Chris Campbell on sat 22 jun 02
What are we saying here ???
Pricing by looking at the booth next to you? Pricing a beginners work
at the same level as a veteran? Pricing by social conscience? Pricing exactly
the same from coast to coast? Why not just throw a dart at a board and price
that way.
One of the underlying factors here is - WE HAVE NO PRICE RANGE. As
long as we are all sitting in the same space, competing for the same client
there will be animosity.
Tony F said -
'Think about raising your prices, everyone, and the choices consumers make
will be more aesthetic and less blue light special.
Together we could raise our income, educate about the value of what we do
and the work and save our backs and bones a bit more.'
He makes an excellent point. Experienced potters need to raise their
prices and get out of the way of the beginners. How else can the consumer
realize that there is a worthwhile difference in pottery?
There is an entire level of buyer out there who will pay more for
excellence. We need to educate them. Make sure they know what to look for in
good pottery. Tell them about the importance of craftsmanship, design and
glazing. When this type of consumer knows the difference, they become
collectors and they pass on their knowledge to others of their kind.
Chris Campbell - in North Carolina
Chris Campbell Pottery, LLC
9417 Koupela Drive
Raleigh NC 27615-2233
e-mail : ccpottery@aol.com
website : www.wholesalecrafts.com
Valerie Hawkins on sun 23 jun 02
At my first and only pottery sale, I shared a booth with another potter. It
was cold and rainy and I had a booth under shelter; she was supposed to set
up outside. So I let her move in with me. We each had about half of the
booth space.
On my side were my newbie blue and green pots. Mugs, bowls, casseroles etc.
On her side were her black and tan teapots, mugs, platters. Very nice. Her
ware was priced at almost exactly twice the price of mine.
No one who came into our booth was torn between her pottery and mine. They
either went to hers or went to mine. Not one person was debating between
one of her $20 mugs or two of my $10 mugs.
I sold more quantity, but we both ended up with about the same sales in $$.
I guess what I'm trying to get at is that there is a segment of the market
that each of us as a potter will apeal too. Isn't it our individual task to
correctly price our wares to our market? In the situation above, I really
don't believe that either of us would have made more sales had the other
potter not been in the booth. But because together we apealed to a broader
market, together we outsold most of the other booths.
As a newbie, I am basically working for nothing. My husband pays the bills.
But, I have to sell to cover the cost of my pottery addiction. Once I
account for the cost of materials, equipment, utilities, breakage, the ugly
ones that have to be chucked, classes and workshops, I am most likely still
losing money. But that's OK for the time being. I will hopefully improve
and the prices will go up and losses will go down. I won't become a
full-time potter if it won't pay. Time will tell.
Valerie
Charlotte
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