Depending on how well sales go this time, this may be my last JOpants production I ever do. As much as I believe in this product and enjoy helping my fellow gooners better their masturbation life, a lot of things have changed since I began this business, both personal and external, that are making this side-project more unfeasible for me to continue.
The materials and production costs have skyrocketed and I unfortunately have to raise my prices substantially too. I really hate to do this because I've always wanted for JOpants to be a utilitarian product that would benefit the largest number of people possible, and I know that pricing JOpants even higher will make this product unaffordable for a lot of people. I was already hearing a lot of complaints about my old prices. However if I don't raise my prices to this current range, it will not be worth it for me. I am not a huge company but just one guy with a very limited budget and limited time. So far, I have only been able to afford small-batch production runs and it's all done domestically, which is very expensive. There's no way I can compete with the prices of the mass-produced plastic-clothing that people are used to.
JOpants may have special discount sales or possibly a slight reduction in price in the future if nothing is selling, but if I have to lower my prices too much, I'm afraid this business will not survive. The time involved in this endeavor has become a lot more demanding than I can afford. I have made some minor profits with all the previous productions, but when I account for all my sweat-equity, time and energy I put into it, I'm essentially working for peanuts. I always believed it would get easier to be profitable once the brand is more established, however it seems the industry and economy is getting more difficult instead. I admit that this is partially my own fault, possibly due to my lack of business savviness. But the reality is, if this endeavor is not able to provide enough for me to make a living wage, then it just doesn't make sense for me to continue. However, if I am able to sell out my current stock in this price range in a decent amount of time, I will continue making JOpants.
Thanks for your understanding and support!