ABDL diaper market saturation

A new startup company has appeared: Barebums Diapers.
http://www.barebumdiapers.com/pages/product-info

http://barebumdiapers.tumblr.com/

While they addmitedly look VERY good, their design is somewhat derived (like that of the recent Mydiaper) of two other designs (bambino+snuggies overnites), but I think that's insignificant considering the current state of events.

I don't envy any of the abdl diaper companies atm; it seems the market is almost saturated (pun intended).
While it has obvious benifits of reducing the price of abdl diapers, I fear for a scenario when all abdl companies will go bankrupt. Would be a shame to see companies like snuggies go, especially since they are AB owned and so much time and effort was put into that company.

Any thoughts on the matter?

Competition is good in the current situation imo. I mean, the ABDL diapers right now cost a bit too much for my liking. I think there will be some tougher competition now and some price drops. Some company might fall in this hassle, but I hope it will not be my favourite!

Yeah I hope the number of companies that fall will be minimal...

The market will sort it all out. If there's an oversupply now, and that's an if - then the better placed businesses will win out.

TyphaHare said:

Competition is good in the current situation imo. I mean, the ABDL diapers right now cost a bit too much for my liking. I think there will be some tougher competition now and some price drops. Some company might fall in this hassle, but I hope it will not be my favourite!

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Competition is not going to lower the price in such a small market. There are too many fixed expenses associated with running these small businesses to allow it. If anything, with such low amounts of volume for each 'company' splitting such a small market share, you may see the opposite effect taking place. Low volume equals lots of expenses on each diaper sold and will allow for less sales, low prices, etc.

I already contacted them by e-mail and they'll allow for local pick up option in rancho cordova. The address they list is a UPS store and not a warehouse suite or anything like that where they receive and ship their diapers from. Also ordering and then picking up in person will net a discount since the shipping on them likely costs at least 15 bucks for a case order.

I already talked to my dad about ordering and going out there to pick it up (we live in stockton equal distance from bambino, DC Amor and now barebum's. ), but told him they haven't revealed pricing yet. But they look decently thick to be usable and they are adorable. however, we did spend like 110 on my last order of 72 dry 24/7's. x_x

What I think these companies should do is offer a thinner all white diaper with wetness indicator that can be sold to non abdls and they can also make there site look more like a incontinence site and less like an abdl site. basically they would sell a printed diaper for abdls and a non printed diaper to none abdls than maybe they can afford to lower the price

Buddylee, choosing your audience and market is important. There already is a LOT of non-ABDL diapers so I can see why they would want to only appeal to niche market.

jeremyi said:

Competition is not going to lower the price in such a small market. There are too many fixed expenses associated with running these small businesses to allow it. If anything, with such low amounts of volume for each 'company' splitting such a small market share, you may see the opposite effect taking place. Low volume equals lots of expenses on each diaper sold and will allow for less sales, low prices, etc.

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I'm not very good at economics. I have to say I still don't get it why they would not become cheaper, or at least some competition happening to appeal to the consumer?
Some big producers have already got into the ABDL markets with cheap, printed nappies.

buddylee said:

What I think these companies should do is offer a thinner all white diaper with wetness indicator that can be sold to non abdls and they can also make there site look more like a incontinence site and less like an abdl site. basically they would sell a printed diaper for abdls and a non printed diaper to none abdls than maybe they can afford to lower the price

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I don't think people who have to wear diapers, but don't want to ::cough:: my dad ::cough:: would want to buy diapers from a website that caters to ab/dl's. Bambino offer's the classico diaper with no prints on it and I've heard a few incon's buying it but the market for AB/DL diaper companies is ab/dls. There's plenty of "normal" diapers anyways.

The ABDL market is not like the wheat or flour markets where they can project 5 and 10 year usage rates fairly well. Just watch Bambino's website. They are a perfect example of market fluctuations. Sometimes they offer 10% off and end up running low a bit later. One time, they offered 15% off of upside-down printed diapers. Those sold out fast.

I believe that right now a significant portion of the AB/DL market is being supplied by the incontinence manufacturers. Bambino only got my business for a while because Dry 24/7 was shut down for that time. I only bought 2 cases of Bellisimos and a case of Teddys at once because of the tape panel discount. Otherwise, I would have only bought Biancos when those were on sale. For me, fit, function, and price are top priorities. I am still waiting for a fair priced Fabine equivalent diaper in the US. Until then, my favorite is not an AB/DL diaper.

Another thing influencing the market is new customers. I am not sure how many cases per month each place needs to sell to break even per month, but it may not take that many customers per month to keep a new store open. Every month, we have a new thread about someone trying premium diapers for the first time. We are only a small segment of the ABDL market. If we are seeing growth, diaper manufacturers are seeing it too.

More experienced customers like me know what we want and are hard to sway. Bambino thought they had a good new customer for a season until my favorites retuned again. We may sometimes shop around but always return to our favorite. These new companies are either adding to these people's diaper stashes or getting a few of them to switch brands for whatever reason. ABU and Bambino are not in direct competition right now; one will love one brand and hate the other. Newer diaper designs are giving more options, but are still unique enough that it is not yet a direct competition. We are getting very close though.

Getting the prices to fall will require a shift in the market. Small businesses have a fixed monthly cost to cover by selling their product. Bambino is fairly stable on their prices because they know how many buy their products and their expenses. Newer companies are still working on these details. Yes, lowering the price may sell a few more cases, but will it still cover the monthly costs? Let's say I want Bamino Bellisimos size large to be 10 cents cheaper per diaper. That is only $4.80 per case less, but at 1000 cases, they have given up $4,800. What does that much money mean to Bambino? That could mean a layed off employee or a delayed diaper order. They would need to be more efficient and reduce operating costs before lowering prices.


The AB/DL market is adding new customers, drawing people away from standard diapers, and filling empty spots in the market right now. We will continue to see modest growth for now. Companies with good products at good prices will remain relatively healthy at this time as long as the general economy remains as it is or better. When diapers start directly competing or if a pricing war starts, then we will see companies start to get hurt. Enjoy the diapers for now.

Jeremiah said:

The AB/DL market is adding new customers, drawing people away from standard diapers, and filling empty spots in the market right now. We will continue to see modest growth for now. Companies with good products at good prices will remain relatively healthy at this time as long as the general economy remains as it is or better. When diapers start directly competing or if a pricing war starts, then we will see companies start to get hurt. Enjoy the diapers for now.

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Great post, all of it!

Jeremiah; now I get it !!
I'm gonna stock up on all these specialty diapers now though hehe