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Post by craftedbys on Mar 23, 2020 2:29:26 GMT
I know I shouldn't be surprised, but I am already seeing people selling their homemade masks on Facebook and etsy. One lady was trying to sell elastic on one of my Facebook sewing groups for like 3x the normal price. Thankfully, the other members called her out and reported her to the admins.
One lady tried to justify it by saying she has a sewing business, but so what? Lots of people sew for others and they are making masks to donate to others just as a way to contribute to the effort.
Thankfully I see the Peas and others donating their time and materials without thought of any type of payment.
As for me, I am sewing masks to honor the memory of all of the nurses in my family: my mother, my sister, my grandmother, my aunt and several cousins. Mom always wanted me to follow in the tradition and, of course, I had to be stubborn and do something else, yet for several years I have regretted not going into nursing.
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Post by ~Sherri~ on Mar 23, 2020 2:32:04 GMT
On our local FB Marketplace, some one is selling their homemade masks for $8 to $10 a piece. And it is sad that people are buying them. I really wanted to post that I would make them for free but I didn't.
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Post by papersilly on Mar 23, 2020 2:44:24 GMT
It’s a free market. If people want to buy what people are selling, it’s on them. Worse yet, if people are willing to pay crazy prices....
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Post by busy on Mar 23, 2020 2:48:06 GMT
It's one thing if people are buying up masks, etc from suppliers and stores and reselling them at a profit. In these circumstances, that's wrong.
But making them and selling them... I'm not going to begrudge people that, no matter what they charge. A LOT of people are suddenly without income or have drastically reduced income or are at risk of losing their income. Who's to say the people making and selling these things aren't among those and this is helping them get by? If they are selling something they make for prices people will buy, I'm fine with that.
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Post by tracyarts on Mar 23, 2020 2:50:26 GMT
I'm fine with people selling their homemade masks to the general public, as long as they're not price gouging. Material costs plus a fair hourly maker's wage is perfectly acceptable for handmade items.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 11, 2024 22:55:11 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Mar 23, 2020 3:02:38 GMT
I sew a little bit. I might try to make a few myself to donate. My sister sews a lot, including some clothes for herself. She has been sent home to telework. She is taking a day or two off soon to sew masks. I might just give her my elastic from my scrunchies attempt instead and offer to drop them off for her.
That said, I'm in a few different crafting groups. In one, the main admin basically uses it to promote herself. She made one, modeled it and got asked if she'd make some for someone. "Sure, they're $10 each." I left the group.
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Post by mom2samlibby on Mar 23, 2020 3:03:35 GMT
On our local FB Marketplace, some one is selling their homemade masks for $8 to $10 a piece. And it is sad that people are buying them. I really wanted to post that I would make them for free but I didn't. I don't really see a problem with that price. Elastic, fabric, and thread cost money. I haven't looked at the directions, so I'm not sure if they can make one in under an hour, but that would mean they are not even getting minimum wage for their time. |
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pridemom
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,843 
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Post by pridemom on Mar 23, 2020 3:17:37 GMT
On our local FB Marketplace, some one is selling their homemade masks for $8 to $10 a piece. And it is sad that people are buying them. I really wanted to post that I would make them for free but I didn't. I don't really see a problem with that price. Elastic, fabric, and thread cost money. I haven't looked at the directions, so I'm not sure if they can make one in under an hour, but that would mean they are not even getting minimum wage for their time. $8 is cheap and barely covers supplies. It takes me about 20-30 minutes per mask, depending on the style. I am making them for friends in the medical field and those who are high risk or have a high risk family member. I have a ton of fabric, which I am happy to see used. For non-medical personnel, I only ask $5 per mask, or a contribution of elastic (it’s scarce now), or a donation to their food bank. Some friends have donated to help with postage or supply costs. |
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NoWomanNoCry
Drama Llama
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Post by NoWomanNoCry on Mar 23, 2020 3:19:55 GMT
I’m not really seeing a issue either at that specific price point. Maybe the crafter is out of work now and trying to make ends meet,
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Post by Linda on Mar 23, 2020 3:22:12 GMT
I'm making for my sister - it's a donation - but there is a cost involved for me. I spent money on flannel (I didn't have any on hand) and I'll spend money on postage. The elastic and woven fabric is coming from my stash. Personally I would be concerned about liability if I sold them - my understanding is their use for healthcare workers is a case of fabric masks are better than NO mask as a last resort not that they are an excellent alternative to medical masks.
I think if people can afford to and want to donate - that's awesome.
But I also don't have a problem with people sewing them to sell - at a reasonable price and $8-10 seems reasonable to me given materials plus labour. From what I'm seeing, the people buying them don't seem to be healthcare workers, they are people who want to wear them for their trip to the grocery store etc..
I agree - people selling elastic for triple the normal price are profiteering and I don't agree with that.
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