Saturday, November 10, 2007

UFO on Ebay

Alright, I just listed this UFO on Ebay. It seems like it is the best way to do this since so many want one of these but there will only be a couple available and probably that will be it for the year. Wish I could make dozens of them but they are ridiculously time consuming to make so the numbers are going to be very limited.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180178923201


Thanks for all your very kind words and the many email inquiries and comments on the blog! I sure do appreciate it. :)

38 comments:

Anonymous said...

WOW...

Anonymous said...

Current bid just went off my reach, Good luck to all bidders.

Ziggy said...

I'm all broke-up over it. I've been crying for the past hour.
I've got to quit getting so excited over this stuff.
I'm getting to old and fragile. hehehe ;-)

Super NEAT Peter, You are THE MAN!

now, where did I put my S&H Green Stamps....

Anonymous said...

Nice work of art. But like most works of art, I cannot afford it.

DeanJ said...

Thank you for experimenting with selling on eBay. I hope everything goes great. Scarcity creates value. It is so great that that value will go to the artist, and everyone will have a shot at the art.

Anonymous said...

you need to make more folders!! ;)

myoho said...

....respect!!

for sure a piece of art!

..I bet I speak for many who would love you to create some more of these some time..

..keep up the great work Peter

Anonymous said...

I can't afford it, but I'm soooo excited to see who wins......

Anonymous said...

The UFO knife is Out of this World and So is the price.
You'll need a Rocket ship to catch that one.

Anonymous said...

VERY nice Peter!

Anonymous said...

It looks like everyone will get a chance to purchase an Atwood piece.
Hurray!
Wait a minute I must have lost my wallet on the way to the auction.
Hey can I borrow 700.00 dollars from somebody, I'll pay you back tomarrow?

Anonymous said...

Nice little folder.
How do you make that Hex drive hole into the blade ? Some filework or are you using some special tool for it .

Anonymous said...

Wowsers, That knife isn't even Damascus Steel. Can you image the price if it was Damascus.
That would be a sweet auction to watch.

Anonymous said...

Looks like somebody is back in the folding knife business. $825 right now... and rising... congrats Peter I think you deserve it.

Lately it seems you are dealing with lots of distraught customers. I think you are doing great, I knew the Atwood secret would get out eventually. Stick to your art and we will stick with you.

Unknown said...

Excellent Peter, a Jedi worthy knife!

You've created some fun excitement, everyone gets a fair shot and we'll get to see the artist get paid for his work. Cool.

I'm curious if you have a guess what it will end up at...

alan said...

Love the dao style and the built in hex. But its safe to say that $885 is significantly out of my budget. Congrats nonetheless...

Anonymous said...

I'm thinking that if you can sell the folders for a grand a piece, it might be a good investment to spend a few weeks making some. :)

Congrats, Peter!

stirboo said...

Peter -- Beautiful design. And I'm happy to see you've found a marketplace on eBay where you can realize the full value of your creations.

Does the UFO mark a wholesale departure from keychain tools? Are you going to do more knife design in the foreseeable future?

Best,
Richard

Unknown said...

I am going to agree with the "Art" comments. I don't think I know anyone who could ever bring themselves to actually use an 885 dollar folder.
Obviously these things are the very essence of function but why on earth would you ever dare to utilize something like that. It should simply be put behind glass and admired.
I can only hope that someday I may have something in my pocket that is similar.
It's a paradox this one.

Anonymous said...

P-

Awesome looking folder. I applaud your descision to put it on Ebay. For the past months I havent been fast eneough to get any of your pieces With this one I cant afford it- but Im GLAD I can at least see what youre offering before its gone.

Admiration......sometimes its the little things that make the difference.
Regards,

Ari

Unknown said...

Wow that auction is going nuts! Congrats Peter, I think that this is an outstanding way for people to give their own value to your work.

Anonymous said...

