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Note About Fabrics and Hardware
Although we do have a much wider range of materials and parts in the building, many of them are difficult or impossible to restock. That is the simple reason that the selection of items we list here for sale separately is rather limited. If we sell off all of our rivets or D-rings, canvas or webbing, then we will not be able to make any more of the gear or uniforms everyone else wants. I hope that clarifies the situation.
Prices.
Shouldn't little parts be cheap?
It seems logical, but it's not the case. 75% of these parts must be custom made. That entails a tooling charge for molds or dies which ranges from $500-$3,000 depending on the complexity and number or pieces in the part. Then there are production minimums- we may not use 10,000 paratrooper widgets in 100 years, but if we want 10, we have to buy 10,000. To prove my point, try going to a hardware store with a tunic button or brass slide in an odd size and ask them to make you 10 for your living history project...
Shipping small items: Shipping starts at $10 which stinks for small, inexpensive items. However, an envelope with stamps (or the post office in general) is too unreliable. This ends up taking 2-3 weeks to arrive (often longer), it's not trackable and we end up dealing with dozens of irate phone calls, impatient people suffering panic attacks, chargebacks, lost merchandise claims, etc, etc..
UPS is reliable and you can track it all the way to your door. Both we and the customers have far fewer problems this way. We will NOT ship via US Postal Service, not even a button.
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