Dollars and Sense

One of the biggest issues artisans, especially the newer ones, seem to encounter is how to price their product for sale.

I remember when I started, and I got my first big order from a retailer – it was for $1,000.00 which seemed (and still does sometimes) like a massive amount of money for something that little ole me had made at home.  It was also my introduction to learning how to price my product.

The first thing to remember when pricing is that what seems like ‘too much’ to you, may be quite reasonable or even cheap to someone else.  And people look at price tags, even in this economy as a status symbol.  The $5 handbag from Walmart is a great deal, but that $50.00 or $500.00 dollar bag is a BIG deal.  When you underprice yourself, you are also devaluing your work in the eyes of the consumer.  (Weird I know, and took me a long time to get my head around, but true.)  So don’t be afraid to price your work as it deserves, a unique, one of a kind piece of art.

I’ve had people at shows say to me “I could get something a lot like that at Walmart, and for a lot cheaper!”  My standard response to something like this is “True enough, but so can 10,000 other people.”  But, what they are buying from me is the only one in the world.  Think about that for a minute – THE ONLY ONE IN THE WORLD!!!!  That’s special, and that is a selling point.

When I purchase supplies, I keep track of the cost – the cost of metal per inch, the cost of a bead on a string of beads, the cost of a finding, the cost of packaging, etc.  This all comes into play when pricing.  When I’ve finished creating a piece, I calculate the cost, multiply it by what seems appropriate, and then add on a certain amount for the work, depending on how complex the pattern is.  That makes my basic price point from which I can move up (if it’s a truly unique piece) or down (in the case of discounting for mass purchasers like retailers, or established clients who keep coming back).  Remember, you can always bring the price of something down, and people are happy to be given a deal, but try to bring the price of something up and you’ll regret it.

The other consideration in pricing is who is your audience.  Do you want to sell only to retailers?  Retailers mark up their stock 50%  and more from point of purchase.  So consider that whatever price you have fixed, they will at least double it.  At their price, will your product sell, and make consumers want more, or will it be seen as “too much” and not be worth your clients investment?  The trick is to make back your cost, plus something on top for your work.  Lower prices vs bulk sales – which do you want?

Pricing for shows or private commissions is different, and that is where I follow the first ‘formula’,( cost X markup + price of my work ) and as long as you are upfront about this with a private client there is never a problem (at least in my experience).

The next time you’re at a craft show that you’re not displaying at, or you’re in a boutique that carries similar items to what you create, have a look around.  Look at prices, workmanship, materials.  Are they in line with your product?  Are they higher?  Lower?  Is it selling?  Do your market research, and then take all of the above and gear it toward your target market.  Teens have a huge disposable income.  New parents, not so much.  High priced products will atttract a smaller crowd, but when you make sales they’ll be high amounts. Lower cost products will attract bigger crowds, but you’ll have to sell more.

I hope this helps encourage those of you out there who are hesitant to price your products at what they deserve to go ahead and do so.  And if anyone has any other pricing and marketing tips, I’d love to hear them! Let’s share.

Add a comment July 6, 2009

Odds ‘n’ Ends

Working with lengths of wire means cutting the wire, you cut the wire initially to the length you need for a project, and then at the end you end up trimming some off.  In the middle of a project, you might end up cutting more wire, either to get rid of a ‘bad’ bit, or to augment a design that needs a little more.

With all this cutting, there can be a lot of little bits that at first glance can appear to be scrap, and the first thing I tell people in my classes is to never throw these out.  There are a number of reasons for this.

The first, and most obvious reason is that if you are working in precious metal (silver, gold, goldfilled) over time the amount of scrap you generate is going to be worth some money – I probably have a good 1/2 pound of goldfilled, and twice that in silver stuck in baggies on my workbench.  Every so often, I’ll bring them to either my supplier, or to someone who melts down metal and get reimbursed for it.  That’s money that I”ve saved, and it can go toward more supplies, a couple of cool stones, or just a treat of the non-jewelry kind.

The second reason is that unless those scraps are basically dust, they can be reused. A piece of round or square wire a half inch long can make a jump ring, or a small decoration to attach to earrings and pendants and bracelets.  A piece of wire an inch long can be used to make a hook for a clasp, and if it’s an inch of binding wire it can be used to strengthen a small component (like a clasp) or can be used to decorate a bead.  Longer pieces can be used to make interesting chains, bend them into different shapes, hammer them down to anneal them, and then link them using the jump rings you made from shorter bits. 

For slim wire (eg, 26 gauge) use pieces instead of headpins – make a small coil at one end, slide on your bead or pearl, and finish as you would a jump ring.  Saves money, and saves a trip to the supplier if you’re a couple short.

To save wire, I tend to slip the bits back into the bag the original wire is being stored in.  That way, I know the gauge, hardness, and shape and can always find what I’m looking for.  When wire scraps get down to where I can’t use them anymore, they go into a ‘silver’ bag, or a ‘gold’ bag to be recycled by someone else.  And if I ever get into soldering or pouring metal into molds, I’ll have a nice little supply too.

These uses can also apply to other metals, in today’s economy everything has value and should if possible be reused, recycled, or saved.  So if you don’t use silver, and don’t use goldfilled, but instead like brass, aluminum, copper, etc, save those too – if nothing else, you should be able to make an amazing collection of jump rings and turn out some spectacular pieces of chainmail.

Thanks for reading, and I’d love any comments on how you recycle or reuse your materials.

1 comment July 5, 2009