My take on the Dopp Kit

[YinTx]

[RockyAussie]

Very nice work there. I think you have done it well and in great time considering you hand stitched it. $150 would be a bargain for that sort of work and construction as a 1 off for sure.

[Rolandranch]

2 hours ago, YinTx said:

I try to remember that, but always back of my mind telling me folks are bargain hunters.... 

Stunning work, there!

Like biker and rocky said, not everyone is a bargain hunter. There's a lot of people looking for superb quality and will pay high dollar for it. I also think $150 is reasonable for your work. The saddle maker I work under charges very high prices for his work but he still has customers galore because he is known for his quality work. I'm still bad at pricing but I'll get there one day. I bumped into a leather worker at Tandy one day and we started talking about prices. He told me when pricing to never think "I'd never pay that much for that" because if everyone thought that then everyone would do leather work.  

-Ryan

[YinTx]

2 hours ago, Ferg said:

Very nice. From an old man. ol

Thanks much, Ferg!  Means a lot, coming from an old man.  The gift is going to someone in their 80's, so gives me confidence they'll like it!  I liked it enough I think I want one now... just have to find the time to make another, lol.

1 hour ago, RockyAussie said:

Very nice work there. I think you have done it well and in great time considering you hand stitched it. $150 would be a bargain for that sort of work and construction as a 1 off for sure.

Appreciate that, RockyAussie.  I'll put it out there and see what kind of a response I get, if they do sell, awesome!

7 minutes ago, Rolandranch said:

because if everyone thought that then everyone would do leather work.

This explains the plethora of leatherworkers on social media!  Even the not so good ones get a lot of traction, it seems.  This is a recent phenomena, I believe.  But, there are a lot of folks willing to pay to BIFL, and I have been one of them.  Thanks also for the compliment.

YinTx

[bikermutt07]

4 hours ago, YinTx said:

Thanks, Bikermutt.  I think you are probably accurate with the pricing, and I know I ain't the Fastest Leatherworker in the West, but the tooling took me nearly 3 hours to do, from start of drawing to finish, and the bag took me another 8-10 hours, including making the piping, hand stitching, etc.  All this totaled up for over 13 hours work, $10 zipper, $20+ leather, I'd be not be making much money. I think if someone offered me $150+, I'd do it, but I suspect they'd be shopping around at that price!

YinTx

Yeah, but if you did 5 at once you could maybe bang them out faster as a group. Then you're bringing production times down per piece.

And like the others said, maybe someone will pay 150. 

Just something to think about.

[YinTx]

10 minutes ago, bikermutt07 said:

Yeah, but if you did 5 at once you could maybe bang them out faster as a group

I wish I could, but then I'd have one custom item sold and 4 on the shelf.  Everything I do is one-off, someone wants a particular color thread, certain type of leather/color, different liner, a particular pocket, certain length shoulder strap, custom tooling, etc.  I keep wanting to make a bunch of one item, and say "this is what I've got," but when I do, the customers say "Thats nice, can you do it in green?"  I tried a tiny run of basic black belts, sold 3, still have one finished and one half way finished that I stopped on, waiting for someone to buy.  The life of a leatherworker, I suppose.  I show photos of what I've done, let the customer select size/color etc, and get to work.  If I want to try something different, I have to make a gift like this so I have something to photograph and show!

YinTx

p.s. I do plan to do some shows, so for that, you are right, I'll make 5 each of things, see how it goes.

[ScoobyNewbie]

That is beautiful work! 

[YinTx]

23 hours ago, ScoobyNewbie said:

That is beautiful work! 

Thanks, ScoobyNewbie!  

YinTx

[rodneywt1180b]

Semi custom maybe?  Same size, standard colors, custom tooling on the side panels like name, etc?  You would still have to make them one at a time but just having a standard pattern helps.

It's a great looking kit and like the others said there are people who know quality are willing to pay for it.

[keplerts]

Very nice work!  Love the piping.  To sell this at $150 that equates to only $11.50 an hour.  I don't think I would entertain any offers to make one at that price.  I try to tell my self that "I am not my customer"  just because I wouldn't pay $150 for a dopp kit, doesn't mean someone else won't.  But for that kind of quality the price should be higher and there are people who will pay it.  I think I read on here somewhere that someone said "if i'm losing money or only breaking even,  I should have probably just gone fishing".    Anyway, great job on the kit, you did a great job.