Realistic Pricing

[Former_Member]

Hi - new Etsy seller/team member here. Maybe I'm just impatient, but having just got my shop running, I blitzed Etsy this past weekend with showcases and relistings (a kind person told me that relisting would help with exposure). Over 500 views, but not a single heart or sale on any of my pieces - not even a question. I had a storefront/open studio in this tourist-driven community I live in for a few years, and my work was truly appreciated, and I sold many moebius wraps during the "season", and at our Christmas artists benefit bazaar. My pricing is the same. The yarn is not cheap, and I spend many hours on each product. Am I way off base with my pricing?

Also I tried to make myself and my studio sound interesting, but maybe I just come across as a fruitloop? Thank you for your time.

Sue Noble

[Former_Member]

I've been struggling with the idea of pricing as well. Knitting makes it hard to apply the general pricing formula because even if you just spend 3 hours on something its already at least $21 without the cost of supplies. Anyone have any tips?

[Former_Member]

I was talking to a fellow Etsy seller about this, and she told me something I realized I already knew: we know in our hearts what our creation is worth, both in street value and to our intregity as an artist and crafter. Don't undervalue yourself or you work, and don't be swayed by anyone who tells you that you are charging too much. Another piece of advice that I got from a local artisian years ago was, if you underprice, you are just as apt to not sell the item. She was in that position, and upped her prices a significant amount, and immediately her sales skyrocketed. "Immediately" and "skyrocketed" may only be applicable to art fairs, where we were selling, not Etsy, but you get the idea.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it:) The recent conversation I referred to gives me reassurance, and I am not dropping my prices.

[Former_Member]

I will have to say this FBsunset that your items are lovely and I feel that so many knitters and crocheters here at Etsy are if anything, underpricing their items not overpricing them. I can't compete with others selling hats/caps between $5-$10. They aren't paying themselves first, nor do you get your payment even for your supplies, not to mention your time placed into each piece. I wish others would stop underpricing.
Melody
Oh Baby dotcom

[Former_Member]

I struggle with pricing as well. I've asked before and am always willing to hear constructive criticism about my shop and/or pricing. I've heard two schools of thought, but generally speaking, I tend to price my items in the range that I see others pricing theirs.

fishbay -- your items are beautiful!

How do you feel my prices are set -- I wouldn't want to be one of the "under-pricers". I tend to use mostly acrylic yarn for my items so it's not very expensive material.

Looking forward to your thoughts.

[StitchKnit]

There is just nothing easy about any aspect of setting up shop here at Etsy. I confess to just taking a stab at pricing.......and it makes no sense when I go back and compare like items of my own.....let alone in other shops.
I have now made a price book/chart of sorts, to use as a quick reference to pricing. Hasn't solved anything yet, but I'm hoping to become better re; pricing.
Knitting is so complicated when we look at our own work, we understand the time in something. Often times, the smaller the item, the more time, thus the more expense. Then, larger items use up more materials, and can take less time. So, to people who don't knit, I'm sure the pricing of our items is more than confusing.
I'm so new here that I'm still just soaking up information and making multiple changes to my meager listings on a daily basis.
I appreciate threads like this, addressing one of my many problem areas!

[MeandTex]

As I write this, there are 98,454 items listed for sale in the "knitting"category alone! So much competition! I don't know what the answer is to success on etsy, but what strikes me when I look at your shop is that you could work on your photography skills.
Check out etsy forums for help on photographing/presenting your work.Good luck, Sue!
Judith
MeandTex

[Former_Member]

Yes, I've been trying to find the time to work on my photos.

[Former_Member]

I am also new here and not so clever with photos and data. But I now got a lot of tips and will work with my shop.
I do a lot of knitting, but have only a few products in my shop. Should I have more in the shop or wait and see if they are interesting products ?? I live in Norway, so I know that the shipping costs f.ex USA are high.

[FuzzyDetails]

fishbay-yes, agree with all that's been said, and challenged by same, as well, myself! setting off your beautiful work against a plain white or light background does seem to do the trick on here.
you are not fruitloopy, well not in a bad way!--thought your profile was sweet and endearing, of course this is me, the lady wearing cat ears talking, so...: )
one thing i will add is that i have always seemed to do better/made more sales at shows where i can meet people in person. there is a real art to translating that in-person warmth to the online world.

[Former_Member]

I totally agree that when you price low, hoping to have a sale, you are sending a signal to potential buyer that this is how you value the item. In buyer's eyes low priced item might mean qnuthing from low quality of yarn or work to a hidden flow in the product.
When you price high it means you stand behind that price,your product is perfect in all its aspects, and the buyer will get the value for the money spent.

[coolclimates]

I have almost never sold any of my knitting here on Etsy. Even though my stuff is very unique and beautiful (I think) and reasonably priced. The problem? As far as I can see, other knitters underprice their pieces so much that it makes it very difficult for me to sell anything. I notice that the knitters who tend to sell a lot of things really underprice their things. I'm not gonna do that. But on the other hand, it's really frustrating.

