Why do it on the cheap ?????

[Purple Rose]

I did buy a few cheap bits when I was first learning and only to practice on, but over the past year and working hard to save, I've now finally got some wonderful products all at the high end which I am using to rent a room in at the beginning of May. I have to say I used to get manicures and pedicures and never understand why a salon would use a high end facial range such as Guinot or Dermologica, have all the CACI equipments etc in there salon and then use the cheapest nails products they can find. It certainly put me off!! I now use CND for all nail treatments and Bio Sculpture for nno's and perron rigot for my waxing!! I know its cost me but my god my treatments are heavenly and with my waxing yes it cost more to purchase, but I save so much time as the hairs are all whipped out first time, rather than having to tweeze, meaning I can fit two clients in, in the space of 1!!!!

 

[Beauty by Chell]

Once reading over this thread again it makes me think.When people look at this thread and they are just starting out I think those who look at this thread and are thinking of buying cheap 80% of those wont change their mind and will continue to buy cheap - I think this because they may think because those of us who have been doing it a while have money to buy the more high quality products or people may think we are saying it for the sake of it to be 'posh'.

And i do think most of those people will go ahead and still buy the cheaper product and will then 100% learn from their mistake and realise they want the higher range product.

Sometimes it takes your on mistakes to make in order to realise rather than someone else actually pre warning.

I hope I make sense?

I'm one of the 20% that will take in this thread and learn by all your mistakes! Once i have finished my essential nails course and had some practice on friends etc i plan to do a conversion to CND before i start looking for paying customers. I think that to be set apart from ALL - and there are loads here, the nss i am going to need to have excellent standards and excellent products to set myself apart from the rest and build a good client base!

Before i found this forum i wouldn't of given it another thought tho

 

[1999judy]

One thing I noticed is that many people start threads saying "I'm having problems with lifting etc. etc." then they tell you they are using inferior products....we help all we can with advice and links but at the end of the day people usually realise that you can't produce a decent set of nails with cr&p products...end of.
In this industry I firmly believe that you get EXACTLY what you pay for.
That goes all across the board....training...enamels....gel lamps etc.

 

[Violet Star]

I'm one of the 20% that will take in this thread and learn by all your mistakes! Once i have finished my essential nails course and had some practice on friends etc i plan to do a conversion to CND before i start looking for paying customers. I think that to be set apart from ALL - and there are loads here, the nss i am going to need to have excellent standards and excellent products to set myself apart from the rest and build a good client base!

Before i found this forum i wouldn't of given it another thought tho

That is really good! You have a wise head and thats brilliant trust me it will save you so much money in the long run because when you had good products this is what will also increase your client base along with your skills
:hug:

 

[geeg]

The thing that confuses the heck out of me is this...

Do those who choose the cheaper option truly believe that it's only the name of the product that makes it a tad more expensive on the overall treatment price as opposed to the quality and benefits it gives?


Do those who choose the cheaper course option really think that they will receive an equal level of education to the top quality courses?

Thought provoking questions indeed and I've often wondered myself if some people ever take the time to really think things through in a sensible logical way? So many act on impulse ... such a waste.
I prefer to get things Right from the start!

 

[Kittensgotclaws]

This is a great thread Adele, the only thing that i really wish is that people start to realise that you get what you pay for, meaning if you buy a product on the cheap you can't expect it to last as long as the higher end products, people might think that they are saving money by buying cheaper products but in fact they are spending more as you will probably loose some clients and the product wouldn't last as long.

 

[VHunter]

I agree with 99.999999% of what's been said.

"Cheap" is as cheap does, and results will be questionable, and wind up costing you more in the long run.

HOWEVER, not all experimentation will result 100% of the time with negative results.
And there's a definitive difference between 'cheap' and 'budget friendly/cost effective' products.
Cheap is exactly as the word implies. Budget friendly is a quality product that may not yet be very widely known but a well performing product all the same.

I think if people are going to experiment with ways to improve their budget, they have to 'think' before they experiment. Most assuredly, you wouldn't want to change things such as you L&P or UV Gel, and similar.
But, experimenting with different brands of nail files or other items certainly can't cause any harm.
Example: I use a 'no-name' brand of nail polish from a professional distributor, that's label free. It costs $1.00 a bottle... and guess what? The black is blacker than Voodoo (sorry Creative lovers :Scared and complete coverage in one coat, no streaks, and TOTALLY opaque blacker-than-black, black patent shoe leather black (not slightly grey, not streaky, not bluish, but BLACK...). I use this brand with 100% satisfaction, dries beautifully, etc.... I've tried pricier, well known brands and been less satisfied with drying time issues and streakyness etc. Granted, I wouldn't use Rimmel on my clients.
I also use a smaller name produce for Cuticle removal and it's FABULOUS:!:

I think if people are going to look for ways to save money, they have to do it smartly. There are ways to cut costs without sacrificing service and quality products that perform well. Washable white towels instead of disposable. Disinfectable items versus throw-away. Use a different brand of 'nail wipes'. Ok, they don't have the fancy tab on the back to hold them easier BUT you CAN learn to hold the other ones in such a way as not to smudge your own polish. Advertise smartly to bring in revenue, and lower advertising costs. Print black and white business cards as opposeed to 'colour'. Use products SMARTLY so that there's less waste.
Etc....

As long as techs remember that 'cheap' means 'CHEAP' and will result in 'cheap results' and clients WONT' pay for that.
:hug:

PS: shop smartly! In other words, buy in bulk. In the long run it will cost you less. The things that you know you'll always need, buy in as big a bulk as possible.
Place bigger orders less often and save yourself money in shipping costs. Shipping is EXPENSIVE. Plan ahead as much as you can. Ok, so you have more files than you need.... You WILL use them... they won't rot.

 

[NoLimitNails]

Actually theres not much difference between the cost price of a good quality set of nails an a cheap set regarding to product price. Not enough to make me wanna take a chance, eventhough I'm not doing nails fulltime just now..

And to add to the cheap price: you will spend a lot more time trying to sort out servicebreakdowns (and your time is money) and you will loose clients over this, so actually the cost price of the cheap set would be a lot higher, I'm willing to bet on that one!

It's just not woth it, actually the only thing I buy cheap is glitter to add to my nailart, all other things is not cheap, but proven products of outstanding quality, some of them wellknown brands and some of them costfriendly products as Victoria names them, but still quality is the keyword.

 

[mely-bely]

Great thread! I think using superior products saves time and money! I can use less and therefore save a lot of product! Application is big too, if you are good at what you do, you have less filing and mucking about - saving time and product.

I would never use an inferior product on myself, I sure as heck won't use em on someone who is paying for my services!

 

[alpina]

I don't really see how using cheap products can save you money anyway - not in the long term.

With cheap nail polish you need to do lots of coats to get the colour so you're using more product anyway, and nine times out of ten the client will smudge them because the ten layers of polish takes so long to dry. Then you have to re-do them usually at your expense, while you could be treating a paying client. Same with inferior enhancement products not lasting
I find the cheap files don't last as long as my cnd ones either.

I always use the best quality products and my clients love the products/results too = happy return clients and great referals. My clients know I'm passionate about the products I use on them, then they feel the products for themselves and I don't have to work to retail. The products walk off the shelves on their own.

I did have to learn this lesson the hard way though, I started out using inferior products (not for nails but most other things). I intended to start out cheap, then buy the better products/equipment when I made more money. Was a good idea in theory, but I wasted so much money replacing everything when I should have just bitten the bullet and bought the good stuff from the start.