This is one of the most asked questions from new handmade product sellers. “How To Price My Handmade Product?”
Following are a few pricing tips that I found through the 25+ years in business worked for me.
1.) DON’T SELL YOURSELF SHORT. Recently, I conducted a test, and the results were off the hook. I put my Art Prints at $22 to see how they would sell. Then I saw competitors selling less, and dropped mine down to see the results. (crickets) Popped the price back up to $22, sold them like hot cakes. Then I dropped the price again, just to see the outcome. Then on top of that I ran BOGO sale buy one get one? (crickets) I raised the price back to $22 each. Now they are selling like hot cakes. This proves to me that cheaper prices are not always best for you, your art or brand.
2.) CHECKOUT YOUR COMPETITORS. Find 5 competitors who sell the same or similar product. Take each product price of each competitor, add them up. Divide by 5. This gives you the average price. You can use that number for your price or add a bit or take it down a bit. I do not suggest you look at the lowest price of the 5 and go lower than that price. Frankly it makes you look desperate. Like you are trying to under cut and sell more than your competition.
3.) CHEAPER IS BETTER. Sorry friends. In the handmade market, this is not always the case. As mentioned in No. 1 above, I proved it does not work. Now if you are selling general items you can get at 20 other places… let’s use apples, pineapples or avocados as an example. Pricing your product low may work for you. I personally rather buy an avocado for .49¢ each then $1.95 each. Most times I won’t buy the $1.95 avocado, because I know I can get a it cheaper on my next grocery shopping trip. Or I can go to another store and buy the same avocado for less. Because, well, avocados are all the same. Handmade products are not. Handmade products have an energy and value already wrapped up in them. People know you spent time to design, create, paint, mold, etc. They value your artisan skills.
4.) MAKE IT WORTH YOUR TIME. If you are selling your handmade product and start dreading creating the product, you may not be asking for enough money for your product. Let’s say you sell 5 items, okay easy peasy. Then you get an order for 200 of that same handmade product. Imagine that. Imagine the time involved. Now I am talking about handmade products. Hand painted, hand crafted time consuming to make products. If the thought of creating 200 of that product, know what goes into it scared you a little then raise your pricing a bit.
5.) DON’T SELL LOWER THAN YOUR COMPETITORS. Let’s say someone sells a 8×10″ painting for $100. You roll in and start selling the same size for only $5. Well, who is going to value you and your art or craft if you do not value your own talent, time and energy. You will gain the customers who expect you to work for less, undervalue you and undervalue art. They will want and expect more and more and ask you to give a discount on top of your already discounted price. Is this your authentic customer? This is the customer you will attract and keep. If this is how you roll for 1-3 years, you will be in deep trouble if you raise your prices to $100 later. Plan on finding a whole new customer base and being without business for a bit. It is best to stick to No. 2 on this list.
I hope this helps you and your handmade business! Good luck and keep creating!
The opinions expressed are that of my own. Ultimately you want to do what works best for you and your business.
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