Club Obi Wan

Just received word from Alastair at MBA and they are offering these items but the cost is now more than double. ####, it's more than Noel charged for his custom work. 120 pounds for the shirt and the pants go for 190.

Plus we still don't know if the patterns or material match.

I still hope Noel will continue himself or team up with Peter and let Wested take over the manufacturing. I love Peter's craftmanship. Add Noel to the picture and you've got the perfect combination.

Rob

Well, that's not good news, is it?. Not good for those who don't yet have them, especially after all the rest of the unecessary fee's that go along with it. I know it's not their fault, but oh well. I wonder how many people will end up going with alternates now instead of paying that much?

In my ultra-humble opinion, the pants and shirt are the LEAST important pieces of gear in terms of absolute accuracy. They can be cheated so easily. I've never worn my gear at Halloween and thought my $400 Flightsuits was cheapened by my Banana Republic Chinos. They were good enough for me. I think MBA has obviously read the writing on the wall and hence jacked up the price of these items. They knew the demand was out there and priced their items accordingly. I think we can all agree that is a lot of Poundage (dollars) for a pair of costume pants. It's definitely time for a new, alternate source (here in the U.S. if possible). Otherwise, I hope that Peter does what he can to make the shirt and pants. I know that he would do a great job at a fair price.

Regards,

Dr. J

At that price I doubt they will make many sales. They have already lost Noel himself so they dont actually KNOW that much. All they can have are the patterns. Although fundamental, can people justify paying these prices for one shirt and one pair of pants?

I think we may see offerings from elsewhere in the future arise.

Ken

I was hoping to get some, but not at those prices

Janice

hi all. Just going to put my .02 cents in, which doesn't stray to far from everyone else's opinion. I too have just received alastair's email. I am still new to this site and was dearly looking forward to buying the original pants and shirts since I have everything else but these and the fedora, but.... ####!!!! 120lbs! for a shirt... A SHIRT!!!! That is $209!!!! Plus 17$ for British packing and 43$ for US charges. No way am I going to pay $269 (w/out taxes) for a shirt.

I told myself when I began this adventure of collecting Indy's gear i was going for authentic, not the good enough. However, I will capitulate here.

I am terribly disappointed. Like shattered hope. I don't have the hat and now this. Dangit! Well, to tell you the truth I believe I will wait patiently for the release of Indiana Jones IV and find out who is going to make the Fedora and the rest of costume.

What I find most interesting (as well as disappointing) is that Alistair contacted us staff members first to ask us to post of their existance, which I did. I'm now reading that he's contacting folks directly with these outrageous prices, and he has YET to contact us staff members with the same information when we were the ones who opened the door for him. I'd be personally leary of even dealing with him now, as nobody has laid eyes on a single item they're supposed to be offering for these prices. Pretty bad way of doing business, if you ask me. Regards. Michaelson

I will be sending my business Mr. Keppler's way.

Is Lee handling pants and shirts now? That's news to me! I'll have to ask him next time he calls. Thanks! Regards. Michaelson

Lee, if you're reading this: The future of accurate, replica Indy shirts and pants is in your hands! Do it for the children! Actually, forget the little so and so's and do it for us!!! We're countin' on ya buddy!

Regards,

Dr. J

Michaelson, I don't know if Mr. Keppler is making the pants or shirts. but he provides props that Mr. howard did. You of course knew this, however, I can only assume that the new MBA prices regarding everything Noel sold will sky rocket as well. Which just makes me mad mad mad.

Regarding Mr. Keppler making shirts and pants, that is a good idea.

Mr. Keppler, please make the pants and shirts, you're my only hope.

'He provides props that Mr. Howard did?' If you mean Lee offers like items, you're absolutely correct, but those were the leather items only. I know he's considered offering the shirt and pants in the past, but it never went any further than that. I was hoping you had heard something we hadn't. Regards. Michaelson

And Hurly, Keppler also offers a darn nice fedora

Regards, Daryl.

sorry if I caused you confusion michaelson. But yes, the like items i'm referring to are the leather items. Alastair mentioned in his email that these would be sold as well, or at least he implied it. Sorry for the confusion.

regards, Dakota Hurly

Yes, that he does. Regards. Michaelson

Yeah, $200 for a web belt. :evil:

Their (MBA) price won't stay at that level- it's total insanity. It couldn't.... could it?

Not having been here long, I still see the genius of Indy Gear is that it can double as normal clothing... the prices for the gear thus make it reasonable- the jackets are so well made, most fedoras are great, the aldens built like a rock... but as you guys say- the pants and shirt are the least important...

