contacting craft stores

[jcooper]

so here is my dillema. I want to start selling my turnings to gallery style craft stores but I have a few questions. I have my website finished but i dont have any prices listed nor do i even know what i would be willing to sell my peices for. The craft stores that I contact never say what they think they could sell a piece for, rather they ask what the price is on each piece. I want to have decent prices on my peices ($100-$300), but at the same time i dont want to name a price to low for my expectations, or too high that i drive away the interest of the store owner. Any advice? should i post prices on my site?

-Jon
www.artistryinturning.com

 

[Brodie Brickey]

Jon,

Unless we're talking bottle stoppers, I'd shy away from naming prices on the pieces. If you look at Bill Grumbine's site, you'll notice he shows a wide variety of work and uses a statement to the effect that various bowls cost differnent amounts, the bowls here are to give you the customer an idea of what I can do for you.

If you had gotten a really nice cherry burl piece for free, you might be able to turn 2-3 bowls from it. You MIGHT have priced the piece based on your materials as well as your labor. If someone comes along and wants the same thing and you have to buy the burl your pre-quoted price could force you to lose money. What if someone has a piece of wood they want a bowl from? Etc. You get the idea.

If you're production turning in bulk, you may need to quote a base price for most pieces in a certain size range with plain to moderate figure for wholesale pricing. Fancy or exotic items may have individual prices.

 

[Frank Kobilsek]

Jon,

Nice website and nice work.

I continue to struggle with pricing. With that I will tell you I have my best luck when I ask other artists (professional to serious semi pro's) of other mediums to help. About once per year I throw a little party at the house and we talk about my stuff. I set out 2 or 3 each of maybe 3 different styles/looks/forms/whetever I've been working on. They help me with design tweeks and pricing, soak up a little of my beer and chow something off the grill. It has really helped me with my art attitude, my show skills and my most importantly prices. Sort of my own focus group.

Frank

 

[George Guadiane]

so here is my dillema. I want to start selling my turnings to gallery style craft stores but I have a few questions. I have my website finished but i dont have any prices listed nor do i even know what i would be willing to sell my peices for. The craft stores that I contact never say what they think they could sell a piece for, rather they ask what the price is on each piece. I want to have decent prices on my peices ($100-$300), but at the same time i dont want to name a price to low for my expectations, or too high that i drive away the interest of the store owner. Any advice? should i post prices on my site?

-Jon
www.artistryinturning.com

To my surprise, I sold a piece for $500.00 last week (not that it wasn't worth it, EVERYONE looked at it, just surprised...)
Can't get what you don't ask for. You can always lower the prices, but once a piece is sold...
You could certainly post individual prices (IMHO), so long as you base them on the highest cost to replace the time and materials. As was pointed out, you might get a really great deal on a burl one time, and not be able to buy the burl a second time at the price you sold the original pieces for (if that makes any sense).
Brokers (gallery owners) will let you know if they can't carry your weight, and if you ask, they might even tell you why. They MIGHT, on the other hand, try to "negotiate" with you even if your prices were too cheap.
Look at your work as if it were someone else's work (NO, not David Elsworth or Binh Pho - unless you are really that good) and figure out what you would expect THEM to get, then use that as your starting point... You have to be realistic about the quality of your work, not over OR under rate it.
My $.02

 

[Ed Davidson]

Just my opinions…first things first...what is your costs?

Rule 1: Setting a price without knowing your costs is a formula for trouble, and will insure that your hobby never grows beyond being just a hobby.

Rule 2: Treat your business like it's a business. If you're selling stuff through consignment or other ways, you're in business...even if it's only a few sales a year. That means you need to account for your costs, including materials, your time, overhead and capital investment.

Here's a link to a little pricing model that can be adapted to anything from $20 bottle stoppers to $1000 bowls (use your own numbers): pricing model