Disclosing your costs to potential customers......good idea?

[odie]

In some of my current listings, I'm disclosing my base cost for some of the bowls. My idea is that many potential customers have no idea how expensive some of the wood I use for bowls is.....and, it may be good for them to know that a large portion of the final price is for materials. Just wondering if those of you who are selling your work, think this is a good policy......?

ko

 

[Raul McCai]

If you are willing to invite negotiations into the worth of your creativity, work product, and time then it may work out well. I suspect that it'd all depend on the caliber of your clientele. But then if they are indeed of that caliber, then they probably don't need to know - or care to know - what you spend on materials. It's the final result that appeals to them.

Joe Q Public can be a weird duck.
I recall trying to run a little business doing woodworking in the late 1970s. I'd get the looniest of people calling me making the craziest of demands all trying to pinch their pennies at my expense.
One woman stands out in memory. She insisted that I use the lumber she identified for the custom made furniture she wanted. It was left over lumber and timbers from construction sites selling in the news paper for $0.010 a board foot.
Nothing I could say to her could dissuade her from her lunacy. Her response was rage. She became enraged at me calling me on the phone endlessly to shout at me and berate me as a charlatan and greedy grifter.

My dislike of doing business with the public has led me to a business model that requires no customers (or rather only one - me, I am my own and my only customer) and my ROI is entirely up to me and the time I wish to invest.

 

[Charlie Knighton]

odie......I would only disclose the cost of a special blank if you could compare it to a bowl from free wood.....then only show a very plain wood........only trouble good technique with some extras with a good finish is quite outstanding.....ie Terry Mitchell....... if they are buying online vs coming to your shop and looking at your inventory......for the most part they pick it up, check the bottom, and if it is a hollow form see if they can find something unsanded on the inside.......wallyworld sells these wooden bowls ...she said

 

[Mark Mandell]

The only time such a subject can validly be raised is when the special customer specifies "I want the piece made from Lower Outer Slobovian Teak that has been stored in yak dung and monkey milk for a minimum of 20 years"

"Not-for-nothing" Odie, but you'll sell yourself way short even talking about cost of materials. A carpenter/contractor's price is often set at 3 times materials' cost. On something like a turning, where you're not competing with someone else on the same end-product, such a conversation functions only to discount your time, effort, and vision. Moreover, with all due respect, there are turners who can take the same piece of wood and command a price 5 or more times what you (or I) could expect to ask.

In short, the question is irrelevant. The finished piece has an inherent value, regardless of what the wood cost.

(ah, maybe 50 times more than me)

PS The people for whom such a question has some use are those who buy salad bowls at Walmart. You can't begin to compete with China on price, Odie, don't even try.

 

[Bill Boehme]

Odie, your customers aren't just buying a piece of wood, they're buying one of your creations. Price the finished piece as you see fit. There is much of the cost of your effort that goes far beyond just the time spent making the piece. You have a lot of time invested in developing your creativity. I agree with the others who say that mentioning what you spend for wood is a bad idea.

 

[hockenbery]

When asked how long it takes to make a bowl by a customer a turner replied
2 hours and 20 years of practice.

As general rule I would not publish cost of materials, labor hours, equipment cost or the electric bill.

If asked by a client I would answer as accurately as I could.

Clients who ask questions usually want to know about the process.
I can't remember ever having been asked how much I paid for materials.
Some have been interested in where the wood came from geographically.

Al

 

[Dean Center]

Odie,
The cost of the wood is a small fraction of the value of what you produce. There's no way you're going to get a thrifty local in our neck of the woods to pay a proper price for a bowl if they know you only spent $20 on the wood. Even the folks up at the Yellowstone Club are looking for deals, or at least trying not to get fleeced.

One of our original turning club members sells his work at hot shot galleries in famous places. At one of the meetings, he showed a large aspen bowl and said it started out as a $70 bowl, but after he put a band of turquoise in the rim, it was a $300 bowl. $20 of Arizona flea market turquoise wouldn't increase the value of the bowl that much, if the cost of materials were an important consideration. It's what the purchaser perceives as the value of the bowl--and also what the maker perceives as the value. As another example, Kelly Dunn says he gets paid way more for a cracked (and repaired) bowl than he does for a 'perfect' bowl. Go figure.