I always had a problem with buying the MBA shirt anyway- from the description on the main page; that it has a single row of stitching and can sometimes be pinkish... well- I'd only be getting it because it's the original source, however it was still over-priced imho... and now... I wouldn't even consider it, it's pricing is so ridiculous.

I am terribly disappointed as you guys.
Mr. Keppler.... Peter...anybody, help!

I think that at those prices MBA is pricing themselves right out of the
business of producing the pants and shirts. The only question is whether
this is their intent or not? In any case, two authentic items have just
been moved from the eventually to the never list for me.

I know this may be a little, uhh, well harsh... but I say we Indy fans start a boycott of these goods... I mean, we're the only ones who really buy these items, for the most part. Maybe untill they are willing to be moderate in their prices.

Dakota Hurly said: That is $209!!!! Plus 17$ for British packing and 43$ for US charges. No way am I going to pay $269 (w/out taxes) for a shirt. <end quote>

That is CRAZY! Thats more than buying the Indy Jacket! (minus PBB fees)
and I don't even want to think about a pair of pants! Even though I never bought from Noel, I had hoped to, but he retired. I had the oppourtunity to talk to him, and I must say, he is a gentleman. He always answered my questions to the best of his ability! PLUS he was the creator of the (most) Indy Gear. He made the originals. IMHO I believe that they could charge us that for gear, especially when they didn't make the originals! Mr. Howard didn't charge that and he created them! I believe that, with the avalibility of substitutes, that MBA now just produces substitute gear, and charges insane prices for it. AND we dont even know if the quality is good. Let's see, LL Bean shirt- $55 (included is shipping) compared to MBA's substitute at $269!!!! And there are some people who have leads on getting custom made shirts with the pleats, for $125! And I think they said the same, or around the same for pants.
I must say, now that MBA has gone, well, insane, I am going to be giving ALL of my gear business to Mr. Lee Keppler, who I have purchased items from before and I now makes VERY accurate items. I will also just go with LL Bean for the pants and shirt, unless I can find a member, at a later time, who is willing to sell me some of MBA's stuff made during the era of Noel! I have given my thoughts... thanks for listening.
Regards,
Indiana

EDIT I have just checked the price of pants... $330!!!!!
PLUS $17 Shipping and $43 customs charges.
$390!!!!! ALMOST $400!!!
For a pair of what? PANTS!!! ok... thanks for lettin me vent.

As a WWII Living Historian/reenactor, I'm all for authenticity (except for live ammo). I've spent money on things that people never see unless they ask. But $200+ for a REPRO shirt???? And $300+ for REPRO pants? You gotta be outta yer tree!!! I usually shudder at "good enough"...but for the shirt and pants, I'll save my money. Heck, if I had that money, I'd get the LLBeanies and spend the difference on an Optimo.

The Fedora and Jacket are "Indy." That's where I'll invest more money. Not the shirt and pants.

I say yes on the boycott, until they come to their senses.

Sorry for the rambling. I'm still in shock.

Best,

Chris

How much does a "Custom" made dress shirt cost? Can't be that much, can it? Pyro, you had a custom Indy shirt made, was that in this price range?

for that same $330 I'd have to spend on their pants, I could get almost 7 pairs of dress chinos, and for that same $269 I'd spend for their shirt, I could buy like nine LL Bean shirts. No way am I spending that! I don't mean to speak for all of us, but I think they can kiss our business goodbye. Whatever happened to those nice, cheap NH shirts that only set us back $80? :junior: -IJ

Quite a while ago, I heard underground rumblings of a possible Wested Pants and Shirt replica(s). Anyone want to take this opportunity to provide some possible insight into this rumour?

-Rabittooth

If you think about it. The material is bought in bulk. The shirt and pants are made based on their patterns since they are not custom made to order for individuals. I've sewn and my wife is a really good seamstress and there is no way you can justify these prices.

It's more than a 110% increase! C'mon now, I could understand maybe 10-15% but this is outrageous!

Also, they're now interpretations of Noel's work. That's a huge difference than getting it from the man himself.

Someone over there saw dollar signs and that's a pity. Don't plan on ordering anything at these rates and I'm going to let Alastair know this.

