Reality Check, Please. Tandy Leather Price Doubled.

[FlHobbyist]

I just bought some leather from SLC and there was no $12.00 minimum. It cost me like 5.50 to ship.

I'll have to take another look. I know I've searched and searched in the past for something cheaper to no avail. I'm in Florida and I wonder if the distance has something to do with it. I will investigate it tomorrow.

[Hi Im Joe]

I just looked at my invoice...it was 5.85 to ship.

[FlHobbyist]

I just looked at my invoice...it was 5.85 to ship.

I stand corrected, I just went up and checked with a small item and the minimum fee was 6.00 which was for usps priority. This fee is quite reasonable.

[LNLeather]

One example: Springfield sells quart Fiebing's for $30 retail, Tandy for $40 retail (elite is $30)

Not sure what Fiebings product you meant to say here, but I need some Fiebings Tan Kote and found it at Mcpherson Leather

in Seattle advertised at 32 oz for $17.40. Think I'm gonna get some asap......

[MonicaJacobson]

Huh, I've only bought 1 thing from Springfield - an exotic random pack. I was very annoyed to get charged 13.00 for shipping, which was about as much as the exotic random pack cost. Perhaps it's not so much if you have membership. I still plan on buying from Springfield, but I wasn't very excited about the shipping.

[sepharad]

Tandy's business model is based on entry level crafts. There is some expansion into higher level leatherworker items, like their new stitching irons. This is risky for them, if they increase the quality and no one buys, because it's not cheap, they go bust.

As studio-n noted, and I cannot emphasize strongly enough, the price is not going up, the dollar is going DOWN. My childhood gasoline of 35 cents is now $3.75. We cannot pay a living wage and compete on price, so manufacturing goes overseas. We are seeing the trend of the future, Everything manufactured and shipped will continue upward along with petroleum and the decline in our currency. Look at the price of your leather overseas. I wanted top quality irons and paid 4x the craft quality price of tandy. The plastic spool cover for my sears craftsman weedwhacker is $50. We are like the frog in a pan of slowly heating water and are about to be cooked. This IS our new American reality. We're bankrupt.

Edited August 3, 2014 by sepharad

[DavidL]

They could at very least break even by selling at clearance for the irons some people will pick it up.

The margins on the craftool/ tandy items are HIGH as they are cheaply made in China in large orders. People have to accept the fact that they have to pay more for Made in USA or Made in Canada items and many are following that trend. China also deliberately devalues their dollar so countries can get better value when they convert their currency when trading. Increase in minimum wage also make it difficult for items to be made domestically for instance B.C, Canada is attempting to raise minimum wage to 13 dollars and the high cost of owning property for industrial buildings vs Made in China who also has some factories that are relatively high quality.

Recently the way to by pass this is for small shops to start selling made in America/ Made in Canada merchandise which has made a small impact.

[kwelna]

Tandy's business model is based on entry level crafts. There is some expansion into higher level leatherworker items, like their new stitching irons. This is risky for them, if they increase the quality and no one buys, because it's not cheap, they go bust.

As studio-n noted, and I cannot emphasize strongly enough, the price is not going up, the dollar is going DOWN. My childhood gasoline of 35 cents is now $3.75. We cannot pay a living wage and compete on price, so manufacturing goes overseas. We are seeing the trend of the future, Everything manufactured and shipped will continue upward along with petroleum and the decline in our currency. Look at the price of your leather overseas. I wanted top quality irons and paid 4x the craft quality price of tandy. The plastic spool cover for my sears craftsman weedwhacker is $50. We are like the frog in a pan of slowly heating water and are about to be cooked. This IS our new American reality. We're bankrupt.

"like their new stitching irons."

Have you looked at the new stitching irons? It is the same poor brittle cast metal as the old stitching irons, the only difference is that you can unscrew them from the handle....The times will still snap off if you go too deep into the leather and put any torque on the tines when removing the iron. Alas I bought a set and have already broken a couple of tines. I gave up and purchased a machined set from japan, less money and better quality. I too will still do business with Tandy, they are convenient and I really like the people that work there. Once in while I do get a great piece of leather from Tandy, but I have to get there the first day the shipment comes in and then sift though a lot of average to below average pieces to find a gem.

RJW leather has by far better leather as is the leather I get from Springfield at about 1/2 the cost of Tandy premium leather which is almost comparable leather ( I still give the nod to RJW and Springfield). I just have to plan my purchases accordingly and place larger orders to mitigate the shipping costs.

[Colt W Knight]

It is also important to know that cattle prices are at an all time high right now. Prices have doubled in the last year/year and half, and probably will not go down for at least another year or two.

Not defending Tandy, but you can expect to see all beef products/byproducts to increase substantially.

Edited August 6, 2014 by Colt W Knight

[tanda4]

Unfortunately, I believe Tandy is drowning and trying to grab anything to stay afloat.

