Financing Kilts, What Are Some Options?

[Riverkilt]

The hardest thing for me to get used to with kilt addiction wasn't the jonesing. It was accepting the fact that I was gonna give some company a lot of money up front, then wait a long time - weeks - perhaps many months - for delivery of what I paid for long ago. That seems to still be pretty much the standard process when ordering a new kilt and even accessories. This board abounds with horror stories.

But I got to thinking, there are some kiltmakers and companies that have addressed this problem.

Utilikilts, Buzz Kidder(or franchisees now??), and middlemen take their wares to Highland games. If we're lucky we can pay and take what we like that fits.

Stillwater Kilts seems to do very well just by cutting the delivery time to where the short delay is not an issue.

Kathy Lare asks for a down payment to buy the cloth and once the kilt is sewn and ready to ship she asks for the balance. Sort of a two payment system.

Freedom Kilts takes your order but doesn't bill you until its your turn to have your kilt sewn up so the delay between payment and delivery is much shorter.

I'm sure I've forgotten, or flat don't know, other kiltmaker's ways of easing the pain and paranoia between ordering and delivery.

Tell me the other folk's deals....

Is there a market for a company to hold kilt purchase funds in escrow?

Ron

[Yaish]

While its not precisely the same, using a credit card (true credit, not debit) offers you quite a bit of security.

With credit cards there is always the option of disputing the charges, and most credit cards now offer additional buyer protections.

Debit doesnt give you those same protections, since once the payment is authorized it is deducted automatically from your account. At this point basically the company has your money, and good luck getting it back.

It might be wise to check with your particular credit card company and see what sorts of buyer protection you might have when there is a long delay between payment and delivery of the items. I'm sure terms vary, and I would guess most have some sort of time limit on how long you have to dispute the charges.

Of course simply the best protection is dealing with reputable and reliable companies, such as all the vendors you mentioned in your first post. If a company has a good history of taking care of their customers, and kilt companies in particular live and die by their service and quality of goods, plus word of mouth and references.

I feel pretty confident at purchasing a kilt from any of the vendors most common to this board, but I would NOT if I was purchasing from some of the Ebay or discount scottish shops online.

[Riverkilt]

Aye Yaish,

That's why I use credit cards or put my Pay Pal on credit card.

But, I was speaking more to the "fiancial float" time.

Even using a credit card if I order from "Four Month Kiltmakers" then MY money is in their bank account for four months and I have nothing to show for it, while meantime I'm getting billed for that "yet to arrive" kilt...either paying it off to the plastic company or getting interest charges for the purchase if I only make payments to the plastic company.

What Steve Ashton does at Freedom Kilts reduces that float time greatly...plus he's already invested in the fabric, which makes it a very good deal for the buyer.

With a hand sewn kiltmaker like Kathy Lare it makes perfect sense to pay her up front for the fabric - and its a treat that she takes care of all the dealings with the mill - even finding multiple options from various mills to choose from. By waiting until the kilt is complete to bill for it she's eliminating the flnancial float time.

As a contrast, it wasn't aways reassuring when I ordered my first Utilikilt, had to pay up front for it, then wait over three months for it to arrive. And while I'm waiting I'm reading the UK newsletter seeing employee gatherings, and trips hither and yon....can make a first time kiltbuyer VERY uneasy...even with the reassurance that I could still go wrangle with the plastic man.

Just looking for other creative ideas...like Stillwater just solving the problem by eliminating it with fast delivery, or sharing some risk like Steve and Kathy do.

Ron

[MacTavishOfJapan]

I can appriciate the position of businesses that supply made to measure kilts. One the fabric is exremely expensive, so paying for that up front is fair. However what a made to measure kilt must be incredibly hard to sell on if the deal falls through. The kiltmakers offering a two payment system are showing a lot of trust in the buyer.

I guess it comes down to a choice, if you want an off the shelf kilt (which by all accounts fits well and feels good) you can virtually get it tomorrow, however, if you weant to get a kilt precisely tailored to your dimentions you gotta pay upfront and wait. Seems fair but trust me I know (present experience) it's very hard to wait!

2 weeks down, around 10 to go! :rolleyes:

[RockyR]

The reason that most custom clothes manufacturers (not JUST kiltmakers) take at LEAST 1/2 the money up front is to make sure you come back and get the finished product. Even THAT has it's problems... we're still sitting on 2 kilts ordered 11 months ago that were never picked up and were only 1/2 paid for.

The other problem (being a business owner who MAKES the product as WELL as runs a shop) is chasing down delinquent payments. That takes time and energy and resources away from making kilts for customers who DID pay on time. AND as MTOJ (see above post) said, these are custom garments and tough to sell to "random people" if the original deal goes south. Think about how many different tartans there are. Now take that number and multiply it by the different waist / hip / length combos. What are the odds that the "unclaimed kilt" wil fit someone off the street and be the exact tartan they want?

The only way to cut down on jonsing is to have stuff for "off the rack" sales, but then you're no longer talking about a CUSTOM garment.

[Canuck]

I charge up front for the whole kilt. I try my best to have a quick turn around time. January to March I can usually get it down to 4 weeks sometimes less depending how many orders I have. During the summer I market my wares at Highland games and get a number of orders so the wait is longer. If it's a leather kilt I may take a deposit and then charge the balance when I start to make the kilt. (so if the payment bounces I won't start the kilt. hasn't happened yet) As Ron hinted some of us have inventory, Hardware, fabric, thread (When I order thread I have to have a minimum order. Used to be $100 now it's $250-$500) We run a business. I'm the marketer, accountant, builder, buyer etc. I have to streamline my process as much as possible. Banks also charge us for every transaction. I hate paying banks extra and I doubt I'm not alone here.
First come first served. When I have the cash, you get in the queue.
So if you want an Rkilt with the quickest turnaround time ordering in January is looking good at the moment. I have a few more shows coming up and right now delivery is mid November if ordered today. Christmas is coming soon too so it would be wise to consider that when dealing with your desired kilt supplier.
However having said that, I can deal with split payments on a few kilts.

[Tattoo Bradley]

we're still sitting on 2 kilts ordered 11 months ago that were never picked up and were only 1/2 paid for.

What kind 'o kilts we talking about here?? You must need to unload them somewhere or another.

[Bob C]

The kiltmakers offering a two payment system are showing a lot of trust in the buyer.

The person who lays down $500 or more in advance is showing a lot of trust in the kiltmaker.

We've had people on this board who had HUGE problems with a particular kiltmaker. Many of you will remember that.

When I bought my tank, the kiltmaker took a $200 downpayment. I paid the rest when I picked it up. The kiltmaker should have some incentive to get the kilt done in a timely manner.

[RockyR]

What kind 'o kilts we talking about here?? You must need to unload them somewhere or another.

2 casuals in the "Warrior" tartan (purple with White stripes... Possingk has 1). Both are 35 X 39 X 22. We've had them on the rack. Either you love the tartan and they're not your size or they ARE your size but you hate purple.

[Mike1]

Being in a business that deals with custom-made products, I have no problem with paying a company up front for the materials required. It's bad enough to get snagged on labor, but not nearly so bad as getting snagged on the cost of the materials as well.

Ron, if you're looking for payments to soften the blow, look HERE.