Lack of "Mid-Range" Priced Tails

[stellar lee]

I just sent an e-mail to see if I could get a darlexx swatch sent to me, and let them know exactly what I am trying to do with it.

The sequined tails are stunning and have a lovely vintage feel to them. Or I suppose they could provide a flash gordon feel as well... that could be nifty.

[Mermaid Harmony]

Coradion is now making neoprene tails.

[OrcaMatt]

I would love to explore the materials and methods of tails other than silicone. There has to be something more substantial than Spandex but not as floaty and difficult as Neoprene, that would A: be aesthetically pleasing; B: be durable; C: have significant ease of production; D: have a decent price point for materials.

Have to go to New York to see a client maybe next week, makes me want to sneak over to B&J for a look around. :P

[stellar lee]

oooh. Let us know if you find anything good!

[Mermaid Tory]

I think the reason mid range tails don't exist is because to make a tail for $400 or so, the maker would have to either make the tail at cost, or they'll be paying themselves crap for working wage, especially for semi realistic tails. When I think about it, my tail, neoprene and sequins (and I didn't even buy enough sequins to cover more than the fluke) cost $175, now factor into that if I bought enough sequins to sequin the entire tail, the thread I used, maintenance on my machine, now what if I used good quality silicone instead of sequins? what costs will I have to factor into that? the time I took to perfect my craft? more work hours? do the tools I have to use require more maintenance? how much will it cost for pigments? Will I have to rent out a space to work?

I made my first tail just recently and its neoprene and fully sequenced with two little extra heel fins sequenced. It also has a dorsal, side fins, and fluke fins but those are from shelving liner with a little sequin overlap. I've had people ask me if I could make them one expecting it to be a few hundred but honestly id have to start at 1k due to the time it took. Base materials cost around $400 or so. I kept track to start off with but ordered sequins in batches as I went so I lost track. Of course sequencing is done but hand one at a time so most of the cost is paying for the time to make it ( although i have seen a video of someone making a sequin tail and sewing the sequins on in rows on their machine but i could not do that with the smaller sequins and didnt want to put a bunch of extra holes through the neoprene)

anyways theres the view for a sequin tail

[Meghara July]

I've started selling fabric tails. I do use spandex, but I also am willing to customize it to any vision. If needed, I can do everything except alter a monofin, but that will change in the future. They run about 250 and up but I try to keep them affordable. I've been dipping my toes in the 'mid range price' market, especially after not finding too many shops in that range, like stated before. There are a lot of gaps in the market that are just waiting to be filled.

[MermaidRaegan]

I'm very excited to see what you come up with Pearlie, especially after seeing the magic you worked with your own tail! I'm also very excited about Tiggs and may very well order from them at some point, but I want to see how her silicone holds up over time first. When I first started mermaiding there were lots of midrange and cheap options, but the quality was often horrible, and it seems to me that we now have the opposite issue: lots of quality tails, but most aren't affordable for the average hobbyist.

[Wandering_Nightwind]

What are everybody's thought on latex tails?

[Mermaid Kassandra]

Hey guys me and Alexander where thinking about selling a model of silicone tails with a price of €300-500.



Probably they would include a limit number of color (from 1 to a maximum of 3) but we think it can be a good alternative and also a way to increase the market of mid range tails.



What do you think guys?

Would the community be interested in a product like this?

[Princess Pearl]

If the quality is there, I think you'll find people will go nuts for it.

[Mermaid Kassandra]

If the quality is there, I think you'll find people will go nuts for it.

We are thinking to strengthen the silicone with neoprene (the same used by Hannah for her tails) so that even if it's a mid range tail it will still be extremely durable.

[readthewind]

This thread is such a good an insightful read. I'm pretty new to tail-making and the mer community, so I don't have much to say on the matter. However, I do have a lot to learn! I come from the furry fandom where fursuit makers are regarded much like tail makers here (I think the tail makers here are respected more as artists and in general given more respect here though, to be honest). The relation is helping me understand things around here!

What I am curious about is the custom shaping of silicone tails to the customer's body. Since I have seen that measurements must be taken for a silicone tail by the big makers, I am assuming that silicone tails in general are not one-size-fits-all. Also it seems that a lot of clients have color customization along with size customization. Do you think the inherent customization to silicone tails adds greatly to the general cost?

[Yulia]

Also it seems that a lot of clients have color customization along with size customization. Do you think the inherent customization to silicone tails adds greatly to the general cost?

Mernation offers a cheaper one-color silicone tail because of that.

[readthewind]

Mernation offers a cheaper one-color silicone tail because of that.

That makes sense!

[Mermaid Alea]

Do you think the inherent customization to silicone tails adds greatly to the general cost?

Definitely. Not only will you pay more for having more colors but tailmakers will usually charge extra if you want a detailed design on your tail such as stripes, they might charge extra to add glitter, extra to add glow in the dark pigments, extra for scale tipping, extra for a blended waist, extra for individual scales, and of course you pay extra for extra fins such as dorsal, hip, heel, etc.

[Mermaid Kassandra]

Definitely. Not only will you pay more for having more colors but tailmakers will usually charge extra if you want a detailed design on your tail such as stripes, they might charge extra to add glitter, extra to add glow in the dark pigments, extra for scale tipping, extra for a blended waist, extra for individual scales, and of course you pay extra for extra fins such as dorsal, hip, heel, etc.

Yes this is because you need a lot of material in addition to do extra work, more pigments are expressive as when you order one you don't receive a big amount of it and special pigments like the glue in the dark are more expensive than the others.

[Moongazer]

I've been in the process of setting up a mid range tail company for a while now. It's only been something I've reasearched in my spare time but with a move to a place with a garage for me to work out of, this is now more of a reality then a thought.

I will be trying to make neoprene only tails and neoprene with latex, moving to silicone sometime in the future. I have a partner who's willing to help me with this as well and it would be nice to see the market have tails in all the price ranges again.