pricing your work: some thoughts
When I began selling my work, I was incredibly nervous about what to charge. I needed a set of criteria to help guide my decisions. I am fortunate to have several craftspeople and artists as friends and family, and consulted them as I began my journey into sales. It was incredibly helpful to have a few people to give me some feedback on what I ought to consider when pricing. These days, sales are a regular part of my life, and I have a set of criteria in my head; but the finer points are not terribly different from what you find most folks thinking about. Here are the ideas I consider:
-Originality. Is this particular thing being made by others? Is it original? What makes mine original or worth more money? Originality adds value to work because then your work is not “a dime a dozen.”
-Craftsmanship. Do I know how to make this thing particularly well? Is my work refined? Meticulous craftsmanship adds value to work. Do I have a particular skill that most other people do not have or that is hard to acquire? Buyers appreciate a finely made softie or pillow or collage, not to mention crafts and art techniques that are specialized and require training and expertise.
-Time spent making it. This is a biggie. How long did it take? Is it a labor intensive piece? You should always consider time spent; that said, if something takes you a short time, but is highly appealing in other ways, that does not mean you should not charge a decent price for it!!
-Visual appeal. How visually appealing is this piece? What feedback have I gotten from friends and fellow artists on how attracted others are to it? Asking others for feedback is a great way to know from others how visually appealing a piece of art or craft is to others.
-Demand. Have I created a demand for this thing? How often do people commission my work? What will people pay for this thing? Getting feedback from others who share your aesthetic and who you trust about what they would pay is an important part of the process of pricing.
-Materials. Did this piece require expensive materials or processing? What kind of fabric or paint did I use? Did I need to pay for printing or photo-processing? Was there expensive framing? What did that cost?
-Commission/wholesale. Am I selling this myself in my own shop? Or am I selling it through another shop or gallery which will take commission? If I am doing wholesale, do I expect to make a profit? What am I willing to make this thing for? Am I willing to lose some money to get my stuff out there in a shop or gallery? Or do I want always to make a certain profit? What is my bottom line?
-Speed of sale. Do I want this thing to sell quickly? Am I trying to get my work out there and get exposure? Or am I willing to wait to see who will pay a slightly “higher” price?
So while I do consider all of these questions as I am thinking through pricing, I don’t sit down and calculate my time v. expenses using a mathematical formula. Since I have been doing this for a bit now, pricing things has become second nature. But at first, I had to think about all the questions I raised above in some depth. And I got a lot of feedback from others. And I had to experiment. It’s all part of the process.
Undoubtedly, you will never price all of your work exactly right. On the one hand, I strongly believe that it’s important to value your time and materials and talent and err on the side of pricing things high. On the other hand, you don’t want to price them so high that no one will purchase them; or that people will think you are arrogant or crazy! It’s really a learning experience that will take adjustments over time as your work gains popularity, and even then, it’s never a perfect science.
There are many interesting sources on the web about this topic. If you want to read what others have to say, do a Google search for “pricing your work,” and see what you find! I also found this book on Amazon, which looks like it might be good for craftspeople moving into sales.
Good luck in your ventures!! It’s an exciting journey!
April 3rd, 2006 at 1:31 pm
I always find this subject interesting and always think about pricing when I’m buying from indie shops. I love your useful tips and questions to ask myself. Thanks!
April 3rd, 2006 at 7:00 pm
Thank you Lisa. Very helpfull as I’m starting out myself. I think it’s VERY hard to price my items and I have to consider one more thing: Currency! The dollar is super low at the moment, which means that the price I’m asking in U.S. $, may be a bit steep, but not really in my own currency! I think I have to consider how much a dollar is worth in the U.S. and probably get paid a little less? Oh we also get charged with a 25% sales tax at every sale! Lovely :o(
April 3rd, 2006 at 8:47 pm
Lisa! This was a great idea for a post… I wonder where you got it. ;) Thank you for this, and the link to the book.
