I have spent months researching and debating on a good set of saddlebags... full grain leather, split leather, top grain leather, leather wrapped hard bags, synthetic bags with and without reinforcements... well I found what I was looking for, but it took some research.
Many bag sellers are just middlemen, resellers of someone else’s product, but the "sell" on their WebPages can be pretty convincing... some claim "An American Company" or "Sold in the USA" rather than "Made in the USA" and you find your getting a Pakistani made cheap ass set of split goat leather rather than good quality full grain heavy stitched pair of bags actually manufactured by hard working blue collar American hands!
There is another side to finding the right bags, and one that in this economy is of utmost importance... and that is of course price...and maneuvering and researching the 20+ distributors that sell the same bag from the same manufacturer can be tricky... often you start with a re-seller and have to backtrack to the manufacturer. Surprisingly many resellers will tell you who they actually get the bags from with a friendly phone call… once you get to the actual manufacturer you can ask them who their resellers are and get a good head start on your quest for an honest price on a honest product… and this is where my quest brought to light a few dealers whos practices really cheese me off!
I have found a few distributors that seem to think that any price is justifiable and I wanted to share my comparison with anyone who might be interested… I found my bags.. manufacturers code H772SP… actually made by Carroll Companies in Boon, NC… their bags are sold throughout the US by a number of manufacturers, including a very popular and reputable Chilhowee Motorcycle Leather, highly regarded for their excellent customer service and in my opinion, reasonably priced, however they did not carry this particular model (neither did the Carolina Leather that I ultimately ordered them through, although again, all it took was a friendly phone call with the Manufacturers stock # and my bags were on the way)
There was some significant, and I guess expected ad customary variance in pricing for these particular bags (I found ranges from $425-$575 for the pair) however there was one company, Chatahoochee Biker gear, who’s pricing really chapped my ass… They listed these bags… now take a deep breath…. for “$689.99/ea” !!!!!!!!!! can you believe it? That is nearly $1,400 for the pair. (http://www.chattahoocheebikergear.com/product.asp?id13b=268&id13=&par13=)
Through that friendly phone call to Carolina Leather (http://www.carolinaleatherworks.com)and a few minutes of my time… the identical bags were on my door for $335.00 plus a minor shipping fee!
Now I am not going to defend the stupidity of some consumers… in the age of the internet and such easy access to price comparisons and reviews I would be stunned if they have ever sold a pair, but it burns me up to think that someone new to the sport (Lifestyle, Obsession, Addiction, whatever Mantra you tout) might actually make the mistake of ordering products from a company that engages in such price gouging….
Now I will admit I have not invested the time to compare other product lines, but honestly with this experience I would not recommend ordering anything from a dealer that engages in such practices… I mean in today’s economy one would hope that greed would give way to an honest product for an honest profit, hell in any economy one would hope that… it seems that many dealers, however, are praying on the uninformed consumer. With the help of discussion boards and communities like the Café, however, Corporate Karma will ultimately come back to haunt the gougers.
Be informed, do your research, every day you get to cast an economic vote on something. Cast your vote for those engaging in honest and fair business practices… and cast your vote American, we need it right now.
Many bag sellers are just middlemen, resellers of someone else’s product, but the "sell" on their WebPages can be pretty convincing... some claim "An American Company" or "Sold in the USA" rather than "Made in the USA" and you find your getting a Pakistani made cheap ass set of split goat leather rather than good quality full grain heavy stitched pair of bags actually manufactured by hard working blue collar American hands!
There is another side to finding the right bags, and one that in this economy is of utmost importance... and that is of course price...and maneuvering and researching the 20+ distributors that sell the same bag from the same manufacturer can be tricky... often you start with a re-seller and have to backtrack to the manufacturer. Surprisingly many resellers will tell you who they actually get the bags from with a friendly phone call… once you get to the actual manufacturer you can ask them who their resellers are and get a good head start on your quest for an honest price on a honest product… and this is where my quest brought to light a few dealers whos practices really cheese me off!
I have found a few distributors that seem to think that any price is justifiable and I wanted to share my comparison with anyone who might be interested… I found my bags.. manufacturers code H772SP… actually made by Carroll Companies in Boon, NC… their bags are sold throughout the US by a number of manufacturers, including a very popular and reputable Chilhowee Motorcycle Leather, highly regarded for their excellent customer service and in my opinion, reasonably priced, however they did not carry this particular model (neither did the Carolina Leather that I ultimately ordered them through, although again, all it took was a friendly phone call with the Manufacturers stock # and my bags were on the way)
There was some significant, and I guess expected ad customary variance in pricing for these particular bags (I found ranges from $425-$575 for the pair) however there was one company, Chatahoochee Biker gear, who’s pricing really chapped my ass… They listed these bags… now take a deep breath…. for “$689.99/ea” !!!!!!!!!! can you believe it? That is nearly $1,400 for the pair. (http://www.chattahoocheebikergear.com/product.asp?id13b=268&id13=&par13=)
Through that friendly phone call to Carolina Leather (http://www.carolinaleatherworks.com)and a few minutes of my time… the identical bags were on my door for $335.00 plus a minor shipping fee!
Now I am not going to defend the stupidity of some consumers… in the age of the internet and such easy access to price comparisons and reviews I would be stunned if they have ever sold a pair, but it burns me up to think that someone new to the sport (Lifestyle, Obsession, Addiction, whatever Mantra you tout) might actually make the mistake of ordering products from a company that engages in such price gouging….
Now I will admit I have not invested the time to compare other product lines, but honestly with this experience I would not recommend ordering anything from a dealer that engages in such practices… I mean in today’s economy one would hope that greed would give way to an honest product for an honest profit, hell in any economy one would hope that… it seems that many dealers, however, are praying on the uninformed consumer. With the help of discussion boards and communities like the Café, however, Corporate Karma will ultimately come back to haunt the gougers.
Be informed, do your research, every day you get to cast an economic vote on something. Cast your vote for those engaging in honest and fair business practices… and cast your vote American, we need it right now.
