There is no such thing as the "right price" based on a formula of total cost times some markup multiplier. The sales price of an item depends on many factors other than the cost of production - quality, demand, economic conditions, rarity, marketing strategy, fashion etc.
A low price does not necessarily equate to "tat", which seems to be a common interpretation - just look at the price of antiques - the sales price of which vary more with fashion than many other factors.
It is not the responsibility of anyone to preserve a price point "for the good of the market" - a market by definition is a competitive environment. If it suits me to sell my products at cost or even lower or at 10 times the cost then that is MY decision and mine alone - we all have different drivers and motivation.
Hobby makers (such as myself) are a tiny, tiny fraction of the total jewellery market and will not offer serious competition to a professional jeweller, the main danger is from imported goods where manufacturing costs are significantly lower than the UK and volumes are huge.
One cannot blame the customer for buying "cheap imported tat" in preference to hand made, high quality, high price items - our culture is changing to a "throw away and buy another" attitude for many items - from computers to clothes and also (sadly) jewellery. Quality and longevity are less important than price and availability. "I want it now and I want it cheap" rather than "I'll wait and also pay a high price for exactly what I want"
It is the customer who drives the market, not the producer.
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Barry the Flying Silversmith👍
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