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Thread: Pricing... Again.

  1. #21
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    I think a lot of selling is confidence in your work its a difficult thing though I agree. I started selling my work and was not making any profit because I didnt charge enough and was just pleased somebody wanted to buy it, with time I found I couldnt afford to continue if something didnt change so I worked out I would charge 2.2 x the cost price and stuck to that, I never give discounts but will sell something bigger cheaper and always charge friends more because they are the most hassle lol .Using the Apple adage Macs looked the best when most computers were beige boxes they had opaque plastics and clever design thats why they can charge more for something that is less powerful as a rule. The general public in general are not all computer experts but they know when something looks good, I think the same thing applies to jewellery if it looks good and you sell it correctly you should have the confidence to charge the correct money for it. let the bargain hunters drape themselves with the finest Elizabeth Duke has to offer you cant compete with the mass produced stuff anyway they make profit on volume. Go for the people that want to have what your offering sell them a story on how it was hewn with your own fair hands or a lifestyle choice whatever works but make them feel good cause you dont really get that experience stood waiting in a queue for your number to come up on a screen wondering if you should of bought the extra insurance !

  2. #22
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    Oh well Ive been meaning to up my prices for a while now as I can barely keep up with demand but have been putting it off as it takes me forever to do and Ive been too busy.
    You finally gave me the kick up the bum I needed to get it done, cheers Peter
    Well, almost done anyway, only another 100 or so items to go…..

  3. #23
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    as I can barely keep up with demand
    definitely time to up your prices then!
    - Emily

  4. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by enigma View Post
    Oh well Ive been meaning to up my prices for a while now as I can barely keep up with demand
    Sounds like success to me! - and an illustration of my point that an inflexible pricing formula may not be appropriate, especially when you're starting out. If you get your work out there and people like it, it's easy enough to raise prices in response to demand - better than sitting on a load of stock that you've overpriced at the outset because you're afraid of devaluing "the market as a whole".

    Peter, I don't think "needing cashflow" necessarily conflicts with the desire to work creatively. Unless you have unlimited funds from some other source, turnover (even at low profit) might allow you to reinvest in materials to keep on working and improving.

    Alan

  5. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by ajda View Post
    I don't think you've actually explained the specific case so I'm slightly in the dark... As I said, when sharing a platform (exhibition, retail space, etc) it would be right, at least morally, to be sensitive to people around you who may be directly affected by your pricing (among other things), but not everyone is. You say people "can't" undercharge in such a case, but clearly they can and they do.
    I'm one of the organisers of the ACJ Wessex Winter Jewels exhibition; it's our biggest exhibition of the year. "Can't" may be perhaps better phrased as "should not use underpricing of their work in this exhibition".

    So who's to blame? Perhaps the organisers, for not selecting compatible exhibitors or not imposing pricing controls. Perhaps you, if you are unable to justify your higher prices to customers or you choose unsuitable venues for your work. Perhaps those who "undercharge" - arguably if they first check out your prices and then mark their own down in order to undercut you, but if they independently price their work as they see fit, keeping within the law and the rules of the marketplace, they're not to blame if it doesn't suit you.
    Mmm. We asked nicely this year that people set prices appropriately; we also gave a minimum price level. Both "gentle reminders" have been ignored completely, so next year it might not be gentle. Specific requirements may be imposed, possibly up to and including moving it to a fully juried exhibition (which personally I dread from an admin side).
    The venue's fine; we get a lot of footfall, but if you've got a number of exhibitors who are only prepared to charge for little more than materials costs then it unbalances the entire exhibition and puts off the ones who are pricing properly. Given one of our goals is to promote handmade jewellery, that is counter-productive. It is not a craft fair.

    If your only criterion is price, only then do you join that race to the bottom - but, again, who's to blame?
    It isn't and it shouldn't be. If you have the economies of scale of mass manufacture, then labour costs become negligible; but then you are not making handmade goods.

    Quote Originally Posted by ajda View Post
    Sounds like success to me! - and an illustration of my point that an inflexible pricing formula may not be appropriate, especially when you're starting out. If you get your work out there and people like it, it's easy enough to raise prices in response to demand - better than sitting on a load of stock that you've overpriced at the outset because you're afraid of devaluing "the market as a whole".
    Unfortunately - again, being the luxury goods market, raising prices does not automatically equate to reduced demand. Frequently it increases instead, depending on the perceived desirability. Handbags, yachts, perfumes, luxury cars - and jewellery.
    Overpriced is overpriced; priced correctly is most definitely not overpriced. "It's expensive" does not mean you should drop your price - it costs a lot, possibly more than that person is willing to spend; fine, they aren't your customer.
    The point to remember is that by devaluing the market - as I think I've already said - you are damaging things for yourself as well, so it isn't about "the greater good", it's enlightened self-interest.

    Peter, I don't think "needing cashflow" necessarily conflicts with the desire to work creatively. Unless you have unlimited funds from some other source, turnover (even at low profit) might allow you to reinvest in materials to keep on working and improving.
    If - as presented - it's the sole goal, then there are better (more cost/time effective) solutions. Selling a piece cheaply for the sake of selling a piece, rather than in combination with covering all appropriate costs, is foolish.

