crossdraw rig

[Timbo]

Just wanted to show you a crossdraw rig I made for a friends dad. The holster is not lined but the belt is. What do you think would be a good price to charge for this rig?? Don't know if it matters but I handsew everything, so take that into account if you need to. Also the only finish it has on it is EVOO. The holster is made for an 1858 Remington Navy repop.

Let me know what you think??

Tim

[Timbo]

Nobody??????............I'm thinking around 150.00 for the set.......too much....too cheap???

Looking for opinions of anykind........letter rip tater chip.......I can take it.

Timbo

[Go2Tex]

Ahh yes.... the ol' pricing thang.... yeah, that could be a whole book. In fact, there is a whole book on the subject. And quite a few topics on here about it too. It's not easy. I struggle with it too.

I think you should just charge whatever you feel comfortable charging. What's the end game? Are you looking to build a customer base? Or, just re-coup your costs and a bit for your time? Doing it for fun or profit or both?

Then, you have to consider what you throw into the mix that a customer couldn't get off the shelf for half the price. The hand stitching is wonderful, but is it any better really than a well done machine stitch? I know how much time you spent doing it. That's why I now have a machine.

And most of the buying public is accustomed to seeing the "professional" machine stitched, automated product with perfectly straight cuts, painted edges, etc.... the "one-size-fits-all" cookie cutter stamped out product from Wal-mart.

What would you pay for it? What do they go for on Ebay? I've seen belts alone going for $150. Is it hard or impossible to find a rig for that gun? Well, if so, then you have a custom rig and should set a custom price.

And finally, just how good a friend is he? OK, I just threw that last one in there for laughs.

[Rayban]

Timbo....I'm thinking that if you have to ask how much it's worth, it means to me that you haven't sold many of these...yet. But you will, you do nice work.

If it fits the gun like it should, and the belt fits your friend like it should, I believe it's well worth $150.

I always say, this rig is gonna be around LOOOOOONG after that $150 is gone...

My opinion, as long as you've asked, the billits should also be lined.

RG

[Timbo]

Thanks guys. I guess I do it for both fun and profit. The gun is pretty common as are holsters for it. But not many are crossdraw. It's hard to judge by ebay prices anymore....seems like everything I see goes for way more than I think it should or the other way and sells for way less. I know I haven't had much luck on there lately and pretty much have just stopped selling on there. But I'm thinking of trying again.........I saw something on here the other day that made sense and I'm going to try. If you price it cheap, only cheap people will be interested. So with that in mind any future listings I do on there will be from a different point of view on my part.

Rayban-I really wondered about lining the billets and started to do so but hit a snag that I didn't know how to deal with. If you line the billets what do you do around the adjustment holes. Do you just let the glue hold it or what?? I honestly don't have any good glue right now either and was afraid the stuff I had would let go eventually and let it be a floppy 2 layered mess. What glue would be best for this purpose?? Barge??

....and this is only the seconde gun rig I have ever made.......the first was for a friend and I did it as a favor for supply cost, but once he saw it he paid way more than I expected.

On this one I also wanted to make the belt loop fit the big wide belt exactly so the holster was always held in position, the way it should be. But, the customer did not want it that way. He wanted it left so he could position it differently when standing or sitting.

Thanks for the input, it is very much appreciated.

Tim

[Go2Tex]

.........I saw something on here the other day that made sense and I'm going to try. If you price it cheap, only cheap people will be interested. So with that in mind any future listings I do on there will be from a different point of view on my part. ...............

Well, yeah but not exactly. If you price it cheap, people may not bid on it but the reverse is also true. If you price it too high, particularly on Ebay, it might not get any bids either. Ebay is like Wal-mart. People go there looking for a bargain. I think the secret to sucess on Ebay is to make them believe they are getting a steal, a really good value for the money. And then always deliver. Not cheap, but a good value. A good product at a good price.

I've also found that timing is important on Ebay. Sometimes, the right buyers aren't looking. It only takes a couple of people at the same time wanting the same item and it'll take off like a rocket. The next day aftter that auction ends, put another one up there exactly the same and .....zzzzzzzzzzzzz, nuthin.

Ebay is better for advertising than selling. For that it can't be beat.

[Rayban]

Timbo...I hear that Barge is good stuff. I use good ole drug store bought contact cement and it seems to do a good job on the small projects I usually do.

Next time you go to a tack or Western store take a look at the leather, and especially belts. You'll see that the good belts are almost all lined and nothing special was done around the holes. Headstalls too.

Hopefully some of the gun leather "experts" will weigh in on this....

I hope to build a holster/belt rig this winter for a 357 my Dad left behind recently, and I plan to line the belt with either 3/4 oz. tooling leather, or maybe latigo. I'll be doing some research in that area.

