The Valors have disappeared from the 2019 Dan Wesson catalog .The ECP and TCP with aluminum frames are the "new" 1911. Stainless frames still remain in the Specialist and Wraith platform, and the Pointman.
CZ 75, Shadow and Accushadow still remain in the Steel frame category.
My LGS is a very large CZ/Dan Wesson dealer. Picked up a case hardened Valor and a Valkyrie blem at really good price.

The Valor "was" the best 1911 in the Dan Wesson lineip. I don't understand corporate thinking.

According to ATF, CZ NY sold 8,261 firearms in 2017.

Compare those numbers to Kimber and DW is barely in the game.

How sales are driving product offerings is known only to CZ management. We can only speculate. As consumers we often have a skewed view of what will sell. We confuse what we like with what will actually sell.

To be so universally praised, DW sells darn few guns it seems to me. My hunch is that the sweet spot for volume sales is in the $700-$950 range.

I think DW is going the route of many manufacturers and will begin to offer a red dot capable line of pistols that will have various mounting plates. Currently there are no offerings from DW for a pistol that can readily accommodate a RDS. Walther does the various plates and Nighthawk with its recently introduced IOS system. And of course Sig has now introduced its own line of pistols with removable mounting plates.

Lesser known, but I think the price is the problem.

Just a little too much to bring in the majority of 1911 buyers, first time owners etc, but not "High end" or boutique brand sex appeal enough to bring the higher price/clientele. So they fall into a narrow gap.

The Valor is a stupendous gun but at our best we might sell two in 12 months. The buyers who are willing to spend over $1k for a pistol are sadly few and far between. Appreciating fine quality and having the resources to take it home don't necessarily go hand in hand. We see the same with CZ's Shadow lineup as well, but there CZ has their standard pistols to offset the small volumes that the Shadows sell at.

That said, I just ordered some PPQ Steels for the shop. We'll see how long those take to sell...

quote:

According to ATF, CZ NY sold 8,261 firearms in 2017.

Got a link? I cannot find production totals that recent. The last I saw, Wilson was making over 5000 guns a year. A hundred a week and they get called "custom."

quote:

Originally posted by Jim Watson:

quote:

According to ATF, CZ NY sold 8,261 firearms in 2017.

Got a link? I cannot find production totals that recent. The last I saw, Wilson was making over 5000 guns a year. A hundred a week and they get called "custom."

https://www.atf.gov/resource-center/data-statistics

Scroll down to "Annual Firearms Manufacturers And Export Report"

Here in Virginia, DWs tend to keep their value (used sell for 'maybe' $10 less than full retail) and local gun stores certainly charge MSRP...

I would love to have a DW, especially a Valor, but something cheap inside me always wants a bargain and my OCD won't let me realize DWs are probably a bargain at their asking price.

quote:

Originally posted by SteadyHand:
Here in Virginia, DWs tend to keep their value (used sell for 'maybe' $10 less than full retail) and local gun stores certainly charge MSRP...

I would love to have a DW, especially a Valor, but something cheap inside me always wants a bargain and my OCD won't let me realize DWs are probably a bargain at their asking price.

I got mine at a NoVA brick and mortar LGS, foe $900 or so. I snapped it up and sold my Sig Fastback carry to finance it.

Here in Canada DW prices are all over the place. For some reason the "LASD" Specialist models started showing up here last year. I picked up a .45 and then a 9mm a few months later but you really had to shop around as dealer "A" would have the same pistol as dealer "B" at double the price.
I have been really happy with both pistols and just ordered a Guardian in 9mm.