Wig prices. SM are not money grabbing monsters!!

amother

Blonde

Thu, Jan 26 2023, 12:30 pm

amother DarkGreen wrote:

My SM went from $40-$70 for wash and sets. When asking her why the big jump she said “because this is the going price now, I’ve been doing wigs for years and I’m behind with what everyone is charging, $40 is only for newbie shaitel machers” when asking her if she needs to invest more time or shampoo she said no, she is simply hiking up the price because that’s what everyone is doing.
This is called taking advantage.
I have all the money in the world to afford my wigs and wash and sets but I’m refusing to fall to these absurd standards!
SM were perfectly happy and content when they charged $35 for wash and sets.. all of a sudden it became a hype..
we gotta cut the chord somewhere

But she's not taking advantage. She can charge what she wants and it's your choice whether to continue using her or not. You were very rude to ask her those questions & put her on the spot like that. She's not taking advantage by charging the going price. That's how business works. Nothing is the same price as it was years ago and it's absurd to expect people to charge old prices for their services.
She probably barely made a profit from charging $40. Especially if the salon is not in her home and she has people working for her.

amother

Dandelion

Thu, Jan 26 2023, 12:32 pm

amother DarkGreen wrote:

No. It’s not hype. Prices of everything went up. Inflation is hurting everyone. $35 is a joke in today’s economy. How much do you make a day? Perhaps you should work for $12 an hour I heard that many are just fine with it and it’s a hype to make more.

amother

Aqua

Thu, Jan 26 2023, 12:39 pm

amother DarkGreen wrote:

Why is this called taking advantage? If people value her enough to pay that price, they should use her. If she is not worth that price to you, don't use her. Why the outrage?

My sheitel macher recently raised her price to 90 per wash and set. Her settings are by far better than the younger less experienced girls I've used. She has invested so much in gaining expertise and you can tell by the setting.

When I don't need an especially good setting, I don't use her. When I do use her, I know I'm getting what I pay for her and happily pay the price she asks for.

She recently went up in price. One of the main reasons she raised it is because she was too busy - she did not have enough time to service all the people who wanted her services. This is basic supply and demand. I'm actually happy that she went up because now I can get an appointment.

A 90$ wash and set is a luxury. If that price doesn't work for you, you can get it done by a younger sm for much less.

amother

Birch

Thu, Jan 26 2023, 12:43 pm

amother Blonde wrote:

Also, hate to say it but many of us SM are talented with our hands but not crazy business savvy. When put on the spot like that about our costs it's hard to reply in the moment. It's not just about the shampoo we're using.
So the sm might not have been able to justify in the moment what exactly has increased but if she'd sit with a financial planner she would most likely see that she wasn't making too much money with $40 for a w/s and all that involves.

amother

Ghostwhite

Thu, Jan 26 2023, 12:46 pm

amother Dandelion wrote:

I hate this shaming. My business is attacked in a similar way. Why don’t I deserve to make an honest living? I give you my time and expertise but everyone thinks they are entitled to the world for free. Only they deserve to make money.

There’s a big difference between free and being ripped off.

amother

Ghostwhite

Thu, Jan 26 2023, 12:47 pm

amother Pumpkin wrote:

Most of the wig brands are ripping us off. SM are not the real problem although charging a few hundred dollar fee for a cut is a bit excessive. Change needs to come from the wig companies who keep hiking prices up every few months

Change needs to come from everyone involved. No one is blameless here

amother

Ghostwhite

Thu, Jan 26 2023, 12:48 pm

amother Birch wrote:

If a SM is charging that it's usually because that is what is needed to cover her time and expenses and also earn a profit. You are welcome to use the younger less experienced stylist that is charging $30 and working out of her 1 bedroom apartment.

Do you realize that if you'd be wearing your own hair you'd be spending a lot more than that maintaining it, cutting it, getting it styled when you can't just throw it into a pony etc... Forget about when the greys grow in and you want to start dying that monthly.

If you are on a tight budget you can watch youtube videos put out by heimish stylists how to wash and set your own wigs for free!
Ah but you don't want to spend the hour plus it takes to do that.
You want the sheitelmacher to spend that time and expertise but do it at a price YOU want.

