An answer is not easy to be given. Some of it depends on what you are planning to do with it and how much you need. For small projects ebay seems to be a good source. If you want to become serious about your products and want the best quality you can get, you will have to find a dealer of your trust. For many people this is Weaver Leather Supply or Tandy Leather. Both companies are buying leather in large amounts directly from tanneries by the kg price and sell them via there local and online stores. Their prices are usually hard to beat.
You may approach a tannery directly and have hides made to your custom needs, but don’t be surprised if you have to pay a higher price than what a hide will cost at the aforementioned places.
Finding a tannery is easier than you might think. Just go here on tannery.com and start your search. You may find a dealer or tannery being very close to you or one that is on the other site of the planet and selling or making exactly what you are looking for. As always the mentioned website isn’t the only source. There are other website as well and they may provide you the same or better results.
With all the online offers you shouldn’t forget that it’s a lot easier to talk to a local person than to some person, somewhere on the phone, where sometimes you don’t even know where they are, or what they know about leather at all. Therefore it may be worth while to pay a little more for your leather but knowing you support the local business partner who will support you in return.
Another thing you shouldn’t forget in your price calculation is the cost of shipping. This can become expensive in a hurry. Some dealers offer free shipping, but if you want to return it you may have to pay quite a lot for shipping. Also if your leather comes from out of country you may have to pay taxes on top of it. These factors have to go into your calculation.
Caution
Caution must be taken if it comes to rare hides. Some of them may be from endangered species. If in doubt one should review the CITES website at http://www.cites.org. Besides the Washington Convention there are national laws which have to be considered. CITES is important and penalties may vary from financial penalties to jail sentences. See how CITES works before deciding on the purchase of some “exotic” leather.
Besides all of that, if you are using hides from local game such as deer, elk, moose you should have no problems. Same goes for buffalo and cow hides.
If you have any suggestions on how and where to buy leather I’d like to know. Just use the comment feature or email me please.