New bag alert: the Bantam!

[Shortie]

Hoping for a smaller logo patch on the next batch

Me too. The logo is what stopped me from ordering the ballistic version.

[Cristina]

Thanks MikeV, for your reply.

Totally understand not wanting to be left with surplus! Many times I have defended the unique nature of TB as a small company committed to making bags in an ethical way in the US. I think that the ball being dropped here is the communication piece.

Since the transfer of ownership (even before it was publicly known), we have been told less and less, and from a customer point of view that is… worse. More like, undoing a lot of years-long hard work to get customers to understand the constraints of how a small company producing ethically in the US can work in order to survive and thrive.

The only way that I and other TB-defenders can understand the position of a small company like TB is because we have been told about it. We have been told so many times, about so many different aspects of how production works for a small company, usually when there is frustration about the availability of a certain design or color.

Obviously the company will do what it likes but I hope an external perspective is useful in this instance. Everyone on the inside may be quite happy and feeling like not much has changed since the company sale, but from the outside it is noticeably different in terms of communication. If the company still wants people to understand the production challenges of a small company, then the company should continue to communicate with people in a proactive way about those challenges.

Thank you for engaging with us on this topic. I appreciate it.

Cristina- I totally hear where you're coming from. It's not in any way intentional to sell out of things within an hour.

To be honest, we weren't sure what folks would think of the Bantam when we released it. It's a new bag, still a relatively new fabric, and a little different style than some other things we've made. Doing a pre-order didn't really make sense in this case because we wanted to launch it in just the two colors, plus we already have a pre-order open (pre-order events don't overlap well).

We are still a small company and we're not in a position to make thousands of things- especially new things that are unproven. The best thing we can do is to make modest sized batches of bags, put them up for sale, and if they sell out quickly, make more. We've seen instances in the past where we go through that cycle a few times and then the interest drops off, sometimes rather suddenly. That's risky for us- it's not an easy thing for us (or any company) to be left with tons of inventory that doesn't sell well. We try to learn from these lessons and not end up in those situations.

So that means we keep things a little tight, to manage the risk. We can always make more of things, and we're absolutely going to make more of the Bantam. We've discussed adding colors and fabrics but it's still a little early to know exactly how you all are going to like the bag. I recognize that it's frustrating when you want something and it sells out quickly, but we're focused on trying to be as efficient as possible while continuing to offer new and interesting designs as much as we can.

Planning business demands is tricky stuff. We're fortunate to be able to manufacture things relatively quickly and that gives us the freedom to have some fun with designs. That part hasn't ever really changed.

[G42]

Thanks for all that MikeV it is useful to have the process explained.

At some point when this had happened before on a different item, TB had said ahead of time and/or day of, that there would be another immediate production run and approximate availability. And then you all posted an update like that after the first Bantam sell out.

I realize you can't do it immediately every time, but that type of communication is really useful for how folks are planning their purchases and it would be reassuring to know that certain items can basically get several mini production runs vs when the last of something is running out and/or an item won't be produced again for months/years due to availability of either material or capacity. Basically, to your point, phased production until initial demand is satisfied.

I appreciate the work that's been done to get product availability back up to more normal pre-pandemic levels of in-stock and colour options, whilst juggling the new ERP implementation.

[MikeV]

Cristina- I totally hear where you're coming from. It's not in any way intentional to sell out of things within an hour.

To be honest, we weren't sure what folks would think of the Bantam when we released it. It's a new bag, still a relatively new fabric, and a little different style than some other things we've made. Doing a pre-order didn't really make sense in this case because we wanted to launch it in just the two colors, plus we already have a pre-order open (pre-order events don't overlap well).

We are still a small company and we're not in a position to make thousands of things- especially new things that are unproven. The best thing we can do is to make modest sized batches of bags, put them up for sale, and if they sell out quickly, make more. We've seen instances in the past where we go through that cycle a few times and then the interest drops off, sometimes rather suddenly. That's risky for us- it's not an easy thing for us (or any company) to be left with tons of inventory that doesn't sell well. We try to learn from these lessons and not end up in those situations.

So that means we keep things a little tight, to manage the risk. We can always make more of things, and we're absolutely going to make more of the Bantam. We've discussed adding colors and fabrics but it's still a little early to know exactly how you all are going to like the bag. I recognize that it's frustrating when you want something and it sells out quickly, but we're focused on trying to be as efficient as possible while continuing to offer new and interesting designs as much as we can.

Planning business demands is tricky stuff. We're fortunate to be able to manufacture things relatively quickly and that gives us the freedom to have some fun with designs. That part hasn't ever really changed.

[Cristina]

MikeV it would be great if you or MaiaH could comment on how quickly the Bantam has sold out, twice now. As a company, TB has worked incredibly hard over the last few years to prevent exactly this from happening, because it causes a lot of frustration from customers. People have even accused the company of generating scarcity on purpose (claims against which several of us have defended TB).

In the past the company has been very transparent about changes in internal processes to prevent rapid sellouts. There have been preorders, altering the scheduling of debuts, etc. Recently the company has been rather less transparent about… everything, or at least, less communicative. Can you confirm whether or not the company is still trying to reduce the incidence of rapid sellouts?

[G42]

MikeV
What's the latest plan since it sold out again?

[G42]

Heads up! We've got the next batch of Bantams restocking this morning

Thanks Mike!
Anything else restocking that we should look for?

[MikeV]

Heads up! We've got the next batch of Bantams restocking this morning

[Cristina]

I have to say, given how hard the company has worked to avoid things selling out in five minutes and the frustration that causes, I am surprised and disappointed this happened again. Not least because I was really excited about this one and was hoping to order one Friday night, a few hours after it went live.

[MikeV]

Cooner! Thanks for saying this! I'm glad I saw this before walking out for the weekend. We actually re-measured both the Bantam and the Side Effect yesterday and it's the Side Effect that needed some adjustments. We're getting that measurement changed on the site right now. Here are the correct Side Effect measurements: 230mm x 140mm x 80mm

[Cooner]

Yay, new bag. I'm curious about something, though …

I was just comparing specs on the site between the Bantam and the Side Effect. They're both clocked at exactly the same width and height (8.7" x 5.1"), but the Bantam is a bit deeper than the Side Effect, according to the specs (2.4" vs 2".) Yet the Bantam is only listed as having a 1 liter volume, compared to the Side Effect's 1.5 liters … just curious why that is? Are the corners that much more curved, or does the SE's outer pocket expand outside the main volume of the bag that much? Inquiring minds want to know.

That said, correct me if I'm wrong but it looks like this concept is similar to the SE, but with different/simpler organization (fewer pockets, only one main compartment, fewer O-rings) and with the keen belt loop on the back. And the different fabric, of course.

Not sure if this bag would be for me or not, but I do want to chime in with the voices hoping there will be more colors available someday.

[G42]

We've got more starting- expected to restock in 1-2 weeks

Cool beans and by then hopefully enough folks will have recd the first batch to post impressions. I want to see how everyone uses the belt pass thru in particular, it seems ripe for hacking

[MikeV]

So MikeV what schedule/status can you share?

We've got more starting- expected to restock in 1-2 weeks

[G42]

So MikeV what schedule/status can you share?

[G42]

People not completing their orders, probably. I put one in my cart to check out the shipping options. But I'm not paying $45 on top of a $65 bag just to try it out. With some later order, maybe ...

Could be, I don't know if it actually does that. In the past it only seemed to matter once you actually checked out, but with Shopify changing all the time plus whatever the new backend system is, could be any of the above