How / where do you price items

[Rusty Fleeman]

When pricing items (primarily bowls) how and where do you physically price the item for public sale (art show, craft fair, etc.). I am looking for the best way to present items neatly and with a little class, but I want the info to be redily available to perspective buyers. Your thoughts are appreciated!!

 

[Bill Boehme]

I don't do that, but a lot of my fellow club members are involved in craft shows. The price ranges from about $25 to $100, but the shoppers at craft shows are looking for low price deals. Post some pictures and maybe we can give you a ballpark idea of a good price. There are things that are much more cost effective than bowls. Snowmen, nutcrackers, and tree ornaments are big during the Christmas holiday season. Pens, bottle stoppers, mirrors, and numerous specialty items are always good to sell. Bowls are a lot of work and the selling price usually means that you are basically giving them away.

 

[Fred Belknap]

I put the price on the bottom with a small sticker that will come off without leaving any residue. If you put the sticker on the upper surface there will be a spot under it when it is removed especially on cherry and any photosensitive wood. Pricing depends a lot on your location, I don't personally know anyone that is making a lot of money selling bowls or items like Bill mentioned. I sell few thousand $ of bowl every year and it covers expenses, I don't want to think how much I'm making per hour. It is a hobby but don't expect to get in the 1% gang.

 

[hockenbery]

We used the little round stickers like Fred.
We would price each piece individually
Another option to consider is to have the price on an attractive inconspicuous object and place it near the piece.
I have seen people use small stones with a clear finish and neatly lettered prices, small blocks of wood or half half circles of wood finished with neatly lettered prices.
This method encourages a uncrowded booth display.

In our first couple of years of shows we used to do pens, bottle stoppers, letter openers, small bowls etc. to pay the booth fee.
Then one year we said why? Just put out the hollow forms($250-800), platters ($225), bowls ($50-250) and hollow ball Christmas ornaments($60).
We had a big increase in sales that we attributed to the focus of the booth. We also had a disappointed visitor who said he always bought his client gifts from us but he didn't like any of his clients $60 dollars worth.

Have fun,
Al

 

[Bill Boehme]

?.. We also had a disappointed visitor who said he always bought his client gifts from us but he didn't like any of his clients $60 dollars worth.

That one is worth remembering.

 

[KellyDunn]

Rusty, A small tag on the bottom as has been mentioned. A small tent with wood and price in front can keep a few hands off the work. As for pricing you need to go around and look to see what your area can handle. I pretty much sell through galleries. Unless they buy it outright I control the price. I also ask gallery owners sometimes if I am not sure of a price. I have been a full time turner since 89 and I have pricing problems. I turned over my pricing to wife many years ago to take most of the angst away from me. On bowls if you come up with a price that works make a chart on graph paper of sizes. Hit the math and come up with a formula for basic pricing. Very small bowls, platters and large bowls the math dont work right so at some point on the graph draw a line and do math that works. But if you do a 4 in. by 10 inch salad bowl and have a price that works, all around that size the math works great. Do the graph in 1/4 inch segments. Know its a starting point. If the foot was turned away for a round bottomed bowl add in the 3/4 inch in your math. You did have to pay for that 3/4 inch now on the shop floor. Then add for rare or figured woods. If you put the same price on a plain bowl as a solid curl bowl the curl will sell first every time. For me I sometimes more than double the math price. It will take years to do it as you slowly add sizes and work out the math. But whipping out a pricing chart sure saves time and grief. my 2c.

 

[Owen Lowe]

I and a number of my friends have been selling for upwards of 10 years now (Pacific Northwest Woodturning Guild). What I’ve learned is to use a high-quality (Avery) sticker on the bottom with the price clearly written. Price cards and price tents alongside or in a piece will invariably blow away OR be misplaced by customers who carry the piece to another spot to compare two items. (I hate the discussion when someone believes they are buying a $300 bowl for $25 because the appropriate price card was not with the correct piece - and vice versa, when someone thinks you are gouging/have no clue when the $75-nothing-special 8” bowl has the $300 price next to it.)

As far as pricing, about 80% of my bowls are $100-$400+; if I can engage the customer in conversation, I can educate them on the art & craft & beauty of turned bowls versus ceramic or plastic bowls. I can ease their mind as to care and maintenance and in the process let them know that it’s OK that a bowl gets marks and stains from use and in the process just gets better and better and more treasured.

