.

The words "business suicide" come to mind.

Hey but I threw my $200 in the ring, so I wouldn’t be phased.

Would use the Pits like a fixed blade and regrind the CaraCara. :cool:

It’s not as if you don’t know they are seconds.
Like many have thought it’s a good idea. Several will think it’s not.

[steelcity16]

How happy are you going to be when you rip open your much anticipated $200 mystery box and find a PITS folder with an action so rough it takes both hands to operate and a titanium CaraCara with a bad grind? Those are both things I've seen at the sales, $175 for the PITS and $35 for the CaraCara, total value $210. No returns or exchanges and no whining on the forums allowed.

The words "business suicide" come to mind.

Hey but I threw my $200 in the ring, so I wouldn’t be phased.

Would use the Pits like a fixed blade and regrind the CaraCara. :cool:

It’s not as if you don’t know they are seconds.
Like many have thought it’s a good idea. Several will think it’s not.

Exactly, risk averse people can wait until next year's sale and go in person. No one is forcing anyone to participate. This really allows the people who can't travel the opportunity to participate.

I still think they could reasonably accommodate some basic preference requests. Like if you just list your 2 or 3 favorite models, scale materials, country of origin, steels, etc. I could say my preferences are Enduras & Delicas, Seki & Golden, G10 & FRN, VG10, H1, and Cruwear. They could throw in a few Salts, Enduras (Wharnies, SE, etc) Delicas, etc and maybe i'd get lucky with a Cruwear PM2, Cru-carta Shaman, Cruwear Delica, etc. Maybe I am too far down on the list to get any of these. Oh well, I can give away as gifts or use as beaters.

If this is too much of a hassle, maybe just open it up to forum members only who joined prior to 7/1/20 or something to prevent people from joining just for this. Have Kristi start a thread for it and limit it to the first 100 or 200 "i'm ins" and each member can buy up to 5 mystery boxes at $200 a pop. Everything left over can go into next year's sale to the general public. It can be a special forum members appreciation seconds sale.

[Mushroom]

I've actually bought all of my Spyderco factory seconds online... It's kind of a long process though and it starts on your favorite airlines website!

[nerdlock]

How happy are you going to be when you rip open your much anticipated $200 mystery box and find a PITS folder with an action so rough it takes both hands to operate and a titanium CaraCara with a bad grind? Those are both things I've seen at the sales, $175 for the PITS and $35 for the CaraCara, total value $210. No returns or exchanges and no whining on the forums allowed.

The words "business suicide" come to mind.

Hey but I threw my $200 in the ring, so I wouldn’t be phased.

Would use the Pits like a fixed blade and regrind the CaraCara. :cool:

It’s not as if you don’t know they are seconds.
Like many have thought it’s a good idea. Several will think it’s not.

Hear, hear.

Spyderco won't be forcing anyone to spend 200-300 for a possible mystery box, and if you're in, it's understood that you're buying seconds. Maybe have the company make a EULA that needs to be checked before buying to cover their bases also.

I think a close analogy would be those TSA confiscated knives that are sold by the lot on EBay. You know that you're getting used ones when you bid on them, so no hard feelings if the lot you get doesn't have the quality you expect from production knives. It's a risk you took willingly.

If the buyer is required to check an online agreement stating that Spyderco has no liability for the defects on the knives they put on the mystery box, I don't see why would it lead to feedback that would hurt Spyderco's reputation. Of course there are always exceptions to this...but if I may, maybe Spyderco can try to think this one over?

[nerdlock]

[quote=steelcity16 post_id=1446724 time=1598365103 user_id=31037]

Have Kristi start a thread for it and limit it to the first 100 or 200 "i'm ins" and each member can buy up to 5 mystery boxes at $200 a pop. Everything left over can go into next year's sale to the general public. It can be a special forum members appreciation seconds sale.
[/quote]


I think this is an excellent idea :) limited boxes would not put too much pressure (hopefully! :D) on Spyderco's staff to sort and put items in...at least they have a set amount of boxes to fill, after that, no more and the remaining seconds would go over the next year's sale.

[sal]

I see more problems with a mystery box on line than I see solutions.

I will say that Kelly is still trying to figure out a way to pull it off in Golden with careful safety procedures.

sal

[steelcity16]

I see more problems with a mystery box on line than I see solutions.

I will say that Kelly is still trying to figure out a way to pull it off in Golden with careful safety procedures.

sal

Bummer. But good for those who can attend in person! Even if there is an in-person sale in Golden, I still like the idea of a forum only mystery box for the first 50 or 100 members who reply yes in the thread. Allows some of the dedicated forumites who are unable to travel the opportunity. It doesn't have to be yearly. Just a one time quarantine forum appreciation event to put a bright spot in 2020! :) Still should be plenty of knives left for the in person event from the looks of the past years sale photos.

[Sharp Guy]

...If this is too much of a hassle, maybe just open it up to forum members only who joined prior to 7/1/20 or something to prevent people from joining just for this. Have Kristi start a thread for it and limit it to the first 100 or 200 "i'm ins" and each member can buy up to 5 mystery boxes at $200 a pop. Everything left over can go into next year's sale to the general public. It can be a special forum members appreciation seconds sale.

What you're not considering is that Spyderco has a presence on at least a few other forums and a pretty active group on Facebook. What happens when those people find out about this and start pitching a fit because this wasn't made available to them? Yes, this is Spyderco's own forum but knowing how Spyderco tries to accommodate as many as their ELUs as possible I don't see this happening