How to price your work

 

This is always a very emotive conversation with artisan and crafters because you are not pricing work when you have this conversation you are pricing your own worth! The simplest way is to look for a similar item on Etsy or Amazon and take an average price of things you find.  There is a boring science behind pricing strategies but they don't take into account the emotive side that a hand crafter or artisan brings with them - you're selling a piece of you, a piece that you put love and time into.  This isn't as simple as saying it was £10 at the wholesalers so I'll sell it for £20. 

Burt here's the thing - are you making and selling to pay your bills or are you using it to top up a wage or pay for that family holiday as a treat? That's where the crunch comes in - are you totally sure about which you are?  There is no right or wrong to this question, but being clear on where you are may change your pricing methodology. 

The business text books will talk to you of price skimming, cost plus, promotional pricing and write huge papers on each of these topics BUT you instinctively know which suits you without needing to read these books! For the majority of artisan crafters the cost plus process won't work.  This is where you price how much it cost to make and add your profit margin to arrive at a selling price. The reason this won't work is you are worth more than just the time it took you to paint that picture - people are paying for your skill, the time it took over years to develop, the thinking time, the imagination to see that image before you painted it.  They are paying you because they can't do it themselves and more importantly because they like it.  This is where many small makers slip up.  They go but it only took me an hour to paint that so I can't charge £500 can I?? Yes you can, IF the market is there for you.  If you price too cheaply there will be doubt placed that the quality or worth isn't there, or worse that you didn't actually make it and found it in a car boot sale.  

Also, don't be embarrassed if someone tries to haggle with you - stay your ground! If it's something you wanted out of your stock then fine, but make it sound like you're doing them a massive favour! Think of it this way - would you walk into Marks & Spencer and take an item to the till and say to the staff 'I know this jumper is priced at £45 but I only want to pay £10'.  You wouldn't do it and you'd be squirming if the person in front of you was doing it - hand made is NOT worth less, if anything it's worth MORE.

There will always be people that want a bargain, or feel good for knocking someone's prices down but the thing is you have the choice to say yes or no to that request.  I remember years ago a lady who did amazing pieces was over the moon when she sold two paintings to a customer but on questioning her she'd done him a ridiculous deal and he'd tapped into her sense of guilt or unworth at pricing her own art.  She was delighted someone had gone wow, I was furious she'd accepted such a low price! 

So back to what's fair to charge.  There are other factors to consider - but most boil down to you almost taking the emotion out of this question.  That's incredibly hard for most to do, we make our work because we are passionate about what we do and want to be fair but we also need to be recompensed when we sell.  If you really struggle, ask a friend to advise what they think is fair.

Also, on the subject of pricing check when you do markets and fairs to see if you can identify which camp other makers sit in by their pricing.  If they seem more expensive than others then they are most likely to be a business model and need to pay their mortgage from profits.  Hobby makers are often cheaper as only tend to care about recouping materials and a little extra to be able to keep making.  Depending on which camp you fall may affect which markets you want to attend in future.  For example if you are a silver jewellery maker who wants to pay the mortgage you will have a hard time competing on price with the person next to you selling a lot cheaper because they just need to recover costs.  Again, both models are perfectly valid but depending on where you are may affect which markets you wish to attend in future due to the expectation of those attending as visitors.  Markets can also be a useful place to attend as a visitor to see what others are charging? Are customers buying? What questions are they asking of the seller / maker? 

And ultimately, you are the seller so you can change your prices as and when you want to but don't be in a rush to discount things too hastily unless you want to have a massive declutter of old stock (the old adage of stock is dead money is true!).