Selling stuff.

A reader asked a very good question and one about which I can offer almost no help.

He said he's been making lots of boxes inspired by some of the ideas in my books and has been giving them to family and friends. Because there are two festivals at which he would like to sell his work, he wondered about how to price his boxes. I can tell you how to cut a dovetail joint,  but how to price one's work is a difficult question that's beyond me to answer while the world is so overrun with so much inexpensively manufactured stuff.

I responded as follows:

I  know nothing quality of your work, or the market and level of interest in buying it. High quality craft shows will bring a higher value generally than selling in your local farmer’s market. Are you well  known in your community and have some kind of following? Being good friends with lots of folks can help. 

The old tried and true business approach would be to look at your boxes in relation to time, materials and overhead expenses… What is an hourly rate that you are comfortable with, and what do your materials cost? Is your time sitting in a booth trying to sell worth anything? If you are thinking of a business, and not just a hobby there are expenses involved.  As a pure hobby,  booth sitting and attempting to sell your work may be worth something to you as a social outlet. If that’s not the case your pricing should include payment for time selling it and the costs of exhibiting it. I've done many shows where the cost of doing the show ate up all the profit I'd hoped to make.

There are also factors of efficiency. If you are really fast and efficient you might be able to sell at a lower price, though the individual boxes may hold less meaning for you or for others. If your boxes are extremely well crafted and creative with your own designs, perhaps  a higher price might be in order.

I can offer no easy formula. You might look at what similar products are selling for in the shows you’re proposing for yourself. And of course, there’s the thing of just selling at any cheap price to get rid of it so you can make more… Giving your work to charity auctions, can be a good way to offload inventory and clear the decks for even better work.

That’s about the best I can offer. I recently put my products on Etsy for 25% off sale. They weren’t selling, so I’ve lowered the price and the discount helped. Customers will ultimately decide what your boxes are worth to them, and that will help you decide their price and out of frustration you may decide to continue giving them to friends. 

Here in Eureka Springs we seem to have more non-profit organizations than any place else on earth, and my wife frequently shops in my box storage for things to be sold to benefit others.

Make, fix and create...