Technical Upolstery question - Am I THAT out of touch?

Thanks Danny, whether you guys realize it or not, you are pushing her to do better. The hamb is about the only place that sees what she is doing, other than her customers.

 

I had a real good old time stitcher do a new top for my ‘40 convert 30-ish years ago. It was $1100 with top grade material and it is still on the car with very little shrinkage. He’s retired and unable to do it anymore. We have a local full timer who has learned to sew but has zero imagination combined with narrow vision.

I’ve made some flat panel successfully but when I look for seats I buy something I like the look, comfort of and color and move on. My bigger interest is driving the damn thing.
Granted, I’m not much of a show car guy.

Seems like every time I have talked to an upholstery shop I feel dirty when I walk out the door

 

I look at things from a practical view. If all I could find locally was a 3k job to install the seat covers, I’d think “How many times can I screw this up and still come out ahead”?

I mean the seat covers are right there in front of you, you can work slowly and monitor progress. An engine is different, you can assemble it and then have an issue you need to pull it out and go through it.

 

I was quoted $600.00 to re- foam my front seat cushion... not the backrest, just the cushion you sit on. And that's using the existing cover!

 

It's been a few years, but I bought a kit and recovered my bucket seats, in leather, for half the price of one seat from the upholsterer. Followed a video-still looks good. I am sure, like any profession, that there is an art to it. And I am willing to pay for quality. But, this seems to be sort of like some car crosses the auction block and suddenly every $1500 clunker is worth six figures.

 

I hate to quote but...I think the only one out of touch was the guy hoping to screw him over. And I would guess that if he is the only guy stitching thread in a 100 miles he's going to THINK he can charge what he wants. Or maybe he's just greedy rather then fair.
You mention rent, tools, training. I think that argument if argued spells limited equipment out lays, limited space requirements, and the ability to measure twice cut once.
True, that most won't want to, but most can and will when faced with that rediculous offering and have as most have replied to doing just that.
Can't guarantee fitment? Well maybe not, but they sure as hell shouldn't automatically assume they won't fit either. Most won't want to because they see a loss in materials and mark up.
I'd also disagree Upholstery is hard work. It's not. Welding is, mechanics is, body work is...who thinks Upholstery is raise your hand?
Also, it seems Amercian labour is cheap. Google it. Upholsterer salary in United States (indeed.com)
$100 a hour and the average guy makes $22? Average cost to do a car seat between $200 and $750, give your head a shake. He was being gouged.

Collussion. "secret or illegal cooperation or conspiracy, especially in order to cheat or deceive others."

I'm glad he's complaining and only wish he named Company names.

 

Seat covers are not really that hard. No sewing? It does seem high. Some tricks, dust a little baby powder on the foam so the covers slide into place easier. 1 seat, top and bottom, really focusing on quality can take most of a day. A few covers have bit me in the ass but not even bad. Was able to tuck n pull and adjust. The worst was a 62 Impala SS bucket. What a nightmare. Did a pair of Mustang buckets that were a lot of effort but they finally fit. Middle seat wires kinda suck too but it's the game. I'm not an upholsterer but I've even done tops with quality results. Steamer, hair dryer, or hang em in the sun 1st, soft makes nice. I'm running out of hogrings tho, down to my last 50,000 or so...

 

I know exactly what you're talking about!

 

Well here's the scoop Big Dogg... I took the equiptment to 4 other upolstery shop's in the area today and the price ranged from 1,000 to 1,200 bucks, which to me, is reasonable. Same quality of work as the first shop I went to, same amount of overhead from what could be seen, and more work than they knew what to do with, with less turnaround time. Sooo... Whose out of touch now??? I have absolutely NO PROBLEM paying for quality work when I know that my patience level and skillset are working against me, but I'll be Damned if I'm gonna get Fucked! I also have no problem with people making a profit, that's how business works, but I sure as Hell ain't gonna put my kid's AND their's through Harvard!!! Call me old fashioned, but shop #1 can kiss my ass! That's all I have to say about that...

 

@NoelC, thank you. You explained the whole situation SOOOOOO much more eloquently than I ever could have, with every point that I was trying to make in the first place! I will divulge name's of companies when the work is complete.

 

Back in the day I was doing upholstery on the side. One day my uncle brought his '56 T-Bird by with a box of ready made seat covers from one of the bird parts outfits. Also had a headliner kit. I did the best I could without reworking the stuff but it looked pretty bad when it was done.

 

Good to hear you have found a cheaper shop to work with.
I have tried a couple times on some OT car seats with pre sewn covers, ripped a cover both times. Guess my mechanic hands just don't have the touch.

