C
Cold
Member
- Joined
- Mar 30, 2009
- Messages
- 222
That's really the whole point of unlabeled seconds, regardless of the specific product: stuff that's still usable, but not up to the standards that the company in question has attached to their brand.
Simply put, some money is better than no money, but below a certain quality level, the "some money" sales of lower quality also take their toll on brand identity and reputation.
For Whiting, they're known as the de facto top dogs in fly tying feathers. People associate the cardstock with their logo in a ziplock back with that top tier quality (as we've seen here). It serves no purpose for them to dilute that brand identity by selling even a single feather that didn't reinforce that brand image.
Essentially, selling seconds allows them to recoup what would otherwise just be a total loss, lumped under the costs of doing business in a field where you're at the mercy of the genetic lottery. In essence, while the feathers might be in the top 90% of all fly tying feathers, Whiting has decided they're only interested in the top 5%, and as such, won't attach their name to the pelt.
For the vast majority of tyers, 90% (or even 75%) of the quality at 50% or less of the price presents a bargain, and those tyers will no doubt be very pleased to have access to these seconds as opposed to paying double the price to get that last 10% of quality.
Of course, there are some who don't feel this way, and they have the full Whiting product line to choose from.
For me, it'd be all aboard the seconds train, but for two factors:
1) Hackle is one of the few materials that I'm extremely hesitant to buy sight unseen.
and
2) I've heard enough horror stories about FE to not be willing to risk business with them. Sure, the negative press is the loudest, but by the same token, where there's smoke there's usually fire, and I've heard more negative press surrounding the FE business practices (though to be fair, not about the feathers) than nearly any other fly tying retailer.
For me personally, it's not worth the chance to save a buck to risk the headache of missing or botched orders, delayed/no communication, PayPal disputes, etc. I'll pay another shop more money to not have to worry about customer service. Unfortunately, I've not seen Whiting seconds offered outside of FE, so because the two seem to go hand-in-hand, I've no interest in rolling the dice with FE to take advantage of Whiting seconds.
Simply put, some money is better than no money, but below a certain quality level, the "some money" sales of lower quality also take their toll on brand identity and reputation.
For Whiting, they're known as the de facto top dogs in fly tying feathers. People associate the cardstock with their logo in a ziplock back with that top tier quality (as we've seen here). It serves no purpose for them to dilute that brand identity by selling even a single feather that didn't reinforce that brand image.
Essentially, selling seconds allows them to recoup what would otherwise just be a total loss, lumped under the costs of doing business in a field where you're at the mercy of the genetic lottery. In essence, while the feathers might be in the top 90% of all fly tying feathers, Whiting has decided they're only interested in the top 5%, and as such, won't attach their name to the pelt.
For the vast majority of tyers, 90% (or even 75%) of the quality at 50% or less of the price presents a bargain, and those tyers will no doubt be very pleased to have access to these seconds as opposed to paying double the price to get that last 10% of quality.
Of course, there are some who don't feel this way, and they have the full Whiting product line to choose from.
For me, it'd be all aboard the seconds train, but for two factors:
1) Hackle is one of the few materials that I'm extremely hesitant to buy sight unseen.
and
2) I've heard enough horror stories about FE to not be willing to risk business with them. Sure, the negative press is the loudest, but by the same token, where there's smoke there's usually fire, and I've heard more negative press surrounding the FE business practices (though to be fair, not about the feathers) than nearly any other fly tying retailer.
For me personally, it's not worth the chance to save a buck to risk the headache of missing or botched orders, delayed/no communication, PayPal disputes, etc. I'll pay another shop more money to not have to worry about customer service. Unfortunately, I've not seen Whiting seconds offered outside of FE, so because the two seem to go hand-in-hand, I've no interest in rolling the dice with FE to take advantage of Whiting seconds.
