Spyderco Forums

Prices of just about everything are going up and continuing to do so, that's other than items like knives.

Most people are feeling the cost increases and that would be including manufacturers I would guess so until things start turning around in the economy it won't likely get any better.

And yes I am feeling it too, as the expenses and other issues have kept me from getting a lot of knives in the past 9 months.

Have I just noticed? No. From 2005 until late 2009 I could buy just about anything in the Spyderco lineup without much of a problem. From 2010 to now, forget it. In addition, I've had some good raises since then too.

That was sarcasm my friend, hence the "LOL.," lol. Im often facetious, something that apparently does not translate well. Today it seems like everyone is misunderstanding

And for those UBER priced models, Im not sure what existed before 2009, before my time here, but were there such things as the fluted military? I take it to mean that CQI thing they are always mentioning is working! Not to mention like one brother said, our dollar's value relative to the nations where the knives are produced has plummeted, and that certainly has had an effect.

defenitley not going down in price.

i was shocked to see that the lil matriarch is in the 70 range.

18 years ago we would see delicas for 20 bucks at local swap meets

I much prefer the practical models as well. FRN is my favorite material and I would die for more exotic steels in say a Manix2 Lightweight platform.

I don't think any Spyderco can be compared with customs/semi-customs (especially the Tuff to the Sebenza). The MSRP pricing matrix for what you get material wise is MUCH more generous because of the volume being produced. The trade-off of course is not that custom level of F&F but some production Spydies get very close.

Sal has said that MSRP is adjusted based on cost to make so I have to assume factors are at play. With a relatively fixed profit margin this way if a knife is cheap for them to make the ELU profits; if it's more expensive sadly they have to pay more.

I gotta say, the new stuff Spyderco is coming out with seems pretty darned expensive to me, too. Maybe that's because I'm a fairly new knife nut and I started out looking at the lower end stuff and am just now exploring the upper end goods. Nevertheless, I really like some of the new models coming out, but I'm going to have to think twice about forking over the money for, say, the Techno .... even though I lust in my heart for it! On the other hand, I'm also getting much more selective about what I will spend money for.

Tod

David Lowry wrote: Fortunately right now I can get a ZDP Caly 3 from several VERY GOOD ebay dealers for about $115. It only dropped that low after people realized they were not selling the Caly 3 ZDP for $140 or $150. I do realize that's probably not a good example until the ZDP Caly 3.5 can be had on ebay but regardless. I compare prices across the board. No matter where I can get it, I go by what the "street price" is.

Dealer price on the ZDP Caly is 114.98. So who ever you're buying that from on Ebay is losing $13 bucks a knife(Ebay and Paypal fees) or they are a Distributor selling retail. I'd wager quite a bit that it's a dist. undercutting dealers. You saved big time, but if this keeps up there won't be any dealers left as they can't compete on price with distributors who buy much cheaper and violate their agreements with Spyderco by selling direct under a shell business.

It's all relative for what expensive is. I agree that 175 is a lot of money at first sound but if I think of what else I spend that kind of money on and compare it to how long I own it I'd say it's a deal. For instance a pair of sneakers for me can be close to that number and even if I take great care of them I'm lucky I may only get a year out of them. 175 is also what I may spend on 2 pairs of jeans and a shirt, again that wont last more than a few years. If I worried about styles that time frame would be drastically less. With these knives, especially the ones pushing the 200 mark and beyond I expect to have them longer than I have life in my body so the cost becomes less of a concern for me.

I used to modify cars. Talk about a horrible cash burning hobby! I paid $2400 for an imported hard-top which the new owner greatly appreciates. :p

FroOchie wrote:It's all relative for what expensive is. I agree that 175 is a lot of money at first sound but if I think of what else I spend that kind of money on and compare it to how long I own it I'd say it's a deal. For instance a pair of sneakers for me can be close to that number and even if I take great care of them I'm lucky I may only get a year out of them. 175 is also what I may spend on 2 pairs of jeans and a shirt, again that wont last more than a few years. If I worried about styles that time frame would be drastically less. With these knives, especially the ones pushing the 200 mark and beyond I expect to have them longer than I have life in my body so the cost becomes less of a concern for me.

Well said! My justification exactly for holes in my shoes and new knives in my pockets.

This topic is right on, I didn't want to face it, but .
I've had a reduction in my purchases as well. I wonder if Golden has felt a reduction?

gull wing wrote:This topic is right on, I didn't want to face it, but .
I've had a reduction in my purchases as well. I wonder if Golden has felt a reduction?

The average Golden Spyderco (not including the UKPK lightweights) seems right around $80. Most the expensive ones are just under $105.

The knives that bum me out are the ones from Japan. Mostly because I adore them! Luckily most knives in that fleet have FRN versions.

Times are still tough right now. Prices for fuel and food have gone up and life for all but the wealthy has gotten tougher and more expensive.

