Comments on: Jay Shafer’s New Small House Book

By: Test Post | Tiny House Journal

Test Post | Tiny House Journal — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 22:33:18 +0000

[...] The Small House Book by Jay Shafer See and read more here…Or [...]

By: M. Troy

M. Troy — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 01:09:33 +0000

I bought the “pamphlets”. After this post I’m going to buy the book. Soon, I’ll be purchasing plans for the Fencl. In about a year I hope to have those books on the shelf in my little house. It’s MY choice. Plans, books, a house that suits me, easy upkeep, and low utilities for under $30k. If I were to focus on this “high” price I wouldn’t notice the untold $10’s of thousands the banks alone would be making off me. Yes, I choose VALUE. Hmm, maybe I’m the one ripping off Mr. Shafer.

By: Donna F

Donna F — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 05:58:35 +0000

In regards to Jay’s book and it’s hefty price…

Perhaps we could convince our local libraries to buy a copy of it, then we could all just go check it out and read it for free…but not at the same time! =-)

By: Randy

Randy — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 12:56:57 +0000

A tip of the hat to Jay regarding his new book. I understand it represents an enormous contribution of time and energy to the movement we all love – small houses, but … there’s that big old but … $36.95, in these economic times, is just not a wise book to price ratio. I support Jay’s work wish him well and would otherwise buy his book to illustrate my support, but times are hard and my funds are limited and, respectfully, I just cannot justify that price.

By: New Tiny House Book from Jay Shafer

New Tiny House Book from Jay Shafer — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 22:33:45 +0000

[...] The book is available starting April exclusively on the Tiny House Blog. [...]

By: Kent

Kent — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 18:49:09 +0000

Jay is an artist at heart and loves to photoshop and spends hours perfecting it. I agree about the floating home, I hope you can swim!

By: EJ

EJ — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 17:20:05 +0000

I actually returned Jay previous “book” as it was a series of over priced booklets with no new information.

Interesting perspective on photo-shopping. I see it as lying or at least stretching the truth, others may see it as being creative. While some people might love the cover “cool house on the lake” I wonder about wind, access, utilities, why no way to walk around the house etc. Practical things. To me it becomes a silly, intellectual exercise in who can fool around most convincingly with image manipulation.

By: Kent

Kent — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 14:16:32 +0000

Hi Lellewynn – thank you for your kind words and I’m glad you enjoy the blog. I enjoy publishing it and finding people who are living the tiny house lifestyle. I have met some really cool people along the way and plan to meet more in the future.

It’s good to have all angles and opinions and I appreciate JD stepping in and saying what he thinks. We may not agree on everything but hopefully in the long run a good discussion will help the tiny house movement grow…Kent

By: lellewynn

lellewynn — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 05:36:32 +0000

kent, i just love your site! You have such good information and topics, i stop in every day just to see what’s new. As for this discussion about jay and his booklet, you don’t have to defend yourself or jay to anyone for any reason. if people don’t like the book, they don’t have to buy it. Jay has inspired me to make my own tiny house designs and i’m very grateful to him. i don’t own his book yet but i hope to in the future. You just keep doing what you’re doing and pay no mind to negativity. Saying no never got anybody anywhere.

By: J.D.

J.D. — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 00:58:30 +0000

Kent,

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t believe you’re perpetrating a fraud on the unsuspecting public. I believe you’re simply doing a favor for a friend, as you should. And you come across as a person of some integrity.

I think Jay is skilled at making the most out of small spaces. However, I am just not inclined to believe that this “skill” justifies his high asking prices for various products as many people on his blog have recently pointed out.

We tend to fairly compensate professionals in our society based on credentials and experience. When I asked a number of professionals–Architects and Builders–on what their assessments were of Jay’s Homes, their comments were consistently the same:

“They’re pretty cool but no way is that thing worth that much money!”

That said, Jay’s contributions to the Tiny House Movement as a PR Person may be greater than his contributions as a Designer.

There are many positive things happening in the Tiny House Movement thanks to your diligent reporting. I think many outfits
approach the market with the wrong business models which explains why it hasn’t really taken off yet despite the opportune conditions.

Kevin Rose can build a Tiny House at a fraction of what these companies are asking for. Michael is on the way to building a model completely out of free stuff. Unless Jay and others like him can offer homes and plans at a more reasonable rate, these companies will fall by the wayside because they are doing a lousy job at identifying the target market.