Interest Check: Plastic-Backed Baby Disposables

[Dirty Diaper/Maxipad Lover]

I figured I'd put this here before I post anything in The Diaper Store, so if it's in the wrong section, I apologize.

Anyway, I was just wondering if anyone here would potentially be interested in plastic-backed baby disposables, and what people would consider an acceptable price range for them. If there's enough of a demand, I may make a post in The Diaper Store here, but I want to know that these would actually sell beforehand.

[Darkfinn]

Put them on E-bay... there are some rich diaper addicts out there.

[Dirty Diaper/Maxipad Lover]

I'm considering eBay, but I'd like to see if there's a decent demand in the community before I begin listing things. Just to be clear, these wouldn't be "vintage" plastic backed disposables, but a product that's more comparable to Cool Diaps than anything else.

[WBDaddy]

I'm considering eBay, but I'd like to see if there's a decent demand in the community before I begin listing things. Just to be clear, these wouldn't be "vintage" plastic backed disposables, but a product that's more comparable to Cool Diaps than anything else.

Any plastic-backed (sans cloth-like cover) disposable will get some action with the AB crowd. Put 'em up on E-Bay and watch them run.

[ultrapampers]

Fascinating. These are new production diapers with a poly backsheet? I'd say there'd definitely be some interest, not only from the ABDL crowd, but from parents who wish they still had the choice (yes, they exist!). I wonder how the Cool Diaps brand is doing, anyway?

Do you have any influence over the construction of these diapers, or are you just reselling an existing product?

[babyforyou]

Are these the diapers your talking about http://www.cooldiaps.com/cooldiaps/ if so No one will buy them online if they can just go to Toys R us /Babies R us to buy them.

[Dirty Diaper/Maxipad Lover]

No one will buy them online if they can just go to Toys R us /Babies R us to buy them.

Babyforyou, please read the third post in this thread, specifically the following quote.

A product that's more comparable to Cool Diaps than anything else.

It should be clear by the very use of the word "comparable" that these are not Cool Diaps. Out of curiosity though, did it occur to you that not everyone in the AB/DL community lives near a Toys/Babies R Us store that carries Cool Diaps? Out of the 858 full Toys/Babies R Us stores in the states, only 132 Toys/Babies R Us stores carry them. My nearest Toys/Babies R Us store does not carry Cool Diaps, and the nearest Toys/Babies R Us store that does/did is almost an hour away. Someone else (possibly multiple people) raised this point in at least one of DD's Cool Diaps threads. Ah well, it doesn't matter too much, because these are not Cool Diaps.

Fascinating. These are new production diapers with a poly backsheet? I'd say there'd definitely be some interest, not only from the ABDL crowd, but from parents who wish they still had the choice (yes, they exist!). I wonder how the Cool Diaps brand is doing, anyway?

Do you have any influence over the construction of these diapers, or are you just reselling an existing product?

Yes Ultrapampers, these are new production diapers with what I presume is a poly backsheet, given that it's a smooth plastic. Note that when I say "new" I mean that they've been manufactured sometime within the last year or so, much like Cool Diaps.

At this point I would just be reselling an existing product, and I do not have any influence over the construction of these diapers. However, I should add that if I were to see a significant, consistent demand for such a product, I certainly would not rule out the possibility of becoming involved with the construction of diapers such as these.

Any plastic-backed (sans cloth-like cover) disposable will get some action with the AB crowd. Put 'em up on E-Bay and watch them run.

I've considered this, and am continuing to consider it, although there are a few reasons why I would prefer to sell on DD. In no particular order, some of those reasons are as follows:

- My PayPal account is shared with another person, and that person has no knowledge of my AB/DL interests. (And to put it bluntly, I'd like to keep it that way.)

- eBay sales carry some pretty significant fees once you add them all up. I'm not just talking about the insertion fees for fixed price listings, or auctions beyond the initial free 50 each month, but also about final value fees assessed on both the item and shipping costs, as well as the fees collected by PayPal. These fees ultimately have to be factored into an item's pricing, and are subsequently passed onto my consumers. One way to avoid such fees is to sell these particular items on DD. By selling on DD, I can remove the fees from the cost of the diapers, and that means that my buyers ultimately pay less money then they would if I sold the diapers on eBay. Additionally, if I sell the diapers through DD, I can offer buyers payment methods in addition to PayPal. Among these are certified checks, and domestic United States Postal Money Orders. Both can be cashed like checks, but USPMOs can be traded in for cash at the post office, which can subsequently verify that the USPMO isn't fradulent, unlike other similar services. Likewise, if a buyer still chooses to use PayPal, I can request that they pay all fees associated with the transaction, rather then building the fees into the price of the item itself. In other words, it gives my buyers more options.

