The Madagascar Shirt - the deal

ke02eww

You will no doubt know that a group (myself, SRuzgar, asp9mm and mantis) have been working to make the Madagascar shirt....

it's been torturous, and to say the least, frustrating....

but after nearly 5 weeks of old one-two between me, Simon, and the supplier, we've gotten them to agree to make a (large) batch of the material...

500m to be precise...

this is the absolute minimum they would make, and at the minor cost of £8.50pm!....so we need £4250/us$8500 for the material alone.

believe it or not this is a result, compared to the original bargaining position...
so now we need to go back to the beginning and find out how many people will stump up hard cash to secure this once in a lifetime (and probably once worn, at least as soon as the misses sees u in it!) iconic screen item. {[]
To cushion the financial blow, we had envisioned a few of us "funding" the escapade, paying many times that which others would be prepared to pay, such that we can get the average down for the bulk of the orders.
We had been targeting around the £225/us$450 mark, including having the shirt made by the very same shirt makers that cut and created DC's own shirts.

This was calculated based upon two of us paying £500/$1000 each, and the remaining say 25ish members buying a shirt (or fewer buying multiple shirts) for approx $450 including the cost of making the shirt.

What price would you pay for this authentic shirt (Simon has located the actual company who made the original, and this would add another £90/$180 onto the cost of the fabric) made to measure to exactly fit your own DC-torso....

Clearly, the more that join, the lower the average cost of each shirt. Similarly, those who like myself are desperate for the shirt, can pay more to help drive the average cost down and secure success... :007)

Also, there is no limit to the number of shirts you can buy; maybe one in your own size, and one in the exact size worn by DC?... B-)

Remember, the more shirts purchased, the more the average cost comes down for everyone.

Also, in view of the cost of the material, I doubt there will ever be any other shirts made. These will be truely unique, and can be heavily personalised.

how does this sound?....we need to know definitely asap....and a deposit will need to be made up front.

finally, THIS IS A NON-PROFIT ENDEAVOUR.
indeed, some of us will be substantially out of pocket. But as Mantis said recently, this is a sickness... {:)


Here is a list of those who expressed an interest on the original thread;

donald grant
eagle
copaman
tracywb
nightshooter
kittlemeier
clarky
hoshi
varock
walther p99
crowe007
johny-dh
mathewarmitage
devonknight
casino ice
Loeffelholz
tallman
kpefkaros
nickcharles
ianT007
aston martin dbs
amdb9
mikef37
mrbig
l007k out
halfhitman halfmonk
the frogman
bluetone
jb1962
north scorpion
cpoulos62


so 20+ "interest-eds"...

It would be fantastic if all remained interested at the indicated average price, but if some can only commit to a lower price, please indicate in your reply. Rememember, the average price will only be determined when we know how many are committed.

Paul

The Bond Experience

I see this as a once in a life time opportunity...the type of op that I would be regretting if not a part of years from now. So of course I am in!

Donald Grant

I'm in too. Gotta have the shirt. Very iconic. Sickness be damned.

DG

Head of Section

Sorry to arrive late to the party, but count me in as an interested party!

sruzgar

Naturally I am also in!

Nightshooter

Sorry fellas, I hate to be the first one to say it, but $450 for the shirt is way too much for a shirt I'd hardly wear. But I hope more people aren't like me and can get it, as it would be an awesome thing to have!

Shatterhand67

Hi, I believe I expressed my interest in the original thread as well. I don't know about the $450. I think I'm more inclined to go with the Turnbull and Asser Casino Royale tuxedo shirt and tie for that dough. However it the Madagascar shirt were in the $250 range I'd be in like Flynn. I hate to say it but at $450 I'm a fence sitter right now...and I hate fence sitters but here I sit...

Karl

I'm still very interested in the shirt but $400 would be a little too much for me.

copaman

yes i am intrested it is alot of money 450 dollars so if i am gonna buy it i want to see some pictures of it. Take care!!

