Are my prices too high?

[Former_Member]

Hi guys!

Are my prices too high? I've only been open for a week or so, so I'm not worried about only having one sale at the moment. But for when someone who really wants to buy one of my items comes along, are my prices (and shipping costs) reasonable to you?
I feel like some of my shipping charges may turn some people off to buying the item, but I calculate each country's costs based on the farthest destination in that area. I also refund shipping overages over $1, but I still feel like there will be people who dont want to deal with refunds.
How do I keep my shipping costs low without having to absorb the cost myself?

Sorry, lots of questions mixed in there, but any advice would be incredibly appreciated. Thanks!

-Dani

[lolaandclementine]

I don't think your items are priced high at all! I think they might even be a bit low to be honest. Be careful of that-too low is just as detrimental-maybe even worse-than too high I think! You have cute things :) I love that brass mouse and the owl dish-sweet :) Shipping-wish I had some useful advice on that, but I dont. I ship most of my things in flat rate envelopes or boxes.
Good luck!

[ClassicClosets]

Too high... I think you should give them away for free... haha.. just kidding.. too low..

[Zehland]

It's tough selling online because of shipping costs, especially if you are pricing very low - shipping costs can then be as much as or more than the cost of the item. Your prices seem very low to me. If I were a shopper, I would wonder if your items are cheap or if they were not what you are claiming.

If they do have value, then you want to price them accordingly. However, if they have less value than it costs to ship them, you might want to ask yourself why you are selling them. You may decide to add some higher end items to the mix.

As Etsy sellers, we often price too low because we don't put enough value on our time. Think of the time you spend finding your vintage items, packaging them, photographing them, working on your shop, writing the item descriptions. Then think of Etsy's fees and Paypal's fees, packaging costs and overhead.

Are you paying yourself enough to make a profit? I know your question is about shipping, but this is just something to think about as you start out on your Etsy venture.

[Former_Member]

too low, agreed. focus on better tags. you can combine them to get a better search result. also, the bigger your circle, the more views you get, the more you sell.

[SummersBreeze]

I am wondering the same thing if anyone wants to look and see if you think my prices are too low or too high? Thanks!

[Former_Member]

Wow, thanks guys! This is actually great news, lol. I'd rather my prices be too low than too high.
The items are certainly worth more, and I see similar or identical items priced much higher, but I get great deals on the things I sell, so I thought pricing them low was a good thing to do.

PretendDen: Combine them? Do you mean, for example, combining "brass paperweight" as one tag instead of two separate tags? It's so hard to know which to combine and which to split up.

[twovagabondsvintage]

Itch.. it has to do with "perceived value." If you are selling things too cheap, people will think they are "cheap" and therefore won't buy. Of course how you price your items is completely up to you though. Everything will fall into place as you keep tweaking your shop. Good luck!

[Former_Member]

Thanks quirky!

BennyKay: Obviously, I'm not a price expert, but I can offer a suggestion. I think it would help show buyers how your garments fit on a live model. The dark upcycled lingerie dress looks sexy and fun, but it looks lifeless on the hanger and that makes it kind of difficult to imagine wearing it.
Nonetheless, you have some cute pieces! Show them off! :)

[Former_Member]

I totally agree with quirkyessentials. I'd raise some of your prices.

[Former_Member]

1 sale in one week I think is pretty good. It took my first shop 4 months to get the first sale. I wish you the best of luck and I also think some of your prices are way to low. Don't forget you will want to buy other items to sell and you may not get a great deal on something that is really unique. You want to make a good profit to come out ahead in the long run.

[SummersBreeze]

Thanks for the great ideas!!

[bohemianblue]

totally agree, too low. I've found sales take lots of time and networking, and tweaking. keep adding things, raise your prices and spend time working the Etsy. as they say ...It works if you work it! Good Luck

[Former_Member]

In the midwest, I would say your prices are on the money - not high or low. Depends who you are selling to I suppose. Are decorators using this sort of item? If yes, you may up the prices a bit. My first thought was that you need more listings!

[KriyaDesign]

oh i agree with quirkyessentials, you'll get a feel what the right prices are as you go along and keep tweaking your shop... so give yourself some time and pat yourself on the back for the sale you've already made.