 

[odie]

Good morning!......Baby, it's cold outside!.....been hanging around zero degrees for the past couple days!

OK, I think you guys have convinced me!.....well, sort of.

It may seem less "dignified" to assume the cost of materials means anything to some potential sales.......

I'm thinking the price of the materials may come into play for the more inexpensive bowls in my online shop. These people, IMHO, tend to be the ones who see price more critically than with those who purchase the more expensive bowls. This would be "generally" speaking, and not applicable to every potential sale, of course. I may decide to adopt a selling strategy according to this belief.

It would not be an easy task to go back and change all the current listings.....but, I think it may be wise to revise my strategy from this point forward.

Thank you all for your input.

ko

 

[John Torchick]

Why would you disclose your cost of anything? I don't know of a business that does this. If you knew the manufactured cost of a car, the dealer cost, and the sticker price, you would be amazed in what markup exists in that industry.

 

[dbonertz]

I agree with the others. I am a small business owner and I would never disclose my costs. That is no ones business but mine.

If you want to add value to a piece, what your trying to accomplish by disclosing the cost of the exotic wood, try describing the wood in a fashion where people understand the extra expense without disclosing the cost. Example may be: The wood for this bowl came from the legal harvesting in Columbia and was shipped to ?. After going through an extensive check at our port for goods, to confirm it was legally harvested, it was shipped to dealers around the country. I hand picked the piece because ............. Something like this, I did not word it well - just shot from the hip, adds value to the bowl rather than saying I harvested it locally from a downed tree on Mulberry Street and people understand that difference.

 

[odie]

Well, ok......the information is being absorbed.....

At this point, since I am making sales, I know disclosing my costs will not hurt sales......but, I think you, who have commented here, are right that it may not help with sales in all cases.

In the first place, this whole endeavor is NOT based on making money......sure, I want to make sales, but I will never allow a desire for money overrule my convictions, which lead me to continue improving, and becoming the best I can be. For me, it is these things that add to the value of life.....not the money! In spite of this, I do need to compete with the competition.

Further commentary is still welcomed, but I've decided the more inexpensive bowls will benefit by the customer knowing the costs involved. I am competing with other turners who don't deal with the expenses that I do. Those who consider the price, need to know the reason why my bowl might be more expensive than someone who cuts his blank from a downed tree on Mulberry street. With the expensive bowls, it's a matter of artistic integrity to keep costs private.....mainly, because those who buy these probably could care less what the expenses are, and they are seeing their purchase more in line with art appreciation.....not just an object for home décor.

ko

 

[John Torchick]

If the person knows your costs, they will ask, "If the wood cost $60, then why are you charging $125 for it?" Then they make a ridiculously low offer for the turning. We had a demo at our club- the demo turner said he charges $1.00 a minute for labor plus the cost of materials.
I build custom fishing rods and run into this all the time. People want a custom, one-of-a-kind fishing rod, at a Walmart price. I have a minimum price on labor alone, taking into consideration the time it takes to build a basic rod. But that is a secret.

 

[Charlie Knighton]

2 hours and 20 years of practice.

while I am no where near 20 years experience, I like the analogy .......and it really sums it up as all my turning experience bears on each new piece .....ie instead of sum of parts.......sum of experience.......thanks Al......still like your ball in a ball......

 

[hockenbery]

while I am no where near 20 years experience, I like the analogy .......and it really sums it up as all my turning experience bears on each new piece .....ie instead of sum of parts.......sum of experience.......thanks Al......still like your ball in a ball......

I should add that I have heard the other side in a conversation with a guy who talking about mutual acquaintance said some thing like

" he's in a foul mood these days because he's having trouble getting $2000 for a piece he makes in 2 hours.

You sort have to know the market and the perceived value.

