First Visit To Tandy Leather

[Sylvia]

Right now they are also giving away one free tooling punch just for being a member.

LOL yep, I got mine!

[JLSleather]

Probably nobody badmouths Tandy as well as I do. On the other hand, I DO like their 3/4 oz "royal meadow" tooling cow. I don't know what they do differently in the tanning, but it makes for a very rich feeling, very flexible wallet carving back. Tools nice, and dyes extremely well. Great light color, too.

I ALWAYS go to the store and pick out the pieces I want, and I think that helps. But with the "wholesale" pricing I save about $50 per side, which is defiinitely worth it to me.

[cowboy bill]

tandy pricing??????

i'm gonna open a gas station, my price on gas will be $20 per gal. pay me a $35 membership and your price will be $18 per gal. i will have monthly sales, gas then will be $19.50 per gal on sorry crap gas with water in it. if you pay the membership and buy $2,000 worth of gas per year i figure you will save $1000 per year, thus saving many dollars over the cost of the membership!

also i am selling stock to my new company, any investors out there?????

i better watch out, i might get banned here? sorry Tandy. old and ornery, BILL

[Sylvia]

tandy pricing??????

i'm gonna open a gas station, my price on gas will be $20 per gal. pay me a $35 membership and your price will be $18 per gal. i will have monthly sales, gas then will be $19.50 per gal on sorry crap gas with water in it. if you pay the membership and buy $2,000 worth of gas per year i figure you will save $1000 per year, thus saving many dollars over the cost of the membership!

also i am selling stock to my new company, any investors out there?????

i better watch out, i might get banned here? sorry Tandy. old and ornery, BILL

I admit that Tandy isn't for everyone.... but then again not everyone has the budget to go spend $350 on one side of excellent tooling leather especially when they are just starting out. Nice analogy btw.

[cowboy bill]

I admit that Tandy isn't for everyone.... but then again not everyone has the budget to go spend $350 on one side of excellent tooling leather especially when they are just starting out. Nice analogy btw.

trust me few people are broker than myself. just saying with a $25 tax number, give yourself a name, ie joe's leather works, a person can go shop on line for suppliers...., example, wickett and craig showed overstock on quality bellies for $9 each thats what about $1.20 per ft?? lots of items can be made out of good skirtin bellies. i have to shop because i can't and won't support inflated prices if i can help it, i realize everyone in business has to make a profit but..................... BILL

[HellfireJack]

Hah Bill.. You just described sales tactics in every retail store in the world. If you're not paying them then they're using your info and tracking your purchases. One way or another they're making money off of you and keeping retail prices higher.

My favorite line is that someone paid 2 dollars a square foot and got garbage leather at Tandy so they went to another place and paid 10 a square foot and amazingly it was better leather. Geee I wonder why....

[WinterBear]

Tandy caters to an entirely different clientele than most leather stores anymore. From talking to a lot of people, who like myself, buy from Tandy, Tandy's base has become more specialized as interest in hobbies and crafting has declined and internet sales have become so much more prevalent. Their base for the most part seems to be kids and the small, locally-run camps and youth events (rather than district events); micro-makers who probably don't use an entire hide in a year; those just getting their feet wet in learning the craft; and those who can't or won't spend a lot on investing in tools, or purchasing more hide, in quantity or quality, than they need.

A lot us don't have wholesale licenses either, so that automatically excludes us from the wholesale pricing at other suppliers. Wholesale license cost varies by state too. The last time I looked into this, just to have the necessary permits and licenses for me to legally buy materials at wholesale cost and then sell the completed items online, at a flea market, or whatever, the cost was around $500.

That knocks wholesale licensing right out of the ballpark for a lot of people.

With the economy being what it is, a lot of people just can't flat out afford a whole top grade hide and terrific tools, even if they did have a wholesale license.They might have enough to buy some kits and a few tools they won't mind their kids beating up, just so they can dabble and maybe pry the kids away from the TV, or be retired and just want to be able to afford make a few things for themselves, enjoy time with a hobby, and still keep to their budget.

