The Myth of Cost Savings

[canoebie]

One can always make money, but one cannot make time. I am so busy with so much stuff in my life right now, I simply do not have time to be real involved in DIY. As a result of deliberate choices I have made, my time is fairly limited.

I do want to "share my wealth" by purchasing stuff from folks on here who have made decisions to spend their time making hammock related stuff. It is about choices, nothing is right or wrong, just a choice.

For those DIY folks out there, go for it. The feelings of satisfaction are important and relevant. I simply choose to, at least at this point in my life, patronize those folks here who are willing to exchange their time and talent for my money. What is incredible is the level of talent and commitment to excellence among the vendors here. How fortunate we are!

Maybe when I am working less I will DIY more, for now, I can't beat the exchange. I view it as contributing to the economic well being of others, a redistribution of wealth.

[oldgringo]

One can always make money, but one cannot make time. I am so busy with so much stuff in my life right now, I simply do not have time to be real involved in DIY. As a result of deliberate choices I have made, my time is fairly limited.

I do want to "share my wealth" by purchasing stuff from folks on here who have made decisions to spend their time making hammock related stuff. It is about choices, nothing is right or wrong, just a choice.

For those DIY folks out there, go for it. The feelings of satisfaction are important and relevant. I simply choose to, at least at this point in my life, patronize those folks here who are willing to exchange their time and talent for my money. What is incredible is the level of talent and commitment to excellence among the vendors here. How fortunate we are!

Maybe when I am working less I will DIY more, for now, I can't beat the exchange. I view it as contributing to the economic well being of others, a redistribution of wealth.

As usual, very well said.

[animalcontrol]

One can always make money, but one cannot make time. I am so busy with so much stuff in my life right now, I simply do not have time to be real involved in DIY. As a result of deliberate choices I have made, my time is fairly limited.

I do want to "share my wealth" by purchasing stuff from folks on here who have made decisions to spend their time making hammock related stuff. It is about choices, nothing is right or wrong, just a choice.

For those DIY folks out there, go for it. The feelings of satisfaction are important and relevant. I simply choose to, at least at this point in my life, patronize those folks here who are willing to exchange their time and talent for my money. What is incredible is the level of talent and commitment to excellence among the vendors here. How fortunate we are!

Maybe when I am working less I will DIY more, for now, I can't beat the exchange. I view it as contributing to the economic well being of others, a redistribution of wealth.

very well put David!

[Cold Butt Stephen]

One can always make money, but one cannot make time. I am so busy with so much stuff in my life right now, I simply do not have time to be real involved in DIY. As a result of deliberate choices I have made, my time is fairly limited.

I do want to "share my wealth" by purchasing stuff from folks on here who have made decisions to spend their time making hammock related stuff. It is about choices, nothing is right or wrong, just a choice.

For those DIY folks out there, go for it. The feelings of satisfaction are important and relevant. I simply choose to, at least at this point in my life, patronize those folks here who are willing to exchange their time and talent for my money. What is incredible is the level of talent and commitment to excellence among the vendors here. How fortunate we are!

Maybe when I am working less I will DIY more, for now, I can't beat the exchange. I view it as contributing to the economic well being of others, a redistribution of wealth.

Definitely well put. I put way more time into my DIY tarp then I hoped I would have to (I do think subsequent ones would go faster, though). I think it's great to support these cottage industries, too, as I think they are all deserving of my business. I just don't have much wealth to spread around

[Doctari]

Oh so true!!

Case in point, my Ray J quilt: Cost of materials (kit with alpine up-grade), = $125.00, Thread = $3.00, My time at $15.00 hr (yea, cheep for a trained sewer, but I'm not quite that good ) X about 6 hrs work = $90.00, Beer to allow me to recover from messing up due to not fully reading the directions (reason a 3 hr sewing job took 6 hrs) $12.00. For a total cost of $230.00.

Yea, I could have gotten a No sniveler for about $240.00. WOO HOO I saved a whole $10.00 by doing it myself.

Of course, as I made it myself I had no problem taking it & cutting it down & reconfiguring it to a 3/4 length Underquilt. I think cutting a No Sniv down would have at best voided any warranty, at worst would have totally voided the quilt.

[G.L.P.]

I agree for the most part .... but i do feel you can save yourself money if you
"Dirtbag" when it comes to materials ... it has never cost me more then $70 to make a 3 season UQ
but i shop around and get the cheapest Ripstop i can find ...
so when you add in the time it take me it's around $140-150 to make a quilt
your still saving almost $50 but like others have said not everyone will have the time to make an UQ .....
there are some items that are a pain to make...Tarps to me are a pain in the butt ... i rather buy a tarp then make one ... but thats just me

when it comes down to it...yes you will save a few bucks...but in the end it's really not a big savings and the quality of the gear you make might not be as good as one from a vendor

But... it is alot of fun to make gear

[stevebo]

Its kind of like a friend of mine who justifies his fishing hobby , by saying it puts food on the table (when you add up the bass boat, the truck to pull it, all the fishing gear etc---it was really pricey meal!) Dont sew to save money, sew because you enjoy it! (and you can make some pretty neat customized gear!) I like to keep a balanced approach---------there are some things that it makes sense to buy, other things its cost effective and fun to make some thing origional that suits my needs!

[grich9860]

i agree with you rev but for me i truly love being a DIY'er. the satisfaction of telling fellow hikers that i have made my own hammock, tarp, ect. gives me great pride and good conversations around the camp fire as well. true, i will most likely spend more on my DIY gear but the skills i have learned along the way far out way the money. (at least for me anyway)

[hikelite]

OK, lot's of opinions from both ends of the spectrum here. I agree with many and disagree with probably the same amount

For me, I DIY because the things I can buy rarely have the exact feature set I want. Since I have to make my own gear to get exactly what I want, I tend to just make all of it. I do enjoy it too though, so that has some value.

[opie984]

I love DIY. And I have loved enjoying every night in my hammock. In terms of materials, I saved a ton of money. If I were to consider labor, I didn't save a dime. But the satisfaction I have in knowing I made it and it is exactly what I was looking for is great. Even greater still is all of my friends asking me where I got it and the look on their faces when I tell them I made it.

That is........priceless.