 

[Raul McCai]

price of the materials may come into play for the more inexpensive bowls in my online shop. These people, IMHO, tend to be the ones who see price more critically than with those who purchase the more expensive bowls.

ko

Honest to goodness gracious Odie, I'd tell not ( EDIT ADDED THE WORD NOT - makes a tiny difference) em the price. Make a video of you making some really cool bowls and link them to it is they start asking about the process. If they are so tacky as to ask about the cost of materials, re-state the query by inviting them to modify the query into one about process


There's a kind of person who goes into a car dealership and demands to see tissue.
This bit of information tells them what the dealer paid. It's useful because cars are a commodity and not art. Buying a car is like buying a very expensive potato or carrot. It is reasonable to want information about the money trail.

But art?
Well, I don't know anything about art, but I know what I like. If I like it a lot, I'll pay for it.

 

[Bill Boehme]

so, what's next? My guess is that anybody buying something that you made based on the value of the wood might say to you, "ninety percent of the wood went onto the floor as dust and shavings and I'm not going to pay for that part". I would forget about getting into the head of this hypothetical potential tightwad customer with the intent of helping them pry open their billfold. What they really need is a machine made wooden bowl from Walmart ... heck they would probably be just as happy if it were a plastic bowl.

 

[Justin Stephen]

At this point, since I am making sales, I know disclosing my costs will not hurt sales......but, I think you, who have commented here, are right that it may not help with sales in all cases.

I think it is probably useful information to have on hand in case someone asks or your salesman Spidey Sense tells you that it might be a useful piece of information to drop on someone who seems to be dawdling on a purchase due to the price you are asking.

One option that sort of splits the difference is to include nice little descriptor cards with each piece that describe the wood that was used in more detail than just using the name. So instead of just "Sapele", have a card that says "Sapele: A tree in the mahogany family, native to tropical Africa. Also known as "aboudikro". Prized by musical instrument builders...", etc., etc. This can subtly highlight the value/rarity of the wood without going so far as to say, "this blank cost me $22."

I do get your underlying concern. Many people just have no idea how expensive wood can be, especially for domestic species they have heard of. They might think that hard maple is as cheap as the 2x4s they sell at Home Depot.

If selling pieces made from "free" wood, you can also be prepared to describe (or better yet post a sign describing the process with pictures) that describes how each chunk of wood must be rough turned and "meticulously" preserved and dried "over a period of many months" before it can be finish turned, sanded and finished. Indicate that only "some portions of the tree can be used for making bowls", that "not every piece of wood survives the drying process and makes it into a bowl/hollow form, etc." and indicate the average number of total man hours that goes into a finished piece. A nice picture of you turning with chips flying, wearing your safety gear, while standing in a huge pile of wood shavings will also highlight the artisan nature of your work.

If your sign(s) are posted in good places, in an easy to read font, and include pictures, people will stop to look at them and it will help them admire the process. They might even turn a interested non-buyer into a buyer.

 

[robo hippy]

I don't think I have ever had some one ask about costs, well, other than tools and shop things. I do get a lot of questions about 'how long does it take?'. Well, 15 years ago, this bowl took me 45 minutes to an hour to turn, and now I can do it in 5 minutes, and I am VERY fast. There is a lot more work that goes into it than just the turning.

robo hippy

 

[Bill Boehme]

One more thought ... I read through your customer comments a while back and my recollection is none of them said anything about price being the reason for their purchase. The comments seemed to all be along the lines of buying the piece because of the appealing design that reflected your creativity as well as craftsmanship. I'm sure that they thought that the price was fair.

 

[John Torchick]

A dealer can show you a piece of paper that says what he paid for the car. But that doesn't tell his % rebate is or what he really paid for it.

I don't tell a customer what my labor cost is for a fly rod, for example. I do tell them that it takes 8-10 hours for a basic fly rod- turning the reel insert, gluing cork rings and turning the grip, wrapping the guides by hand, applying decals, trim wraps, and applying two coats of epoxy on the wraps and guide wraps. Other types of rods are a different story- more time to finish for positioning the components for the best action and accuracy. Also, the brand of blank can be anywhere from way-down-here to
way-up-there in cost.

 

[Justin Stephen]

One more thought ... I read through your customer comments a while back and my recollection is none of them said anything about price being the reason for their purchase.

