Why are Sheitels so expensive

asmileaday

Sun, Nov 05 2017, 3:17 pm

Bnei Berak 10 wrote:

50-100 bucks?! Are you serious?? shock

THAT is a total robbery in broad daylight!!
Where do you live?

$50-60 is completely average and is not a lot considering the time, product use and work that goes into it. And the fact that people expect it to last 6 weeks or more.
Most people don't set their wigs in a plain blow dry style. It's almost always with curling and styling.

Think about a hair salon. An average blow out starts at $35-45 if they're cheap. And that is meant to last a couple of hours.

asmileaday

Sun, Nov 05 2017, 3:19 pm

IMHopinion wrote:

Never mind a new Sheitels. I don’t buy that often.
But why is a simple wash and set average $50-100?
I’m so annoyed at these prices m. Wigs need to be reset so often.

You can always find beginners that'll do it for $25-35.

But you don't want that. You want the expert wash and set without having to pay the price for their experience.

TranquilityAndPeace

Sun, Nov 05 2017, 3:35 pm

A wash-n-set in a salon is probably similar to the person who requests just one headshot from me. (I'm a photographer)

I charge $250 for a headshot. Here's some of the costs:

The time that is involved in scheduling the session. Often, it gets re-scheduled and changed.

The time involved in advising the client what to wear and how to style her hair.

The costs of the tens of thousands of dollars I have spent on photography education.

The costs of the tens of thousands of dollars I have spent on photography and lighting equipment and backdrops.

The costs of my website building and hosting and updating.

The cost of Shootproof, how I deliver digital photos.

The cost of business insurance.

The cost of my bookkeeper.

The cost of my software.

The cost of my utilities.

The cost of my business bank accounts.

And more costs that aren't coming to mind this minute!

The time it takes to edit the photo.

The time it takes to back up the photo in 4 different places, in case of a hard drive failure.

Oftentimes, communication after the session, where the client requests more editing, or more files in various resolutions, different crops.

When you think a sheitel macher is spending 15 minutes with you on a wash-n-set, and her earning $50-100 for that quarter of an hour is highway robbery, you are not factoring in the myriad of expenses involved in running a business! At the end of the day, she is probably pocketing about 1/4-1/3 of that money, possibly less!

Bnei Berak 10

Sun, Nov 05 2017, 3:36 pm

asmileaday wrote:

OK, I don't have a sheitel with curls so that might explain the thing. Guess a long wig is more costly also for curling etc.

Fox

Sun, Nov 05 2017, 7:28 pm

If you haven't seen the documentary Just Extensions, it's worth your while. I believe it's free for Amazon Prime members.

It addresses the Indian hair question, which may or may not be an issue for individuals, but more interestingly to me, it really debunks a lot of the descriptions and classifications.

For example, I just saw an ad from a local shaitel macher offering "Brazilian hair" shaitels. The film maker actually traveled extensively in Brazil and couldn't find a single Brazilian women, anywhere, who sold her hair. Several Brazilian exporters explained that, yes, it was Indian and Asian hair coming from China.

Likewise "European" hair. There is virtually no trade in hair in Eastern or Western Europe. The Chinese intermediaries explained that it is "processed to be like European hair."

Prices are set by the market, not by what anyone "deserves" for her skill or time. But I wonder if such high prices would be supported if women knew that they weren't getting what is implied in the descriptions or advertising.

PinkFridge

Mon, Nov 06 2017, 12:26 pm

hotzenplotz wrote:

No need to fund the beach houses of the "in" sheitel companies.

Yaffa wigs can sells beautiful sheitels for $1500 to $1800 and sometimes less.

They are on 13th avenue and 41. Sara is honest and will match you the right color, style, fit.

I believe that sheitel machers are erlich.
But what I surmise from your post is that 15-1800 is acceptable.
For a lot of people, it's not.
And even the resale sheitlach are not cheap, and do not come with guarantees.
I realize that there may not be a way to make sheitlach cheaper but there are many women who are gradually being priced out of being able to buy a decent sheitel. Some do ok with beauty supply stores and other websites but it's not always easy to find in these alt sources.