Help in pricing?

[James P Lile]

Hi folks,

I would love to get a chuck to turn bowls. So I thought I would turn these little guys to help pay for it. They are all made from Ash, Oak, and Maple. They heights are just under 3 inches, the diameters are just under 2 inches. They take from blank to finish all of about 1 hour.

I was thinking 15 for the ones which I feel are 'good' maybe a little less for the one(s) that didn't get sanded to completion.

I have a good amount of blanks left...

Thanks in advance for the advice.

-James

 

[Donna Banfield]

What are they? It would be helpful know that.

 

[Mark Mandell]

Location Location Location

Take your "good" ones to an artsy/craftsy/poe-pouree kind of place in your area and ask them what they could sell them for retail. Leave the "not sanded to completion" group at home as they will be essentially worthless until you complete and finish them properly, and will raise questions about your craftsmanship, detracting from value of the others.

If you're going to a community craft show, take the price you got from the retailer and knock off 40%. Craft show shoppers are looking for heavy discounts, not retail prices.

 

[James P Lile]

Thanks.

Donna, they are small gobblet, and lidded vessels.
They are made from Ash, Maple and Oak.

I started making these so that I can master the skew chisel.

Thanks for the idea Mark. I'll look for a couple of places to see what they are asking locally. Although I'm planning on selling to friends and family via facebook for now. My plans include as many art / craft shows as I can afford this summer+


Thanks for the replies.

 

[Mark Mandell]

Donna, they are small gobblet, and lidded vessels.
They are made from Ash, Maple and Oak.

I started making these so that I can master the skew chisel.

Thanks for the idea Mark. I'll look for a couple of places to see what they are asking locally. Although I'm planning on selling to friends and family via facebook for now. My plans include as many art / craft shows as I can afford this summer+


Thanks for the replies.

James,

Your family may be different, but I use my turnings as gifts to family and friends. Then, if they know that you're looking to sell your work, you've recruited a corps of free outside salesman and you might just be busy!

 

[Donna Banfield]

Long.....

Thanks James. The additional information helps.

Mark gave you some good basic information about selling your work. If you can sell to your family, good for you. But family and friends sort of expect them as gifts, or if they were going to pay, at a big discount. Not a good way to make money; you'll barely be covering the cost of the wood, but not your time/labor.

You were making those for skew practice, and that is a fantastic idea. But try making something that you want to sell ---that will actually sell. I spent several years on the craft show circuit. People will buy from you if they see a need and use for what you're selling. I asked you what they were, because it wasn't clear from the photos (bottlestoppers maybe, I said??). Expect that question from 95% of your potential market, followed by this question: "What are they for, or what can I do with it?" You may think they're cute, as will your family, but to convince someone to part with their dollars, they better have a purpose other than to collect dust, that they now have to clean.

I suggested bottlestoppers previously, because some of them resembled what could be a bottlestopper. That is a useful, utilitarian, functional object that customers can understand. Nearly all those shapes could be used as the top of a bottlestopper, and you can still practice your skew use while making them.

If you really are looking to make some money to buy a chuck (and more turning tools) spend some time thinking about what will sell. It's not like the woodturners version of 'Field of Dreams' - If you make it, they will buy -- they will only buy if they see a use and need for it. Give them a reason to need what you have and they're more likely to buy. But pay attention to quality. Do good work. They can find and buy poorly crafted imported crap at many chain stores, at about a tenth of what you're selling it for. Give them a reason to buy it from YOU.

I hope this helps. Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

 

[Ian Thorn]

You have had some good addvice so far here i allso give to family and have kept my early turnings not because but to make sure i impoved I would only pay or ask about $2 for them . keep turning and enjoy it look for a second hand chuck in the meantime and join a club

Ian

 

[Bill Boehme]

I was thinking that some of them might be candlestick holders. If you are looking for ideas on things to sell, you could make some candlestick holders, but I suspect that some of the other suggestions like bottle stoppers would sell better.

It looks like your skew practice is going very well -- smooth curves and nice crisp edges -- those crisp edges define transitions and are very important because the viewer's eyes are drawn toward transition points and then they follow the shape from there to assess the overall balance. When you see turnings where transitions are not done well then the viewers eyes remain focused there and never quite move on to the rest of the piece.

It would be good practice to assess your own turnings from the perspective of a potential buyer who has never seen the piece before. Put the piece away for a few days before doing your self-critique. Think about where your attention is focused and why. Look critically for mistakes or shapes that seem disproportionate to the overall balance. People buy things only when they can't put it down and walk away. That's a real tough one. Be honest and ask yourself if there is something about what you are selling that will grab that one person out of a hundred. While skill is essential, it takes more than a piece of wood with well executed beads and coves to make something that is attention grabbing.

