I didn’t go in with a plan; I was there for the experience. While visiting Nigeria, I had an unexpected opportunity to commission clothing from a local dressmaker in Abuja. At that time, I’m certain that the last custom-made dress I owned was from high school prom (or, as my teenager likes to remind me, “back in the 1900s”).

My first challenge was deciding what I wanted. When you’re accustomed to the convenience of off-the-rack products, limitless options can feel overwhelming. My second challenge was time. I had less than a week before leaving the country, which didn’t leave much room for refinement. Unlike on-demand goods, a bespoke transaction requires deliberate planning, thoughtful decisions, and the patience to refine the result over time. Overall, I had a great, albeit brief, experience. The final product was excellent, and the craftsman and his team were exceptional. Yet, if I had the chance to do it again, I know I would make different choices because my values have changed. I also understand that beyond craftsmanship and quality, time and clarity are essential to the process of building something valuable from scratch.

As I reflected on this experience, I realized it mirrors a common challenge for entrepreneurs: how to create and price offerings that align with what buyers ultimately value.

Bespoke, Tailored, and Off-the-Rack: What’s the Difference?

Bespoke (/bəˈspoʊk/) custom made-from-scratch for a particular person or customer. 

In today’s fast-paced world, many customers gravitate toward ready-made, off-the-rack products. These are items designed for the masses, produced at scale, and optimized for profit. For most needs, this approach works well. The rise of the global marketplace, combined with intelligent systems that leverage data to deliver personalized experiences, has made access to bespoke products and services seem more attainable. However, bespoke, often confused with “customized,” is something entirely different. A truly bespoke product is built from scratch to fit a buyer’s unique vision, requiring significant time, effort, and collaboration to bring it to life.

Hallmarks of Bespoke Products:

• Made-from-scratch (not based on existing patterns)
• One of a kind
• Created in-house, not outsourced
• Offer near-unlimited options
• Require hands-on collaboration with the creator

Tailored products serve as a middle ground between bespoke and off-the-rack. Tailored services modify an existing product to meet a customer’s needs while staying within predefined customization boundaries. Tailoring is common in clothing alterations or even software frameworks with customization engines. However, pushing the customization boundaries can shift a tailored solution into the bespoke category, requiring a much deeper investment of time and resources.

Which Model Fits Your Business: Bespoke, Tailored, or Ready-Made?

Here’s a simple comparison of bespoke, tailored, and ready-made offerings:

As an entrepreneur, your pricing model depends on where your offering falls within this spectrum.

Lessons from Trunk Club: What Happens When Value and Price Don’t Align

“They don’t make them like they used to.” This sentiment, whether about clothing, cars, or furniture, often reflects frustration with a growing disconnect between price, quality and service. Increasingly, higher-priced brands promise craftsmanship but deliver mass-produced standard goods, eroding trust and making it harder to quantify value and discern what’s truly worth an investment.

This misalignment offers a key lesson for entrepreneurs: if your pricing doesn’t reflect the true value of your offering, you risk setting expectations your business cannot meet, ultimately alienating your audience.

The Case of Nordstrom’s Trunk Club

Take Nordstrom’s Trunk Club as an example. Nordstrom acquired Trunk Club in 2014 for $350 million. In its early years, the service provided a truly elevated experience. For a $25 styling fee, you could enjoy a one-on-one session with a stylist in their flagship NYC mansion, complete with free champagne, fittings and personalized recommendations tailored to your style and needs. It was clear they were catering to a specific clientele, or those who aspired to be.

As a Trunk Club customer in its early years, I found the service incredible, especially as a busy entrepreneur and mom. It saved me time (I hate malls), and my assigned stylist put in the effort to remember my preferences month after month. For the first time, I was curating pieces that made it look like I finally knew how to build a wardrobe.

However, as an entrepreneur, I couldn’t wrap my head around how Trunk Club’s business model could sustain itself. A $25 “styling fee” for an hour-long styling session with free champagne felt significantly undervalued, especially when compared to what I’d pay for a freelance stylist providing the same level of service. The lack of guardrails on stylist engagement, combined with such a low price point, seemed like a recipe for unsustainable growth.

The Decline of Trunk Club

Over time, Trunk Club shifted its model. In-person styling gave way to 1:1 virtual sessions, then to rotating teams of freelance stylists, and eventually to AI-driven recommendations. With each change, the experience became less personal and more diluted. They lost me somewhere before the transition from freelance stylists to AI-driven recommendations. By the end, customers were receiving random items in their monthly style boxes—no human touch, no thoughtful curation, just an assortment of mall clutter that felt more like a bargain bin than a personalized service.

The Death of Trunk Club – The Core Issue

The core issue was clear: the original pricing model didn’t reflect the true cost of delivering high-quality styling services. As a Nordstrom customer and early Trunk Club adopter, I would have been willing to pay more, but the service was priced for scale and mass-market appeal. Also, AI-enabled styling failed to deliver as a replacement for human stylists. This may have been the result of a business strategy that significantly undervalued the expertise of human stylists or deeply misaligned with its customer’s values, but that is a discussion for another day.

Ultimately, the promises made in the early days of Nordstrom Trunk Club were unsustainable. As the customer experience declined and moved further from Nordstrom’s overall brand identity, trust in the offering eroded and the venture closed in May 2022.

How to Price What You Build: Aligning Cost and Value

As an entrepreneur, aligning your price with the value you deliver is critical. Offering bespoke quality at off-the-rack prices creates a misalignment that leaves both you and your customers frustrated.

If you’re providing a high-touch or custom-built product or service, it’s better to charge based on the time, effort, and expertise required rather than setting a fixed price that undervalues the work. While lower prices may attract more customers initially, they often bring in those who don’t truly value what you offer. This approach rarely works in the long run.

Instead, focus on transparency. Communicate the value of your offering clearly and price it accordingly. Align your efforts with customers who understand and are willing to pay for the quality, craftsmanship, and experience you deliver.

Are Your Customers Building, Tailoring, or Buying?

When deciding how to position your offering, consider these questions:

1. Is the buyer’s desired outcome clear? Do they know what they want? If not, how much time and effort will it take to clarify the buyer’s vision?
2. What matters most in this transaction: craftsmanship, an experience, a solution, or a connection to the brand or the people involved?
3. What is the full cost of bringing the buyer’s vision to life? Include the cost to consult, design, build, ship, refine, and maintain.
4. What level of investment—both time and money—is required to ensure the buyer’s vision is executed well and continually improved?
5. What is worth paying a premium for? Customers expect to pay more for original or tailored products like suits or furniture. Shouldn’t software or digital assets or any other product be treated with the same regard?

Final Thoughts: Price with Clarity and Confidence

Marketing has blurred the lines between price and value, making it harder to determine what’s truly worth the investment. For entrepreneurs, success relies on clearly defining your offering, articulating its value, aligning pricing with that value, and effectively communicating it to your audience.

Whether you’re delivering bespoke products, tailored solutions, or ready-made offerings, your pricing model must capture the true effort and craftsmanship behind your work. When price aligns with value, you build trust, create a sustainable business model that upholds quality, and connect with the right audience.

Setting a price your customers will pay is only part of the equation. Pricing must also account for the effort to deliver value and ensure you’re attracting customers who appreciate what you offer.