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The Business of Knife Making A forum dedicated to all aspects of running, managing and legal operational issues relating to the custom knife making and custom knife selling industry.

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Old 12-02-2011, 10:23 PM
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KNAdmin KNAdmin is offline
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Should I enlist a knife dealer, or sell directly?

The question assumes that you've decided to make knives for profit...

With this in mind, consider that I get 10-20 calls per year from new(er) makers who are interested in whether they should should sell directly to the public from a personal website, use a dealer to sell their work, or some combination of the different approaches.

While I know that there are many more makers who are interested in this discussion, it doesn't escape my attention that quite a few of the makers who are contacting me are pretty sharp characters. They've generally thought the problem through and have researched the available information on the net.

If I have any perspective advantage, it's having seen/helped/built the behind-the-scenes operations of some of the biggest names in today's custom knife world, and having seen a bunch of them rise to the top from relative obscurity over the last 15 or so years. I won't tell anyone's secrets, but we can discuss this in a general way, and you can draw your own conclusions from the discussion.

Here's the question, in a more detailed way...
You have determined that your work is high enough quality that you are willing to sell it to the public for a profit. Should you use a dealer, or sell it directly to the public?
Why/Why not?


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  #2  
Old 12-06-2011, 06:41 PM
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Ed Caffrey Ed Caffrey is offline
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I've been waiting a couple of days now to see what folks would answer to this question.....nobody so far?

OK, I'll start the ball rolling and throw out my thoughts.....

My answer to the question is BOTH. Each has it's advantages, and it's disadvantages.

First the advantages to using a "dealer"....

-Some makers are just not "gifted" when it comes to dealing with the public, and others just down right hate it. In those cases, the individual's best choice to to sell through a dealer. It essentially takes the monkey off the maker's back, and allows him/her to focus on making knives.

-Very often dealers attend many more shows, and can offer a maker's work in a much wider venue than the maker. Again, it allows the maker to concentrate on making knives, and not have to direct as much time as they otherwise would towards marketing and sales. In some cases, and with some makers, dealers handle ALL of the makers sales. This eliminates the time, effort, and expense of shows.....but I look a that a different way....to me part of being a knifemaker is going to the shows, and putting not only your knives on display, but yourself too. In my opinion, personal contact with your customers is vital.

-Most dealers are very good folks. Honest, and the really good ones develop a symbiotic relationship with the makers they represent.

I guess that pretty much sums up the majority of advantages with using a dealer.
Now what I consider the disadvantages...

-The cost, plain and simple. Most makers have a difficult time pricing their knives, and for the most part, many simply do not receive what their work is worth. When using a dealer, it generally costs the maker from 20% to 40% of the selling price of a given knife, depending on whether the knives are consignment or outright buys by the dealer. Arguments could be made that a maker is paying for advertising, web space, wider visibility, etc. but in the end it still costs a maker substantially to utilize a "dealer".

-Not all dealers are created equally. Care must be taken by the maker to ensure things are equitable and that the dealings are fair/honest before they make a commitment. I've been around this "game" for a number of years, and there are "some" dealers that I simply consider nothing more than Predators. One such example is a dealer who "preys" on up an coming makers. I've watched over the years, and seen the subtle techniques used to gain the confidence of a young maker....first, building them up, then trying to whittle them down on prices. Then if that is achieved, asking for "exclusives", then dictating to them how they should make their knives, and how they must be priced. If the maker(s) balk at any of it, they are threatened with ruination.
This is certainly the exception, rather than the rule when it comes to dealers, but it is something that inexperienced makers must be vigilant for.

Selling Directly:

Advantages:

-Allows the individual maker to deal directly with the client(s), and enables the maker to establish a direct relationship with his/her buyer. This "personal" relationship can very often increase sales for a maker. This may not be a large factor in the "short term", but if a maker cultivates and maintains good relationships with customers as individuals, clients very often will buy additional knives based on not only the knives an individual makes, but also on the relationship and the "trust" built from the "one on one" relationship established by the maker.

-Representation: Nobody knows a maker better, than the maker themselves. For examples, I'll use myself. Way back, when I decided I needed a website, I looked around, seeking to have a "professional" build my website, and maintain it for me. All I ever got was "SELL! SELL! SELL!" To me that was pushy, overzealous, and just plain rude. With Alex's help (thanks for fielding all those dumb questions way back when), I taught myself how to build and maintain my own website. By doing so, I was able to represent myself on the web as who I really am, which I think if very important. I suppose if a person wants to play the "alter ego" game, that's up to them, but I simply don't want, or know how to be somebody I'm not.

-Enjoy making and selling knives. When you market your own knives, it allows you the freedom to make what you want, how you want, with what you want....obviously within the boundaries of the current market.

Disadvantages

-WORK, WORK, WORK.
Every aspect of knifemaking that the maker does themselves involves more work. Doing shows, booking hotels and plane tickets, maintaining a website, handling all correspondence, and any number of other things that a "dealer" often does for makers who are in their "stable".

I could probably write several more pages, but those are the thoughts that come to my mind right now. In the end, all of those responses could differ from maker to maker....based on who you are, your individual personality, and how you view the world of custom knives.


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Last edited by Ed Caffrey; 12-07-2011 at 07:49 AM.
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Old 12-10-2011, 05:51 PM
10es& 10es& is offline
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Alex,
Thank you for posting this question. I have been wondering about this for some time now and have even search a few places to see if it has been discussed before. Also I have looked at several dealers' sites to see if they explain their buying terms for the makers. Of the ones that I looked at none of them provide any information.
Ed,
Your post was very insightful. Thank you for explaining both sides of this, I am sure there are few makers struggling with this same issue. Your post has helped me finally make a decision on weather using a dealer would be right for me.

Brett

Last edited by 10es&; 12-10-2011 at 05:56 PM.
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