The economics of origami....

[bethnor]

Just out of curiosity, I was wondering why the "major" origami paper distributors, those being Aitoh, Yasutomo, and Kotobuki (that I know about), only sell to wholesalers. I'm not sure if this is the right forum to be asking that, as the majority of the folders here seem to prefer folding from costum-made/wet-fold/etc., etc. If they sold to the individual buyer, it seems to me that they would make more money than just intermittently selling to the occasional wholesaler.

[Michael LaFosse]

In the United States, Aitoh, Yasutomo and Kotobuki are importers/wholesalers. They sell to retailers, such as myself. If they sold directly to the public they would be competing directly with their own customers!

Michael LaFosse
Origamido

[xaoslord]

Manufacturers can sale one item to an individual or 100,000 items to a wholesaler/importer. Although the profit margin is higher on the individual sale, the manufacturer has more guaranteed sales by selling to the wholesaler (thus the wholesaler is able to negotiate a price that is low enough so they can resell the product at a profit.) The cost of manufacturing the product is deductible, so manufacturers can afford to sell large quantities at a lower price and still profit. Plus the wholesaler assumes responsibility for distribution, reducing the manufacturer’s costs even further. Some larger companies distribute their own merchandise, but they have to either have the capabilities to distribute the product themselves, or be willing to invest the capital to develop that part of the business. Most companies prefer to focus on the manufacturing and sell to wholesalers. It's easier and lets them focus on making the product.

[ahudson]

Furthermore, most manufacturing business models are based on a non-internet marketplace, meaning that selling to a wholesaler is really the best way to effectively reach a large number of customers, especially with a product as cheap as paper.