Better than Stocks

GEC specializes in highly collectable and premium quality usable pocket knives. The company's USA manufactured knives have quickly proven to be a big hit with both collectors and users who seek quality American craftsmanship.
kootenay joe
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Better than Stocks

Post by kootenay joe »

The knife pictured below is an attractive GEC #66 Calf Roper. It is an active ebay auction with over a day to go and top bid is $835.
What is going on ? I truly do not understand. The supply is limited but what keeps driving the demand such that prices on secondary market are climbing like the stock market tech boom.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/GEC-Northfield ... 0169.m2942

kj
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Re: Better than Stocks

Post by gsmith7158 »

kootenay joe wrote:The knife pictured below is an attractive GEC #66 Calf Roper. It is an active ebay auction with over a day to go and top bid is $835.
What is going on ? I truly do not understand. The supply is limited but what keeps driving the demand such that prices on secondary market are climbing like the stock market tech boom.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/GEC-Northfield ... 0169.m2942

kj
It is amazing Kj! I tried to sneak up one one last night but was blown out of the water at the last second. ::skeptic::
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americanedgetech
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Re: Better than Stocks

Post by americanedgetech »

It's the mob mentality thing.
1=2=4=7=10=49=296... I have had one GEC in hand, and it did nothing for me other than the same feeling I get from a mint in box 1980 Puma that I paid 1/4 the price for.

I'm not experienced enough in collecting knives but I'd rather chase down a Canal Street or rare Camillus because we ALL know the GEC bubble will burst, and there will be a whole flock of sheep with 150.00 knives that they paid near 5 times too much for.

No disrespect meant by this, it is just what happens.
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Railsplitter
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Re: Better than Stocks

Post by Railsplitter »

It was a Knives Ship Free SFO in 2014 with only 25 made in Mammoth Ivory. That's still a pretty high bid regardless. Somebody wants that bad boy.
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kootenay joe
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Re: Better than Stocks

Post by kootenay joe »

I have one. Nice knife for sure. I have posted it here in AAPK. If i can find it i will link.
kj
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Re: Better than Stocks

Post by 1fartsmella »

Let's keep in mind there is 18 bids from only 3 bidders. What will happen after these 3 guys each get one? How many more guys will be willing to bid like this for this unique knife? Maybe bidder # 4 will come out of the trees and snipe at the last moment? A nice situation for the seller. I wonder how much it cost when it was first offered?
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Re: Better than Stocks

Post by americanedgetech »

GEC 66 Mammoth Jack $155 for sale second hand as "New in Tube" was sold in 2014.
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Re: Better than Stocks

Post by kootenay joe »

Sold at $859 ! Winning bidder is not one of the 3 who were bidding against each other but came in right at the end, This shows there are at least 4 people willing to pay big money for a mammoth handled GEC.
Ivory & Mammoth are my favorite handle materials so i have been buying them when released and if lucky as they sell out quickly. The usual selling price is about $100 more than the same knife with jigged bone. On the secondary market until recently the GEC made knives with mammoth have been selling for ~ $100-$150 over original price.
In the last month i have seen 3 examples of GEC/mammoth selling for multiples of original price with this #66 being the highest yet at ~ 3.5 X original price.
It looks like for at least the near term GEC/mammoth knives are going to be very expensive to buy. I'm sure this secondary market demand has been noted by GEC & their dealers. I expect the next release of GEC with mammoth will have a $200 premium over the same pattern with other handles.
What are your thoughts about these very high prices for mammoth handles GEC ? I have left out elephant ivory because the law adds a level of complexity and there will be no more production knives made with this material.
kj
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Re: Better than Stocks

Post by kootenay joe »

Here is my GEC 668214 with mammoth ivory, same knife as just sold for $859. Mine looks very much like elephant ivory which is why i selected it. Others may prefer mammoth with markings or staining in it.
Another similar knife is the Schatt & Morgan #65 Baby Sunfish with mammoth ivory.
If ebay is any indication i have about $1500 worth in these 2 knives !
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Re: Better than Stocks

Post by Railsplitter »

Those are both incredibly nice, Roland!
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kootenay joe
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Re: Better than Stocks

Post by kootenay joe »

Thanks Rick. The mammoth on the 66 has more grain & color than my pictures show. I am lucky to have bought these at the original prices. There seems to be a 'mammoth hunt' on lately that is pushing prices higher by the month.
kj
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Re: Better than Stocks

Post by Tsar Bomba »

The mammoth ivory on that S&M is right in my wheelhouse, kj. ::tu::

I personally do not expect to see a significant drop in mammoth-handled cutlery prices soon, if ever. I think GEC might be going to the sambar stag well a little too often these days and I would like to see a NF-line mammoth knife released in the somewhat near future. I'm almost positive I'd get a safe queen (for reasons kj has mentioned) and a user because a knife with the right kind of mammoth is just too dang pretty not to tote around town.

