Crazy Good Deals Part 2!!

[attila]

...For example, I was looking around for a Rex-121 Sage LW to buy, but the MAP jumped a whopping 37% from $255 to $349. So now, with no way around MAP, I’m basically priced out of nice Spydercos anymore...

For the price of one and a half Rex Sages, you can get a Sig P365. But Sigs are notoriously bad at opening packages.

That reminds me of a meme I saw and saved years ago:

[Red Leader]

I can’t help but wonder, was Spyderco losing money on the Rex-121 knives?

I heard something to confirm this while at the SFO when we were chatting about the new Sage pricing. With the inordinate amount of time and supplies necessary to finish this steel, this could have been the catalyst for the price increase.

If that is the case, I won’t mind if Rex-121 goes away. Others may enjoy the steel for the pricepoint it requires, and in that sense I’m glad it exists for them. For me personally, it is too brittle of a steel, for too costly of a manufacturing process to justify it’s continued interest or purchase.

I’d be curious about where other steels land on this spectrum. How does K390, Magnacut, or Magnamax compare regarding manufacturing cost?

I wonder how the next MAP holidays go. Very interested in some models coming out this year, but may be waiting to see how things play out before jumping in the water, and it sounds like others are in a similar position. Even though I have access to the Seconds Sale, one of the most enjoyable activities as of late has been heading down to the SFO when new models come out and supporting the business on the retail side. It may start getting harder to do that, because I don’t like going and wasting people’s time and its easy to feel like that if I’m not making a purchase.

The Manix 2 Salt, the Lil’ Native LW are steps in the right direction. If the single-color milled G10 and non-DLC blade helps to leep costs down, let’s consolidate and keep the value…we dont need 2 Salts just with diiferent colors. Lets get high performance steels that don’t bury the affordability. I am okay with ratcheting back some options if it streamlines costs, especially if it can get delivered to the end user. I am also okay with major model consolidation. If Magnamax displaces S110V, S90V, Maxamet and 10V, but the benefit is more streamlined operation and costs, I’m good.

It is alarming how many people are saying they may be holding off from purchases now, myself included, because this is even with the diehards. What about the folks with no loyalty, i.e. the casual consumer? What does it mean for the broader market’s purchasing ability? I think we all want Spyderco to not just survive but thrive.

There will always be premium offerings, with more exotic materials at higher cost. But I’m totally fine leaving behind stuff that doesn’t make manufacturing sense. That’s a tough balance with the cost of innovation and R&D, and only Spyderco can know that balance.

But with the new cost of Rex-121, and most models going up, and strict MAP enforcement, maybe time to rebalance?

[phaust]

It is alarming how many people are saying they may be holding off from purchases now, myself included, because this is even with the diehards. What about the folks with no loyalty, i.e. the casual consumer? What does it mean for the broader market’s purchasing ability? I think we all want Spyderco to not just survive but thrive.

Last year or two there had been a lot more putting Spyderco into the same category as Benchmade. Lots of "spyder tax" remarks where there used to be only "butterfly tax". As a result the brand doesn't get the same buzz for standard models as it used to already. Used to be Spyderco had the first choices for recommendations at any budget, and now it can't compete. Steel is the last remaining bastion. No one is offering the same selection there. Not sure that helps with casual consumers much(?)

I'm not sure MAP enforcement really changes that for the majority because those folks aren't necessarily following the brand enough to know certain dealers discount and MAP holidays exist. You'll get some effect from reading on sns/forums/etc., but there's less of that from self-centered sns (IG, YouTube, etc.), which is especially popular as age tends younger. At least Spyderco has brand accounts on those places to get MAP holiday info out

[zhyla]

It is alarming how many people are saying they may be holding off from purchases now

People with 20 - 500 knives choosing to not consume more knives? I'm not going to shed a tear there.

What does it mean for the broader market’s purchasing ability? I think we all want Spyderco to not just survive but thrive.

Knife purchasing power has never been greater. Never have you been able to buy such great knives for so little money, thanks in large part to a shift to automated manufacturing. The Spydercos and Benchmades of the world only saw price increases as competitors started cranking out very compelling $60 knives. We don't need to rehash the glorious pricing economics thread but just wanted to remind you that knives are very cheap these days.

[CDEP]

One remaining bright spot is that models that have gone disco can be sold at a discount. This thread would still serve a purpose there.

Right now, in fact, National Knives has some solid deals, the best of which IMHO is the M4 Tenacious, which is one of my current faves. Some great deals on K390 Seki models that have been discontinued, too.

https://www.nationalknives.com/spyderco ... ade-brown/

[Red Leader]

One remaining bright spot is that models that have gone disco can be sold at a discount. This thread would still serve a purpose there.

Right now, in fact, National Knives has some solid deals, the best of which IMHO is the M4 Tenacious, which is one of my current faves. Some great deals on K390 Seki models that have been discontinued, too.

https://www.nationalknives.com/spyderco ... ade-brown/

Yep, and I hope that with some of these high end steels getting displaced, it could free up some room for more offerings in K390. I know that Magnamax is the ‘stainless K390’ but K390 is available right now and being made into knives. I’d love to see some of it make its way to Golden, at least in the interim.

[attila]

I can’t help but wonder, was Spyderco losing money on the Rex-121 knives?

I heard something to confirm this while at the SFO when we were chatting about the new Sage pricing. With the inordinate amount of time and supplies necessary to finish this steel, this could have been the catalyst for the price increase.

