Bodhidharma's Cane

[Blacktiger]

If this product sells well, we hope to import more.

Wicked but will I have any issues getting these shipped to Oz

[Shaolin]

They look pretty okay. I'm interested in purchasing them as I teach Bodhidharma Cane and Plum Blossom Crutch. I'll buy them when Tiger Claw starts carrying them. No whole sale for me with Martial Arts Mart.

[GeneChing]

@Blacktiger - In all honestly, it's challenging for MAM to ship to Oz, or any other country for that matter. There are unique customs regulations for each country and MAM frequently gets stung with a parcel stuck at the border, which is why shipping costs outside the U.S. are pretty pricey.

@Shaolin - At this point, we don't know if this product will evolve into a Tiger Claw offering. We have to sell a lot for it to get to that level. We're off to a good start, but we're still way deep in the primacy effect. Once the newness wears off, we might not be able to move enough to justify making this into a wholesale offering. I'm hoping we will, of course, but it's really up to the market and how well the Shaolin community supports it. Keep your fingers crossed.

[Shaolin]

@Shaolin - At this point, we don't know if this product will evolve into a Tiger Claw offering. We have to sell a lot for it to get to that level. We're off to a good start, but we're still way deep in the primacy effect. Once the newness wears off, we might not be able to move enough to justify making this into a wholesale offering. I'm hoping we will, of course, but it's really up to the market and how well the Shaolin community supports it. Keep your fingers crossed.

Understandable.

[Scott R. Brown]

Hey Gene!

If you are going to sell the cane you ought to at least include an "Authentic Bodhidharma Shoe" with each one!

[GeneChing]

Thanks for that everyone. We're ordering more, but it will take a while as they have to be carved in Dengfeng and then shipped to here.

@Shaolin: I should add that if these ever did become a Tiger Claw product, the price would double. We offered the last batch at $18.99. That's basically our price plus shipping X2, which would be 'wholesale' price. If we offered wholesale, we'd have to raise the retail. Retail is usually cost+shippingx4. Anyway, it's moot now as they are sold out. I'm hoping we can keep the price of the new shipment the same, but you know how it is with China. We're haggling with some folk carvers in Dengfeng. We're hoping to get them to improve the quality. They'll want more kuai for that.

[Scott R. Brown]

So I guess you didn't like my shoe idea huh?

[taai gihk yahn]

So I guess you didn't like my shoe idea huh?

it's better than the one I had about it coming with a pair of eyelids...

[Scott R. Brown]

it's better than the one I had about it coming with a pair of eyelids...

Those are so small they would easily be lost.

Earrings would have been nice except I understand his eyelids became tea bushes. So maybe a shoe and a box of tea would be nice!

[GeneChing]

....whoops! Too late. Now you're sorry, aren't you?

[Shaolin]

Thanks for that everyone. We're ordering more, but it will take a while as they have to be carved in Dengfeng and then shipped to here.

@Shaolin: I should add that if these ever did become a Tiger Claw product, the price would double. We offered the last batch at $18.99. That's basically our price plus shipping X2, which would be 'wholesale' price. If we offered wholesale, we'd have to raise the retail. Retail is usually cost+shippingx4. Anyway, it's moot now as they are sold out. I'm hoping we can keep the price of the new shipment the same, but you know how it is with China. We're haggling with some folk carvers in Dengfeng. We're hoping to get them to improve the quality. They'll want more kuai for that.

I'm sure there's plenty of Americans who'd be willing to carve your canes for you at a reasonable price. The quality will be probably be better and you'll save on shipping.

[GeneChing]

I'm actually carving one myself right now, just for fun. But I wouldn't do it for under $10 bucks. That's what it would have to be under to meet that $18.99 price point. It's a fair amount of work. Even if I had a lathe and a bandsaw, it would still be a fair amount of work because the horn shape must be hand rasped - much more than $10 I should think. Frankly it's hard to undercut the price of Chinese labor.

[Shaolin]

If "they" are trying to keep the retail price under $20 it's understandable to outsource the work. Personally I'd rather see the whole sale cost go up to around $25-$35, bring the production to the U.S. and increase the quality. Retail it for $40-$50. Buy low price = get low quality.

[GeneChing]

We now know it is successful at this price point. We are looking at making improvements - in fact, I was just in discussion with the makers yesterday about this - without raising that price point. If it really takes off, I could foresee turning Cane production over to the same manufacturers that do our tonfa, which are really well made and still inexpensive. Those are machine made, for the most part, so the issue there is the start-up costs. We'll see. This is a work in progress.

Meanwhile, I'm debating about going into high-end cane production - handmade Bodhidharma Canes by me. If I sell them at $108 (love that price point) and cover my hours on task, I might just go back into the weapon making business.

[sha0lin1]

I think Shaolin has a point. You guys have a distribution center in Tennessee and there are a whole lot of wood carvers in the Appalachins right? One of the poorest parts of the U.S. where a lot of people need work.