When i made jewelry, i want someone to wear it. If its sitting right next to me, where's the fun, right? Thus our tendencies to price lower :-). Thinking that stuffs might move faster. Shockingly, from my research, lower prices don't normally equate to sales. I've tried all kind of prices, not here but at my other selling channels.

Someone put it nicely here, you have to consider the fees - etsy and paypal - plus your labor (of love :-)) goes into acquiring and listing. How long do you spend on one item and listing? As weird as it sound, I price an item in relation to how fast I work on it from beginning to end. Plus what's other sellers are pricing their works competitively.

I just had a grasp on this lately, and it will give everyone comfort. It is not all about prices. It is about how often your products get into the minds of the potential customers. How much awareness they have of your store. That is marketing and promoting. Which I am working on it myself :-)

Keep playing with prices and have fun at it. When you hit the right one, you'll get the aha moment, and as they said it... the rest is history :-)

[AMIZANTI]

sorry,for the question but does the crayon tin weights over 1lb as the shipping price says? May be you should to show the weight of each item in description to make potential buyers understand why shipping rates is so high.

[CrazieHappy]

about shipping: I used to worry about the same thing but I've found it to not be a problem. I've had people pay $5 shipping on a $5 item.
Same with prices: if someone wants something they will accept the price. My prices were too low originally, I've raised them to prices that seem more suited to the items, and it's fine. If someone will pay $35 for something, for example, they probably wouldn't balk if it was $40.

[Former_Member]

Tags... more tags and that opens the search options.
Great choices!

[KriyaDesign]

bennykay, i completely agree with ItchforKitsch. When I buy clothes online, I want to see how it looks on a... model. Though I know what my size is and can order clothes unseen with my eyes close, I just want to see how it looks when some one puts it on. Here's the secret into one customer mind (me that is :-)), I only buy something within my price range. You can price it anyway you want, and I love it so much, but I won't buy it if it is not in my range.

I love your lacy pieces and they are within my range. Is it low or high :-)? Price it, tweak it, let the customers decide. If it doesn't move (in given set time), keep tweaking the prices. And have fun at it. Then tweak it a bit more... Oh remember to promote and market your store too... Best of Luck

[Former_Member]

I agree with zehland. :) I think your prices are good, but let's say I would buy a mug from you, then I would rather pay 10 for the mug and 7 in shipping instead of the other way around. I mean, it would either way be $17, but it just fits better in my eyes when I look at the item.
Best of Luck!

[Former_Member]

It's really hard, I'm having pricing issues too, I can't tell if mine too high or not either.

I think I agree with the others, that some of your items seem a little low, but that might just be me, I also agree that your shop needs more stuff.

[Former_Member]

Very insightful responses. I love it.

How do the prices look now? I want people to know that if I sell it, it's because it's something close, equal to, or better than something you'd find at, say, Urban Outfitters. Of course, I'm a bargain hunter, and even if I love an item, the price has to be right. But I'm learning that not everyone bases their decision on if it's a "bargain" AND a great product.
I want to appeal to high quality taste, yet I still want to keep things affordable enough for other college students to enjoy them. May have to sacrifice a few packets of Ramen noodles, but we don't want to go broke on decor.

So, should I raise them a little more, or should I keep them in their current ballpark?

Oh, and, trust me. I am trying to add items each day until I run out of storage :)

About tagging--
I'm terribly lost with tagging. I try to avoid one word tags, but it's hard to know how specific to get or when to repeat key words in different tags. I haven't found a tagging guide that goes into specifics about second hand items.

[Former_Member]

I am too! Tagging has me going crazy because I don't know what to put!

[Former_Member]

You might also try adding more items to generate traffic. That's what I'm having to do and I just made my first sale. I could tell when looking at the graphs though that adding the few items increased traffic so much, so try that!

[Former_Member]

@Itch
sure can! combining tags is essential for visibility.
one thing that Etsy has going for itself is better search-ability/visibility.
check out my tags. they are loaded with item specifics. anything that pertain to he item. (don't get yourself flagged)