The owner of the Northwoods name might be pressuring GEC to limit or eliminate any "regular line" mammoth runs, of course. But keep in mind there's always a possibility that mammoth ivory is simply becoming harder to source in the supply chain on account of the animal being extinct and recovery of ivory often being a dangerous and expensive proposition. It's a more organic version of the difficulty sourcing elephant ivory in the States. Instead of bureaucratic hoops that disappear and reappear as the administrations change, it's actual biology doing the limiting.

Either way, prices are headed up-up-up, IMO.
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kootenay joe
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Re: Better than Stocks

Post by kootenay joe »

Large ancient ice fields & glaciers are continuing to melt and expose mammoth tusks. Obviously the supply is limited but i believe that there is still plenty of mammoth being found now. I believe the increase in price of mammoth handled knives is due to the willingness of the consumer to pay more for something they find desirable.
My bet is that mammoth handled production knives will show a major price increase with the next release. Up to now a GEC knife with mammoth costs ~ $100 more than the next most expensive handle option, usually giraffe bone or stag. With the next release, if mammoth is present i expect the price will be $200 more than the next most expensive handle choice.
However i have never been involved with a business so i don't know what i am talking about and prices will go down !
kj
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Re: Better than Stocks

Post by vikingdog »

GEC manipulates the market by never producing enough knives in the most popular patterns. They get a buzz going and the knives sell out in no time to the fan boys and hoarders. Nice knives for sure, I was buying them in 2010 in nicer jigged bone for much less than today's prices. They follow the Apple and Nintendo marketing strategy. Create artificial shortages and keep the prices up.
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Re: Better than Stocks

Post by americanedgetech »

Diamonds! Control the market, and artificially inflate the cost!

There is no value for the dollar in this but there is an artificial market that controls the cost. There are knives ranging from 20.00 - 100.00 that are just as nice or nicer, and I can buy a shipping container full of them if I wanted.
I won't take the bait, and I don't really care about it. In FACT I dislike the company because of it.
If I don't like a band I wont buy their records. It's that simple
Just my opinion, and feelings about GEC knives.
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Re: Better than Stocks

Post by gsmith7158 »

I could be way off on this but in the past couple of days it seems like there has been a glut of GEC knives entering the eBay market place with very low starting bids and some selling at or near retail. A lot of the offerings at traditional retailers seem to be lingering for long periods of time as well. Could the GEC rage be cooling?
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Re: Better than Stocks

Post by kootenay joe »

Greg i agree that there are a few ebay listings of recent GEC releases that are priced at the original dealer price and so far no takers. For example there are # 35 Churchill knives at original price on ebay and at some dealer sites. However many of the 'older' releases still sell at multiples of original price. As an example here is a #57 from 2010 with horn handles that just sold for $440 four days ago.
I think the GEC 'craze' continues, not for every GEC knife but for many of the older releases especially those with more rare handles.
kj
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Re: Better than Stocks

Post by gsmith7158 »

I would agree with that assessment Roland. It will be interesting to see what, if anything, catches fire from this point on.
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Re: Better than Stocks

Post by robbobus »

Watching eBay sales can leave a person scratching their head til its shiny bald. I collect mainly GEC knives these days. Mainly Northfield and I click watch on most patterns I like.
There has been a 48 Diamond Jack sfo for sale for $87 for a month plus. Beautiful knife, I have 2 in the dark and 1 in the amber. Tonight a different amber 48 auctioned off for $167.50 with 8 bidders vying for it. As for the bargain priced 48? ::ds::
Another older 2 blade 48 Diamond Jack was up for auction with a start price of $125. Kind of a hedge betting number for the seller and I guess too high for every single collector except me. The last 2 years that knife has brought at least $175 on eBay.
I think its how knives, or anything, is marketed which determines final selling price.
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Re: Better than Stocks

Post by kootenay joe »

