What the.. whata??

[JLSleather]

Sometimes I throw a few things on ebay,... partially cuz I like to see how many leather people "watch" it, and partially jus cuz I kin

Somebody jus offered me $38 for a holster

Gotta have a sense of humor sometimes ....

 

[NVLeatherWorx]

This is true for EVERYTHING that we put out on the Internet; nobody understands the costs associated with the materials we use and are even more disconnected with what goes into making the products the we do.  If you want a good idea as to how clueless the buying public is just go check out the job boards at Custom Made (www.custommade.com) and look at some of the budgets that people list for the project that they describe in detail.  I had one just last week that wanted a custom made leather billfold with full coverage Western Floral and Scroll work carved and tooled into the back and then finish it off with a fully laced outer edge.  The prospect had noted a budget between $45 and $65 and wanted it by Christmas as a gift for the hubby.  I offered to do the project for a more realistic $145 and made it clear that there was no way it would be there for Christmas.  A day later I received a follow-up message from the prospect that she had received an offer from another Maker for $50.  If that is true then the other "Maker" is either pulling her leg or has nothing else to do in life but put together pre-fab kits while sitting alone at their super tiny dining room table and does this stuff just to cover materials and a beer.  I kindly told her to go to the cheaper price if that was what she wished to do.  There are several prospects asking for holsters and I have yet to see a single budget over the $55 mark with most closer to $35 for the holster, and they even want some stamping done on it for that price.

Until the buying public gets a clue as to what really goes into making the things they want this is always going to be an issue and there ain't nothin' we can do about it aside from sticking with selling to those who do understand and appreciate the work that we do.

[cdthayer]

3 hours ago, JLSleather said:

Somebody jus offered me $38 for a holster

...and they will expect a "no questions asked return policy" for that kind of money too....

CD in Oklahoma

[JLSleather]

Well, in all fairness, there are some $38 holsters listed at $100+ too.  That custommade site is FULL of low-grade, overpriced poo.  I got an email.. was it a year or two ago, about selling on there, but when I saw the fees I got out quick.  That would have been a good bit of money for them for doing basically nothing.

 

[NVLeatherWorx]

I am only listed on there just in case there is a person who truly wants some quality stuff made for them and also understand and appreciate the Artisan behind the work; I don't troll the Job Boards very much aside from just taking a look at what people are looking to have made and how little they are willing to pay for it.  I have seen some pretty crappy stuff listed just about everywhere you can dream of and some of that garbage is listed at a hefty price.  I found a website the other day (I won't call them out, yet) that had a simple minimalist style card wallet (holds about 4 cards and maybe some folded cash) in a simple two pocket design that was listed for $75; looking at this thing (based on the images that they posted of course) there wasn't a straight stitching line to be found and the stitching spacing was also uneven.  Hell, I make one bigger than that and that has more space available for a little bit over half that and my lines are straight; even after a couple Scotch's. Guess I better start charging more for my stuff because this person appears to be selling about 10 of these per week on top of the rest of the stuff they have listed which none of it has any straight stitching either; then there are those who sell "tooled" leather which has no depth or flow in the pattern, just a swivel knife cut line and maybe a little modeling spoon over it and it is "tooled".  

[JLSleather]

18 minutes ago, NVLeatherWorx said:

I have seen some pretty crappy stuff listed just about everywhere you can dream of and some of that garbage is listed at a hefty price.  

Yeah, true.  Often comes with some long-winded story about how the "flaws" are what make it "hand made".  It certainly occurred to me to educate, but as Ron White points out.. 'ya can't fix stupid"

 

[NVLeatherWorx]

1 hour ago, JLSleather said:

Yeah, true.  Often comes with some long-winded story about how the "flaws" are what make it "hand made".  It certainly occurred to me to educate, but as Ron White points out.. 'ya can't fix stupid"

 

Amen to that.

[Big Sioux Saddlery]

16 hours ago, NVLeatherWorx said:

16 hours ago, NVLeatherWorx said:

Until the buying public gets a clue as to what really goes into making the things they want this is always going to be an issue and there ain't nothin' we can do about it aside from sticking with selling to those who do understand and appreciate the work that we do.

 

I agree 100%, and add to that, until there is nobody that is willing to work for cost of materials plus a beer, the folks buying will continue to think that we CAN make our products for cost of materials plus a beer.  A couple days ago, I told someone in an unrelated business (raising and selling puppies) that there are buyers who "get it", buyers who DON'T "get it" but CAN be educated, and buyers who don't get it, never will, and don't want to.  Don't waste your time on that last bunch. It's not even worth a beer.

[NVLeatherWorx]

You nailed that one Big Sioux; I get that vibe from several who want to pick my brain on how things are made and every time I get to the part about how the overall costing model (for ANY product that is produced in this World) takes everything into consideration before identifying the direction of the final retail price is when the comments start about how it could be done for less or that the mark-up by the maker on the materials could be reduced.  I had a local stock broker make one of those comments so I decided to flip it on him by asking him if his commission could be reduced then because it is actually MY money doing the work and not him; he tried to explain to me where that was different than what I do so I asked to explain, in great detail, exactly how it was different.  All I am hearing from him is still the Crickets in the background.  I just love it when the rules that should be applied (in their minds) don't apply to them because they are different; sounds way too much like politics to me.

[JLSleather]

I'm not saying there aren't cheap products made which aren't worth a dime even though they claim "hand made" (because some really is just junk, regardless of how many hours someone claims they have in it).

I can make a GOOD holster with the best materials available for an actual cost of about $15.  And I could make poo in the same amount of time.  the time invested does NOT make them equal...

Yesterday, I threw two holsters in the trash, which - in my opinion - were considerably better than much of what I see for sale these days.

 

 

Edited December 20, 2016 by JLSleather