[fishguy]

I am roughly in the same situation as you are and have struggled with the same questions. To start I would say that the minimum you should ask for the rig is $150. There are a number of weird factors at work here. American psychology seems to be to get something as cheap as you can, but if it is too cheap then it can't be any good. So by trying to appeal to the cheapskate side to drum up some sales you can fall prey to the idea that your work isn't any good. So you have to charge enough to command respect for your work, but not so much that it puts too many people out of your range. Add to this the plethora of really cheap holsters and gunrigs that show up on ebay. I have no idea where these come from, probably made by some poor bastard chained to a table somewhere getting $.05 and a bowl of stale rice per day. You can't compete with these guys (unless you want to end up chained to a table) so you need to emphasize the unique hand made character of your work, which also means it should cost more than the cookie cutter stuff.

Of course this is all theory and I have a few gun rigs in my box that have been up on ebay a couple of times and have failed to sell. I always wonder if I have charged too much. However, I have also sold stuff to people who were thrilled with the product and the price. I suspect that I am guilty of underpricing quite a few times, mabye acceptable to get a start, but it shouldn't become a habit. Blacksmiths have a saying "the only way a blacksmith can go to hell is to hit black iron, or to undercharge for his work". Mabye we need a similar one.

[Ross]

i'd say a minimum of $250, if you work for a little of nothing per hour. i know how much time i would have put in on it, and the hand sewing takes a while. i average 12-18 inches an hour. i figure $15 per hour, and that's cheap imo. look around, the prices for good gun rigs are not cheap. $150 is waaay to cheap i think. just emphasize the quality of your hand work compared to machine sewn.

Edited November 29, 2007 by Ross

[Timbo]

Thanks guys, you've all given me some good advice and built up my confidence to price this rig.

As an aside, the guy asked me today how much it was going to run him.........well our monthly bonus checks come out tomorrow and they vary quite widely in amount from month to month. Our boss was standing there and I asked him if we were going to get them on Friday and he said yes. I turned to my fried and told him it would cost him his bonus check. His response was "man what if it's only 20 bucks???" I said "then I lose", but then it hit him and he asked "what if it's 500" to which I calmly replied "then I guess I win"..............needless to say he wasn't willing to take the gamble. I still don't think he understands that I was completely serious. Was worth a shot anyway..........the look on his face right before his last question truly was priceless.

Thanks again guys!!!

Tim

[Warren]

Very, very nice work! It's worth every bit of $150.00. I posted a shoulder rig here on the forum with only the holster lined and If I had been selling it I would have charged at least that for it. As it was the agreement I had with a friend was he would pay for the materials. Hey he's a friend and I wanted the chance to do the holster. Then he comes by to get it while I'm at work and my wife says he can just have it, no charge! She gripes at how much I spend on my "hobby" then turns down money when it's offered and she had nothing to do with it. Go figure! Anyway I loved the border-stamp on the holster and I know all about hand-stitching so keep it up and post more pictures. The only thing better than doing work is seeing everyone elses.

[gunfighter48]

Very nice belt and holster. For a pricing guide take a look at El Paso Saddlery, they are the defacto stardard in cowboy rigs. The cowboy action shooting crowd buys a lot of their rigs. There are other makers but El Paso will give you a guide to follow for pricing. I did cowboy action shooting for about 8 years and always wanted one of their rigs but never could afford one. That's how I got started in leather working, making my own holsters and belts. Here's a link to their site.

http://www.epsaddlery.com/

[robert]

Yeah, i agree with Gunfighter48 - see what other companies are selling similar rigs for, just to get a range. When I first started trying to price stuff, I found 4-5 companies that sold the same or similar sort of stuff and created a grid. That way I at least knew if I was over or under. I intentionally priced things low for years to generate work - I figured folks were paying me to practice. Of course, this is my hobby, which makes a huge difference.

[Timbo]

Thanks again guys.....I've done a lot of surfing for gun rig prices and actually have already been to the El Paso sight. They have good stuff for sure. Pricing things to friends is pretty tough........alot of stuff I make for friends, I just give to them...small things anyway. From what I figure, I do it to avoid criticism..........if it's free they can't critique it, can they?? The old "gift horse in the mouth....if you will.

Tim

[Rayban]

Thanks again guys.....I've done a lot of surfing for gun rig prices and actually have already been to the El Paso sight. They have good stuff for sure. Pricing things to friends is pretty tough........alot of stuff I make for friends, I just give to them...small things anyway. From what I figure, I do it to avoid criticism..........if it's free they can't critique it, can they?? The old "gift horse in the mouth....if you will.

Tim

Have you tried this place...oldtradingpost.com

The rigs sure look nice but the prices seem low....anybody know about this place??