    But hey, don't take my word for it - there's plenty of marketing theory texts that cover this in far more detail than I can. Just remember it's not a standard supply/demand curve.

  6. #26
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    It's all very well pricing at a higher level but you still have to sell it. At the moment I only do localish shows, craft fairs and the occasional school craft fair, but being a hobby jeweller I don't have to earn a living. How do you get "noticed" so you can put a realistic price on things, we have a new website which has various things written into it for the search engine, (does that sound as if I know what I am talking about) but nothing in queries yet. We are thinking of putting in a section of pricier things for "special occasions" but not quite sure how to differentiate between the two, as all of our items are "one-offs" designer items. All we have found is people saying "its lovely but I am not paying that price". There must be something I am doing wrong or not doing because other people are doing it for a living, we couldn't live on my sales at our present craft fairs.

  7. #27
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    I like your web site Pat: easy to browse and good photographs. Dennis.

  8. #28
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    Quote Originally Posted by ps_bond View Post
    Unfortunately - again, being the luxury goods market, raising prices does not automatically equate to reduced demand. Frequently it increases instead, depending on the perceived desirability.

    [...]

    The point to remember is that by devaluing the market - as I think I've already said - you are damaging things for yourself as well, so it isn't about "the greater good", it's enlightened self-interest.
    I'm not sure you can have it both ways... low prices devaluing the market as a whole and driving a race to the bottom, high prices increasing desirability and demand.

    My experience with glass working... I started out making beads, with a very basic torch and minimal materials/equipment. My first major purchase was a kiln so that I could sell them responsibly (ie properly annealed, so they wouldn't crack at some point in the future). To test the market I put them out on eBay in 99p auctions - sometimes I got 99p for something that took me hours, sometimes £20+ for 10 minutes work. All proceeds were reinvested while I found out what customers liked and how much they were prepared to pay. The process allowed me to hone my skills and expand - together with my partner who's actually a better beadmaker (and marketeer) than I am. Now we have three kilns for different purposes, four torches, two large-capacity oxycons, several hundred glass colours and types, a decent income and a lot of fun. I know virtually nothing about marketing theory, I'm just going with what works for me.

    I stand by my original point - that in a free and open market, such as the wonderful world wide web, there is no reason why each individual shouldn't set their prices however they see fit. In a closed market, such as your exhibition, it may be different, but that's up to you as the organisers and exhibitors to sort out - if you need controls/restrictions so be it, but I don't think they can or should be applied universally.

    Quote Originally Posted by Dennis View Post
    I like your web site Pat: easy to browse and good photographs. Dennis.
    I agree Dennis - it's a nice looking website. Getting traffic to it may be difficult though - I gave up on individual websites a while back, going instead through the likes of eBay and Etsy, but that's partly because I'm useless at website maintenance. If you have a competent developer to help you, it's a great advantage.

    Alan

  9. #29
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    The only way that seems to work for me is to add value to a piece by personalising it and making it more meaningful. Doesn't have to be an engraved message particularly, just something that means something to that particular person.

    I also despair at the amount of cheap imported jewellery that's around at the moment. I work hard at making my designs different and I keep trying to come up with new things. I also have a fairly good idea of what will sell and at what price. I always work out a price giving a profit of £30 per hour. If you make lots of the same item, you can do that quite easily. I do though have to pay my workers, but it still leaves a profit.

    Having said all that, there are so many new jewellers around now, particularly in Cornwall where our local college churns them out 19 to the dozen, that it's difficult to sell locally at a realistic price. I've more or less given up on galleries and shows, apart from a county show and a Christmas show.

  10. #30
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    Quote Originally Posted by ajda View Post
    I'm not sure you can have it both ways... low prices devaluing the market as a whole and driving a race to the bottom, high prices increasing desirability and demand.
    You're misreading what I've said. If you are determined to undervalue your work then you are taking part in the race to the bottom - as demonstrated by the majority of craft fairs (there are some good ones, but the majority are not). You are operating in a completely different market and frankly you're wasting your time by putting yourself in direct competition with the imported tat and it is a competition you cannot win. By operating in the luxury goods market then you have the opportunity to use the alternative model.

    I stand by my original point - that in a free and open market, such as the wonderful world wide web, there is no reason why each individual shouldn't set their prices however they see fit. In a closed market, such as your exhibition, it may be different, but that's up to you as the organisers and exhibitors to sort out - if you need controls/restrictions so be it, but I don't think they can or should be applied universally.
    Of course, people can and will price however they see fit. But given there is a huge body of work out there covering costing (and not just jewellery specific) then deliberately ignoring all that would seem to be pretty short-sighted.
    That has nothing to do with a closed or open market. Further, the exhibition is not operating in a vacuum so does not fit the definition of a closed market - all of the jewellers there sell work elsewhere anyway. What they do outside of the exhibition is none of my concern, but I'd still try to encourage them to price items properly - which still boils down to realistically covering costs and handling things in a professional manner.

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