I will agree with the others that practice pieces ought not to be sold -- especially not to friends and relatives. Only sell or give away your best work. It is OK to sell things to mooching relatives, but don't expect to actually get paid.

 

[Michelle Rich]

Donna gave you excellent advice. Yu must make & sell what others want to buy, and they must be done well. Not only well, but better than the other turner at the show. At this stage of your development, you need to find another way to make$ for chucks. you also need to improve your skills, before you attempt to sell. Have fun & good luck

 

[James P Lile]

Thank You all.

All the info is very helpful.

I posted the same picture here on my facebook page and have had a lot of people like them. 3 of them are sold.
Just to clarify, the 'friends and family,' are the people on facebook that know I started turning. Many of them have bought my pen and ink drawings in the past for much less than I could have sold them for outside of facebook. I'm just to self-critical to pursue that course in art - meaning I don't want to draw that much...

For the lidded one I'm going to buy some felt and market them as ring boxes, they can hold a few rings / small ear-rings.

The people that have commented on facebook think that 15 is fair (includding the shipping charge. So 3 of them will cover the cost of the 3 blocks of wood, the rest is straight profit. Provided I can sell the rest...

Candle sticks and bottle stoppers are on the to-do list. I wish that there was a wood-craft or nother store that sold those kits here in southern In. Where do people buy the metal rigns for candle sticks, and the kits for bottle stoppers?

Sorry for rambling (lots of coffeeeee today )

-James

 

[Bill Boehme]

Try this -- Craft Supplies:
http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/

 

[Tommy Ellis]

I have been doing shows for over 20 years and I won't reduce prices at an arts and craft show. Reason being the people around here at least will pay more at a show like that but the same people at a flea market want a bargain for the same piece.

People seeing work that is priced too far below what they perceive as the value will walk thinking it isn't any good. Remember you can always drop a price for them so they feel good about a dealer giving them a discount. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Odie]

Hi folks,

I would love to get a chuck to turn bowls. So I thought I would turn these little guys to help pay for it. They are all made from Ash, Oak, and Maple. They heights are just under 3 inches, the diameters are just under 2 inches. They take from blank to finish all of about 1 hour.

I was thinking 15 for the ones which I feel are 'good' maybe a little less for the one(s) that didn't get sanded to completion.

I have a good amount of blanks left...

Thanks in advance for the advice.

-James

But try making something that you want to sell ---that will actually sell.

James.......I know exactly where you can sell little mini bowls, like the ones in your pictures (without the pedestal).

Doll house furniture!

The ladies that collect and assemble very elaborate doll houses spend thousands of dollars on one single doll house! They want really nice things, and I've seen a few miniature bowls sell for around $25. They must be made well and with great attention to detail, but it looks like that's right up your alley. It's a popular thing among a select group of ladies, and let me tell you what......these ladies are very serious about their doll houses! If you work is top notch, they'll buy them.

There are hundreds of bowl turners that have scrap band sawed corner sections of very nice figured and exotic woods that you could get dirt cheap. Heck, I've given away a lot of these nice pieces of wood that ended up as firewood. If you advertise your needs in the AAW want-ads forum, I'll bet you'd have as much very nice wood as you want, and very inexpensively. I'd offer you some of mine, but I just had a couple of local artists take all the best pieces.....I was happy to just give them away to somebody that would put them to good use.

Run a search for doll house furniture, and you'll see this is a very popular hobby with the ladies......

ooc

 

[David Wilkins]

Do the math

By my way of thinking your not being fair to yourself or the turners making a living in your area. At $15 per piece and 1 hour of your time, then add in your consumables and material costs, your not anywhere close to minimum wage. On the rare occasion that I do try to sell something I've made, I price it so I'm making a fair wage and still covering reasonable costs. I built my shop and tools and quite a few other toys by teaching woodturning. Sales in a market where so very many people are working for nothing or losing money is always perplexing to me.

 

[James P Lile]

Thank you

Odie, that is a great idea! I've got some in ideas in work.

David. At 15 dollars an hour, I would be making 10 an hour, if they were all to sell. Todate, I've only sold 4. All of them through facebook...

Donna what you said has got me going in a new direction (maybe a few new head aches, which is a good thing) Here soon, I'll post a picture of one of my newiest works...