Leather BS (aka nashville hustle)

[JLSleather]

Now tha's just flippin' funny.  Fat female foreigner in Nashville tonight, said she stopped by a 'craft show' with a bunch of stands. Just browsing.. she's a bit of a shopping junky.  Anyway, came across some hideous "journal" things in soft leather... wrinkled her nose at 'em and started off. But the gal selling them (at $40/ea) seemed determined to pitch her "all the work that goes into those" speech.  Tha's a mistake .. my wife knows $2.47 worth of leather when she sees it

Rough edges, sad stitching, and peddled to unsuspecting tourists along side a strip of leather with a snap they called "cuffs" (which were $20 more).

I see this type of junk every day, and apparently it sells well to the ignorant who want to be able to say "look what i got in nashville".  After Elvis died, not much cause for go to nashville...

[Stetson912]

I wish we had pictures of these things to laugh at haha. It's one thing to make something and try to sell it. Even if the quality isn't great but it's priced accordingly (maybe?).But to deliberately try and peddle some second rate crap and then try and convince everyone that it's great stuff is just sad and disgusting. 

[JLSleather]

Sometimes, I could swear Im SURROUNDED.  Just ACCIDENTALLY came across a video review of a different guy's holster.  Guy giving the "review" is impressed that the holster maker had the "forethought" to ask him if he is right or left handed, and the "forethought" (seems to like that word) to ask if he carried a mag with the bullets forward or backward.

Sorry... I don't call that "forethought" to ask that.  I would have called it ignorant to not ask that.  Seriously, anybody ever get an order for ONE holster and NOT ask if it's right or left handed?   That's like someone asking you to make a belt and not telling you the size - you have to be slow en la cabesa to NOT ask.

A few minutes along the video, the guy points out that he was NOT paid to do the video, no discount on the holster, etc... since he had been asked that before. 

 

[battlemunky]

Funny you bring this up @JLSleather, I was at a festival in TN yesterday and there were a few tables set up selling "genuine leather" stuff, a few belts and bracelets with some beads and metal placards with "belief" or "Faith" or "Love" or "journey" or what have you. They were asking $20.... All of it was clearly mass produced China made trash.

Up until then I was thinking about making stuff for the next year and then getting a spot at that festival but how do you compete with crap? I could make and sell real stuff for $20 that would blow that junk away. But by offering superior quality goods for the same price, I feel like that cheapens my work, while upping my price to account for the crap the other vendor is selling just feels wrong too. 

Am I seeing that right?

The leather market is odd. I don't even want to offer my stuff up for purchase there now if the vendors I'd be competing against for the $ would be selling Chinese junk for similar prices. Maybe I should just try it and see but it feels like I'd be selling myself and my stuff short somehow. 

[JLSleather]

You was in the right place!  Wife said they had a bunch of crap stamped "faith" and "believe" and other standard 'one hit' stamps.  She said they "must be doing well" since there were about 50 booths selling that type of thing.  But the GRIFT runs higher than that.. you can believe they paid a good bit just to have that spot on "sucker row' since the people running the show want their 'cut' too!

As for pricing mine or yours, I don't think it should have anything to do with the price on someone else's.  Next guy has "overhead" he/she rants has to be included. I've actually seen some (cutesy is full of them) who say their time is worth money, so they add $30 for driving the package to the post office   Hey, some guys "date" other guys.. so no telling WHAT people will come up with to justify what they do. None of it my concern

Last "show" I was at was years ago.  Set up a tent, tables, all that... laid out different types of goods, complete with a girlie there to take care of handbags and such.  Know the big sellers that week?  #1 was the hot dog stand.. non stop.  #2 was some gal selling old "repurposed" clay bricks stenciled with the Iowa State Cyclones logo for #10 each.. must have sold a flatbed full of 'em, and likely sued subsequently (yeah, they pretty dogged about defending that trademark, too).  Bottom line - some folk just out to shop, don't really care what they're buying.  And some don't really want ANYTHING, just want to be able to say they got it "remember our trip?"  

All those scams:

• Look at all the time and work went in to this
• It's "rustic"- it's SUPPOSED TO look like that (and if you was smarter, you should know that, of course)
• Well, you have to break it in first

and others, will go on as long as there are people not educated.  Which is why you see people EVERYWHERE staunchly trying to shut off any mention of the facts   "It took me a long time" could simply mean you're S L O W

SO, yeah - I wouldn't alter your pricing based on what somebody else does (or doesn't do).  

[battlemunky]

I may find a different festival to go to but I will price my stuff before I leave the house and hold to it regardless of competitors crap. If nothing else, people can see my wares and take a card for future business.

[JLSleather]

[OLDNSLOW]

in part that is why I am throwing in the towel hard to compete with cheep chit I never have and never will compromise what I feel I should charge.  I had a photography business forty years ago in the Los Angeles area doing weddings and always face the question of would I do it cheaper or if I would do it cheaper I could be their wedding photographer, and they always left looking for some one else.

[Big Sioux Saddlery]

2 hours ago, JLSleather said:

  Know the big sellers that week?  #1 was the hot dog stand.. non stop. 

I have forever said that instead of trying to peddle leather goods at the trade shows, we ought to have a food booth!  Or beer, at the shows that offer that!

[chrisash]

FRom what I have seen there is loads of cheap Far East goods at silly money, but no way would i call them crap as they are very well made by mass production with low cost workers

I know I could never buy the leather for the money they charge but people are quite happy to buy them knowing they will only last 12-24 months and then need a new replacement, but then most of us by cheap underwear or socks, polo shirts, t-shirts knowing they will never last more than 12 months if that, they will also buy any cheap item, which is cheap only by comparing it against other home made items made by higher wage costs

Many home made items are more expensive because the makers dont export but just deal with the home market making their total market relitivly small so they cannot afford to invest into the most modern production methods

In England we were always brought up that british was best and in many cases it was true, but nowdays you cannot buy a british made aircraft and sheffield steel is now a tiny industry compared to what it was, andonly a tiny number of ships are made in Britain, I guess its the same in most first world countries