Selling knives

Keith Willis

Keith Willis

Well-Known Member
I have sold a lot of knives, and most have been sold on one website. I was wondering, besides selling to locals and
those that are sold by word of mouth, what is a good website to sell knives on. Just checking around to see where you guys are selling?

God bless
 
Right now the social media sites are hot for selling knives. Personally I think its all in the approach..... for me its more about posting pics of things that I'm doing in the shop, and then letting folks contact me.....rather then slapping some FOR SALE photos up there.

Today's knife market is considerably different then just a few years ago. Then it was all about performance, but more and more I am seeing that buying decisions are being made more on "cool factor" and "the name on the knife". Its what I call the "Rockstar" era of custom knives.
 
Ed
Since you are a "Rockstar" knifemaker, that should be working out pretty well for you.

Wallace
 
Social media like Face Book has groups. Join 2 or 3 of them. Ed is right about the method to use. It is better than any websites I'm on.

Be sure to read the rules for the group and pinned post. You need to follow their rules or the admins will ban you.

Joining and just replying won't do anything for you. WIP sets of photos featuring the finish work as the first photo works best for me.
 
Since you are a "Rockstar" knifemaker
Click to expand...

To quote my favorite Christian comedian, Tim Hawkins..... I'm No Rockstar! Far from it! :) I'm certainly NOT one of those makers who can hold lotteries at their table, just for the opprotunity to buy a knife....... I'm one of those who just hopes to sell enough to cover my show expenses. :)
 
EdCaffreyMS said:
..... I'm No Rockstar! Far from it! :) I'm certainly NOT one of those makers who can hold lotteries at their table, just for the opprotunity to buy a knife....... I'm one of those who just hopes to sell enough to cover my show expenses. :)
Click to expand...

It's all in your perspective, Ed, you're a rockstar to a lot of us. I'm more like a 5th grader who was just handed a trumpet for the first time.
 
I'm more like a 5th grader who was just handed a trumpet for the first time.
Click to expand...

Oh my Gosh! That is so GOOD! Can I use that one?

To the other thing....if thats how some of you see me, then I am certainly humbled and honored, but I'm no different then anybody else. I stumble and fall far more then I succeed, and its only by God's Grace that I'm able to do anything. For as long as I can recall, my biggest fear in knifemaking has been to be thought of as "too big for my breeches". Whenever I get that thought in my head of "I'm good", I pull out the first knife I ever made, and remember where I came from. :) I truly believe the quote in my signature line..... "Nobody cares what you know....until they know you care"..... meaning that I always do my best to show folks that I care about them, and treat them as I would want to be treated. And I would hope that if I ever come off as snobbish or big headed, please tell me...and put me in my place! :)
 
Ed, I'm not trying to blow smoke or anything else. But you should know how much you are appreciated. I have been a lurker on knife boards for a very long time as a knife afficianado. I only joined this site once I actually began making knives so that I could ask questions. It seemed like no matter what I searched, the results kept bringing me back to Knife Dogs and your posts were front and center when it came to finding the information I needed. So, I joined the site. There have been a lot of guys on this site that have helped me tremendously, and most will never even know it because it may have come from something they posted years ago- but the information has been invaluable to me.

So, while you are here and I have the chance for once- let me say that I appreciate you very much.

And Anthony's "I'm more like a 5th grader who just got handed a trumpet for the first time" line is perfect. I can't tell you how much I relate to that.
 
I agree, the internet sure has changed how things are sold for sure! I am just a beginner and most of my customers are not knife collectors. Which is really neat because they are kind of on this journey with me in exploring this world of knives. There are so many different levels of knife makers it is funny. But it isn't always the best knife that sells. I have said many times running a business has only a small part to do with the actual work. There are some very talented people struggling and others with little talent that are successful.( I hope not to fall in either of them categories) Ecc 11:9 I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.
 
A very fine knife making friend whom I'm helping to get into making liner locks suggested he could help me get started in Face Book. He claims it is simple enough to navigate that even I should be able to manage it. I believed he was sincerely trying to find me a place that might allow me to find a sale or two but didn't realize there could be more than that. Any suggestions as to an approach? Perhaps just get started, with help, and then go slow? Thanks.
Frank
 
We have more makers than buyers here at KD's and while that's great to have our community to share and learn from each other at, but as has been mentioned, reach out to other sites, Post some of your work. I've gotten emails because a potential buyer saw me sharing with a newer maker and liked how I was being helpful to another person.