That's useful data, but it does leave out comments from the people who *didn't* buy one of his pieces. Some of those undoubtedly declined to purchase due to price. How many? Who knows?

 

[Gretch Flo]

Wood turning prices

Odie-perhaps a simple card that you can create about this subject. Such as "My artistic wood turnings may take 1-20 hours to create. The cost of the wood and the cost (materials) of creating the art piece are considered. The other costs include the planning, the time creating, the wastage of wood and supplies in trying to arrive at a piece I am proud of. Some pieces are discarded because they are not up to my standards. , etc, etc, etc
.I have had an occasional inquiry about something priced at $37, and $45, and appear to be very similar. Depending on my mood and who asked me i may reply, "that piece took me much longer, or the that wood was much harder to work with, or the artistic value"
When I tell people the work involved with dyed pieces and only charge maybe $15-20 more for a $50 bowl, they say "wow-that is labor intensive!!!!) and indeed it is, BUT I want to make something that I want to make!!!!!! Gretch

 

[Raul McCai]

A I do tell them that it takes 8-10 hours for a basic fly rod-

Not if I made it. I'd take me a week or two. maybe longer. Might not ever get done.

 

[Bill Boehme]

That's useful data, but it does leave out comments from the people who *didn't* buy one of his pieces. Some of those undoubtedly declined to purchase due to price. How many? Who knows?

I think that those people are probably more like the craft show shoppers which would be a few notches below the crowd that Odie is aiming to attract. For the craft show crowd, they're looking for a steal so price is everything. This can work for small inexpensive easy to make stuff (snowmen, ornaments, pens, bottle stoppers, etc.), but I don't see it working well for more expensive items that go for more than a hundred bucks based on what I see at local craft shows.

As long as Odie, or anybody else for that matter, does a sanity check on the asking price I think that is all that is needed with respect to justifying the price. BTW, I looked at his pieces, but didn't buy anything. My excuse is that I can buy wooden bowls for less at Walmart (I'm just joking, Odie). Selling wooden bowls to another woodturner is probably a good way to become a starving artist.

 

[John Torchick]

Raul, been doing it for eight years. Lot of fun! My particular "joy" is turning the custom grip and a reel insert out of a great looking piece of wood. These two things are what got me into turning. My wife keeps asking when I'm going to get a cheap hobby. Good turning to all!
Edit: Click on my avatar and look at the reel seat on the lathe. It is carragena, a shrub I'm told, sent by our fellow turner, Dean Center. Thanks, Dean!

 

[odie]

Odie-perhaps a simple card that you can create about this subject. Such as "My artistic wood turnings may take 1-20 hours to create. The cost of the wood and the cost (materials) of creating the art piece are considered. The other costs include the planning, the time creating, the wastage of wood and supplies in trying to arrive at a piece I am proud of. Some pieces are discarded because they are not up to my standards. , etc, etc, etc
.I have had an occasional inquiry about something priced at $37, and $45, and appear to be very similar. Depending on my mood and who asked me i may reply, "that piece took me much longer, or the that wood was much harder to work with, or the artistic value"
When I tell people the work involved with dyed pieces and only charge maybe $15-20 more for a $50 bowl, they say "wow-that is labor intensive!!!!) and indeed it is, BUT I want to make something that I want to make!!!!!! Gretch

Thank you, Gretch......that sounds very reasonable.

I'm now back to wondering how I might address the many different aspects of this.......

I guess I need to think about it more.........

ko

 

[Dean Center]

Odie,
There was someone selling turned objects at the Museum of the Rockies and another selling through a "Made in Montana" store at our mall. The pieces at the museum were oddly shapped and not really appealing. The ones at the mall looked OK, but when you looked at the bottom, they weren't even sanded there. Your work is vastly superior to these 'professional' turners and you deserve to be well compensated. What 'well' means is up to you. If you are happy selling your work at a price that merely covers your heat and materials, that's terrific and your customers should be extremely pleased. If you are going to have a line of 'inexpensive' bowls that you sell at a lower price than your 'artistic' bowls, then you're a production turner like Glenn Lucas and you may want to learn and employ production methods to do them quickly, like Reed commented. (5 minutes, Reed--are you serious? Is that outside, inside and bottom? Sanding? Amazing!) At the Rocky Mountain Symposium, Glenn commented that early in his career he knew he had to choose either art or production, he couldn't really present himself as both, and he knew himself well enough to pick production. Which would you feel most comfortable being characterized as?