Peter, First off damn nice knife. It looks like a very good user. Looks like you put a lot of work into it.Very very nice work. Just like you always produce. I seen it on your web site,almost broke my finger trying to clik on it and see if it was still in stock. Just to be dissapointed to find out it is on Ebay.It is Monday nite and it is over $900 already about 14 hours to go.Congrats, it will maybe go for over $1000.00
But I am mad I have been going to your web site for over 2 years now. Bought around a dozen or so items from you. And have bought more in the second hand market. I like the fact that was dealing just with you.No dealer no high price store just the maker. I was a little upset when you stopped taking orders. But I do understand that part of it. It was fun going to your web site 10 or 20 times a day to see if you posted anything new.Now I have been a fan for a little over 2 years. But I know that there are lot of other guys that have been buying your stuff long before me. So now all of us have to go to Ebay and try to get your knife. Like the old saying goes. "Leave with the one that brought you". Seems like you forgot about your old customers. I do not buy a lot knives any more. But I have enjoyed buying Peter Atwood tools and knives. Showing them to my friends and they say who! Peter who??. And then telling them about the web site. I guess all of this fame is our fault. You was bound to get famous sooner or later.You do great work and have a artistic eye. Keep up the good work and keep the cool stuff coming. Just please do not for get about us little guys.

Peter Atwood said...

Thanks for the kind words folks. I'm as surprised as anyone that this piece has gone so high and frankly I'm quite humbled.

As far as stopping production of other tools, not to worry. I have plenty of regular items that I am working on and will be posting soon.

Anonymous said...

If I was a bettin' man, I'd say it will easily clear $1,000.00

Cheer up- That will buy lot's of Ti and tools! :o)

CCinPDX said...

Congratulations on the recent eBay sale. To be honest, this is probably the best and most fair way for you to sell your works of art, rather than whoever can click first on your updated website.

Although these prices are way out of my league, I am hopeful you and others craftsmen can see how that unique art is appreciated these days.

Anonymous said...

To be honest the best and most fair way to to sell Peter's Art is "Anyway" he chooses. Who is anyone to tell Peter how he should sell his Art. I am sure Peter would very much like to fair to everyone, and his gesture to post on Ebay was a good idea, but as far as being fair, It's the luck of the draw.

Anonymous said...

Well done Peter, a good eBay auction.
As for being fair to all, as kdog mentioned, that's another story.

A normal guy working 9-5 normal age etc gets a chance to buy your pieces from your website when the legendary 'In Stock' sign appears. This applies to all.

Selling on an auction site viewed by some guy working in the city on big bucks and has discussed with colleagues about your work, soon pushes your work out of the reach of the 'normal guy'.

Does the City Guy really appreciate it, or has it been purchased for the label of 'owning an Atwood - especially the UFO'? and because his wage allows ?

There's a discussion for another time . . . .and theres no jealousy here - I've just witnessed city brokers spending money before. Because they can. . .

Well done none-the-less, great folder. .

Ricardo

Anonymous said...

The Big Money Buffs they probably Bought the knife just to be cool. Just because they can. Hey If you got the flow then you can go, If you don't then too bad I guess.
It's all good but I would definately agree that the "Big Money Spenders" just buy because they can. Hey if I had the flow I would've bought it too.

Anonymous said...

When sellers start selling there knives at the prices the secondary market brings, it is essentially selling out. I hope if more are made, they are more reasonable.

Anonymous said...

Since the interest in the UFO on eBay, has anyone else been checking the amount of Atwood pieces now available ? I keep an eye on it on a bi-daily basis and before saturday there were two (max) a week, now there are 6+.

Has this opened the flood gates for previous owners/purchases to sell on the items ?

Yeah, they may have purchased originally because they appreciate the function,form and originality of the peice, but are they now looking at the cash thesepeices could bring ?
Have the prices now gone up beyond most ?

Anyone with a view ?

Cool
Ricardo

Anonymous said...

Interesting Point, but isn't it true that most art is sold at auctions. Craftsmen are entitled to recieve the maximum someone is willing to pay for the item. It is a very limited piece of work. Maybe the intention was to test the market, and get a feel for how the Art would sell, It's not like the Craftsman is selling every piece of Work on Ebay. This is the first piece I have ever seen, sold by Peter on Ebay. Now the choice comes down to: Do you sit in front of your computer all day and wait for an Atwood piece, just to get one for a lower price or do you go to Ebay and Pay more for an item, so you can have an instant purchase. For me I like just going to his site and taking my chances. But for some they "Want it Now". All in all I do not think "Selling out" is what Peter is doing. I am disappointed that I could not get a hold of this Knife, but I am not accusing anyone of selling out.