And stay out of the controversy/Drama on all sites. I learned that the hard way!:34:
 
And stay out of the controversy/Drama on all sites. I learned that the hard way!
Click to expand...

Laurence, better words were never spoken!!!! I really try very hard to stay away from controversy myself and only seldom will I put in info contrary to posted wisdom.

KenH>
 
Agree. Instagram has been a blessing for me. I haven't tried facebook as I've been told they ask you to "promote" your posts where as in the past something you posted would be seen by everyone automatically. Sort of asking you to pay to solve a problem they've artificially created. Might not matter if you're joining groups.
 
I would like to try instagram myself. I see a lot of folks using Facebook for knife sales these days and it seems to work rather well. Frank in our area perhaps try kajiji ? Ive heard its a good place to sell knives.
I set up an ebay "shop account" but havent used it yet. I have about 15 orders for knives but I dont have a single "sales" bone in my body so I never brought up the subject of pay for my work. I tend to just give them away :p It infuriates my girl friend to no end lol
 
Ive sold very little on facebook but made some of the best friends a guy could ever ask for, met my fiance and learned a ton so i love facebook lol. Just started instagram so wish me luck
 
Something that's helped me sell a lot on FB is by posting lots of WIP type pics and talking about the knife making process. People seem drawn to that. I follow other knife makers on FB, and most of them just post finished pics and a note that it's for sale. I don't see them getting much feedback. By making people feel like they are part of the process, I get a lot of feedback. I treat FB like... well... "Social" Media. Like being in a big room of people who are all doing their own thing. But if you start an interesting conversation people join in. A person's FB feed can only follow so many people. People will unfollow posters who aren't interesting. People want their news feed to be filled by interesting and exciting things. I get the most hits from people when I post simple pics- very simple. Like me hand sanding a blade and a little blurb about "this is what hand made means" or something to that effect. People love craftsmanship. They love to see the process, whereas a pic of a finished knife looks just like any other knife at the store to someone who isn't normally a knife person.

I personally don't talk price on FB. I tell people to PM me if they want to discuss. That also forces people into direct interaction with me rather than scrolling past my posts like they were catalog ads. Facebook is a huge tool if you treat it like networking and not just a place to post ads for knives for sale.

Hey, I'm the rankest of newbies. I'm not trying to tell anyone how to do business. I only wanted to share some personal experiences about the success I've had as a totally unknown maker using FB.
 
Last edited:
Selling on Instagram still kind of stumps me. I've only been on there a short time, but no one has even remotely implied interest in buying from me through that service. I notice Justin and some other makers are using the # symbol to link to all kinds of stuff, but I haven't figured that part out yet. Need to find a teenager to explain it to me I guess. FB, on the other hand, is where I generate almost all of my sales. I don't have thousands of friends on there, but when you sell to somebody and they share with their friends it opens up your customer base exponentially. The last knife I sold was to someone across the country that I did not know, but he found me through mutual friends. Crazy.

I think good photography is one of the most important tools on any of these sites. I'm not very good at it, but I really think good pics cause people to slow down and take a look. Some makers post pics that make their work look really amateur. Unlike John, I do share prices freely. I think it keeps the tire kickers from bothering you so much and gives people an idea of how custom knives are priced.
 
Good point on pricing. The reason I haven't posted prices is because, frankly, I did not want to paint myself into a corner.

I started by covering my cost of materials and consumables. Then I raised it to double that. Then I raised it three times that, then bumped it again. I would much rather make less knives for more money than to spend every waking moment churning out knives. This "hobby" has taken control of my life, but I still have a day job. I want to make my knives, not be a knife manufacturer.

I'm a much better maker than I was six months ago and I'm finally past the uphill part of the curve where I needed to sell the current batch to afford materials for the next batch. Now that I'm over the hump, I don't want to be the cheapest guy in town because I am past the point where I feel like I need to give my work away to get my name out there. I've been going to knife shows and comparing where I am to what I see for sale and I think there's some room for me to go up. I also think it's time to get a bit fancier with my knives, now that I have the skill set to do so. That is also going to push my prices up.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top