Tailor Archive

I went into Maggie's shop last night for the first time in a long time and I must say it looked fantastic. I browsed the vendors for a bit and then asked Maggie if she actually gets the prices she's asking. Well that lead into a good discussion about being a tailor and the service we provide to people.

And after that and having a customer just after asking me to make him look pimpin and telling me how fantastic i did with just that to go on. I've decided that I have been charging way to little for my services , I had been pricing items as simply so many credits per resource used and after her talk and that customer I realized that doing it that way really sells us short.

I went into Maggie's shop last night for the first time in a long time and I must say it looked fantastic. I browsed the vendors for a bit and then asked Maggie if she actually gets the prices she's asking. Well that lead into a good discussion about being a tailor and the service we provide to people.

And after that and having a customer just after asking me to make him look pimpin and telling me how fantastic i did with just that to go on. I've decided that I have been charging way to little for my services , I had been pricing items as simply so many credits per resource used and after her talk and that customer I realized that doing it that way really sells the tailor profession short.

Anyway just figured I didn't let Maggie know how thankful I was for her time and enlightenment and I would do it here.

dam i hit tab to start a paragraph and i got two posts instead

Trying to make sure this one gets noticed

Thankfully, for every customer who complains about the price of clothing, I have 6 who say nothing about it, and 3 who praise me for a wonderful job. Some customers are easy, but there are those who 1) don't know exactly what they want, 2) have a vague idea of what they do want, and 3) know right away when you show them something they don't want. These types are the ones who I get the most praise from, because when you do find that perfect outfit, they're ecstatic. Those are the ones it's fun to work with, and they understand that the price in clothing includes the 30 minutes you sent with them.

My pricing is about 20% higher than the next highest I've seen. 10x higher than some I've seen.

I have a small, but steady supply customers who don't mind. Because basically, after they've finished the scramble to get that gun at 20,000 and the armor at 60,000, then their pocket books become flush. I'm now dealing with customers who make 150k/hr running missions. Spending 10k on an outfit is nothing to them. Literally. Several of them not only pay my rates, but will tip another 10-25%.

I laugh at the tailors who are selling things at fixed ratios based off resources. More often than not, they're actually paying their clients to take the clothes. If you're a tailor and you don't have at least 5 digits in your bank account, guess where your money's going?

I don't do 'on spot' sales anymore. Someone requests specifics, I just tell them to send me an e-mail outlining what they want and the colors desired. Then, when I'm at my next crafting session, I make it and send them an e-mail that the order is ready to pick up on the vendor.

I also put a minimal access fee on my shop. This has 2 advantages... keeps critters from chasing you indoors, as they don't have the money to pay the access fee, and filters out most of those annoying people that want a dress uniform, boots and a bracelet, but tell you 'I only have 200cr.'

When someone doesn't know exactly what they want, I send them to my vendor. I usually have at least 2 of every possible item of clothing available on the vendor. They can window-shop there. If they don't like the color choices there, then they can send me an e-mail order.

In the long run, it keeps things much simpler. I have far, far fewer hassle customers than I hear about from other tailors.

Thank you Jodocow You just made my day. If I can help you in anyway, you pretty well know where to find me.

I love Maggie!!!

She's mentored and helped me as well. She is always nice and helpful in every way. In my opinion she is THE best tailor on the server and has my utmost respect!

Three cheers for Maggie!

Many people of different professions stick with price per resource as what to charge. I'm in a pure service profession myself (Image Design.. I ended up giving up tailoring) so if I was like them I'd charge nothing. My typical payment is 500-1500 credits for probably an average of 3-4 minutes of work. If someone asks a price, I usually get more than I quote. (I actaully got 300k for one session once... But I don't know any other image designers to make that much at once)

The other day I was furnishing my house and a friend's house. Mine was a large but was mostly done. My friend's was a medium that had all of a bed in it. (Both Naboo) The architect easily spent an hour or two working with us, waiting there idle while we took what they made and placed it just right..

In the end I asked what the damage was.. He told me 5000 credits. I just stared at him in shock and gave him 50000 credits. I still feel I was being a bit cheap.

Crafting professions are not pure product professions, they are service professions. This is especially true of tailoring. Unfortunately too few tailors do this. I am a bit of a challenge clothing wise, being a guy looking for dancing clothes..I have a general idea, but I like to experiment too.. I'm not afraid to try new things, and pay for failed experiments. My favorite tailors are the ones I can just go in and say I want to look like X, or tell them I want an outfit to go with this particular piece of clothing, or dress me to match this female outfit.. I would pay well for that kind of service. However, the only tailor that gives me that level is a friend so she never charges me.