Harp the Wigglytuff @wigglytuffitout@computerfairi.es

and if you figure out the system for switching out details - like maybe velcro patches that can sit in the faux fur for beauty marks, scars, etc., horns, different bits to slide over the eye or do different eye colors like a Blythe doll's eye chips - then you get to upsell your upsell. because if someone's already spending 80 dollars for a foam head, why not add in another 20 for those cool horns?

the tiered and escalating pricing means you'll get a lot more traffic at cons >

have the 'base set' be the matching tail, handpaw gloves, and ears, for maybe idfk 50 or 60. keep it under a hundred.

that way it's an attractive impulse buy to not only furries, but also to people who want a more nekomimi look, are flirting with furry-ness, just want to be the best quality Slutty Cat on halloween, whatever

and THEN the foam heads are your upsell, made to match the base sets. that's where you can sympathetically talk about how involved the headpieces are, etc.

working your own intercompatibility means that you can change things on the fly. maybe also work at doing some parts that are removable and can slot in/out, like horns, or different eye styles that can be popped over top, or angry eyebrows lol.

use fabric scraps for these bits and bobs, and ALSO for doing higher-than-party-city-by-a-lot quality ear headbands.

then you hit up the con with the partial fursuit heads, headbands, paw mittens, and plush tails >

ok ok i think i've got it y'all, HERE'S the gameplan that #ZweitesichSuits shoulda followed but didn't:

create a business of off-the-shelf fursuits in flexible sizing with velcro, with the aim of being that partial fursuit entry level market

because it's off-the-shelf, you can work economies of scale, and do more like assembly line work instead of every item bespoke from ground up. i would say modular systems would be great here. e.g. head base can fit this snout, this jaw, these horns, etc >

@BalooUriza i feel and understand those problems - the very word 'milanoo' is fucking reviled in the lolita fashion community for just such issues, and i think if we were all isolated on some island, you could probably come back in 30 years to hear our children use the word "milanoo" as a dire insult and/or curse word

@BalooUriza honestly, that is an EXCELLENT point. even like 100, 150 dollars for the full set.

that's like, let's be honest, the kind of money a teenager who is hitting up their first con could conceivably have. and that's the entry level market somebody could REALLY flourish in.

kind of like how i'm so glad lolita fashion has changed with the introduction of taobao brands, so people can try the style proper for like 80 dollars instead of sinking 300 into a brand-name dress.

@BalooUriza oh god yeah, the negging attitude did them NO fucking favors. especially when being clueless to their audience in that off-the-shelf is going to be a negative for a market where bespoke made-to-order is the norm, so you have to give something else in return to make up for that deficiency.

but then the attitude they took... oh my god. that turns it into pure delicious schadenfreude.

@InspectorCaracal

ok if sewing difficulty screen is this

-weenie baby no-death mode
-story mode
-novice
-regular
-master
-hardcore
-make me cry harder <-THIS IS WHAT FURSUITS ARE ON

@InspectorCaracal god same, i have a poor brand-new sewing machine that is going untouched because you really do not think about how much you use your shoulders and how sewing with a sewing machine is a physical activity until you're in the sticks going "oh fuck my shoulder" l m a o

...gonna start with like, circle skirts and jsks though

because fursuits, between demanding construction and material, are like.... i need more characters to land this joke hold on

@InspectorCaracal see that would be the smart way to do it

especially if you were able to, say, do a lot of the patterns already cut out, and then say "if you want a customization that we can do with this computer embroidery machine, we can do that" - star by the eye, heart on the thumb, nose scar, whatever. then you have everything ready so you can just do that then sew it up and bip bop bam, you still get the quick turnaround. it's not too big a disruption to workflow.

@Sapphicgiraffic@snouts.online yeah i actually like the sculpts but the eyes need...... life. some shine or gloss would help a lot.

that sort of blank and neutral expression *can* work but only if you're aware your audience is going to see it as a negative, and immediately go "but can you tolerate it in return for x?" - like a cheaper price and not SIX FUCKING THOUSAND JESUS FUCK THAT'S GOOD USED CAR MONEY

not that i'm really completely for commercialization of fursuits - let's be honest, off the rack is a concept that does not mesh well with the concept of fursonas - but like

they went down that route and did it in the stupidest way possible

capitalism is bad, but it also drives me insane to see people supposedly dedicated to it fuck it up so thoroughly, like FUCKIN HELL THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE Y'ALL'S *THING* WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT.

the real pathetic thing about designer fursuit debacle is that i could actually see it being successful if they actually played to their strengths instead of negging for snob appeal

....and dropped a zero off price

ready-to-wear means
1. quick
2. can play on economies of scale

if they had come out saying "hey, here's stock designs, in these colors, quick turnaround, not much custom, for 600 bucks" they probably would have flourished!

@extinct@redroo.ml they did deliver the full designer experience though, i must say

and by that i mean "something made very mediocrely, looking direct from the sweatshop, but because they stuck their logo someplace very obvious and thus expect you to be a walking billboard, they want a few thousand dollars now"

anyway stay tuned for my new designer fursuit brand where i get those cheap fingerless cat-paw gloves and cat headbands from Party City and slap a Supreme patch on them,

oh man i'm glad i'm on masto for the hot goss because the quick downfall of hipster designer fursuit brand is fucking hilarious

i only wish i had been around to see them starting shit on twitter

ok i'm hurting to fuck but i am super gross i would rather try to sleep while hurting and with wet hair

moritori te salutamus and all that

do you know that scientists say that people who can just take a shower whenever they need or want it, with no mental/physical health concerns, exist?

sounds fake if you ask me

well i gotta retoot a cyborgrights tag, i mean i am a cyborg after all

note: not as interesting as you think (thanks spinal cord stimulator) (note: that is also not as interesting as you're probably thinking)