Price increase at Eastman Leather

[mulceber]

Just reading the room, I think a lot of us have mellowed on Eastman. There are some issues with accuracy here and there, but ultimately they make a quality product. I'm a bit more sympathetic on the pricing front, just because running a business that actually manufactures things in the UK has to be quite expensive, and it's not getting any cheaper. Would I buy from them? For some things, yeah, sure! But in most cases, JC offers an equivalent product that's more accurate, and then I have an excuse to chat with him, which is an added attraction for GW.

 

[B-Man2]

My first choice will always be GW and JC….. But ……..There’s always Aero of Scotland.

( Disclaimer….
I’m not comparing to two, I’m not posting anything negative regarding ELC,
I’m not complaining about ELC price increases…….I’m just sayin … )

 

[D97x7]

I think my Eastman jackets are great but for sure if I lived across the pond I'd be buying JCs offerings, it's all the tax malarkey that's stopped me, so form where I live I agree with John.
I know I moan sometimes, but hey...

 

[Smithy]

The thing is that ELC's pricing for whatever reason has risen stratospherically over the last 10 years or so. Whereas in the past most of us could have bought an ELC on fairly regular frequency without too much bother. Now, they are BIG money for most of us normal folk with normal, everyday jobs.

I love and have always loved their stuff - who doesn't who loves the aesthetic of especially their stuff of the USAAF during WWII? - but sadly for us mere mortals it's not the kind of stuff you can fork out for all the time.

I will always love ELC but if I want to buy something from them (and to dodge the enormous duties) I would only ever buy secondhand.

 

[B-Man2]

The thing is that ELC's pricing for whatever reason has risen stratospherically over the last 10 years or so. Whereas in the past most of us could have bought an ELC on fairly regular frequency without too much bother. Now, they are BIG money for most of us normal folk with normal, everyday jobs.

I love and have always loved their stuff - who doesn't who loves the aesthetic of especially their stuff of the USAAF during WWII? - but sadly for us mere mortals it's not the kind of stuff you can fork out for all the time.

I will always love ELC but if I want to buy something from them (and to dodge the enormous duties) I would only ever buy secondhand.

Tim
I think that’s a pretty honest and fair statement. The best part of that is, that you can still find previously owned ELC jackets at reasonable prices. I’m sure as time goes by that will change but as you said .. for us mortal guys … this is the time to stock up, while the used prices are still reasonable.
If I you find a used ELC jacket in nice condition jump on it. If you tire of it, you’ll probably be able to sell it in 5 or 6 years for about what you paid for it .

 

[John Lever]

Disagree sorry. I can remember back in the early 1990's an Anj4 costing north of 500 pounds. That was similar or more than a month payment on our mortgage

 

[Micawber]

My personal take...

There comes a point when a subject is visited and revisited so often that it gets a bit repetitious and rather old.

Each manufacturer has good and possibly bad points, manufacturing, accuracy and detail merits aside it really boils down to national / domestic circumstances and of course personal choice.

Take a step back lest it all becomes a bit too esoteric, at the end of the day they are just reproduction jackets <shock horror>

 

[Chandler]

Take a step back lest it all becomes a bit too esoteric, at the end of the day they are just reproduction jackets <shock horror>

Are you telling me I can still like my Avirex A-2?

 

[Micawber]

Are you telling me I can still like my Avirex A-2?

You can like whatever you want as long as it is not unseemly and does not scare the horses

 

[Chandler]

You can like whatever you want as long as it is not unseemly and does not scare the horses

I would make a comment about the current state of US politics and being "unseemly," but I don't want to get off subject.

 

[Smithy]

What's probably compounding the problem is that the cost of living and inflation has shot through the roof over the last year or so, so things like ELC's offerings will appear tremendously expensive to most mortal folk who are left picking the cheapest brand of tin of baked beans on the shelf when they're grocery shopping.

But really like Steve alludes to above, this topic has been done to death.

