Any Profit In Making Leather Brief Cases?

[leathervan]

I know what the problem is from the start and that is that brand names get a lot of money for their items just by the name alone. Like Versache purses etc. I am sure that a lot of people on this board could make a purse that is just as good if not better than anything the Versache brand name makes. But they got the name and they can charge $300 or $400 or so for a purse. Wouldn't that be nice if we could do that?. So I suppose its the same with brief cases and any other item. So I wonder if there is any profit to be made in making brief cases for guys like us that make one by hand and then try to sell it.

[WScott]

I think that only a niche market exists for well made custom bags etc. rather than the large market and marketing that exists for the brand name bags.

If you can afford to start out small and get your well made product out there, perhaps you can get a following. I wouldn't risk the farm on the endeavour though.

JMHO, Scott

[Glendon]

I think WScott is right on. There are people who want good hand made products with high quality materials, but it is a small market. If you can bootstrap production and work up from a hobby and build a community around it, then you should be able to make some money. But you can't really jump in feet first and make a business out of it right off.

[Cyberthrasher]

Look at it this way. There's a certain "custom" maker that makes laptop bags targeted toward mac users. I'm not going to name names because I have nothing good to say. THEIR WORK IS GARBAGE!!!!! But, due to marketing they've managed to get people to believe that it's top of the line leather work. I had someone local that I know come to me and say "Man, I was so excited when I finally bought this bag and this is what it looks like. I thought they were supposed to be like the best man." - All because they managed to get an advertisement in Mac World and setup a website and purchased other web adds. I then did some research to figure out who they were and found all kinds of stuff that made my jaw DROP in disgust - including pictures of their young kids doing some of the work on customer bags (not always a bad thing, but in the context it was). So, keep at it and you can make it. Just gotta build up enough funds to promote things.

Edited June 20, 2013 by Cyberthrasher

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

This is like saying its there profit in making cars, homes, whatever. The answer is yes, if done right.

[JAW]

marketing is certainly the key. versace is a company that has been around for 50+ years building their brand... you arent going to be able to compete with those established brands without either a truck full of cash to spend on marketing and advertising or the time to build a reputation. I sell briefcases that cost 400 bucks on a custom basis, but its not the only thing I make. you need to have a well designed and well thought out family of products to build a brand image and find and reach out to the types of people looking for your products. most of the briefcases I make seem to be for professors or lawyers, and there are lots of people who are willing to pay for handmade quality stuff. in reality, $300-$400 is on the very low end of the price scale for fine briefcases, and as you make more, your reputation grows and your prices can go up from there.

getting to know the types of people you are trying to sell to is key. I don't think there are any limits to what you can make and sell, as long as you figure out who wants to buy it. I happen to have a serious love for vintage leather briefcases, so this really caught my attention. I would check out frank clegg's work, he is a craftsman who has built a very succesful company doing just what you have described.