How much to charge for your leather goods?

[Doc Reaper]

3 hours ago, chuck123wapati said:

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. 

I know of only one guy, he rocks at what he does, and I personally would hangout with him because he is a real craftsman and an artist. I see this discussion here is an awesome one. Each of us are craftsmen in our own right (except for the hangouts and pokers with sticks) some of you have seen what another member is fully capable of and we are happy that they are there. If we all agreed on what a particular item should cost then all those items would be identical to the guy that makes em cheaper, leather is not cheap by any means. A set price forces artistic flair to diminish and things become plain and boring. There is a guy that hawks this site, copies items he sees us creat and mass produced that item and he is willing to cut his own throat just so his item is the only thing selling. What a trooper! 
    I was with a customer in my shop, he was wanting saddle bags with a distinct pattern around a tooled character. I told him that I would get it on paper to get his approval and I’d get him a tight ballpark on price. All through this discussion was a young guy taking in the full conversation, but he remained silent and left when I was done with the customer. The following weekend that young guy shows back up with a set of saddle bags that he made and designed just by listening to my conversation with my customer, who happened to be in the shop. My customer purchased those saddle bags from that young guy for $180 and told me to build the ones we had also discussed, a handful of weeks later and I had that customer back in the shop to pick up the bags I built. He had the bags in hand that he got from the young guy, who was also in the shop. Upon comparison it was like holding a Yugo up next to a fully tricked out Abrams tank. The young guy was embarrassed by his efforts to compete with my skills. My customer was blown away just by the craftsmanship, and the artwork was at a whole other level. The young guy stated that it was the difference between a kindergartener and a van Gogh. And yes I charged an obscene amount for my efforts. My customer gave the young guys bags to his daughter that was just starting out riding. Plus the customer stated that he wanted a full set (made a tool bag and a travel bag that slept 4) the young guy became a puppy wanted to learn. 
   What to charge has so many variables that one could start by basic and customary charges but then there are charges that make upgrades what they are. Cheap copycats will always be there! But quality will be there till the end of time

[Klara]

20 hours ago, chuck123wapati said:

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?

 

The customer does not care about the cost of the advertising, but they sure care about the quality. The maker must care about overhead - including the cost for advertising - and factor it into the pricing or he or she will not stay in business. 

If you buy online from a professional-loking website, you'll pay for this website. Or you can take your chances on Etsy. Or you can go to your local arts and crafts market - if there is one - and hope to find there what you are looking for. You may find very similar products in all three places, but probably not at the same price. 

[chuck123wapati]

3 hours ago, Klara said:

The customer does not care about the cost of the advertising, but they sure care about the quality. The maker must care about overhead - including the cost for advertising - and factor it into the pricing or he or she will not stay in business. 

If you buy online from a professional-loking website, you'll pay for this website. Or you can take your chances on Etsy. Or you can go to your local arts and crafts market - if there is one - and hope to find there what you are looking for. You may find very similar products in all three places, but probably not at the same price. 

 

Sometimes they don't care about either, sometimes they care to much about one or the other obviously in this case from the comments not many are willing to pay for his website and advertising at 115 bucks for a strap and buckle so there is a curve which is the point i'm making people will pay for it to a limit.

 So my maybe my question should be how much overhead are people willing to pay for a product or be expected to pay? How much should they be expected to pay for your inability to set up your web site your self all of it , part of it? 

You see we are all consumers personally I don't care what your advertising costs, as you pointed out, that's your problem and I'm not going to pay an exorbitant amount for it. For example I don't and wont buy NIKE tennis shoes, why because they are over priced simple and to the point I am not going to buy their brand just because they have cool commercials on tv. Now they are a BRAND name highly regarded and successful so how much do you think I'm willing to pay unknown Joe Blow for his website and advertising? On the other hand a lot of people do buy from them so are they wrong for being so high priced? is Joe Blow wrong for doing the same thing? Simply put the bottom line is i can buy them at their price or choose not to no matter the reasoning behind any of it.

Now get this the web has thrown us another curve in the quandary, your product can be hated and boycotted instantly due to your political or personal views of life. No other reason, quality doesn't matter, cost doesn't matter, truth doesn't matter any more. What matters is the buzz word you use or the pronoun you use. 

[chuck123wapati]

22 hours ago, Tugadude said:

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.  

Did you ever read about Edward Bernays? and the "torches of freedom"? 

[Tugadude]

6 hours ago, chuck123wapati said:

Did you ever read about Edward Bernays? and the "torches of freedom"? 

No, but I just did.  Interesting.

[Klara]

19 hours ago, chuck123wapati said:

So my maybe my question should be how much overhead are people willing to pay for a product or be expected to pay?

If there was a simple answer to that, there wouldn't be a lot of university courses on the subject and having a successful business would be easier.

Incidentally, I've never bought a Nike product either, but I wouldn't exclude it if I needed something in a running shoe which they did better than other companies. And sadly, I do find myself clicking on the bought ads and positions in Google, Amazon, Etsy and co., simply because it's easy and convenient and I don't always want to spend hours searching for what I need. 

I do draw the line long before $ 114 for a simple belt, though. But I can because I know where to get very similar quality for one third of the price... If somebody is looking for a quick gift, money doesn't really matter and they don't want to do a lot of research, I can see them buying from this website. And I wouldn't call them stupid for it, nor would I begrudge the company the income.

 

[GrampaJoel]

I don’t care so much about the prices.
But the quality for the price is what caught my eye.

here’s a photo from the site. $125.00 wallet reduced to $75.00.

notice the three areas I have arrowed. Stained thread on front of the wallet.
Splitting where the card slots meet the edge.

Messed up sewing on inside at the card slot edges.

I guess it expect more quality for $125.., or even marked down to $75.00.

Joel

 

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