The price some people charge - a personal rant!

[Phil Pascoe]

Jelly, you don't seriously think there's much there done by hand, do you? "Hand made by skilled craftsmen in our own workshops" sounds so much better than "knocked out by the score on a couple of old machines in fred's garage".

 

[marcros]

that is like anything though- adding a bit of romance to the product through marketting. It helps the customer feel like they have something special, of high quality and unique.

They probably wouldnt sell any if they said "Chopping board from a piece of wood that I bought from somewhere. Actually it was an offcut that i was going to throw away. I could tell you where it came from, but all wood comes from somewhere, so I wont bother. Then i chucked it through some old machines and bunged on some oil".

 

[Roughcut]

that is like anything though- adding a bit of romance to the product through marketting. It helps the customer feel like they have something special, of high quality and unique.
They probably wouldnt sell any if they said "Chopping board from a piece of wood that I bought from somewhere. Actually it was an offcut that i was going to throw away. I could tell you where it came from, but all wood comes from somewhere, so I wont bother. Then i chucked it through some old machines and bunged on some oil".

Exactly.
The seller can market his product as "unique" or even "one-off" and he wouldn't be stretching the truth.
People like to treat themselves and buy something that is individual.
The same couldn't be said of a chopping board purchased from Argos or wherever.
I personally wouldn't buy one of the chopping boards, but the seller has certainly given himself a marketing "edge".
Fair play to him.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

On their site they give details of how to clean the board if used for raw fish or raw meat. I don't think I'd be comfortable using a piece of wood full of gaps and with natural bark for that, no matter how carefully it had been cleaned before.

 

[iNewbie]

I'm wondering how Popeye will feel now they've rubbed Olive Oil in it.

 

[petermillard]

Have to agree with the majority here - and it's no rip-off if you don't buy. OTOH a ten-second Google search shows that a stand at the BBC Good Food show will set you back the best part of £3k minimum - that's "from' £242 / sq m with a minimum of 12 sq m - and presumably you'd pay a fair bit more than that unless you're happy with a stand in a far flung corner of the exhibit next to the toilets...

I wouldn't pay that for an exhibition stand, and I wouldn't pay that much for a chopping board - but if the exhibitors, and the show organisers think they can (and clearly they can) then good luck to them.

 

[woodbrains]

Hello,

There have been tests done on wooden chopping boards which prove they actually are more sterile than plastic ones. The natural extractives in timber, which combat bacteria when the tree is alive, still remain active indefinitely and kill off the nasties that harbour themselves in the knife cuts in plastic and multiply. If you think about it, people have been using wooden boards, bowls, spoons since Adam was a lad. The safety has been tested to the n,th degree. I must admit, I would stick to heart wood only, but then I would prefer end grain boards too. But wood is pretty safe, it is the perception than misleads.

I notice that the posters who are not surprised by the prices of these are or have been professional woodworkers in some capacity. It is surprising how costly it is to make and market a product, I think only those who have tried it really understand. Casual buyers might think things are dear, but most woodworkers are very modestly paid for their work, even the very high end furniture makers.

Mike.

 

[powertools]

I don't feel good with commenting on what other businesses do on internet forums but I have to say that I am surprised that they make any money at that price.
As mentioned above the costs of attending a high end show where people would be prepared to pay top prices for items is huge and the price you actually get for your items after all costs inc. vat is typically only 30 - 40% of the retail price.
I think that there marketing techniques are something that any woodworker trying to make a living out of his craft should try to follow.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Mike, I was thinking more of the waney edged and knotty boards, but looking back I notice they do differentiate between chopping boards and presentation boards (whether a user would or not is a different matter). I read many years ago that wood was found to be safe - in fact it was found safe at the same time as they banned it's use! We've now got to the point that to make a ham and tomato sandwich (commercially), we have to use three chopping boards and four knives.

