When I price my piece, it feels too high

[Tugadude]

18 minutes ago, chuck123wapati said:

I'll tell you another little story about competition. Back in the day here in Wyoming prison inmates could do hobbies. Our prison had an inmate that ran a leather shop, he had about 6 other inmates employed for him and together they sold thousands of dollars worth of leather goods. Yes if you bought leather in Jackson Hole Wyoming back in the 80s and 90s it was inmate made. I've personally seen those store owners fill up their cars with leather and other products at the pen. That guy made over 60 grand a year and sent it all home to his family. Even before that leather goods were sold at the prison, that is gone now in Wyoming but other prisons still allow hobby work and they sell it.

That's a great story.  So when the person (hopefully) is released to the public again they have a means of income.  Talk about a win-win.  

[Samalan]

31 minutes ago, chuck123wapati said:

I'll tell you another little story about competition. Back in the day here in Wyoming prison inmates could do hobbies. Our prison had an inmate that ran a leather shop, he had about 6 other inmates employed for him and together they sold thousands of dollars worth of leather goods. Yes if you bought leather in Jackson Hole Wyoming back in the 80s and 90s it was inmate made. I've personally seen those store owners fill up their cars with leather and other products at the pen. That guy made over 60 grand a year and sent it all home to his family. Even before that leather goods were sold at the prison, that is gone now in Wyoming but other prisons still allow hobby work and they sell

My two brother in laws worked at the same prison here in Mass one of them got my farther a prisoner made leather wallet I got that wallet at some point and still have it. It's a very nice piece of work , that's from about 40 years ago.

[tsunkasapa]

2 hours ago, Samalan said:

My two brother in laws worked at the same prison here in Mass one of them got my farther a prisoner made leather wallet I got that wallet at some point and still have it. It's a very nice piece of work , that's from about 40 years ago.

QUALITY leather work will last a very long time. My mother, 85 YO, still carries a wallet she made in high school.

[Samalan]

1 hour ago, tsunkasapa said:

QUALITY leather work will last a very long time. My mother, 85 YO, still carries a wallet she made in high school.

That is very cool something made with purpose and intention God bless your Mom.

[williaty]

On 12/29/2021 at 11:15 AM, Warhauk said:

I know there are algorithms for prices our work and the one I've been trying to follow is roughly the (material + time) x 2. Then, I feel like the prices is too high so usually end up lowering it a bit further even though I suspect I am already undervaluing my time aspect quite a bit (I'm a little bit slow on my production speed but still am probably undercutting my time too much).

But then I look at the price I am trying to sell and it feels too high still. For example, pricing out a set of 4 bondage cuffs, which cost me about $10 to make per cuff, and doing the hand stitching, hand dying, etc. Even if I only value my time at $10/hr AND assume it only takes 1 hour to make a cuff (which I am pretty sure it takes a decent bit longer but I tend to have issues timing, with other responsibilities and breaks and stuff), I would be charging about $40 per cuff, where as on etsy, similar looking things (though most likely lower quality but they look pretty similar) are like $40-80 for an entire set of 4 cuffs, collar, and leash.

I am just feeling pretty disheartened trying to sell my stuff when competing with these mass producers.

To wrestle this thread back on topic after It got way off with that needless argument that just happened...

 

I make the same products. A pair of wrist cuffs or a pair of ankle cuffs runs $100. If someone is going to buy both kinds at the same time, I discount it to $175 because I save about $25 worth of my time not having to deal with them on 2 separate occasions. I have never had anyone be hesitant about the price. About every other aspect of whether or not this is the thing they want, sure, but the price is never a problem. I'm sure that part of the reason why is all my sales are in person. By the time they hear a price, they've handled them, probably worn them, had friends who already own a set, etc. I also act like every set is custom made. They get to pick leather colors, thread colors, hardware finishes, etc but in reality I help them lead themselves along to choosing materials I already have in stock. So they get something they feel like they customized just for themselves but it's no extra work for me. Once in a while someone will be set on something really crazy expensive and I say I'll order it in special for them but they pay extra for the exotic materials.  The other thing that helped was realizing that the materials costs are tiny compared to the value of my labor. It meant that I could order the absolute best materials of each thing I could find and only push the price of the final piece up a few percent. However, using "finest imported Italian leather" or whatever helps them sell because it's something the customers can brag about later.

[chuck123wapati]

15 hours ago, Tugadude said:

That's a great story.  So when the person (hopefully) is released to the public again they have a means of income.  Talk about a win-win.  

But not so good of an ending

Modern corrections dont allow for much of that anymore, including hobbies, it is to bad really. These people get out and some become your neighbors. Now they get out no better than when they went in. Keeps corrections in business.

Back in the day we had a complete auto shop ,welding ,machinery, electronics shops, carpentry, upholstery all state certified educational courses and shops for inmates. We also had a license plate facility textiles facility laundry ,facility maintenance,  kitchen and bakery for work type jobs.  it all went away one day when three tried to escape and killed an officer. Every inmate was locked down, the "Department of corrections" was created a big stir was raised and we built a new prison about a quarter mile away and moved.  And most all that equipment is still sitting there in an abandoned building.

Sorry for the deviation from topic all.

Edited January 8, 2022 by chuck123wapati

[Samalan]

13 hours ago, williaty said:

I am just feeling pretty disheartened trying to sell my stuff when competing with these mass producers

So don't compete with them do your custom thing and market to that demographic make your product better or different enough that the extra price doesn't matter and that is two ways to solve your problem it's a lot of work but it can be done. "Obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off of the goal" 

[sbrownn]

1 hour ago, Samalan said:

So don't compete with them do your custom thing and market to that demographic make your product better or different enough that the extra price doesn't matter and that is two ways to solve your problem it's a lot of work but it can be done. "Obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off of the goal" 

An excellent suggestion.  

Make your design unique and your craftsmanship and leather and hardware quality better.  

[chuck123wapati]

1 hour ago, Samalan said:

 "Obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off of the goal" 

exactly!!  competition wont go away we are faced with in every aspect of life really. Apply for a job and your competing, want a promotion? compete! What makes world class athletes the best? The challenge of competition! Don't fear it, embrace it, challenge it, elbow your way in and do what it takes.

[Samalan]

2 minutes ago, chuck123wapati said:

elbow your way in and do what it takes

" We will either find a way, or make one "

--- Hannibal