If that is the case, I won’t mind if Rex-121 goes away. Others may enjoy the steel for the pricepoint it requires, and in that sense I’m glad it exists for them. For me personally, it is too brittle of a steel, for too costly of a manufacturing process to justify it’s continued interest or purchase.

I’d be curious about where other steels land on this spectrum. How does K390, Magnacut, or Magnamax compare regarding manufacturing cost?

I wonder how the next MAP holidays go. Very interested in some models coming out this year, but may be waiting to see how things play out before jumping in the water, and it sounds like others are in a similar position. Even though I have access to the Seconds Sale, one of the most enjoyable activities as of late has been heading down to the SFO when new models come out and supporting the business on the retail side. It may start getting harder to do that, because I don’t like going and wasting people’s time and its easy to feel like that if I’m not making a purchase.

The Manix 2 Salt, the Lil’ Native LW are steps in the right direction. If the single-color milled G10 and non-DLC blade helps to leep costs down, let’s consolidate and keep the value…we dont need 2 Salts just with diiferent colors. Lets get high performance steels that don’t bury the affordability. I am okay with ratcheting back some options if it streamlines costs, especially if it can get delivered to the end user. I am also okay with major model consolidation. If Magnamax displaces S110V, S90V, Maxamet and 10V, but the benefit is more streamlined operation and costs, I’m good.

It is alarming how many people are saying they may be holding off from purchases now, myself included, because this is even with the diehards. What about the folks with no loyalty, i.e. the casual consumer? What does it mean for the broader market’s purchasing ability? I think we all want Spyderco to not just survive but thrive.

There will always be premium offerings, with more exotic materials at higher cost. But I’m totally fine leaving behind stuff that doesn’t make manufacturing sense. That’s a tough balance with the cost of innovation and R&D, and only Spyderco can know that balance.

But with the new cost of Rex-121, and most models going up, and strict MAP enforcement, maybe time to rebalance?

It’s a bummer that working Rex-121 is so costly. I still want to try this crazy steel out, so I continued looking, and found it at a dealer mere hours before they raised their prices. PHEW! Now that I secured my opportunity to experience Rex-121, I don’t expect to get more simply due to the pricing. I wouldn’t, however, want Rex-121 (or future non-Crucible versions of it) to go away entirely, as there will always be someone interested in it.

If Magnamax is as good as it appears to be, I’d like to try that too, but I also wonder how the cost & price will compare and what other steels it will eventually displace. Since Crucible has closed down, Magnacut and Magnamax could fill the entire void left by the CPM S30V family, in my opinion. There’s no way that Spyderco would cut back to just two stainless steels, though, but consolidating to some extent could be beneficial (perhaps even to the customer).

I have little hope for MAP holidays going forward, so for customers, the seconds sales seems like the only way to get inexpensive Spyderco knives going forward, but I can’t justify the 2000+ mile trip to the SFO. To be honest, I don’t really need any more knives; most of us don’t. Instead of purchasing, I’m leaning towards a selling spree, especially after this latest curiosity-compelled purchase of Rex-121. Despite all of that, I expect to purchase some Magnamax and future Mules from Spyderco and likely nothing else.

[TkoK83Spy]

Definitely glad I got bit by the bug a few years ago before all this craziness! Couldn't imagine being new to the hobby and needing everything I see. I'd surely be divorced and living out of my truck right now!

@attila A selling spree can be very rewarding! I've done it twice now, selling off 10-20 knives at a time and helped pay for our new composite back deck and stampcrete front walkway. I've still got plenty of knives and don't really miss any I've sold. Boggles my mind how a lot of people have a hard time letting them go.

[Manixguy@1994]

Definitely glad I got bit by the bug a few years ago before all this craziness! Couldn't imagine being new to the hobby and needing everything I see. I'd surely be divorced and living out of my truck right now!

Exact reason why my garage is heated ! Dan

[TkoK83Spy]

Definitely glad I got bit by the bug a few years ago before all this craziness! Couldn't imagine being new to the hobby and needing everything I see. I'd surely be divorced and living out of my truck right now!

Exact reason why my garage is heated ! Dan

Hahah! Smart man!! See, that's the next thing I'm going to have to pay for with my next purge!

[attila]

Definitely glad I got bit by the bug a few years ago before all this craziness! Couldn't imagine being new to the hobby and needing everything I see. I'd surely be divorced and living out of my truck right now!

@attila A selling spree can be very rewarding! I've done it twice now, selling off 10-20 knives at a time and helped pay for our new composite back deck and stampcrete front walkway. I've still got plenty of knives and don't really miss any I've sold. Boggles my mind how a lot of people have a hard time letting them go.

I’m also glad I was in before as well. Back when mules and sprint runs were available for weeks or months after their releases and before the Cru-wear & M390 craze. I was able to get anything I wanted, as I listed in my signature line until I couldn’t add any more. I miss those days…

On the topic of a selling spree, I’ve done a couple smaller ones in the past, but I’m feeling more motivated this time. Thanks for the reassurances!

[Mrj]

Definitely glad I got bit by the bug a few years ago before all this craziness! Couldn't imagine being new to the hobby and needing everything I see. I'd surely be divorced and living out of my truck right now!

Exact reason why my garage is heated ! Dan

Hahah! Smart man!! See, that's the next thing I'm going to have to pay for with my next purge!

I’m hoping to fund an addition on my house when purge my stash.