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Old 07-16-2012, 04:59 PM
rburg rburg is offline
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Location: Kentucky, USA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Duke426 View Post
Given the lack of mass production techniques and 5 year wait time for a new Randall from the maker, how does a certain seller on ebay have literally hundreds of brand new Randalls for sale? Are these knives legit?
Randall has a dealer network. The dealers have regions, and are allocated a set number of knives. Most of these guys have been at it for decades. They do have knives on order, but the shop allows them to change the order when the time comes to build the knife. So if they've got a hot one on the line, they just change the order that goes into production next to what the customer wants, then charge him a premium.

But the other way it works is simple. They know what buyers want and just order it. Its pretty easy to guess what knives are in the greatest demand, and if tastes change they can just change the order. So the shop makes what they ordered a few years ago and ships it to them. They inspect it, then take a picture and stick it on their web site. Its the only practical way to get a knife quick. You pay a modest premium but don't wait any time at all. Everyone is happy.

Those vendors are probably legit. If you have any doubt, call the Randall Shop and ask. You can probably buy the knife you want for within $100 of the stated list price today. Or if you want to wait the 58 months, save the guy the profit. You get the added satisfaction of locking in the price at today's level (but paying half now for something you won't see until 2017. Your choice.

The advantage of buying at a gun show is its a compromise. If you now just what you want for options, you can probably find it at a major knife or gun show. No reason to wait for a standard configuration knife. But knives made with stag handles vary all over the place. Some look much nicer than others. Paying on the spot and carting it off is much better than waiting. I don't even have much confidence I'll be alive in 5 or 10 years. So if I up and croak, call my widow to get pix of my collection. She might even have some spectacular guns you'd want.
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