Leather - Quality - Price

[CaptQuirk]

Hello Sioux, I am buying just regular veg bellies. Both Tandy and Springfield charge about $30 for them. And yes, I do need to find another source, hopefully closer to home. Being in Georgia, I am limited to Tandy, Michaels, or Hobby Lobby. I did try a Herman Oaks shoulder once from Springfield, but didn't see enough difference to warrant the extra few bucks.

[Big Sioux Saddlery]

I haven't bought leather locally in more years than I care to count. Anything that comes in my shop gets shipped hundreds of miles. Freight is just part of the cost of being in business. After all, it ALL gets shipped in from somewhere else at these retail outlets.  And yes I'd LOVE to be able to look at a hide before I buy, but where I live, it's just not possible.  And I know you're a hobby guy yet and buying retail, but I think you'll be pleasantly surprised if you try W & C leather. As far as I know, Wickett will sell to anyone; you don't need a storefront, you don't need to be in business, you don't need a tax ID number.  Their veg tan leather is quite nice, tools nicely, oils up evenly, fun to cut. I don't think I've ever hit a raw spot. It does have a more mellow temper than Hermann Oak for example, and with the belly being the softer part of a hide to start with, it may not work well for a project requiring some body or rigidity (holsters), but for practice projects it is a great deal and will allow you to sample their leather so that when you ARE able to buy a whole side, you'll know what to expect.  I do get a little better yield out of a side of HO for that reason; I can cut lower in a side of HO before running into mushy leather, AS A RULE. Not so with a couple sides of russet harness lately, but generally speaking, that holds pretty true.  On the other hand, I know a guy who argues he gets BETTER yield from Wicketts leather, because the sides run bigger. In any event, W & C is a pleasure to deal with and they will help the little guy. Sounds like I'm working for them doesn't it?

[Michael Sheldon]

I only buy leather from Tandy if I can go to the shop and paw through the stacks. I swear they only get the stuff the other places turned down. Mostly I pick up one-off oddball stuff, pigskin, lining leather, dye and conchos.

Weaver's stuff is good, and the price is reasonable. But sometimes getting the weight you want in the leather you want is problematical. On the plus side, they almost always have it on hand ready to ship. Downside for many folks, you really need a wholesale account to get good pricing. And as of this year, a wholesale account requires a minimum of $1,200/year in purchases. Not a problem for even most small pro shops, but out of reach for a hobbyist. I get most of my suede splits and almost all of my hardware from them. I also got my foot press and better hand-tools from them.

Wickett and Craig has great stuff, and the prices are good. But, the lead times can occasionally be long. Not a place to order from if you need it in a hurry. I try to make sure I get my order in before I run too low. I get almost all of my veg-tan, latigo, harness and bridle leather from them.

[MADMAX22]

Was cleaning out some boxes in the garage and ran across some WC invoices from 2012, wasn't even that long ago it seems but wow how prices have changed.

[CaptQuirk]

Timing is a huge factor, as I usually get a request with "How soon can I get it?" The further away the source, the longer the turn around, and the higher the cost to ship. Had to order line 20 snaps this morning. $5 for the snaps, $10 to ship them. But, Tandy is 3 hours away in Atlanta, and I should have them tomorrow or the next day. Springfield takes about 5 days, and the shipping is about $17. Normally I have these rivets and snaps, but had a bad run of luck the past few days, and burned through all of the female half of the snaps in a day. Happened again last night.

[keplerts]

American Leather Direct has Veg tan bellies for $12 right now.

 

[CaptQuirk]

Thanks for that name drop, I'm looking into them now. Kentucky isn't too far off. How is their quality and customer care?

[keplerts]

The saddle skirting I have bought has been very nice.  Matt, the salesman is very helpful.  Give them a try.

[Mike516]

I just placed a small order with W&C for the first time this morning.

After being annoyed with SLC for axing their free shipping, I realized it's not their fault the shipping companies keep raising their rates. But I don't want to raise my prices, and the shipping costs keep going up (they're about mid country so probably toughest for the coasts).

I would like to have a reliable supplier close to home that doesn't cost an arm and a leg for shipping. So I got my fingers crossed

Edited August 29, 2016 by Mike516

[JLSleather]

I don't think location within the U.S. has much to do with shipping costs.  I ship here 'n' there, and a few hundred miles one way or another doesn't affect much.  Ship to TX, NY, CA.. all about the same cost.  In fact, that SAME package to Minneapolis - which is just  up the road -- costs the same as the package to San Antonio

My wife used to get sucked into all that "hype".. What? Gas is 10¢ off at Walmart?  Here... I'll drive across town, burn up $3.00 worth of gas, to get over there and save $2.00 on a fill-up (20 gal times 10¢)!

IN the end, hopefully people are balancing "cost" (price PLUS shipping) with quality.  FREE shipping on belly leather is of no  interest to me.  I don't even know why people would bother with buying "B" grade leather, when teh "A" grade is only $5 more (per side).  For perspective, a dog collar guy is making what... safely 70 collars from a side?  So.. 70 divided into $5 makes the cost difference about 7¢ ....