For those of you with your ccw permit, what would you pay for a kydex concealment holster (iwb) that's custom made? To give you an idea, I've been making my own for the past several months and I wear them daily. Everything from a Subcompact XD9 to my 226 and (sold) 1911. I've never been made by ANYONE (including my cop roommate & a bunch of other cops that all know I carry as well as friends that know it). I wear jeans/khakis/shorts and an untucked polo/button up shirt/ sweatshirt/jacket. I also walk/run/play basketball/etc. and I've never had so much as a slip. It's something that's a little time consuming but I enjoy it and I'm thinking about trying to make some money from it (start off slow with ebay or something). Any ideas?
making holsters and making money?
- Thread starter dave421
- Start date
fisherman66
New member
Eye candy is always nice. Could you post a picture?
starshooter231
New member
I would be very interested
Do you think you could make a tuckable one for me
. I would be willing to pay a fare price for it thanks. Feel free to pm me.
Do you think you could make a tuckable one for me
. I would be willing to pay a fare price for it thanks. Feel free to pm me.Travismaine
New member
I have been carrying for many years now and I have spent some good money on holsters. I myself like leather. I am not a fan of the kydex holsters.
starshooter231
New member
Dave,
I sent you a pm.
I sent you a pm.
dave421,
I started doing leather holster repairs for police officers I worked with at that time, 1977. Generally at NO cost (most bought me a coffee) because I liked working with leather. After I made holsters for myself and wore them to work my fellow officers liked them and started ordering holsters from me. My business has been growing ever since. Thats my story and it has worked for me.
I never tried selling on e-bay but it's a great way to get exposure. Advertising can be costly and not produce sales as expected.
Your best asset is your reputation, it will precede you and ultimately determine your level of success. There is always room for another craftsman. Best of luck!
I started doing leather holster repairs for police officers I worked with at that time, 1977. Generally at NO cost (most bought me a coffee) because I liked working with leather. After I made holsters for myself and wore them to work my fellow officers liked them and started ordering holsters from me. My business has been growing ever since. Thats my story and it has worked for me.
I never tried selling on e-bay but it's a great way to get exposure. Advertising can be costly and not produce sales as expected.
Your best asset is your reputation, it will precede you and ultimately determine your level of success. There is always room for another craftsman. Best of luck!
2cam, thanks for the advice & luck. I'd like to try my hand at some leather sometime but I can't find anywhere to get it without ordering a ton of it. I've got the kydex pretty well down but I think the leather will present much more of a challenge with a larger reward (even with the kydex, I still get that good "I did that" feeling). I definitely agree with you that the reputation will be what actually makes the most difference (personally, I won't buy from someone with a bad rep or bad attitude regardless of their quality or price). That will be where my focus goes.
Hermann Oak leather is considered by many to be the best, and you can get it at a variety of places. The pricing would be somewhat lower for you if you obtain a business license (or whatever is required for your locale). This would open up some more vendors to you, i.e., Weaver leather. There you can buy either one side or 20 sides, no minimum order required. I do quite a bit, so I buy direct from Hermann Oak. There is also leather from Wickett-Craig (http://www.wickett-craig.com/). It's been quite some since I've looked at their leather, so I don't remember if they have a minimum order requirement. I know some top-end holster makers that use their leather and are very happy with it. I don't know of any vendors who sell Wickett-Craig leather, but there might be some.
Your customer service/reputation is going to be as important, if not more so, as the quality of your holsters. If you let the customer service go down, eventually you're not going to have many customers.
I started out on eBay because it provided some immediate exposure to our holsters to a large number of people. We also did some talking on a few of the gun forums, and in short order, we got a website up and running. Advertising costs, i.e., website banner ads, magazine ads, etc., can be pretty expensive. I always consider how many visitors/subscribers/readers there are versus the cost versus how much traffic it brings to our website. It's still a gamble. Word of mouth (by your customers) is going to be your biggest advertiser. And it will make you or break you, as it all goes back to the customer service you provide.
Best of luck to you.
Your customer service/reputation is going to be as important, if not more so, as the quality of your holsters. If you let the customer service go down, eventually you're not going to have many customers.
I started out on eBay because it provided some immediate exposure to our holsters to a large number of people. We also did some talking on a few of the gun forums, and in short order, we got a website up and running. Advertising costs, i.e., website banner ads, magazine ads, etc., can be pretty expensive. I always consider how many visitors/subscribers/readers there are versus the cost versus how much traffic it brings to our website. It's still a gamble. Word of mouth (by your customers) is going to be your biggest advertiser. And it will make you or break you, as it all goes back to the customer service you provide.
Best of luck to you.