In MikeD's 29er frame thread I posted this:
I don't think doing just anything makes anyone deserving of a living wage. Doing things that society does not deem to have enough productive value, ie scrounging for bottles to recycle from 8 AM-5 PM daily, should not entitle one to a middle class lifestyle just for the sheer effort. Hell, my brother in law has a masters in flute performance with the student loan debt to match yet his first flute orchestra position pays all of $17k/yr for his years of efforts.
Life isn't fair.
to which was responded:I'm not arguing that other builders take longer, [Thylacine] may be in the middle of the pack. I think the whole bike industry is ridiculous for the prices (compared to the mass-produced motorcycle world) and the lag times that people tolerate.
I'd argue that if the economics of building a bike frame in your basement workshop are so tenuous that you take 7 months to deliver a product at a princely sum then perhaps you should be looking at another line of work, or relocating to Thailand or the like (paying yourself a correspondingly lower "living wage").Sorry to interject into the Thy thread but Toshi...you're entitled to your opinion of course but I take issue with it and you should know that the economics are fairly simple. Most single person builders are only capable of building a certain number of bikes/year. We all have bills, families, health needs and deserve to make a living wage. You may be surprised to know that there are A LOT of builders who charge "ridiculous prices" who are only making a couple $$/hr. If you don't understand it, I have to think it's because you're not familiar with the ins/outs of building a custom bike, and running the business. It's OK if you never fully understand the whole process but you should understand that any builder who stays in business is making a product and more importantly building a relationship that has value to the customer. Those who don't value that are free to make the decision to head to their LBS and buy whatever bike tickles their fancy.
I don't think doing just anything makes anyone deserving of a living wage. Doing things that society does not deem to have enough productive value, ie scrounging for bottles to recycle from 8 AM-5 PM daily, should not entitle one to a middle class lifestyle just for the sheer effort. Hell, my brother in law has a masters in flute performance with the student loan debt to match yet his first flute orchestra position pays all of $17k/yr for his years of efforts.
Life isn't fair.
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