Marginally Crazy
Make • December 3rd, 2009CRAZY. That’s what anybody browsing my shop will probably think after tonight.
Here’s the story: I like making things; let’s just say it: I am AN ADDICT. From the moment that an idea starts to itch until I see the finished product, it doesn’t matter how long it goes… It doesn’t matter how much effort it takes… It doesn’t matter if the idea has any profit potential or not. None of them does, and it’s like I’m on drugs or something. And when I finish the product, and take photos of it, and list it on my Etsy shop, all I want is for somebody to show up and love it so much that she/he is willing to purchase it. And that makes my day.
So I list the product on Etsy at a “reasonable” price. Because I want it to sell.
But here’s the problem — and the following assumes that you are one of the few people who gets the value of handmade–by–small–independent–artist, and therefore understand why I can’t sell my products for what you’d find “similar ones” at Walmart — My prices are LOW… Low for handmade work.
I list at low reasonable prices, because I get a huge thrill out of selling that thing I just made and poured so much energy into.
So when the product sells (if it ever does!), I think carefully… Do I want to make it again? Usually I still want to make a second, and sometimes a third of something. Because I’m still in love with the idea. Who cares if I’m just getting $4 for each hour of work that goes into making it. I’m on Etsy because of the endorphins, not the money.
But when I consider making something a fourth time, it starts to feel painful. At that point I’m riding on new ideas, and the marginal thrill of making that one item again is very small, and so I see the listed price in its full colors: PAINFULLY LOW. DIMINISHING RETURNS. And if I’ve listed the item, I catch myself secretly hoping that it won’t sell. Cuh–rrrrrazy!
So here’s my new completely crazy but perfectly fitted pricing model:
I like to make new things. I like to sell them. I list the first unit or batch of a product line at my typical reasonable competitive prices. The thing sells; I relist it. I keep making it at the original price until I start noticing that my passion for making it diminishes. At that point I keep it on the catalog because people like to see shops with lots of products, but I price it at a value that makes me feel excited to make it again. That’s right: A much higher price. One at which I’m happy to make it again for you.
Crazy, you see.
But genius too: It fits me and my current situation (i.e. a one-woman shop with limited production capacity), it rewards customers who follow my work and act quickly on their cravings. It provides an incentive to follow my handmade work closely (via Flickr, Facebook, and Etsy) so you get first dibs on introductory prices. It allows me to keep designing and making things, and hopefully one day be able to make a reasonable living from it.
Crazy, no? We’ll see how it goes…
