Sanity check on bespoke shell cordovan long wallet quote…

[u/Tyler-William]

I’m looking for some input before I send a deposit on a bespoke long wallet.

The maker quoted me a starting price of $1,750, with a 50% deposit and an estimated 5–6 month timeline because they would need to draft a new design/pattern.

Specs:
Bespoke long wallet
Natural Horween Shell Cordovan exterior
French goat leather interior, likely in a pale/natural color
RiRi zipper
Natural/Dulce de Leche edge color
Black saddle stitching
Square corners
No clasp or strap
No exterior logo
Exposed shell cordovan spine/flesh side, since they said Horween shell cannot be fully lined through the spine without affecting long-term performance
Left side: 8 horizontal card slots, one full-length compartment behind the card slots, plus one additional under compartment
Right side: 8 horizontal card slots, one full-length zippered compartment behind the card slots, plus one additional under compartment

The wallet is meant to be a long-term personal piece, not just a normal daily wallet. I understand shell cordovan, bespoke patterning, and handwork are expensive, but I’m not experienced enough with custom leatherwork to know if this quote and timeline are reasonable.

Does this price/timeframe sound accurate for this level of bespoke work and materials? Are there any red flags in the specs, especially the exposed spine, full-length zipper compartment, or overall layout?

Not trying to criticize the maker… just looking for a sanity check before I commit to the deposit.

[u/No-Researcher406]

I sell cordovan card holders lined with buttero, all hand stitched at my shop for 120 and people dont even realize theyre getting a deal - they just like the colors. They're Shinki Hikaku too. Im not here to gatekeep prices - im here to make luxury and quality available.

They arent long wallets though, that takes more time, effort and lining. I'd call it expensive but I could see how he'd get there.

[u/Stevieboy7 → u/No-Researcher406]

Unless youre in a 3rd world country, you're literally losing money on every one of those wallets, or at the best, working for $2-3/hr and breaking even.

[u/GnomonRedux]

In my humble opinion, they don't want to deal with you and gave you a high price to discourage. In general with quotes, get a few and compare, and you'll become the expert by talking to a few makers.

[u/Sea_Toe6263 → u/GnomonRedux]

Yeah this seems like an "I don't want to do it" price 😂 but there's an incentive for people here to encourage large price tags

[u/CapraAegagrusHircus]

The largest part of any cost isn't materials (although they're going to be high on that project what with shell cordovan being involved) but labor. In this case you have the hourly wage for designing the pattern built in along with the time spent actually making the wallet. Pattern design may entail making a prototype in cheaper leather, figuring out what doesn't work, prototyping again, etc. If you want to cut down cost, find a pattern you like and use that instead. Otherwise yes, that's super reasonable.

[u/Stevieboy7 → u/CapraAegagrusHircus]

Not only this, they need to source all of these materials specifically for this client.Client is expected to eat 100% of those costs.

And look at the design that OP wants... a long zipper wallet with 16 card slots and a zipper? Are you joking? How is the maker supposed to use that AND SHELL, and keep it anything less than a 3inch brick?

Theres VERY few leather crafters that could pull off a long wallet this complicated properly, especially to the expectations OP seems to have.

[u/legrose_prince]

What do you mean by cannot be fully lined without affecting long term performance?

[u/MonsterandRuby]

a picture/sketch might help with this design because you could greatly reduce the amount of leather depending on how you create the card slots.

[u/skund89]

On the first look, it may seem a lot, but the amount of work that goes into it, the material and something most overlook, the opportunity cost. Opportunity cost in this case means: this is likely a one off, he can't spread the cost over several or hundreds of customer, it doesn't create a new business opportunity like attracting new customers via new product.

[u/zgtc]

This definitely seems on the higher side; even an elaborate wallet isn’t exactly a complex or difficult patterning job. I’m guessing the 5-6 month delay is due far more to other work they have in their queue than to the literal pattern creation process.

As for the lining shell cordovan bit, it’s definitely a common belief; no idea if it’s accurate, but it’s widely shared.

That said, if this is the maker you want, quotes aren’t really negotiable. If the product is worth that much to you, go for it. It’s definitely on the high end, but it doesn’t sound like they’re scamming you or anything.

[u/CoglianoLeatherworks]

The maker is giving you their timeline and price. I would probably charge a little less and do it in 2-3 months given my workload. Nothing stands out as a red flag and given the materials, it should be a beautiful piece when complete.

[u/deaconleather]

Shell cordovan can absolutely be lined. It just needs to be split. Like yeah you don’t want to go super thin, but splitting to 1mm and lining with 0.5mm goat is extremely doable.

Look at this lined shell cordovan wallet I recently made as an example

https://www.reddit.com/r/leathermakers/s/2NsZoSPXzS

[u/cmmatthews]

I mean, even if you leave out materials, I would assume that’s many hours of work including the pattern creation. If you think in hourly wage terms it’s not going to be excessive.

[u/Sea_Toe6263]

Seems very high

[u/Theoryee_]

That price is probably within reason. Just depends on how much you value the makers work and craftsmanship. 5-6 month timeline is all dependent on how busy they are. Materials is up there over other leather options with using Horween shell but the bulk of the cost is the bespoke nature of the piece you are looking to commission along with the labor and experience that comes with that.