Cheap corn and soybeans = cheap feed = more cows = more leather = lower prices.
America has no use for hides, so leather prices plunge
151–160 of 202 posts
Re: America has no use for hides, so leather prices plunge
#152Earlier quoted context omitted.
I have a couple of leather belts (one brown and one black) that I got from https://simpleleatherbelt.com/ I highly recommend them. These belts will last a lifetime.
The website is a study in how not to do a checkout process, even on simpler mom-n-pop WooCommerce sites. - - - - > TIP CUT C125 > Round > English Point > Taper - - - - > Belt length: > * DO NOT USE YOUR PANTS SIZE * > 25 > 26 > 27 - - - - It's better if you: 1. Explain which options are recommended for what kind of customer, or which options go together better in a set. 2. Don't expect checkout customers to work in y…
C125 refers to the belt model, Clinch 1.25
The tip cuts make sense to me. You can either go rounded, have a point, or go with a taper. The image changes based on which one you choose.
They have a sizing guide on the product page where they use your old belt as a base for measurement.
As for point number one, I feel like that's a matter of preference, specifically because fashion is subjective.
I mean, I agree with the sentiment of your comment, specifically they could definitely do more user friendly things, but I figure most of their customers are into bespoke products and are okay with doing research on their own or are informed.
Re: America has no use for hides, so leather prices plunge
#153I'd be interested to know how much of this has to do with the dilution of the meaning of 'leather' in terms of consumer goods. The market is flooded with garbage products, which are produced by slicing a thin veneer of leather and gluing it to a plastic backing, which is then sold as "bonded leather." It's gotten so bad that full-grain leather products are exceedingly rare. Since 90% of "leather" products are such aw…
I had a really awesome leather belt that I got when I was 15. I stopped wearing it when I was 30 because my weight finally out outgrew the belt. Still have it. It's no worse today than it was when I got it as a teen. I go through about a belt a year now. Because I always seem to end up with this crap you describe. Even if I try to avoid it. Guess I need to do a better job looking... Or just lose some weight so I can…
Go to Etsy.com. It's great for leather products. I bought lots of belts from brand names growing up, and they all quickly fell apart. Then I learned about full grain leather. I talked with a local person I found on Etsy, provided the measurements to the center hole, chose a solid stainless steel buckle from their selection, gave them the measurements for the width of the belt, and they cut one from some black, full grain, vegetable tanned leather. I've had the belt for years, wear it all the time, and it's like new, but just keeps looking better and getting softer.
Once again, go to Etsy and search for full grain leather belts. I spent about $70 on mine. This is one of the markets where you'll get a much better product working with a local craftsman than shopping with a brand name.
Re: America has no use for hides, so leather prices plunge
#154Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don’t think it is. A lot of people have serious concerns and take steps because of that.
A lot of people do but go back some because of health issues, others because there friend circle changed and others keep going forever. The parent poster mentioned everyone around him.. when the majority has accepted a viewpoint many will signal they are on board but eat meat with their other friends or parents. People want to fit in. It may seem like everyone but it may not be true.
The parent said: "seems everyone I talk to" and "have started looking at beef as something to be indulged in only on occasion". Not that people weren't still eating the same amount or that they didn't still eat red meat on social occasions to fit in (wait, more signalling!).
My dispute is with the idea that people only take an action to signal and not because they personally care.
Re: America has no use for hides, so leather prices plunge
#155Earlier quoted context omitted.
I had a really awesome leather belt that I got when I was 15. I stopped wearing it when I was 30 because my weight finally out outgrew the belt. Still have it. It's no worse today than it was when I got it as a teen. I go through about a belt a year now. Because I always seem to end up with this crap you describe. Even if I try to avoid it. Guess I need to do a better job looking... Or just lose some weight so I can…
Go to Etsy.com. It's great for leather products. I bought lots of belts from brand names growing up, and they all quickly fell apart. Then I learned about full grain leather. I talked with a local person I found on Etsy, provided the measurements to the center hole, chose a solid stainless steel buckle from their selection, gave them the measurements for the width of the belt, and they cut one from some black, full g…
The problem with Etsy is these days it's flooded with Chinese sellers hawking the same products they would on Amazon but at a markup.
Re: America has no use for hides, so leather prices plunge
#156“According to Hidenet, a leather markets research firm, a hide from a branded cow went for as little as $4 the week of July 15, down from as much as $81 just five years ago.” Wait, what? Consumer trends have shifted so radically in 5 years that even with a white hot economy leather prices have dropped by 20x?
It also says
> Just five years ago, prices soared after a drought shrank the U.S. herd to a six-decade low.
so the $81 high mark is probably more to do with the weather than the consumer trend.
Re: America has no use for hides, so leather prices plunge
#157Earlier quoted context omitted.
