"I don' know that RMK needs a lesson in marketing, with a 5-6 year wait, but hey, what do I know."

I THINK a part of the waiting list is based on people who think the ordered knife will be worth more in 5 years. Of course there are also a lot of people who don't know of the existence of dealers. Or they like to order knives on special dates, like their birthday or something.

Meanwhile I see a few dealer sites at this moment with a lot of Randall's for sale.

It wouldn't be good for the price, if by example Randall would double it's production at this moment. The market could get flushed, especially in this time of crisis. Trickling the knives in to the market and keeping them a little exclusive, is what makes people want them even more. Nothing wrong with that and it is a good market strategy (assuming it is one?). It has indeed worked for many years. And by having a back-order list, you never have to hire or fire people when sales go up or down.

But times are changing and since the average age of the Randall collector is 101 you can't only rely on results from the past.

I don't know how many requests Randall gets from people who abused there knives and ask for a replacement, but I can't imagine it being that many. What I meant with marketing strategy is, that having a name as a company with great customer service in itself is great advertising. With the internet one happy or unhappy costumer can have a much greater effect as in days past.