Rob

Sounds like a "supply and demand" issue. He knows people like us are in the market for authenticity, but I think he thinks were looking for eccentricity, too. I would rather buy 15 pair of Old Navy pants, or 8 pair of American Eagle Outfitter pants, that aren't exactly screen accurate, but SCREAM Indy-esque style. Sure, it's cool to have exact replicas of anything in this hobby, but I think 99 % of the hard working souls that frequent this site, would feel like the business end of a horse after spending that much on a pair of pants or shirt.
Besides, you get a nice Indy jacket, a killer Fedora(either from any of the fine jacket and hat makers we all know and love ), and a MKVII bag, and you've got that adventurer look that we all crave. Probably have all three of those items for the price of a pair of MBA pants and a shirt.
Sheesh! Sorry so long winded, but this hobby is getting too expensive!
I'm going to have to start Temple Raiding myself to be able to afford it.

Please shoot me when I'm considering paying $400 for a pair of pants.
I think it can be justified with the jacket, that's a thing that will actually keep you alive going through #### and back, but for a pair of dress pants?

The chinos I'm wearing now only cost 10% of the new MBA pants. And they're great.

OK, as many poeple said: shirt and pants are the least important.
Nonetheless, my mom has a friend being a tailor, so what I did was the following:
I bought a suit last summer (from another tailor, and that suit came with two white shirts (it was custom made for me, so it fits PERFECTLY!!!
Now, I ordered another 2 of those shirts and gave the old ones to my mothers friend to add all the indy stuff (like the pleats, the epaulets etc.) she also re-dyed it, and now I will soon have a really cool Indy shirt, right colour, looking like the NH shirt (but better colour *g*) AND even custom made to fit my measurements!!!
My shirt is PERFECT!!! AND THE SHIRT ONLY COSTS 15$ (custom fit) PLUS "CHANGING-IT-TO-INDY-COSTS": 10$ = 25$!!!!!

As soon as I receive it, I'll post pictures.

That's just daylight robbery, no way would I even consider paying those crazy prices.

This is awful news...

Al

I'd agree with Michaelson that it's a very poor way of doing biz..
and while i'm not personally worried about collecting such I can say that there is not even an ice cube's chance in #### of my paying that sort of cash for a ####. It screams "blatant cash grab" to me... so I say screw em! :evil:

Hopefully Wested's will come through w/something suitable for the Indy fans at a reaslistic cost and we already know they do business the right way.

Well...as long as a few people buy from them at these ridiculous prices, they may be able to justify continuing the line. If no one bought the stuff, they'd eventually have to capitulate, right?

At any rate, when Indy IV comes out we'll find a supplier with really screen authentic shirts and pants, which, will no doubt be based on the origninals from the 80's.

Cheers,
Cassidy

Sounds like a plan to me.

Although we might have to have a rethink if INDY IV finds our hero wearing orange-checked cycling-shorts as standard gear....

Sorry - still in shock......

Exactly Cassidy, I am going to patiently wait for the Indy IV costumer. Or if Mr. Keppler does repros of the clothes, head his way.

Just to let you guys see the actual email I received

From: "alastair" <alastair@hand-embroidery.co.uk>
Subject: Re: Ordering Information
Date: Tue, 9 Dec 2003 12:08:56 -0000
To: "Michael Hurly" <michael.hurly@students.law.und.nodak.edu>



Glad to say that we have managed to arrange new production of both the
shirts and the pants. As you are probably aware the costs stated in the
'indy' site are very old. The revised costing is £120 for the shirts and
£190 for the pants plus post and packing of £10 UK and £25 US. All we
require is the neck and the waist measurements.

Leathergoods are not ready yet but we will advise you in the new year.

Alastair
MBA Costumes Ltd.,
5th. Floor
52-56 Osnaburgh Street,
London
NW1 3ND

That is way too much for a shirt and pants. It's not like it's some famous fashion designer like Gucci or something.....it's essentially a costume. That price, in my eyes, is not worth the product. Noel's price wasn't worth the product either, in my opinion. Insanity.

Luke

Minnesota_Jones wrote:How much does a "Custom" made dress shirt cost? Can't be that much, can it?

I had a custom shirt made by my mother (who is a professional costumer/dressmaker) and the look is dead on for a MBA except for three things. 1) The color is a little more tan than the MBA, but almost stone in the daylight; 2) There is no pleat under the pockets, just on top of it (those that own a Noel shirt should know what I’m talking about); 3) it is a little roomier in the body than my MBA. All of the details are there, right down to the pencil/pen pocket, shaped pockets, and unfinished hems. Even the buttons are the correct size, style, and slightly darker than the fabric (just like the MBA). I can get some comparison pictures up in a few days. It is dirty from this past weekend so it will have to wait a while.

I don't know how much she'd charge, but it wouldn't be $200. It would probably be well under $100. Mine was free, well after the cost of the fabric, buttons, and thread, which amounted to about $20.00, and there is enough to get two more shirts.

