Ebay has gone nuts

[J Smith]

Can you belive this?
Five days to go to.
http://cgi.ebay.com/SPYDERCO-ZDP-189-BL ... dZViewItem

[Zac]

GOOD
GOD
!

What did you guys pay for them?!

[speyederlover]

That's ridiculous...

[JD Spydo]

I remember this same Ebayer who has the high bid on this knife right now back in August paying $128 for a Burgundy Calypso JR. At that time everyone was saying how insane it was to pay that much for the ZDP-189 Caly.
Well I don't have to remind you all that quite a few Burgundy Calys since then have broke the $200 mark and I have personally sold 3 of them for well over $150.
Maybe this person is just simply betting that the knife will be a long term winner.
I admit I wouldn't have bid this knife that high>> but if you want to be the first on your block to have one that bad then let the market place do it's thing.

[J Smith]

It just seems funny to me because when you get up into those kind of numbers you could be looking into CRK,WH or even a few Frost knives.

[Nilaman]

What amuses me is that there's still a few internet stores that have ZDPs in stock for less then 80 bucks!

[TheKnifeCollector]

That is INSANE!!

[The Deacon]

GOOD
GOD
!

What did you guys pay for them?!

$69 for the one I have, $74 for the one I have coming from different source. Not sure if it's correct or not, although it certainly sounds possible, but that second dealer noted the MSRP as $110.

Can you belive this?
Five days to go to.

That price is beyond ridiculous Jeff. I really thought things were starting to calm down a bit when the last couple ZDP Caly Jr auctions I was tracking out of curiousity ended under $120. Guess not.

It does show that yet another of my assumptions was wrong. Based on the choice of name, I always thought the eBay ID of the current high bidder on that one was yours Jeff. :o :D

[Slick]

They probably don't really have them in stock. I don't know how the distribution system works but I pre-ordered months ago from a reliable retailer and am still waiting. If I had a storefront I'd have stopped taking orders and started trickling them out on Ebay under another store name. It would be irresistable. Talk about markup!

This causes me to question how Spyderco manages its retail distribution. How long ago did the people who received the D4 ZDP order them and from who? It'd a interesting poll/survey question. Long post, I know.

[Civilian]

Well I don't have to remind you all that quite a few Burgundy Calys since then have broke the $200 mark

I thought I saw one bring $300 and 2 others in the high $200's.

[tonydahose]

i have mine coming in tomorrow. i bought 2, one was for storage but at these prices it might just pay for both of them if i ebay it...i wonder what it will top out at.

[Spydieopath]

A Ti ATR went for $280. I was away on vacation or it would have been tempting (for me) :o

I can't see ZDP Delica's going for over the 80-100 range yet. There are just too many on their way out of the factory and I would trust Spyderco's marketing people to know what the market is for them and make a resonable number of them considering that market.

[The Deacon]

They probably don't really have them in stock. I don't know how the distribution system works but I pre-ordered months ago from a reliable retailer and am still waiting. If I had a storefront I'd have stopped taking orders and started trickling them out on Ebay under another store name. It would be irresistable. Talk about markup!

This causes me to question how Spyderco manages its retail distribution. How long ago did the people who received the D4 ZDP order them and from who? It'd a interesting poll/survey question. Long post, I know.

Interesting logic. The seller, whether they are a dealer or not, listed the knife with an extremely reasonable starting price and no reserve price. They had no more control over the bidding than any other eBay seller does. How can this possibly cause one to question Spyderco's management of its distribution system? Nobody ever seems to do that for any manufacturer when market forces require that, in order to remain competitive, dealers must sell goods on such slim margins they often wind up going out of business. Are you seriously suggesting that "fair trade" pricing is better?

Edited to add, in answer to your question, my first, from NGK is my #43 so I did not have to order it per-se. The one en-route was ordered in the wee small hours of Thursday morning from a dealer's "private sale" email I received then.

[tonydahose]

A Ti ATR went for $280. I was away on vacation or it would have been tempting (for me) :o

here is another temptation then. plus its $80 cheaper than what sold on ebay. i have dealt with him b4, good guy.

http://www.johnfjensen.com/acatalog/cat ... o%20Knives

[Slick]

Oops! Didn't mean to 'question' Spyderco's distribution system that way. I do remember the fair trade laws unfondly.

