I originally wrote this article for the ISGB Newsletter a few years ago.  I meant to bring it over to this blog, but I can’t see where I might have posted it.  So…  If I already put this up and you’ve already read it, I’m sorry!

This is part 1 of a 2-part series on how I price my work.

Pricing Questions

Pricing your beads and/or jewelry is the most stressful part of getting ready for a bead show for many people.  In my next article, I’ll talk about what works for me and the really basic, straightforward formula I use.  But today lets talk about some of the questions at shows that make us as designers and artists question our prices.

• Will you take less for this?
• Is this your best price?
• Do you wholesale?

These questions are related, although the first two tend to make artists prickly whereas the other is a simple business request.  Generally, my answer is no on all of them, but I’ve been thinking about the wholesale question a lot lately since I’ve been working with Shawn Tucker and he primarily does wholesale with a minimum order.  He feels that doing a large sale at wholesale pricing is actually easier than multiple small retail sales.  As a result he prices for wholesale and when he does retail its a simple keystone.  If you decide to do wholesale, you should have your prices set in advance.

A lot of my friends have told me that they are embarrassed by having to answer these questions, but if you’ve considered why your product is special, you have no reason to feel embarrassment.  Its up to you whether you feel it necessary to explain to a customer why the prices need to stay as-is, but I generally find that a customer who asks this question isn’t completely committed to learning about lampwork.\

• How long did this piece (bead) take?

Since I have been working at this a long time, some of the pieces I make seem to take a really short amount of time from what people expect.  Sometimes , when the pieces are production pieces, this means that I can price them lower than I otherwise would.  When you make 30 million of the same piece, your time gets faster and you have less waste.  These less expensive pieces are your loss leaders, the pieces that people will buy without thinking about whether they are going to still be able to pay their bills or purchase a single special lampwork focal or set.  Keeping these less expensive and trendy is the way to go.

“How long did this take?” might, on the other hand, refer to one of my large-scale beaded collars, which are extraordinarily expensive.  In this case, I tell them that I have been a professional beader since 1991 so I work pretty fast and they need to take my time with a grain of salt.  The piece, I go on to explain, has a couple hundred dollars worth of materials in it plus anywhere from 40 to 80 hours of working time plus “all the design time.”  I remind them again that there are years of experience behind that work and design time, that each piece is  one of a kind, and that each piece builds off all the previous ones.

Finally, “How long did this piece take?” might also be in reference to one of my tutorial samples since at bead shows I sell as many bead weaving tutorials as I do lampwork beads.  In this case, the underlying question isn’t really about the cost of the piece (which is not for sale since it’s a sample) or the cost of the tutorial itself.  The potential customer is really asking how long it will take HER to do that piece.  So I tell her that I work pretty fast and that her first attempt will probably take X  amount of time. This conversation is actually building a relationship with your customer and will make her more likely to buy from you.

So, back to pricing…

You want to make this a business decision, not just a “I made these things as hobbies and now want to recoup my loss on them” sort of decision, although I have to admit that I started selling my work to be able to afford my beading and lampworking habits.  This goes back to the venue in which you choose to sell. Most of the bead shows you want to do actually have buyers who appreciate and understand handmade.

Another way to say this is – your TIME is valuable! Don’t underprice yourself!

See you next time with my pricing formula!  – Hannah