Suzanne O’Connor’s Bargains LA

Price does not always mean quality

Recently, a friend asked me for recommendations for a garment manufacturer cause the company she worked for wanted to buy some items to resell for promotional purposes. I gave them a name of a liquidator who specialized in that specific product. These were famous brand name quality items at about 50% below wholesale.

Two ideas crossed my mind. First if they bought for less they could sell for less or sell these items at market value and make a better profit.

Well, she scoffed at the low price thinking it was a lower quality “cheap” item. I again explained to her how the liquidator did business. How they got the product, what lines they were, the quality level. The whole sha-bang. Nope. She’d have none of it and went with a manufacturer that had an especially high wholesale price.

Unfortunately she made the mistake of equating price with quality. Though that old adage, “You get what you pay for” has merit, it isn’t always true. Especially if you know how wholesale manufacturing works.

Many factories both here and abroad that are licensed to manufacture high-end designer clothing also make clothing without those pricey designer labels sewed into them. Same factory, same garment, same quality… but a different price tag. The only difference is in the designer label. What the public is paying a higher price for is image and marketing. Not the quality level of the garment.

So familiarize yourself with construction, dying techniques and fabric content. These are the true measures of a quality garment. Then if you make the choice for a branded designer product at least you’ll be making an informed purchase.

Oh and my friend, well I am sure she come around eventually.