Edit: I have definitely noticed the negative difference in the personalities of the store employees.

Edited August 6, 2014 by tanda4

[Russ]

Tandy is NOT drowning, they are doing very well financially. Just because they don't particularly cater to leatherworkers above the hobby stage doesn't mean they don't have a good, successful business model. There's a lot of threads on this board complaining about Tandy, but the fact is we on this board aren't really their bread and butter customers. There's a lot of options out there, and the fact that someone is reading this board means they are educating themselves within the leatherwork community and business and straying outside of Tandy's target customer.

I dare say most of us started out as Tandy customers. Just because we've outgrown them doesn't make Tandy wrong. It makes us better informed, different clientele.

[Studio-N]

<snip>....

I dare say most of us started out as Tandy customers. Just because we've outgrown them doesn't make Tandy wrong. It makes us better informed, different clientele.

Hi Russ, You are very right about the fact that many here have outgrown Tandy and in that case we've moved on to other vendors.

I think the other part of the argument here is how their attitude has changed to the point where they have driven us away. Having been an insider

I've been privy to thier policy changes and corporate directives and the reason for the large turnover in staff in favor of less informed and cheaper managers.

The attitude in question is in part in their pricing, but also in how they have abandoned the small business and even their own resellers.

I'll continue to keep an eye out for when they have a decent specials but other than that, I buy everywhere I can get good value for my dollar.

Cheers!

[Russ]

Hi Russ, You are very right about the fact that many here have outgrown Tandy and in that case we've moved on to other vendors.

I think the other part of the argument here is how their attitude has changed to the point where they have driven us away. Having been an insider

I've been privy to thier policy changes and corporate directives and the reason for the large turnover in staff in favor of less informed and cheaper managers.

The attitude in question is in part in their pricing, but also in how they have abandoned the small business and even their own resellers.

I'll continue to keep an eye out for when they have a decent specials but other than that, I buy everywhere I can get good value for my dollar.

Cheers!

I will definitely have to defer to you on knowing their inner workings. We had a great manager and employees in Cincinnati a few years ago. He was suddenly let go and no one had any idea why. They went through three or four managers before they got another good manager. The customers suffered for sure during that period. The store in Columbus, the manager was the biggest jerk I've ever met, and the employees were rude and unhelpful. I wouldn't step foot in that store if Tandy paid my bill for me.

When I moved to NM I've found that the employees in the three stores in Arizona and the one in NM are pretty competent and very friendly and helpful. But the reason I know it is because of Tandy's problems; I don't buy anything from them mail order. I go to the store to examine what I want/need to buy. And true, I buy significantly less from Tandy these days because of their products. I've outgrown them.

I just hate to see the constant bashing of Tandy on this forum. Their quality is not what it was, but it's been their choice and apparently its working for them. We all know that and we have to adjust. Thanks to everyone here on leatherworker.net, we know how to do it and where to go.

[WinterBear]

In the past 3 years, the local store has gone through as many managers. And each time, it seems that they are allowed to do less and less. First, they were no longer able to have another store to ship to another store so a customer to get something that their local store didn't have. Then, another store wasn't allowed to put something on the supply truck that was headed to another store down the line to help meet a customer request. Now, they aren't allowed to call another store to see if that store has something so the customer can call that store and buy it directly from that store and shipped to the customer's home.

They don't do classes any more here either, not even for older Cub or Brownie Scouts. Store employees aren't allowed to be working on anything, even if it is meant for a display--even if they are there on their own time--so there is no one working on anything or demonstrating anything on the big work table anymore. And if I order something online, I may or may not be charged shipping, even if I go to the store to pick it up (I told them last time that if they charged shipping, I expected UPS or a store employee to bring the package to my door).

Overall, it just sort of gives me the overall impression that they don't care. It may be their new business model, but it leaves me cold. Which is really a shame, because it used to be the highlight of a trip when I was growing up to stop at a Tandy during a road trip-we didn't have any in state.

[DoubleC]

I have only once intentionally bought something from Tandy. It was when they had their lace on sale. I bought 3 rolls for 6 and the shipping was 8. However a fiend of mine has bought me things that were on sale she could handpick and the leather was beautiful. From that very same lot another friend of mine ordered it online and got red plaid. Really? It looked like a table cloth. We tried forever to come up with something he could do with it and the only thing we came up with was bridle and matching boot bags. Or a leather table cloth. Oh and the best leather I've ever owned, buffalo calf, came from there but SLC picked it out for me. Which they can no longer do, Tandy stopped it. Tandy made a ton of business from SLC customers but stopped it, I guess thinking we would come to them directly but I won't buy anything from them that hasn't been checked. Maybe we have outgrown them but I never bought anything from them. I live in VT and we don't have a Tandy so I had to buy online anyway. Once I checked SLC's prices against theirs they weren't even in the running. And as the tales grow I'm glad I was lucky enough to find SLC and other places when I started LW.