April 3rd, 2006 at 9:58 pm
Oh, thankyou for all this info. I have wondering and pondering and then agonizing how much to charge. My first 3 items sold on ebay, but now am wondering about etsy. Anyone have any recommendations?
April 3rd, 2006 at 11:11 pm
Ugh, this is always the hardest part of buisness. I got into jewelry making b/c I saw pieces I loved the I felt the prices were insane, so I don’t want to charge too much, but then the husband freaks out and is constantly telling me “your not charging enough!” It’s such an inner battle w/ myself!
April 4th, 2006 at 1:08 am
Oh, demand. That is the darn sticking point for me as an artist and knitter.
I’ve noticed that prices are generally lower on etsy than anywhere else I’ve seen. I don’t know whether it’s a function of it being a crafter-to-crafter market, as opposed to a crafter-to-general public market, or whether the average etsy seller is just pricing to have fun and replace their materials? But I have been struggling with this issue, too, as I’ve started a little bonnet making business.
At some point, it’s not worth making only a dollar per hour. But at a fair price, I’m not sure I’m going to sell any. I’m right in the middle of it, and have basically decided to just make things I like making, and offer for sale things I don’t have a home for at a high-enough price, but don’t expect to sell.
I think with my collages - as oppsed to bonnets - this may not be as much of an issue. I haven’t tried to sell those, yet, but I have done a few commissions where I made enough. People seem to think of those more as “art” and are more willing to go to the 3-digit level to get art than they are to go to $50 for a baby bonnet.
April 4th, 2006 at 2:28 am
I have only sold items over the last few years. I started off almost giving them away; that was ok because it was a thrill that someone liked my work. Now I charge more but always know that I need to take into account the pleasure that I get from making something - often many hours that nobody is going to pay me for.
April 4th, 2006 at 7:04 am
this is so helpful, thanks Lisa! :)
April 4th, 2006 at 9:02 am
Great bl-article! (blog+article) Very interesting esp. as I’m wondering how to price some crafts of my own at my mamasews.blogspot.com It’s an interesting balance and I’m going to check out that book you recommended as well. Thank you!
May 4th, 2006 at 8:16 pm
I like to make things and I also like to sell them. I look around to find a shop which I think will like my things and then I may phone first to find out the buyers name and then basically I go in and ask to speak to them. I take a deep breath and then say that I make things which I think would go well in the shop and would they like to see them. I offer to let them have some things to try on SOR (sale or return) and I ask what their mark up is. Here in England the mark up tends to be ‘double it and add VAT’.
So when trying to price an item, I have to think of what I would be happy in paying, then take off the vat and divide by two. If it covers the materials and a little bit of time then that’s OK. Sometimes someone would ask if it would be possible for me to make a quilt etc, but the price is generally too high if it is done through a shop, because by the time I cost out the materials and my time etc it is already at a price that I think people would be prepared to pay and they are certainly not prepared for the shop to be doubling the price and adding the vat on top.
Sometimes when I make things, it takes too long to make them and although there may only be a handful of fabric involved (costing nothing much at all) there are hours of work in planning, placing and piecing etc and so I tend not to sell these but rather keep these as special presents for friends etc.
But don’t be put off. Sometimes shop buyers have just been to the trade shows and have just spent all of their budget, sometimes they will have just ordered whatever you are trying to sell them, sometimes they don’t want to deal with individual people but would prefer to deal with wholesalers etc etc but you also must remember that if you are making lovely things, there are lots of shops with empty shelves waiting for you to come in and help fill them. There are gift shops in towns where they have all been to the same trade shows and are falling over themselves to have a craft person supplying them with something that the gift shop down the street doesn’t have, so it is always worth a try, be nice and polite and do whatever you have to do to get your foot through the door, then before you know it they will be asking you to make specific things for them etc etc
good luck
Lesley
http://countrygirlcorner.blogspot.com
August 18th, 2006 at 10:56 pm
Great info here, thanks so much, about to be selling my work properly in the next few weeks, very nervous about pricing stuff up, but I hope that now I have a bit more confidence in both my ability and my prices!!!!