Count me as '+ 1' to everything Steve says...

It's VERY difficult for Steve and Robert and myself (and other kiltmakers up here) to be both active members of the forum AND people who make our livings from this stuff... We are in a position of having a 'conflict of interest'. We walk a very fine line of not wanting to seem like we're 'putting something down to promote ourselves', when our INTENTIONS are to help inform / protect others & newbies on this forum. Steve and Robert and I (not excluding Matt or Barb from this other than the fact that I haven't DIRECTLY spoken to them about THIS issue) have spoken about the line we walk and our 'intentions'... I assure you that our intentions when talking about issues like this are honorable.

Quote Originally Posted by The Wizard of BC View Post
What Robert and I are trying to do is give our fellow X Marks members the advice based on our experience. We both buy fabrics from most of the Kilt Wool weavers. You name a weaver, Batley, Strathmore,D.C. Dalglish, Lochcarron, Marton Mills, we have purchased fabric from them. We know exactly what the wholesale cost of those fabrics are.

We have also held those fabrics. We've made them up into Kilts. All sorts of Kilts. We know what it takes to make a Kilt.

I usually keep sample Kilts in my shop from Jerry, Frugal Corner, The Gold Bros. along with the other end of the spectrum like Barb Tewksbury and the Nicklesby's. These samples are to let customers hold, and compare side by side, the differences and characteristics of each one.

We go to gatherings of our fellow X Marks members like Kilt Nights to see other Kilts, and to see our products after sometimes years of use. For example in Palm Springs this last month I got to see five of my product for the first time since they left my shop. I got to see how they actually fit the customer, how they hung and swished, and how, in a few cases, they are not fairing too well due to something I did wrong.

We then come back here and pass on to you, our fellow members, that which we have learned.

When we see a Kilt that is being sold for about the same price as a pair of cotton underwear, and read the claims of the seller, our experience says "something is strange here". Perhaps it's a typo. Maybe there is something new out there that will revolutionize Kiltmaking for the better. And perhaps it is another case of someone who just resells something and are repeating what they have been told by who they bought it from and don't know any difference. There are a lot of reasons.

But how often have we seen the exact same wording on Kilt re-seller's sites lately? How often have we seen the exact same photos used to promote product from what is reputed to be a different company.

All we are saying is "If you wish to re-sell product, then be honest and open about what you are selling".

What we are saying is "If you wish to buy a product, then be informed about what you are buying".

What we are saying is "If you are happy, and you made an informed decision that your hard earned money is going to exactly the product you want, and that fits your needs, then we have done our job".

When a seller like Jerry at Stillwater is upfront about his product, when he treats his customers openly and fairly, when he delivers exactly what he advertises we applaud him, we support him and we send customers to him that we know would be happier with his product than with our own.

X Marks is a graduate course in Kilts. Our members are better informed, better representitive, of the full spectrum of Kilts than any other single source in the world. We sometimes forget this. We forget that once we were all as new to this as each newby we welcome to our ranks.

When I started, words like Steeking and phrases like Pleating to the Sett didn't drip off my tongue. I learned. Just like each of you.

Don't you wish you had the level of knowledge that you have now when you went to buy your first Kilt? How often do we hear from a new guy something like "Oh I have a Kilt. It was custom made for me in Scotland. But I don't wear it much. I'm here looking for something I can wear and not worry about spilling a beer on it."?
How often do we hear the opposite story?

If it seems like Robert and I are acting like the bad guys here then I'm sorry. We are upholding our responsibility to our fellow members and passing on our knowledge and experience.

In the end it is an informed Kilt buyer that will be a happy Kilt wearer.