 

[odie]

Odie,
There was someone selling turned objects at the Museum of the Rockies and another selling through a "Made in Montana" store at our mall. The pieces at the museum were oddly shapped and not really appealing. The ones at the mall looked OK, but when you looked at the bottom, they weren't even sanded there. Your work is vastly superior to these 'professional' turners and you deserve to be well compensated. What 'well' means is up to you. If you are happy selling your work at a price that merely covers your heat and materials, that's terrific and your customers should be extremely pleased. If you are going to have a line of 'inexpensive' bowls that you sell at a lower price than your 'artistic' bowls, then you're a production turner like Glenn Lucas and you may want to learn and employ production methods to do them quickly, like Reed commented. (5 minutes, Reed--are you serious? Is that outside, inside and bottom? Sanding? Amazing!) At the Rocky Mountain Symposium, Glenn commented that early in his career he knew he had to choose either art or production, he couldn't really present himself as both, and he knew himself well enough to pick production. Which would you feel most comfortable being characterized as?

Hello Dean......

I would rather be on the artsy side of turning, rather than the production side......but, many times I purchase wood that doesn't live up to the promise the bowl blank projected. For these, I generally spend less effort, because I know that the artistry of the finished product is a joint effort between the excellence of the wood, and what I can do with it. For the best pieces of wood, I will spend much more effort in making the bowl, than a plain piece of wood. So.....whether I'm a production turner, or a lathe artist, pretty much depends on how promising the wood is. I'd rather be the lathe artist, but the wood is the key to whether that's possible, otherwise it will become a production piece. The size of the bowl blank is a piece of that puzzle, as well, and I'm limited to the size of the pieces that are available to me.

If I could rely on getting the most spectacular pieces of wood, at the biggest size I can handle on my lathe, all the time.....that would be utopia for me. This just isn't possible, though......because I am limited to what wood is available to me. I mostly purchase wood by a photograph, and I have to make decisions based on what I see. I am often wrong, and buy bowl blanks that are a disappointment. I guess you know all of this anyway......

My philosophy for the present, is to build my reputation, and making money is secondary to that. If I can manage to become known, then I can ask prices that will allow me to pay bills, and maybe buy a few things that aren't absolutely necessary (like a new lathe, or a new car)......but, not until the reputation is solidly established first. For now, my intent is to make as many sales as I can, with as many satisfied customers as I can.....until I reach a point where I can gradually raise my prices, because my reputation will allow it.

ko

 

[Justin Stephen]

I think that those people are probably more like the craft show shoppers which would be a few notches below the crowd that Odie is aiming to attract. For the craft show crowd, they're looking for a steal so price is everything. This can work for small inexpensive easy to make stuff (snowmen, ornaments, pens, bottle stoppers, etc.), but I don't see it working well for more expensive items that go for more than a hundred bucks based on what I see at local craft shows.

I am going to have to respectfully but also strongly disagree with you on multiple points:

1. Very, very few people are not influenced by price when it comes to making purchasing decisions, no matter how well-heeled they are or even what their purchasing intentions might have been before they even show up at your booth. Anything you can do to increase perceived value of the piece (so long as it's honest and not obnoxious) is a good thing.

2. You define "craft shows" a lot more narrowly than I think you should. They come in all sizes and prices and the ones that the wife and I attend generally have almost nothing that costs less than $100, but they are still most definitely "craft shows", "craft festivals", etc. I regularly see people like Michael Mode and Cindy Drozda at some of the shows we go to, as well as other woodturners and artisans of all kinds that sell lesser-expensive stuff, but still costing hundreds. Odie's work is lovely, but based on his prices on Etsy, most of it would be low end price-wise at some of the shows we go to. He'd conversely be mid to higher-end at others.

