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Yeah, but no matter what the price is there will always be people who can’t afford one. Always. Since the quality of each batch keeps increasing significantly then the prices should reflect that. Sometimes I can afford one, sometimes I can’t. I’m just super grateful that Melody and the staff continue to make ’em available. :bigsmile:
the higher it goes, the more of us will be pushed out…I’m not saying the prices aren’t fair, I’m just thinking of the future, if it keeps going up and up, more and more of us will be pushed out more and more….I’m glad the staff makes them for us but I think we need to go back to simpler designs for a bit and put the price back to what it was before with the next batches, I know I wouldn’t want to pay the price they are now when the babies go back to normal fantasy since the prices wouldn’t account for the amount of work done and painted used….I’m not trying to spark an arguement here, I’m just worried about the future and possible scarier prices if the current trend continues….
4 things I'm looking for:
1. Mother Meerkat
2. production color Sitting Young Oriental dragons to be made in more colors besides VF
3. Female Griffin – Siamese with White
4. September Raffle Prize 2022 AHD Male GriffinYeah, but no matter what the price is there will always be people who can’t afford one. Always. Since the quality of each batch keeps increasing significantly then the prices should reflect that. Sometimes I can afford one, sometimes I can’t. I’m just super grateful that Melody and the staff continue to make ’em available. :bigsmile:
the higher it goes, the more of us will be pushed out…I’m not saying the prices aren’t fair, I’m just thinking of the future, if it keeps going up and up, more and more of us will be pushed out more and more….I’m glad the staff makes them for us but I think we need to go back to simpler designs for a bit and put the price back to what it was before with the next batches, I know I wouldn’t want to pay the price they are now when the babies go back to normal fantasy since the prices wouldn’t account for the amount of work done and painted used….I’m not trying to spark an arguement here, I’m just worried about the future and possible scarier prices if the current trend continues….
I understand. 🙂 Every batch that came out, we squeeked for weirder and weirded colors and the last batch of unicorns is what our squeeks evolved to, LOL. I think all the batches were all more than fairly priced for their type of details.
Yeah, but no matter what the price is there will always be people who can’t afford one. Always. Since the quality of each batch keeps increasing significantly then the prices should reflect that. Sometimes I can afford one, sometimes I can’t. I’m just super grateful that Melody and the staff continue to make ’em available. :bigsmile:
the higher it goes, the more of us will be pushed out…I’m not saying the prices aren’t fair, I’m just thinking of the future, if it keeps going up and up, more and more of us will be pushed out more and more….I’m glad the staff makes them for us but I think we need to go back to simpler designs for a bit and put the price back to what it was before with the next batches, I know I wouldn’t want to pay the price they are now when the babies go back to normal fantasy since the prices wouldn’t account for the amount of work done and painted used….I’m not trying to spark an arguement here, I’m just worried about the future and possible scarier prices if the current trend continues….
Exactly what I’ve been *trying* to say, but apparently I failed it completely.
Melody is sitting on a virtual gold mine… it’s her decision to either cash in and price Fatal and myself out (among others), or stay within reasonable prices that we *can* afford. – It’s all in what she feels they’re worth. It won’t directly affect her any if she prices us out because there are plenty of people with deeper pockets than I’ll ever have who will quickly take my place in the buying spree.
We know she makes profit off selling Uni’s for $40, or the shop wouldn’t sell the LP for that price.. mind you they may not be hand painted by Melody, but they are all hand painted.. ‘n the ones I’m asking to lower the price for aren’t a lot more detail than the LP’s… ‘n the price I’m willing to pay for the detail not far off from the LP unis is still around 40% higher..
