Selling Your Work

[GeorgeH]

If I'm a day late and a dollar short I hope y'all will forgive me. Maybe you're already aware of this resource. However, if you are not, take a look at this site if you want to list your work on-line:
http://www.etsy.com/
It looks to me to be a nice alternative to the heavyweight everyone has used for such a long time.
The "rules" for selling on etsy.com are listed here:
http://www.etsy.com/how_selling_works.php

 

[massmans]

I have thought about other services like this one but wanted to check with other woodturners/crafters first. I wanted to know if it is worth the listing fees or does it just sit there and never sell.

Thanks
Steve Massman

 

[robo hippy]

I have one friend that sells there and it does well for him. Just noticed another friend who has stuff on there, and don't know how it works for him. I did check out all the bowls, and am puzzeled. Some look very primative, and with rediuclous prices (too high), which leaves me wondering if some pieces sit for a long while with no action, and others may do quite well.
robo hippy

 

[Steve Worcester]

I have one friend that sells there and it does well for him. Just noticed another friend who has stuff on there, and don't know how it works for him. I did check out all the bowls, and am puzzeled. Some look very primative, and with rediuclous prices (too high), which leaves me wondering if some pieces sit for a long while with no action, and others may do quite well.
robo hippy

That's what I saw too. It also appears to be limited with the search and stuff.

You also have to figure, if we haven't heard much of it, what about the buyers?

 

[Martin Braun]

Sounds like my kind of listing place. The work is primitive, over-priced, and likely to sit there awhile (low throughput). This is perfect for my skill-level, price expectations, and production rate.

 

[n7bsn]

I have several friends (non-turners) that sell through Etsy.

The volume tends to be slow and seasonal. But it is getting more press and more traffic.

 

[waltben]

I haven't used etsy, but tried another two years back over the winter. At the same time, I listed a few pieces on eBay. I sold two on eBay (just under $500 total net) and none on the other. I really think it's all about traffic, just like picking out shows. There are several other auction sites where you can set a 'buy it now' kind of price as well. Make certain you choose listing categories that the kind of buyers you want will be looking in.

 

[cypher]

The site is a good idea, but it seems that some of the sellers need to get together and agree on prices. Some similar work has drastically different prices. If I were buying, I would spend the less money. This kind of undermines our hard work since each turner will be trying to undercut the others and then none of us get what our work is really worth. This holds true for eBay as well. It is hard enough to get the public to understand the hard work involved in some of the pieces, the last thing we need to do is undermine each other. Anytime you ask fellow turners for price ideas everyone dances around the question, sometimes for good reasons. We need to be able to post pictures and get price ideas from fellow turners. I know it varies by region, and this, and that, and the other thing, but SOME idea would be nice. This way we all would be asking similar prices for our work. I say each of use give a price idea based on our own area and then the piece creator can average them. I know pictures are not always the best way to judge a piece but it is a start.

I am far from professional but I think those turners out there that show in high-end galleries may agree. Some times novice turners (like me) make the professional work less valuable by selling pieces and low-end prices.

Okay, I'll get off my soapbox!! Sorry!!

 

[Keith Krebs]

Now that Cypher is off his soapbox I will get up on mine.

First, his suggestion that the sellers should "get together" would be a violation of a few federal anti trust statutes. I do agree with the heart of the message that lesser experienced "semi pro" turners will effect the value of pieces produced by full time professionals.

I have been the victim of this scenario. For a ten year period I cultivated a market doing funeral urns for a chain of funeral homes located primarilly in southern California. I was getting premium prices using only the finest burls and exotic hardwoods. The gravy train came to an abrupt stop when a part time hobby turner informed the company that not only could he do it cheaper, but faster. The orders stopped coming in.

About a year and half later I checked with the purchasing agent and was told that they had discontinued the line of urns I had designed because there was no longer a demand. After speaking with many of the sales people that were handling the sales of my product they told me the quality of the wood and finish of the product had gotten so bad that they simply removed my sample pieces from their displays and started selling other products.

I guess the moral of the story is there is always somebody else that will do it cheaper. With that in mind don't worry about what somebody else is doing, work on providing the best product possible and don't be afraid to charge a fair price to justify your time and skill. OK, time for me to get off the soapbox and give somebody else a shot.

 

[GeorgeH]

Well, I doubt that accepting a range of pricing ideas from a random group of fellow professionals and using that information to develop an "average" value upon which to base an asking price would be viewed a price fixing. But that's a mute point unless somebody wants to organize a clearing house for pricing the work of freelance turners. Let's be real about the pricing thing. We live in a free market society. The turnings we sell, if we're fortunate enough to sell any at all, are very personal. Not only are they personal to our world, but they're personal to the world of the individual who purchases them. It's more like marketing in the art world than the commodities world. Anyone, whether they be an artist, merchant, butcher, baker or candlestick maker, can sell anything at any price the market will bear. I have a friend who insists that his classic car collection is worth millions. I often remind him that his collection is only worth what someone might actually be willing to pay for it, not what he imagines someone might offer. People who view your turning work as a novelty will pay one price, those who view it as "art" might pay another price and those who simply see it as a utility piece will pay yet another price.
I only started this thread to alert fellow turners to the fact that there appears to be an alternative resource for selling their work. I couldn't care less about how much they ask for what they turn or what outlet they use. Lighten up guys, make chips and curls and have fun.

 

[Martin Braun]

Based on the discussions I have seen in the past, the regional aspects tend to greatly influence the price. So while one form may sell for quite a bit of money down here, it may sit on the shelf quite a long time in other parts of the country. Additionally, I'm not sure what the non-profit IRS rules state, it may or may not be possible to have such discussions on the AAW forums.

 

[waltben]

I think the wide differences in pricing probably reflects either lack of experience selling (I used to think my wonderful work was worth far more than a buyer typically thought) or trying to recoup site fees. Anyone can set any price they want for a given piece, but if they want it to sell, it's got to be priced at a point where a buyer feels they're getting perceived value for their money. If it's too high, that buyer may never show up. Too low, it'll sell immediately. The trick is to set a price that sells the item in the right amount of time (unless you have lots of storage space!). I've done a couple shows where another turner showed up with a few folding card tables and a slew of $1, $5 and $10 bowls, pens and bottle stoppers. Usually the quality was OK, but not great. The seller was always someone who'd been told by his wife to clean out all that 'stuff', and he was treating it like a flea market. The problem is that a buyer will sense that immediately.

 

[n7bsn]

.... Additionally, I'm not sure what the non-profit IRS rules state, it may or may not be possible to have such discussions on the AAW forums.

Not an issue