Pricing Items for Craft Shows....the RIGHT way
This is the most popular question makers have when they start to sell their creations and depending who you ask, you’re going to get different answers…
...Double your cost
...Triple your cost
...Choose an hourly wage for yourself and double it
...Cost plus your hourly wage
...Cost plus your hourly wage times two
...Average between your hourly wage and cost
Are you confused yet?!
Not only do you come up with drastically different prices, but how in the heck do you decide how much to pay yourself?
When I started, I decided to pay myself $10 an hour. Then, I doubled my cost, added my hourly wage and did the average of the two. Easy enough right? *insert eyeroll here
I wasn't charging enough, but at the time, it was fine for me. I felt comfortable with what I was earning, and it was working for me…until it wasn’t.
I was crocheting like crazy to keep up with orders. This might sound like a dream, but when you’re not paying yourself enough for how much work you’re doing, it gets old QUICK.
Conversely, you might be afraid of another problem, “what if I charge too much and no one buys anything?”
The beauty of BOTH issues is… whatever you decide to charge…YOU CAN CHANGE IT!!
My advice is this: Do some research, and pick a dang price!
Part 1:
Check out your competition (remember that Etsy prices are usually inflated to cover shipping) and listen to your customers. If you think your prices are too high for your target market, decrease them; If you sell out…you might want to increase your prices. You'll have to play with it a little bit, and it might take some time to hit that sweet spot.
That being said, don't be overly reactive to the outcome of a craft show. What I mean is: don’t do one less-than-stellar show, and think you need to decrease ALL your prices. What other factors came into play? Was there a lot of competition in your category? Was your target market even in attendance? What was the customer traffic like? You need to be recording all of this information after or during every craft market so you can make informed decisions about your business (Make this process easy by snapping up one of my Craft Show Review Forms here)
I can’t remember who said this, I can’t take credit for it, but it was good advice: If no one complains about your prices, YOU’RE NOT CHARGING ENOUGH.
If no one complains about your prices, YOU'RE NOT CHARGING ENOUGH
Part 2:
Another very important factor in all of this is thoughtfully choosing what you create…
Here's a dramatic example: It takes you a full day to make a scrunchie so you charge $100 for it to be worth your time. Let's be honest, only a small amount of people are going to purchase a scrunchie for $100. I’m not saying they aren’t out there, but the likelihood of you running into them at your local farmers market is slim.
So, unless you’re selling luxury items and your target market is wealthier than your average Jo, choose things you can make in a shorter period of time, with a lower cost of raw materials.
If you ARE selling higher priced, luxury items, as I said previously, you probably won’t find your super fans at the small town farmers market. Your money and time is better invested into juried, artisan trade shows. Please remember though, higher priced quality items must be treated as such from start to finish! That means, your display, your branding, and your packaging ALL need to be top notch!
The goal is to charge the price your ideal customer and you are comfortable with.
This is going to require you to identify your target market and be observant! Listen to your customers!
Truth bombs:
People will call you out on your prices; sometimes not in a very constructive way. Save your emotions for when you get home, and smile and nod until you can come up with a nice way to respond. For my introverts: Confrontation takes a LOT of energy from us; This is when a friend comes in handy to watch your booth while you decompress in the washroom, or you back into the private area you created in your booth to take a breath. (Check out the Craft Fair Survival Tips for Introverts blog to learn more about that)
Not only will you be confronted by people who think your prices are high, but the odd person will tell you you’re not charging enough…not in a friendly way. Sometimes these are other vendors who might not even be part of this market. Just remember: You don’t need to explain your prices to anyone, EVER.
You’ll need to become a pro eavesdropper. What I mean is that most people won't confront you about your pricing, but they WILL make comments to their friends
If you have any questions at all I am here to help!! Shoot me an email or connect with me on the 'gram @the_introvert_maker
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