Have you ever been too eager?

[dweb1897]

Have you ever wanted a knife so bad that you just weren't paying attention? Have details or defects in a knife just slipped by because the knife just dazzled you? Now, I'm talking about buying a knife on Ebay. I'd like to think I wouldn't miss something if I was holding it in my hands, but I know that probably isn't true. I've been collecting Schrade Bowie knives for some time. Herman Williams has been customizing Schrade Bowies for me just as long. When I saw this Schrade with an Aurum etch of Daniel Boone for sale, I just couldn't believe it. One of the rarest Bowies that Schrade made...possibly less than 50 in circulation, and here it was. Not at some ridiculous fixed price, but up for auction with no reserve. The detail in the Aurum etching was incredible. Add to that, family history says Boone was an ancestor of some sort...and my fascination with Bowie knives had been sparked from watching Daniel Boone on The Wonderful World of Disney. I had to get that knife.

.

I won the bidding at what I considered a very reasonable price and watched that tracking # like a hawk. It arrived on my birthday and as I unwrapped it I couldn't think of a better present I could have bought myself.. the blade was everything I had hoped for, no scratches, no pits or discolorations and good black background. What a beauty. and then I saw it...The FREAKIN' GUARD WAS UPSIDE DOWN. How did I not notice that in the pics.
All I can say is, I'm sure gald I know Herman...he'll make this all better.

[Schradenut]

Don't belt yourself up Doug. We have all been there.
Tony.

[knife7knut]

I bought a Marbles stag handled hunter that had the guard installed incorrectly. I was a little skeptical of the knife anyway because of the etched tang mark and the non standard sheath. I found out after posting on another site that it was installed wrong from Mike Stewart. Doesn't matter to me;I still like the knife and the price was good.

[stagman]

Everyone of us has his stories of knives we messed up on, my biggest
goof was on a Stag Bowie tied to Buffalo Bill Cody's wild west show
that I did not bid enough on and lost it...I sure would pay 150.00 bucks
more than I bid but did not bid at that time....
That is not a regular Marble's knife tho Ray...not the stamp, the 1 piece Stag handle,
shield, nothing...its a Northwoods Big Game skinner blade pattern that Marble's did make that pattern, I would like to hear
more of what you were told about it

Will
http://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/clearcreekknives

[knife7knut]

Everyone of us has his stories of knives we messed up on, my biggest
goof was on a Stag Bowie tied to Buffalo Bill Cody's wild west show
that I did not bid enough on and lost it...I sure would pay 150.00 bucks
more than I bid but did not bid at that time....
That is not a regular Marble's knife tho Ray...not the stamp, the 1 piece Stag handle,
shield, nothing...its a Northwoods Big Game skinner blade pattern that Marble's did make that pattern, I would like to hear
more of what you were told about it

Will
http://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/clearcreekknives

According to Mike Stewart it was probably assembled from parts but he did not speculate on where the parts might have been obtained. The finish on the blade looks almost crocus polished;the fit and finish good although there is a bit of a gap around where the shield was cut in. The sheath is nicely constructed. I paid $50 for it a couple years ago from a friend of mine who said he got it from one of my neighbors! When I finally found out who it was he had moved away. Apparently he was selling off stuff he had before he moved which is how my friend wound up with it.
Here are a couple more pictures of it.

[QTCut5]

I just recently had a case of making an over-eager-purchase on a knife I've been wanting and looking for for almost ten years. I have seen several come up for sale from time to time, but they always ended up selling for way more than I wanted to pay and/or could afford at the time. Well, a lightly used one appeared the other day with a BIN/OBO listing. It had been carried and used (not mint) so it had a few scratches and a blunted tip, but I went ahead and made what I felt was a fair offer. The seller accepted my offer instantly and I sent him my payment. No sooner had I done that, then another of the exact same knife came up for sale that was Brand New, Mint In Box, never carried, used or sharpened and it was being sold by the original owner, and it was less than 5 minutes into a 7 day listing with a BIN price that was the exact same amount I had just paid for the used one! Had I waited just 5 more minutes before making an offer on the used one, I could have gotten a MUCH better knife for my collection for the same price. So, I bought it anyway and as luck would have it, the used one arrived with a crack in the handle that the seller had failed to disclose in his description, so I returned it for a refund. Had I taken more time to really study the photos, I probably would have noticed the crack, but, then of course, I wouldn't have made such a generous offer.

