Tailor Archive
Thread: Nivea's Outfits Pricing Compilation
I love Nivea's website and pricing. As a fellow master tailor I I use her website as somewhat of a guide for my pricing. I have a few items that I charge more for and a few I charge less for, but overall I think she has hit most of them right on the head. For everyone whining about the prices being too high, go and make your own stuff. The time and money it took for me to be able to make these things is far greater than the time it will take you to earn the credits to buy one. Training alone took well over 100k in credits.
Credits are laughably easy to come by. I was able to get all of the money I needed to reach master tailor by running missions on tatooine. I only had my 10 lots, payed maintenence on all of my harvesters and factories, bought my first house and paid for all my own training (unfortunately there was no one above me who could train me for free). So don't whine to me that you cant come up with the credits need to buy clothes at a decent prices when it's such a tiny fraction of what I had to pay to make them.
Nivea: Thanks again for your website very helpful to me and very well done.
Kessi - Master Tailor - Eclipse
Outside Kaadara, Naboo @ 4324 / 5603
I love her website as well, I just disagree with the prices. Her website is argueable the best looking tailor site out there.
I say again to each their own all of us have it in us to charge what we think is fair, my only point at all was I am tired of people running down the people who charge less than they do. It is silly, and it is uncalled for.
My prices are what the yare I am higher than some and lower than some, but the yare my prices. I can make a living and cover my costs. I feel as though I am turning a great profit for tiem invested and I am enjoying the proffesion for what it is. I do nto see it as a cash cow, I see it as somethign I wanted to do. I don;t see it as "work", I see it as a game and as such fun. I don;t view it however as a "throw away" I won't sell at a loss ebcause I can recoupe my losses on missions.
I actually have a markup that I think is fairbut at times I find it too high myself.
/shrug
Macbeth13 wrote:
There is such a thing as customer backlash, those of you who go for the money grab now will in fact suffer to some degree later when people who price fairly are able to compete with you and it is only a matter of time. Some people can grind up to master faster than others; some of us have more free time than others. Eventually though clothing demand will die down a bit, and there will be more competition. Some consumers remember things like being robbed blind for an item.
Heh. My prices seem to be mostly on what people are considering high-end, but I regularly have customers tip me even more than I ask for. True, I have the occasional customer who can't afford what they really want, but most of the time they're gracious and tell me they'll come back later. They're almost always brand new noob characters. I cut new characters a discount, but only on Domestic Arts level items. Most of them wind up taking some discounted DA things and then come back in a few days with tons of credits and buy what they really want.
I'm not a Master Tailor. Not even halfway. There are plenty of people on my server and planet who can make the exact same items. Yet the folks I've worked with in the past regularly come back to me. They make large orders (several outfits worth of clothes), and when I add all the items up even I'm sometimes shocked at how high it sounds. I tell them the price, I usually get the full amount and an added tip. So even though I'm charging more than some folks think is reasonable, my customers obviously don't think they're being "robbed blind."
I think this furious uprising of customers angry about outrageous prices sounds a little more like wishful thinking...
Macbeth13 wrote:
Do you offer the same service to your customers? No right? Well in the above real world example what would you do? Honestly, and I don't know you so please don't take this the wrong way BE HONEST with me here. Are you telling me you would not demand a refund and take your business elsewhere? If not than you would in fact be a poor consumer, maybe worse than not shopping around to begin with before you buy.
Obviously in real life I'd definately go back for the better deal. But I wouldn't blame the store for their pricing. I'd blame myself for not shopping around. You may not believe it, but that's how I'd feel. This is mostly because I worked retail for about 6 years, so I know how it works. I've had real people who would usually never be rude to a stranger literally yell at me over as little as $3. People will actually raise their voices at you as you calmly try to explain that the sale paper they're holding expired a month ago, and as you point out the date on the ad. Anyone who's ever had to work a low wage job knows how you get treated, and will never subject some other poor person to that kind of behavior.
That's my real life perspective. But this is a game. My real life dollars are more important (and harder to get) than virtual credits. I have never had a customer contact me saying "oh, I found a crafter who was selling at half your price. Can I return my item?" Truthfully, I'm not sure what I'd do. But it hasn't happened yet, and honestly I can't see it happening. When I find something in game cheaper than what I paid for it, I think "hey, I could have gotten a deal if I'd waited. Oh well."
Are there some people who start going to other tailors when they find cheaper prices? I'm sure. But I do have a good amount of repeat business. I try to provide excellent customer service and a fun atmosphere. And to the large amount of characters who can easily afford my prices, that's often worth more than a small savings. In a game like this, people are more likely to do business with players they like, instead of the lowest priced players on the block.
