Price Point?

[Ulfberht Leather Works]

Ello Ladies and Gents,

I was wondering on a little input. I am new and starting a small Etsy shop and building up from there. This is one of the first items I will be listing. A very simple leather cuff with a stamped pattern, simulated stitching and a tiny bit of tooling(a couple in the pic are unfinished).

What is a good and genuine price point to start these at? $10? $35? I have no idea.

Any help is always appreciated! Thanks in advance

-Ryan

[SLudlow]

Here is the formula I personally like:

Materials + Labor + Expenses + Profit = Wholesale x 2 = Retail

So, calculate your rough material cost per item. For leather I do this by tracking weight changes, but there are a number of methods. Add in your hardware as well.

Add your labor. I personally do $20/hr.

Add your expenses, such as miles traveled, cost of tools, etc. Amount of money spent on tools divided by number of goods sold in a period. That period can be 30 days, or could be 6 months. Your etsy fees would also go here.

Add your profit. This is your bottom line how much you want to make per item if selling at wholesale. If you are selling retail, ignore it.

Now you have your wholesale price. If you ever negotiate for a shop to carry your stuff, have them pay this price.

Double that amount to get your retail, or etsy price. If your stuff doesn't sell, you can reduce how much you raise it over wholesale here, but never go under wholesale price.

[Ulfberht Leather Works]

Thank you, someone else PM'd me and used a similar method. Gives me a great place to start!

[George B]

One thing to do if you are selling on ETSY is research the marketplace. See what other makers are listing their work for, or better yet what they are actually selling and at what prices.

Compare the workmanship to what you are making and price according to the market.

[cjdevito]

One thing to do if you are selling on ETSY is research the marketplace. See what other makers are listing their work for, or better yet what they are actually selling and at what prices.

Compare the workmanship to what you are making and price according to the market.

In general this is perfectly sensible and good advice. But with Etsy, I'm honestly not so sure it's the best way to go. You've some got great craftsmen there who don't charge nearly enough for their work and some not-so-great ones that charge a great deal. I wouldn't use the prices you'll find there for anything but a starting place/reality check, and would suggest instead the type of pricing formulas that were previously mentioned in other replies. Ultimately it's going to come down to what YOU can get for YOUR stuff. Quality will impact this, workmanship will impact this, materials will impact this -- but so will things like the quality of the photographs of the items (to the point where springing for a professional photographer can really make a difference in sales), the content of the items' descriptions (quality & character of the narrative), and even intangibles like your store name or where you're located.

Edited February 3, 2014 by cjdevito

[electrathon]

One thing you really need to consider it that it is not just how long it takes you to do something, it is how good your work is. If it is taking you 2 hours to make your cuff and I can do a better job in 30 minutes, is yours or mine worth more?

And with all sensiivity, you need to pactice more. Think of it this way. If you went to the store, would you buy it, and how much would you pay?

[Ulfberht Leather Works]

Thank you all for the help.

I have noticed a handful of those sellers on Etsy that get what I would deem far too much and in some cases far too little for their work. What matters most? It is likely that they are at least selling their wares and I imagine loving what they do.

I see that time, materials and profit are key. As with any product there is a lot to say for confidence in pricing. If you ask a cheap price for something that looks far superior to its pricing, one may think it cheaply made and not to last. Whereas blowing myself out of the water and putting $35 plus price points on such a simple 10-15 minute item like those cuffs just seems obsurd(even though I have seen people selling a lot near that price).

First things first at least, I have to knock out all of the items to put in the store ASAP and see where things go from there. Waiting on a shipment of hardware and I am burning a hole in the floor!

[JLSleather]

...sellers on Etsy that get what I would deem far too much and in some cases far too little for their work. ....

I see that time, materials and profit are key. As with any product there is a lot to say for confidence in pricing. If you ask a cheap price for something that looks far superior to its pricing, one may think it cheaply made and not to last. ...

Etsy, like other social sites, is hardly a place to guage leather work. We've all seen the pattern you describe, things we thought should have sold or not sold, or sold for more or less than what they did, etc. So ... I've seen only one "pattern" to it (not just Etsy) ...

Popularity contest. BS storm. Call it marketing, but it's just noise. While I think it SHOULD be that the better quality should earn better pay, I'm not clueless enough to think that's the way it actually works. Truthfully, my 'marketing skills' are pathetic - from a business standpoint.

I don't line a facebook page with wonderful stories about the hours I put in. I have a number of things in mind that I don't make, regardless of the size of the check they're willing to write. I charge what I charge - sometimes quite high, and sometimes ridiculously low - simply because I can.

I have a facebook page, with nothing on it. There will never be anything on it, and this is only so some freak can't create a page using my name and say it's theirs.

My wife has some stuff on Etsy, but gets irritated when I can't be bothered to email a potential customer. Not my show = not my responsibility.

I don't deliberately upset people, though I do sometimes upset them. Sometimes bothers people that I don't run to 'service' them. Generally, that's a 'sale' I don't make, which is okay.

From your own post, you mention that it's based on "time, materials, and profit", but immediately begin discussing perceptions...

[Ulfberht Leather Works]

...................

From your own post, you mention that it's based on "time, materials, and profit", but immediately begin discussing perceptions...

I can totally agree with you and understand where you are coming from. And yes, those elements are key to what I would charge at a minimum no matter what. Then there is perception. With a couple of beautiful women dawning my wares and strong viking looking men I can surely use these things as marketing to charge someone on their desires and not necessarily my product. I got into leather working for armor making and costumes for friends, conventions and even my lady friends burlesque group that wants certain custom items.

I am LOVING it and know I have only barely to scratch at the surface. However, I see the potential in not only enjoying the craft and eventually(shall it be so) mastering aspects of it. Yet the possibility to make an extra income from selling wares and taking me to events to which I would be attending anyways, now as a business.

I applaud your purist approach, it is just not for me. I used to be that way with other things in life. I now see that sometimes you have to sell the people a new box of crayons with two new colors every six months and make them feel it is special. This is what Apple does with the iPhone and all other manufacturers. To me it is crazy and I do not participate in it with my personal life and my personal spending. Yet, the people want it and are willing to give their dollars away for it If someone wants me to make an item for them that no others will and I can profit from it. Done!

I am an artist and a realist. The realist side of me wants to fund the artist side

Edited February 5, 2014 by Ulfbehrt Dynamics