RBR Scales question...

[John Carter]

Hi-

I've bought a few collectible pocket knives over the years and do like the hobby. Question about appraising:

Does anyone use the RBR scales method of appraising pocket knives put forward by Roy Ritchie in "The Standard Knife Collectors Guide"?

How well is that method regarded to serious hobbyist?

Are any other methods used?


Of course we all know the ol' adage that a thing is worth what a person is willing to pay for it.

[tc3500]

I have a book that uses RBR - It makes alot of sense, but knives dont sell for what
any of my books say anyway. RBR is a good approach to valuation, but hanging
around here and ebay will tell you what knives are worth TODAY, lol.

TC

[John Carter]

bump.

Does anyone have any opinions/recommendations about this appraisal method?

[msteele6]

I use a spreadsheet to keep track of every knife I buy. Any time a knife like one I own is listed on eBay I track it and enter the selling price into the spreadsheet. These prices are actual selling prices, not guesses, and are therefore a pretty good indicator of current market prices. I average prices on knives that I get multiple results on weighting the average toward more recent prices.

I also keep track of prices using the RBR valuation method, although I simplify the "condition" weighting factor due to it's cumbersome methodology. The values I get using the RBR method are about 60% higher than my actual pricing data. Needless to say, the actual pricing data is the more accurate of the two.

A caveat: even though the RBR method is 60% higher you have to remember that this is 60% on average it says nothing about the accuracy of the method on any particular knife.