Post #305423 by Rattiki on Thu, May 10, 2007 10:54 AM

On 2007-05-09 15:26, AlienTiki wrote:
I was affraid I might bait the Unscrupulous importer. :wink:
You can try and defend your actions all you want. The reason any person would look outside of the U.S for skilled artisans is MONEY, PROFIT and GREED. So the question is did you pay these carvers a living wage? Did you give them nearly what they were worth? 500% profit for the importer isn't exactly fare to the artist and then to pass that work off as being "made in the islands" is just insulting. Give the artists credit for what they have done. Ah yes "capitalist exploitation".:P

Now I'm not saying this is your situation. I'm saying I don't agree with these business practices. So call me foolhardy all you like, if it will make you feel better. :lol:

My business practices are above board, and I deal with a family that I like and yes I paid them what they were worth, actually 50%-100% more than the local going rate.....you know it is easy to make your kind of statements when you probably have no idea what it's like to live in, or do biz in the 3rd world....did you know if you pay them too much they just think you're a fool, go and hire someone else to do the work and then pawn it off as their own! :roll: A 500% mark up above what I paid for them is not a 500% profit for me. If I pay $4-$5 for a piece in Banuae it means I must go there, order it directly because you must always make sure they REALLY understand what you want. Then I must return later to pick the work up otherwise they may never actually get it finished or they may screw up the work (I find this is always a problem, whether in Mexico with silver jewelery, or Honduras for cigars or...) Then there is the shipping cost which is around the same cost as the piece itself costs. So by the time I sell it for $25 it has cost me EASILY $12.50 for each one. Now I could have gotten the costs down if I had chosen to have them crank out the same things over and over again (though you must still always stay on top of quality or it will go down!) but then you must maintain a business address etc. which is also added costs.....just living in the West is many times more expensive, there are no new homes for $5000 (like there are in Banuae) in my neighborhood!

Now why doesn't a buyer just get American carvers to make Tikis? Because the market won't bear the price it would cost to do that. Granted if an artist makes a name for themselves like Bosco with his unique stylized work they can get good bucks -say $75-$200 or more per piece- but just to recreate classic works it's just not cost effective because it is very difficult to get $50-100+ for an 18" mask unless it is in a high end retail outlet .....and then of course there are extra cost with that as well.

So in the end it is about money and profit but not greed, at least not for me.....the truth be told, if you want to make big bucks in carvings it is the Indonesian hard stone Buddhas and Hindu Gods that garner the big profits with them selling for $1000s when they cost less than $100 from the carvers!

BTW the Hawaiian Islands are not the only islands in the Pacific Ocean or the only ones that traditionally make wood 'Tiki' carvings! I'm sure I could get quality, low cost work done in PNG and Vanuatu as well and carving is also a part of their long traditional culture which I would then be supporting. :roll: AND I think their Traditional Tikis are more bitchin than Hawaiian (or FLA) Tikis! :P