Price Update

One of my goals as a whipmaker has always been to sell whips at an affordable price. While I still want to do that, there comes a time when you understand that the demand for your product is so high you just cannot keep up and that your prices are probably a bit too low. With that though in mind -and with some reluctance- I am going to have to raise the prices on my bullwhips and snakewhips to $20.00 per foot. This price change will be effective as soon as Cowwhips.com is updated.

With the bullwhips, the price increase is not based in large part because of demand, but also because my material prices have gone up. I am buying my nylon from a different supplier and paying more for it per spool because I am no longer getting it direct from the factory. Additionally, the recent design changes to my bullwhips mean there is a bit more work (and nylon) going into them than in the past.

This increase only means a $12.00 increase over the current price of a 6ft bullwhip, so there’s a good chance that it may not even effect the flow of orders I receive.  We’ll just have to wait and see. The fact is, most of all the other reputable, reliable nylon plaiters are many months behind on orders at this time.

I have also decided to raise the price of my snakewhips to match the bullwhips at $20.00 per plaited foot. Thought they are the least popular of all my whips, they do feature 2 plaited bellies and are quite a bit of work to make.

Now, the big question for some folks will be  “Rhett, why did you leave the cow whip prices at just $14.00/ foot?”

There are three reasons for this:

1. Because some of my main cow whip buyers are real Florida cracker cowboys. I don’t want my cow whip prices to be so high that I price myself out of the market for them. I’d imagine that $14.00 per foot is more than most of the local plaiters are getting down there. I can’t sell for much more than the local plaiters –even if my work is a bit nicer– and expect to get much of the market share.
2. Because I want to sell as many cow whips as I can, to as many people as I can. I’m first and foremost a maker of Florida cow whips. They are my passion as a plaiter. As I am now getting into leather, it is the Florida cow whip that I am making first. I want to distribute my cow whips far and wide. Keeping them affordable might help me do just that.
3. They are relatively easy to make. The cow whip has a handle, a shot loaded core, a belly, and an overlay. That’s all there is to it. Even though I have to turn the handles myself, I can make a cow whip more quickly than most of the other whips I make.

So there you have it. It may seem like I’m trying to emulate the United States Congress and vote myself a raise every year, but I assure you, this is just freemarket economics in action. I will soon know whether or not my whips are overpriced by how many people continue to buy them.

-RK