Domino CTS-204P with Blue G-10 BBS exclusive

[FCM415]

When the Blackie Collins Sage 3 transitioned from blue G10 to CF laminate, the MSRP went up $20 to compensate. That is Spyderco telling us that the CF laminate commands a higher price obviously. So the only upgrade here materials/cost wise is the steel. Actually a downgrade costwise in another aspect.

The XHP Dominos can be had between $140-$185 from dealers and the secondary. BBS sells the XHP for $247. Add $20 shipping and tax and the standard XHP at BBS is $285 :eek: so it is a deal if you strictly shop through them lol. Is the steel upgrade worth over $100?

As far as the Southard comparison, first, the Domino is an in house design so no outside royalties there. I'll be darned if I pay anything close to $290 for even the Black Southard lol. I bought two Southards. From a dealer for $223, and a mint condition from an exchange for $170. The Southard was $399 when BBS had them.

[euphorbioid]

Second, I don't like BBS's selling practices :/

To which practices are you referring? I've only bought one knife from them. True it was a little pricey but they had it and I was having trouble buying it anywhere else. Shipping wasn't free like other places. But it was my choice to buy from them. Did I miss something?

[paladin]

Capitalism at it's finest...

Even so, I'll be sitting this one out

[euphorbioid]

Capitalism at it's finest...

...Well, that's true. We support that system don't we? Monopolies and everything.

[paladin]

...Well, that's true. We support that system don't we? Monopolies and everything.

Yup, not an indictment :) ...it's great that we got choices here in the USA...

BBS is savvy for hitching its wagon to Spyderco

[Liquid Cobra]

They were extremely courteous with me and shipped quickly when I ordered my Elmax PM2.

Personally I'm glad they exist, they've commissioned some great exclusives that may never had existed had they not ordered them.

Back on topic, I'm more interested in a domino with G10 than I am of one with the laminate CF. I'm curious to see what the titanium side looks like.

[FCM415]

To which practices are you referring? I've only bought one knife from them. True it was a little pricey but they had it and I was having trouble buying it anywhere else. Shipping wasn't free like other places. But it was my choice to buy from them. Did I miss something?

1. No returns/exchanges: Only dealer I know that has such policy. I cant think of any seller of goods, knives or otherwise that doesn't back their product. Heck even secondary market sellers do returns if there is a problem.
2. No defective merchandise returns. If they send you a faulty knife, your only avenue is directly through Spyderco. On a new knife.
3. No delivery guarantee. Are you kiddin' me? They force you to pay for insurance. Recently, thy changed that and just started charging $20 flat rate shipping to mask insurance. Regardless, their policy is once they ship it, its up to you and the USPS. There are ways to get your money back if the package gets lost through your credit card company but still, no retailer does this. How can you not guarantee?
4. No special requests like checking for an ideal piece. It's not a major ding, but Id rather support dealers that connect with the customer. Buyin online, we dont get to see the knife before purchase after all.
5. Exorbitant pricing. One "good thing" is that they will have knives that no one else has. That's because no one buys them though since they are priced higher than secondary market sellers and even flippers.
6. Insane Exclusive pricing: thats purely their call but prices then combined with $20 shipping and taxes and your paying almost Sebenza prices on some of these. The Elmax PM2 for example is the most expensive limited PM2 except for the CF's... Elmax is more akin to S30v than the other PM2 sprint super steels. That's close to a hundred dollar premium for Elmax.
7. The Elmax PM2 bundle fiasco. A recent example of their poor execution. They are stuck with all those overpriced Lil matriarchs so they tried to pull a fast one. Who does that sort of thing?
8. Factory second no warranty S90v Millie at $200 plus taxes and shipping. Crazy but true.
9. Getting caught red handed auctioning off S90v Millie exclusive on Ebay right along with sellers of his kind. No dealers do it and the auctions ended above MSRP. Legal? Yes I guess. But if they were customer centered instead of greedy this wouldn't happen. No dealers do that to their customers.

Overall, they are just not a company I'd support and find their use of the Spyderco motto ironic.

There are many other dealers that deserve our support and remember, BBS stays in business because of these exclusives. That's the only way they can get traffic to their site. They are taking full advantage of Spyderco fans' hunger for limited editions. Savvy indeed. They are leeches.

[TomAiello]

Kind of like Jeff at CS and his orange exclusives...

Except that Jeff has a business I want to support. :)

I actually find the orange really useful. I've found "lost" knives several times that way.

[TomAiello]

BBS is savvy for hitching its wagon to Spyderco

For certain.

Not so sure Spyderco is savvy for doing the same, though. BBS exclusives are the primary cause of my wandering from the Spyderco fold on occasion. I don't want to patronize BBS, so I go shopping around for a "replacement" to fill that particular itch.

