Samantha sells two types of wristbands, rope or beaded. She charges more for beaded wristbands than for rope wristbands. The amount of money, in dollars, that she collects from selling $x$ wristbands of one type and $y$ wristbands of the other type can be modeled by the expression $5 x+8 y$.

What does the variable $y$ represent in this situation?