 

[G S Haydon]

If the product, price and concept are wrong the business will fail

If the product, price and concept are right the business will do well

Applies to most things, even those "american novelty plane makers"

 

[woodbrains]

Mike, I was thinking more of the waney edged and knotty boards, but looking back I notice they do differentiate between chopping boards and presentation boards (whether a user would or not is a different matter). I read many years ago that wood was found to be safe - in fact it was found safe at the same time as they banned it's use! We've now got to the point that to make a ham and tomato sandwich (commercially), we have to use three chopping boards and four knives.

I know what you mean, the rustic ones aren't something that appeals to me, either. I suppose the presentation boards should be encapsulated in plastic coating ( nasty stuff) or something, so as to seal in anything inedible, and this would preclude their use as chopping boards. That said, the knife cuts in the wooden chopping boards were thought to be a harbour for bacteria and it turned out not to be the case, so perhaps other defects are no problem either.

If the product, price and concept are wrong the business will fail

If the product, price and concept are right the business will do well

Applies to most things, even those "american novelty plane makers"

Sometimes even if the price is right, the product right, and concept right, the business still can fail.... It is bloody hard to succeed making a living making stuff. Those that found these products expensive sort of bear this out. The real value in a handmade object is most misunderstood by the general populous.

Mike.

 

[bugbear]

I note that various people, mainly people selling woodwork, seem to find the price reasonable from the vendor's perspective.

That's a valid point of view. But there's another, equally valid one.

Might I ask how many people here would actually pay the prices asked on that site for a chopping board, i.e. find the price reasonable from a purchaser's perspective?

BugBear

 

[Jacob]

I note that various people, mainly people selling woodwork, seem to find the price reasonable from the vendor's perspective.

That's a valid point of view. But there's another, equally valid one.

Might I ask how many people here would actually pay the prices asked on that site for a chopping board, i.e. find the price reasonable from a purchaser's perspective?

BugBear

The price isn't "reasonable" either way - it is just the market price which suits the vendor, and good luck to him too!
I wouldn't pay it myself (even if I couldn't make my own) but then there are millions of things I wouldn't buy because they are too expensive.
If anybody wants to get bothered about ethics and fair prices think of banker's bonus's , legal costs, rents, and a lot of other big issues where we are being overcharged for all manner of things. An over priced breadboard is not really very interesting is it? We can get cheaper ones easily, even if we are desperate!

 

[marcros]

if I had just bought a handmade kitchen, and this board finished it off, I would pay 5x that amount. Assuming of course I had the money for a handmade kitchen. It is all about how an individual values the items- probably the same discussion about an old stanley vs a new Lie Nielsen plane

From a purchasers perspective, I think it is reasonable- the cheapest le cruset caserole dish (cast iron) was nearly £100 on their website, global knives, (which I appreciate are mass produced, but reasonable mass produced) are upwards of £75 for a cooks knife. In all cases, it probably performs just as well as a £2 ikea plastic board, just the same as you can cut your carrots with a £3 chefs knife.

 

[Sheffield Tony]

Ok, I wouldn't buy at that price. But I am a Yorkshireman at heart, despite my current location. Mind you, trendy restaurant chefs (e.g., Jamie Oliver) are serving food on wooden boards in restaurants, and selling the boards at quite a price too. They might buy, after negotiating a substantial discount.

 

[cambournepete]

...just the same as you can cut your carrots with a £3 chefs knife.

I've bought some really poor chefs knives that can't take or hold an edge, or are too thick to work properly.
Never again, I'd rather have fewer better ones.

 

[Harbo]

Used to get that problem when staying at my Mums or Mum-in- law - expected to carve a joint with a knife as blunt as a table knife!

We've learnt to take them out instead.

Rod

 

[bugbear]

Used to get that problem when staying at my Mums or Mum-in- law - expected to carve a joint with a knife as blunt as a table knife!

We've learnt to take them out instead.

When I visit my sister for a Christmas meal, I take along a knife, so I can help out with the prep.

Her knives are beyond sharpening :-(

BugBear

 

[Chrispy]

Following on from this if any one here wants and chopping/presentation board please get in touch, I think I may be able to oblige! :idea:

 

[Racers]

I tried using on of those slate plates but the peas kept rolling off, in hindsight I should have taken it off the roof first.

Pete