Leatherman Exchange

[Rich_SD]

I just received an interesting email about Leatherman hosting online resales of used Leathermans. Does anyone have an inside scoop about it?


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[Grant Lamontagne]

I got the same email, and I know nothing about it either.  I do have questions....

Specifically, what is the pricing on older models, and how do you get 110% of a price you made up on the spot?

I mean, if they are using eBay listings, I have a BO Mini brand new in the box that I should get at least a couple of Arcs for.

Or are they going to be like a car dealer and say "Oh yeah, that's only worth half of what you think it is, but I'll give you ten percent over that because I am a nice guy and I really want to make you happy."

 

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

I guess it doesn't matter as it doesn't appear to be available in Canada anyway.   

Def

[Rich_SD]

I looks like the seller sets the price.

[powernoodle]

I'm interesting in figuring out what is in it for Leatherman.

Some wise sage once said that everything Leatherman does always, always comes back to money.

So either Leatherman has a direct, pecuniary interest in The Exchange, i.e., they make money from it directly, or it helps promote brand loyalty and creates good brand vibes and mojo - which also helps the bottom line.

But yeah, I am looking forward (at little bit) to seeing how it works.   

[Grant Lamontagne]

It offsets the high price of newer models.

You may not want to spend $200 on an Arc, but you'll spend the $$ if you get $50 off.

And with the cost of retired Leatherman models on the second hand market they can make that money back out the back side of the building.

Def

[Grand_Banana]

I tried going through the sell function and it looked like you can only select existing models. There were no retired models. Conditions were BNIB, and used down to good. I don’t think you can sell retired models. At least not yet.

[Rich_SD]

I'm interesting in figuring out what is in it for Leatherman.

Some wise sage once said that everything Leatherman does always, always comes back to money.

So either Leatherman has a direct, pecuniary interest in The Exchange, i.e., they make money from it directly, or it helps promote brand loyalty and creates good brand vibes and mojo - which also helps the bottom line.

But yeah, I am looking forward (at little bit) to seeing how it works.   

The seller has two choices how to collect money from the buyer:

 1. Cash - Leatherman keeps 20%
 2. Leatherman Store Credit - the seller has to buy a Leatherman

Both ways, Leatherman makes money. 

Has anyone ever sold anything on eBay?  If so, how much does eBay charge the seller? 

[Farmer X]

Sellers are assessed a percentage based on final sale price and item category. Sometimes there are insertion fees (such as if you set a reserve price). It's been a while since I sold anything on eBay, so I can't give more detail than that.

Seeing as Leatherman gives me a discount and out of production tools aren't eligible yet, I don't think the Leatherman Exchange would be a viable option for me. But I'm curious as to how it will work out in the long term.

[Rich_SD]

out of production tools aren't eligible yet

Someone from Leatherman said they’re working on adding all of the discontinued tools 

[Farmer X]

Well, then. It may be worth a go...unless they're offered at silly prices.

[Grand_Banana]

Well, then. It may be worth a go...unless they're offered at silly prices.

You mean like those several thousand $$ garage and original PSTs on evilbay?  I bet LM would like 20% of that cash  .

[Rich_SD]

Well, then. It may be worth a go...unless they're offered at silly prices.

Since the seller sets the price, I’m sure we will see some silly prices.

[Farmer X]

Well, it may be worth a look. But I won't hold out much hope.

[Richard Zheng]

Based on the wording of some of their recent posts, it suggests that they don't consider a warranty valid for second hand tools.

I know in the past they have accepted them just fine with their warranty, I wonder if their stance will change

[powernoodle]

how much does eBay charge the seller?

It seems to be 13-15%, plus other smaller fees.  So maybe a little bit less than Leatherman, or maybe not.  Depending.   

What I like about eBay is that I can have pretty good confidence in a seller with thousands of sales and a 99% or better rating.  Plus they and Paypal have buyer protection programs.

[ThundahBeagle]

The seller has two choices how to collect money from the buyer:

 1. Cash - Leatherman keeps 20%
 2. Leatherman Store Credit - the seller has to buy a Leatherman

Both ways, Leatherman makes money. 

Has anyone ever sold anything on eBay?  If so, how much does eBay charge the seller?

This...and added traffic to thier site in general, which may translate to a sale.

