


there are like, 2 people, maybe 3 people max, in this thread who actually know what they're talking about, and 4 pages of hysterics...
- It seems Roy will not sell direct anymore, he wants to sell through Self Edge. Nothing wrong with that, you guys should be wishing his success and proliferation via an official retailer, instead of demanding discounts that can't be done. Someday, when there is a glut of used product on the aftermarket, guys who want it on the cheap can go looking there, and keep ROY buoyed that way as well, it's healthier for everyone (maker-retailer-consumer) that way.
- when ROY sold his 'practice' jeans (and that isn't hype, I can totally understand what he means by that) direct, the price was lower. Now that kiya distributes them, what do you expect? For kiya to mark them up without any safety net for the inevitable returns, damaged examples, and shipping?
- as for the actual price, break it down feature by feature and compare them with anything else at the price point. There's nothing else with that much work in it. As for materials cost; the smaller guys get shafted on material costs because they don't buy in quantities that big companies do, it could cost small outfits 2 or even 3 times what the big guys pay for the same exact thing. There's a huge graded cost schedule on all this stuff based on quantity, and Roy literally only needs ~1 roll of denim to make SE's job order; even a Japanese niche denim maker buys rolls by the truckloads, and 1 roll is nothing to them, while a roll is $500-1000 or more.
Beyond that, you are paying Roy so that he can pay his taxes, and then pay himself for his work. After all is said and done, he might be paying himself $10/hr for his work, and if it were $20/hr, would you guys begrudge him that? I highly doubt he gets too many pairs finished in a day.