What do we feel about cost of Oud oils?

[Mr.P]

I've been experimenting with incense mixtures for cordless / extruded type incense. Using a makko base... Blending patchouli, haisoko, reiryoko, Kunroku, borneol, frankincense, sandalwood, aloeswood... I get decent results but always a little rough. I just burned a sample of a stick from kyarazen - just amazingly fresh scent. Not kyara, but the kind of oud I think people get confused with kyara - a very sweet clean balanced oud scent that reminds me of high end shoyeido sticks. Anyway, if anyone has any recipes or experiences to share, I'd be interested!

 

[Mandeel AlMandeel]

Good morning Mr P , I Really enjoy Kyarazen sticks but i use it only at home this sticks more nice for personal use like relaxing with yourself and drink your hot coffee and burn thats sticks near from you i really respect kyarazen work he do something so wonderful ...

 

[Oudamberlove]

The art of incense making is very interesting. Generating the perfect burn rate for the type of agarwood/blend being used. Incense sticks are a very good way to enjoy agarwood. It can be the best middle ground between Mon-Koh and chips on a coal if done right.

 

[peter4ptv]

is the Shoyeido Premium Incense sticks have actual "Kyara"? this is what on some of the premium types says in the description:


Kyara (aloeswood), spices


Kyara, agarwood (aloeswood), camphor


Kyara, agarwood (aloeswood), sandalwood

 

[Mandeel AlMandeel]

Good morning Peter I think Kyarazen can help you with that stuffs try to email him

 

[peter4ptv]

Good morning Peter I think Kyarazen can help you with that stuffs try to email him

Thanks Mandeel, I already order the premium sample set from Shoyeido interesting to try incense stick.


Burning agar wood is definitely not my think as much as I am into the oils burning smog coming even from the nicest sinking wood is very unpleasant for me. Let’s see how I will feel burning quality sticks with the Shoyeido premium samples.

 

[Mandeel AlMandeel]

Peter let me know your review when you get this sticks I'm really interested ... ðŸ‘😎

 

[Habz786]

We always hear and have heard how some people feel Oud is overpriced. It would be interesting to see generelly how ouddicts feel about the cost of Oud. I can appreciate as humans we may feel most things are overpriced as cheaper is always better but honestly speaking how do you guys feel? The Oud scene is alot broader now than it was before with more access to different vendors and products with varying prices. There are many factors to take into consideration when making this conclusion individually but it would be interesting to see the thoughts of the members.

 

[calibra]

Prices are high for me but I think its also fair as Oud is (imo) a luxury item rather than a casual fragrant. All the effort being put into making a small amount of oil is just way too much not to mention the rarity of the decent material itself. As for me, I would like to see more decent beginner class products within $80 - $150 (3gr) range to be honest as there is already a wide selection of upper class ouds.

 

[Mr.P]

Can't really pick a single answer. Some are overpriced, some aren't. It's hard to tell. I wish there were more ouds in my budget range. Adam (feeloud) really is the first artisan vendor to make me feel like oud is something I can enjoy. The pricier stuff is just out of my league. Whether the price of this costly stuff is justified, I may never know. Since most information comes from those with at least a possible interest in keeping prices up, it is hard to know what to believe.

 

[Oudamberlove]

Good Oud ain't cheap.
That's the only downside, because Good Oud is Lovely

 

[Mr.P]

As someone told me very early in my history with oud: "If you have to ask how much it costs, you can't affford it"

This is somewhat true...

 

[JohnH]

Even if I was a millionaire I don't think I could bring myself to spend over $2000 on a few grams of fragrance, the most I've spent on a bottle is $790, which may well be too expensive in itself. I don't even have any desire to try such oils anymore. When I got into oud I bought the EO sampler set which then included Oud Sultani and Purple Kinam which are nice oils but my favourite of the lot was Assam Organic and I've just swapped the PK for a bit of Ceen and Ajmal Vintage.

In this crazy world of consumerism we can be made to think we need to have things when we don't really need them. Whatever someone's into I think it's important to know when to draw the line, because unless you have limitless disposable income it's not possible to have everything of everything and there will always be something else just around the corner. But there's the addiction, the itch for just one more hit....

 

[firdaous]

Very sensitive subject indeed, Oriscent was a reference regarding Quality Ouds "fairly" priced, a good and deserved margin for the seller and a possibility for the lovers to break their wallets when it was needed.I found this morning in my personal docs a copy/paste from Oriscent website from the 29th October 2008 and here we are :
Chinese exclusive Oud : $199.95
Sweet China : $289
Royal kinam : $499.95
Wild Himalaya : $269.95
Assam kinam : $490
Archipelago : $196
Purple Papua : $219.95
Sheikh Borneo : $339.95
Borneo 4000 : $425
What you have now is a competition without being a real one regarding products and prices...
( quotation for 3g) :
Ceen quoted like Hainan2005
hind/Annahar quoted like Assam Organic
King Koh Kong quoted like Sultan Afnan
Chamkeila quoted like Assam3000
etc etc etc
This market has become a little bit crazy, just see the recent posts here and there and you will understand easily, it's time for it to become responsible again!