"I think its how knives, or anything, is marketed which determines final selling price."
Yes, and for GEC knives much of the 'marketing' takes place in the Traditional forum at BladeForums.
For at least the last 6 or more years number of posts about GEC knives exceed posts on all the other brands. Every new release gets discussed and hyped up in the weeks leading up to availability at dealers. People the post with the knives they scored before dealer sold out which often takes only minutes. It is competitive shopping and all involved want to be a winner so thoughts of how much is being spent are pushed aside in the frenzy to score.
However nothing lasts forever and maybe some of the new collectors are moving on to other traditional knives.
I hope the GEC craze cools a little. Selling every knife within minutes of it's release does not encourage GEC to keep their standards high.
kj
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Re: Better than Stocks

Post by Tsar Bomba »

Just an idle suspicion, but I expect when all is said and done in 2017 we're going to see much higher production runs of all the standard-line knives (with the occasional sold-out short-run SFO, like the #35 banana bone, being the exception rather than the rule). I also suspect certain lines, like the #25 Barlow run, will not display production increases like most of the rest of the new patterns did.

Again, just a W.A.G. but I expect the numbers will bear me out when the production totals are compiled for the year.
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kootenay joe
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Re: Better than Stocks

Post by kootenay joe »

"W.A.G." ? = Wild Bum Guess ? Warts Are Growing ??
Increase production numbers ? or, increase price ? most likely some of both.
I think what is most needed is for Queen to really get their act together. Their recent knives look outstanding, very attractive but the blade grinds work best on butter. If they can finally do blade grinds that cut with ease right out of the box, then GEC will have serious competition.
I think GEC needs some stiff competition to avoid complacency and a decline from the high standards they have established.
kj
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Re: Better than Stocks

Post by Tsar Bomba »

kootenay joe wrote:"W.A.G." ? = Wild Bum Guess ? Warts Are Growing ??
Could be both, depending on context. :lol:

My hopes for Queen to put some overall market pressure on GEC in both standard-line and high-end offerings persist, and I do believe the Daniels have done a tangible job correcting some of the QC problems and general malaise of the brand, but I don't know if it's happening fast enough or generating enough excitement among twice-bitten dealers to overcome old negativity (more than one of the major GEC first-run dealers have publicly groused about negative experiences -- plural -- with Queen over QC, delivery, or other issues).

Queen's 2017 catalogue does have a large number of breathtakers but that's when the cost analysis kicks in and I think right now people are choosing GEC for their premium production knife dollars. The status quo isn't always easy to maintain, however. If GEC's QC gets spottier and Queen continues to improve, there could easily be an inversion in the market.
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Re: Better than Stocks

Post by kootenay joe »

Greg, your observation that the GEC 'rush' might be cooling off seems to be the case. I just watched three #48, all recent 2017, 2 with excellent Stag & 1 with Jigged bone, CC SFO. Sold at $72, $79 & $97; i.e. new current production all selling for below dealer selling price. Have not seen this for years.
And a new Northwoods Lincoln Jack with burlap Micarta that was fetching very high prices now just sold at $150 which is close to price from dealer.
This might be a temporary post 'Black Friday' burn out effect or a sign that the market for GEC knives is getting close to fully saturated.
Let's keep watching and see which way the GEC secondary market goes. Even if it is tending down i think certain patterns with certain handles will continue to get high prices.
kj
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Re: Better than Stocks

Post by Tsar Bomba »

kootenay joe wrote:Greg, your observation that the GEC 'rush' might be cooling off seems to be the case. I just watched three #48, all recent 2017, 2 with excellent Stag & 1 with Jigged bone, CC SFO. Sold at $72, $79 & $97; i.e. new current production all selling for below dealer selling price. Have not seen this for years.
And a new Northwoods Lincoln Jack with burlap Micarta that was fetching very high prices now just sold at $150 which is close to price from dealer.
This might be a temporary post 'Black Friday' burn out effect or a sign that the market for GEC knives is getting close to fully saturated.
Let's keep watching and see which way the GEC secondary market goes. Even if it is tending down i think certain patterns with certain handles will continue to get high prices.
There might be something to this, kj. I managed to snag a sheepsfoot TC Barlow in ebony just this week for what I figure is a hair above what a new run of TCs would cost retail right now. Seems like a year ago this knife would have sold for a minimum of $200 on the secondary market within days of release. A jigged bone variant from the same run (2015 IIRC) went for a little more than I wanted to spend, a shade north of $150, but that seems to be trending slightly down too. I imagine stag handle material and the "exotics" will be the last to suffer any price drops.

Charlie, commission that camel bone 2-blade one-armed TC Barlow ASAP before prices start slipping!
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