Hair-Selling Ethics

I have a question for all of the professionals here (and everyone else, for that matter). The more I've been researching different kinds of hair and their cost, the more I realize how screwed I got on some of the first hair I bought through extensionists years ago. I don't go to these people anymore so I'm not going to make a big deal about it, but, for example, I paid $1,200 for 200 strands of Hairlocs hair, $1,200 for 200 strands of Great Lengths hair, and $1,000 for 200 strands of Cinderella (this was all 24 inch; the price was only for the hair, not the service, which averaged another $1,200 each time).

So my question is this: I understand that as an extensionist, you must factor in the cost of actually procuring the hair to the total you pass on to your clients (so if you spent a half-hour on the phone ordering, it's understandable that you would charge for that). But don't these prices seem excessive? Should the extensionist actually be making a 100% mark-up on the hair, too, in addition to the service cost (which, in these cases, was around $1,200 each time)?

Incidentally, I do realize retrospectively that the first time I got "Great Lengths" (or so I thought), it was actually Cinderella (or something similar). I figured this out after the fact, when I realized that the GLs bonds were different (harder, longer, opaque), and the ones I received were transparent, shorter, and gummier. In that case, I was actually told I was getting GLs (and believe me, I paid GLs prices for it), but they actually ordered the cheaper stuff and pocketed God-knows-how-much off that deal.

Again, sorry about the rant, but I'm just wondering about people's opinions (I'm also wondering if this has happened to anyone else). Maybe the professionals here can give me a better idea of what these kinds of hair actually cost when they order them. I don't expect to get everything at cost, but to me, this kind of overcharging just seems wrong.

:)

My personal opinion is this....If they are charging you seperately for the hair, they should be giving it you you for what it costs them. Yes I agree that there may be a little extra added for there time etc.... but when they charge you WAY WAY over and above what it costs them, it seems a bit deceptive to me!

do most hairstylists charge for hair like retail stores? it sounds like you paid much to much for those hairs. they probably cost your hairdresser a fiftht of the price. cinderella hair is maybe 200 dollars.

Yeah, I know I was overcharged for the service. Although NYC is expensive, the stylist who does my hair now doesn't charge me anywhere near that much. And when I said some women pay $500 for highlights, I only meant at the very top salons--Garren, Licari, etc.--it's not the going rate here or anything.

I think what I'm trying to figure out is whether it's common practice for extensionists to mark up the hair that much. I can certainly understand them marking it up a bit, but I just can't imagine a headful of Cinderella hair costs anywhere near $1,000. GLs and Hairlocs charge more for their hair than others, but I still don't think they're charging their stylists $9 a strand for it.

Fortunately, I don't go to those people anymore, but I was just trying to figure out what most extensionists do. It seems like most on these boads don't charge more for the hair than it costs them. :)

I paid $8-$10 per bead (including hair) for my hairlocs and $200 an hour for installation.

It would seem, based on prior posts, that the amount that I paid for the hairlocs was ridiculous, especially since they made no difference and ruined my hair, but does $200 an hour seem like an excessive amount to pay for installation. This nightmare was my first experience with extensions, so I really have no basis of comparison.

It cost $10 per bead (including hair) for the micro-minis and $8 for the minis.