Just curious what others think...I'm rather bothered by bst becoming a place for people seemingly just trying to earn a second income...community aspect is toast...imo reselling unused knives (often multiple) is for commercial entities not hobbyists...these sales should be moved to Ebay...seems the paying vendors here should be the ones making money...i see individuals making a couple hundred percent profit on some sales while paying vendors make what? (sorry, that's what minus expenses including kkf vendor fees) wonder how that sits with those guys? Members have no business overhead and this not only seems unfair but imo pointless for those vendors to remain since they can't compete fairly.
Cheers
Capitalism at work. Free market. Buyer and seller agree upon price, transaction made, both are satisfied. Valuation is very subjective, a buyer will purchase something at the price that it's worth to them—if someone splurges $1.6k on a bloody Kato chicken knife, then good on them and the seller—despite the collective KKF cringe. It's their business, no one else's.
Capitalism is not utopia, BST is far from it, just a marketplace. Fair price vs fair market value don't always match up. I paid about $500 for a new Kato WH, and will likely sell it for more than I paid, if I sell it. By contrast, I paid $120 for a new Kikuichi suji, and would be happy to take $60 for it. My like new 10.5 inch Wustof, which I think I paid $150, I'd gladly give it away to someone I liked.
If a knife is being sold at an inflated price, by someone who'e perceived as a flipper or one who is making a secondary income from selling—then buyer's who have issue should just not make a purchase. Simple.
I know sellers who catch and release at a loss, and those that have a 'pay it forward' attitude just to see the knife enjoyed by another, as well as those who hope to make a good profit—from a buyer's perspective, it's just a product with a price slapped on, whether or not to buy is motivated by need, desire, peer pressure, hype or whatever.
Full disclosure, I've never tried to sell a knife on BST. The knives that I bought on BST were at fair prices, bought from people I trust, under retail—it's like buying anything else, just use your judgement. If there's something fishy about a knife listed as "BNIB" or "flawless," KKF members will often chime in to point out the mis-information or at worse the deception. For buyer and seller, every knife has it's price.
Last thing I'd like to see on BST, are rules imposed by mods dictating valuation or selling intentions.
Regarding vendors—BST is not their place. They have their own platforms from which to sell. The majority of my knives are from vendors.