The greater income inequality gets in the US, the harder it will be the majority of us of relatively modest means. I won't go further on that point as it would turn political and I find many individuals horribly uninformed or misinformed on the real reasons for this growing inequality :eek: Bottom line is that buying power for the vast majority of non wealthy Americans has been decreasing for the last decade and a half or more adjusting for inflation.

As far as the knives go, with the 23 :spyder: 's I have now I would miss getting newer models, but still have everything I would want or need in a knife. I would still have the hobby of using and caring for them. I could even let a few go without felling hurt too badly.

I've only picked up 2 new knives this year and before shipping the total cost was under $100. I'd love a Lionspy and Tuff but both are beyond my means at this time and I'm comfortable with that. I'd love to check out a Para, but opted for a Cento3 instead. I can still play with what I have and can completely appreciate them :) Appreciate and enjoy what you have :)

I hear ya, David. I've been looking for work for months now and still have my student loan debt looming over my head. Luckily, I have knives that I enjoy using but it does kind of sting when you see new Spydies that you wish you could get but just are too expensive. I suppose that's how life is nowadays, though. Bills keep piling up while work is scarce and income is somewhat stagnant.

When I got into this hobby the Spyderco Military cost around $110 (maybe $100), now it's $140, I would say that isn't too bad given the extreme economic circumstances.
There definitely are a lot of knives in the catalog priced much higher than average prices in the past, I'm betting that's more due to the design of the knives than the economy, add them both together and you get what seems to be a disproportionate increase in price.

Over the years I have slowly progressed to higher and higher priced knives, but I am buying less, so my habits seem to have moved in line with Spyderco's pricing fairly well.

I don't have hobbies; hobbies cost money. Interests are quite free.

--George Carlin

I'm new-ish to Spyderco collecting, and I don't have the money for the expensive ones. However, I enjoy reading about them, which is free...

Yeah I don't mind if a Military used to be $110 and now it's $140. OK, I'll buy that. I will buy it because it's still made in the USA. There is a lot to be said for that. What I will NOT buy is a $240 knife made in Taiwan. I think that Taichung has some of THE BEST fit and finish available these days, I just cannot pay that kind of money for something made out of this country, when I have a choice to buy IN this country. I'm OK with $100 Sage. It changes when the dollar amount goes above $150. I just cannot do it. I certainly WILL NOT do it for Japan made knives. In the last 2 - 3 years the Taichung Taiwan factory has surpassed all of the Japan made Spydies.

Yes, and please make no mistake, this is a hobby and I don't NEED any of it. I fully understand that. I'm just making an observation.

I eluded to this previously but our expectations in general have climbed over the years. Titanium, carbon fiber, steels in the "Killer V's" from Crucible, etc. Combined with the cost of manufacture these knives going up and the result is pretty shocking.

If you compare the price of a Delica4 to a Delica3 it is more expensive. Some due to advances/extra parts and the rest being pure cost to make. Retail cost on the ZDP-189/CF Stretch I recall being $150-165 which isn't too far from the CF Caly 3.5.

I'm simple to please. I don't need all this fancy schmancy stuff. Something other than FRN for scales with some steel liners and VG-10 or 154CM or CPM-S30V. I do like ZDP-189 very much but I will quit using it in certain knives to bring down the price if I can. :)

I have been on 50% salary for 4 years and prices of everything have been rocketing so that for the last year I wasn't even covering basic bills. Since then I have got myself a better-paying job but times are still hard and I can feel that people are sitting on any money they have and are less likely to use credit or pay for extravagant items.

It would be interesting to compare imported Spydie prices against other items made in Asia, like flat-screen TVs or Toyotas ... have they also gone up in price at the same rate? Inflation is one factor but also the foreign exchange markets have been hammering any imports, so there is probably nothing Spyderco can do to keep the prices down.

I have been droning on for ages about the bad economy and the need for cheaper knives and Sal responded with the FRN UKPK, the Squeak and the other Chinese-made knives, so they are definitely listening. But also if they see an interesting collaboration then they are probably going for more of those these days than they did in the past.

David Lowry wrote:Yeah I don't mind if a Military used to be $110 and now it's $140. OK, I'll buy that. I will buy it because it's still made in the USA. There is a lot to be said for that. What I will NOT buy is a $240 knife made in Taiwan. I think that Taichung has some of THE BEST fit and finish available these days, I just cannot pay that kind of money for something made out of this country, when I have a choice to buy IN this country. I'm OK with $100 Sage. It changes when the dollar amount goes above $150. I just cannot do it. I certainly WILL NOT do it for Japan made knives. In the last 2 - 3 years the Taichung Taiwan factory has surpassed all of the Japan made Spydies.

Yes, and please make no mistake, this is a hobby and I don't NEED any of it. I fully understand that. I'm just making an observation.

So in the end it's just about country of manufacture? This subject has been covered pretty extensively. Your preferred US made knives like the Para and Manix have actually dropped in price....maybe this thread should be about that.

The fact that you will not pay the price for "the best fit and finish available" due to where it is made is both astonishing and commendable, but still leaves you with some very good choices, best of the lot IMHO. :)