Why Do We Only Have 2 Major Ab/Dl Diaper Suppliers?

[Kari]

From what I understand, ABU gets their Cushies & SDK's from China.

Which explains why they sometimes run out.

And Bambinos uses an an adult brand of diaper then have them modified with their tapes or prints.

If you do a Google search of "adult diapers prints" you will see plenty of Adult Baby diapers from China.

Particularly a company called Alibaba.

http://www.alibaba.com/showroom/adult-diapers-with-prints.html

I've also seen Cushies available, so I'm not sure if ABU has an exclusivity on them.

Basically all anyone needs is some business capital, a warehouse and some common sense to become a 3rd company.

So why hasn't it happened yet?

It would be good competition to keep the prices from getting out of control.

And it would offer more variety. For example here's a cute diaper we don't ever see.

[DailyDi]

For me: no money, no warehouse and minimum common sense

[Little BabyDoll Christine]

You forgot something in the "all one needs" list. A good estimate of the size of the market. Now, have you any idea of the real size of the market? Also you need to build a reputation. Now, these companies got in on the ground floor so there was a niche that they are filling. I would wager that they have it pretty much filled

[puffybedwetter]

Those diapers are not functional. I got my hands on a pack a while ago. It was like wearing those reassure brand from hdis. Give bombing some time they will come out with the ultimate diaper eventually.

[drynot]

Supply and demand, my friend....supply and demand. I.m pretty sure its mostly Ab/Dl folks who want an Adult diaper to actually 'look' like a baby diaper. We really aren't that big of a demographic to warrant more companies ramping up to supply the adult baby diaper market IMO.

Here in Canada we've already had a couple of decent suppliers shut down because the demand simply wasn't there for the product. Some of these companies weren't even selling Ab/Dl stuff either.....

[Kari]

I have heard stories of a lady getting Cushies because she decided if she needed diapers, they might as well be cute.

You go Grandma! BTW, here's Cushies you can buy in mass quantities.

http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/240822113/Adult_Disposable_Diaper_Baby_Print/showimage.html?s=p

[puffybedwetter]

An order of 80,000 diapers will cost around 30 grand. You will still have to find a shipper. Then tariffs not to mention delivery. That's why most suppliers are on the west coast. Hofever people who live on the west coast can sometimes get lucky on the fleamarkeys. I got my pack from made in China.com site has closed down though

[square_duck]

We still have to keep the perspective also that just a couple short years ago, neither Bambino or ABU even EXISTED! All there was what was available either on teh net or in stores. All adult incontinence products, nothing even remotely connected to the AB/DL community. It very easy to take what we have for granted, but you have to remember, these are still relativly new business, and really something we need to both cherish and be thankful for and also help to grow and nurture because they really are niche' companies...even though Bambino products are used by AB/DL types and Non AB/DL types, and getting accepted into the incontinence community, simply because they work very well and do the job that they are supposed to do.

Sure there are ONLY 2 companies catering to us, but we need to be thankful for that and the products that they provide, because they can also disappear just as quickly as they appeared!! Then we would have to go back to what we had before and have much less selection and choice.

I am sure also that it's not either an easy thing or cheap to start up a company catering to such a small group such as us. So far, in numbers, I think that we number less than 100,000 globally....there are about 26,000 registered on this site alone...soooyou can go from there

Just be happy with what you now have, that which didn't exist a couple 5 years ago or so....can there be more....maybe...that can be good or bad...but take time to cherish what you have NOW...it will always change..hopefully not for the bad though..

[thixk]

I don't know if Wellness Briefs are an AB/DL supplier.

I agree that supply and demand. I do see more cloth diaper suppliers then i do disposables.

[Dubious]

I dont buy from any dedicated "fetish" suppliers, cause they are way more expensive than "normal" stores (here at least)

Even with shipping I pay less than if I would buy it in town

Hopefully Tena Maxi Slip, never go out of production cause its the best diaper in the world !

[rosalie.bent]

We still have to keep the perspective also that just a couple short years ago, neither Bambino or ABU even EXISTED! All there was what was available either on teh net or in stores. All adult incontinence products, nothing even remotely connected to the AB/DL community. It very easy to take what we have for granted, but you have to remember, these are still relativly new business, and really something we need to both cherish and be thankful for and also help to grow and nurture because they really are niche' companies...even though Bambino products are used by AB/DL types and Non AB/DL types, and getting accepted into the incontinence community, simply because they work very well and do the job that they are supposed to do.

Sure there are ONLY 2 companies catering to us, but we need to be thankful for that and the products that they provide, because they can also disappear just as quickly as they appeared!! Then we would have to go back to what we had before and have much less selection and choice.