A guy walks by a booth and see's a a beautiful woodturned object and it catches his eye. "Wow, that's beautiful", he thinks, and he walks over. Probably one of the first two things he does is looks at the price: $450. Now, at this point, one of three things is going to happen. He'll either buy it, think "$450? Nope, out of my price range", or he's stop and consider it. A very large percentage of the people in this last group will end up not buying it, probably even the vast majority. Odie's job is to sell to more of these people. There are ways to increase the odds.

 

[Bill Boehme]

I think that Texans must be a lot more more "phrugal" (AKA cheap) than the folks in Virginia. We do see some vendors who have things that are more expensive and their booths aren't the ones where people spend much time looking. I'm sure that they sell a few things, but the wood crafts that sell are the things that can be quickly made and priced accordingly. One of our club members who is very big into craft shows has things priced over a very wide range and he does sell some pieces that are a bit over $100, but if that was all that he had to sell, it would be hard to get enough traffic into his booth to get that occasional sale.

 

[hockenbery]

The ACC craft show in Baltimore has some of the top turners in the country every year.
It is a juried show and if you get accepted the 3 day retail booths start at $1400.

 

[Justin Stephen]

The ACC craft show in Baltimore has some of the top turners in the country every year.
It is a juried show and if you get accepted the 3 day retail booths start at $1400.

Yup, that's one of the ones we usually go to. They have shows in Atlanta, St. Paul and SanFran as well.

 

[KellyDunn]

Odie, here is my 2c. Dont talk cost unless asked. Dont post costs. Just gets folks wondering. David Ellsworth had a great talk with me years ago about this subject. Mostly he was asked, how long did it take to make? He said what they want to know is how much you are making an hour. So what I tell them is not as long as the first one I made.( I now use a variation of Davids line) Here in Hawaii I always get, why is it so expensive? now at that point i have a choice. Send them to Walmart which carries plenty of bowls made in the Philippines at really cheap prices? Or discuss the difference between 15 bucks a board foot versus 200. A serious buyer does not ask those questions. But perhaps you get a person who says. I really love this bowl but do not understand the pricing. You have one of the same wood and size at half the price. May I please hear why? For that, and we are talking curly koa at over a hundred a board foot to no curl at five to fifteen. And the no curl is so much more easy to turn. So I wing the talk to each person. But that person really wants that expensive bowl and wants you to give them a reason to own it. Send the others to Walmart. My 2c once again. Keep the costs to yourself but wing making a sale.

 

[odie]

Odie, here is my 2c. Dont talk cost unless asked. Dont post costs. Just gets folks wondering. David Ellsworth had a great talk with me years ago about this subject. Mostly he was asked, how long did it take to make? He said what they want to know is how much you are making an hour. So what I tell them is not as long as the first one I made.( I now use a variation of Davids line) Here in Hawaii I always get, why is it so expensive? now at that point i have a choice. Send them to Walmart which carries plenty of bowls made in the Philippines at really cheap prices? Or discuss the difference between 15 bucks a board foot versus 200. A serious buyer does not ask those questions. But perhaps you get a person who says. I really love this bowl but do not understand the pricing. You have one of the same wood and size at half the price. May I please hear why? For that, and we are talking curly koa at over a hundred a board foot to no curl at five to fifteen. And the no curl is so much more easy to turn. So I wing the talk to each person. But that person really wants that expensive bowl and wants you to give them a reason to own it. Send the others to Walmart. My 2c once again. Keep the costs to yourself but wing making a sale.

Thank you for your reply, Kelly......

One thing that's been good about these forums, is I'm exposed to many differing opinions.....and the circumstances that result in those opinions. It's interesting how most of us are programmed to think of value in terms of an hourly wage. I do it, as well.....but, try to not let that influence other beliefs and philosophy of what are truly important in life. I really don't want to know what my hourly wage is, because I don't want the disappointment! My expenses are high, and I'm such a slow and methodical worker, that "living the good life" isn't going to happen, unless I move the decimal point a couple of places on my pricing! At this point, that isn't very realistic.