In addition, for a lot of us, the Tandy is local, which saves a lot of money for us in this area because shipping to the backwaters of the Rockies can account for a considerable amount when shipping large items (such as a box of hide--unless you are buying several sides, the cost of shipping added to the cost of an economy-grade hide is often more than what you can pay for a better and bigger piece of hide at Tandy).

Lastly, from everything that I have heard, kids' exposure to leatherwork is being significantly affected by the economy and the move away from handcrafts since the 70s and 80s--the schools, camps, after-school programs, youth clubs, and churches in some instances have gotten rid of their tools and have no intention of replacing the programs.

Some kids are only getting the opportunity now because someone bought a few tools at a time, paying out of their own pockets (so they bought what they can afford). Since they could either afford one or two quality stamps or a dozen or more cheap stamps at a time, Tandy cheap wins out. Then someone brings stamps and tools to the Cub Scout Day Camp and lets the boys make neckerchief slides with their den logo or name stamped on it, or a Scout Patrol meets at such-and-such's garage to make tooled knife sheathes and billfolds some Saturday to fill the requirements for the merit badge, or a bunch of kids meet in someone's basement or at the Boys and Girls Club to make bracelets, coasters, or barrettes with the borrowed tools. Having Tandy tools and hide is often the first experience any of the kids have with making anything with leather, and while "low" grade, these kids wouldn't have otherwise had the experience.

All in all, I take Tandy's prices with a grain of salt and buy what tools and hide I need for now as I learn, and replace with other brands and other leathers as I gain experience. I'll buy the licenses and permits I need as soon as possible, and maybe make the jump into selling on etsy or at the Holiday markets, and maybe eventually be able to recoup the costs of all of those fees by purchasing wholesale hides and tools.

[electrathon]

Almost everyone starts their leather journey at Tandy. Very few finish there.

A lot of us see, or want to see, Tandy as the friendly corner leather store. Tandy is a large cooperation that solely exists to generate a profit. That is OK, but if you think or feel that they are in business to produce smiling faces on leather crafters you are seriously seeing the picture wrong. The individuals that run the organization know they are selling crap. They do it for one reason, they make more money. They know we want better quality. They hear it every day. They get letters, they get email and they get input from the store managers. They do not care. The sole thing that matters is what they can buy for a little and sell for a lot.

I caught a glimpse of this in a class with Jim Linell. The issue of quality came up. I told him that I wanted quality and was willing to pay for it. His answer was that I would be wasting my money. That all leather tools needed to be modified before you could use them and that there really was no choice and to be content with what Tandy sells (this discussion still comes up with a few friends that were in the class with me).

Aaron

[WinterBear]

I know they sell crap. The thing is, I'm not adverse to buying crap until I hone my skills enough to need and want better. I don't have those skills yet, and won't for some time. If I can manage to make a product with crap that doesn't want to make me chuck it out the window in disgust, then I have learned enough to invest money in something better. And if I'm working with a bunch of kids who damage a tool, I won't be upset because the cost wasn't much and I can have it mended, resharpened, or replaced before the next time it is needed.

[HellfireJack]

I hear Tandy's vary from store to store. The Allentown Tandy is like a mom and pop atmosphere really. I walk in the door and they greet me by name. The manager introduces me to new employees and gladly reminds me of what sales are happening and what's new. I hear it's different at different stores though. The one I used to frequent in Minneapolis before it closed down years ago was the same way.

As far as corporations go, almost all companies are incorporated and if they aren't then they're working on it. Springfield is incorporated. I'm sure others are as well. Incorporation just provides a tax status and negates legal liabilities for individuals within the company. I know of no store anywhere that wants to operate at a constant loss. Tandy takes returns so obviously their sole intent isn't profit. If it was they wouldn't do that.

You can find all of the "crap" for sale at the same prices at EVERY leather store nowadays. I've never met Jim Linell but he fairly spot on. The majority of the leather tools you buy aren't bought for quality anyways. They're bought almost entirely as a luxury. You don't really need a 175.00 dollar round knife or even a 65.00 dollar one when a 2.50 razor knife will cut leather just as well. So are we really talking about quality there or not? I say no.

All I know is that at Tandy I can pick up a tool and tell if it's worth buying or not. I can't do that with an online seller so my priority will always be to visit a Tandy first.