What Would You Pay for.... This?

[jbird]

Holly I think if I was buying one I would pay upwards of $60 for it.

Josh

That one is plain inside - you never know what a young boy would put in it! But I have one I'd made for myself, and it is lined with fabric.

These boxes measure about 10"x5", and about 4" deep. He also makes some lovely square ones. I appreciate the quality of his workmanship. This box cost me 35.00+shipping.

Here are others I've done with his boxes. Some of the pics were with my old camera and are not really clear. The last set was a custom box Dale and I worked out for a customer's flutes. It was lined with velvet and padded. One other is also velvet lined, and has a commemorative "plaque" inside (it was to be an anniversary gift)

[wildrose]

Josh, I'm with you....but my dilemma is that the box alone is costing me about 45.00 (with shipping and all), so it's unreasonable for me to price them at that after I've spent a goodly amount of time doing the leatherwork part (and lining it if that's merited). Which is why I've only done two for customers - the others have all been gifts.

I've mentioned my friend Yolanda Roots, who does Bible covers, in other postings. I told her I was going to start mine this year at 90.00 - that would be my base price. She STARTS hers at 300.00 WOW!!! I told her I could not imagine someone paying me that much for one. Again, it's all market - most of her business is website related, so she is pulling customers from all over. But it did encourage me to maybe start mine higher. What do you all think?

[TwinOaks]

Well, as I'm quickly learning, you'll never get more than you ask for it. For some folks, they like to brag about a $300 box they got. Some think recycled cardboard is fine. If you price your work for 'common folk', that's who you'll have as customers. If you price it for folks who have more money than sense, they will be your customers. It's a balancing act for sure, and I wish I could tell you where the balance point is. You just gotta find your niche and make your pile while you can.

[HorsehairBraider]

Wildrose, think of it this way - if someone saw your box and said, "Hey, that's really cool, how quickly can you make me up 500?" how much would you want to get for it?

Personally, I'd start at 125.00 or so.

As far as marking stuff up: This really does work to increase sales. Many times people are buying a gift for a friend, and they think well of the friend - let's say the friend is an "over 100.00" friend. So then your box would be perfect. (It goes without saying that if you do this it must be quality, as this box clearly is.)

I've got a bracelet I sell that I finally had to mark up to $150.00. It takes SO darn long to make. And it was SO popular, that I was basically a slave - I spent all freaking day and night making the darn things, with not much to show for it. I finally had to face up to the fact that I simply CAN NOT work 16 hour days every day with no days off. Much as I hated to, I raised the price, and glory hallelujah - I can finally get enough sleep!

[albane]

I think this is a fun idea for a poll or even a topic but I don't want anyone to get their feelings hurt so if you do this, be ready to be surprised -- maybe pleasantly!

I am posting a picture of something I made to ask you all what you think it would be worth if you saw it in a shop. Eventually I will tell you what i charge, and if you have convinced me that I need to change the price. It should be interesting to see how area, local culture, and true knowledge of what went into a piece affect what we think it's worth. I think it might help to do a ballpark of where such items are usually placed for a retail sale. For instance, leashes, including fabric ones, in L.A. are usually under a hundred dollars and no less than about twenty. Average cost is probably twenty eight bucks. collars have a broader price range.

If anyone has any ideas how to tweak this, tweak away. ALso, I don't know how to write this as a poll, so I hope this is okay.

This leash is about four feet long and 3/4 wide.

Pat

Pat,

I would make that leash for a minimum of $150.00

I get away with that kind of pricing for a couple reasons.

I am a custom specialist so the client wants it before I make it. The next factor is that as a custom the client views the product in a different light. Custom verses off the rack. Off the rack can be anything from Louis Veton to Walmart. Custom can not be treated like a commodity. You are in fact a hard workin joe who wants to get by doing what he loves.

When a customer comes in to your shop they know they can talk you down and they act like it's ok to ask for a deal. At that point I will reach in my pocket pull out a $20.00 bill and throw it at them, as i'm showing them the door....I will say "I don't have time to waste and need to get back to my life" If they are trying to insult your craft by not wanting to pay for it and compounding the insult by wasting your time they need to go and I figure I get off cheep for $20.00 . If they come back the first thing I tell them is consultations are priced at $250.00 per hour prorated to the second. They then are booked for an appointment a week out and we require a deposit. I love the look on there face when I sit in my chair put my feet up and relax. They want to know why they need an appointment if I'm just sittng and they are here now. I remind them if they want the best then they have to wait like everyone else. My approach is extreame you may want to have a softer touch. You only have so many days on mother earth and a limeted amount of products you produce in a lifetime you might as well get paid for it.

Best Regards,

Al Bane

[skipj]

I heard a story from someone who does craft shows, she does beadwork. A person with a table next to her's wasn't making many sales in the morning, but, when he doubled his prices after lunch, he sold out. So many perceive quality by price. If it's expensive, it must be good. Unfortunately, this has been taken advantage of by name designers by selling poor quality at premium prices.

I read a book, I think may have been recommended here called "Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster" about that.

SkipJ

[hivemind]

Josh, I'm with you....but my dilemma is that the box alone is costing me about 45.00 (with shipping and all), so it's unreasonable for me to price them at that after I've spent a goodly amount of time doing the leatherwork part (and lining it if that's merited). Which is why I've only done two for customers - the others have all been gifts.

I've mentioned my friend Yolanda Roots, who does Bible covers, in other postings. I told her I was going to start mine this year at 90.00 - that would be my base price. She STARTS hers at 300.00 WOW!!! I told her I could not imagine someone paying me that much for one. Again, it's all market - most of her business is website related, so she is pulling customers from all over. But it did encourage me to maybe start mine higher. What do you all think?

Remember, you're better off selling one item for $300 than you are selling five for $50.

[CitizenKate]

Holly, I think this one is my favorite of all the ones you've made that I've seen. May I ask how you created that bead around the inside of the inlay?

Kate

[budd4766]

Great looking stuff here.

Pricing is always a tricky subject...one I struggle with a lot. I love doing leather work, and it seems wrong to charge a lot for something I had fun making, but if the market will support it, why not? That way, I can afford to have more fun making the next thing..

My dad used to work for this old farmer in MS who told us the story of a fridge he was trying to get rid of. He'd put the fridge out on the curb with a sign saying $50, and it sat there for weeks. Then, one day he changed the sign to $100 and sold it the next day.

I had a similar incident with a hot sauce holster I was selling on Etsy. I'd posted it at $45 + shipping...sat there for weeks. Then, I changed it to $65 shipping included, and it sold within a week. Weird...but true.

The lesson I'm taking away is, never sell yourself short.

As for the stuff you guys have listed here, I'd expect the leash to bring between $50 and $75, and the box to be in the $100 range. Would I pay that for it? Maybe, maybe not. To be honest, I'd probably try to figure out how to make my own and not pay nothing...) (don't look at me like that, everybody who does this stuff does the same thing all the time...nature of the beast kind of thing). But, somebody who doesn't do leather will pay for what they perceive as a quality, hand-made, unique piece of work. So don't feel bad about charging 'em for it..

[CitizenKate]

The lesson I'm taking away is, never sell yourself short.

There is a perception of quality in that price tag. I would rather lose business to someone who thought my prices were too high - and I have, on many occasions - than someone who thought my price was too low. But no one will actually think the price is too low. They'll just think the item is not the quality they want.

Kate