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Post by Deleted on Nov 27, 2009 19:47:08 GMT
You see, that's the main issue. Not every vendor has the mark up to allow a lot of discounting. Now, the cumulative discount is a good idea, but hard to put into practice through sites like paypal (Hell, I had to ask Wiwingti how to give my SBG people their discount, and it's still iffy). But hopefully there are some ideas in this thread for consideration. (BTW 25% profit is more than many vendors get on most items.)
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Post by Deleted on Nov 27, 2009 19:54:30 GMT
I checked them out too... I have started to dislike Windlass for a while now, idk why, but it is wierd because my dislike for them is proportional to to love I have from my CMS, but I think the fact that I have to clean up dirty "dandruff" off of the blade every now and then is annoying... Whats a CMS? I know about the white powdery 'dander' from windlass scabbards, annoying. CMS=Classic Medieval Sword maybe buy a sword over $200 you get a free design on the pommel or you get a frog free or the fighter belt free,or something like that... idk, I'm not too good when it comes to marketing.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 28, 2009 4:32:32 GMT
Sorry for getting back so late. We did alot today and visited with some family. I did go to MRL and scope out their sale:
We were the first people there, we got there 15min early and they already had the front doors open. Walking in, we took a look around:
Much of the stuff there was the same old, same old clearnace stuff. Alot of it was crap that did not sell at the April Clearnace Sale. It's no secret that MRL has Windlass turn out ALOT of big, heavy, unsharpened swords with chrome plated hardware that they try to sell for $50-$75 that are the equavalent oversized ring-pommels, claymores, and viking blades. These things are FUGLY, but they had tables filled with them (just like at the Spring Sale). They also had up the obligatory close out clothing items, knives, daggers, and other odds and ends that have not/will not/would not sell for some reason or another. Alot of this stuff is just really cheaply made - so it will be there for years to come.
My favorite part of these sales is always the returns/damaged swords bin. I have gotten some steals out of that beat up wooden crate over the years (they have been using the same 4'x4' shipping crate for like 20 years to toss this semprini into). It's all stuff that was damaged in shipping or returned by customers. You need to wear a maille shirt digging through the damn thing, alot of the stuff in there does not have scabbards and some of it is sharpened. I started raffling though it, taking stuff out and laying it on the floor to get to items deeper in the crate.
On thing that struck me was of how many of the Beowulf sword was in the box. Clearance priced at $99, this Migration Period sword looks good from a distance, but every single one of them (we counted 8) in the crate had the ring broken off. The hilt is made of pot metal which apparently just shatters under stress. If anyone owns one of these, I would not suggesting doing any cutting with it. The pommel and guard are liable to break.
I found one item of interest. It's the old MRL/DT version of the sword of St. Visconti. I have seen it produced under different names a couple times, but this was the really old version - a relic from the mid-1990s. This one was red with rust for years of storage and the steel underneath was completely black. The scabbard was in good shape, as was the sword (sans rust) - the thing still rang like a church bell. It was marked $90, but I knew from the rust I could get it for cheaper. It rang like a bell. I grabbed one of the Indian guys and asked him how much. He told me $60.00 and I agreed. He took the sword, stuck a sticker on the pommel with the new price, and gave it back to me.
I looked at a few other items they had hanging behind the counter. They had a number of discontinued pieces on display, just not for the discontinued sale prices. They had one of the Two Handed Falchions ($189), a Sword of St. Michael ($229), a German Bastard Sword ($229), and lastly, my favorite Windlass sword of all time, a Higgins Museum Armory Sword (designed by Ewart Oakeshott years ago, based on a sword at the Higgins Museum). I inquired about the Higgins, because when they closed that sword out back in 2003, they were only wanting $89 for them. The guy tells me $329! I blew a head gasket!
"Dude! That sword was closed out years ago for $89! What the hell? I'll give you $150 for it."
He laughingly refused my offer and said that it was not a closeout. It was part of their new Museum Line and that it was being re-released. The Higgins I was looking at was a new one (supposedly). I was excited at the prospect of getting my hands on another Higgins, but there was no way I was going to spend $329 on a MRL sword EVER, especially not when I can get a Hank Reinhardt collection Windlass for the same price.
Anyway, I just picked up the MRL/DT Visconti sword and got out of there. When I got home, I took off the rust and gave it a good wipe down with some oil and a grey Scotch Brite pad. I left alot of the natural dark patina on it, because it just looks cool as hell and I do this treatment to alot of my swords anyway to make them look older. I made a frog for it, riveted it into a simple baldric and boom - done. For $60, its a really nice hand and a half sword that is completely functional and solid.
I had hoped to find more, but to be honest, just as I suspected, it was the same old bullsh*t - 99% junk, 1% diamond in the rough. I don't feel jilted by my trip, because I got the Visconti sword; but I wish I could have found some other odds and ends for projects over the winter! ;D
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Post by Deleted on Nov 28, 2009 5:57:06 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Nov 28, 2009 14:45:03 GMT
Odingaard, that sounds like a good day out really. The 1% diamond in the rough definitely makes it worth the trip and who wouldn't want to dig through barrels of swords all day.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 28, 2009 15:29:45 GMT
Agreed; that's gotta be the equivalent of shoe shopping for women. Well, some women. We have real women here, and they'd be diggin thru that barrel too; probably after the shoe sale tho. lol
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Post by YlliwCir on Nov 28, 2009 15:40:50 GMT
Hey, I like shoes. I got more than fifteen pairs.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 29, 2009 17:07:42 GMT
I have decided to do free sharpening on all DSA and Windlass swords. Also, I have another plan up my sleeve, to be announced shortly.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 30, 2009 21:00:14 GMT
Hey, I like shoes. I got more than fifteen pairs. Well now, that's 10 more pairs than I got, but about 160 less than what the wife's got. lol
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