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Bowl Pricing Formula

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Aug 8, 2024
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Blairstown, NJ
Hi all, I'm doing a small show next weekend and I'm trying to figure out a good formula for pricing my bowls. I've come up with the following:

Width x height x 5 for most things and then if the wood is exotic or is embellished, I change the multiplier from 5 to 6 or 7 (7 would be exotic wood with inlay for instance).

Am I on the right path here? More? Less? Idk.

Edit: I'm in NJ if that is a variable
 
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Thank you for the input, Alan. I did do a search and came up with mostly requests to price individual pieces, one on hollow forms and a few threads that I thought would be fruitful but then they trail off. Not saying I'm a search ninja or anything so maybe my search terms aren't correct.
Lots of threads discussing this if you search, even recent ones . . .
 



 
I read through the links and although they offer good insights, there was nothing definitive or specific about a general plan to price.

I'm trying to come up with a blanket formula not price the Mona Lisa lol. Here's a portion of what I have. There's also a bunch of boxes, some other, better sized walnut bowls and spindle work like Christmas tree, snowmen, stoppers, etc but I'm just trying to figure out the bowls.
 

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nothing definitive or specific about a general plan to price.
Yeah. See there's so much variation. It boils down to what the market will bear.
From simple stuff like the wood (rarity, figure, color, etc), embellishments, stuff like that.
For bowls there's also intended use (salad bowls, cereal bowls, change/key bowls, decorative platters, etc)
Then we get into things like quality - how's the form, finish, and all that.
You may also need to factor in how well known are you (locally and/or regionally and/or wider).
And what sort of venue are you selling at - flea market vs craft fair vs art show vs gallery - or anything in between.
Location also plays into it - someone in Jackson Hole will probably be able to charge more for the same item than in, say, Shreveport.
Similarly time of year may be a factor (holidays, tourist season, etc)
And the general economy (or people's feeling about the economy).

Your W x H x ? is what most turners probably start with.

Visit markets where you're planning to sell (and similar ones). Look at what other turners are charging, try to work out their "? factor". Also look at prices on everything else hand-made - that'll give you an idea of what the customers are expecting.

I'd go ahead and start with what you're thinking and see how that goes. After that, it's just experience. If you sell out of everything, your prices were too low.

I personally now go mostly on "gut feel" based on past sales etc. Couldn't tell you what my "? factor" is...
 
Yeah. See there's so much variation. It boils down to what the market will bear.
From simple stuff like the wood (rarity, figure, color, etc), embellishments, stuff like that.
For bowls there's also intended use (salad bowls, cereal bowls, change/key bowls, decorative platters, etc)
Then we get into things like quality - how's the form, finish, and all that.
You may also need to factor in how well known are you (locally and/or regionally and/or wider).
And what sort of venue are you selling at - flea market vs craft fair vs art show vs gallery - or anything in between.
Location also plays into it - someone in Jackson Hole will probably be able to charge more for the same item than in, say, Shreveport.
Similarly time of year may be a factor (holidays, tourist season, etc)
And the general economy (or people's feeling about the economy).

Your W x H x ? is what most turners probably start with.

Visit markets where you're planning to sell (and similar ones). Look at what other turners are charging, try to work out their "? factor". Also look at prices on everything else hand-made - that'll give you an idea of what the customers are expecting.

I'd go ahead and start with what you're thinking and see how that goes. After that, it's just experience. If you sell out of everything, your prices were too low.

I personally now go mostly on "gut feel" based on past sales etc. Couldn't tell you what my "? factor" is...
Thanks for your input, Dave, it's appreciated. I've looked around and can't really find comparable work, it's either very novice or super artsy-fartsy or hollow forms (which I don't really do yet) - I'm going to need to invest more due diligence locally.
 
You could develop your own pricing from scratch. First calculate how much your materials cost. Then take the time it took you at the lathe to figure an hourly rate. So suppose you made a box using a blank you paid $30.00 for, and it took 1 1/2" hours to turn. You could take say $75.00 per hour for your rate. You would then have a starting price of $142.50.
 
I personally now go mostly on "gut feel" based on past sales etc. Couldn't tell you what my "? factor" is...

Same here.....

There aren't any "formulas" that work for everything......."gut feel" is probably the best way to do it.......with the stipulation that "gut feel" only works when experience is applied.

=o=
 
I understand that it's not about simple math, I'm just trying to work out a baseline as I'm not as experience as many here, especially when it comes to "feel".

I'm trying to be inconsiderate of my time (I could be much faster or slower than the next guy and that's not the patron's or my problem I feel) and basic materials (exotics are different) and go strictly according to the work's basic properties.

I really appreciate all the participation in the thread - ty...
 
My "gut feel" comment was not to say that's what you should do. You should start with "something" (and WxHx? is a very reasonable "something"). Start with that something and realize that you'll be dead-on sometimes and way off other times.
Over time, you'll tweak it and adjust things and eventually come to some arrangement with yourself that works. And you won't really be able to adequately describe to anyone else how you come up with prices.
 
My "gut feel" comment was not to say that's what you should do. You should start with "something" (and WxHx? is a very reasonable "something"). Start with that something and realize that you'll be dead-on sometimes and way off other times.
Over time, you'll tweak it and adjust things and eventually come to some arrangement with yourself that works. And you won't really be able to adequately describe to anyone else how you come up with prices.
Fair enough and thank you again, Dave.
 
