Cheap OTC vs. Quality Indies

I had a stylist tell me that she never pays more than $80.00 for a pair of shears. I have no problem with that comment other than the fact that she is mistaken over the price she pays. Although the purchase price of an item in most cases is the determining factor in buying, many times the related expenses in such a purchase are not considered.

For clarification I need to define two things:
OTC=Over the counter Shears bought from most beauty supply chains.
Indies= Independent shear manufactures and importers.

It's best described in this way.

An $80.00 purchase price is attractive, however, rest assured the steel and finish work employed on that shear is of lower quality than a more expensive one. Also the maintenance of the cheapie shear is far greater because of the use of inferior steels. In order to get the price to a certain level, things must be compensated for during production. A lot of the time the steel used is the first sacrifice made to lower price.

Cheapie OTC
Purchase Price $80.00

Sharpening 8X$20.00= $160.00
inferior steel is softer and
therefore requires more attention to
maintain a razor edge. This class of steel
will require about 8 sharpenings per year!

1st Year Expense= $240.00
2nd Year Expense 8X$20.00= $400.00
3rd Year Expense 8X$20.00= $560.00

At this point the shear has 24 sharpenings that have been done to it. It is highly unlikely that the shear is serviceable much longer. So you must restart the process with a new shear.

Quality Indie

Same thing applies here except the higher quality shear has a better steel. It is able to maintain an edge longer. I will assume that the stylist wants to properly maintain the shear and has them sharpened 3 times in 12 months. That equals once every four months. I chose a average purchase price of $300.00. You can find some real high quality shears for less and spend a heck of a bunch more.

Purchase price $300.00

1stYear Expense 3X$20.00= $360.00
2nd Year Expense 3X$20.00= $420.00
3rd Year Expense 3X$20.00= $480.00

At this point the shear is three years old and has been sharpened 9 times vs the 24 times of the cheapie. You can run this out to 8 years before you reach the 24 sharpenings it cost for the cheapie one. You also began saving money in the third year buying a quality shear vs. the cheapie.

Now being in the business of providing sharpening services and shears for sale wouldn't it make sense for me to shut my mouth and keep this info to myself. Yup. ;)

Next issue I will discuss Brand establishment and how OTC shear makers use it to make you buy inferior products.