How Much Will Armor Cost You?

[Devious]

Sure the materials still have value, but What I am saying is that it will have cost you nothing to obtain them thus freeing up some cash in you budget.

 

[Boba Fett]

but it still fits within the triangle. time. It takes me longer to go search through racks of used clothes and boots at Goodwill, than it does ordering from a retailer or such. There's really no way to bet the system. Fudge it possibily, if you have skills that are through the roof, but not break it.

 

[guido666]

The triangle is a tool to help you weigh options, and understand consequences. The moral of the story is that you can't beat it, and that if you change one thing, it impacts the others the opposite. The lesson you're supposed to be learning from it is that if you want it cheaper, it IS going to cost you more time and/or reduce quality. You can't decrease cost without increasing time and/or decreasing quality.



This lets you realize what trade offs are taking place, and decide which you are willing to make. If that means you want to spend time at the flea market looking for a motorcycle helmet, fantastic. If you need it done well tomorrow, open your wallet. The choices are yours.

 

[CommanderFluffy]

any mod sticky this.. it will save headaches for people always wanting to know prices of stuff. its quick through and worth anyones time to read. i saw the triangle and was sold at that!

 

[AceHigh]

Let's just say this: You can't sell armor to make a profit. You can recoup a portion of production costs, but if you ever break even (which you won't unless you try really hard), then you're both overcharging (unless you sell an infinite amount of parts like Sean did late last year) and making a profit (debatable). So if Microsoft decides you're making a profit off of selling the armor, you'll get slammed with a cease and desist which will definitely not put you in a good light.



Plus, your goal shouldn't be to recoup losses. If it is, you shouldn't be selling in the first place, since in essence that is seeking a profit. Sell it if there's interest in it so that you can satisfy customers.



Anyways, the OP was very well written, though to be honest the people who ask the same question as the topic title are the same guys that spam "tl;dr" (or at least mentally they do), so it might now benefit them that well. Still, sticky worthy, to say the least.

Why would someone breaking even or better be overpricing? Prices are a function of supply and demand.

 

[guido666]

Why would someone breaking even or better be overpricing? Prices are a function of supply and demand.

I think he was insinuating that you wouldn't be able to charge enough to break even, and actually have a price anyone would actually pay. Most of the people that sell castings don't fetch nearly enough to make much profit.

 

[guido666]

That's what i thought. i didnt count in items that people commonly have in their household. i use an xacto knife but if youre just starting armor, it's not fun.

Whether you like it, or not, or want to believe it, or not, those things do factor in, but to a smaller extent. Your parents bought your table and you guys use it so much, that the cost contribution is small. But unless you're using that cardstock and xacto knife for tons of other things, you need to factor in the cost. It doesn't matter if you bought $1000 worth of cardstock last year, the $20 worth that you use for this armor set is still costing you $20.



I'll reiterate for everyone... you can't beat the triangle. It's a useful tool, that helps you decide what compromises are acceptable to you. If putting some more wear and tear on the table is ok, great. But if you need to buy a table, workbench, or a cutting board to cover the kitchen table, it's another thing you'll have to account for.

 

[AceHigh]

I think he was insinuating that you wouldn't be able to charge enough to break even, and actually have a price anyone would actually pay. Most of the people that sell castings don't fetch nearly enough to make much profit.

He might have been, but I would disagree with that too. It's too much of a general statement in my eyes. Sure, Average Joe wouldn't be able to make a profit. Most people never will. However, in a world with no legal issues concerning trademarks, I believe that all or most of the people in the Elite section of this forum would be more than able to make a profit. If you make props of excellent quality, better than most people can, you will create a demand which in turn will make your products sellable. Average doesn't sell, excellence does.



With that said, I think that anybody who would get into this hobby because he/she is expecting to make money out of it is on the wrong track and will get disappointed. Wanting to make a buck isn't how the best equipment is produced, it's dedication, discipline and the satisfaction of a job that couldn't have been done any better.



I also whole heartedly agree with the purpose of this thread, spreading the word that a suit of decent quality will put you several hundred bucks in the hole.

 

[emperor mickah]

You use the triangle too!!!! Yay! We have that triangle in our shop!

nice! whats your shop?