I've also had the opposite experience in which I was too hesitant to buy a knife I really wanted but decided to wait and look around for a better deal. By the time I had decided that the asking price was, in fact, the best deal available, someone else had beaten me to the punch and I kicked myself with regret for not following my gut instinct and jumping on it straightaway.

The overeagerness / hesitation factor can cut both ways.

~Q~

[jerryd6818]

The overeagerness / hesitation factor can cut both ways.

~Q~

Ain't that God's own truth.

[kootenay joe]

I have a tendancy to see the knife as i want it to be rather than seeing it as it really is. To counter this overly optomistic tendancy i make myself look at each part of the knife individually: handle, blade, guard, pommel, markings, & sheath.
When each part is examined individually any problems, inconsistencies will stand out whereas when viewed as a whole knife my eye sees only what i want it to.
kj

[dweb1897]

I have a tendancy to see the knife as i want it to be rather than seeing it as it really is. To counter this overly optomistic tendancy i make myself look at each part of the knife individually: handle, blade, guard, pommel, markings, & sheath.
When each part is examined individually any problems, inconsistencies will stand out whereas when viewed as a whole knife my eye sees only what i want it to.
kj

What you say here makes a lot of sense Joe. I think I've read somewhere that we see what we have been conditioned to expect. 4 other people looked at the pictures of the Bowie and 3 others handled it without noticing the guard. Examining each part individually is good advice.

[cody6268]

Bought a Gerber MP800 multitool for $12, about a tenth of their MSRP. Didn't know until I got it that the serrations had been sharpened heavily, the scissor return spring was broke, and the carbide wire cutter inserts were shattered. It cost so much to buy those inserts, I ended up saving the tool for parts.

[tongueriver]

I have made all these mistakes and more, not only buying knives, but on the pickleball court. And in Love. And in finance
However, I have found one formula that seems to work-- buy high, and sell low.

[dweb1897]

Cal, with a business model of "buy high and sell low" you aren't apt to stay in business long but it is a heck of a lot of fun... I reckon I've been doing that for years. By the way, what is pickleball?

[KnifeSlinger#81]

Backwards guard or not, that's still a nice knife. You aren't the only one who has been to eager before. It's ebay's fault!

[espn77]

"Buy high, sell low" shows my ignorance. Didn't know there was any other way to do it.

[jerryd6818]

By the way, what is pickleball?

Yeah, I had to look that one up too. According to Wikipedia it's a game invented in 1965 on Bainbridge island in the Seattle WA area. Having elements of tennis, badminton and table tennis it's played with a solid paddle and a perforated plastic ball resembling a whiffle ball.

I too am from the "buy high, sell low" school of commerce.

[gsmith7158]

I just recently had a case of making an over-eager-purchase on a knife I've been wanting and looking for for almost ten years. I have seen several come up for sale from time to time, but they always ended up selling for way more than I wanted to pay and/or could afford at the time. Well, a lightly used one appeared the other day with a BIN/OBO listing. It had been carried and used (not mint) so it had a few scratches and a blunted tip, but I went ahead and made what I felt was a fair offer. The seller accepted my offer instantly and I sent him my payment. No sooner had I done that, then another of the exact same knife came up for sale that was Brand New, Mint In Box, never carried, used or sharpened and it was being sold by the original owner, and it was less than 5 minutes into a 7 day listing with a BIN price that was the exact same amount I had just paid for the used one! Had I waited just 5 more minutes before making an offer on the used one, I could have gotten a MUCH better knife for my collection for the same price. So, I bought it anyway and as luck would have it, the used one arrived with a crack in the handle that the seller had failed to disclose in his description, so I returned it for a refund. Had I taken more time to really study the photos, I probably would have noticed the crack, but, then of course, I wouldn't have made such a generous offer.