- Other people that I know occasionally browse my eBay listings, and occasionally bring them up during a conversation. I really don't want to have to come up with excuses to answer questions about why I'm selling an item that doesn't fit with other items that I sell.

Now, if these really do sell well on DD, I'd definitely list them on eBay, but I'd prefer to know that they'll sell first. With most of the feedback here being positive so far, there's a good chance that I will be listing these on DD very soon. If I do, the initial listings will be for the largest size, but if I receive significant demand for other sizes, I definitely would not rule out selling them as well.

[Guest pamperluvs]

If you were to become involved with the construction of diapers like this, would it be baby diapers or adult diapers

[Dirty Diaper/Maxipad Lover]

If you were to become involved with the construction of diapers like this, would it be baby diapers or adult diapers

If--and this is a HUGE hypothetical "if" mind you--but if I were to become involved with the construction of diapers such as these, they would almost certainly be baby diapers.

I don't want to go into too much detail about ideas that are so far down the road that they may never even make their way into written plans, but I wouldn't rule out the production of adult diapers entirely. Pardon the pun here, but this is the type of thing that needs to be approached in baby steps.

The simple fact is that plastic-backed adult diapers are still readily available from the types of stores that will sell them. Depend "briefs" or whatever they're being called now were still plastic-backed the last time that I checked. Other adult diapers that are available online also contain plastic backing. Once you look at the companies that cater to the AB/DL market, you wind up with diapers that are either entirely or almost entirely plastic backed.

Plastic-backed baby diapers are another story entirely though. Outside of Cool Diaps, and the diapers that I just mentioned, how many other plastic-backed baby diapers do you know of that are currently available? How many are readily available in stores in the United States? How many have been consistently available for years, and aren't manufactured by a fly-by-night company? I could go on, but I think that you get the point--there's more of an opening in the market for plastic-backed baby diapers then for more plastic-backed adult diapers.

Speaking of Cool Diaps though, how well are they doing? I mean that seriously--it wasn't a rhetorical question. The Cool Diaps website hasn't been updated in several months, and their blog currently appears to be down. I don't know if this is a result of maintenance or something else though, and knowing that my local Babies R Us didn't carry Cool Diaps, I can't exactly take a trip there and see if there are any in stock. If I were to become involved with the manufacturing of baby diapers, my goal would be to avoid acting as yet another fly-by-night brand. When I first saw that Cool Diaps were going to be a limited release, my initial reaction was that they were probably being test marketed at Babies R Us. Hopefully that test marketing was successful and we'll hear from them again soon.

Finally, I'd like to see how the diapers that I'm offering here do before I say anything else about potentially becoming involved with diaper manufacturing. Again, let's be careful not to put the cart before the horse here.

[Guest pamperluvs]

That is what I thought Baby Diapers and as strange as it sounds that would be a good thing, because Baby Diapers do have more uses than just for babies it seems, but more on that later. All I will say is that the diaper would have to be absorbent, but easy to convert from a baby diaper to the other use.

[Dirty Diaper/Maxipad Lover]

The diapers are now available for purchase via this thread in The Diaper Store. Please continue to use this thread for discussion of the product itself--follow the instructions in the other thread to purchase these diapers.

Pamperluvs: Thank you for your continued enthusiasm!

[ErinM]

Why would someone buy a baby diaper they can't fit into? That makes absolutely zero sense.

[Dirty Diaper/Maxipad Lover]

Why would someone buy a baby diaper they can't fit into? That makes absolutely zero sense.

Others have touched on this before--myself included, but there are more then a few reasons that AB/DLs would and do buy baby diapers.

1. Some AB members use them for different types of role-play fantasies. This is especially true when the look is more important then the fit.

2. Some AB/DLs use them as stuffers--again, fit isn't important.

3. There are AB/DLs who only like baby diapers, and who will go to great lengths to make them fit. The "diaper thong" crowd has been well documented here.

