Samurai Jeans

[dawei69]

>< BiG just increased their price on the standard samurais.... from $285 to $325.... $40 increase for what? better quality? or just more profit??

the conversion between yen and dollar hasnt changed that much for the past 6 month....

[halberdklown]

damn, thats how much it cost me to get my 0500's 2 weeks ago via proxy since BIG didnt have my size, lame!

[ssheat]

I don't know, that's a pretty big increase. 325 is a pretty damn high price. As you said, its not that justifiable either. Better quality is not an option on this one, its one of two things - more profit as a result of increasing exchange rate or more profit as a result of higher charges from samurai. This is absolutely terrible for the samurai contest especially since price numbers haven't even been talked about yet.

[fallen angels]

>< BiG just increased their price on the standard samurais.... from $285 to $325.... $40 increase for what? better quality? or just more profit??

obviously for the margin. did they just do this today?

[emeterioy]

That sucks, BIG just restocked on the 710's today and they don't have my size. they also increased the price.

[khoiphan92]

looks like people are going to start using more proxy services.

[darkness2505]

yet another great S0500xx fit!

Did your patch get destroyed by the boiling water?

surprisingly no, they shrank down very beautifully, still nice and soft.

As for the price increase @ BIG, i dont feel so bad buying them at Take 5 now because it came out to be around 330$ canadian and it comes with arcs and tabs.

[calvinouch]

>< BiG just increased their price on the standard samurais.... from $285 to $325.... $40 increase for what? better quality? or just more profit??

the conversion between yen and dollar hasnt changed that much for the past 6 month....

They did this with all their skulls too. I need a job so i can get new denim

[Satya]

looks like people are going to start using more proxy services.

Indeed... 10char

[itschrisb]

Alex3000 jeans look great

+rep

[aho]

Price hike does not bode well for the Samurai contest....It's unfortunate as I know Gordon has been trying to keep the majority of Samurai's beneath the $300 mark...times must be rough!

EDIT: just e-mailed Gordon...hopefully we can find out why the $40 increase and the effect on the contest...

[kit99bar]

I ordered my s710s through 2nd for the same price as BiG shipped. Who will order from BiG now they cost so much more than from 2nd?:confused:

[kit99bar]

Very nice! My s710's patch was shrunk to heck from boiling water. I wonder why it didn't happen to you.

surprisingly no, they shrank down very beautifully, still nice and soft.

.

[LC_Miey]

shot another price increase at BIG..

I love BIG, Gordon is one cool chap but it would be nice if they put up a notice on their website stating the reason of the price increase. They did increase the price a couple of times before, while it can be understood on the business level but after a couple of times i feel taken aback by it since they dont put up anything explaining the price hike!

The price went up during the 08 economic meltdown, US dollar was weak but now it has strenghten back I dont see the price coming down ?

so atleast they should have informed the reason for the price increase to the customers as a courtesy

[dcg]

Closeups of Jin denim:

[**DenimJunky**]

Great shots!!!!

[Acquisition X]

dcg, those are amazing pictures.

+repped.

What kind of lens did you use?

[Plalai04]

Great pictures !!!

[Satya]

that is awesome

[aho]

E-mail response from Gordon...I really hope he doesn't mind me posting this but you all deserve to read it anyways...

"I understand your concerns and can tell you that the recent price increase of Samurai products was a very tough decision for us to make but was done out of necessity. The continued weakening dollar against the stronger yen, which we hoped would have rebounded by now, coupled with increased shipping rates and taxes on imported items has left us no choice if we wish to maintain a healthy business structure. Again, the wholesale discounts in Japan are much less than the US average, not including the additional import costs, which make it much tougher to keep prices comparable or even anywhere close to Japanese retail prices.

The price for Samurai’s basic models was set at $285 the day we opened for business in Feb. 2006 and has remained unchanged in those 4 years until today. We’ve taken a loss for the last year and half on their products and have tried our best to offer our customers the most competitive price possible. I still feel we’re doing so if taken into full consideration all the costs associated with importing Japanese clothing into the USA and hope that our customers will understand that this increase in our prices is just enough to help us to continue offering these products outside of their country of origin.

