How much to charge for your leather goods?

[chuck123wapati]

24 minutes ago, Frodo said:

it takes a total of apex 3 hours to make a belt

materals to make a belt

are 20 for the leather

10

for consumables

 

that $30

 if you bend over for the pressure and sell your belts for $40  you are accepting $3.33 an hour for your labor and zero for your overhead 

 

You will not be in business long

it couldn't have taken over 15 minutes to make that plain 115 dollar belt shown on the site, with almost no technical leather knowledge or experience.

pre dyed pre cut strap and a clicker press.

 

[Klara]

21 hours ago, SUP said:

Websites can be created and maintained without much expense. See, WordPress and AEM are two of several  Content Management Systems...

But who creates the content? As @ToddW says, perfect photos and well-written texts are essential and don't come cheap. Either in money, or in time, if you do it all yourself (few - if any  - people have equal skills in leatherwork, photography, writing, IT and social media).

So I really couldn't say whether the prices on tannergood's site are "fair" regarding their overhead. Neither do I know whether they actually sell at these prices. I do know that I wouldn't pay them...

[Klara]

14 hours ago, Frodo said:

it takes a total of apex 3 hours to make a belt

Not the simple ones. I've seen Seb make them: Cut a strap from the hide (already dyed and finished), square off one end, punch the hole for the buckle prong, rivet the buckle to the end, cut and rivet a keeper (no skiving), wait for a customer, measure the belt on them, cut off the surplus (free hand), punch the holes. About 10 minutes altogether, mostly done during the market while waiting.

 

[Handstitched]

 

14 hours ago, TomE said:

I am enjoying the collective wisdom and experiences of the commenters (commentators?) in this thread.  Lots of good insights.  Thanks for sharing your thoughts. 

Yup  ...and I've run out of peanuts, doh !! 

HS

[Frodo]

25 minutes ago, Klara said:

Not the simple ones. I've seen Seb make them: Cut a strap from the hide (already dyed and finished), square off one end, punch the hole for the buckle prong, rivet the buckle to the end, cut and rivet a keeper (no skiving), wait for a customer, measure the belt on them, cut off the surplus (free hand), punch the holes. About 10 minutes altogether, mostly done during the market while waiting.

 

Yes Ms klara you are 100% correct

if you are using pre died leather that is pre cut and burnished

I guess I a just an old fart ‘cause burnishing by hand (most events do not have power)  would gobble up that 10 minutes.  Some people do not burnish I dunno why but thats ok

hey Gimmie some of that popcorn stop being stingy

[chuck123wapati]

16 hours ago, Tugadude said:

I could be wrong but I don't think the sort of folks that will pay $175.00 for a leather belt are shopping at Harbor Freight.  I'

lol you would be surprised, every morning i go to Walmart the lot is about half full of $300,000.00 motor homes, they camp there for free, use the shitters in the morning so they don't stink up their rides then buy their food and drive on to the next one. Some rich folks are just as cheap as the rest of us.

[chuck123wapati]

2 hours ago, Klara said:

But who creates the content? As @ToddW says, perfect photos and well-written texts are essential and don't come cheap. Either in money, or in time, if you do it all yourself (few - if any  - people have equal skills in leatherwork, photography, writing, IT and social media).

So I really couldn't say whether the prices on tannergood's site are "fair" regarding their overhead. Neither do I know whether they actually sell at these prices. I do know that I wouldn't pay them...

does the consumer care how much the advertising costs or if the maker can or cant do it themselves? should they be expected to pay more for a belt because a person chooses to have a higher overhead, due to that makers perceived needs of better advertising than the next guy?

 

[chuck123wapati]

17 hours ago, Tugadude said:

I could be wrong but I don't think the sort of folks that will pay $175.00 for a leather belt are shopping at Harbor Freight.  I'm not trying to be argumentative, but I do think we need to be realistic. 

There's a fairly well-known leather wallet maker who apparently sells a lot of product and to me, the pricing is well above the value.  I'm not going to give any more details because it isn't important who it is, just that it is an example.  But, and there's always a but, he has cultivated a following of sorts, a customer base and he likely gets repeat business and word of mouth referrals.  His product is certainly unique.  I can imagine when you pull the wallet out, some will ask about it.  I would never criticize him for his pricing.  He makes a product, puts a price on it and then the consumer evaluates it and purchases it.  Both are happy.  Works for me.  

Now, if the person were to buy the product and find that it wasn't what they expected and/or they felt mislead or something, now we have a problem.  

That doesn't seem to be the case.

There always are and will always be companies that successfully sell a product for way more than makes sense.  Rolex is one, Hermes is another.  Not picking on them, they just came to mind.  

I believe i know of whom you speak. He has a good hustle, it s an honest hustle and he does it well. He doesn't really sell the wallets so much as he sells a perceived "minimalist" way of life. But he makes that clear and his wallets are exactly what he says they are. 

[jrdunn]

1 hour ago, chuck123wapati said:

lol you would be surprised, every morning i go to Walmart the lot is about half full of $300,000.00 motor homes, they camp there for free, use the shitters in the morning so they don't stink up their rides then buy their food and drive on to the next one. Some rich folks are just as cheap as the rest of us.

Where is that "like" button?

[Tugadude]

Last comment on this.  Branding is something that you either get or you don't.  You can purchase a great "polo" shirt at a discount store for $25.00 or a similar one with a genuine "Polo" , Ralph Lauren logo on it for 2 to 3 times the price.  And then you hope someone notices it when you walk in the room.  That is something that has always existed and always will.  Call it "putting on airs" or what you will.  

But there are also genuine reasons why some folks are drawn to a brand.  And they will often pay more for it.  I do it myself.  There are two, small "mom and pop" brands that I'm a big fan of.  One is a soap company, the other is a watch company.  I just dig the owners and what they are trying to do.  They are growing their businesses while providing great value to their customers.  Both are growing through repeat business and the word of mouth of happy customers.  I can get the products cheaper elsewhere, but choose not to.  Makes me feel good to be part of their success even if they don't notice me.  I don't think I'm alone in this.  Not everyone buys the cheapest stuff they can.  At least not all the time, or for everything they buy.  Not when it matters.  

Things only need to make sense to the consumer.  There's lots of examples I could cite where I question why people do what they do.  In the end it really doesn't matter.  They'll keep on doing it regardless.

 

Edit:  This is really, really the last comment on this.  

When it comes to pricing, what are you competing with and what do you HOPE to be competing with?  Are you just selling a leather wallet?  Folks, especially the uneducated ones, can buy those all day long for pennies.  Or are you selling your brand, which just happens to be on a wallet.  There's a difference.  Some will pay for the brand, even if it is on a lesser quality product.  Because it has the brand.  

So when you market your goods are you building a brand, or are you just offering commodities, with no differentiation whatsoever?  Your choice.  

Seems to me those who build a brand often yield greater profit margins.  

Edited June 9, 2023 by Tugadude