Really? $300 and more for a haircut? I don’t think so.

amother

Birch

Thu, Jan 26 2023, 12:51 pm

amother Blonde wrote:

You choosing to pay that price, is not you being ripped off. It's your choice.

Reminds me of all the therapist threads with people complaining they can't afford the therapist rate but don't want a clinic. And I think therapy is slightly more necessary to some than a brand name wash and set.

I guess complainers will always complain.

amother

Blonde

Thu, Jan 26 2023, 12:52 pm

amother Ghostwhite wrote:

Really? $300 and more for a haircut? I don’t think so.

Cutting a wig is NOT a haircut! It's a different type of cutting with different training and expertise required. If you mess up a wig cut, the wig is gone. Cannot be compared to a haircut. Most people that know how to cut hair, do not know how to cut wigs. It's 2 different techniques.
You're not just paying for the cut, otherwise you can do it on your own. You're paying for training and expertise and a wig that's not messed up.

amother

Ghostwhite

Thu, Jan 26 2023, 12:53 pm

amother OP wrote:

It’s not taking advantage. It a luxury service & if it is not worth the extra money for you it’s not the right person for you. There are many cheaper places to get your wig washed & set.
Whatever your skill or job is don’t you want to be paid as much as possible for it? Why is a wash & set different?
Good for the woman making $120 per wash & set that is what she feels her value is no one is forced to use her.
Why do you feel entitled to her service at the price you want?

Luxury service? Why is one person who decides to charge $120 anything more than a ripoff artist if enough others charge $50? No, not every sm who charges less is young and inexperienced. Maybe just more honest.

amother

Blonde

Thu, Jan 26 2023, 12:55 pm

amother Ghostwhite wrote:

It's not a rip off off. It's your choice whether to use it or not. She can decide to charge whatever she wants, it's still not a rip off. An example of a rip off would be, I buy an expensive refrigerator, it breaks after a couple of weeks, and the company refuses to do anything about it. That's a rip off. Not someone charging the going price for their services.
You don't seem to understand what work goes in to being a sheitel macher and running a salon.

amother

Ghostwhite

Thu, Jan 26 2023, 12:57 pm

amother Blonde wrote:

No you’re wrong. The sm admitted she raised her price only when she heard other sm’s were getting more. Obviously she was making a profit at the cheaper price too but then decided she could be like the others and rip people off too and Make a whole lot more.

amother

Blonde

Thu, Jan 26 2023, 12:59 pm

amother Ghostwhite wrote:

You don't understand. Charging the going price is not taking advantage or a rip off. Just because she didn't charge this amount till now, it doesn't mean that she made a big profit. It means that she just doesn't have a good business sense and didn't know she can charge more.
If you continue to use her, you're agreeing to her prices. But she's not doing anything wrong and she doesn't have to charge the price you think is ok.

amother

Dandelion

Thu, Jan 26 2023, 12:59 pm

amother Ghostwhite wrote:

There’s a big difference between free and being ripped off.

How do you know what being ripped off means? In my specific business the going rate in the frum world is much lower than in the non Jewish world because Jews don’t understand the expenses. I’m being ripped off when I have to pay for supplies out of pocket because you want my service but don’t want to cover expenses plus some sort of profit. People on here generally do not understand business expenses or time. There is so much of but it just takes x amount of time what’s the big deal.

amother

Dandelion

Thu, Jan 26 2023, 1:02 pm

amother Ghostwhite wrote:

You don’t understand business. How much do you make an hour? I just want to make sure you make as little as what you want service people to make. Are you ripping off your bosses or clients? By my calculations most jobs are people wasting time so they shouldn’t get paid more than $10 an hour. Any more and they are just ripping off people. And raises? How dare they. They can ask for more per hour just because they work there for a while? Outrageous.

amother

Birch

Thu, Jan 26 2023, 1:06 pm

amother Ghostwhite wrote:

Like I said before, she might just not be business savvy and realize what her expenses vs income are.
Or she might just be a greedy selfish woman which I'm not gonna deny can be the case rarely which in that situation stop using her.

amother

Pumpkin

Thu, Jan 26 2023, 1:06 pm

amother Blonde wrote:

I have never seen a SM replacing a new wig for a client whose wig they messed up. I've seen SM ruin wigs they burnt terrible cut horrible unatural coloured (literally green) they usually take no responsibility