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Post by RambleTree on May 23, 2023 17:12:51 GMT
Hi folks, (This is -not- about Printed Armoury, btw. If they were functionally available, I'd be all over that)
Waiting on the forum Admin to reinstate my Manufacturer and Vendor (M+V) status. If/when that happens, here's the plan:
Guard & Pommel
I was recently approved for a wholesale account with a US distributor - for a line of imported, well made, inexpensive, sharp Euro swords that are suitable for backyard cutting and an excellent base for customization. You all know them - surprisingly well-made blades and strong builds, stainless hilt furniture, weird handle wraps, and 'why did they bother' suspension straps and belts.
Some of these sword models are sold all over the place, sometimes at fair prices, sometimes drastically marked up, sometimes retailed at wholesale prices (which makes me wonder if they're just selling at cost to get people's contact info).
My goal is to use my ecommerce experience, and membership in this community to:
- Sell a concise collection of proven swords from a consistent, reliable distributor. - Provide a basic website with accurate measurements and pictures of what you're getting. - Offer reduced pricing and trusted customer service. - Facilitate things like having your order shipped directly to a grip/scabbard customization craftsperson. - (selling to US customers only, sorry!)
Reduced pricing will be achieved by:
- Using a free hosted website (Google sites) with no bells and whistles. - Avoiding the cost of an integrated shopping cart. - Provide simple instructions to make the transaction via PayPal, and other secure online payments by request. - Not spending money on advertising, or marketplace transaction fees. - Dropshipping from one consistent distributor, to US customers.
Basically, it's me having a wholesale account so you don't have to. I mark it up a reasonable amount for my efforts. Obviously there will be indemnity and age restriction 'by using this site I agree . . .' statements on the site.
Constructive feedback is welcomed - I appreciate this community for enabling my sword habit over the years!
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Post by Sir Thorfinn on May 24, 2023 2:04:53 GMT
I'm in!
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pgandy
Moderator
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Posts: 10,296
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Post by pgandy on May 24, 2023 2:18:38 GMT
Wishing you the best of luck.
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Post by RambleTree on May 24, 2023 15:27:13 GMT
Thanks for the well wishes folks! I hope to be a solid source for decent entry-level beater swords for newcomers, or enthusiasts looking to try out modifications. And, of course, as a gateway to higher-end swords!
If things go well, I may see about getting a wholesale account with a distributor for the Hanwei Tinker line. Although, there are already plenty of reliable businesses selling these at good prices. So, starting with one product line/distributor to start, to keep things simple.
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Post by perignum on May 24, 2023 15:45:05 GMT
Was it Rufus on here who responded to Deepeeka about improving things as a production manager?
Might be an opportunity to get in on the ground floor and corner the market.
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Post by pellius on May 24, 2023 16:24:45 GMT
May you enjoy much success.
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Post by pellius on May 24, 2023 16:24:48 GMT
May you enjoy much success.
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Post by RambleTree on May 24, 2023 16:34:43 GMT
Thanks pellius ! And thanks, perignum for the Deepeeka idea. I don't think I could compete with Kult of Athena on Deepeeka swords. To my understanding, KoA -is- the US distributor for Deepeeka, so they can probably work with the lowest possible margins. I would also want to see a lot more evidence in the market and sword community for Deepeeka swords; about the characteristics I know people want in the specific type/use/price range I aim to serve. Once that sugars off (as we say here in Vermont), I'll take another look.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2023 17:41:50 GMT
RambleTree, I'm a relatively new member and still have much to learn about the general views of this forum. I have collected swords from when Museum Replicas was first founded and have bought Darksword, Windlass, Baluar and tried DeePeeka. I have no experience with any of the much costlier swords, so I just listen to those that own them --
I just wanted to get an idea of what sources you might use. I buy in the $300 to $600 range and have had mostly decent quality from Windlass, Museum Replicas, Baluar and Darksword. I have owned two from Hanwei and two from Deepeeka and am not impressed with either, both Chinese made. Far too many quality issues-
So are you shooting for an affordable sword somewhere in the price range I mentioned, or a little higher? I wish you luck and success, it would be great to have a new source for quality midline swords --John
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Post by RambleTree on May 24, 2023 23:26:52 GMT
RambleTree, I'm a relatively new member and still have much to learn about the general views of this forum. I have collected swords from when Museum Replicas was first founded and have bought Darksword, Windlass, Baluar and tried DeePeeka. I have no experience with any of the much costlier swords, so I just listen to those that own them -- I just wanted to get an idea of what sources you might use. I buy in the $300 to $600 range and have had mostly decent quality from Windlass, Museum Replicas, Baluar and Darksword. I have owned two from Hanwei and two from Deepeeka and am not impressed with either, both Chinese made. Far too many quality issues- So are you shooting for an affordable sword somewhere in the price range I mentioned, or a little higher? I wish you luck and success, it would be great to have a new source for quality midline swords --John Hi John, Thanks for your inquiry. It's a specific product line from a 'no-name' Chinese manufacturer, and nothing new. Once I go live with the shop/website, everyone will recognize which swords they are. The opportunity I'm capitalizing on is: - I've already done a bunch of research shopping for these swords for myself - and realized I can offer some value to other sword Euro sword enthusiasts looking for specific features in a specific price range. - Most retailers don't have, or consistently stock, the complete line. - On many retail sites, these models are haphazardly listed among a wide variety of swords from other manufacturers. - Many retailers have inaccurate stats, descriptions or pics. - Prices are all over the place. - As a customer, it's difficult to discern what you're getting. - Some retailers or marketplaces use pics of these swords, but have questionable sources/quality (i.e. you constantly see this with Ebay sellers, ripping off pictures from various sword manufacturers/retailers - and delivering something else entirely, or cheap copies). So, I'm simply aiming to be a knowledgeable, reliable, competitively priced seller for an existing, entry-level ($200-300) line of swords. Providing value by supplying customers from consistent source, and handling the customer service side. If you're looking for sturdy blades, tangs, decent blade/edge geometry and finish, solidly built - these might work for you. If you're looking for refined blade geometry/handling, nice grips, scabbards, historical looking hilt furniture, etc. - these aren't for you. Of course, that's where people start having fun with modifying entry-level swords. It's the 'meat and potatoes' of these swords that I believe fit a specific niche, for the price. More to come!