I'm beginning to think you, and the others are probably right about not including this information about costs in my listings. I'll have to agree that it might invite speculation that may not have materialized without it. It would be time consuming to remove this information from those listings that already have the costs included, but I think I may not include this information from this point forward.

Edit 6:41am......OK, I changed my mind! Took a couple of hours, but all the references to materials costs have been removed from my listings!

ko

 

[hockenbery]

When we were doing shows one thing we found useful was to price all the similar items the same.

All 10" diameter south west hollow forms were one price
12" diameter south west hollow forms were one price
All the 12" bowls were one price.
A few Big hollow forms would be individually priced.

A premium would be added to the price for an exceptional wood -burl, fiddleback, Birdseye.......

This made it easy for customer to perceive the difference in value.
The bigger ones cost more is intuitive.
The difference in the exceptional grain is obvious to most or easily explainable as harder to come by.

 

[Gretch Flo]

another answer I have said (and even today at a craft show) is I price a piece higher depending on how much I want, or don't want to "let it go"!!!! (Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!!!!)
May become a grandma again tonite- (daughter is having a "sign")- Have a good friend that helps me at some craft shows can get there to "open" if I am still at the hospital. (my role , I think, is to keep my son-in-law calm)-His father will take care of the other 2 sibs Gretch

 

[odie]

another answer I have said (and even today at a craft show) is I price a piece higher depending on how much I want, or don't want to "let it go"!!!! (Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!!!!)
May become a grandma again tonite- (daughter is having a "sign")- Have a good friend that helps me at some craft shows can get there to "open" if I am still at the hospital. (my role , I think, is to keep my son-in-law calm)-His father will take care of the other 2 sibs Gretch

Wow.......good luck to your daughter, Gretch!

I also have a couple of bowls that I've put a good high price on, and I don't care if they sell.......trouble is, I've sold a few this way!

For these higher priced bowls, I figure they are useful to draw potential customers into my online shop.....and they can pave the way to other sales of more moderately priced bowls.

ko

 

[John Torchick]

A bit off topic I guess, but congrats to Gretchen Flo. Bumper sticker: Grandkids are your reward for not killing your kids.
My wife and I have eight, ages 24 down to 2-1/2 years. Your world revolves around them!

 

[Owen Lowe]

another answer I have said (and even today at a craft show) is I price a piece higher depending on how much I want, or don't want to "let it go"!!!! (Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!!!!)
May become a grandma again tonite- (daughter is having a "sign")- Have a good friend that helps me at some craft shows can get there to "open" if I am still at the hospital. (my role , I think, is to keep my son-in-law calm)-His father will take care of the other 2 sibs Gretch

Gretch,
Congrats on the granny repeat.

Of the few art and craft shows I do per year, I will often price a piece higher for one of the shows and lower for another. The market bears differently at different shows — but I do not, ever, sell for less than I think it’s worth. I’d rather keep it on my shelf or give it as a gift than sell it for less than what I perceive as it’s true value. Low pricing hurts yourself and others in both the short and long runs.

 

[Gretch Flo]

Wow.......good luck to your daughter, Gretch!

What a day. Slept 1 1/2 hrs last nite. Knowing I was in for a long haul I stopped watching MSu football at half time and they ended beating IOWA!!!!!!! At hospital from 4 am to 10 (my job was to help with the delivery and keep son -in-law calm!!!!), then to their house to show the sibs their new brother pics and give them stuffed animals from their new brother, , back to craft sale"Had a friend that could "man the fort" , closed up at 4, tore down, took stuff to sell at the MSU vet clinic, back to hospital . Home at 8 pm. Having a glass of wine or 3 before eating and crashing-but am still on a high. When Liz dilated to 10 my wonderful athletic daughter pushed that little sucker out (10 days early and 7# 11 oz) in 4 sieges of pushes in 13 minutes.God, she was good, and son-in-law was good too!!! Any father or mother reading this will be envious. All is well and healthy and the greatest xmas present I could have. Haven't quite figured out how to get cell pics to the forum without alot of gymnastics but may once I figure out something, I am happy (and haven't finished the wine yet!!!!)Gretch