I am sure also that it's not either an easy thing or cheap to start up a company catering to such a small group such as us. So far, in numbers, I think that we number less than 100,000 globally....there are about 26,000 registered on this site alone...soooyou can go from there

Just be happy with what you now have, that which didn't exist a couple 5 years ago or so....can there be more....maybe...that can be good or bad...but take time to cherish what you have NOW...it will always change..hopefully not for the bad though..

what makes you think there are only 100,000 ABDLs out there? because DD has 26000 members? One estimate has the ABDL population at 0.1% of the population or 7 MILLION world wide. One major adult diaper manufacturer estimated at 42% of their sales went to recreational wearers ie not incontinent. I dont know how many there are but I bet its a lot closer to 7million than 100,000.

And back to the thread regarding only 2 diaper suppliers. only two AB suppliers and they are way more expensive than non-AB diapers and yet serve pretty much the same purpose. Ultimately even fetish suppliers have to compete with the rest of the market and ABU and Bambino are too expensive for long-term use for too little benefit. We spend $35 a week on disposable nappies and 99% of the time they are covered up by baby or adult clothing thuse rendering most of the AB significance, moot.

Frankly, I am surprised there ARE two. We are transitioning my baby to more cloth and are trying out the various ebay brands for fitted cloth nappies. the chinese ones are ok although sizing remains a challenge but he is wearing some Dora the Explorer Dependeco nappies at the moment and I am very impressed. Im guessing that I will gradually fit her out with enough of them so she is wearing disposables far less. Its a expensive startup costs and plastic pants that are comfortable under jeans and suits are more problematic than at night.

[Little BabyDoll Christine]

Remember when the "all-day" diaper came out a while back and the price was made known? How many babies said theywould never pay that much for a diaper? and how many babies bemoan the price of a "lifestyle" diaper?

The volume/price is the reason. How many times has the media reporte on the $450.00 hammer (that was a transposition error) or the $600.00 "toilet seat" not mentioning that this was for a high-flying aircraft and it was the case that it needed to be extra secure and strong, made of polucarb and in keeping with the price of airliner units,which any large-aircraft pilot would have told you, or the $45.00 screw, conveniently ommitting whether or not this was a speiclized item or the cost of the prototype? This last is the relevent item here since the fancy or expensive diapers are overwhelmingly niche market items mostly for the "lifestyle"market. As such they are different from the "normal" market and more expensive to make to be in keeping with the wants of ABDL, and the companies cannot and do not count on the open market for a signigicant amount of sales. So they must price accordingly.

Now you know what you were unwillig to bite the bullet and pay for which may or may not have been a good choice on your part

If you think you can do better then take a run at itl That, more than the Dow-Jones or Wall Street, is capitalism in it's purest form. But do not forget that if you are successful "You didn't build that: Somebody else made that happen", someone will tell you as they seek to milk your mony via taxatio and regulate the life out of you

[DiaperPailPat]

We still have to keep the perspective also that just a couple short years ago, neither Bambino or ABU even EXISTED! All there was what was available either on the net or in stores...

What Duck said.

And taking this one step further, back in the 1970s when I started doing this, there was no web and they DIDN'T have them in stores--other than medical supply stores where they wouldn't sell less than a case and the ones they had were thin and had no "baby" scent and were intended for your 90-year-old grandma.

If you wanted anything "baby like" you had to buy the largest toddler Pampers available and tape 2-3 of them together to make them "adult" sized, or wear cloth.

And for cloth? You either had to buy toddler sized cloth diapers and sew them into larger ones, or use towels.

And plastic pants? Again, you had to go to the medical supply store and get ones that snapped on the sides or else do the "trash bag" thing.

I only went to the medical supply store once. I bought a case of 80 "Disposable Adult Diapers" (that's what it said on the box). They were horrible. After using a few, I ended up just using the rest for pads to put under my butt when changing my cloth diapers.

And when buying those, the guy that worked there wanted my insurance information. Well, I was still on my parents' health insurance and DID NOT want to do this, knowing that they'd eventually get a statement in the mail that listed "one case of disposable adult diapers" on it.

So I refused, and then had to listen to the sales guy go on for about five minutes about "I just don't understand why you want to pay for these out of pocket when your insurance will cover them." It was bad enough being 19 and walking into the place to buy diapers WITHOUT all of that.

Anyway. Point is, even though we only have a few places to buy our stuff these days, that's WAY more than there were back then.

[Craisler]

Alibaba isn't a diaper supplier, it's a Chinese pricing search engine similar to Nextag.

[baby-elizabeth]

For me: no money, no warehouse and minimum common sense

"minimum common sense" AMEN!!! I hear that.

[rosalie.bent]

What Duck said.

And taking this one step further, back in the 1970s when I started doing this, there was no web and they DIDN'T have them in stores--other than medical supply stores where they wouldn't sell less than a case and the ones they had were thin and had no "baby" scent and were intended for your 90-year-old grandma.

If you wanted anything "baby like" you had to buy the largest toddler Pampers available and tape 2-3 of them together to make them "adult" sized, or wear cloth.

And for cloth? You either had to buy toddler sized cloth diapers and sew them into larger ones, or use towels.

And plastic pants? Again, you had to go to the medical supply store and get ones that snapped on the sides or else do the "trash bag" thing.

