Good sources for leather bags?

[TreverT]

Now that we are back on this side of the pond, I need to find a new source for leather Talbert Briar pipe bags. Any suggestions? I've already been recommended to Softpouch.com, but their leather bags are too small and I won't be buying in quantities large enough to justify getting a custom run of a special size done. Where do others get theirs in the states? PM me if you'd rather not share sources publicly, pro guys. I'm going to miss our German suppliers, they were excellent to work with, but between the dollar/euro value and import fees and all, I hope I can find a better deal over here. The source needs to be able to provide good quality leather bags, preferably with gussets, at least 7" long or longer, and do debossing stamping.

[RadDavis]

Neil Flancbaum!

Rad

[Tyler]

Neil Flancbaum!

Rad

+1

[TreverT]

I had the impression that Neil was more of a one-off, low volume guy, and pretty expensive. I need to keep pretty serious cost control here because we're starting all over again with zero cash for stuff. Is Neil affordable?

[RadDavis]

Neil's socks run around $8, and he can brand them for you if you buy the brand from Paul Argendorf.

Rad

[Tyler]

Trever,

I don't know what you mean by affordable, but probably not. I think he has volume deals, but I'm sure there are cheaper places.

Crosby told me he found an overseas place that put his logo on them, and it was relatively inexpensive at that. It might be worth an email or PM to him to ask that source.

Tyler

[TreverT]

Yeah, I do not mean to malign Neil in any sense of the word, but I suspect this is akin to somebody wanting to commission one of us to produce 200 pipes for them on a regular basis - just not very do-able in an economics sense. Good leather bags can be had in the $3-4 price range, with custom logo embossing usually just requiring a one-off setup fee (I think my last one was 50 euros). The ones we were getting from Germany were 6 euros each, and they were extremely swanky bags. When you're buying 200 bags at a time, a price difference of $3 per bag is an extra $600 going in, which I'm trying to avoid with some extra-careful shopping. I prefer putting that extra cost/time into the pipes themselves. I know one source already where I can buy them for $2/bag, but I don't like their sizes, they're a bit too short for my longer pipes.

[sethile]

I've been using bags from Whitewood Leather . Their 8" bags retail for $12, but they have been selling wholesale for $6 in quantities of 20 or more.

These are much nicer than the cheap bags I've seen, but are not as nice as Neil's. The leather is not as thick, so I don't think they would stamp or brand well. And I don't think they offer that at this point. My guess is Bob would work with you on a larger order if you wanted them stamped.

Once I get my prices up a notch or two I'll be looking for a little thicker leather and a stamp, either from Whitewood Leather, or from Neil.