Would You Sell Your "not-So-Perfect" Holsters?

[DaltonMasterson]

If they are still of a decent quality and useable, I will sell them. I went through a time when I would put a 2 on the back of a holster that was not up to perfect standards, but have discontinued that. I do put dates on all of mine, and find it interesting to see the old ones show up once in awhile. Most of the old ones would have been seconds today.

BUT, I will tell the customer that it is sold as defective/used/bad dye, etc. Then it is their option to buy it as is, for a reduced price.

These are only sold at local gunshows, and are never mailed out to a special ordered customer or without a customer handling it for himself.

If it is a simple flipped pattern problem, or wrong color/ barrel length etc, I sell them as stock items on my table for regular price. No need to discount them because you made the wrong holster.

DM

[talon]

I'm glad I saw this thread! I've always wondered about what to do with cosmetic blem holsters. I've only sold one and its always been in the back of my mind, just knowing that its out there and it has my name on it. The customer did love the holster and has even referred a few sales to me. I've just been worried about hurting my brand. There are times, however, when I feel wasteful when I throw out a perfectly functional holster because I know there are some people that legitimately can't afford a quality holster, and so they are carrying with a $15 nylon special.

I'm liking the idea of marking rejects or seconds so they are identifiable, hopefully preserving the brand. What method would you guys suggest to mark a blemished holster?

Thanks,

Clay

[JohnBarton]

I have a few holsters that I'm less than pleased with. You know.... a not perfect stitch job....or a finish that you are not pleased with.... oh yeah, and one that really bent my crank.... I made a really nice lined holster for a single action and I always sand the welt edge so the glue grabs good... and yeah, sanded the wrong damn side!! OMG! Was I Teeeee'd off or what? The holster looks awesome except for that dang blooper!

So do you guys sell "seconds" at a discount rate or do you cut them up and hide them in your trash barrel?

As a firm believer that everything has a use and in an attempt to not waste energy I try very hard to make sure that every case I make that is functional finds a home. That said I have to draw the line when I think that something I put out there will result in negative advertising.

The way I see it is that the person who matters most is not the person who is getting the item and who is aware of the imperfections but instead the person who inspects the work only having heard of our brand but never having seen an example of it. This person could form a negative opinion based on what they see. So what I generally do with the "oops" cases is to rework them until they are satisfactory to me and then I will see if I can sell them as they are with no need to disclose the mistakes because the mistakes were corrected or covered in such a way as to not matter.

I think that mistakes give us the opportunity to be even more creative. One thing I have learned is that there is no particular way that it's "supposed to be" other than well crafted and durable. Any time you see us do a black or dark brown cue case that wasn't pre-ordered then more than likely it started life as a lighter color and for whatever reason didn't turn out right. We have taken cases where we did the name wrong and simply cut the name out and made an inlay with carving and turned a mistake case into a great piece that brought more money than we got from the original order.

My rule of thumb is that if I would be disappointed in the case regardless of price then it doesn't go out. I just really really really hate to lose work and will do everything possible to recycle everything I can on a piece to be able to sell it.

[JohnBarton]

+1 on everything this gentleman has said.

Remember, boys and girls, the difference between a business and a hobby. A hobby is intended to provide personal gratification. A business is intended to generate profit. The best method known for building a business is building relationships with customers.

Best regards.

This is true and some of the best relationships with my customers have been started with them calling in and asking if I have any seconds laying around that I can ship immediately. In the past four years I have sent out maybe about four or five cases on that basis. In every instance the customer called back to tell me that I am too critical and that they were pleased with the case and proceeded to place an order.

I think it goes both ways. I know cue makers who bandsaw their work if they make the tiniest mistake. They charge accordingly. Other cuemakers send out cues with imperfections and consequently they don't get to charge as high a price for their work.

[marine mp]

ShortBBl,

I do sell my irregulars and boo-boo's!!! As Lobo, Dwight and others have said, this is a business where mistakes are made regularly and if your not making mistakes, your not making holsters or belts or etc. To me, it is a work of art (sometimes my art is pretty bad!!!) but each is handmade and if a stitch is out of place or a pencil mark shows thru or whatever else can be done to call it a "mistake"..it is still a functioning piece of leather that shows it was handmade. Yep, I sell them and the customer is usually happy, mistake and all. Besides, this "mistake" will be mostly stuffed inside someones trousers or under their shirt or jacket. Have you seen some of this crap coming out of mexico and other offshore countries for $19.95 that people are buying!!!!! Those are mistakes all over from the git-go, and people buy them up. So...yes, I do sell them at a discount and do tell up front that there is a flaw, but not with the functionality. Semper-fi Mike

[Rayban]

Seems like , to me anyways, it's pretty easy to end up with imperfections when using a motorized stitching machine. One little stitch slanted just so can screw up the entire line.....so it's not "perfect" but still solid and functional in every other way.

Sometimes they are hard to see, but like someone mentioned earlier, because we know it's there, it glares at us with an ugly frown.

I found out right away that using a machine takes more concentration than hand stitching...quite a challenge for me.

Also, if we want to, we can find "imperfections" in just about everybody's work.

[bluesman1951]

Nope ,not ever no way no how . If it dont meet my standards its destroyed ,cut up used as backing for the whole punch . Never leaves the door ever. Its good enough to show the world or its destroyed period . Bill

[SooperJake]

I never make mistakes...but I do make a boat load of engineering changes.

[SooperJake]

On a more serious note, who determins what is perfect? I was just looking at a VERY high-end custom holster pictured on a VERY well known and highly regarded maker's site, familiar to many of you here, and I found a defect in the holster as pictured.

It seems like you just look at leather a little cross-eyed and it leaves a mark of some kind. Is that an imperfect product after that?

Years ago, when I turned wood for a living, I'd screw up and poke a hole through the bottom of a bowl or hurl one off the lathe or, sometimes, for no reason apparent- they'd explode. Some of these were exotic woods of considerable cost to me. I piled all these up in a box, and when we went camping on Labor day weekend, I cooked a Porterhouse steak over them and, in effect, ate my mistakes. I cannot tell you how many times I was asked by friends and family to sell them one of my defective bowls. The looks I got while camping, as I burned my work, ranged from grins to utter outrage.

So, in regards to this topic, I am torn between two camps. On the one hand I see everything that is wrong with my work and don't want to let it out of the shop. On the other hand, I know that nothing is ever perfect, and people project all levels and manners of "values" on objects, which is beyond our control. They also find something wrong if they look for it hard enough.

In the words of Jiminy Cricket, " Always let your conscience be your guide."

[immiketoo]

Love the bowl story! I just threw out the second holster I made for a charity event because something about had been bugging me and I'm starting over. Despite the fact that I'm not making anything on this rig, its going to have my name on it and I can't let it go out in that condition. So, while I understand everyone's view, I'm going with if I'm not satisfied, it stays home.