 

[Rusty Fleeman]

Thank you all for your input. I had been using small tags and sliver of painters tape, but it didn't look that great and seemed to leave a harmless residue. I love the idea of graphing out the pricing scale! Much of what I do right now is very utilitarian, so I don't know how receptive gallery's would be but like the idea of price control. I'm not sure if my market can handle 200-400 dollars bowls, but would love to see what happens. So far, I've not prices anything above $150. That was for around a 14x5 mesquite piece. Thanks again for the advice!!

 

[Steve Worcester]

I did art shows and craft shows for a number of years in the Dallas area.
It is interesting how wood is not a popular medium here as it is in the Northwest and North East.

But the pricing is going to depend on the quality, the customer base and the venue.
Craft shows you compete with foam iguanas on a stick, so lower cost items sell better. Art shows, in particular juried shows, will draw a different clientele with more discretionary income and command a higher price. I'm not saying don't take the higher price items to the craft show, but you won't sell as many of them.

For the craft shows and balloon festival, I used to make fan pulls and at $5 each, would sell about 60 a show, but rarely anything over $100. At an art show, I had the same pulls, but had items from $50-$2500. Sold more art items than bowls at those shows, but sold an occasional $300 bowl. Usually large (18"+) local wood (sycamore and walnut).

 

[Bill Boehme]

I did art shows and craft shows for a number of years in the Dallas area.
It is interesting how wood is not a popular medium here as it is in the Northwest and North East.

But the pricing is going to depend on the quality, the customer base and the venue.
Craft shows you compete with foam iguanas on a stick, so lower cost items sell better. Art shows, in particular juried shows, will draw a different clientele with more discretionary income and command a higher price. I'm not saying don't take the higher price items to the craft show, but you won't sell as many of them.

For the craft shows and balloon festival, I used to make fan pulls and at $5 each, would sell about 60 a show, but rarely anything over $100. At an art show, I had the same pulls, but had items from $50-$2500. Sold more art items than bowls at those shows, but sold an occasional $300 bowl. Usually large (18"+) local wood (sycamore and walnut).

Just wondering, if you were on the clock, how much would you be paying yourself after deducting all of the various expenses? My wife likes to go to art and craft shows and thought it would be great if I made things to sell (snowmen, tree ornaments, birdhouses, pens, bottle stoppers, bowls, and other low cost items), but I just can't get enthused about the idea knowing that the foam iguanas on a stick do present a formidable challenge when it comes to pricing in the DFW area. However, one member of our club does make a lot of money doing that and he enjoys it. I figure that I might make about a dollar and hour if I am lucky.

 

[Steve Doerr]

Rusty, when I show my turnings (bowls, hollow forms, & platters) either in galleries or at art fairs, I like to attach a 3x5 card that has my logo, contact information and tells a little bit about the turning. I then use a mailing label on the back that contains the price. This makes each piece a unique one of a kind turning and helps give it a story. Many of my customers keep these and I have had several ask me to sign the card.

I have attached a copy of one of the cards that I have used.

Hope that helps.

View attachment Sample Turning Labels .pdf

 

[robo hippy]

Pricing is an art. You need to sell for the most you can. Check out a few shows and see what others are selling their stuff for. For sure, you do not want some one buying just because you are cheaper. If your work is better, then charge a little extra. At 'art' shows, things tend to be higher priced. At 'art and craft' shows, things are more mid range prices. At craft shows, a lot of the time, people are looking for flea market prices. One reason I abandoned my flat work career was because I did way better hourly and sales wise with the turnings. I try to have things from $5 to $500 or more. You never know what will sell.

robo hippy

 

[John Torchick]

We had a fellow who did a demo at our meeting a while back. He mentioned that he figured how much time he had in a piece and figured the price at one dollar a minute. Of course, he was full time and did amazing work; definitely not the flea market crowd for his work.

 

[odie]

Currently, I have a very small self stick label for the bottom of my bowls. This isn't for a price, but for an inventory number......but, could be used for that.

As for pricing....it's been difficult for me to come up with a formula that works consistently. I've tried to come up with a pat formula, but never could get one to work for me. As a result, I'm probably the most unorthodox of all for pricing my bowls......I just make a flat out guess how much I think it will sell for! Sometimes I make a little money, sometimes I don't.

I don't consider an hourly wage. If I did that, the prices of my bowls would be so far above my online competition, that I'd never sell any of them!

I do want to sell a few of them......and I'm willing to work solely for the love of doing it.....just so it pays for some of my shop expenses. I'd be happy with that.

IMHO, the only way for me to make a living doing what I do.....Is to hope that someday I can become someone who is well known. At that point, things will change. Until then, I can do no more than to take some pride and satisfaction in knowing I am always doing my best, and continuing to improve upon that.

ko