Best place to sell?

[czgunner]

To be clear, I am not trying to solicit a sale here.
Where is the best place to sell Spyderco blades?
I am having to sell off a bunch of my collection cover an unexpected cost and I would prefer to not deal with ebay.
Thanks!

[Michael Janich]

Dear czgunner:

Welcome to the Spyderco Forum.

Stay safe,

Mike

[S-3 ranch]

Reddit spyderco swap?

[SG89]

Bladeforums

[Vaugith]

I'm pretty active on reddit.com/r/knife_swap. It's a safe place to sell and things move very fast if priced within their regular bounds. You can search past sales to get an idea of appropriate pricing. They are strict on their rules there so be sure to read them.

Other places you can try are eBay, bladeforums, and there are quite a few Facebook B/S/T pages where things move, but those are a bit slower than Reddit to move stuff and you're more likely to encounter scammers there in my experience.

[RustyIron]

There's a Spyderco Facebook group that might be what you're looking for.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1626991017561904

[phaust]

Reddit knife_swap and BladeForums are my go-to places.

KS leads to quicker sales overall than Bladeforums, but folks aren't going to accept flipper prices/price gouging/above average prices, so it's good to search and see the market rate if you go that route, as Vaugith mentions. BF restricts comments so you can get away with higher pricing or not knowing what you should price things at. KS has better rules for protecting against scammers, though as a seller that's less of a concern. KS is free, while BF isn't. As a first time seller, you'll only be able to list one knife for sale at KS at first (until you have a confirmed transaction), but with BF you could list them all at once.

[cycleguy]

I would like to know myself.

I dislike using ebay but it is where I have had the best success as a seller and seems the easiest format. Most of what I own is Exclusives and Sprints and long discontinued and can sell for a premium. I look at past sales and determine the range and list somewhere around the middle of that range. Things usually sell quickly. I also use make an offer which sometimes brings in offers in excess of the listing price, reasonable lesser offers, and of course low ball and ridiculous offers. Ebay also makes shipping easy with their prepay shipping labels and slightly discounted shipping prices. You are responsible for the item until delivered so I always insure for the full amount which usually runs about as much as shipping so shipping nearly doubles in cost after insurance. Also, since you have to be an ebay member to participate, questionable buyers seem to get weeded out and I don't bother with International shipping so those buyers are weeded out as well unless they use a US address for delivery.

Unfortunately with ebay, buyers don't get the best pricing as they are burdened with tax and likely an increased selling price to offset ebay fees.

I tried selling on Bladeforum this year and found I can sell about 10 on ebay to every 1 on bladeforum, and I adjusted the price down on bladeforum so the in my pocket dollar amount was equal between the two websites. It seemed most on BladeForum were looking for items below the reasonable sale price and I often received trade offers for items like a briefcase or fancy pair of tennis shoes; and non-members to cheap to buy a base membership will reach out to you for your email so they can send a lowball offer.

Bladeforum seemed to work better to keep selling price up on current production knives that sell for less than new since selling fees and taxes aren't involved as they are on ebay.

I rotate my collection and that is why I have the need to sell, I don't do this to flip and pocket a few dollars. The money is so little i'm surprised people even bother with flipping. As a collector it is nice to be able to pursue an interest and not have to incur much cost for the entertainment gained when you decide to change things.

[czgunner]

Reddit knife_swap and BladeForums are my go-to places.

KS leads to quicker sales overall than Bladeforums, but folks aren't going to accept flipper prices/price gouging/above average prices, so it's good to search and see the market rate if you go that route, as Vaugith mentions. BF restricts comments so you can get away with higher pricing or not knowing what you should price things at. KS has better rules for protecting against scammers, though as a seller that's less of a concern. KS is free, while BF isn't. As a first time seller, you'll only be able to list one knife for sale at KS at first (until you have a confirmed transaction), but with BF you could list them all at once.

I read their rules. Selling a discontinued, collectible knife at "no more than MSRP" seems a little silly to me, but it's their forum and their rules. I don't sell enough to warrant paying for an account over on BF.
Thanks for the info.

[cabfrank]

Maybe try the Spyderco Swap on reddit, if for no other reason, there isn't a lot of activity there. vivi has a thread, I think you also have to pm him to be added.

[Snacktime]

Ebay, always auction 5 day starting at $1. Kind of fun to watch people spend to much. I also make offers here and there for fun and some times get a good deal. Bladeforum is okay, just not worth paying for a membership for something that should be free (they sell adds and have authorized spam posts).