Anonymous said...

Peter,

I think that as an artist, you should be auctioning off most of your work. You should be getting the most that someone is willing to pay for one of your pieces. If you have to crank out fewer of the same pieces, you can spend more time being creative and an artist. When the item ceases to be art for you, then find a reputable company and get them to make it for you and sell it at a reasonable price point. Those that need an original atwood can pay the big bucks. Those driven purely by the functionality of these fine little tools can get the licenced copy made by XXX company.

Anonymous said...

You know, it all depends on who he wants to have his crap.

If he wants the average working guy to be able to have his crap, put it on his keyring or in his pocket, actually USE it, etc. then he should sell them on his website for a price the working guy can afford. Not "cheap". Just where he can afford it if he saves up for a couple of weeks.

If he wants some jackass with more money than sense to have it, then BY ALL MEANS, SELL IT ON EBAY. Because that's who will have it. You'll have stock brokers on Wall Street cleaning their fingernails with your stupid knife, "because they can." What do you think about that? Or does it turn out that you're just in it for the money after all, now that you've been on a couple of blogs and gotten more popular?

You see, it doesn't matter what we want. What matters is what Peter wants. If he just wants money, sell the damn things on ebay. If he wants, as I formerly believed, for people of average means to be able to have his creations, then he'd sell them on his website.

We'll see. Somehow, I doubt we'll see anything available on his website for a long time.

Anonymous said...

These tools are at considerable risk of becoming "boutique" items.

With the spectacular price point on the UFO knife and the resulting increase in available items, it would appear so.

Instead of these tools being sought after for their usefulness and practical applications, we see them being sought after for their rarity. Certainly not something you would want to actually use for it's intended purpose, least you diminish it's value.

Congratulations on your Ebay sale, but I hope it is not a indication of the future.

Anonymous said...

>Dan said...

When sellers start selling there knives at the prices the secondary market brings, it is essentially selling out. I hope if more are made, they are more reasonable.<

I don't think selling out means what you think it means.

An artist doing his own thing and then being rewarded for it is not selling out. It's things going right for a change.

Not doing your own thing but doing what the public wants just to get a reward would be more in line with selling out.

Once Peter figures out he can stamp Atwood on the side of a tin can and sell it for 50 bucks on ebay, then you can start yelling about selling out. Until then congratulate him on a good job and a good pay check.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous,
All the "Crap" That you talk about sums up your level of Thinking and use of language. "Crap""

Peter Atwood said...

Some of these comments are way out of line. I will have more of my usual tools on my website in the usual way probably early next week. So calm down, take a deep breath and relax. I am not switching everything over to Ebay or anything like that.

You guys have to realize that I haven't made a folding knife in two years. I only made a couple and Ebay is the only way I can figure to make it fair for everyone to have a shot. You want me to just pick a couple of people and sell the knives to them instead? Would that be more fair?

I am deeply grateful that someone was willing to pay what they did and to be completely honest I did not expect that at all. I thought maybe it would reach $500 and was astonished that it went so high. But instead of being able to enjoy my one really great success this year I have to contend with a lot of hostility here. Seems a little unfair if you ask me.

Anonymous said...

Guys/Gals...

First off, we don't know who bought the UFO. True, It may be a stockbroker who bought it because he can. But it might not be. I can tell you that if I was in a position to bid on that knife right now, and I won it, it would be used along with the other tools I have from Peter and others.

Second, there is no 'fair' way to sell anything! No matter how an item is sold, whether it's the UFO folder or an apple at the grocery store, 'fair' is totally subjective. Who said it had to be fair anyway? No object is worth more than anyone is willing to pay. Clearly, the value of the UFO is high!

Perspective is important- These tools and knives, whether from Peter or anyone else, should be enjoyed, and in my opinion, used. If you don't get one, it's not the end of the world. How many of you are calling Ferrari and telling them their cars are too expensive? Geez- There's just some stuff we can't all have!

I've had the pleasure of meeting Peter. He's not going to stamp his name on a POS tin can and sell it. If this was about money do you not think that he would crank out product like there's no tomorrow?

And calling his work 'crap'? Seriously...

Ben