As I said in an earlier post, if you can afford one and want one, buy it. If you can't, then don't.

 

[mulceber]

What's probably compounding the problem is that the cost of living and inflation has shot through the roof over the last year or so,

Not to mention the fact that while the cost of living has shot up, most folks' wages have increased only modestly, if at all.

 

[John Lever]

I can phone to ask Rob or Dizzie about stock and sometimes get a jacket the same week.
Recently a jacket from overseas was wrongly valued at 14000 Euros....! Needless to say I completely rejected it and sent it straight back before it cleared customs. 4000 Euros in tax ? No thanks

 

[Smithy]

I don't actually need any more jackets but if I did one of those ELC winter lined 27752s would be on the wish list.

 

[Flightengineer]

Damn, I sold my ELC Star a month ago I'd to wait and sell higher

 

[Chandler]

Damn, I sold my ELC Star a month ago I'd to wait and sell higher

Are you tellin' me to hang on to mine?

Okay.

 

[Greg Gale]

Damn, I sold my ELC Star a month ago I'd to wait and sell higher

Really? That was an amazing jacket. It didn't get much wear next to the Dubows?

 

[johnwayne]

Having posted recently RL’s new take on the A2 with the lovely back seam at £1200 (it is sustainably produced leather and hand finished ageing by the way!) then in the scheme of things ELC’s £1200 A2’s are a bargain I’d say.

 

[Flightengineer]

Really? That was an amazing jacket. It didn't get much wear next to the Dubows?

Yes, Greg, it was an amazing jacket with a great hide, but in 2 years of owning two Dubows I never wore it, so I let it go. I don't need so many A2s in my climate, two are quite enough, but they are both worn all the time and now my second Dubow, which made from a thinner leather has begun to look like a thing from WW2. And ELC Star has been the queen of the closet in recent years.
In addition, a friend of mine, civil pilot, bought it for his old father (a former instructor pilot) as a BD gift. So this Star now in good hands and in the right house, pleases a good person.

 

[dinomartino1]

The cheapest contract horsehide A2s by maker in GBP
Platon 390
Aero 700
Kelso 875
Good wear 1208
Eastman 1299

So what are the costs for actually making the jackets, I think we can safely assume they are all paying around the same price for materials.
The costs of being in buisness rents, wages, utility bills, taxes etc.
The economy of scale as pioneered by Henry Ford, the more of a product you can produce the lower the price you can sell it for and still make a profit IF THEY CHOOSE TOO.
So who the most jackets of all types and I am making an educated guess and may be wrong.
Aero
Kelso/platon it will take a convincing argument to make me believe they are not one and the same.
Eastman
Good wear

Kelso/platon being based in Greece should have the cheapest operating costs.
Aero is the biggest selling maker so wins for economy of scale.
Eastman makes less than aero so has higher costs.
Good wear probably makes the least jackets and is the smallest operation so his costs are higher than than the rest if you take into account the actual amount of jackets he can actually make compared to the others.

Some people get steamed up about the price of eastmans t-shirts etc but if you compare those prices to Japan BR, sugarcane, toys McCcoys etc probably not a lot of difference, but I won't be paying those prices.
The cost of a new platon shows the high mark ups everybody has on their jackets but again the production costs come into this.

Going back to London in the 1980's a couple of shops sold aeros but normally only a few styles, highwayman, brando style and maybe a 3/4 length.
Eastman was never cheap, thinking about what I earned back then a new eastman which I could never was afford was cheaper than what they are now but by how much I don't really know it was so long ago.
Aero was cheaper but if you were after an A2 eastman was preferred if you could afford it.
For all the aero haters they virtually singlehandley pioneered the market for vintage style leather jackets in general.

For me personally I don't see the value in buying new except for a platon dubow and the fit of those rules out a lot of people, for those who can afford it good luck to you I wish I could as well.
I also like to at least being able to speak someone on the phone, people my age generally prefer to able to speak with a human being when they can. How many of us wish we could actually visit the shop.