Beef and hide are coupled goods. One cow produces about X kg of beef and Y m^2 of hide. If demand for beef is extra high, then it will depress the price of hide because the ratio in supply is roughly fixed between them. There are other examples in modern society. Chlorine and caustic soda are produced in strictly fixed ratios from NaCl salt and electricity. Extra demand for one will depress the price of the other. Th…
Why don't they just breed cows that are more spherical, to maximize the volume-to-surface-area ratio?
Or more wrinkly. Increased surface area compared to a sphere. It works on brain surface area.
There's probably a tradeoff in the quality of the hide as a result of this however.
Re: America has no use for hides, so leather prices plunge
#158I'd be interested to know how much of this has to do with the dilution of the meaning of 'leather' in terms of consumer goods. The market is flooded with garbage products, which are produced by slicing a thin veneer of leather and gluing it to a plastic backing, which is then sold as "bonded leather." It's gotten so bad that full-grain leather products are exceedingly rare. Since 90% of "leather" products are such aw…
This is a great point. I'd be interested in seeing some data where words/definitions/"generic trademarks" are better protected. For example, I remember reading something within the last few years about the FDA considering cracking down on companies using "milk" in non-dairy products like almond milk, soy milk, etc.
It's almost a tragedy of the commons where there is a generic trademark that isn't protected, or maybe in the opposite case where everyone colludes to dilute the generic trademark to increase profit margins. Like using "blueberries" that aren't real blueberries but just made up of sugar and some artificial ingredients.
Re: America has no use for hides, so leather prices plunge
#159Earlier quoted context omitted.
The website is a study in how not to do a checkout process, even on simpler mom-n-pop WooCommerce sites. - - - - > TIP CUT C125 > Round > English Point > Taper - - - - > Belt length: > * DO NOT USE YOUR PANTS SIZE * > 25 > 26 > 27 - - - - It's better if you: 1. Explain which options are recommended for what kind of customer, or which options go together better in a set. 2. Don't expect checkout customers to work in y…
C125 refers to the belt model, Clinch 1.25 The tip cuts make sense to me. You can either go rounded, have a point, or go with a taper. The image changes based on which one you choose. They have a sizing guide on the product page where they use your old belt as a base for measurement. As for point number one, I feel like that's a matter of preference, specifically because fashion is subjective. I mean, I agree with th…
"Clinch 1.25" means something to the website owners and to their more dedicated customers.
I'm not that person though- I just clicked on a picture of a belt on their homepage, so "C125" is a random string to me.
Is "C125" the thing I want to order or the opposite of that thing? I forget.
I also wouldn't know they have a sizing guide on their homepage, because I'm on their checkout page already.
I know that sounds silly (and pretty much incompetent of me as a buyer), but there are a lot of eComm sites, a lot of places to buy belts, and busy lives for customers.
You either hold the customer's hand through checkout, or you bleed abandoned carts.
I found a comment online that goes:
> Tapered
> - easier grip to pull/cinch the belt
> - easier to get through the loop Rounded
> - 5" less excess going through the loop.
> - great if you are sharing belts (if the smaller person is wearing the belt in its tightest setting, they won't have the excess talked about in first bullet point)
Little notes like this would go a long way during the checkout process.
Re: America has no use for hides, so leather prices plunge
#160I'd be interested to know how much of this has to do with the dilution of the meaning of 'leather' in terms of consumer goods. The market is flooded with garbage products, which are produced by slicing a thin veneer of leather and gluing it to a plastic backing, which is then sold as "bonded leather." It's gotten so bad that full-grain leather products are exceedingly rare. Since 90% of "leather" products are such aw…
I had a really awesome leather belt that I got when I was 15. I stopped wearing it when I was 30 because my weight finally out outgrew the belt. Still have it. It's no worse today than it was when I got it as a teen. I go through about a belt a year now. Because I always seem to end up with this crap you describe. Even if I try to avoid it. Guess I need to do a better job looking... Or just lose some weight so I can…
Try searching leather goods on Amazon or Ebay. 95% of the results aren't - they're leathercloth, fake leather, bonded leather, PVC, but use "leather" as a headline keyword anyway. Amazon don't care despite it being borderline fraudulent.
Then you see a quality brand you remember from 40 years ago who once sold proper thick hide belts. Comes for a similar premium price that has you thinking it's the real thing still. You can have something that looks the same - for a couple of years. Except it's bonded leather, with a cheaply plated buckle, made in China or Vietnam.
The leather goods shop, that sold only pukka items, in town is long gone. As is the shopkeeper who could advise which leather would suit your need best, and order in special niche items. There might be a real maker somewhere online, selling at artisan (ie absurd) prices. You may never know it as everyone else is trying to imply their crap is that too.