I've also had the opposite experience in which I was too hesitant to buy a knife I really wanted but decided to wait and look around for a better deal. By the time I had decided that the asking price was, in fact, the best deal available, someone else had beaten me to the punch and I kicked myself with regret for not following my gut instinct and jumping on it straightaway.

The overeagerness / hesitation factor can cut both ways.

~Q~

So Q, I assume that the new unused version was no longer available after you found the crack?

[jmh58]

Also guilty of the buy high, sell low or give away.. Then buy another at a later date for 20/30% more!! John

[#goldpan]

Many times I have been over eager, and bought duplicates or simply paid too much for a knife. I keep this Schrade Walden Keen Kutter Commemorative "The Spirit of St Louis" stockman as a reminder.

When I was first able to afford to buy knives I saw this one for sale and snapped it up. I did not know anything, so in my eagerness to have a Keen Kutter that commemorated such a historic event I bought it! I only found out much later that I had grossly over paid!

[gsmith7158]

Randy I have done that on several occasions myself. Usually after I over pay for the first one the second one comes up at about a third of the cost so logically I will go ahead and buy that one too so when I average the cost of the two knives I don't feel so stupid.

[dweb1897]

Randy I have done that on several occasions myself. Usually after I over pay for the first one the second one comes up at about a third of the cost so logically I will go ahead and buy that one too so when I average the cost of the two knives I don't feel so stupid.

Buying a second at a lower price and then average the cost...now there is a tactic I'd never thought of
but wait...then you have 2 knives whose average is over priced it's hard to win

[philco]

Randy I have done that on several occasions myself. Usually after I over pay for the first one the second one comes up at about a third of the cost so logically I will go ahead and buy that one too so when I average the cost of the two knives I don't feel so stupid.

Buying a second at a lower price and then average the cost...now there is a tactic I'd never thought of
but wait...then you have 2 knives whose average is over priced it's hard to win

You usually have to buy at least three to make it work.

[gsmith7158]

Randy I have done that on several occasions myself. Usually after I over pay for the first one the second one comes up at about a third of the cost so logically I will go ahead and buy that one too so when I average the cost of the two knives I don't feel so stupid.

Buying a second at a lower price and then average the cost...now there is a tactic I'd never thought of
but wait...then you have 2 knives whose average is over priced it's hard to win

You usually have to buy at least three to make it work.

Phil are you saying that you have three examples of several different knives?

[#goldpan]

On that particular knife I did find a couple more that were about 1/4 the price I paid for this one. I never thought about buying the others to even things out. Like Phil said, buy three! It doesn't seem to hurt as bad! At the time I was so ticked at my self that I put the knife away for awhile so that I could forget about it. Now it sits on my desk as reminder to pay better attention! So I guess, keeping this in mind, That the price was well paid! I still make the mistake on occasion but it happens less often! I consider it a well paid for lesson!

[QTCut5]

So Q, I assume that the new unused version was no longer available after you found the crack?

Actually, I bought the new one immediately and planned to sell the used one to try and recoup at least a portion of the cost. But, since it ended up being cracked, I just returned it for a full refund.

And, just for the record: Normally, I prefer not to return items because I feel it's my responsibility as a buyer to know what I'm purchasing before I pay for it. However, in this particular instance, the crack was not mentioned in the seller's description (which I feel is negligent at best and downright dishonest at worst) nor was it clearly shown in any of the photos (which may or may not have been intentional). Once I had the knife in hand, however, the crack was only too obvious, and once I knew what to look for, I could just barely see it in one (and only one) of the seller's original listing photos, although not very clearly. The speed with which the seller accepted my Best Offer (which was much lower than his asking price) as well as his immediate acceptance of the return without question, suggest to me that he probably knew what was what and he was just hoping I would be one of those buyers who is too lazy to bother hassling with a return. If not for the crack, and the seller's failure to mention it, I would own two of that particular knife and be attempting to sell the used one for a loss. (Although, if he had mentioned the crack, I probably wouldn't have bought it in the first place...at least not for as much).

~Q~

[dweb1897]

Phil are you saying that you have three examples of several different knives?

Whats wrong with having 3 or more examples of the same knife?