Asp9mm

What you need to remember fellas, is that this shirt will be tailored to fit you individually, or if you are an authentic screen-seen-type, made to Craigs exact measurements and 100% accurate to the film. With the T&A shirt you had a huge amount made in generic sizes. This shirt will be made in a very small number and will never ever be repeated.

Look at the prices Grigio Perla swims command now and they were production line items made in very high quantities. As sure as eggs are eggs, Casino Royale will go down as one of the top three Bond films ever made, and these will be sought after in the future. I need at least three, no four..., one to wear, one for bed, one Craig size, and one worn and bloodied for display. Everyone needs at least three.

It's Christmas, you deserve it.

Nightshooter

Question: couldn't you guys put a number of these up on eBay? You don't necessarily need definite buyers, just put however many you want (or need to sell) up on eBay with a reserve or buy it now. Wouldn't that lessen the cost for all involved (because, as you say, this WILL be a hot item)?

I'm sure you guys had already thought of that, but I thought I'd mention it anyway.

sruzgar

I dont foresee us selling any of these on eBay at this point! We need interested parties to commit so that we can purchase the material, without the exact material we have no shirts. $450 is a ballpark right now and like Paul said the more people who commit the more likely the price will drop.

Go on you know you want one!

firefighter84

Damn, I'd hate to say it but I'd have to count myself out for $450.

Is it possible for me to purchase the fabric and go independant for a tailor?

texas007

I am interested in the fabric also. Is it possible to just get the fabric? Thanks

Head of Section

Is it possible that the price would go down if we could come up with more buyers?

sruzgar

As stated in pauls original post the overall price would absolutley come down if we had more buyers.

We are not sure if we can sell the material seperetley as we dont want "immiatations"s floating around as this could damage the relationship we have forged with these companies. You should also note that the bulk of teh cos is in the material so you would not save a great deal of money if we just sold you materail. Does that make sense?

DEVONKNIGHT

For $450 US I most likely would have to bow out, unless I win the lottery in the near future. If the cost were to come down to around $200, I probably could commit. Why not see if you can get members from other Bond websites to commit as well? Every little bit would help in bringing down the cost.

Kittlemeier

Would it be possible to get one at that price with an option for more fabric at a reduced price so that someone like Magnoli could make us a wearable version? That's going to be an awful lot of leftover material, no?

The Bond Experience

I hear ya all and I sympathize...truly. That being said to me this project is like child birth in that we flirted a bit with the idea, penetrated the right areas, found a solution that gestated and now the painful part is coming- payment for a unique project....but once that hard part is over imagine the beautiful results of all these steps....a shirt to call our own.

Sir Miles

I'd love to be able to write you a cheque on the spot and say "to hell with the expense", but I really can't justify an outlay of that size. I know it's going to be a limited piece and probably rise in value and it's a great looking shirt and all that, I'd have to work out some figures but it would be easier if it were sub-£150. Sorry to be a fence sitter.

Donald Grant

Well it seems this is starting to die on the vine. Perhaps if we found out how many would be willing to make a firm committment at the $225.00 to $250.00 price point, we could make it go. The original interest-eds were about 31. So, correct me if I'm wrong, but if we double the number of firm buys at the lower price point we should be able to do it. That would make it something like 62 committed buyers. I don't know, it's worth a shot. I'm still in at the $450.00 price point, but perhaps we should create another thread for committeds at the lower price point just to see if we can make it go.

DG

Sir Miles

Donald Grant wrote:

Well it seems this is starting to die on the vine.

I'd be tempted to give it a little more time yet.

Donald Grant wrote:

Perhaps if we found out how many would be willing to make a firm committment at the $225.00 to $250.00 price point, we could make it go. The original interest-eds were about 31. So, correct me if I'm wrong, but if we double the number of firm buys at the lower price point we should be able to do it. That would make it something like 62 committed buyers. I don't know, it's worth a shot. I'm still in at the $450.00 price point, but perhaps we should create another thread for committeds at the lower price point just to see if we can make it go.

