Approximate cost to manufacture a Para II???

.357 mag · #21

captnvegtble wrote:I don't expect any buisness to share how much of a margin they make on any product. .

What about a business like exon?

captnvegtble · #22

.357 mag wrote:What about a business like exon?

Buisnesses publish their fiscal accounting statements which can be used to calculate an operating margin (for their overall buisness performance), but I don't think buisnesses usually report or publish their profit margin for a specific product. I could be wrong. Asking how much Spyderco makes on a single Para2 seems tachy to me. Do you know how much Exon makes on a gallon of crude oil?

jtoler_9 · #23

bh49 wrote:what is microtech? :)

Good one. It's rubbing shoulders with greatness. :)

.357 mag · #24

captnvegtble wrote:Buisnesses publish their fiscal accounting statements which can be used to calculate an operating margin (for their overall buisness performance), but I don't think buisnesses usually report or publish their profit margin for a specific product. I could be wrong. Asking how much Spyderco makes on a single Para2 seems tachy to me. Do you know how much Exon makes on a gallon of crude oil?

I agree with you.. You just said any business. The town I live in is a business. I have the right to know what they spend and what they spend it on. WalMart posts if profits are up or down. And yes, there is at least one knife company i know that will tell you what there end profit is.

Yes, i think is wrong for the OP to ask. But it not wrong for the company to offer. Whether Spyderco makes 1% or 90%, I will still buy because they have a quality, reasonable priced product. I'll buy them because there designs are second to none and they just plain work for me.

xceptnl · #25

.357 mag wrote:Yes, i think is wrong for the OP to ask. But it not wrong for the company to offer. Whether Spyderco makes 1% or 90%, I will still buy because they have a quality, reasonable priced product. I'll buy them because there designs are second to none and they just plain work for me.

+100. Took the words right out of my mouth.

KardinalSyn · #26

In my own country, I see poorly manufactured folders selling for the same price as Spyderco folders. It really hurts when you think about this.

So in my case, I choose Spyderco. I don't really care about how much Spyderco keeps as profit per knife. I care about the quality and performance I get at the price that I am willing to spend.

If I spend $100 for a Para2 and use it regularly for two or three years, it will still be worth it.

captnvegtble · #27

.357 mag wrote:I agree with you.. You just said any business.

Yeah... I've got to stop making "all or nothing" statements - they're usually wrong. :D

I agree that Spyderco makes great knives and I also think they're reasonably priced.

Chipped Karambit · #28

I was raised always being taught to never ask these types of questions, but I just have to point out as an international business student, production of a product isnt as plain cut as it seems.

I honestly would prefer if spyderco DIDNT answer this question. It is kind of personal, like when you were a kid and you asked your parents how much they made. Just doesnt seem right.

Whether it cost 1 buck or 119$ to make a paramilitary 2, it shouldnt matter. You buy spyderco for its versatility, its quality, its ethics, its bang for buck value. Spydercos work for you in the long run, making their knives more then worth it so this question kind of makes me feel awkward. I hope im not the only one

Minibear453 · #29

You're forgetting all the labor and machinery that spyderco makes. Yes, when I make my own knife, it's around $20 in materials, not including shipping, for a liner lock in D2. However, if I were to include the price for labor, at even just $8 an hour, the knife would be well over $100. If knives were really so cheap, you would see other companies selling their knives for $30. After all, that's a 50% profit right? Yet knifemaking isn't just getting the materials and pressing a button, there's a lot of extra costs as well.

kestrel57 · #30

Well, good responses. But you read too much into my question. I was merely curious as to what you people thought and didn't want Spyderco to tell me. What has struck me a bit was the price differential between the Tenacious and the Paramilitary.
Moreover, I picked the Paramilitary because of it's success and I really like it. Finally, I can probably buy a good gun for $400 new. This makes a $125 knife or a $200 knife seem strange to me.

I am not a cost accountant but I do know some Finance --- I did Institutional Credit for a living. Billion dollar loans at times to very large or intermediate sized companies --- I approved some and killed some (even though most were secured with good "haircuts"). A real key for business success for companies I followed --- positive cash flow & fin'l flexibility --- not materials cost (especially without overhead) --- I've known that since maybe 7th grade. Common sense.

Spyderco is a company, not a person. (I would not want to know how much the owners or employees make.) Public companies always inform with regard to their quarterly profit --- this is primarily focused on (as well as cash flow). MAC clauses are common. Why aren't you upset that Apple and Exxon must report financial information if it's intimate knowledge? And they were once private companies --- or maybe even part of a monopoly. Indeed, Amazon's profit was down 95% last quarter --- misleading as they are girding for a fight with Apple in coming years. (They're investing large sums in warehouses & the Amazon Kindle, especially the Kindle Fire.) Amazon is now losing money on every Kindle Fire they sell as did Microsoft with the X-Box. I find that interesting, if not particularly enlightening (they hope to make money on the proprietary content sold --- I believe this worked for the X-Box & Microsoft). Even if I were to invest in these companies or its products.

It was a much more innocent question than you make it out to be. Sorry if my wording was misleading. But, yes, I'm somewhat curious about the price differential between the Paramilitary & Tenacious. Merely curious (I'm more curious about how much Exxon makes selling a commodity as I go to the gas pump and gas prices are impt. to the economy --- remember stagflation during Jimmy Carter's time?) --- relax. And, sure, I know price is usually more a function of what people will pay (especially on a secondary mkt. and not what an item costs to make --- all in. Knives are low expense items but never forget that information is sometimes impt. --- when you buy your house make sure you get that appraisal. Right? :-) And, no, what the prior owner paid for the house is not relevant. Just as it is not here.

Didn't know you guys owned part of the company :-). Didn't want to know what the costs really are. Just what your thoughts were and what the most is spent on. My post was not a complaint in any manner and I admire Spyderco, and its products.

Tx !!!

SolidState · #31

$0.02?

kestrel57 · #32

"I know a lot of knife collectors in Oregon. Autos, non-autos. A lot of knife companies there, too. Great beer. I might retire in Southern Oregon."

ME

"He who forgets history is doomed to repeat it."

Santayana

kestrel57 · #33

I'm ready to see this closed, removed, or as you wish. Deleted would be nice. Tx.

The Deacon · #34

kestrel57 wrote:I'm ready to see this closed, removed, or as you wish. Deleted would be nice. Tx.

You can delete it yourself, if you're so inclined. As for the comparison, Spyderco knives made in China use less expensive materials, workers there receive lower wages, and the Chinese government keeps the value of its currency artificially low. The result is knives that are exceptional values for the money as long as you can live without the superior edge holding which steels like S30V provide.