Lets talk about money, honey. (pricing your artwork!)

Yes, today is the day that I am going to tell you to raise your prices. 

I know, it seems counter-intuitive in a sluggish economy, especially if your sales are already down. But have you ever thought your sales are down (at least in part) because you've undervalued your work?

Lets talk for a minute about apples.

I'm in the grocery store and there are two signs for fuji apples, one says: 

Fuji Apples: 99c

and the other says:

Organic Fuji Apples: $1.99 

I may not know the exact definition of organic but I know it means good for me, good for the planet and that price difference must mean it's worth even more than I think. Maybe they support a local farmer, maybe they are just a bit sweeter and crisper or grown on old trees with old history.  The use of the word organic combined with a higher dollar value gives the Fuji Apples for $1.99 a much higher perceived value and as a shopper, I feel good about making the choice to pay a little more for something with a lot more value.

Well guess what everyone(!), the term HANDMADE does exactly the same thing.  People who support local and buy handmade are shopping with their conscience.  

Yes, they may love and need the thing you make but you are also giving them a shopping option that comes with a feel good about yourself ending.  

When your shoppers BUY HANDMADE, they get the bonus of feeling even better about their purchases because they know they are supporting a positive backstory.

Unless, you underprice your work.

Back to apples;

same story, different signs:

Fuji Apples $1.99
Organic Fuji Apples .99c  (and they are not on sale).

First thought as a shopper; what is wrong with those apples? (aka, that artist must use very cheap materials, I bet it falls apart... or those can't be handmade...)

Okay, enough with the anecdotes :) 

Proof is in the pudding. 

Every time I've ever raised my prices and stopped apologizing to my customers because I don't think I am good enough and every time I've allowed myself to realize the value of my work, my backstory and the value my two hands creating what I sell and priced accordingly, my sales went UP.  Yes up. G

Stop trying to compete with walmart pricing, you are in a completely different category. You are not only selling product, you are selling and ideal and that makes your work even more valuable than you think.

Comments

[Kari]

I sell handmade glass beads at my local Farmer's market and sales have been down the past 2 years. People have been telling me for a few years that I am selling too cheap. I thought I was being nice to my main fan base. I like the comment above that talked about explaining the cost increase. Maybe next season (as a cool science project) I will raise my prices at Farmers with a new jewelry line and fresh look.My season doesn't start until May, so I have some time to makeover my product offering. OK cool! I'm excited to try it out! Thanks for this thought provoking post!

[pharmacy reviews]

Great recommendations.

[Sonja Miller]

Thanks for the great tip ;)

[Catherine]

Amen! Just today, I came across a messenger bag on Etsy & it was love...until I noticed the price. I love a bargain, but this bag was downright cheap. Immediately, I pictured a seller with a closet stuffed with low-quality mass produced bags for resale. I didn't buy the bag. Maybe it really was handmade...but my Spidey-sense was tingling.

And as a seller, I've maintained similar sales even after a significant price increase {after I realized I wasn't really paying myself ANYTHING}.

[Tattered Rouge]

Excellent Post!!
There is certainly inherent value in well made handcrafted items. We all need to work toward increasing (rather than lessening) the percieved value of handmade.

One other part of this equation is the 'wear out factor'. When we choose to sell 50 items price at $1, instead of 1 item priced at $50 - we not only physically wear ourselves out, we burn ourselves out and close our businesses because we can no longer keep up.

Placing a fair price (not a rock bottom mass produced price) on our items absolutely increases the percieved value of what we are about and what we make! It helps all of us to grow a successful business.

[George Adamchik]

i would like to learn some about a selling

[Kathy]

I'm so glad I found this article (thanks Unanimous Craft!) I couldn't agree more. The hardest thing as an artist/crafter is to realize the value in our own work.

[Leah Adams]

So well said, I relisted an item in my shop after adding a chunk to the price. Previously, I didn't think it was worth listing at the amount for its true cost, so I left it out of my current inventory. Now I have added a little bit in the description that states why I've increased the price. Incidentally, I just wrote a blog post about the tradeoff between manufactured vs. handmade. I plan to link this post and explain about my more realistic prices. Thanks for the push!

[Rosalie]

Well said! Well said!

[Rita]

Thank you so very much for sharing!

Pricing is still a struggle for me... :)

[Michele]

Thanks so much for sharing,
you got the point there!!!!

[IngerMaaike]

Yayy for telling it like it is! By underpricing we are shooting in our own and other's feet. Not a good thing to do...

[Julia]

Your comments couldn't have come at a better time for me. Today, I was packing and pricing my ceramics for the OPA Showcase in Portland in less than two weeks (!) and, being from a small town in southern Oregon, I was getting some serious country-mouse jitters. Were my prices in tune with the cool city artists? And, also, if I was going to raise them, because I feel like each piece is taking more time, how much should I go up? I don't want to undercut, too, the etsy buyers, who are paying shipping for God's sake...
Anyway. Thank you. You've given me a lot to think about....

[Kathryn Dyche Dechairo]

You make a great point . . . pricing is always one of those things that I struggle with.

[Lissa Mokrohisky]

Amen sister! Thanks for the words of wisdom!

[carissa]

I love this! I was debating whether to raise my prices in my Etsy shop. :) I had several people tell me I need to, but I was always a little leary to do so afraid I would get no sales. Well, I finally started to raise my prices on each hat a little bit every week and now my sales have gone up. I think people feel that if they are paying more that it is worth more. Handmade has a lot of time and love into every item we make, therefore every item is unique in it's own way. Thank you so much for this wonderful article. :)

[Elaine]

Good topic. And I do have personal experience to back up what you say.

I worked at a bead shop in LA that holds a staff boutique twice a year. One time, the night before we were setting up our tables, we all decided to raise our prices and lo and behold we all sold more, so I know it works!

I still struggle with my pricing, but that experience is always in the back of my head :~)

[Sara from Shy Siren]

Thanks so much for this reminder. I often feel caught btwn trying to 1) compete with pricing from other underpriced crafters and mass-production, 2) trying to look responsible/professional (i.e. will customers buy from my website if they know it's a one-woman-show--i.e. DE*emphasize the tiny nature of my business), and 3) looking for ways to remind my customers through my web site that my items are handcrafted with love. Your post is a great reminder to me that it's worth the effort to remind the customer of this special situation & to embrace it! Thank you!

[Nina]

Tell it!