StM prices

[AndrewH]

I bought a couple of StM sabre blades from Absolute yesterday, cost me $28 each. About 6 months ago, I paid $22 for the same blades. Is that just markup, or are blades really getting that much more expensive across the board?

[Purple Fencer]

It's probably a reflection of changes in the value of the dollar, although it affects the Italian stuff more than the Russian.

You also have import duties to consider, and if those went up for your vendor, they may be passing that along.

Also, if they're the colored blades, those cost a couple of bucks more to begin with.

[Beloit Fencer of Old]

One possibility is the slow increase in costs to consumers as manufactuers begin to pass on their own increased costs.

Note that commodity items, which are priced more or less in a "perfect competition" model, such as grains, oil and gold, fluctuate on a continuous basis.

Other items, those with brand identification and differentiation, tend to hold the line longer. Look at the price of a Volkswagen today vs. the price two years ago. The dollar is weaker and energy costs are higher now, both of which cause a Volkswagen's costs to be higher in a USD denomination, but the price of the Volkswagen in USD is roughly the same. How can that be? The manufacturer decided to try to hang on to market share and absorb the increased costs. Eventually, they will increase the prices when other manufacturers (the price setters) do likewise.

So, what goes into the price of a STM blade? Energy, raw materials, transportation, etc. Also, they are produced overseas, so as the USD gets weaker, they require more of them in exchange for each blade.

This is also one of the reasons that foreign auto manufactuers like to build cars in the US. There's less currency risk for those autos they plan to sell in the US if the labor input is based in the US. For this reason, I have suggested a couple of times that someone in the US should purchase a forge from overseas and begin to make blades here!

[Beloit Fencer of Old]

Darn Purp. He beat me to it.

[noodle]

steel costs have also risen greatly due to fuel costs rising.

[jjefferies]

For this reason, I have suggested a couple of times that someone in the US should purchase a forge from overseas and begin to make blades here!

I looked into this along with a gentleman from the old rust belt. The question he was investigating is would it be possible to make a folded metal epee like Leon Paul's. Bottom line then (approx 1 year ago) was that it required pretty high production runs just to get competitive pricing and that means you have to be able to sell those as yet unknown untried blades. And then I asked if he had checked into whether Leon Paul had patented their folded metal blades. I never heard from him again.

Yes it is probably feasible. But the economics rule against it until the dollar has declined considerably more than it has today. Now if you got an established manufacture such as Leon Paul to manufacture in the US and sell into their established distribution network it would probably work. But balance how much disruption of the established supply would be involved versus the actual financial advantage. My best guess is that the dollar would have to sink quite low and stay low for some years before this became financially attractive.

[Purple Fencer]

And then I asked if he had checked into whether Leon Paul had patented their folded metal blades.

They have...you can find it on the US Patent site (I used to have the papers, in fact)

[SJCFU#2]

I have suggested a couple of times that someone in the US should purchase a forge from overseas and begin to make blades here!

I believe someone tried that back in the 80's (anyone remember Heidelberg Fencing and their robot forged blades?).

They didn't last very long.

[Craig]

I bought a couple of StM sabre blades from Absolute yesterday, cost me $28 each. About 6 months ago, I paid $22 for the same blades. Is that just markup, or are blades really getting that much more expensive across the board?

Andrew,

Equipment vendors are seeing quarterly and sometimes more frequent "revisions" in our pricing due to the wholesale steel market and fuel costs. Most vendors wait until the beginning of the fencing season to adjust pricing, so they are adjusting for 4-6 price increases.

Craig

[AndrewH]

Andrew,

Equipment vendors are seeing quarterly and sometimes more frequent "revisions" in our pricing due to the wholesale steel market and fuel costs. Most vendors wait until the beginning of the fencing season to adjust pricing, so they are adjusting for 4-6 price increases.

Craig

Makes a lot of sense as to why the large increase. Guess the lesson is to stock up at Nationals before prices go up!