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Hi Melody.
I noticed the curls had an increase in price. Does this mean that all curls from now all will be more? What about the other sculpts? Are we going to see some price increase for all?
Ouch…I sure hope not. That’s a really big increase. Curlies are pretty much the only sculpt I can afford and they were steep to begin with. :/
I wonder if cost of materials have gone up. The jump doesn’t bother me so much, because I do see $10 as reasonable if materials have shot up, but more than that not as reasonable, unless there was a lot of detailing that needed to be done more than is already present, like a striped design or bengal pattern.
Susie answered this on the store page – the price of materials have in fact gone up and the labor on small sculpts is actually more than the labor on larger ones. Curlies have fairly complex color schemes in a lot of cases too for something that tiny.
I think it’s important to remember that an airbrush is not as precise as hand painting – so the more colors on a smaller area, the more time it takes to make it look good. 🙂
… and they were steep to begin with. :/
This is how I feel. I actually only bought them because they were the only sculpts that came in so many colors! I doubt I’ll buy another. When the sand curls first came out, I skipped on them because they were $60.
Susie answered this on the store page – the price of materials have in fact gone up and the labor on small sculpts is actually more than the labor on larger ones. Curlies have fairly complex color schemes in a lot of cases too for something that tiny.
I think it’s important to remember that an airbrush is not as precise as hand painting – so the more colors on a smaller area, the more time it takes to make it look good. 🙂
I see. I rarely go to the store forum area. That still only half answers my question though. If price of materials have gone up, the other half of my question still stands – will all sculpts have an increase?
As for the airbrush bit, I use an airbrush often enough to know that if you have the right pieces, doing small details and the like aren’t hard but yeah, it can be really time consuming. But that’s just my opinion, I suppose.
While it might not be harder, taking more time can add up. It’s easier to see if you break it down to hours spent on a piece in 1 color vs. hours spent on the same exact piece in another color. You also have to finish off some things by hand still, like accent colors.
We do not have a plan to raise the price of everything. We raise prices as is indicated by the cost of making them. Most of our things have stayed the same for nearly 5 years. The reality is that we should probably be raising prices every year to keep up with the costs of running a business that go up every year! The Curled Dragons, small as they are, are expensive to make, the price had to go up. We do not enjoy raising prices but we have to be able to pay our bills (which include the paying the Windstone Elves that make these things!). We apologize, but we have to raise a price now and then.
Its still better than the 15% price increase that happened to all Windstones a few years ago. The Emperor went from $275 to $344-ouch. I seem to remember the old warrior at $160, but 15% of $260 is $221. Either way, it was a LOT. I dont normally buy the curlies anyway because even $50 seems a lot for such a small dragon. Maybe I just dont love the sculpt. I do love some of the colors they come in though! I wish there were more pieces painted in Glacier
Outside of material cost and labor you need to factor in that Windstone has overhead cost to pay as well as any business. Then factor in that there is inflation over the years on everything think food, when you go to the supermarket or out to eat. A lot of small items have increased and if you don’t notice the cost increase you will notice the size decrease. As far as Windstone raising the prices some, yeah, it’s hard to swallow but if it’s something we really want we will find a way to save and buy it. It is after all art and a luxury (addictive) item. 🙂
Windstone has kept the same prices on most of the sculpts for several years. The reality is that with inflation most business managers would have recommended raising the prices every year like Susie mentioned. I’m very grateful that Windstone did keep the prices the same for as long as they could. But I understand why they need to increase their prices now. I would rather pay the higher prices than not have any Windstones to buy because they had to close. (gasp! The horror of that thought is scarier than anything I have seen around Halloween!)
Honestly, the price hikes are not unreasonable. $10 is what, the cost of two Starbucks coffees? For a beautiful piece you can enjoy for years?
I am guessing that Melody/the production painters take at least an hour all said and told to paint one of these guys. Plus materials, Chessie’s QA time, eyes, gems, labor for the casters, packaging, boxes, bags, tags, etc…
I couldn’t say for certain what the profit margin is on these guys, but I can’t imagine it’s super high even at $60. Really, I can’t believe anyone thinks this is unreasonable for what they are and what goes into them.
I think Ms.Melody has a company to run,their household income,employees to pay,materials,etc.and with the cost of absolutely everything going up,it is only reasonable that Windstone has to hike prices a bit too.This is a luxury item,not food for instance.I think she is very reasonable and $60 is still not bad for a piece of art that you love,if you can afford it.If you can’t,don’t buy it.Some PYO painters here charge quite a bit for some of the pieces I see go up for sale and someone usually buys them.Even more than most of the larger pieces Windstone sells so I think the complaining about Ms.Melody’s prices should maybe stop?These are sculptures,figurines,whatever you want to call them and not something to argue about,complain or insult anyone over for any reason.Please try to be understanding about it and in her shoes,you would have to do the same to stay in business in today’s economy.If they fail,what will you do then?We all love her art and should trully appreciate her and the rest of the crew for working so hard to make so many people happy.This is just my opinion so please don’t be hatin’…Be excellent to one another.
Every act matters.No matter how small💞
(Wanted......Brimstone Lap)
Male Hearth....one day🤞Dream on.Bodine, I don’t think anyone was insulting anyone.
As everyone is pointing out, these are art pieces. People keep saying “well if you have the money buy it, if you don’t, don’t”… but that only goes so far. You can only ask so much for “art”, otherwise no one but the “rich” will buy it.
Windstones are already out of my price range. Obviously, the lot of you are lucky and have money, but for me (and I’m sure I’m not the only one) it’s a struggle every month to meet my bills. I’m lucky if I make $200 a month.
Most of my Windstones I was able to get because of layaway programs. A lot of them were gifts as well. Curls are not something that cannot be bought at a store, and so they cannot be put on layaway which means, someone that relies on that sort of “help” can never get them. This goes for any of the “special” pieces… there are people out there that just can’t afford to drop $60+ at once on something that’s just going to collect dust.I know it’s not possible, as it’s been discussed before, but if Windstone had a layaway program, I don’t think price would be too big of an issue.
Well, I got the answer to my original question. Prices don’t plan to be changed sans the curl. That’s all I asked about. So I’m done.
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