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Old 07-18-2007, 09:19 AM
David Broadwell's Avatar
David Broadwell David Broadwell is offline
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Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Wichita Falls, Texas
Posts: 598
Quote:
Originally Posted by Les Robertson
Just because someone has a business card and says they are a dealer does not mean they will be able to help you.
Dan, I'll jump in here with a knifemaker's perspective. Les made good points, especially that last one. I have seen many so called dealers come out of the woodwork, get themselves some business cards printed up at Kinkos, and start asking for discounts with little or no proven track record. For some it was a way to increase the size of their personal collections at a reduced rate. If they are moving knives and occasionally put one in their own display case it's not a problem, but the point is they have to be doing their job as a promoter of knives to earn that dealer discount.

One of the most important things a dealer must do is promote YOU. He or she must believe YOU are good at what you do. If a dealer is just selling knives to make a few bucks and has no passion for the maker himself, he's just a car salesman. Our knives are our products, but they come from YOU, and it is little piece of YOU that the dealer is really selling.

One thing you should not do is sell to any dealer at a discount just because he's there. If, for instance, you make a line of standard models, and your DGK is popular. You bring a bunch to a show and the night before it opens you sell 20 DGKs to several different dealers. What you've done is created lots of competition, and in the end the perceived value of your knives will drop because buyers can go on line and nickel and dime the dealers for the lowest dollar increment on the price. It is not good for you.

You have got to be picky with the dealers you work with. Keep the number down. It's good to let one dealer specialize in some of your knives such as tacticals, let another dealer specialize in presentation fixed blades, etc. That way you don't create too much competition between your dealer network. I've always tried to keep my network down around 3 or 4. When approached by other dealers I have politely turned them down.

Dan, you are in a good situation if you sell all you make. I have only one knife in inventory myself, and it's in a museum show this summer. I also do few shows because of my wife's health. I find that in lots of cases that discount is worth it when a dealer like Les takes my work to NYC or Dallas or where ever and says "Broadwell is a good maker, and you should have his work in your collection".

David


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