Truth be told, I’d be happy to buy from a GB batch if the batch were painted by the entire Windstone painting staff.. I feel honored to have a piece Melody herself did, but I would still be very happy with a pretty uni from PS or other painters.. and I don’t even mind if they’re not *one of a kind* I can only imagine Melody can do so many *one of a kind* uni’s till she wants to pull her hair out… ‘n if those things help keep the price down, then I’m more than happy with it! I just want cute unis!… or if Melody wants to make a batch of LPs that’re more normal horsey colored, I’d buy from those too!Anywho, this is me apparently not shushing about the price thing but I’m just throwing that out there. At this point I’m leaving it in Melody’s hands, where it belongs.. I can hope, but she gets to decide the final fate. It isn’t worth me worrying myself over too much since it will be what it will be.. I’ll either be able to afford them or I’ll sit them out and only collect production and LP…
holy pasta, I can’t believe I got one! They stayed in the store forever unless Melody painted like 500 of them! I just got home from the airport, flying SUCKS. My legs hurt. I have a ton of homework to do. But now I have my first poad inc so yay
I just wanna put it here, in case Melody reads through this.. that I am truly sorry if anything I said came across b*tchy… I’ve been in *one of those moods* as it was brought up in other threads and my worry of grab bags became far too pushy to be expressed = (Most of my frustration is from other parts of my life and was unfairly taken out here)
I really do appreciate everything Melody does for us, ‘n I hope I didn’t make her feel anything different! The Gb’s are her choice… I hope they stay within my price range but I have to respect the artist if she feels they should be more…holy pasta, I can’t believe I got one! They stayed in the store forever unless Melody painted like 500 of them! I just got home from the airport, flying SUCKS. My legs hurt. I have a ton of homework to do. But now I have my first poad inc so yay
Congrats! 😀
We know she makes profit off selling Uni’s for $40, or the shop wouldn’t sell the LP for that price..
Actually this is COMPLETELY inaccurate. We DON’T know that Windstone makes a profit off of selling unicorns for $40. The prices in the store have typically not been raised frequently. Susie posted not that long ago that some prices haven’t been raised in nearly 5 years (I can search for that after work if some really needs it quoted).
In fact, I would lay dollars to donuts that they probably LOSE money on the $40 unicorns. That, in fact, has been my argument about why these price increases SEEM high but in fact are probably more the fall out of too many years of static pricing versus an actual huge increase.
Is there any way I can convince people to drop the price issue?
This is the type of thing that no one is going to agree on, and it gets rehashed every couple of months.
Suffice it to say that I do not believe Windstone is rolling in the dough (ESPECIALLY from grab bags), and that however they price things is FAIR – regardless of how each individual person’s wallet feels. I seriously doubt they are making a giant profit from grab bags in particular – these guys could get sold on ebay individually for a LOT more.
And please, let me remind you that collecting Windstones is a hobby – NOT a right, and not collecting certain pieces, although it may be disappointing, is not going to negatively effect how you live day by day (what I’m trying to say is that it’s not a necessity to live!). Collecting Windstones is an expensive hobby! That’s just how it is – it’s not cheap to work up a collection! No one is forcing anyone to purchase these things and you’re right – if you don’t buy them, someone else will. I’m not saying this to be mean, it’s a simple fact.
Just the fact that Melody does these grab bags should be enough!
I wouldn’t be surprised if Melody reads most of the forums – especially things to do with grab bags because they are a stressful product for Windstone – and I can’t help but think that arguing over prices getting reduced is only going to stress her out more, so can this please PLEASE get dropped?
She deserves our thanks, not our complaints.
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What Hannah said.
I, for one, am extremely grateful that these grab bags exist, because I can not afford Ebay pieces. I can’t get every grab bag that comes out either, but the ones I am able to grab I am so very, very happy with and very, very grateful for.
<3
Hallelujah!!
I totally agree with the Hannah and Stephanie and sums up my feelings exactly!
Windstone collecting is a expensive hobby. Not all of us will be able to afford what we want, and that’s okay. Not the end of the world. They’re are other things in this world than adding to a collection (any collection) . In fact, once collecting (anything) becomes stressful, or makes you bitter or brings about any negative feelings, then maybe you need to re-direct your focus onto something else. That’s just my opinion…I’ll shut up now 😉Count me in with what Hannah & Kiya and Stephanie and purpleturtle said.
And something to note: It’s pretty clear that those arguing the price is too high have never run or been involved at a high level with the financial end of running a manufacturing or other business with employees. Without knowing ANYTHING about Windstone’s gross, profit, or expense numbers, I can tell you their cost of business has gone up every year. How do I know this? Because even your household cost of living has.
–Rent, if you’re a renter. Property taxes if you’re not; never mind that your property may be worth less than when you bought it thanks to this economy.
–Utilities; our energy company raises its prices every single year. So does our city-owned water supply.
