hardknox222 said:
That's super John! I cannot wait to see what you come up with. If I may ask, what will be the price range of your cases? Would it be similar to the Instroke prices?
The base price of my work starts at $400. That price gets you two pockets of your choice, a shoulder strap, two handles, and basic personalization. Essentially anything my team can do in about 16 hours that I can fit into the budget.
Everything over that will go up according to my costs and time. I would be surprised to see many elaborate cases going over $600 by time we are done discussing the design.
My goal here is to provide super value without tying it to a specific price list.
For example, the base price of a 1x1 and 2x4 is the same. $400. It's not because the cost is a little lower to make the 1x1, it's because I have set a price that I want my work to be worth. Kind of like Joe Gold charging $1000 for his plain cues. I talked with Joey about that and his answer was simple. It's what he feels his time is worth. I feel the same. (Edit: It is more than that Joey feel his time is "worth" what he charges. It is that the cue is the culmination of everything that Joe puts into it and all the knowledge and experience he has acquired. After spending an evening with him and learning all that goes into Cognoscenti cues it becomes immediately clear that they are worth every cent.)
I don't charge more for a 4x8 or 1x2 because the cost of materials between these two sizes is negligible compared to the design process and the time to get the concept right for the customer and the time to execute it perfectly. I charge more if you want super high priced materials or real diamonds inlaid. If you want a family tree embroidered by hand along the length of the case then it will cost more. How much more I won't know until we get into discussing it and I can calculate time.
I gotta say that it's probably easier to order a case from my colleagues. However the end result of our collaborative effort will be worth the time and paid back through years of satisfaction and compliments.
Billy Stroud once told me something that has stuck with me. He asked me why I thought he charges so much for his cues and especially for his shafts. I asked him to tell me. He said it was so he didn't have to stand before a customer and make an excuse why something is not right.
And lastly, Jerry Franklin, upon inspecting my Cowboy case design, said that it looked as if the pockets were out of place and just stuck on. His implicit advice was to design so that the elements flow. Now I didn't take offense at Jerry's comments because I knew I had designed the Cowboy model to suit a mass appeal rather than following my heart completely on the design. So each case I make out of this workshop will be a manifestation of everything I can possibly think of to make the design flow.
This is a rather long winded answer to the question of pricing. I guess it's because it's hard to put a price on what I do. Send me a design and let's open a discussion. When the case begins to take shape in our minds then I think that the price will be apparent to both of us. That's the best I can offer right now.