I might list some more burnt orange REX45 from my closet, kind of bought to many sprints and my preferences have gotten bigger.

[czgunner]

Ebay, always auction 5 day starting at $1. Kind of fun to watch people spend to much. I also make offers here and there for fun and some times get a good deal. Bladeforum is okay, just not worth paying for a membership for something that should be free (they sell adds and have authorized spam posts).

I might list some more burnt orange REX45 from my closet, kind of bought to many sprints and my preferences have gotten bigger.

You don't have a reserve? I don't think I could got for something selling for too little.

[Snacktime]

Ebay, always auction 5 day starting at $1. Kind of fun to watch people spend to much. I also make offers here and there for fun and some times get a good deal. Bladeforum is okay, just not worth paying for a membership for something that should be free (they sell adds and have authorized spam posts).

I might list some more burnt orange REX45 from my closet, kind of bought to many sprints and my preferences have gotten bigger.

You don't have a reserve? I don't think I could got for something selling for too little.

No reserve, when I put a reserve I usually get less $$. I don't mind selling at a loss since it's always an up trade in my mind to something I want.

[Sharp Guy]

Bladeforum is okay, just not worth paying for a membership for something that should be free (they sell adds and have authorized spam posts).

I disagree with the SHOULD be free part. Sounds a bit entitled to me. I'm pretty sure revenue isn't the only reason they ask sellers to buy a membership.

[Cowboyfromhell]

Bladeforums is a joke! Full of d-bags and a- holes! I made some comments about a bad knife experience with a brand that should have better attention to detail especially for the prices they charge. One of their moderators on a power trip told me to shut up and move on and I made a snarky comment that didn't sit well with him and he flat out banned me for life! Wow ...he must be a judge hahahah! Loser.

[Archimedes]

If you want to sell the knife for real, Ebay is the best. That is the market. The knife will sell if you run an auction.

Playing around on forums works if you have some super hot knife that is all hyped up. Or you may find a buyer for your rare knife, if you are lucky. I kind of get exhausted selling on forums, lots of people can waste your time.

[Bolster]

Nobody likes eBay, but...it's a huge marketplace, it's relatively safe (given how wild and deceptive selling and buying can be), and more importantly, it keeps bargaining to a minimum.

I really dislike bargaining. If ya don't like my price don't buy it. Simple. I do the same for you. Do you bargain at the supermarket for your food? Do you bargain with online knife sellers? Do you bargain with the Spyderco factory outlet?

I think the game of raising your price so you can lower your price (so the buyer can feel he has "triumphed") is just sillier than silly. I'm not selling for the purpose of feeding people's ego needs to be "winners."

As you can imagine, pretty much all of my garage sales go badly. No, I'm not willing to take half of what I'm asking and I don't care if you have "cash right now." People leave angry.

PS: Welcome czgunner! Glad to have you on board!

[Vaugith]

I read their rules. Selling a discontinued, collectible knife at "no more than MSRP" seems a little silly to me, but it's their forum and their rules.

That's a rule that does not get followed on knife_swap. There are plenty of examples of knives selling for over the MSRP. If you do it on a Spyderco sprint within a year of it coming out the community will come together to shout at you. But for other rare pieces or older hard to find models it's accepted. Like I said, search for past sales that actually sold to get an idea for accepted pricing. Just don't be a flipper.

[The Meat man]

I don't sell enough to warrant paying for an account over on BF.

eBay charges what, 11%? Sell a couple knives there and you've already spent more than you would have on a Gold membership over on BladeForums.

If you want quick money, while still getting a good price, I recommend BladeForums.
If you want quick money, while strengthening the community here and helping out fellow Forumites (at the cost of a bit less money), I recommend Vivi's Spyderco Swap on Reddit.

[Snacktime]

I disagree with the SHOULD be free part. Sounds a bit entitled to me. I'm pretty sure revenue isn't the only reason they ask sellers to buy a membership.

Originally forums where privately owned a long time ago. Membership was to help pay for servers vs having adds. As time went on they all got purchased by big server companies and used to make money selling adds. If you give Bladeforums.com money are you supporting the forum or making someone else rich?

20 years ago, you got an email, private messages and a forum by just signing up. Ran 100% on donations and even paided for raffle items. Good ole MaxxTraxx.com set the standard.

Let's not go down the Reddit hole