 

[Mandeel AlMandeel]

Well still prices are overpriced specially with famous salers , but with time I'm sure prices will be in good rate and high quality products also that depends on buyers some buy without thinking and some wait and ask until find great offers ...

 

[Habz786]

Recently a vendor released 2 fantastic aged oils both under 150$ each. These were more than just two oils but two very big statments, high quality aged oud doesnt need to be sold for extortinate prices and a lot of respect to the vendor for showing this to the oud world who up until now thought aged oils have to command high prices. I can understand those making the oils themseleves charging higher prices due to their lengthy efforts and hard work. Simply buying and reselling oils is alot easier and less costly especially if you live ammoungst traders and a healthy supply of oud. I agree a oil is worth what an individual is willing to pay but living in difficult times high quality oud shouldnt only be for the rich but accessible to all! A big thanks to the vendors who bare this in mind when pricing oils. While writing this i just recieved a package from Taha im very excited so i'll stop there time to smell these Sri Lankans....

 

[Mr.P]

I noticed that gaharu.com has become a running commentary on content posted here... guess in a way gaharu and ouddict are one big forum with two different cliques. Too bad. Since it's obvious we all love oud.

I recall something like this happening back when David Oller was running the Alice's Restsutant agarwoood forum. This is a wave that keeps breaking. People got pissed off over pricing and the fact that a whole generation of American consumers' knowledge about this stuff was just what they were being fed by vendors... someone else came along and questioned the truths being shared and pricing, the whole conflict of interest led to mistrust and a similar type of bickering and questioning.

I guess this stuff just has to be worked out.

I'll add that no doubt some very pricey ouds are worth every penny of it, and if folks with large incomes want to pay top dollar for ultra premium stuff, of course it is totally logical for that niche to be filled. In spite of my complaints in the past, I don't think it makes sense to keep bashing on the high priced stuff. How can we possibly know what was actually involved in production and distribution.

Maybe some of us can keep beating the "there's got to be a way to get affordable decent quality oud oil" drum without invoking the wrath of the artisans, and the artisans can keep selling their ultra-premium stuff without our getting all bent out of shape.

I do think, should it emerge, discussions like
those that have come up recently of hyperbolic marketing or poor quality to price ratios or vendors who sell goods of dubious purity are fair game and part of the risk of aggressive marketing and self-promotion is that people are going to discuss your product and marketing. You can create a space full of buddies who will cheer you on and cheer your every word, but what's the use of that?

I think those same discussions should happen openly here if this site is (as predicted) turned into a commercial venture - it should be held to the same standards as all the other vendors. That said, for me personally, a site like basenotes might be a better place to be (harsh moderators and all) since I won't feel like I am participating due the benevelovence of one vendor or another.

 

[Habz786]

This poll is to have a better understanding how ouddict's feel about the price of oud. The whole "us" and "them" stance is very schoolboy like and we try our best to practise what we preach. We have asked our respected members to join other forums to help them understand the reality of the world of oud. Ouddict offers a open platform welcoming all vendors and consumers like never before. Looking at the results so far its pretty obvious how people who voted feel about the cost of oud. I think if oud was more affordable it would attract so many more people to discover and experience this heavenly scent. However with oud becomming rarer by the day the price increase is understandable to an extent, producing oud is becomming more financially challenging however simply buying and reselling cant be as much of a struggle. Certain vendors have realised oud should be accessible to all and not just for the elite & rich. The difference in price is huge but not in the quality hats off to this new approach it will have a great impact on the oud scene!

 

[Kesiro]

I find this to be a very curious topic. Sure, I would love if the best oils were less expensive, just like I would like my favorite Italian sports cars with V12 engines to be less expensive. But alas, the market bears the prices as they are. If I want the top of the line, I have to pay for it. As I evaluate the current market, oud appears accessible to anyone. I have good oils from Adam at FO which cost me $90-150 for 3gm. Aroha Kyaku from EO is $165! So are these oils true competitors to the ultra high end stuff? You can decide for yourself. Nobody is forcing any of us to buy the real expensive stuff. We can vote with our wallets.
That is the 'Democratic way'.

 

[Mr.P]

Agreed - it is great to see nice smelling and pure oils available! Thanks to Adam oud is accessible it a way it hasn't been for about 8 years or so. Don't know how long it will last, but his business really changed things for the better, for me. Makes it possible for me to be able to get more than a fraction of a ml at a time! I think a little diversity in the market is always good!


I definitely can't afford the flagship ouds but I am totally ok with that. These oils have their place - like anything else... I mean if someone wants to spend $300+ on a pair of Beats headphones that's their business. I'm cool as long as "Beats" aren't the only option.