Cappuccino Thoughts 23: On How I Lost Money Selling a $450 Bag
Plus some killer green pants and a sparkling book rec
Hello and merhaba from Istanbul! I’m in Turkey for a week on holiday and am attempting to produce another batch of bags while I’m here.
If you’ve been reading these missives for a while, you’ll know that I created a small line of luxury handbags to learn about how to manufacture and sell products in today’s market. I am upcycling vintage designer handbags, cleaning them up, and retrofitting them with new, colorful linings to create one of a kind pieces for the girl who wants her bag with a little character. My idea was to “build out loud” and share my learnings with all of you, so here are my three major takeaways, and the answer to how I could possibly have taken a loss on a $450 handbag.
1. Marketing is the hardest part.
At least for me! I’m not someone who naturally likes selling myself (also why I prefer writing these newsletters to posting on social media), so pitching my products was the most dread-inducing part of the process, even with all the production difficulties. But, as they say, you never know until you try, and I was so thrilled when I spoke with Liv, the owner of the boutique where I’m selling my bags. She immediately understood what I was doing and agreed to showcase the brand. I do think I’ll probably have to get on TikTok (cue more dread) at some point, but let’s see how brick-and-mortar does for now.
2. Trying to create something unique today comes with risk.
When I spoke with a boutique owner in Westport, CT, she advised I be careful where I show my bags, since buyers and designers from fast fashion brands, in her telling, come to her store, buy her expensive but unique products, then mass produce them at a tenth of the cost and half the quality. She said she’s completely aware of what they’re doing, but she’s powerless to stop them.
3. Brands offshore because it is often simply too difficult and expensive to produce in the US.
I really wanted to produce everything I make in the US. I started thinking about this project while in North Carolina at a workshop about domestic manufacturing and supply chain. I’m even a board advisor to a fashion non-profit committed to revitalizing American craftsmanship. I really care deeply about this! But the cost breakdown has made this nearly impossible for me. To be fully transparent, I pay between $30-80 for each bag, plus $5-10 for the lining and some leather polish. The kicker is the $210 I had to pay per bag at the only cobbler in New York who was skilled enough to successfully re-line these bags. (The only other place that said yes to this project charged $85, then ruined one of my bags.) I priced the largest bag at $450, which already felt more expensive than I wanted to charge since it’s something I want to be accessible to my friends. Tack on the 40% commission I pay to the boutique (which is totally fair in my mind, since I’m basically paying for a tiny amount of retail footprint plus and access to her customer base), plus labels, the Shopify website fee, film for photos I produced for an editorial, and transportation costs to take these bags around the city. My production costs are roughly $300, while my take-home after-commission is $270, netting me a $30 loss on each bag.
I’m not at all saying any of this to complain. I’m really proud of what I’ve produced, and it’s brought me such joy to see people wearing and enjoying the bags. But it does show me why brands choose to off-shore, and has forced me to lessen my own judgment around these choices.
I’m currently sitting at my gate in the Istanbul airport to fly to Izmir, which is incidentally one of the textile manufacturing capitals of the world and filled with skilled craftspeople. While there, I’m going to speak to some cobblers to see if they’ll take on this project. Even with a rush fee, I expect to have significant cost savings compared to producing in New York.
My brand is very small, but I hope this breakdown shows some of the challenges of creating and selling products as an independent producer today.
Look of the week
What’s on the bedside table
My friend A., an agent’s assistant, recommended Cleopatra and Frankenstein, Coco Mellors’ debut novel, when she heard I was headed on vacation. “It’s like Normal People in New York,” she said, knowing I devoured the Sally Rooney novel in a day on a beach trip a few years ago. I was immediately sold. The dialogue, especially in the opening ten pages, sparkles with wit and callbacks, exactly my kind of humor. I found myself laughing out loud as I fell in love with the ethereal Cleo, the kind of girl who wears fur coats with cowboy boots and manages to make it look good. She and Frank, twenty years her senior, find themselves in a quickie marriage and try to make it work amidst a cast of New York characters muddling their way through their glitzy lives in the city. I will say I did not love when, as with Normal People, it took a depressive turn. But it kept me totally engrossed for the first half of my ten-hour flight. I still have 100 pages left, but I feel fairly confident giving it five stars.
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This week I will be hitting the beach in Turkey and attempting to read one book a day. If there’s enough interest, I can also put together a travel guide to Turkey. Let me know!
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