 

I should add that make sure you or he looks over EVERY stich in those new covers.

 

The mechanic hand's part is what concerns me about the whole ordeal! Along with the diminishing amount of patience that seem's to be overtaking me... otherwise, I would've given it a shot, 25 years ago it wouldn't have been a problem. Everything has been inspected and deemed "fit for human consumption"

 

The guy I found is in Plano, 3 week turnaround. Will show pic's when completed.

 

Does the name of shop #1 start with a "T"?

 

A 3 week turn around scares me. Any good shop should be booked for 3 months out. Or longer. Unless you are a repeat customer, I could understand a 3 week turnaround.

 

I'm calling bullshit! You still haven't posted pictures of that beautiful paint job on here!

 

Oh, and it shouldn't take 2 days to do that job

 

The son of a friend of mine began learning custom upholstery a couple years ago. He started getting the hang of it and Dad told me they could do an upholstery job for me sometime when I was ready. Son worked hard and learned quickly. Has natural skills like his dad does. He's now sought-after by hot-rodders with deep pockets. His full upholstery jobs start at nearly $10,000. I'm pretty sure I'm not on the list anymore.

 

I posted a few pic's on the tri-five thread... Smart Ass! HAHAHAHAHA!!!!

 

No... It starts with an "R" and end's with Bros.

 

That, or he takes jobs to keep on a reasonable, steady pace, to keep customer's happy. The quality of work is nothing to sneeze at... We'll see how this pan's out, but I have a good gut feeling about this guy.

 

That's what I was figuring, but Dickhead #1 had it figured for 4 day's at $100.00 an hour = $3,200.00! W.T.F!!!
I might be Dumb, but I ain't Stoopid!!!

 

I have a trim shop and I can tell you that upholstery is labour intensive. I can also tell you that there are two kinds of customers. Anal and A-hole. Do not mix these up. Anal wants it perfect no matter what the cost, and A-hole wants it perfect but doesn't want to pay the cost. Years ago I worked at a restoration shop and when people came looking for a price, I often heard the shop owner explain ,Theres perfection, and theres the pocket book, and then he would ask the prospective customer how much money he had.

 

Make no mistake, I'm an Anal Asshole. But what you are suggesting is that the shop tries to read the what the customer wants and tries to play off of it, And that in my eye's, is price gouging, and completely WRONG!!! To put it a better way, I know how the game is played and I have no respect for that kind of business model.

 

My 37 Fordor full interior cost me $4500 a little less than 20 years ago. It was nice. But... I had all the OEM panels for him to use as patterns / reference if needed, all the OEM headliner metal hoops and OEM headliner fabric, my own ABS masters for the doors, arm rests, overhead console fit to the OEM valance above the front window, the OEM back seat, I did all the consoles, all the glass was in, the inside window trim was already painted to match the dash, I mounted the seats and runners, the dash was finished in a gloss gunmetal gray, all the wiring, door looms, interior lighting, switches and gauges mounted and installed, trunk panels and battery box cover fabricated, etc.. In other words, all he had to do was just cover everything in the materials I wanted and do the floor and matts. I even wrote a detailed list of what was to be covered in what materials (basically 3 colors of vinyl). He still managed to change some things to the wrong colors, which HE thought looked better, but he did correct, and put an outie in the trunk lid (didn't quite drill thru it) but he failed to disclose his error to me when I picked the car up, hoping I'd not notice. He paid for the repair / repaint. This was a guy with decades of experience and it took 6 weeks working in his home shop. My little red truck was done the same way, I did ALL the wiring, mounting and panel / console fab. That was 2 seats, 2 door panels, a long console, covering the dash and carpets. That whole job cost $1000 about 10 years ago. No complaints from me on how their overall jobs looked. I had the headliner in my old Dakota PU done a few years back at a local shop. $80, 2 day service.

 

No, not trying to read the customer, trying to make the point that quality takes time. If that point is not understood, then it becomes a problem for both parties.

 

I understand that quality takes time, and I have no problem being penalized (paying) for not having the ability to complete the task. But when 4 other shops assess the same parts and are within $200.00 of each other and are over 50% less, for the same quality of work, I can't help but think that shop #1 is charging for their name and a 75 year old reputation. Especially after all the dirty work has been done and 90% of the material's have been supplied. Maybe I just have tunnel vision...

 

Unless I’m wrong, he’s just asking for someone to fit his seat covers that he will provide. It’s not a custom start from scratch thing.
Oh, and the arm rests.