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Post by RambleTree on May 24, 2023 23:50:16 GMT
Also, Moderators who have chimed in - I PM'd admin requesting M+V status. Please let me know if this the best way to go about it, or if you have any suggestions. Thanks!
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on May 25, 2023 0:32:02 GMT
Also, Moderators who have chimed in - I PM'd admin requesting M+V status. Please let me know if this the best way to go about it, or if you have any suggestions. Thanks! You are on the right track. However, I suggest you contacting both Gobal Moderators for good measure.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2023 1:45:11 GMT
Sounds good, there are many on the forum that enjoy the swords they can afford. So bring us some new ones to think about. Looking forward to seeing your line ---John
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Post by cerberus1426 on May 28, 2023 16:29:47 GMT
Sounds like a great idea and something that might work out well. When you say your looking it make it easy to customize are you also considering making some different pommels, grips, crossguards etc for people to buy and do themselves?
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LeMal
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Post by LeMal on May 29, 2023 0:19:54 GMT
If by any chance you could make bare blades available that would be huge for some of us. (Ever since the HTs became almost impossible to find, a zillion customization projects have gone by the wayside. And it's galling to both have to pay for hilt parts you don't really want to use--and to disassemble!)
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Post by RambleTree on May 29, 2023 13:42:30 GMT
cerberus1426 and LeMal, I would love to make bare blades, hilt furniture, etc. available. However, that's not the business model for this side hustle. I am not a manufacturer, or even designer. To reiterate and clarify: I will be a retailer for an existing line of entry-level Euro style swords that have relatively good quality blades for the price range. I'll be able to compete with other businesses that are selling these same models by: - Being a sword geek myself, and knowing what info, stats, etc. about the items you all want to know. - Supplying from a consistent distributor. - working on small margins. The trade-off for the low price point is that the 'soft goods' (grips, scabbards) are average to laughable. You get a fair quality blade, on a sword that you can use as-is and it won't likely fall apart . . . Or, you can customize grips, do a bunch of work to disassemble the sword for customization, etc. Disassembly in most cases will involve tearing apart grips and wooden grip cores; softening or chipping away epoxy, grinding off peens, or some combination of the above. As LeMal said, it is galling to pay for stuff you don't use. Our niche of informed sword enthusiasts is a tiny fraction of the market that most production swords are designed for. Most production swords are designed and produced for mass-market consumption; not studied use or ease of customization. The up front cost (time, money, importation, opportunity cost) of working with an overseas manufacturer to prototype, design, test and produce a quality product line - is probably why an individual or business has not come up with a good line of bare blades, and mix-and-match hilt parts so far. We are left with either doing a bunch of customization work ourselves, or going high-end/custom. The closest thing was the H/T bare blades and Printed Armoury parts (which are unfortunately not available). Kult of Athena's latest iteration of Balaur Arms is probably the closest attempt at a knowledgeable seller having input on design/production of swords that meet their customer's desired characteristics - at a relatively low price point. KoA, perhaps in combination with Windlass as manufacturer, are probably the best positioned to create and profit from a line of bare blades and hilt parts that would fit the bill. Windlass/MRL does have their 'Create Your Sword' product - but the options are limited, and not what most of us want. It's easy to say 'they should just offer more options'. The reality of doing that from a business standpoint - multiplies costs and operational complexity in all the steps between market research, product design, manufacturing, inventory management, marketing, selling, and customer service. Those barriers should not prevent it from happening, but they are real factors. Anyway, my $.02 based on spending way too much time thinking about this stuff. Hopefully we'll get there someday, but it's not what this business will be anytime soon. Thanks again everyone for your interest! I'll have my store up in the next couple weeks, and will post it over on the Classifieds > Manufacturers and Vendors board. Cheers
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on May 29, 2023 14:25:12 GMT
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LeMal
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Post by LeMal on May 29, 2023 23:00:00 GMT
Yeah, don't get me wrong, if they're super-affordable tearing off and tossing existing hilts is still eminently worth it. :p I just thought your model might involve a close relationship with the blade maker(s), enough to even get just blades. (Wouldn't even need hilt parts; I make or otherwise source them.) Anyway, if you DO end up with a close relationship with the blade maker(s) in the future, run it by them. Might be easier and more profitable for them, who knows.
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Post by RambleTree on Jun 6, 2023 20:47:49 GMT
Hi Folks, Due to a family illness, I'm putting this product on hold until further notice. I only want to do this when I can devote the time to set it up correctly. Cheers
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Post by RambleTree on Jun 21, 2023 17:09:37 GMT
Officially dropping this project. Thanks for everyone's interest
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