We sold out
Thanks for that everyone. We’re ordering more, but it will take a while as they have to be carved in Dengfeng and then shipped to here.
@Shaolin: I should add that if these ever did become a Tiger Claw product, the price would double. We offered the last batch at $18.99. That’s basically our price plus shipping X2, which would be ‘wholesale’ price. If we offered wholesale, we’d have to raise the retail. Retail is usually cost+shippingx4. Anyway, it’s moot now as they are sold out. I’m hoping we can keep the price of the new shipment the same, but you know how it is with China. We’re haggling with some folk carvers in Dengfeng. We’re hoping to get them to improve the quality. They’ll want more kuai for that.
So I guess you didn’t like my shoe idea huh?:o
[QUOTE=Scott R. Brown;1091469]So I guess you didn’t like my shoe idea huh?:o[/QUOTE]
it’s better than the one I had about it coming with a pair of eyelids…
[QUOTE=taai gihk yahn;1091475]it’s better than the one I had about it coming with a pair of eyelids…[/QUOTE]
Those are so small they would easily be lost.
Earrings would have been nice except I understand his eyelids became tea bushes. So maybe a shoe and a box of tea would be nice!
Don’t even get me started on shoes…
…whoops! Too late. Now you’re sorry, aren’t you? 
[QUOTE=GeneChing;1091455]Thanks for that everyone. We’re ordering more, but it will take a while as they have to be carved in Dengfeng and then shipped to here.
@Shaolin: I should add that if these ever did become a Tiger Claw product, the price would double. We offered the last batch at $18.99. That’s basically our price plus shipping X2, which would be ‘wholesale’ price. If we offered wholesale, we’d have to raise the retail. Retail is usually cost+shippingx4. Anyway, it’s moot now as they are sold out. I’m hoping we can keep the price of the new shipment the same, but you know how it is with China. We’re haggling with some folk carvers in Dengfeng. We’re hoping to get them to improve the quality. They’ll want more kuai for that.[/QUOTE]
I’m sure there’s plenty of Americans who’d be willing to carve your canes for you at a reasonable price. The quality will be probably be better and you’ll save on shipping.
I don’t know about that
I’m actually carving one myself right now, just for fun. But I wouldn’t do it for under $10 bucks. That’s what it would have to be under to meet that $18.99 price point. It’s a fair amount of work. Even if I had a lathe and a bandsaw, it would still be a fair amount of work because the horn shape must be hand rasped - much more than $10 I should think. Frankly it’s hard to undercut the price of Chinese labor.
If “they” are trying to keep the retail price under $20 it’s understandable to outsource the work. Personally I’d rather see the whole sale cost go up to around $25-$35, bring the production to the U.S. and increase the quality. Retail it for $40-$50. Buy low price = get low quality.
Sure but you got to test the market first
We now know it is successful at this price point. We are looking at making improvements - in fact, I was just in discussion with the makers yesterday about this - without raising that price point. If it really takes off, I could foresee turning Cane production over to the same manufacturers that do our tonfa, which are really well made and still inexpensive. Those are machine made, for the most part, so the issue there is the start-up costs. We’ll see. This is a work in progress.
Meanwhile, I’m debating about going into high-end cane production - handmade Bodhidharma Canes by me. If I sell them at $108 (love that price point) and cover my hours on task, I might just go back into the weapon making business. 
I think Shaolin has a point. You guys have a distribution center in Tennessee and there are a whole lot of wood carvers in the Appalachins right? One of the poorest parts of the U.S. where a lot of people need work.
[QUOTE=Scott R. Brown;1091489]Those are so small they would easily be lost.
Earrings would have been nice except I understand his eyelids became tea bushes. So maybe a shoe and a box of tea would be nice![/QUOTE]
The shoe comes with the Japanese version, the eyelids and tea come with the Chinese versions.
I think they should also come with a box of silence.
Shaolin & sha0lin1
I’ll ask the TN office to look into it.
When I used to make swords, we hired this carpenter who was living out of his van for a spell. He had a lathe in his van and would shape handle blanks for us at $5 a pop, which was cheaper than we could do and saved a lot of time. Unfortunately, he went his way eventually.
[QUOTE=GeneChing;1091270]@Blacktiger - In all honestly, it’s challenging for MAM to ship to Oz, or any other country for that matter. There are unique customs regulations for each country and MAM frequently gets stung with a parcel stuck at the border, which is why shipping costs outside the U.S. are pretty pricey. [/QUOTE]
Bugger I really want one!!!
They are on reorder
My Shaolin connect told me last week that it will take about two weeks to finish up a new batch. We’re ordering twice as many as last time. I’m not sure how long it will take to get them from China to here however. Last time, it hit a delay because of our China’s quality control manager. I’ll keep you updated.
@Blacktiger - when they come in, contact sales@martialartsmart.com about ordering. That office is actually in TN and I can’t really speak for them on this.
[QUOTE=GeneChing;1093019]My Shaolin connect told me last week that it will take about two weeks to finish up a new batch. We’re ordering twice as many as last time. I’m not sure how long it will take to get them from China to here however. Last time, it hit a delay because of our China’s quality control manager. I’ll keep you updated.
@Blacktiger - when they come in, contact sales@martialartsmart.com about ordering. That office is actually in TN and I can’t really speak for them on this.[/QUOTE]
Thanks Gene will do 
[QUOTE=GeneChing;1168644]Designed by me.
Bodhidharma Cane[/QUOTE]
Looks great! Now how reliable is martial arts mart going to be about keeping them in stock? And how do we get them over on the sister company tiger claw? As a school owner I’d have to charge $40 buying them from martial arts mart just to make anything and I refuse to do that to my students.
We just got our first shipment of 200 units
The Tamo Canes that we had earlier were made by folk craftsmen from the Shaolin area. We sold out of them a lot faster than we anticipated, and restocking was challenging because we weren’t working with a professional manufacturing company. Those makers were common folk. I designed these new Tamo Canes upon an old cane I got at Shaolin in '95, as well as several other examples I’ve seen over the years. They are manufactured by one of the companies that manufactures tonfa for us, so we know that they can deliver consistent quality.
As of now, these are strictly MartialArtsMart.com products. If we move enough units in a reasonable period, these will become a Tiger Claw product, but that might not be for a while. While MAM and TC are connected, they are separate companies. We’ll often test market products for TC through MAM. We’ll also sell items irregular items there, products that are not stable enough for TC. For TC, sales must be both brisk and reliable.
what??? another new cane!!!
this one looks so much better than the first batch…i miss the one that I used when I was training with shifu shi de shan…i want one like that again…=(