|
Pricing
your artwork can be very subjective.
It's VERY important to consider the price
of comparable product. If you are
selling handcrafted wooden jewelry and
most other exhibitors are selling theirs
within the $10-$20 range. See if
you can do the same. If you work
is of exceptional quality, compared to
most of your competitors, then, be sure
to adjust your prices accordingly.
Here
is a true story. It's an important
story, because it deals directly with
pricing and how it affects others in business.
I'd
been doing shows for about 4 years at
the time. I had my pricing well
within the norm for similar items.
At one particular show....EVERY year,
my booth was placed near another woman's
work that had similar product. She was
a dear lady and we were good friends.
I never had the heart to tell her...but...her
prices were extremely low. You couldn't
buy the pieces wholesale for what she
sold them for. Other exhibitors
complained to her...but her response was
that she didn't need the money...that
she was retired. So...every
year...until she sold out (which she did
EVERY year) we sold very little.
When she sold out...our sales picked up
dramatically. She didn't understand
that it was important for her to price
her product within the confines of what
others are selling. When you undercut
your prices so drastically, it actually
hurts others. I know my friend didn't
do this intentionally, she didn't have
a mean bone in her body!
So,
how does this relate to you and your pricing?
Do your homework. Check how
others are pricing their products.
Visit lots of shows and retail outlets.
Consider pricing your products comparable
to others.
Another
factor to consider, is the cost of your
time + material costs. You
also want to add a cost for running your
business. This might be just the cost
of the show built into your prices.
Compare
the costs you get from others to your
cost for time + materials + business costs.
Do they add up? Are they similar
or your costs higher? Where
can you cut costs if they are higher.
How can you add more value to your product
without adding more labor? How can
you reduce the value without reducing
your standard of excellence? These
are questions that you have to answer
once you decide what you want to sell.
If
your price is $10 higher per unit...then...you
might want to see where you can cut corners
to reduce costs. I've found that
over the years, you rarely recover all
of your labor costs when selling hand
painted items.
Choose
projects that can be made quickly and
easily yet are unique to your style of
crafting. I know that crafting is
a labor of love, but you can make a fair
income if you work hard, keep your costs
down and carefully select products to
sell.
|
