Re: Home Based Designer outfits with reasonable prices!!!
Shay, I agree w/ you regarding some designers who sell outfits for ridiculous prices. I remember the simple outfits for 400-700, and thought it was hilarious. I have no problems w/ members giving a piece of their mind, telling a designer their price is too high/ridiculous. Call a designer out when you see they're charging an arm and a leg. But calling them out for charging a ridiculous price, and trying to tell a designer what kind of profit margin they should maintain, are two separate things.
My point is that it is not for us to dictate what kind of a profit margin a designer should set for himself/herself. If I feel I am being ripped off, I won't buy from the designer, period. I will take my business elsewhere. After all, no one is forcing me to buy from this person. But I what I do not have the right to do is dictate to a designer how much profit margin he/she should be able to get out of their customer. That is for the designer to figure out and create a business model that is successful for that person. I can try and bargain and get a better price for myself, but to berate a designer cuz they're operating on a capitalistic profit-making business model where maximizing profit is the main goal doesn't make sense. We don't go to the stores of Karma, HSY, Maria B., Nomi Ansari, etc and berate them for keeping 400%+ profits. And these companies are more than HAPPY to charge an arm and a leg to overseas customers.
So what I want to know is why are we ganging up on these girls for trying to get a piece of the pie? The big designers can rip us off with a smile, and we feel happy about it cuz they're famous, and we want to be associated with their brand name and image, so we allow them to milk our egos and drain our wallets. These other people aren't, so we hold a different standard for them? What's the justification here? I'd really like to know.
Firstly, i didnt have any intention of ruining this particular "designer's" business, was just surprised after seeing the pic of the dress i made for myself quoted at such high price, and i have no doubts about the quality of work i got, maybe i got it cheaper cuz i got it around 9 months back and i know inflation rate has increased in pakistan but im sure its still not worth 325$, like c'mon u dont own a shop, u dont pay the rent, the bills, then y the high prices, and as i mentioned there are litrellay hundreds of kaam walas there and they charge reasonable prices, do u really think this dress costs Rs.23000 if u get it made from a place like gulf??if they start charging such high prices y would anyone bother going there.
and about the material, u can get good quality fabric from gulf too and that at cheaper rates as compared to the other markets, this is not the first time i made a dress for myself, i got married last year and after numerous trips to the shops and kaam walas i think iv got good knowledge about kaam and fabrics, and i said i got it made on chiffon and banaras with a raw silk shalwar, and it costs around 2000 that is if u buy it from there.
anyways, not an active member here, thought this section of GS is to discuss ur experiences so that ppl can get a good bargain, didnt know ppl mind if u tell them ur charging too much, but hey dont we tell sellers in shops the same when they start charging too much, or we quietly give them the sum they want. otherwise i dont really care who gets the orders here and who doesnt, and have better things to do in life rather than to gang up against sum unknown poster. this place is like a bazaar, just like a real bazaar where different vendors sell different things, and i think we as customers have every right to ask them about what they put up for sale, afterall we are paying our hard earned money for it . Happy Shopping, im out.
like I already mentioned, gulf market is pretty reasonable for embroidery. No offence Kiran but you need to learn how to do business first then start posting cause this way you'll never end up making any money if you say he said 15000 to you, who lives in karachi and is into fashion designing and told Fragrant_Leaf, who doesnt even live in pakistan and isnt a designer only 5000 something is seriously wrong here. Find proper people to work for you and take pictures of your own dresses, not the ones hanging in shops and Im sure you will be successful!! Good luck!
Well thanks kapra crazy for ur suggestion i would do my best whatever i can in this regard...
I am sorry, i don't want to be rude but i really have a feeling that you went to gulf etc took pictures of the clothes from different kaam wala and posted them here to sell them and make some profit for your own; I know the kaam wala there as well give discounts when you get a few clothes made from them...