[Invective]

To which practices are you referring? I've only bought one knife from them. True it was a little pricey but they had it and I was having trouble buying it anywhere else. Shipping wasn't free like other places. But it was my choice to buy from them. Did I miss something?

Back when they had the S90V Millie in blue G-10 they threw a couple on on eBay. One sold for $400+, when BBS was selling it for $270 on their site. I would hope an honest seller would list it at the price they're selling on their home site. Doing otherwise just screams money-grubbing to me. That and they used to charge extra for insurance which irked me as well.

EDIT: I see FCM has covered their policies much more extensively than I a few posts up. I agree with all that he said.

[MachSchnell]

[deleted]

[JNewell]

The licensing cost is a fair point.

[MacLaren]

What do y'all reckon BBS and other dealers for the matter have in a knife?
How much did that Domino cost them?
I've always wandered what dealer cost is.

[ManixFan]

Back when they had the S90V Millie in blue G-10 they threw a couple on on eBay. One sold for $400+, when BBS was selling it for $270 on their site. I would hope an honest seller would list it at the price they're selling on their home site. Doing otherwise just screams money-grubbing to me. That and they used to charge extra for insurance which irked me as well.

EDIT: I see FCM has covered their policies much more extensively than I a few posts up. I agree with all that he said.

If what you say is true, and I have no reason to doubt you, then in my opinion this makes them no better than the worst of other eBay flippers.....if not even worse. I would not buy anything new from them but if one of their exclusives that I wanted showed up on BF's or the bay at a reasonable price then I would not have a problem with obtaining it in that way.

I personally am offended by the disrespect toward a purchaser/collector that is inherent in the policies that FCM415 has posted and I don't want to be treated like an idiot by a corporation that I would definitely be in someone's face for if the same perceived level of disrespect was directed my way by a live person. KW does exclusives the way they should be done........some great exclusive variants and at a reasonable price point compared to non-exclusive/sprint originals. Also, shipping to Canada, when they allow it for a specific model is at an obscene price. :mad: :o

No thanks......I'd rather reward other companies like KW or CS with my orders for any exclusives that I might want. :) :spyder: :)

[Invective]

If what you say is true, and I have no reason to doubt you, then in my opinion this makes them no better than the worst of other eBay flippers.....if not even worse. I would not buy anything new from them but if one of their exclusives that I wanted showed up on BF's or the bay at a reasonable price then I would not have a problem with obtaining it in that way.

I personally am offended by the disrespect toward a purchaser/collector that is inherent in the policies that FCM415 has posted and I don't want to be treated like an idiot by a corporation that I would definitely be in someone's face for if the same perceived level of disrespect was directed my way by a live person. KW does exclusives the way they should be done........some great exclusive variants and at a reasonable price point compared to non-exclusive/sprint originals. Also, shipping to Canada, when they allow it for a specific model is at an obscene price. :mad: :o

No thanks......I'd rather reward other companies like KW or CS with my orders for any exclusives that I might want. :) :spyder: :)

I sent you a PM with a screengrab from the auction. Didn't want to clutter up the thread with unnecessary pics/ make unshiny footprints.

[JNewell]

Back when they had the S90V Millie in blue G-10 they threw a couple on on eBay. One sold for $400+, when BBS was selling it for $270 on their site. I would hope an honest seller would list it at the price they're selling on their home site. Doing otherwise just screams money-grubbing to me. That and they used to charge extra for insurance which irked me as well.

EDIT: I see FCM has covered their policies much more extensively than I a few posts up. I agree with all that he said.

At least one other dealer that people speak highly of has done exactly the same thing with sprints.

[FCM415]

At least one other dealer that people speak highly of has done exactly the same thing with sprints.

Exactly the same thing with SPRINTS. Not dealer exclusives I assume? Maybe not exactly the same?

They were found peddling their exclusive on Ebay alongside flippers who bought the knife from them and auctioning away all together....and the vast majority here in the forums found that highly disagreeable. Why the double standard? You tell me.

[JNewell]

Pretty close, if you consider the point to be selling on eBay at prices significantly higher than you're selling from your online and/or B&M store.

I have a hard time feeling sympathy for people who over-pay on eBay because they spend 0.0 seconds doing online diligence that they could *easily* do, since by definition they're online already. :o

[FCM415]

I have a hard time feeling sympathy for people who over-pay on eBay because they spend 0.0 seconds doing online diligence that they could *easily* do, since by definition they're online already. :o

I agree. Ebay does have a much wider audience... Many have no idea what BBS or KW is. They should still research what they are buying though, esp. at those prices.

[Liquid Cobra]