DG

No real need for another thread yet, DG - I'd let this ride 'till weekend at least, might give some of us more time to sweet-talk the other halves )

Donald Grant

Sir Miles wrote:

Donald Grant wrote:

Well it seems this is starting to die on the vine.

I'd be tempted to give it a little more time yet.

Donald Grant wrote:

Perhaps if we found out how many would be willing to make a firm committment at the $225.00 to $250.00 price point, we could make it go. The original interest-eds were about 31. So, correct me if I'm wrong, but if we double the number of firm buys at the lower price point we should be able to do it. That would make it something like 62 committed buyers. I don't know, it's worth a shot. I'm still in at the $450.00 price point, but perhaps we should create another thread for committeds at the lower price point just to see if we can make it go.

DG

No real need for another thread yet, DG - I'd let this ride 'till weekend at least, might give some of us more time to sweet-talk the other halves )

Well, Paul said "ASAP", so that sounded kind of time sensitive to me. If you do two threads simultaneously you might get quicker responses. Otherwise your lookng at two weeks at least before you know what's what.

DG

matthewarmitage

Hi Paul,

First I would like to thank the agents for the extreme efforts that have been put into this mission... I would still love a shirt but I would struggle to get any authorisation as the cost of the mission at this stage would destroy my war chest!! However if the interest and numbers allow I could get the thumbs up on this. I also have a buddy who also would be in on the OP..

I do hope this works out and thanks again

Matt

Sir Miles

Donald Grant wrote:

Well, Paul said "ASAP", so that sounded kind of time sensitive to me. If you do two threads simultaneously you might get quicker responses. Otherwise your lookng at two weeks at least before you know what's what.

DG

Point taken - but I think if an answer is needed NOW then more would decline than accept. I hope I'm proved wrong though.

If an answer is needed now, I would have to say no. I wish you luck with this venture.

Nightshooter

Once again, gents, if you're looking to get a lot of customers, maybe this isn't the only place you should be advertising. Bond Lifestyle seems perfectly suited to advertise this sort of thing...

Donald Grant

Nightshooter wrote:

Once again, gents, if you're looking to get a lot of customers, maybe this isn't the only place you should be advertising. Bond Lifestyle seems perfectly suited to advertise this sort of thing...

I was thinking the same thing. Perhaps a thread over at the RPF as well. You need a fairly large number of committed people to make it go.

DG

JB1962

$450 is a bit much for me right now as well. I could better deal with $250. Hopefully, we can get more takers.

Asp9mm

At the moment this is seriously looking bad. There is no chance of supplying a prototype article without first raising enough money to buy the material. Even with the 20 plus people, it means a couple of us forking out at least eight times the amount of money to make this possible. If you could just give us a YES or NO definate answer in the next couple of days and PM or email all of your contacts here on AJB to do the same, the we can either form another plan or knock it on the head. It's all or nothing with the amount of material that can be purchased, and that took big negotiations as this material is being re printed specifically for us. Large amount of money, well yeah, and at a bad time too. But pull together for one last push before we call it a day or look for other options (at the moment - none). These people are not going to hang on forever for our answer, and time may put them off completely. The material cannot be supplied to make your own as this pattern belongs to the suppliers to CR.

Your quick and simple response would be really appreciated. Please spread the word and bring us the simple one word answers we need. You fence sitters I can understand, but make a jump one side or the other. And please be 100% sure as money will be needed soon after.

You are all great folks, and are the only people I'd be comfortable dealing with, and I'm sure that goes for the other crew.

Cheers {[]

Nightshooter

After rereading the initial post, is the shirt $450, or $630? I'm a little confused. (we wouldn't want that, would we?)

crowe007

Im afraid at that price I'd have to bow out too, might be able to jump back in if the price came down though. Sorry.

If It ever comes up that we can buy some of the fabric (maybe like a meter or so - like a backdrop for a CR frame) I'd be in for that, maybe others would as well to drum up some money?