How to market inherited folding knife collection.

[RickB71]

I just inherited a pocket knife collection including 92 knives held in three protective roll bags. I looked at each one and they are various brand names, all but two were manufactured in China, the other two were Germany and Japan.
I would like to sell the entire lot but not sure of its value or if/where there is a market for them.

HELP, any advice from this forum would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Rick

[kootenay joe]

Rick, the majority of knives made in China are very inexpensive new (under $20) and there is very little market for 'pre-owned' ones even if never used.
There are some made in China knives that are high end and sell for hundreds of dollars.
We need to see pictures of some of the knives to give correct advice. Take pics from directly over head, no flash, outside light is best, blades open and include a note of closed length. If you look around AAPK there are plenty of knife pictures posted so you can see what is needed.
kj

[RickB71]

Thanks Joe.

[orvet]

Joe is right, most of the Chinese knives, even new sell for less than $20. There are a small percentage of Chinese knives, I would estimate less than 3% that are high-dollar knives, that is knife selling for more than $100 each.
Personally, if I had the task of disposing 90 to 100 primarily Chinese knives I would get a table at a flea market, cover the table with the knives and mark them at $5 and $10 each, and hope that I could sell most of them in a few days in a flea market. The downside to that is most flea markets charge you for your space. If the charge is too high and sales are not very brisk, you could end up spending more to sell them that you make from them.

You could try a Knife Show, however the majority of the people that a knife show are looking for older or more expensive knives. As Joe pointed out very few people actually collect Chinese made knives so the people in The Knife Show are less likely to buy them than the bargain hunters at a flea market.

I don't envy you your position even at $5 each they have value. Recouping the maximum value of the group of knives will be difficult. One last thought as you might try selling them in groups of 3 or 6 on eBay for a set price. For example, perhaps three or four knives in a lot, and sell the lot for $25 each. That may get you the best return in the long run and be less labor intensive for you.

[herbva]

As KJ advised you, if you can provide good, close-up pictures, the experts here can advise you if any of them are more valuable than the normal Chinese knives. If you know how to sell on ebay, another approach would be to sort them into smaller lots by style (perhaps 5-10 per lot) and list each lot starting at a low price (i.e. $1) with no reserve and offer combined shipping for multiple wins. I am continually amazed by what people are willing to pay for stuff on ebay.

[Jody744]

Donate some to your local scout troop, much better return than cash, imho

[kootenay joe]

I have more than 92 china made knives. Just in Rough Riders i have about 200. All are very good useable knives with sharp blades. Most were under $20 new and you would need to spend 3-5 times as much to get a similar quality USA knife.
I might be in the same situation as the OP. These are 200 very good knives but few people will buy them at any price.
kj

[Mumbleypeg]

Donate some to your local scout troop, much better return than cash, imho

Great idea! The scout shop might not take them (they’re in business to sell knives and other gear to scouts) but they can put you in touch with the local scout organization who will likely be happy to get them, and distribute them to scouts who will use them. Often they’re housed in the same building. They can probably get you a receipt that can be used for income tax deduction as applicable (I’m not a CPA so check with your tax professional about that).

Ken