When you look in stores most bags seem pretty cheap don’t they? Surely, it can’t cost much to get a bag made, can it?
After all, you can get your bag manufactured for a few dollars if you outsource to China, can’t you?
Of course you can, but manufacturing your design, ready for sale, is right at the very end of the design process. The hard work has already been done.
You need to come up with the bag idea and then the design. Then you need some prototypes that you can test. And finally, you can begin to think about quantity manufacturing.
New Bag Design Stages
By the time a new bag design is ready for sale and on the shelves it’s been through many stages
- Initial design
- Development
- Testing
- Manufacturing process investigation
Teams of professionals may have been involved in every step. When you spread the costs of prototyping over the thousands of bags that you hope to sell it does make the design process seem cheap.
Most people seem to think that textile products are basic and not high-tech” so they think they must be cheap. But, in fact, textile products are made up of lots of different parts –
- several different types of fabrics
- fastenings
- webbing
- linings
- snaps
- plastic board
- waterproof materials
- etc etc
And they could go through several hundred separate operations in a factory. Your design may look simple – but it probably isn’t – that’s just a sign of a good design.
Each of the materials has to be bought in a minimum quantity. This means that, while the individual per unit cost is low, the cost of buying the materials in bulk soon adds up.
Your idea may be a bit more sophisticated than a basic Eastpack backpack, or a basic Herschel backpack – it might be for a
- sophisticated travel backpack with lots of modular compartments that does “everything but make the tea”
- small bag to carry specialist medical equipment
- a sleek eco-handbag using ethically sourced materials.
- Something else
Whatever your idea is – it is probably a bit clever……
Most people we help have already given their idea a lot of thought. It might be a unique, one-off, idea where you believe that you have spotted a gap in the market. It could be an amalgamation of ideas you have seen elsewhere, but never in one bag.
You’ve probably discussed it with friends, family and even work colleagues. But there’s still a lot of work to do. When you work with us to turn your ideas into a detailed design, we will need to go into a lot of careful detail to bring your dream to life.
Creating a detailed, unique, and clever design is the result of going through market research and carrying out wider user needs checks. Only when the research has been completed we can start designing the bag.
When your bag is first prototyped we want you to go out and “break it”. You do this by testing the product’s appeal with your trusted advisers and then with potential buyers. You will soon know if you have a winner on your hands.
As you have read, the cost of making a bag is not the cost of manufacturing the bag itself. It’s mostly the cost of getting professionals, like Design IQ, to help you through a well tried and proven process. This makes sure that your design solves somebody’s problem and catches the eye, within seconds of seeing it online or in a store.
This is a skilled job done by professionals like Design IQ.
But back to the question “how much does it cost to make a prototype bag”?
The answer to the cost of the bag itself can be from around £200 and up to £800. The wide range depends on
- how complicated your design is
- what it is made of
- whether it needs specialist plastic parts
- or if you want to use ethically sourced materials.
How do you get an idea of the cost of making a bag?
It’s really easy. Just email or call DesignIQ on (0)1531 640118.
Even during our first telephone conversation we should be able to give you an idea of the costs of the entire process. From concepts to designs to factory specifications and the prototyping for your idea.
Oh! and if you fancy getting a quick estimate online – try this simplified costing estimate form. We’ve made it specially for people who like to get a rough idea of costs up front.
Good luck with your plans and to make a start we offer a free 20-minute consultation that you can book here