I was absent here for a while and when I returned I saw a post from DEF about Leatherman now becoming a lifestyle brand like Stanley, with blingy options a d not much new but colors and bling.

I took umbrage with that post but am reconsidering.  This is Leatherman trying to insert itself between private sellers and private buyers like eBay and Craigslist and Faceplant Marketplace.  They want in on that action.  That and selling me a new Wave Alpha and a baseball cap.

At least Leatherman still turns out a good product and is made in USA.  Well, Stanley does, too (minus the made in USA part). They still make classic thermal bottles, food jars, camp cookware, coffee pour overs and french pressee.

I just hope Leatherman never utsources manufacturing to China. Never puts cubit zirconia on any models, and never tries to sell 50 different colors of the same thing...   ...

[powernoodle]

https://www.gearpatrol.com/outdoors/leatherman-exchange/

[Farmer X]

I just hope Leatherman never outsources manufacturing to China. Never puts cubic zirconia on any models, and never tries to sell 50 different colors of the same thing...

Though they seem to be hell-bent on making the 50 different colors thing a reality...

[Rich_SD]

I just hope Leatherman never utsources manufacturing to China.

This is 100% why I don’t fault Leatherman for doing things to generate more revenue.  People like scream “corporate greed” whenever a business raises prices or makes changes, but Leatherman isn’t a charity no matter how many of their tools we purchased.  They could save a fortune outsourcing to China and put 3 sheaths in every package, but that would destroy the brand. If new colorways and expensive knives keeps the company strong, bring ‘em on!

[Farmer X]

They could save a fortune outsourcing to China and put 3 sheaths in every package, but that would destroy the brand.

[Richard Zheng]

They could save a fortune outsourcing to China

Ironically the QC would probably be WAY better

[Rich_SD]

Ironically the QC would probably be WAY better

Leatherman QC is excellent.  It’s just not perfect.

[Richard Zheng]

Leatherman QC is excellent.  It’s just not perfect.

Don't know about that one, chief

My Arc and P2 plier heads are really poorly formed and the casting quality is extremely low.

Meanwhile my $30 bibury tools all have perfectly formed plier heads that are even, have sharp text, and no obvious casting flaws.

I only have a sample size of 4, but other pictures of arc's that i've seen exhibit the same problems

[Rich_SD]

I have literally hundreds of Leathermans, and I haven't had a QC problem yet.... and I'm not that lucky.  If I had unrealistic expectations of perfection, I suppose there are several that I could claim were too tight out of the box or maybe not sharpened enough.      

[Farmer X]

Leatherman QC is excellent.  It’s just not perfect.

I don't think any quality control system is perfect. Even the company whose quality control system I consider to be the absolute gold standard didn't quite get everything 100% right.

[powernoodle]

I have literally hundreds of Leathermans, and I haven't had a QC problem yet.... and I'm not that lucky. 

Yeah I don't know how many I have.  Many dozens, maybe 75 but who knows.  But like you I have yet to see any quality control issues other than the weak scissor spring breakage that was not uncommon with the Squirt PS4.  But that was not an assembly line problem.

And as to so-called corporate greed, I say that's a figment of the imagination.  Every company has a fiduciary duty to maximize shareholder value and dividends.  That's how we get all of these fun toys in the first place.

[Rich_SD]

 

[ThundahBeagle]

This is 100% why I don’t fault Leatherman for doing things to generate more revenue.  People like scream “corporate greed” whenever a business raises prices or makes changes, but Leatherman isn’t a charity no matter how many of their tools we purchased.  They could save a fortune outsourcing to China and put 3 sheaths in every package, but that would destroy the brand. If new colorways and expensive knives keeps the company strong, bring ‘em on!

I can definitely get behind that as long as the quality stays the same and they continue to only manufacture in the USA.  I'm not ready to call this corporate greed, but I sure don't really value a two-tone red and pink Rebar.   Not an orange and brown Bond (which should be called PST3) even IF those were two of my favorite colors

[Sven34]

I just bought my 12-year old daughter a pink/cranberry Bond for Christmas, and a Micra in colors to match the Bond. My 2 older daughters received colored Leatherman Juice models years ago. Since those models are now retired, I very much appreciate entry-level models that are available in colors that appeal to a variety of users.