 

[emperor mickah]

thanks alot man. i should log my odst costume cost! im going to use urethane resin and pep. Sure little bit expensive. but it doesnt require fibregass though. and its easy to use. painting would be easy to. put a few coats of primer down. then alot fo silver paint. and spray paint it black but while its still wet wipe some of it off to look battle worn. as well as the normal scratches when its dry. oh and the custom detailing just like in the game of course.

 

[guido666]

With that said, I think that anybody who would get into this hobby because he/she is expecting to make money out of it is on the wrong track and will get disappointed. Wanting to make a buck isn't how the best equipment is produced, it's dedication, discipline and the satisfaction of a job that couldn't have been done any better.

I think that's the key. You could certainly develop a profitable model to sell armor, but it would be far more difficult at our scale. People definitely need to focus on the quality, before they even start thinking about the profits.

thanks alot man. i should log my odst costume cost! im going to use urethane resin and pep. Sure little bit expensive. but it doesnt require fibregass though. and its easy to use. painting would be easy to. put a few coats of primer down. then alot fo silver paint. and spray paint it black but while its still wet wipe some of it off to look battle worn. as well as the normal scratches when its dry. oh and the custom detailing just like in the game of course.

Document it out. Any information/data that you have to share will help others understand more about the costs involved.

 

[Derf Xephon]

Oh Great Moderators of the 405th, please bless this thread with your divine presence and make it a sticky. Good job man, I sucked at economics in high school but even I understood this

 

[ImaGonnaGetYou]

However, in a world with no legal issues concerning trademarks, I believe that all or most of the people in the Elite section of this forum would be more than able to make a profit.

Hate to break it to you, but there are countless legal issues, and the only reason these can be sold is because it's a gray area.

If you make props of excellent quality, better than most people can, you will create a demand which in turn will make your products sellable. Average doesn't sell, excellence does.

This doesn't really seem to apply, either. People with less quality products simply tend to sell them cheaper, so in the end nobody gets a massive influx of sales.

With that said, I think that anybody who would get into this hobby because he/she is expecting to make money out of it is on the wrong track and will get disappointed. Wanting to make a buck isn't how the best equipment is produced, it's dedication, discipline and the satisfaction of a job that couldn't have been done any better.



I also whole heartedly agree with the purpose of this thread, spreading the word that a suit of decent quality will put you several hundred bucks in the hole.

And all that is completely true. Profit shouldn't be expected, yet tons of people still try to mold whatever they've made in an effort to make money.

 

[chwbcc1]

I love this thread! It reminds me of the Philosophy classes I too in College. We used the triangle to illustrate Mind, Body and Soul. or as we called it (Physical, Mental, Spiritual) or in our Philo 300 it was Internal, External and Communal.



In each case the laws of diminishing return applied. One could not dedicate enough time to the physical and still be equally strong in the Mental and Spiritual realms. And one who dedicated too much time to Communal would always sacrifice Internal or External modifiers resulting in an imbalance. (imbalance isn't good or bad it simply means that the focus of the individual or the situation is prone to trend towards one of the three points on the triangle.)



There is however a point at which Communal will advance to common acceptance leading to the reduction in resources to advance the Internal and External.



This means that as things, ideas or process become commonly accepted and used by the society on a whole the cost to create or process the original method reduces leading to an advancement in our society.



What does that mean here? As it was mentioned there is no real demand on this type of product, process, or knowledge so the ability to advance this to the common or the Communal acceptance is difficult. However items like Cell phones and the internet illustrate the opposite.



But with every advancement comes ways to improve the original so the duration that all three points on the Triangle become balanced is very limited and then the triangle will actually flip and processes that were cutting edge and social advancements will actually become obsolete and result in the same expenditures to revert to the original process.



This is why is more costly to fix an old computer than to simply buy a new one. Or just as hard to contemplate history as to predict the future. Or to believe in something verses believe in nothing.



Ok, now who do I return the "Soap Box" to?

 

[AceHigh]

Hate to break it to you, but there are countless legal issues, and the only reason these can be sold is because it's a gray area.

I am well aware that there are legal issues. You did adress them in the post I commented on in the first place, and I would agree that the legal issues probably limits the income one can make from selling props.

This doesn't really seem to apply, either. People with less quality products simply tend to sell them cheaper, so in the end nobody gets a massive influx of sales.

I suppose you're right that even poor quality sells if you make it cheap enough. Being new to the hobby and the site I can't really oppose that. I still feel it doesn't take away from my main point that excellent quality props can give a substantial profit without being overpriced.