Weaver Leather

[rcsaddles]

I heard an interesting comment the other day and wanted some other opinions. Someone told me they would not order from Weaver Leather because everyting you buy from them allows them to make and sell the same thing for free. In other words they use the profit from the sale to you to pay for the material or labor so when they sell an item they make a bigger profit than you can.

Does this make sense to you? I get where the person was coming from and was just wanting some other input.

Joe

[awharness]

On the website they have four sections, I am sure its set up as one parents company with four seperate divisions. Like Disney is the parent company and then owns everthing under it. I own two small business and I try to keep them seperate, but I know sometimes I borrow from peter to pay paul. I would say that if the supply pays for the production that is probably beyond the general consumer's view unless they looked at the actaul books, or the K1's. I am sure if they do have it structured as one parents company with four entitiees some quartes one division will be stronger then anther, overall I would say thats a hard statement to stand on. I know weaver doesnt make products to the degree the craftsmen on this page do, or to such niche markets as our members do!

I heard an interesting comment the other day and wanted some other opinions. Someone told me they would not order from Weaver Leather because everyting you buy from them allows them to make and sell the same thing for free. In other words they use the profit from the sale to you to pay for the material or labor so when they sell an item they make a bigger profit than you can.

Does this make sense to you? I get where the person was coming from and was just wanting some other input.

Joe

[Roger]

correct me if I'm wrong but, isn't part of owning a business growing it and reinvesting in it so it grows?

are they not aloud to make a profit?

they don't make anything i sell and i am very happy with the price and quality of everything i buy from them

[Ian]

I've bought from Weaver for 15 years. You can't beat their prices on hardware anywhere, especially if you buy 100+ of any item. Since some of the other suppliers carry the exact same items as Weaver, I suspect that they too, buy from Weaver and add their own mark-up. I've found their shipping to be fast and relianble as well.

As far as thier tack products go, they are fairly rough in quality, and given their access to materials at way below wholesale cost, you wouldn't be able to compete with them price wise. Not to mention that Menonite workers probably work much cheaper than I would like to work.

Still, they don't present their products as fine leatherwork, and when push comes to shove, I'd rather that affordable products are coming from here rather than India or China.

I can't think of any product that I could produce more cheaply than a factory could. It's just the way it is.

So, I have nothing bad to say about Weaver.

Ian

[$$hobby]

the only thing i will add is that i liked the quality of some of the MAST hardware better then weavers. When Weaver gobbled MAST up, that difference went away.

[Ian]

When Weaver gobbled MAST up, that difference went away.

It wasn't a matter of 'gobbling up' Mast could no longer operate at a profit and Weaver purchased the company.

[whinewine]

I heard an interesting comment the other day and wanted some other opinions. Someone told me they would not order from Weaver Leather because everyting you buy from them allows them to make and sell the same thing for free. In other words they use the profit from the sale to you to pay for the material or labor so when they sell an item they make a bigger profit than you can.

huh?

Don't we try to reinvest in more material with our profits to make our own businesses grow?

That's just bizarre thinking to say that "I should be able to make a profit, but that someone else shouldn't..." Sorry, but that's just plain, flat out weird! (Someone's most definitely talking out of an orifice other than his own mouth).

Edited July 12, 2008 by whinewine

[Windy]

I have to agree with Roger on this one. While I was at

the local Tandy a couple of weeks back the manager told

me Tandy was buying Weaver. How much Truth there is

to that is beyond my control as I am only telling you what

he said to me. Tandy is growing even if there stock price

is plummeting.

WINDY

[Art]

Hi Windy,

Was that Michael Boursaw who gave you that info? Tandy and Weaver do have a buyer/supplier relationship in both directions, there is not even a thought of anything in the acquisition category. And that is from Tandy's controller in an email. Tandy's stock is not plummeting, they had about a 50% reduction about 2 or 3 months ago, a bunch of stock got sold and because of the low float it depressed the price. It has stabilized anywhere ,25 either side of three. I have been watching the insider trades and they are all pretty much buys.

I am a silent partner in several tack shops. Everyone thinks that horse people have money, and that is not really true, many struggle to pay vet and medication bills. We use Weaver tack among others, and it is good solid stuff but not of high finish, just what our customers want. I would have a hard time making anything even of that quality to compete with it. It is good safe equipment that allows us to sell it at a respectable margin. It has the Weaver tag on it and they have the liability insurance to back it up. Weaver doesn't compete with me, but then I don't make wholesale harness. Weaver is very careful to sell only to harness or tack shops. If you want to sell quality harness or tack, you need to seek out those customers who have the money to spend on it.

Another thing Weaver can do is some of the repetitive work in the shop that you just don't have time to do. They have a full fledged leather factory and can do most anything (on leather they supply) at about medium quality workmanship. Their sewing can at times be less than optimal. Their communications skills can sometimes be trying (I mean following directions) so KISS.

When working with anyone, you will only receive as much quality as you demand, no matter what you pay.

Also, competition is good, it is the American way.

Art

I have to agree with Roger on this one. While I was at

the local Tandy a couple of weeks back the manager told

me Tandy was buying Weaver. How much Truth there is

to that is beyond my control as I am only telling you what

he said to me. Tandy is growing even if there stock price

is plummeting.

WINDY

[Peter Ellis]

I heard an interesting comment the other day and wanted some other opinions. Someone told me they would not order from Weaver Leather because everyting you buy from them allows them to make and sell the same thing for free. In other words they use the profit from the sale to you to pay for the material or labor so when they sell an item they make a bigger profit than you can.

Does this make sense to you? I get where the person was coming from and was just wanting some other input.

Joe

It doesn't make sense to me at any level. If I buy a widget from Weaver, how can that possibly allow them to make and sell a widget for free ? What are the words supposed to mean ? They're already making the thing, or I couldn't buy it from them.

Really, I can't even begin to understand what it is that is trying to be said...

I know Weaver will make clicker dies, and that they will even hold your die at their factory and cut out your pieces if you ask them to. Maybe the suggestion is when you have them do this that they are using your die and making your product and competing against you ? I think that sort of thing would get a business into a world of trouble in a very big hurry and have never heard anything to suggest that they do it...

[roo4u]

ive been buying from weaver for about 12 years and ive seen their quality go significantly down...the bigger they get the more useless their phone people are also...and i was pretty put out when i had been buying from them cod for like 6 years and ordered every week just about and one day i called and they told me i could no longer use cod because they had stopped it. no warning no nothing. also they have a habit of changing products without letting you know. i used to order alot of roo from them and one day the roo i got was not the whip grade i ordered, what i got was a dry leather not suitable for braiding...when i called and asked they couldnt find anybody who knew anything about it. anything they can do cheaper they do...they used to be about service now they are all about profit.