OK go to the market n ask the karigar to let u take one pic of their dress if they agreed then pls share ur experience on GS.
like I already mentioned, gulf market is pretty reasonable for embroidery. No offence Kiran but you need to learn how to do business first then start posting cause this way you'll never end up making any money if you say he said 15000 to you, who lives in karachi and is into fashion designing and told Fragrant_Leaf, who doesnt even live in pakistan and isnt a designer only 5000 something is seriously wrong here. Find proper people to work for you and take pictures of your own dresses, not the ones hanging in shops and Im sure you will be successful!! Good luck!
I was looking at some white outfit you got made from lesequin, is it? And you said you paid 21000 for it? Looking at the heaviness of kaam, it looks about the same as Kiran's dresses and yours.. so not to be rude or anything but if you're paying so much yourself for a copy of a designer's outfit, I don't see what the objection to her prices are about? 21k translates into a good dollar amount too and if lesequin can make a good profit off their outfits, I don't think any of us should be telling Kiran what's reasonable for her clothes :) I am sure lesequins' kaarigars and tailors don't charge any more than what Gulf does.
Re: Home Based Designer outfits with reasonable prices!!!
shay, normally teh reson people go to home based deisgners is because the prices are low. If I buy from lesequin or bargello or indusmart and they ask for $s it's the whole setup that makes me comfortable paying that. Where as here the designer walked into a market and took random pictures at shops at posted them here. If I pay and get a dress from any of the above mentioned websites and tell people I paid 21000 it'll make sense to them. If I say I got embroidery done from gulf in 21000 they'll laugh at me.
You yourself will do the same thing, so will I, so will everyone else! Peace out!
Re: Home Based Designer outfits with reasonable prices!!!
^Not really, I don't think many people will do the same thing. If both parties' clothes are turning out to be the same, I don't see why she cannot make the same profits as other businesses. And we don't know how 'established' this lesequin is. Alot of people already told us that Bargello is a tiny lil dirty shop and not a big business as we imagine them to be by their super-high prices. So whether it's a homebased designer or someone with a fancy website, there's no reason to tell either what to charge because it is the product that matters in the end, not the low or high set up. As for the pictures taken at Gulf, I think she already denied that =)
I don't see why we need to pick on someone and ruin their 'small' business just because they are not professional enough to own a website or have a number of associates working for them. You never know, the same person might become more established later on because alot of people do start small. Like I said before, it's the end product that matters more than anything else =)
Re: Home Based Designer outfits with reasonable prices!!!
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Please keep your comments limited to review of the products pricing quality etc. Please avoid personal remarks about the designer or other posters.
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If I buy from lesequin or bargello or indusmart and they ask for $s it's the whole setup that makes me comfortable paying that. Where as here the designer walked into a market and took random pictures at shops at posted them here.
I have purchased from bargello - and seriously it seemed to me that someone went to a kaam wala and said can you make this for me and they copied it as the best they can - (not a very good copy either)
Bargello - does not have designers sitting there evaluating every order. They want to get your business and that's it. They just have a fancy website but I was not satisfied with their quality of work
I persoanlly like to see the pictures of the real outfits I am buying RATHER than seeing it on models taken with professional photographers and then your clothes look NOTHING like that.
shay, normally teh reson people go to home based deisgners is because the prices are low. If I buy from lesequin or bargello or indusmart and they ask for $s it's the whole setup that makes me comfortable paying that. Where as here the designer walked into a market and took random pictures at shops at posted them here. If I pay and get a dress from any of the above mentioned websites and tell people I paid 21000 it'll make sense to them. If I say I got embroidery done from gulf in 21000 they'll laugh at me.
You yourself will do the same thing, so will I, so will everyone else! Peace out!
I think you're making assumptions without being sure of the facts. I do know for a fact that at least 2-3 home-based designers here post original works of design. There may be tons of similar designs everywhere, but we all understand copying designs is part of the business. I have one friend who has ordered from one such home-based designer, and I have seen pictures of how her outfit is turning out, and it is true to what the designer has advertised and promised, and no, the pictures did not come from shop windows. She advertised her original work, and she's delivering it.