4. There are other AB/DLs who indeed can fit into baby diapers. Sure it's indeed a tight fit, and "squeeze" might be a better word, but the point is that these people can and do wear traditional baby diapers.

5. Some of our incontinent members will modify baby diapers and use them like incontinence pads. Angela comes to mind as the most popular member to do this, but there are others here as well who do the same thing.

I could continue but I think you get the point--it's not always about being able to fit into the diapers.

[shoelessjoe]

You can buy a case here for $45. I'd be interested to find out where they got them from.

Or if you like spending less money get them here.

I like how you covered up the brand name in your photos so it would be harder for people to google the product and find them for themselves...classy.

[Dirty Diaper/Maxipad Lover]

I like how you covered up the brand name in your photos so it would be harder for people to google the product and find them for themselves...classy.

I covered up the product name in order to fit the piece of paper with my DD name on it in the photos. If you look at the comparison pictures you can see that I covered up the Huggies name as well when placing the packages size by side for the exact same reason. I also covered the majority of the package because light bounces off of smooth plastic, and photographing smooth plastic through clear plastic makes it difficult to take photos. This is also one of the reasons that I didn't just photograph the diapers directly.

I specifically didn't refer to these by there brand name because from what I understand, they're sold under three different brand names--this is kind of the other reason that I didn't just photograph the diapers directly. Of course buying by the case is cheaper then buying individual packages--that's common sense! Not everybody can afford/wants to buy by the case though so I'm selling packages individually. Yes, the packages have a small mark-up on them--that's normal. Every reseller in existence marks up the product that they're selling. Stores and individuals who resell diapers purchase them by the case and sell the cotents of the case with a mark-up--that's not exactly a secret.

Since you've decided to blatantly post links to my indirect competition at the case level, (you know--as you put it, "classy") I might as well join in and add links to those who are competing with me in a more direct way to prove that I'm not trying to screw you over. As a reminder, I'm asking for $10+shipping in The Diaper Store on DD.

Here's one seller that's asking $6.99 for the diapers and 8.89 for the shipping. Here's a package from the same seller that went for $21.89 total. Here's another seller whose offering the same diapers with a starting bid of $18.99 with free shipping and $21.89 with free shipping if a buy-it-now is used. Here's a package from that seller that went for $18.99 total. Here's a third seller whose offering the diapers a few different ways, all with free shipping--3 for $9.98, 12 for 35.98, and 32 for $79.98. The second and third seller both use the private auction option as well so that diapers don't show up in your eBay feedback.

Now, comparing like for like sales--meaning case to case and package to package, my asking price on DD is still excellent--the only person who might beat me is that first eBay seller whose asking $15.98 total, but has sold for 21.89 total at least once. The second guy is asking $18.99-21.89, and has sold for $18.99 total at least once. The third guy is asking $35.98 total and hasn't sold anything at the same quantity. To be fair, he did sell three diapers for $9.98, and 32 for $79.98 though. If you bought 3 packages of 12--a total of 36 diapers for $30+shipping from me, you'd still pay less then you would buying from the third seller. Remember, for a single package I'm asking for $10+shipping on DD, and $22 on eBay to cover shipping and fees--if the 11 cents are so important to you, I'm sure I can sell the diapers for $21.89 instead of an even $22 on eBay.

[blue2006]

I don't have a problem with what you're trying to do. Heck I considered doing it too. Too many people have begun to do this, so I don't see it being financially feasibe unless you get them wholesale. More power to you, it's freaking America, you're free to do pretty much whatever you want unless it's illegal. I kind of chuckled at your paper placement, but it didn't offend me. Your reasoning is fine for doing it, I always do due dilligence before I buy something anyhow. I don't think Bentley diapers are a secret, I stumbled across them when I searched "plastic diapers" on ebay a few months ago.

I would like to see some more actual product photos either here, or posted in the gallery. I read through your blog or whatever it was. It would be nice to see the threads on this consolidated into one, I can't remember where I read what and then it takes forever to search. You should make an in depth thread in "Just diapers", that would be nice, with photos if possible. I would like to see if these diapers are any good. I could care less what you charge, I don't have a problem with that. If I knew I could buy something for $10 and sell it for $30, I think we all would do that. It's a freaking free market place, so I wish you the best of luck!

[shoelessjoe]

Sorry if I was rude, good luck.

[Dirty Diaper/Maxipad Lover]

Sorry if I was rude, good luck.