[ohmay]

I agree with most comments. If the price is too low, people will think cheap....cheap quality, cheap workmanship, etc. Regardless what you price your items, online selling demands that you have great pictures. Your pictures need to catch the buyers eyes and hold it for more than 5 seconds. As you have said there is alot of knitting/knitted items here. Your pictures must make the buyer want more, so that they will click in it.

Fishbay....your items are wonderful, but your pictures are much too fussy. Too much background that takes away from the item itself. Also you dress your maniquin, which may turn off the potential buyer if the clothing/contrast colors is not to their taste. An example is your mobius wrap. If you put a plain white tank top under your gorgeous mobius and take the picture against a blank wall, it would draw the attention to the wrap and not everything around it.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/64668157/south-of-the-border-space-dyed-moebius?ref=v1_other_1

Sorry if I sound harsh.

[JeanieBeanHandKnits]

Pricing is always difficult isn't it? We know how much time it takes to create an item and the underpricers really undervalue all of our work. I try to stay somewhere in the middle of the pack.

I agree about photos. I've learned so much from friends I've met here on Etsy. Clean white backgrounds, interesting and clear photos make your shop look clean and professional. My shop is always a work in progress.

[jenya2TheEdge]

Hi everyone:

I price my items so that I feel good that I am not undercutting other knitters and also that I am giving customers a good value. It's a balance that comes with time. Here is my new listing for today, what are your opinions as to the price I have set for it?

http://www.etsy.com/listing/67272460/dog-sweater-hand-knit-serenity-ombre

[Former_Member]

The underpricing is frustrating........
I've done it when I was new here...now I'm somewhere in between...
Lower prices just show a desperation to sell...might as well give stuff away for free...
My new formula for costing is

(2x cost)+time= retail....

It should be bulk but at Etsy it is retail...lol
Too much competition....people who are selling their hobbies tend to undersell...so....

But on the other hand a cup cozy can sell for 20 dollars...I wonder !!

I love doing custom work....and hate taking pictures...I think I'm a misfit here...lol

[Former_Member]

It sounds like pricing is difficult at best. If you feel my prices are too low, please let me know. I certainly don't want to be one of the "under-pricers".

[ForeverWindingWool]

Pricing our knitted items will probably be a never ending quest. Too high? Too low? I think a big problem is the fact that our items have traditionally been given away, literally.

Gifts given out of a full heart of love from someone that didn't have to go to college to learn how to do their craft sometimes diminishes the value. I guarantee if it took 3-4 years of college to learn how to knit properly, we would get paid more!

Hmm, can you imagine the techniques and stitches you could learn from 3 years of college courses from a master knitter??

Now, most of us "homeschool" to learn how to knit.

[Former_Member]

So far, I've only offered knitted items for children on etsy so have kept my pric4es very low. I've gotten a few custom requests for my sweater vests for adults and have done them with great joy and more money. However, I still think that I am not charging enough. I am trying to move from acrylic yarn to blends or wool to attract the buyer who wants more natural items.

[Former_Member]

I dont know, I thought I was pricing my knits on average but when I joined my relatives at a craft show and had some of my knit hats, a lady came by and she told me to "up" my prices because i offered great items and it takes an awful lot of time to make it and was not asking enough, like for extra flowers on a hat..

When I sold baby knits on hyenacart, I found several people talking about my pricing, that they were too high and I thought I was asking fairly low compared to other knitters..

With my yarns, I just browse around and find the average pricing and base it on that because if I do it manually without any comparison, it'll be a lot higher than the average asking prices.. cost of yarn, cost of dyes, cost of materials, labor, etc..

Handmade items' pricing is just very difficult to decipher..

[Former_Member]

I actually wrote a blog post about my frustration with this very issue a few months ago.

http://lesgirly.livejournal.com/139662.html

[Former_Member]

great read laprincessa..

[Former_Member]

It is such a struggle to price knitted items, I knit/design childrens hats and am definitely not one of the cheapest hat makers in my category, but I am ok with not selling as often as others in my category, When I first started selling my prices were way too low and I had lots of sales, but I was working myself silly and barely breaking even... I finally took the time to sit and consider how an item takes me to make, my per hour rate, material cost and mark up. I no longer feel as though I am taking myself for granted.

[Former_Member]

I have slowly raised my prices over the last year because I had initially underpriced them. i have noticed no impact on my sales. Every once in a while i have someone ask for a deal, and I evaluate each case at that time.

as to craft fairs. I had a friend's mother tell me my prices were too high AT an event. of course at that pont I had sold quite a bit online so i knew people would pay those prices. People underprice themselves for knits at crafft fairs IMHO.

[Former_Member]

@tracey, i did my first craft show last december and one lady came by and she said that i was pricing my hats too low. and ofcourse, i felt at that time i needed to lower my prices because it was my first time.. i found out that lowering your prices doesnt necessarily mean more sales either.