Some of the biggest companies in the world today started in someone's garage/kitchen/living room/dorm. Microsoft started in a garage, Google started in a dorm room. Just because a business person does not have a fancy-looking website does not make that person any less viable. Their quality, customer service, and product are the real factors.
I ordered an outfit about a year ago from a lady who owns a store in the Tri-State, has nice clothing w/ pretty designs that she says she has her kaarigars make in PK, and has her own website too. I trusted her to make me a salwar suit copy that would look just like the picture, and I did pay a pretty penny for it. The final outcome of my outfit was definitely not what I had imagined, and I felt totally ripped off. Bad lesson learned. I thought I had done all my research, but I was still wrong. I do not recommend anyone implicitly trust any designer, home-based or website-owning. But at least on this forum, we have these review threads, so we can find out who's good, who's not. And we spread the word about who's bad, so other people don't get burned like us. But don't assume one is better than the other either just based on pictures. You can still get ripped off either way.
^Not really, I don't think many people will do the same thing. If both parties' clothes are turning out to be the same, I don't see why she cannot make the same profits as other businesses. And we don't know how 'established' this lesequin is. Alot of people already told us that Bargello is a tiny lil dirty shop and not a big business as we imagine them to be by their super-high prices. So whether it's a homebased designer or someone with a fancy website, there's no reason to tell either what to charge because it is the product that matters in the end, not the low or high set up. As for the pictures taken at Gulf, I think she already denied that =)
I don't see why we need to pick on someone and ruin their 'small' business just because they are not professional enough to own a website or have a number of associates working for them. You never know, the same person might become more established later on because alot of people do start small. Like I said before, it's the end product that matters more than anything else =)
Re: Home Based Designer outfits with reasonable prices!!!
ok guys no more comments please!i'm here for a business not to let others down in order to run my business...coz business is all about luck if luck will be in ur favour then no one can ever stop ur clients to cum to u and vise versa..
HINT: For some ppl (try to make ur product more attractive to attract customers than to spoil others products) Thanks
shay, normally teh reson people go to home based deisgners is because the prices are low. If I buy from lesequin or bargello or indusmart and they ask for $s it's the whole setup that makes me comfortable paying that. Where as here the designer walked into a market and took random pictures at shops at posted them here. If I pay and get a dress from any of the above mentioned websites and tell people I paid 21000 it'll make sense to them. If I say I got embroidery done from gulf in 21000 they'll laugh at me.
You yourself will do the same thing, so will I, so will everyone else! Peace out!
thats not true, it depends upon business to business and their future plans.
even IF i assume she has got it made from gulf still she has every right to charge what she thinks is right and based on her costs and how much value she thinks can give to her name.
she may have got it made for 6000-8000 doesnt matter if she thinks as a business she has to take into consideration promotion costs if she plans to, sampling costs etc.
how much value you give to your name that matters not whether you are home based or a corporations i would prefer a home based with good reputation as i know when in problem i dont have to run around from extension to extension.
even if she had got it made from gulf give her sometime if she is shrewed and if Allahs Blessings are on her may be next collection of hers would be from her own factory.
also i would not belive this is same dress with same materials unless she shows photos as little i know may be it looks similar but may have different materials, different tanks/embroidery stitches etc, this is where difference lies, so many people selling same designs some on dirt cheap rates but they fail remember zarri channel , because it costs too much to ensure quality and specially when you are copying.
once we had been a small setup as well almost home based with a office, and customers who know us know even today our customer service is being done from home My Dearest wife looks after it from home, i am not good at dealing with customers :) .
still long road to go but we also started with selling lawns and God it wasnt profitable and too tough, first collection we made hardly one or two dresses have been sold from that till TODAY and that we got made from market and then second was good enough to keep us alive and then the third one (copying stuff came too late to us frankly never liked it and doesnt like it today as well deep inside me)and now the fourth one now 50-60% of orders are from our own new collection and inshAllah with next one we would be able to go 100% with our own brand.
