To think I am not body shaming or ripping larger people off?

[BimBamBoomer]

I've NC because this is potentially outing!

I have my own tiny but fairly successful business making clothes. Mostly I make a few specific lines to order (via Etsy type websites) and have sizes 6-26 available. However I also have occasional sales on Facebook where I have a page and sale group. The sales are a mix of returned customer orders, things I made to the wrong size or colour by accident, slight seconds, unsold stock from events (festivals etc) and some one offs made with amazing material I've picked up or pieces I've upcycled. I tend to end up with most of my stock for the sales in sizes 10-16 just because a) that's what most people order so that's what I have most seconds of, b) if I'm making stock for an event I make more of the most popular sizes for obvious reasons, and c) if I get a bit of amazing material I try to make the most of it especially if it was expensive.

I've recently had my end of 2019 sale and since then have had a flurry of messages from unhappy larger people. I suspect I've been named and shamed somewhere as it's come out of the blue in the last week. They're not happy that I don't have enough stock in their size, and that the more unique one off pieces are mostly in the middle sizes. I've been replying explaining why and that they can order larger sizes from my standard range and have them made. If they wanted a replica of a one off they've seen, I can give a quote but it wont be cheap! But I've now had a few bad reviews on my page from people who think it's unfair that the some of the larger sizes cost more. I agonised over this but in the end felt I had to have sliding pricing on some items (not all - I charge the same for all sizes for about half my range). But a size 8 in some styles uses literally half the material of a size 24 - and I charge for materials plus an hourly rate for my time (at a rate that covers overheads etc). The materials I use aren't cheap and I don't know how to make this fair or how to answer the bad reviews. I'm quite upset and feel really down that people think this of me.

Am I body shaming, really and honestly?

In kids clothes they change the price.
Sainsbury's pyjamas are £12 up to age 7 years and then £14 over 7years! The same style and range!
So if it's ok to price kids clothes differently by size and amount of material why is it not allowed in adult clothes.

I have long hair so get charged more at hairdressers.

No, that's Woman Tax. Short hair can actually be harder to cut, depending on style. I mean not a grade 1 all over, but a good bob or pixie takes longer and requires more skill than a trim of long hair.

It's not just a cut though, is it. Washing, drying, maybe a colour.
I do agree though that short cuts are often more difficult. I have long hair and cut my own

@BimBamBoomer you are absolutely not being unreasonable at all. More material, more time, more cost. Simple.

More material, more time, more cost. Simple.

About a thousand people on here have said this. IT'S NOT SIMPLE.

In this case the OP's materials are a large chunk of the cost. This is very far from the norm in retail clothes. Materials are a very small part of retail clothes cost. When I looked at opening a clothes shop about 1/50 of the cost to the consumer was materials, often less. Even if you used twice the materials, on a mid-range piece of clothing the increase in cost would be pennies. And big things are often easier to make because of fiddliness. I find adult clothes massively easier to make than kids clothes because of this.

But people love to pretend it's true so they can charge fat people more. Because fat people deserve it because they're greedy and should have to pay and I know that's not what everyone has said but even the overweight people on this thread are agreeing. Don't get ripped off!

Now in OP's case the business model is different but in most cases paying more for bigger sizes is a total con.

Not only more material but possibly a lot more material if you have a patterned fabric that has to be matched at the seams.

And also don't apolgise or explain! Keep social media interaction firm and polite.
Trewser

1000% YYYYY to this!!

This is part of a virtue signalling theme amongst makers at the moment. There were similar arguments in the knitting world on Instagram. The body positive movement is nice on the outside; rainbows, pronouns and hearts in their bio but if you don’t do their bidding they can become abusive and will try to damage your business. Do not capitulate ever because it will never be enough you will be expected to stock size 100

Im a larger person. I buy from a commercial company and I accept that very few, if any, of the large sizes get into the sales - and if there is something then basically I don't hang about dithering whether to order it or it will be gone!

Ive just looked at pricing on some of the sites I use - some do charge more for larger sizes, others don't. It certainly wouldnt stop me ordering if I had to pay more and could afford it.

@MrsTerryPratchett,
Your point is totally valid when talking about commercial operations using cheap labour and economies of scale, however, when it comes to a bespoke/small set up, and not buying material in bulk, costs are much more significant.

Absolutely @MumW

I totally agree about larger businesses tbh and with the point made that people just don't have a flipping clue about how clothes are made and the amount of time etc that goes into anything.

Just as an example, material comes in specific widths. Up to a size 20, I can cut both sides of certain garments out of one metre of material. Over size 20, front and back don't fit side by side, and I have to buy a longer piece (usually two metres) instead. If the material has a print that doesn't require pattern matching at the side seams, or is multi directional (doesn't have a right or wrong way up) then this is easier and more economical - but limits what I can offer to the majority of customers. So one complaint I had, was that an item in a specific material design was only offered up to size 20. I did answer this by saying I could make it in bigger sizes but that it would cost an extra £15. (This is because it would use twice as much material and at nearly £20 per metre that is not a small part of the cost of making it!) That was where the body shaming comment came in. I tried hard to word it as gently and kindly as I could, but I can't change reality and I cant afford to suck up that kind of difference in overheads, and tbh I don't think I can pass it on to customers who buy smaller sizes either!

LandsEnd is a successful company that charges extra for larger sizes. Is it so unusual?

OP! You aim to keep prices as consistent as possible but for certain fabrics, production costs vary.

'If the size you require isn't included in the standard range, you are more than welcome to enquire about our 'made to measure' service.'

Most companies stock only part of their range in plus or petite sizes.
If you are prepared to make other sizes, call it 'made to measure' and add t&cs

For example:

www.thespanishbootcompany.co.uk/pages/tailor-made-order-items-made-to-measure-service-terms-conditions

Yanbu.

I don't get why people would have an issue with your approach op.

That's how sales work.

I fail to see their problem, and I am larger than your standard largest size.

I appreciate it when my sizes are the same prices as smaller sizes, but I don't expect it, particularly not from a small business, who cannot have the buying power on materials as a larger business has.

I think people have forgotten what a small business IS, and that we are so spoilt now with instant, cheap, everything, we expect the earth for nothing at all!

Yanbu. Children's clothes often have sliding pricing based on size I dont see why adults clothes wouldn't.

In fact (and I'm a size 12/14 atm) the larger people are lucky so many bigger stores don't slide price, as actually slimmer people are subsidising larger people under the current approach.