costume listed on ebay - question on price

mahsati · 04-26-2007, 12:58 PM

Hi ladies and gentlemen,
I was browsing ebay and ran across this costume today. I was wondering if I am missing something or am totally out of touch with pricing. I will admit to not buying pre-made tribal gear often so I am more familiar with Egyptian prices, but this one just strikes me as really expensive.

For the more tribal-savvy shoppers out there, can you take a look and let me know what it is about this costume that has the price so high? (I am not looking to purchase; I just like to look and see what the going rates are, etc.)

http://cgi.ebay.com/Tribal-Belly-Dan...QQcmdZViewItem

jmdruadh · 04-26-2007, 01:04 PM

I'm not familiar with tribal pricing either, but I suspect that's a typeo. I think she may have meant $300. I can't see anything in the materials or handcrafting that would justify anything in four figures.

Heck, even a cabaret costume would need to be something astounding (i.e., all swarovski crystals sewn on by the hand of Bella herself while her entire staff served me tea and rubbed my feet) to be worth $3k.

latriamou · 04-26-2007, 01:06 PM

i saw this too. was wondering the same thing.. did anyone contact the seller?

mahsati · 04-26-2007, 01:08 PM

That's what I was thinking - I just couldn't figure out if I was missing something extremely expensive like maybe the hand embroidery or some really rare fabrics.

antimony · 04-26-2007, 01:10 PM

I can't imagine paying $3,000 for any costume where the listing only has two pictures, and one shows very little of the costume, and the other is taken at an angle. For that kind of money I would expect, at minimum, clear full length shots of the front and back, close ups of any detailing, and individual close-ups of each of the jewelry pieces.

mahira-michelle · 04-26-2007, 01:12 PM

I have never seen a tribal costume that went for anyting near that price. It's got to be a typo. $300 is more reasonable. Contact the seller and ask her if she noticed that.

catwomyn · 04-26-2007, 01:16 PM

I used to dance tribal and this seems pretty expensive to me. It's a nice costume and the belt is gorgeous. But unless the jewelry pieces are authentic antiques, the price seems pretty over the top.

For comparison, my coin belt from Magpie's Hoard cost around $300 which included alterations to fit a plus-size. Coin bras from Flying Skirts run about $200. Most contemporary Kuchi jewelry stuff is under $100 and closer to $50

ra-chell · 04-26-2007, 01:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by antimony

I can't imagine paying $3,000 for any costume where the listing only has two pictures, and one shows very little of the costume, and the other is taken at an angle. For that kind of money I would expect, at minimum, clear full length shots of the front and back, close ups of any detailing, and individual close-ups of each of the jewelry pieces.

I agree, 2 photos really don't do the job. Even for a $300 costume, I'd want to see more clear concise pictures. Let us know if you contact the buyer and what they say. They may not realize they listed the price wrong.
Patricia/Ra-Chell

lizajuk · 04-26-2007, 01:25 PM

I think it probably is 3K and she is living in hopes. It could be all authentic materials and added together with her time, she may be trying to recoup quite a lot of money BUT I seriously wonder who would pay £1500 for a belly dance costume as tops for cab. is usually around half that! Tribal dancers are far more likely to put together their own costumes by getting together good Kuchi etc bit by bit rather than paying someone else.

phillyraqs · 04-26-2007, 03:36 PM

I saw this costume today too! I was just about to write that this must be a mistake, but I checked the listing and she has a response to a question from a member (maybe one of us?) -

Q: I think you have a typo error on your belly dance skirt auction it gives the star ting bid as three thousand dollars It appears to be for an item that would normally sell for about $30 to $120 though there is no description to explain the high asking price if it is correct. Complete Cabaret style Beaded belly dance sets of high quality usually retail around 250 to 900 Tribal set vary but 3000 is very high Apr-26-07
A: Thank you for your concern however my price is not just for a skirt. My description is brief and I plan on changing it ASAP. The auction is for a hand made, hand beaded, hand embroidered, hand mirrored 3 piece belly dance costume with authentic Middle Eastern Coins and jewelry included. My price is not a typo and I will have detail photo's up ASAP as well to show the quality of this costume. Feel free to ask any additional questions.

WOW! ::eek:

antimony · 04-26-2007, 03:57 PM

I suppose when she posts the description and up-close photos we'll get to see what it is she's actually selling. Though I don't understand why she would put up an auction for such an expensive item before the description and pictures were ready.

Honestly, If she is aiming to cover the cost of materials, plus paying herself a fair wage for her time spent constructing it, $3,000 still seems high, but I know there are costume projects I have spent hours and hours on. However, that's pretty obviously more than the market will bear.

From a simple economic perspective, anybody who makes things for sale needs to strike a balance between cost and what people will pay. That doesn't necessarily mean using crummy materials, but it means spending some extra time to track down the best deal you can on the materials you use. (A'kai veils are fabulous, but you can be sure Jes is paying wholesale for her silk) It also means fine-tuning your work process to work as quickly as you can while still being precise. (I can't imagine that the people at L Rose don't have a set routine for sewing each item, not "this time I'll so the waistband on first, next time I'll do the hems first") And finally, don't waste time on stuff your customers don't need. (I wouldn't pay extra to have a bra lined in hand-dyed silk. Any nice and comfortable lining will do.)

Obviously, she is either trying to turn an obscene profit, or fell short on one or more of the above objectives.

rmcguire · 04-26-2007, 04:27 PM

That price is ridiculous, unless its made of gold. I know my dance teacher has one that's about this expensive but its dripping in crystals and gems. This is not worth it. Even my lovingly handmade costumes, if I ever sold them, I think would not go for much more or less than $1000. And that's for a years worth of work.

