Monday 22 October 2012

Handmade Monday - The Pricing Principle

It's Monday and time for a trip over to Handmade Harbour to see what's been happening in other crafty worlds.   It would seem that we're all in the throws of getting ready for Christmas, and in the main trying not to panic.

I've been keeping busy listing a piece a day in my Etsy shop - today's piece is this unique bracelet:



The plan for this week is to get my Christmas on - I figure this is a bit of a start as it's got Red in.  I foresee a lot of Red and Green over the next few days.

One of the things I find a major challenge once I've completed a piece is the pricing.  How do you price a uniquely handcrafted piece of jewellery?  I'm sure my pricing model, or lack there of, isn't in any marketing books.  At least not in any of the ones I studied whilst getting my degree in Marketing.

Each piece I make is lovingly put together and the intricate detailing in linking the ribbons can take a considerable amount of time.  Essentially if I were to base my pricing on the time taken to put pieces together the price tag would be so much higher than those shown in my shop.  Essentially my pricing comes from value.  One of the key values held by me and therefore reflected in my pricing is summed up in a quote I love from Sarah Jessica Parker (she made it when setting a challenge on Project Runway).


I like to take it a little further and go with 'Luxury can be affordable to all.  I like to think that the pricing at The MacsX reflects that.

Back to the making.


Catherine at The MacsX









6 comments:

  1. Just saw this wonderful bracelet on Twitter. It looks so very intricate that I am not surprised that you cannot price it according to the time. I think that pricing is an issue that remains unanswerable although I am sure that the other wonderful folk at Handmade Monday will have some great tips for you.

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  2. Such a lovely bracelet. The pricing issue is not a simple one when it comes to handmade, is it? Good luck in getting your Christmas on! Listing an item a day seems a good way to build up your shop.

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  3. I think pricing is a mystery to us all and all we can do is charge what we think is a fair price to us and the buyer. I don't ever think we will get paid for our time as it is impossible to price it. The only places getting paid for their time are factories with production lines where time can be quantified.

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  4. Love the bracelet, not only does it look good but it looks like it would be very tactile. Never sure what to do about pricing myself?

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  5. Lovely bracelet. I've been puzzling on pricing too - some of the formulae that are about are all very well but as we all know something is only worth what someone is prepared to pay!

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