Morticia Mermaid
11-23-2012, 12:30 PM
Ok, so I recently started a new blog. And, I was thinking (specially since about 90% of it has to do with mermaiding, or there abouts) that I would start copying each post (just the mermaid related ones) and paste them onto this thread. I just want people to know that I will end up talking about some controversial things, my intention is not to start any drama, only to provide an incite into how I see certain things and possibly help others. I do not believe in just sweeping issues under a rug, or draping a sheet over them, trying to hide them. There will be lots of issues that I will bring up and go over, I apologize if anyone gets upset (again its not my intention to start drama or upset anyone, only provide a possibly different angle at which to view situations).
I figure I will start with todays post~
Cost and Quality
Recently I have noticed a LOT of people complaining about pricing of items, specially amongst the mermaiding community. I feel the need to explain some things so that people can understand why things are priced they are, specially since I am a Tailmaker myself.
First, if you want a cheap price for something, expect to get a cheap product. People push for prices to be lower and lower, so producers are forced to make the product with lower quality materials, thus affecting the overall quality of the finished product. People cannot expect a high quality item for an extreme low price. If I made my Premium Tail (which is painted 2mm neoprene plus a monofin) for the price that people have asked me to make it, I would essentially be paying for half the cost of materials to make the tail. The cost of materials alone for a Premium Tail is about $400. That is using good, high quality materials. My prices right now for that specific tail is $470, so you can see that if I lower my prices anymore, I would be making 0 money for the time and work I put into making a tail.
It bugs me a lot just how uneducated people can be. That when it comes to buying something of high value, they take very little to no time to research about products used to make something (such as a mermaid tail). For example, (I hate naming names, but I see this all the time and it bothers me a lot) Mertailor makes a Realistic latex tail for around $500. Now, he states clearly in the product description that it is made with NEOPRIN, which is an extremely cheap option to neoprene. Neoprin is a very poor quality material, and when considered that it will have latex molded over the top of it there are some things that people need to think about. Latex stretches yes, but has very little "bounce back", layer that over a poor quality material that is already lacking its own bounce back and you can imagine the quality of item you are going to get. (If you would like to see the difference between Neoprin and Neoprene, I have personally done a comparison between the 2 with photos and video. It can be found here (http://mernetwork.com/index/showthread.php?3374-Neoprene-Vs-Neoprin).)
Note: I want to state now that I have not personally bought one of Mertailors Realistic tails, so the information I am providing is from working with these materials myself. I am in NO way bagging, bashing, or trying to knock Mertailors reputation. I have personally spoken with the owner, Eric, and found him VERY pleasant to speak with (Even though I had heard differently from numerous people).
As you can see, there is a direct correlation between cost and quality of an item, no matter what the item. I hope this has helped at least one person in making a decision on any item that they buy.
I figure I will start with todays post~
Cost and Quality
Recently I have noticed a LOT of people complaining about pricing of items, specially amongst the mermaiding community. I feel the need to explain some things so that people can understand why things are priced they are, specially since I am a Tailmaker myself.
First, if you want a cheap price for something, expect to get a cheap product. People push for prices to be lower and lower, so producers are forced to make the product with lower quality materials, thus affecting the overall quality of the finished product. People cannot expect a high quality item for an extreme low price. If I made my Premium Tail (which is painted 2mm neoprene plus a monofin) for the price that people have asked me to make it, I would essentially be paying for half the cost of materials to make the tail. The cost of materials alone for a Premium Tail is about $400. That is using good, high quality materials. My prices right now for that specific tail is $470, so you can see that if I lower my prices anymore, I would be making 0 money for the time and work I put into making a tail.
It bugs me a lot just how uneducated people can be. That when it comes to buying something of high value, they take very little to no time to research about products used to make something (such as a mermaid tail). For example, (I hate naming names, but I see this all the time and it bothers me a lot) Mertailor makes a Realistic latex tail for around $500. Now, he states clearly in the product description that it is made with NEOPRIN, which is an extremely cheap option to neoprene. Neoprin is a very poor quality material, and when considered that it will have latex molded over the top of it there are some things that people need to think about. Latex stretches yes, but has very little "bounce back", layer that over a poor quality material that is already lacking its own bounce back and you can imagine the quality of item you are going to get. (If you would like to see the difference between Neoprin and Neoprene, I have personally done a comparison between the 2 with photos and video. It can be found here (http://mernetwork.com/index/showthread.php?3374-Neoprene-Vs-Neoprin).)
Note: I want to state now that I have not personally bought one of Mertailors Realistic tails, so the information I am providing is from working with these materials myself. I am in NO way bagging, bashing, or trying to knock Mertailors reputation. I have personally spoken with the owner, Eric, and found him VERY pleasant to speak with (Even though I had heard differently from numerous people).
As you can see, there is a direct correlation between cost and quality of an item, no matter what the item. I hope this has helped at least one person in making a decision on any item that they buy.