I'd say most artisans benefit from some exposure and good reviews on clothing forums. The only exception I can think of is a certain clown. Despite he's been rubbishing all other makers, AFAIK he has absolutely no one who posts regularly on the internet ever bothered to enquire about his stuff, let alone contemplate buying.

Marc

I must disagree with you, on the effects of the boards.

My business has benifited greatly. I would also assume that MR. Ned, LS and Paris shirt and even Raphael have also seen new customers.

I am amazed at how many find the MB by accident. they read, lurk and learn. They do not post.

Most tailors/shirtmakers do very little advertising.
Word of mouth, or editorial press are the best way of getting new customers. The MB do both.

How many times have you been next to a very well dressed gentleman and was curious about what they were wearing. Some people are quite comfortable asking a stranger about their clothes.

Carl

www.cego

I agree with Marc that financial benefit from forum exposure decreases rapidly as one moves upmarket. While I concede that I first learned about my shirtmaker, Sig. Siviglia,  from Marc's posts at AAAC, I am a rare exception. Business derived from internet forums represents like %1 of his turnover.  I am sure Raphael would say the same thing. In contrast, being at a much lower market category, Jantzen's business skyrocketed after becoming one of the main topics of discussion in some of the clothing forums.

I suppose for the insiders, or owners, a men's clothing internet message board could be quite lucrative, for getting at-cost items and freebies. For the schmo's who advertise much less so, and like Chuck & others it is like a double edged sword wielded by a hyperactive child.

Last edited by Marc Grayson (2008-01-15 13:30:37)

Clothing forums are a special interest group which certainly can financially help some businesses.

When I was a boy and my father was running Mark Hober and later David Hober the family womens clothing businesses we would often get coverage in fashion magazines.

I recently asked my father how much business the media coverage generated and he could not say, as a buyer might see something he liked and show up in our New York showroom six months later. Granted we were a wholesale business which made it harder to track this type of marketing results.

While I certainly get emails with comments like " I read many good things about you on XYZ forum", in many ways the more important results are softer and more subjective and also harder to measure.

For example I am a member of the Film Noir Buff forum not for the witty posts but for the simple and personal reason that Film Noir Buff has been very kind to me starting with his early posts to me on Ask Andy where he made design suggestions for pocket squares based on classic movies.

Other gentlemen such as Will also been kind to me and have made many suggestions about fabrics and designs.

Horace has uncovered some historical gems about Brooks Brothers.

A mystery man has helped with our Trad Special designs. I would like to say who this gentlemen is but I cannot as he is a client and we never post names of clients unless they first mention being clients.

Many forum members have become friends with the majority not being clients.

So in the end forum participation has been profitable but not always in terms of dollars.