Help ... Am I charging enough?

I'm very happy with my rate of sales since I've started selling in December ... slow, but steady. I can't really find any other sellers that are doing exactly what I'm doing so it's hard to gauge if I'm in the right ball park with my pricing.

There are many other sellers selling personalized frames that I guess you could say are my competition. I think that what I'm doing is a little bit more labor intense though. I would like to keep my frames priced fairly and competitively but I also don't want to be selling myself short. The work I'm doing is very time consuming! I think being so new it's also a confidence issue with holding off on pricing my items any higher.

I just want to make sure that potential buyers aren't getting the impression that because my items are priced lower they are of lower quality. I'm a perfectionist and I don't ship anything off unless I would personally be happy with it in my own home.

Any advice would be appreciated. I'm so curious to see where other Etsy sellers think my pricing should be.

Oh, and it also seems that other sellers are padding their shipping charges quite a bit ... I'm just charging exactly what Priority Shipping costs me. Do most sellers factor in "handling" charges too?

Thanks so much for your time!
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Re: Help ... Am I charging enough?

Seems fair to me!
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Re: Help ... Am I charging enough?

Seems fair to me too! I dont get the impression at all that your prices are lower because of quality. Not at all, your work is beautiful!!
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Re: Help ... Am I charging enough?

I think your prices seem fair. If you are happy with your turn around, then I wouldn't worry a bit. How long does this take and how much is the actual cost to you. These should be factors for pricing. As for shipping...you never know what prices are for other people. I live in Montana...and shipping is crazy out of here. Anything going back east that is not first class is a minimum of $8.00. I think most sellers try to keep shipping costs as low as they possibly can and still end up losing money.
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Re: Help ... Am I charging enough?

Looking through your shop, I was very impressed. I would expect to spend AT LEAST what you're charging for creating those frames.

You aren't selling generic Wal-Mart frames. You are creating memory pieces. Your Mother's Day frames are gorgeous!

Don't sell yourself short. There will always be people looking to spend as little as possible. However, there will always be people who know quality work when they see it.
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Re: Help ... Am I charging enough?

I appreciate the feedback .... Heidi, I had no idea that shipping prices would be different in different states. I figured it's the USPS so it would be the same for me to ship to New York for instance as it would be for somebody in New York to ship to me.

I've been so caught up in trying to make my shop look presentable and struggling with photography that I haven't spent much time on the accounting side and really looking at what I'm netting. I think I've been afraid to ... LOL!
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Re: Help ... Am I charging enough?

I think you could afford to raise your prices. Like everyone else said, your frames are beautiful and you definitely don't want to sell yourself short. I started listing things this past November and it was really hard for me to raise my prices but I realized that if I wanted to put money back into my business, I HAD to raise them. Locally (I live in a very small rural town), there is NO WAY I could charge these prices, but on Etsy, you have such a wide audience! People shopping on Etsy understand that handmade tends to be more expensive. Personally, if someone does a search for my items and they're on the low end, I worry that they might think "cheap" even though they're not. Good luck to you!
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Re: Help ... Am I charging enough?

Your product is beautiful. Value the time spent making and the cost of materials. People will buy your beautiful product.
Shipping is figured by zones. So, yes it would be the same both ways..but when you live in a zone like Montana, no matter where you ship you are crossing multiple zones. When I ship anywhere on the east coast I have crossed so many zones therefore the price just skyrockets. Shipping costs do depend on where a person is shipping an item from. I just need more Washington, Oregon, and California buyers:)
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Re: Help ... Am I charging enough?

I agree with Nicole. I think you could raise your prices. You DO beautiful work.
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Re: Help ... Am I charging enough?

Wow, thank you very much for taking the time to look and give me the great feedback! I feel like I have some room to raise my prices and still be fair and reasonable. I'll give it a shot and if things come to a crashing halt ... I'll know I was wrong = )

Thanks again for your kind words and advice! I hope that you all have a great weekend!

Debbie ♥
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Re: Help ... Am I charging enough?

I think the prices are just about right. I would spend around 40 for a wedding gift. If you are happy I think you should keep them what they are. I might even buy a couple this summer for some weddings I'm in. lol
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Re: Help ... Am I charging enough?

They are absolutely beautiful, and for me personally, i think you have them priced perfectly!
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Re: Help ... Am I charging enough?

Jaclyn and Lynn, thank you so much for looking and for your feedback! I'm so happy that you feel they are priced appropriately because I had just increased my prices right before you posted (I don't waste any time, haha!)!

I feel much better about the pricing now. I'm so glad I asked!

Enjoy your weekend and thanks again!!
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