Is this the end of special order cloth?

[M. A. C. Newsome]

To further clarify what I am sure Peter is getting at, currently the situation is this:

1. Let's say Royal Stewart is going to be stocked by the mill. So they weave a full piece of it (60 yards), just to have on hand, and they sell it by the yard to their customers, with no 'set up fee' required because it is a stock tartan.

2. But Peter wants to order a full piece (60 yards) of the MacWhoosit tartan, in standard colors that don't have to be custom dyed. He pays the same price per yard as the "stock" Royal Stewart, but also has to pay a loom set up fee.

In situation No. 1, the mill is out the cost of manufacturing the cloth until such time as all of the yardage is sold. But in situation No. 2, the mill immediately recoups all costs, plus their profit, because the cloth is not sitting in the warehouse waiting to be bought. They know the whole length is purchased before they put anything on the loom.

So in this case, it is actually better for the mill to do a custom run they know is already sold, because they don't have to wait at all to recoup their expenses. So why is the customer in No. 2 charged a special extra set up fee, when in fact such an order is actually preferable to the mill? That's Peter's question, and it's really only valid when we are talking about large runs of cloth, as a mill would do when reweaving a stock tartan. It doesn't really apply to the much smaller individual kilt lengths which are Dalgliesh's speciality.

And let me also say here that as much as I don't like having to pay the loom set up fee, I would hate even more to not be able to order these custom short lengths at all. Quite a bit of my kilt making business is in these custom short lengths. I'm glad that there is a mill in Scotland that can still provide them.

[Paul Henry]

I agree, Shaun. I certainly don't mind paying more.

Cheers,

just so everyone knows what the price levels are:
these prices are taken from DC Dalgeish's website, so you can see what a huge difference there is, and although kiltmakers do get trade terms this helps to give some idea of the costs involved with a special run...

for a standard/stock 15 oz double width £56.68 / yard
for a special weave/colour 15 oz Single width £105.16 / yard

[Tobus]

just so everyone knows what the price levels are:
these prices are taken from DC Dalgeish's website, so you can see what a huge difference there is, and although kiltmakers do get trade terms this helps to give some idea of the costs involved with a special run...

for a standard/stock 15 oz double width £56.68 / yard
for a special weave/colour 15 oz Single width £105.16 / yard

Yeah, I noticed that this morning when looking at my own clan tartan on their site. Essentially, the cost for a special weave is 4 times as much as a standard tartan. Thankfully, mine is one of the tartans that they decided to make a 'standard' tartan in reproduction colours (double width), and I had already ordered way more than I'll likely ever need. But if I were looking to do a custom mill run of a special tartan, I'd be pretty discouraged by the fact that I'd have to pay double the price for single-width cloth than I would for double-width.

That really doesn't make sense to me when it's presented like that. Where is the setup fee? Is it built into the price per yard? And if so, shouldn't that price go down per yard as the quantity of the order goes up?

[Jock Scot]

Slightly off topic, but nevertheless relevant to the costing process for a potential customer, I wonder this:-

As I understand it, there is a discount, I am not sure how much, for xmarks members with Scotweb, does this discount hold true for Dalgliesh cloth, bought directly from them(Dalgliesh), too?

[Cygnus]

...in situation No. 2, the mill immediately recoups all costs, plus their profit, because the cloth is not sitting in the warehouse waiting to be bought. They know the whole length is purchased before they put anything on the loom.

So in this case, it is actually better for the mill to do a custom run they know is already sold, because they don't have to wait at all to recoup their expenses. So why is the customer in No. 2 charged a special extra set up fee, when in fact such an order is actually preferable to the mill? That's Peter's question, and it's really only valid when we are talking about large runs of cloth, as a mill would do when reweaving a stock tartan. It doesn't really apply to the much smaller individual kilt lengths which are Dalgliesh's speciality.

I think if you're ordering larger runs (like the 60 yards mentioned above), you could probably call the mill and they would work something out with you. At that volume, they'd be competing with other mills for your business - mills that don't normally bother with the small runs Dalgliesh is known for.

[Dale-of-Cedars]

But the point is, if I'm prepared to buy the whole bolt as a one off, and therefore there's nothing to hold in stock, why should there be a set up cost when there isn't if I buy a bolt of 'stock' material that will have involved exactly the same set up process?

If I understand you correctly, you're saying that the setup cost for stock runs, is, or should be, already contained in the price of stock.

[figheadair]

If I understand you correctly, you're saying that the setup cost for stock runs, is, or should be, already contained in the price of stock.

It is. Matt's clarifcation is spot on.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Slightly off topic, but nevertheless relevant to the costing process for a potential customer, I wonder this:-

As I understand it, there is a discount, I am not sure how much, for xmarks members with Scotweb, does this discount hold true for Dalgliesh cloth, bought directly from them(Dalgliesh), too?

As an individual, you would not be ordering directly from Dalgliesh (unless you have a trade account). If you go to place a retail order on their web site, you will be redirected to the Scotweb site, in which case, yes, I would assume you would get the standard xmarks discount.

[unixken]

As an individual, you would not be ordering directly from Dalgliesh (unless you have a trade account). If you go to place a retail order on their web site, you will be redirected to the Scotweb site, in which case, yes, I would assume you would get the standard xmarks discount.

I would caution those however, who go to Scotweb by any redirection from the D.C. Dalgliesh web site, to visually check near the top of each Scotweb page, to see if it specifically states that the XMarks discount is in effect for you. The XMarks discount is set by a cookie created by clicking on the Scotweb icon here on the XMarks site. If you've never gone to Scotweb via that icon, then the cookie has never been set, and getting to Scotweb by other means (such as any redirection from D.C. Dalgliesh) will not set that discount cookie. If you HAVE gone to Scotweb at some time in the past, via the Scotweb icon here on XMarks, then that cookie will reflect the XMarks discount regardless of how you get to Scotweb from other sites on future visits. Just visually check, to be sure.

[Dale Seago]

Hmm. Under the circumstances, I don't see a second run of the R'lyeh Sett happening anytime soon.