I only went to the medical supply store once. I bought a case of 80 "Disposable Adult Diapers" (that's what it said on the box). They were horrible. After using a few, I ended up just using the rest for pads to put under my butt when changing my cloth diapers.

And when buying those, the guy that worked there wanted my insurance information. Well, I was still on my parents' health insurance and DID NOT want to do this, knowing that they'd eventually get a statement in the mail that listed "one case of disposable adult diapers" on it.

So I refused, and then had to listen to the sales guy go on for about five minutes about "I just don't understand why you want to pay for these out of pocket when your insurance will cover them." It was bad enough being 19 and walking into the place to buy diapers WITHOUT all of that.

Anyway. Point is, even though we only have a few places to buy our stuff these days, that's WAY more than there were back then.

From Michael: You think it was bad for YOU?? Here in australia during the 70s and 80s there were no disposable adult diapers AT ALL. None. Plastic pants topped out at child size 3 and you can forget cloth diapers for adults. In fact there was nothing more than some apallingly horrible pads and net pants which are next to useless for anything beyond dribbling an totally useless at night. Even now we have a much smaller range of diapers here but at least we have to internet to order some product form overseas.

[DiaperPailPat]

Oh it was bad for everybody, but as a result, we all got pretty resourceful. You wouldn't believe some of the things I tried using for diapers and plastic pants. In addition to the towels and trash bags, I once bought a vinyl rain poncho and tried to make plastic pants from it (a disaster). Another time I bought a big soft blanket and folded that (and this required folding it over about six times) into a "diaper". Another time I bought six pairs of white cotton jockey shorts and sewed them together to make myself "training pants" (and my mother found them in my closet and that was a disaster--but that's another story).

Finally in the 1980s I met the lady who is now my wife, she knew how to sew and with plastic baby material from the Piece Goods shop and regular sized cloth toddler diapers, she was able to make me the first ones I ever had that looked and felt like REAL baby clothes.

Anyway, point is, we all did what we had to do. And now (thankfully) the world is a much better place for folks like us.

[Little BabyDoll Christine]

As early as 1954 [EDIT:typographical error that should be 1964] Kleinert's was selling an adult plastic panty that was made of white, smooth material, by 1980 they had changed it to translucent grainy. Salk was also doing their thing with the Pro-Pant and Sani-Pant at the same time

[justindiapers]

Actually, there are at least three more suppliers - Classy Comfort, Cuddlz, and Buntewindel. As someone who got into all this in the mid-late 90s, count me in with the group that is impressed that we've gained so many more options in such a short period of time.

[Little BabyDoll Christine]

In the 1970's you had Amber Enterprises and in the early 1980's you had Carolyn's Kids and Li'l Wrangler Edley started in about 19845. All were supported by DPF in 1982. Comco was around in 1985 and DPF started as a distributer in about 1987

[Dubious]

Actually, there are at least three more suppliers - Classy Comfort, Cuddlz, and Buntewindel. As someone who got into all this in the mid-late 90s, count me in with the group that is impressed that we've gained so many more options in such a short period of time.

Europe market vs US market

[PacificPast]

I think what we need is not another supplier, but an expansion of the existing line. I'd like to see ABU producing large pacifiers and bottles, for example.

But like just about everyone said, its all supply and demand. Then again, I'm not so sure that the demand isn't there. I think the demand might be there, but they just don't know there is a supply. I meet tons of other ABDL's on chat sites that have never heard of ABU or Bambinos.

[Zander]

There was a topic that kind of gels with this one I started a while back:

Made in China -- http://www.dailydiapers.com/board/index.php?showtopic=31762&hl=china

PLEASE SEE THE REPLIES THERE

I know a lot of stuff these days is made in China and, frankly, if you order enough of it pretty much anything can be manufactured, but I was still surprised at the range of "printed adult diapers" available on the business-to-business trade sites.

Note - you might find some you recognise, I came across the MediSave range and the "Buntewindel Fabine Safety Plus" on one companies page - presumably they are the actual manufacturer/factory who produce them.

Here is a pic of just a few of them from Alibaba:

And Links:

http://www.alibaba.c..._clothlike.html, http://www.alibaba.c...ble_diaper.html, http://www.alibaba.c...ult_Diaper.html, http://www.alibaba.c...y_Printing.html,

http://www.alibaba.c...aby_diaper.html,http://www.alibaba.c...lt_diapers.html, http://www.alibaba.c...ult_Diaper.html, http://www.alibaba.c...ncontinent.html,

http://www.alibaba.c...ers_CE_ISO.html, http://www.alibaba.c...ult_diaper.html, http://www.alibaba.c...ult_diaper.html

EDIT: Just to be clear: Alibaba is a business to business trade site - realistically the minimum volumes they are talking about are 25,000 units upwards (in fact, many state minimum orders of 50,000 to 200,000). Unless you really want more than 5000 packs of diapers, you probably shouldn't be talking with the suppliers listed there. The reason for this post was simply to point out what I'd seen there - there is a surprising range of diversity.

I thought this one looked pretty cool too:

[holden]