Spinoff: Are these online vendors gouging???

[Kurlee]

Spinoff: Online Hair Care Products: Are they too pricy????

I just read about the curls line introducing a new conditioner thing for 22 dollars for two ounces!!! Whut the hell? I'm sorry it prally cost about no more that 5-8$ to make so why is it so damn expensive. I think alot of these vendors know how badly in need the ethnic hair care segment needs products and takes advantage. In a way im glad that they are offering us options, but in a way its sad because the choice has become break the bank to get products that are good for our hair types or go cheap and get garbage.

Some online venodrs i think are reasonably priced for the sizes u get:
GrowthSpecifics (8oz for like 12-14 dollars = excellent affordable pricing)
Kinky Curly= (16 oz for 22 bucks= a jar that lasts over a month or two, depending on hair length)
Carol's Daughter is soso...

Anyways, what do u ya'll think, are these online vendors, like miss jessies (58$ for hair cream, and then u have the audacity to put mineral oil in it too??), My honeychild and a few others are a little over the top with their product prices??

 

[Sassenach]

Re: Spinoff: Online Hair Care Products: Are they too pricy????

I thinkall the Miss Jessie's products are ridiculously overpeiced--especially considering they have mineral oil and lanolin in them.

I've decided not to try any product that isn't either returnable or offers sample sizes.

 

[newflowers]

Some vendors online and not - charge more than others, but most are similar. The good deal is like Polly and Company who offers tons of free samples, free shipping, and excellent service. I will evermore buy my Phyto products from her.

I do understand your point - expensive products with cheap sub-par ingredients are not worth the price, much less the price with shipping and handling included.

It's like the guy with the $800 hair cut - if you can get it...

 

[lejardinier]

..speaking of the guy who now gets $800 for a haircut. Before he was famous enough to get that and did editorial pages for free - If you called the salon
he worked in for an appointment, they would ask who you were referred by.
If you said that you saw him in 'blank' issue of 'blank' magazine, the receptionist would either say yes or no based on the ethnicity of the model in the photo. Oh, yes...that's right - the salon he worked for would not give you an appointment if you saw his name attributed to the hair of a black model in any magazine.

 

[longhairluva]

..speaking of the guy who now gets $800 for a haircut. Before he was famous enough to get that and did editorial pages for free - If you called the salon
he worked in for an appointment, they would ask who you were referred by.
If you said that you saw him in 'blank' issue of 'blank' magazine, the receptionist would either say yes or no based on the ethnicity of the model in the photo. Oh, yes...that's right - the salon he worked for would not give you an appointment if you saw his name attributed to the hair of a black model in any magazine.

WHOA!

 

[Nita81]

It's really all about what someone is willing to pay for the product. If I don't agree with the price I simply won't buy it. I'll find a similar product at a reasonable price or attempt to make my own.

 

[Kurlee]

i try to make my own sometimes. In this thread im specifically talking about the more natural online vendors, like say curl junkie, asha's, long lovely locks, myhoneychild... brands like that. To me, these are not professional lines like say paul mitchell or redken so i don't understand the inflated prices. Some of the above are reasonable priced, but most are outrageous, especially fro conditioners. Some are like 20 dollars for 4oz. Thats like two uses if u have medium length hair, 1 if ur hair is long or very thick. I j us don't uderstand it.

The ingredients are usually water, some type of oil or butter, perservatives and maybe a humectant like glycerin and honey and a cute fragrance. The ones i have tried, i like, but they finish so fast i cannto justify constantly repucrchasing and paying for shipping.

 

[Nita81]

I assume part of the inflated prices come from the ingredients used, containers, and the fact they're handmade. They are not using cheap, man made chemicals in the products(some lines) unlike the brand names.

 

[SignatureBeauty]

I think some are, Like curls 2oz. product for $22.00, but someone will buy it, I know they have overhead and all that, but I see other online vendors like Hairveda & Hair2Heaven which have Quality Products & Great Low Prices! so yes I feel some are & then you have some that never offer a Discount not even on Holidays!

 

[Energist]

I think that a lot of them do. If I can't find a product that I need at one of my usual beauty supply sites, I will go and do a search on froogle and set it to show the cheapest price going to the highest! I try to find the lowest price for the product that I want and this works as a great second option for me.

 

[schipperchow1]

I don't think they are necessarily gouging. The fewer customers a vendor has, the more he/she needs to charge to break even or make a profit.

Since the founder of Curls used to be a Marketer, I think that latest product offering - the $22 growth oil - is supposed to be like a high-end luxury item.

As for Miss Jessie's products, I've never tried her products & have no intention to --none of the ingredients seem to warrant that price.

MyHoneyChild is pricey. I did like the 2 items that I tried but wouldn't buy other things.

QBs products are worth the price for me, even though I could probably whip up something comparable to the Olive & Honey Balm after some experimenting. But I don't have the time now & they have already done it for me.

 

[pistachio]

Good question! They probably get away with this because most black women don't know the info we share on forums like this so they continue to overcharge with not many women realizing that they can probably find cheaper, perhaps even HOMEMADE concoctions for their hair.