Question about pricing

Yes, certain pieces can take over 2 hours to make by hand, while others' can be made in molds and mass produced at a rate of 200 units per hour. If you are purchasing a quality American-made toy, for example, from a company who only employs glass workers with let's say a minimum of 6-7 years of hands-on experience, the labor is going to cost on average $40+/hour. Profit margins also can also affect pricing schedules tremendously. XHale, for example has several pieces that boast $200+ retail prices, yet, as a manufacturer we may only see $20 in profit per unit. Aside from the glass, certain "boutique" companies may also work with precious metals, ie: 24K gold and silver to add color. 24K gold yields a beautiful creamy pink color when incorporated into the glass properly. Theoretically, the same look could be achieved by simply working with a pink colored glass to imitate the look of Gold fuming--something else to keep in mind. If you have a certain piece in question, regardless of the maker, I would gladly give you an educated guess as to why it wears the price tag it does.

Great question and thank you!

Thanks for the quick reply! I do have an example I'd like an estimate on. I currently own the Ruby Glass 21 Smurf: link and wonder why this is $70 more: link I see that it has a color wrap, but is it that labor intensive? The $30 toy is very nice, so I don't see how $70 could make it that much better? I'm so glad you are answering my questions. I have a lot of interest in this!

The 99$ toy would take twice as long to make. And the color glass used for the wrap would add a little to the price. Not sure why it's over three time as much.

OK, here goes. Now since we don't manufacture this piece, I can only offer you my educated opinion based on the photograph. Firstly, I'm not really sure how anything made in the USA regardless of the raw materials used can retail for $30...PERIOD. I can guess by looking at the first link (the one retailing for $30) that the materials used are costing approximately $4.00US (assuming the maker is buying in large quantities). Did the item come with a pouch? That's another $3.00US cost (approximately). This piece, if properly made should take around 45 minutes to one hour to complete before putting it in the kiln for the annealment process. The bumps or magnifiers that you see on the surface are one of the most time consuming processes in toy glass making that we are aware of (if properly done). They don't appear from the photograph to be correctly melted into the glass, which could save a little bit of time, but not enough to warrant the low price, it just doesn't make that much sense to me as a business owner. Let me elaborate. Typically a manufacturer will offer a piece at wholesale for let's say $50..from this point the retailer traditionally doubles if not triples the price to reach it's "retail" price that you see and pay for as a consumer. This would mean that the product at very most could wear a $15 wholesale price tag, assuming the retailer is only doubling the cost, which is not very typical. The manufacturer cannot "run shop" for free, so they obviously need to make a buck too..which is only seen after paying out the costs of labor to the person who made the product. I can tell you that XHale makes a similar piece, minus the magnifiers (completely smooth)..and the wholesale is nearly $50/unit. My only guess would be one..the product is an import; two.. the manufacturer is offering the piece below their cost (which wouldn't make sense from a business standpoint) or three...the glass artist is inexperienced and underpaid, or possibly an apprentice making the piece "gratis" while in training. I am not at all familiar with the brand (although I do see quite a few knockoffs of our designs), nor would I wish to talk negatively about their work as I don't know the business or the glass artists personally...so I must stop there out of respect for my industry "neighbors"

The second link you sent over to me seems price appropriate, if not a bit under priced. One thing to watch out for with any surface color or wrap is how it is applied. We always melt a clear coat of glass over our color should it be used on the surface to ensure it is completely encased. If the colored glass were to "boil", it could become an accident waiting to happen as colored glass is not chemically free like the clear glass. Properly encasing color under the surface will make sure that you cannot come into contact with any toxins or risk of skin abrasion should the colored glass be damaged during the manufacturing process.

I hope this answers some questions for you...as well as raise a few more

Great question, and thank you. XHale has been making glass sex toys exclusively since 2003 and is a pioneer in the industry. Feel free to throw any questions our direction...we have seen everything...made mistakes ourselves in the early stages of business (who doesn't)....most importantly learned from them.

My only suggestion to you would be to make sure the company in which you are purchasing from (especially glass) has a long track record in the industry selling glass toys..a good one at that!

Glass can be an extremely sensitive material, yet when properly made can last a lifetime.

Do your homework on the supplier and you should be quite happy with your purchases.

Kindest Regards.

Thank you Laura! Your compliment is taken with a warm heart I really love your designs--very aesthetically pleasing. I was wondering when I was going to see someone doing what you are doing with such precision. I have been following the material for quite some time now--very impressed with what I see.