Ainsley · 04-26-2007, 04:35 PM

The costume also looks to be made to her measurements, unless she's not selling the one pictured but planning to custom-make one like it for the winner. I assumed, based on the photos, that the listing was for a used costume she had made for herself, which would make the price even more bizarre.

Now, I'm not a fan of the standardized dance costume C-cup, but, if her intention was to make a new costume for retail, tailoring it to more common measurements would probably have been to her advantage. As if the price weren't deterrent enough, I can't see that this costume would even fit many people.

ChristinaRizkallah · 04-26-2007, 05:40 PM

As someone already pointed out, her price really is $3,000. Its not a typo. That's a ridiculous price unless its made of gold and semi precious stones and belonged to ancient queen!

jessedan · 04-26-2007, 05:51 PM

She seems to think that the hand made, hand beaded, hand embroidered, "hand" everything justifies the price, along with authentic middle eastern coins. But most costumes ARE handmade and hand beaded and hand embroidered and the vast majority of them also have authentic middle eastern coins as well. So, nothing special about her costume as far as that goes.
I seriously doubt that anyone will buy it, and she'll eventually realize that it's extremely overpriced.

Regards
Priscilla

Quote:

Originally Posted by phillyraqs

I saw this costume today too! I was just about to write that this must be a mistake, but I checked the listing and she has a response to a question from a member (maybe one of us?) -

Q: I think you have a typo error on your belly dance skirt auction it gives the star ting bid as three thousand dollars It appears to be for an item that would normally sell for about $30 to $120 though there is no description to explain the high asking price if it is correct. Complete Cabaret style Beaded belly dance sets of high quality usually retail around 250 to 900 Tribal set vary but 3000 is very high Apr-26-07
A: Thank you for your concern however my price is not just for a skirt. My description is brief and I plan on changing it ASAP. The auction is for a hand made, hand beaded, hand embroidered, hand mirrored 3 piece belly dance costume with authentic Middle Eastern Coins and jewelry included. My price is not a typo and I will have detail photo's up ASAP as well to show the quality of this costume. Feel free to ask any additional questions.

WOW! ::eek:

naiyahayal · 04-26-2007, 09:47 PM

I saw this, too, and had the same questions -- MUST be a typo!!!! Tanya SF (Naiya) Got our attention, tho, didn't!!

Rainey · 04-26-2007, 11:12 PM

Hello All,

Wow, just goes to show you can't fool 'em all, all of the time. Not in the "information age" anyway. News sure travels fast! Clearly, she is one of a kind, not just her costume!
Rainey

Marianna · 04-27-2007, 02:05 AM

I think she overvalues her work and the materials. If you look at any designer costume, Pharaonics, Bella etc, in my opinion it is unbelieavble that they are only $600-800. (on the other hand I wish they were cheaper; I do not pay more than 450 for a costume, above that is just out of my budget, so I buy them used).

I make my costumes all the time and put quite a bit of work in it. If I made a costume similar to Pharaonics in the amount of effort I would want to sell it for at least $1500. To me my work would be that valuable, but it doesn't mean it would be the same for others. I would have to settle for much less, more like $400-$500 or so because for a little more you can buy an actual brand name beauty.

I think $3000 for this set is ridiculous.

Marianna

lizajuk · 04-27-2007, 04:32 AM

I don't think you can compare this to a cab costume as the potential buyer :the US tribal dancer/SCA eventer may never even consider what your sequins and lycra from Cairo cost!
As I said before. tribal dancers can spend a lot of money and time putting a costume together especially if they get "authentic" textiles and decoration. But the price of "kuchi" has come down and I can't see me spending over £1000 to put something like that together . And so much more satisfying to DIY in a case like this. It will be somebody with a desire to be "authentic" (Pahhhhh What's that?) and with money to burn who is tempted.
I could start a whole thread on what is authentic...certainly not dancing tribal in a field in California unless you are doing "authentic" ,ATS native to the US.
So don't get me wrong now. I love re-enactment and had I had the time and transport when younger I'd have been in there in me petticoats shouting for Cromwell in the "Sealed Knot"

Rainey · 04-27-2007, 07:18 AM

Yes, you are quite right Marianna. I too, am often surprised at how little costumes can cost for such handwork. That's the up-side for us, and it is only possible because of the cheap labor rates in other countries. Those of us who make our own costumes cannot compete with that no matter how fine the work. I can tell you that I have made a tribal costume FAR more intricate than the one listed and would only sell it for the going rate. Who knows, perhaps she will get her price. I'm curious to see.

Regardless, it seems that the women of Bhuz have spoken!

nitara · 04-27-2007, 01:20 PM

Yeah, I've bought one-of-a-kind items from Flying Skirts (made right here in SF) that cost nowhere near that.

It's hard to put a fair price on your labor and cost of materials after you've put much love into a project, but it's not difficult to go to a festival or investigate online and see what the going rate for a similar item might be.

ChristinaRizkallah · 04-27-2007, 03:50 PM

I agree, her costume is totally over priced. I doubt anyone will purchase it. Even though its hand made, its not worth $3,000. As someone pointed out, a Pharaonics costume should cost about $1500. That is what my relatives in Egypt thought they cost. They were surprised that they cost less. The labor and materials in Egypt is cheaper than America. Also, in Egypt, 400 US dollars for a Pharaonics costume is considered a lot of money because the dollar is so high. If it was an American making a comparable costume the American designer would charge around $1,500 taking into account time, labor and materials. Now there are certain designers like Sahar-I have several of her costumes that cost between $1,165 to $1,850. They are pretty magnificent (IMHO) so for an Egyptian, she is making a killing off me!