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?

(*for not very)

You can’t please everyone all of the time.

I follow a small clothing business on Instagram, and noticed people complaining that her sizing wasn’t “inclusive”. She explained that she does stock plus sizes in small quantities, but they don’t sell well, so she can’t afford to start stocking even larger sizes (the same applies to size 6 and below, incidentally).

I suppose it doesn't help that as a lone parent with 4 kids I can only work a certain number of horus a week and I need those hours to make me a certain amount of money. So I can't afford to spend time making stuff that won't sell or on loss leaders, I have to put my main focus on what will sell and pay the bills.

Same for guys too. A lot of the smaller/niche online sites tend to charge a quid or two more for xxl etc. Which is fair enough.

I would bet my left tit that these people wouldn’t buy from you anyway even if you did sell larger sizes. They aren’t genuine potential customers. They’ll have just jumped on some SJW bandwagon and you’re the latest easy target for keyboard warriors.

My thoughts exactly

Why on earth should someone who is a size 6 pay the same as a size 22 when the material amount and labour are vastly different?

I agree about materials. But they are generally a smaller part of the cost (certainly in mass produced clothes they are a tiny tiny part of the cost). I make clothes and find larger sizes less time consuming because they're less fiddly. Buttons and zips can be massively expensive and you'd use about the same. Postage could be more.

Sounds like the OP spends much more proportionally on materials than high street though so it makes sense in her case. Normally it really doesn't. Which is where people could be making assumptions.

If it's not economic to make the bigger sizes, phase them out.

@Haworthia yes "inclusive" is the word that's been used a lot. I think I am inclusive and I do make things to measure for a lot of people with specific body issues that they couldn't get elsewhere.

Op, just have a universal copy and paste reply ready, keep reporting the reviews and it will soon go away. People can be such bastards.

You are not fat shaming by stocking more items in the most popular sizes and charging more for items that cost more to make.

If people feel shame then that’s their issue, not yours.

As a larger size, I would say I expect a more limited range generally. However, I would gravitate towards sellers who charged the same for all their sizes. If you charge the same for a size 8 and 16 then I see no reason for not charging the same for a size 26. I think it is shaming, one way or another, although I understand the use of more material, longer time to make etc. I wouldn’t leave you a bad review because you charged more but unless your clothes were just too amazing to miss, I wouldn’t be a repeat customer either.

I have a friend who sells custom made clothing (mostly costumes) on Etsy, eBay and her own website, and the stories she tells would make your hair curl! Literally everything you do will be wrong for someone. That's without the fake non-delivered orders, the really weird special orders and the chargebacks.

OP, I think I would tell people that you don't have the space to carry more lines at the moment but that you are looking into it. Because it would be insulting to just assume that making a size 12 dress bigger would suit a plus size body, you want to get it right and would welcome ideas. That buys you time, at least.

No you're not. Tbh, I'd probably decrease the size range you offer, maybe include the size 20 in the last band and cut off the larger sizes altogether

Youre notprimark so no i wouldnt expect the same price at all

YANBU.

ALL larger sizes cost more money - of course they do. It's just that bigger businesses absorb the cost by averaging it across all sizes. So a size 8 pays more than it actually costs to make, a size 24 pays less than it actually costs. Obviously that's impossible for a small business to do. I like the example of a carpenter charging the same for a tiny kitchen or a large one - see if you can wiggle that into your website!

They are being ridiculous I make my own clothes sometimes and I used to be 5 stone heavier the extra fabric required for a dress size costs way more , in slimmer now so use less fabric . Plus size people are kidding themselves if they think it doesn’t cost more and take more work to make bigger items .

It's fantastic that you offer larger and smaller sizes on request.

It's completely normal for fewer of less common sizes to be available.

Add an explanation of prices under FAQ on your website and have a prewritten standard explanation to cut and paste to all complainers. Emphasize how many retailers don't offer anything outside the 8-16 range (or 8-18) at all and that to allow you to continue to do so you have to maintain your policy and pricing structure. Clearly state that to pre-make every piece in every size at the same price would mean only being able to offer the sizes which sell the most, but that you want to make clothes for everyone.

Keep doing what you're doing.

Good luck with the business!

@Leighhalfpennysthigh

Absolutely. It's so easy for people to say 'they should lose some weight' etc. There are many reasons why somebody may be overweight but there is always that element of being judged by the 'just lose weight' brigade.
Just because we are big, doesn't mean we don't want to wear nice clothes. Personally, I'm happy to pay more for the right size as like most people unrealised the extra fabric costs a bit more.
Whilst I know this isn't anything you can help with OP, I'd also like to wear nice shoes. But manufacturers have decided that someone with my foot size can only wear shoes that my long dead grandmother would have said were old fashioned. Hey ho. Maybe i should just chop off a toe or two.

It wouldn’t be cost efficient for you to carry anything over a 16-18 to be honest and you would likely be stuck with the stuff .

@Sotiredofthislife
If you charge the same for a size 8 and 16 then I see no reason for not charging the same for a size 26.
...although I understand the use of more material, longer time to make etc.
You've contradicted yourself here, sorry!

No ur not.... ur running a business

The only other way to approach it is to work out an average cost and make all items the same price. It means the cost of the smaller sizes would go up and the larger sizes come down.

ALL larger sizes cost more money - of course they do.

But not by much actually. Materials are an absolutely tiny part of the cost. Not in this case but generally.

I looked into starting a clothing business and buying stuff from Vietnam. Ethical before anyone freaks out. I would have been selling a piece costing me 2 quid for 50+. And that's made up items. So the difference in raw materials would have been pennies at most. Labour, shopfront, marketing, mark up, all vastly more than materials.

I absolutely will not be stopping offering larger sizes! That would be unfair. I'm happy to make them, I just need to break even on every single item I sell as I don't sell in the sort of quantities that it can even out if some make profit and some make loss.