I'm trying to make my business more like a high-class boutique than mass market Wal-Mart. I know that's hard for some people to see since all of us can make the same items, but it's as much in the service and atmosphere I try to provide as it is in the pricing. Once decay gets added in the difference will be much clearer. I've already been travelling the galaxy finding and storing the highest quality materials.
Those of us who seek out the best materials instead of just being happy with whatever spawns on our home planets will be the ones making the most durable and therefore most valuable clothes. Personally, I don't think the lower priced crafters will be as able to afford to travel around the galaxy every couple ofdays in order to support harvesters on several different planets and look for deals on each planet's hide markets.
leokaboom wrote:
macbeth, snowleeper, did you pay for your own training?
Yes.
I have not ONCE been trained by another player in tailoring, the funny thing was the other day I went to the tailor trainer in DG and there was Master tailor right there at the station. I didn ot even stop to think to ask for training I am just in the habit of paying for it.
The girl I was with at the time called me "blonde" for not savign myself the 8k credits for Casual III, and to be honest I really could have used to cash. It was just reflex.
Would I accept free training? Certainly I would I just never seem to be on when there are a large host of other tailors around ro maybe it is the cities I frequent.
Hope that answers the question.
Donnah that was a great post, and I can't argue any of your points.
I also appreciate your honesty about not knowing how you would rpoceede if asked for a refund, it was basically what I was assuming.
I could however understand a "Wal-Mart" ve high-class boutique model a bit more if there was actually a difference i nthe quality of the items we made or some difference that would allow you to stand apart.
Service in the above becomes key, as does selection, and convieniance. So if all things are the same, if I offer what you do, my vendors are stocked, I have a good selection, a good eye for colors, and I provide excellent friendly and prompt service. If you charge 12k for an item I sell for 6k there really will be customer backlash.
I can speak for only the peopel like me personally, if I went to your shop and was charged 12k and the shop up the road charged 6k for the same item and the service difference was negligable it is the shop with the 6k items tha tI waypoint, and it is THAT waypoint I distribute to my friends when they ask me where I bougth my cloths.
Not the gal who charged double.
You guys can give me low ratings on my posts if you like, it does not change the facts.
Macbeth,
It's really simple for me. Judging by the way you handle your arguments on this forum, I know you to be a sound thinker, and I know you will understand this.
My time, my fun, is worth what I think it is worth. I want to be like Donna, in that, people know they can come to me and get good custom gear at reasonable prices (reflecting today's economy), and that they can expect to get my utmost attention to detail and their pleasures. I have customers, that will only shop with me, because I am honest, I am friendly, socialable, have reasonable prices reflecting location, and because they like me. If Joe Sixpack wants to shop around for the absolutely lowest prices (even with the promise of attention and care), then that's fine with me. I want the person who knows, or finds me an engaging person and tailor. I want a newbie to walk in, and be suprised at how super I treat him as iff he has 100K in his bank account when he only has 680c. When I get that, I am rewarded. Often times my price is doubled in a tip. I humbly thank them, and move on to the next customer. I treat that customer the same as the next. My repeat customers, even get better attention (if that is possible). If they aren't comfortable with paying what I charge, they wouldn't be shopping from me. If someone like snowleeper wants to be the "Wal-mart" of SWG and mass produce 50 master items a day, so bet it. I can gaurentee, that those 50 customers are not getting the kind of wonderful service and atmosphere as the customers who shop with me.
BenjCaliman
Yes I can totally understand where you are coming from, and I can't fault you for it. I can see someone paying more for personal service. Not only do I understand it I imagine I would want that myself, if I took time to see each customer as opposed to doing most of my business off a terminal I would likely need to charge more actually. Time in fact equals money, and as such people are willing to pay for the personal touch.
I know today on Kettemore where I do not have a tailor I was looking for an outfit and I just could not find it, if I was able to locate a tailor who would take the time to listen to me, and then help me out by making items for me to see and try so to speak. I would expect I would have been much happier than I was with my Bazaar items which left me wanting more.
Time is money, and I can understand that. Maybe that merits a higher charge, and I can surely see people paying more for it. I know in my case today I would have. If I had the credits that is 
So I guess I can see both sides of the debate clearly, maybe if I was full time tailor in a shop grounded or even traveling I would want to and need to charge more. I had not faceted in time used in that manner into my math. That was an over sight on my part I think.
I will still stand by my guns, some of the arguments I heard for why it is okay to over charge will still make me cringe, but not in this case. In this case I would say I stand corrected. 