Apology accepted--I probably could have been a bit nicer in my last post as well.

I would like to see some more actual product photos either here, or posted in the gallery. I read through your blog or whatever it was. It would be nice to see the threads on this consolidated into one, I can't remember where I read what and then it takes forever to search. You should make an in depth thread in "Just diapers", that would be nice, with photos if possible. I would like to see if these diapers are any good. I could care less what you charge, I don't have a problem with that. If I knew I could buy something for $10 and sell it for $30, I think we all would do that. It's a freaking free market place, so I wish you the best of luck!

Blue2006, what kind of photos would you like to see? Do you mean ones of just the diapers without the packaging, or ones of the packaging without the paper? Once I know the exact type of photos you want I can certainly try to take them. I really need to take some time and figure out how to add photos to the DD Gallery--it would have made the sale thread much easier to manage.

While we're on the subject of the multiple threads, my original idea was to have this thread for discussion about the diapers, and the thread in The Diaper Store for actual sales. At some point the two threads kind of bled together despite my best attempts to prevent them from doing so. I actually like your idea of one giant discussion thread for the whole product line, which is what I was hoping this would ultimately become with the sales thread being used for sales. Maybe an admin or a mod could help with this?

As far as the sales go, like I mentioned before, my asking price on DD is $10+ shipping--the shipping varies from region to region and by the quantity of diapers purchased. The reason I base my shipping charges regionally is because it's more fair to everyone involved. The person living in the next state shouldn't have to pay the same price as the person who lives out in the middle of nowhere. This is why I don't quote shipping costs directly--a 2lbs package isn't that expensive to ship to nearby areas, but it can be quite expensive to ship to certain parts of the country, and flat-rate shipping actually costs about $5 dollars more in most situations.

[blue2006]

I think it would be great to have a discussion on these.... they seem interesting indeed! I understand shipping all too well, I work for a major shipping company. Shipping costs never cease to amaze me...yikes! Anyhow, pictures of the actual product, close up pics, front and back, inside and out. Just curious how they really look. Are they stretchy at all? How thick are they really? Pics showing the thickness would be nice. Comparison pics with other diapers would be nice too. Anyhow, good luck again.

[Dirty Diaper/Maxipad Lover]

Anyhow, pictures of the actual product, close up pics, front and back, inside and out. Just curious how they really look. Are they stretchy at all? How thick are they really? Pics showing the thickness would be nice. Comparison pics with other diapers would be nice too. Anyhow, good luck again.

Blue2006, I agree that a discussion on these would be great. As far as the pictures go, let me see what I can do. Pictures of the actual product are easy enough to take--getting the flash and the plastic to cooperate is going to be hard part.

Lighting problems excluded, the pictures of the front, back, inside, and outside of the diapers should be doable. Comparison pictures are going to be a bit more difficult--I don't have too many (open) similar diapers to do comparisons with, but I'll do what I can. I tried to take a picture showing the thickness, and that's in the other thread. It's a pair of GoodNites on the side of the packaging, but shooting that angle was really difficult. The packaging helped keep the diapers in the proper direction, but getting the GoodNites to stand on their side was very difficult. I'll do what I can here though, just as I will with the comparison pictures.

When it comes to thickness, I'd say that these are definitely a bit thicker then diapers with a cloth-like outer cover because they're not compressed like the ones with the cloth-like covers are. To put things in perspective, that package of 21 Huggies Little Movers Size 5 "Santa" diapers was about the same size as a package of these diapers. The Huggies package was a little shorter, but about the same length if that helps explaining scale. I'm going to have to see what I can do to actually measure the thickness of these.

You know, I'm not really sure how to describe the stretchiness of these. I'd say that these are comparable to vintage diapers when it comes to stretchiness--there's leg elastic that makes that part of the diaper stretchy, but the front and back are less stretchy like vintage baby diapers. They do stretch a little bit, but not like diapers with cloth-like covers that act like rubber bands. To be honest, I prefer that smooth plastic backed diapers not be too stretchy in the front and back--a stretchy front and back work better with cloth-like outer covers. Smooth plastic covers tend to tear when people try to stretch them like cloth-like covers--that was a problem I noticed with Cool Diaps. Speaking of Cool Diaps, that just gave me an idea for a comparison picture--I'd be surprised if these weren't thicker.