John, it really is am impossible question. The same bowl I can only sell for $90 dollars in New York's Hudson Valley, I can sell for $180 in Manhattan. Just this week, I saw an 18" walnut platter on Facebook marketplace for $25. I could not quite believe it, figured it must be a bad job, so I ordered it out of curiosity. It arrived today(why they felt the need to deliver on T day is another question.). It is quite beautiful.. I have no need for it as I make a lot of large platters myself, so I will donate it to the Kaatskill Woodturners sale table this saturday, but I just cannot believe someone sold it for $25.
 
I do (diameter x height) x (multiplier) + tax. Then I round up or down to the nearest 5, this gives me a consistent baseline. In most cases I'll just use what that spits out. From there I may get subjective if I like//dislike something about the piece and start adding/subtracting 10's or 20's.

I created a spreadsheet, I just enter the diameter and height. It has a column of multipliers from 1.5 to 5.0. I'm currently using 2.2 for twice turned bowls, 2.5 for natural edges and 2.7 for live edges. That works good in very local markets to me. I'm pretty sure a nearby market could handle multiplier for 2.7/3.0 for twice turned.

So I can tweak it to the type of bowl or the market. I've only really just started to sell, so all this may change over time.
 
, but I just cannot believe someone sold it for $25.
Could possibly be someone with no clue what is involved in woodturning, just wanted rid of late grandma's "junk" treasures they saw no value in it? I often find such bargains on facebook regularly (just wish I could find good deals on tools/equipment LOCALLY to me... all the best deals always seem to be out of my travel range....
 
Could possibly be someone with no clue what is involved in woodturning, just wanted rid of late grandma's "junk" treasures they saw no value in it? I often find such bargains on facebook regularly (just wish I could find good deals on tools/equipment LOCALLY to me... all the best deals always seem to be out of my travel range....
Exactly what came to mind when I read it.
 
The weighted rough volume formula W"*H"*X"=$P is more of a simple model of the utility bowl pricing of other turners than a general pricing formula. If you know nothing about a particular market, then your guess at X to sell bowls into that market is just a guess. However, calculating the X for the work of other turners with experience selling into that market gives you guidance for basic pricing of your work. If some other turner's 10"x3" and 16"x4" salad bowls are priced with an X=3 weighting, then you have guidance for what your 12"x2.5" bowls will sell for. It doesn't matter whether those other turners used the formula to price their work. Often their X value will only vary slightly over a range of bowl sizes even if they price based on experience, so you at least know the range of X to sell into that market. The model might not be useful for anything other than utility bowls though, and is less accurate for platters and deep bowls. A useful exercise is to visit some websites/online storefronts and do the simple arithmetic.
 
A semi-production pro turner told us that he figured he needed to sell his work for at least dollar a minute of time spent on all aspects of making it (turning, sanding, finishing). That was a while ago, so figure the current number is more like $2/min.

That way of thinking about it really helps me keep things in perspective whenever I think about making things to sell rather than because I'm interested in the project for its own sake. I'm guessing I might, on a good day be fast enough to make $0.25/min for the stuff I sell, so it's really good I'm not doing it to make money!

The simple pricing formula also really needs a location factor-- prices at different venues with different demographics of customers will vary by a factor of two pretty easily for the same product. Practicality also factors in-- If you've paid $1000 for your booth you probably need to price higher than if you're at a $25 farmer's market table.

All said, I use the gut feeling model. I ask more for pieces I think are beautiful and it often works.
 
Hi all, I'm doing a small show next weekend and I'm trying to figure out a good formula for pricing my bowls. I've come up with the following:

Width x height x 5 for most things and then if the wood is exotic or is embellished, I change the multiplier from 5 to 6 or 7 (7 would be exotic wood with inlay for instance).

Am I on the right path here? More? Less? Idk.

Edit: I'm in NJ if that is a variable
I asked the same question maybe a week ago. I've been selling annually at my local Farmer's Market and struggle between the customer who says I should charge more compared to years when I bring home more than I sell. I don't turn for a living...my turning is my hobby but eventually one turns around to dozens of pieces laying around. But there's definitely 'what a market will bear' component to my area. One year I made several very nice, IMO, segmented pieces and priced accordingly relative to the extra time they took. Ended up bringing all of the home two years in a row until I simply gifted them to family and neighbors. To that end...I would strongly encourage you to see what other turners in your market are pricing at and then adjust the width x height x 'X' formula to arrive at what would make you competitive in a given market. Good Luck...my show is tomorrow.
 
I can't express how appreciative I am for all the input in this thread. Even though it's apparent now that one specific formula doesn't/can't be applied to all things, I'm starting to get a good idea of how to create the general price that I can adjust accordingly. Ty

Edit: @John Grace nest of luck with your show! Mine is next week.
 
I can't express how appreciative I am for all the input in this thread. Even though it's apparent now that one specific formula doesn't/can't be applied to all things, I'm starting to get a good idea of how to create the general price that I can adjust accordingly. Ty

Here's the spreadsheet i use if it helps. I use Openoffice/Libreoffice, it should open in most other office suites.
 

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