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America has no use for hides, so leather prices plunge

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161–170 of 202 posts

Re: America has no use for hides, so leather prices plunge

#161
post #66

I'm actually in the market for a leather jacket and boots right now, but I certainly haven't noticed prices going down at all. I'm finding leather jackets extremely difficult to shop for. Online advice is all over the place, and I want something to last a lifetime.

I would recommend r/goodyearwelt for recommendations on boots. Really knowledgeable community without being too snobbish (imo). I’ve found some pretty good leather jacket threads on Styleforum. There’s another forum whose name is escaping my mind, but they are dedicated to classic reproduction leather jackets.

Sounds like Fedora lounge. I love how they obsess on the differences between like a 1943 and 1944 flight jacket.

Re: America has no use for hides, so leather prices plunge

#162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I recommend Hank’s Belts online. I bought two. First one with a blemish (that I can’t find) for half price and a regular one for full price. Both have lasted me 3+ years now.

$60 is a stiff price for a belt when the value of leather is apparently $0. Hank's Belts hasn't heard the news yet, I suppose.

When the price of materials is low enough, like leather, you are paying for the decisions the creator made, use of their time, tools and facilities, and distribution convenience.

As an extreme example, a napkin sketch by Picasso is not valued relative to napkins.

If the creator makes a belt just the way I want it, that’s worth a couple hours pay to me.

Re: America has no use for hides, so leather prices plunge

#163
post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 sil…

The image on this page updates with the colour and tip cut as the user chooses the option: https://simpleleatherbelt.com/product/belt-cinch-1-25/

I personally thought that the tip cut might have been more of an aesthetic preference than one of practicality.

Re: America has no use for hides, so leather prices plunge

#164
post #146
post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be fair, Ultima Online’s economy was tanked by the innovation of bard/tamers and the Trammel ruleset introduced in Renaissance. Massively increasing the supply by having it possible for players to trivialise the ransacking of dungeons without risk of losing their haul to PKers. Classic inflationary spiral.

The virtual economy of UO was killed by the time the beta test ended. We're talking about the NPC shopkeepers here, not the player owned vendors. The NPCs were supposed to follow things like supply/demand as well as having preferences as to what they wanted. Players got mad as they wanted to just be able to dump any old crap (typically bucketloads of skullcaps) to any old NPC. The NPC shopkeepers also kept hours, wou…

Ah yes, I had forgotten about that stuff. A bunch of it was before my time and I only knew about it from other players' stories. Thank you for posting it!

Even with so much of that removed, UO always had the feeling of a living breathing world more than almost any other game.

Re: America has no use for hides, so leather prices plunge

#166
post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the other hand, if you're in the US, your belt's shipping from China was paid for entirely, or at least heavily subsidized, by American taxpayers. (Not sure how this varies across other non-US western countries)

What about Canadians, based on our close proximity and depending on the specific logistics, might you guys be subsidising us as well?

qwsc was referring to the almost-free international postal rates for parcels that China received from USPS when it was a struggling exporter decades ago.

As in, lower than domestic parcel rates inside the USA, typically in the range of $1 - $2.

I believe Trump mentioned considering re-negotiating that deal recently, which nobody has objected to.

Re: America has no use for hides, so leather prices plunge

#167
post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

The goal is to get more beef and less leather.

Re: America has no use for hides, so leather prices plunge

#168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lean meat is has around 100 kcal per 100 grams. This is similar to most fruits and veg. More fatty meat sits at around 230 kcal per 100 grams. You'll find that carb sources are around 200-350 kcal per 100 gram and sweet process foods are around the top of this level. So when the OP says that the calorie density in meat is low, they are correct in the case of lean meat.

Source for the 100kcal per 100 grams please. Even rabbit meat, the leanest possible game meat has 136 calories per 100 grams. https://www.fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/usda/rabbit-mea... Average red meats will have calorie ranges right around 180-240 kcal per 100 grams. Of course that's low compared to sugary processed foods if you're going just by calories. But it certainly isn't lowest when you consider the enti…

My source? The packs the food comes in. Why? Bodybuilding. To build muscle without adding a lot of fat you need to know your protein.

A quick google and here are some example numbers.

Lean beef:

https://www.eenvoudig-afvallen.nl/voedingswaarde/hoeveel-cal...

Chicken breast:

http://www.calorielijst.nl/product/?calorie=418

White fish like Cod and Haddock are similar only they contain less water.

Maybe you don't have lean cuts in your country?

Re: America has no use for hides, so leather prices plunge

#169

“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?

>a hide from a branded cow went for as little as $4 the week of July 15

That price point doesnt seem right. Can anyone point me where you can actually buy a cowhide for $4? or even $40? Quick search gives me ~$50 for calf hides. Even Chinese fake leather cowhide rugs start at ~$50.

Re: America has no use for hides, so leather prices plunge

#170
post #77

Earlier 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…

Check out Tanner goods. Definitely buy it for life belts, wallets, etc.

Just FYI, if you do mean what the sibling replies say, a "life belt" is a flotation device in the shape of a belt. Refers to a "life jacket".
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