That being said we will try our best to keep the price of the contest jeans fair and reasonable with all production and import costs considered.

Regards,

Gordon"

[dawei69]

thanks alot for that aho.

I guess it's fair enough... however, I'm pretty sure the price of the contest jean is going to exceed the basic models...

I guess if you are from States or inside NYC, you should support you local economy, but for the rest of world...$325+$40 (shipping) is too excessive....I might as well as buy a ticket to japan during offpeak seasons..

[LC_Miey]

^^ cheers aho for the email . its always good to know it straight from Gordon eventhough one can guess the reason for the price increase obviously.

[Plalai04]

My favorite shot from my s5000VX

I took this pic by D-lux 4 macro !!!

enjoy ^^

[SLAB]

those macro pictures from the Jins are amazing.

btw how much shrinkage can i expect on the inseam of a pair of 0500xx after a hot machine wash? need to determine untill what length I have to chainstitch them...

[chambo2008]

mine are at 36inch's (btw lot 10)

[gonegonegone]

regarding my question yesterday whether i should hot wash or not. after the hot soak i find that my pair rarely shrank. the inseam was almost as long as before etc. then i just did a hot wash at 60° and now they are (i'm exaggerating a bit) at least 2 sizes smaller. the fit is perfect now and the waist is not 2" too big.

just throw your samurais in the washing machine, at least the 710.

[dcg]

dcg, those are amazing pictures.

+repped.

What kind of lens did you use?

Thanks. Canon 20D with the 60mm macro....my first real attempt at macro shots.

[weinfeld]

aho,

thanks for posting. As for the price increase, New York (especially where B.I.G. is located) is pricey as hell. Not to say that I am pleased with the price increase, but I rather shell out a little more to keep a great store in business than lose them. Every time that I've been there, they've been more than nice.

That said, it is a bummer about the contest jeans. Guess this means I've better start saving more diligently...

[the_ming]

E-mail response from Gordon...I really hope he doesn't mind me posting this but you all deserve to read it anyways...

"I understand your concerns and can tell you that the recent price increase of Samurai products was a very tough decision for us to make but was done out of necessity. The continued weakening dollar against the stronger yen, which we hoped would have rebounded by now, coupled with increased shipping rates and taxes on imported items has left us no choice if we wish to maintain a healthy business structure. Again, the wholesale discounts in Japan are much less than the US average, not including the additional import costs, which make it much tougher to keep prices comparable or even anywhere close to Japanese retail prices.

The price for Samurai’s basic models was set at $285 the day we opened for business in Feb. 2006 and has remained unchanged in those 4 years until today. We’ve taken a loss for the last year and half on their products and have tried our best to offer our customers the most competitive price possible. I still feel we’re doing so if taken into full consideration all the costs associated with importing Japanese clothing into the USA and hope that our customers will understand that this increase in our prices is just enough to help us to continue offering these products outside of their country of origin.

That being said we will try our best to keep the price of the contest jeans fair and reasonable with all production and import costs considered.

Regards,

Gordon"

i'm glad gordon wrote about this, as i suspected as much.

if you track the average value of the yen/dollar from 2006, the dollar has dropped a lot in terms of value, and you are kidding yourself if you think it has regained its past value, but don't take my word for it, google for the graphs.

[Stacks]

Hate to say it, but I'm probably done with Samurai. It's nobody's fault but recession + price hike + no more arcs = time to find a new brand. I'm glad I got while the getting was good. With maybe 1 exception I've purchased through BIG because I'd rather pay a little extra to keep local business alive, but goddamn if the standard shit is 325 you know the hotness is gonna be super rough on the wallet (I'm looking at you, musashi).

Maybe by the time my 27oz die the dollar will have dropped so much that it will make economic sense to bring manufacturing facilities to the US...