What would you do?

[Mike516]

I make leather dog collars and did a show probably 10 years ago.

I made a bunch of collars for the show and had about 50 or so left over afterward.

Now I have a friend who wants me to vend at an event he’s having, but normally I don’t carry inventory. Everything I make is custom made to order. So the only collars I have are the ones from 10 years ago in a tote on  a shelf. They’re all veg tanned, stained and mink oiled then put in the tote.

The last thing I want to do is sell something that’s going to have issues, so I was figuring on just remaking a bunch of collars to sell and scrapping these old ones.

Am I being over cautious? Should I sell the old collars or do you guys think they’ll crack or have any other issues? If there’s any chance they won’t be perfectly fine I won’t sell them. I also hate to throw them away. Maybe I should donate them to an animal shelter.

Thoughts?

[Tugadude]

I think you are being overly cautious.  Give them a good "going over" to make sure everything looks good and sell them.  

[Dwight]

15 minutes ago, Tugadude said:

I think you are being overly cautious.  Give them a good "going over" to make sure everything looks good and sell them.  

I agree completely.  Clean em up . . . inspect em . . . sell em.

May God bless,

Dwight

[Mike516]

Ok, thanks guys.

Maybe I’ll oil then real good too.

All the best.

[TomG]

What the others said. Properly treated and stored leather last many, many years.
I have a bunch of belts that i friend let me have and they have been in storage about 15 years. Still good as new.
Since you used Mink Oil Paste, I'd use that to give them a fresh coat.

 

[Ferg]

I wouldn't take the old ones without checking them over for possible mold or mildew.

But Heck Yeah I would take them. Vintage sales! LOL

Ferg

[fredk]

  All that. Check them all over carefully and sell them. I still have some 'medieval' style kit made about 15 - 17 years ago at least which I still take out to selling pitches - when I can get out that is. Looked after that leather stuff will last a whiles

[sbrownn]

10 hours ago, Mike516 said:

I make leather dog collars and did a show probably 10 years ago.

I made a bunch of collars for the show and had about 50 or so left over afterward.

Now I have a friend who wants me to vend at an event he’s having, but normally I don’t carry inventory. Everything I make is custom made to order. So the only collars I have are the ones from 10 years ago in a tote on  a shelf. They’re all veg tanned, stained and mink oiled then put in the tote.

The last thing I want to do is sell something that’s going to have issues, so I was figuring on just remaking a bunch of collars to sell and scrapping these old ones.

Am I being over cautious? Should I sell the old collars or do you guys think they’ll crack or have any other issues? If there’s any chance they won’t be perfectly fine I won’t sell them. I also hate to throw them away. Maybe I should donate them to an animal shelter.

Thoughts?

I think you should donate some to the animal shelter and give the rest away.

[Sheilajeanne]

I have a leather dog collar that belonged to my first German shepherd, which I adopted in the 1980's. It is still in good shape. I would check them out and sell them.

Collar has been used by multiple dogs since I first purchased it. 

[Klara]

Given that the whole point of using leather in the first place is that it will last a lifetime, the collars should be good to sell if they pass your inspection. 

The only exception would be if your skill has increased so much with 10 years of experience that they are not up to your current standards. And even then you might decide to sell them at a reduced price. Or not...

 

[Mike516]

All good advice and much appreciated.

Thank you everyone.