I will definitly be visiting London next year (probably twice if everythign goes according to plan) and I would like to see if I can arrange a visit. I know that Noel was only too happy to accomodate us fans, I will be interested to see how the new management reacts to that? Perhaps a friendly conversation might even be able to introduce some reforms. After all, if MBA actually wants Indyfans to buy from them, then they need to lower their prices or they will simply get no business. I am guessing though that if the price hikes are indeed just designed to disuade us from pestering them, then a meeting or visit will be unlikely. Has anyone spoken to Alistair on the phone?

Ken

Boycott them.
If Noel has gone, it's over.
How on EARTH can a shirt and pants cost this much?

It's a good point that no one else would want this stuff but us- so to me, it's their choice- they can either offer them at a reasonable price, or quite frankly, sod off! This is insulting!

IndyBlues is so right- they are taking advantage of us!

Ah, Ken- you are a diplomat!

I spoke with Alastair and he was very friendly. Why anyone would want to purposely alienate an established customer base is a little hard to believe, though I have seen it happen (Disney). I don't think this is the case.

Probably just the new management figured we'd all buy from them no matter what the cost (this is exactly what I witnessed at Disney). Big mistake as far as I'm concerned.

Yeah, boycott them. Noel may have gone out of business, but it certainly wasn't because he didn't charge enough for his products. It was because he didn't have a wide enough variety of products. Now that a huge company is taking over, they can afford to charge the same prices Noel did, or even cheaper. I say we have one of the staff members write a letter to them on behalf of all of us saying that those prices are too high and we aren't buying their products until the price is lowered to at least close to what Noel charged. :junior: -IJ

I didn't receive the email but if I had I'd definitely be replying politely to ask if it was a typo because that price is way higher than the previous one and I doubt very many will pay the price mentioned in the email (Maybe this would give them a hint that they are overcharging, or Ken could be right-maybe they are wanting to dissuade future purchases of the shirt and pants).

I can't imagine why they would dissuade business...not very smart, IMHO.

I imagine they saw the response on COW when it was announced that MBA would carry on without Noel. They probably thought that we would pay anything in Noel's absence, which, let's face it, for what you got were pretty pricey as it was.

Noel was the only reason many people bought MBA's items, primarily because he worked on the films. So, now that he's gone, what is the point of buying anything from MBA, who now have lost a big connection to the films?

Someone is bound to pick up the torch. And furthermore, why hasn't Dometakis come around by now? Being the original maker of the shirts, doesn't he realize how lucrative producing them again could be for him.

As an aside, please see my post on the Dometakis shirt...

Cheers,
Cassidy

Yes.....Boycott them....in fact......

Since we, as Gearheads, will be the ones purchasing from them AND putting food and drink on their supper-tables at night, if WE as gearheads all put our names down on a list and simply send them a strong PETITION, then perhaps they will then realize just how much money they "COULD" be making by lowering the costs of their products. And, how large of an audience they would have in purchasing from them.

I too do reenacting....Civil War reeancting that is, and I agree...it's an expensive hobby because it's a "I've got it and you need it" kinda deal.....therefore the price goes through the roof. Bad business! I know for a fact that I would much rather prick my own fingers by sewing my OWN shirt and pants as opposed to paying that much for a "shirt and pants."

Kind Regards,
Captain D

I too received the email and was shocked and dissapointed....$269 FOR A SHIRT IS PURE INSANITY AND i WAS insulted....

In Australian dollars it's about $364....
It's laughable...

Indy IV must be called, "Indiana Jones and the House of Gucci"

Boy, am I glad I got the Pants ages ago, only wish I'd gotten a shirt before Noel left too.

Even being in the UK, there is no way I'm going to buy a shirt from them at that cost. There's not even going to be a way to compare these "new" shirts to the one NH supplied.

I really do hope that NH will carry on in some fashion, even if it's just him and the waiting time for items is months.

They didn't write £ instead of $ by mistake, by any chance? How would that calculate compared to the old MBA rates?

It's the eternal optimist in me...

Minnesota_Jones wrote:How much does a "Custom" made dress shirt cost? Can't be that much, can it? Pyro, you had a custom Indy shirt made, was that in this price range?

Custom shirt is $185. Pants are about $250+

To answer Rab's question WAY up there....I asked Peter if they were planning on picking up the ball, and he said 'not at this time', so it's not in the current plans. Regards. Michaelson

What we really need to do is get wardrobe for IJIV to outfit Indy in LLBean attire. They've been around since about 1912.
He could've been buying from them, right?