Posts tagged Products

Net Krafter : How to Price Products to Sell on Etsy

Pricing is often one of the hardest parts of starting an Etsy shop for a newbie seller. Crafters often tend to undervalue their wares, and underestimate the real money and time that went into their creation. Or, they feel that customers won’t pay whatever but rock lowest prices for their work. But learning to recognize the value and worth of the handcrafted items you make, and communicating that value through price, is one of the most foremost steps a new wholesaler can make to set their Etsy shop on a firm financial footing and build a foundation for Etsy success.

This description will give a three point strategy for Etsy pricing. The first point will focus on how to guess your real costs in materials and time. The second point will focus on understanding your niche shop price range. The third point will focus on promotional pricing.

First, how to guess your real costs in materials in time. Well, start by adding up the costs of all the components in your creation, and don’t forget small, roughly intangible items like glue, thread, paint, varnish, sealer, etc. Add in an hourly wage for yourself that you think is fair. I have found that -30 an hour is accepted for much of my jewelry-making, although for institution work I payment more. Duplicate that, and you have what may be a fair price for your piece.

So, say for example that you are production a necklace that includes .00 in beads, .00 in chain, and .00 in findings. Added together that comes to .00. Now suppose that necklace took you 20 minutes to make. At an hour wage, that comes to .67. Now your total comes to .67. Duplicate that, and it comes to roughly .00. This is a inherent fair price. But ask yourself, what level of technical strangeness and training went into the 20 minutes of work? Is it something extremely original that no one else knows how to do? Then raise your hourly wage, and go from there. Or conversely, is it a very easy found that is much like others already on the market. You may not be able to payment a prime for the creation of that item and the price should be dropped.

This is where point amount two, your niche shop price range comes in.

Thoroughly research your competition. It can be demoralizing to see how much beautiful work is on Etsy and how many sellers already have thriving shops doing things similar to yours. But don’t despair! If your work is good and priced right (and promoted well), it will find a market. Look in effect at your pieces compared to the others already on the market. Are they equivalent quality? Equally important, are they photographed and staged beautifully so that they look desirable and must-have? If you can talk yes to both those questions, then study the mean prices for equivalent items in the other shops, and aim for the high end of those.

Yes, you read that right. Aim for the high end. One of the secrets to selling on Etsy is, if you want to sell more, raise your prices. While the rest of the country might be in a recession, handcrafted jewelry is still a boutique, luxury item, and business transaction prices don’t work. If customers wanted business transaction jewelry, they could have gone to Target (which frankly, has totally cute jewelry for pennies). Your price shows your worth and your quality. Resist the temptation to undersell. It won’t reserve your company in the long run.

But be sure and contribute incontrovertible value for that price. Make your buyer feel loved and appreciated by good transportation throughout the transaction, a lovely packaging job, and instant buyer delight in the event there is any qoute with your item or the sale. Customers pay a prime for the individual, handcrafted experience. That goes beyond the item itself to the entire transaction.

Finally we come to point amount three. Sometimes, you can cut your prices. But only for definite sales and promotions. Link your sales and promotions to holidays and extra events–not just the inescapable ones like Christmas and Valentine’s Day, but also considerable days like the solstice, executive Assistant’s Day, your birthday, reaching 100 fans on your company Facebook fan page, getting your first 50 Etsy shop hearts, etc Keep the sales short and definite (all earrings 20% off this weekend only!) and advertise them well through Twitter, Facebook, and in your shop announcement. There are third party applications out there on the interwebs that help you run sales at your Etsy shop—find these by searching in the Etsy Forums.

Do all these things, and you will find that with time and other efforts to build and promote your shop, you’ll gain a steady company on Etsy and a group of loyal customers who gladly pay your prices for your wonderful work. It takes a wee time to build up that confidence, but you and your work are worth it!