Dave Finkelnburg on fri 6 sep 02
Barbara,
I come at this from a business perspective, so you have to consider that
bias.
Shrews business people, in my experience never, ever price based on
cost. Cost is what they use to determine whether they want to take on the
business, stay in the business, etc. Cost is good information. Cost is
critically important information. Cost is not what you want to use to set
your price.
Set your price according to the market. Study the market. As Mel
Jacobson has advised before, go look at what similar work is selling for in
an upscale department store. Or, look in a gallery if that's the kind of
work you are making. Figure out what you think people are willing to pay
now for work similar to yours. Then set your price around that and see what
happens. In the long run, if you want to be a business person, you will set
your price as high as the market will bear.
If you work fast and hard and make lots of pots and keep your costs
down, is that any reason for setting your price low? Of course not! If you
are working hard and fast and the market won't pay enough for you to make
minimum wage, do you want to keep making pots? Well, that depends on how
much you love making pots, doesn't it? :-)
Pricing is probably the hardest part of marketing. By all means track
all your costs. Set your price, though, by the market.
Good selling,
Dave Finkelnburg
----- Original Message -----
From: "barbara arner"
> I chose to sell my work at another store and they ordered 12 vases about a
foot tall in varying light colors - pink, green and blue. So that is good
and I'm excited to be working on that. But here is my question. How do you
price a piece? Right now these vases are priced at $40 each but I really
think that is pretty cheap. (I get half of that) But then again, they might
sell more quickly. Should I be keeping track of how long it takes to make
them, the amount of clay and glaze and firing costs? I get really confused
and I dont want to cheat myself!
barbara arner on fri 6 sep 02
First, thanks to everyone who has responded and helped me with my clay adventures. I chose to sell my work at another store and they ordered 12 vases about a foot tall in varying light colors - pink, green and blue. So that is good and I'm excited to be working on that. But here is my question. How do you price a piece? Right now these vases are priced at $40 each but I really think that is pretty cheap. (I get half of that) But then again, they might sell more quickly. Should I be keeping track of how long it takes to make them, the amount of clay and glaze and firing costs? I get really confused and I dont want to cheat myself!
Well, any feedback would be helpful.. Thank you so much. This has been a great way to receive guidance.
Thanks,
Barbara Arner
Rebecca P on fri 6 sep 02
Hi Barbara,
I am in a quandry about this myself. It is difficult - and what I keep
hearing (from other potters in the area) is that everyone knows potters
don't make minimum wage (if you figured in your time, etc.) Just today I
took some specially designed bowls to a shop here and when I told the
proprietor what prices I expected, she told me I was cheating myself! So, I
accepted prices from her which were a good bit higher than I had suggested.
Of course, this goes in her favor too, because in a 50/50 deal, she makes as
much as I do. She knows what she can ask and still sell the pieces, so we
both win.
It must be noted that my "low" prices were based on the fact that I live in
a seasonal tourist area and the tourists who come here generally like to get
"bargains". However, this shop is open all year and caters also to
residents of the area (which is far from urban or metropolitan) And there is
another "Marketplace" about an hour's drive from here where I place my "Art
Pieces" (you know, the ones on pedestals)for which I charge higher prices.
Don't know how much help this is, but maybe you can glean something from it.
Cheers
Rebecca Pierre
Oak Island, NC
>From: barbara arner
>Reply-To: Ceramic Arts Discussion List
>To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
>Subject: pricing work
>Date: Fri, 6 Sep 2002 12:58:04 -0400
>
>First, thanks to everyone who has responded and helped me with my clay
>adventures. I chose to sell my work at another store and they ordered 12
>vases about a foot tall in varying light colors - pink, green and blue. So
>that is good and I'm excited to be working on that. But here is my
>question. How do you price a piece? Right now these vases are priced at $40
>each but I really think that is pretty cheap. (I get half of that) But then
>again, they might sell more quickly. Should I be keeping track of how long
>it takes to make them, the amount of clay and glaze and firing costs? I get
>really confused and I dont want to cheat myself!
>Well, any feedback would be helpful.. Thank you so much. This has been a
>great way to receive guidance.
>Thanks,
>Barbara Arner
>
>______________________________________________________________________________
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