Just curious as to how Emergency Options (dealer) knows how to take pre-orders. They deal exclusively with their distributor who deals with Spyderco. Did the distributor short E-O for a more profitable reseller? Did Spyderco misinform that distributr who in turn misinformed the retailer? I did not bid in an auction but was quoted a firm preset retail price and placed an order.

Emergency Options has had my repeat business but perhaps NGK should get all my orders but the NGK website only works intermittently with my browser and phone/email can be a pain.

BTW, my retailer responded to an email last Wednesday and was going to get back that same day with a status report on the D4 ZDP order. I haven't heard back and they haven't answered a later email. I assume they have stepped in it (shakes foot).

[The Deacon]

Oops! Didn't mean to 'question' Spyderco's distribution system that way. I do remember the fair trade laws unfondly.

Just curious as to how Emergency Options (dealer) knows how to take pre-orders. They deal exclusively with their distributor who deals with Spyderco. Did the distributor short E-O for a more profitable reseller? Did Spyderco misinform that distributr who in turn misinformed the retailer? I did not bid in an auction but was quoted a firm preset retail price and placed an order.

Emergency Options has had my repeat business but perhaps NGK should get all my orders but the NGK website only works intermittently with my browser and phone/email can be a pain.

BTW, my retailer responded to an email last Wednesday and was going to get back that same day with a status report on the D4 ZDP order. I haven't heard back and they haven't answered a later email. I assume they have stepped in it (shakes foot).

In fairness, this one is particularly tough since some pre-orders may date back over a year.

One of the problems with any item in high demand and short supply is how they should be distributed. Am sure Spyderco, as it always seems to do, has "spread the weath" to the best of its ability. BUT, I don't think distributors had any "advance notification" of exactly how many ZDP Delicas, total, they will receive, or how they will arrive.

If the ZDP Calypso Jr is any indicator, am sure the major internet dealers ordered these VERY heavily, and probably from multiple sources knowing full well they'd be lucky to see more than a small portion of their order. The distributors, in turn placed equally unrealistic orders with Spyderco. IIRC, back before they were released last year, Mike remarked that he had 200 on order! :eek: Also think he later mentioned he'd received around two dozen.

I think it's fair to say that small quantities have made their way to a number of dealers. Some had chosen not to take pre-orders, some limited them to a number they felt was realistic, and others were probably overly optimistic and said "yes" far too often. Assuming EO falls into category 2, then even assuming other customers have already received ZDP Delicas from them, there is still the very strong possibility that your order was far enough back in their queue not to be among those they could fill from the initial batch they received, but will be filled eventually.

That bring up another conundrum for the dealers. After over a year, how long must they give the person who is #1 on their waiting list to respond to the "It's arrived, do you still want it?" email. People can die, move, or change hobbies in that length of time, and some of the credit card numbers given "way back when" may have expired, so just "assuming" and sending them out would not really be a smart move.

[Slick]

H'mm, what a mess it can be with a high demand knife.

I did just get an email saying they had no answer yet as to when the order might be filled. This is crazy. They take (possibly) unlimited orders and their distributor does not clue them in to how many they might expect? Pissed customers must abound.

OK another question... the next time I want to buy a special Spydie what would be the best way? I will probably kill the current order as I have three other Spydercos tied up in the order and can not get a clue as to if it will EVER be filled. If I kill this order I might as well fill the balance with Beth at NGK. Crap.

I am unwilling to pay big bucks as all my spydies end up EDC (can't resist). My favorites tend to be the Sal (and Eric) designed discontinued models. If I bought nothing but Sal/Eric commercial failures I'd be in heaven. Lil' Temp rules the roost. Temperance just feels natural. Mini Manix on the way.

Rant ...

Oh well, it was a learning experience.

[Slick]

A further note... as I have OBVIOUSLY missed the first 600, when is the window of POSSIBLE oportunity for the last 600. Guess this question is to Sal.

[eljay]

A further note... as I have OBVIOUSLY missed the first 600, when is the window of POSSIBLE oportunity for the last 600. Guess this question is to Sal.

I believe the figure 4-6 weeks was mentioned.

[Dannyvi]

What amuses me is that there's still a few internet stores that have ZDPs in stock for less then 80 bucks!

Name two!!??