–Gas. Hoo boy. Anyone else see that it may hit $5 a gallon this summer?And those are just the expenses we have in common with any given company. Now add in things like Oregon’s minimum wage went up January 1st–great for employees, but always a bit hard on payroll budgets. Insurance and taxes on businesses are crazy in most areas–and you carry a lot more kinds of insurance as a business owner, paying into State and sometimes private Workman’s Comp/Liabilty programs, carrying high overall coverage in case you get sued, and oh yeah, that flood came a bit close, so flood insurance goes up too. (And business taxes just plain suck. Never try to own a small business in Washington state.)
That’s just a small smidgen of the expenses, we’ve barely scratched the surface. But then take those raises in cost that are applicable to all businesses, not just yours. Your suppliers are all coping with the same problems…so just the bare supplies to manufacture your product all go up. Shipping rates to get those supplies to you go up as well; see that note on gas prices above.
And none of this covers things like one of the office computers dying suddenly and needing replacement–only to find that the only current operating system the new models use isn’t compatible with your accounting/invoicing/payroll software. And the new software isn’t backwards compatible with the old machines. Or there are manufacturing equipment breakdowns. Or a supplier goes out of business and you have to find a new one, which means production of some of your most popular items for sale slows to a crawl–no profit coming from that part of the business until that’s fixed. You have to keep a financial cushion on hand for stuff like this.
So the widget you make that was priced at $40 six months ago and made you a smidgen of profit after expenses, you now lose money on. And this is why it makes me mad when people who don’t understand the economics of running a business on this scale argue wholly from emotion and say, “but it’s the same paint and materials, the price needs to go all the way back down to what it was.”
Will another rise in the GB’s price take me out of the market for them? Definitely. I still support it if the powers that be deem it necessary, because I know all too well how hard it is to run a small to medium sized business. I was stunned to find Windstone still around 20 years after I saw my first dragon in a retail store. I want it to stay around as long as Melody continues to want to run with it, and beyond, if that’s what she chooses.
For Melody & crew: I look at the lap dragon on my desk, and I honestly cannot express the joy it brings me every time I so much as glance at it. I look at the male sitting next to her, the male sculpt that I had to put off buying for 20 years when life got in the way, and I am so thrilled to have him now. I want another generation to experience that. Go Windstone! Do whatever it takes to stay in business and lead comfortable lives while doing so. If I personally can’t afford something, well, I’ll either save up, or live without. But I’ll keep promoting your work to others regardless, because I am truly grateful for what you do!
Wow! Such a very thorough answer and all too true about running a small business! *nods*
I am very thankful for all the wonderful pieces that have been coming out and I do hope Windstone stays healthy and well for years to come. 🙂 There really is a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes that a consumer usually doesn’t realize. Other businesses have not been so lucky. Fenton Art Glass, around for over 100 years, has had to shut down their main furnace and are selling off parts of their business (molds, etc.) to continue to stay afloat and at least exist in some way. Windstone is still here. THAT is something. I will continue to purchase pieces as I am able to and save up when I am not (or at least drool at a saved picture 😉 ). Again, thank you for still being here, creating beautiful art. 🙂
oof, I’ve said my piece about pricing so no more out of me for now…
in other news, I’m surprised there’s still two in the store, I thought they would be gone before I got home from work yesterday but guess these went a litttttle slower than the unicorns…..
4 things I'm looking for:
1. Mother Meerkat
2. production color Sitting Young Oriental dragons to be made in more colors besides VF
3. Female Griffin – Siamese with White
4. September Raffle Prize 2022 AHD Male GriffinI ran a small business, my vet practice, for a year and I cannot tell you how stressful it was. Joliesdragons nailed it 110% on the nose. There are so many hidden costs to doing business. I hated to raise prices but had to. Lots of clients complained and all I could say was that I was simply trying to keep the practice healthy so I could continue to offer them the best possible medicine. I did feel horrible about having to raise the prices but I felt frustrated when clients complained to the receptionists or to me about the prices.
I have a test about what something costs. I look at it and say it costs $40.00. I ask myself “do I like it $40.00 worth?” then I ask “can I afford the $40.00?” if the answer to either is “no” I don’t buy it. Sounds obvious but I have to be honest there was a time I didn’t ask the second question when I should have. Live and learn! 🙂
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