Help me with Pricing

[OwlandWillows]

I am just wondering if my prices are TOO low? I really enjoy my craft but at times I feel like I am really not making much of a profit. Sales are down and I am getting discouraged..... anyone have any suggestions for me ....

Are my tags ok ? especially on my owls and pincushions.... not sure if I am getting the hits I should.

Thanks for any input!
Chris

[OwlandWillows]

any advice will be helpful :)

[Former_Member]

Hi Chris, you're addressing two issues here, your pricing and your tags. I'm not a big expert in SEO but at a first quick glance, your tags look fine. Your pricing too, but if it's costing you more to make than you are asking for it, something isn't right. Increase your prices by all means, but make some other important changes too! When I look at your shop, I see things that I feel need more attention than your tags or pricing. First, your pictures.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/101076710/felt-owl-plush-owl-ornament-toy-owl?ref=v1_other_2
This owl for example. It's such a cute little owl! But photo 1 and 2 are almost the same: out of focus and quite dark, not crisp white and clear. Picture 3 is, well, a bit strange (or is the owl made to hang in your plant?), and totally out of focus. Picture 4 has a tag which I can't read because it's upside down. In other words, work on your photography, because it doesn't do your products justice! There's a lot on the forum on photography, check it out, it's easier than you think :-)

Then the descriptions. I'm staying with the owl here. The first paragraph seems more of a list of tags. The second paragraph doesn't make it much clearer to me. Could be because English is not my native language, but I don't know what a 'party favor is'. And all these capitals don't make it look very professional. Try to describe your product as if you're talking to the customer, instead of writing down all these parts of sentences. And 'My Owls can be made with hundreds of color combinations' isn't very helpful to the customer either. Does it mean I can choose a different color? And if so, which one? Help me make a decision!

I'm sorry if I sound a bit harsh here, but really I'm just trying to help! Because you make such cute items and I hope with a few adjustments you will do very well again! Good luck!

[AnneLondezGlass]

I have no idea of current market prices for your items but at first sight, your prices seem low to me and personally that would put me off, strange as it may sound. Are you paying yourself for the time it takes to make the items ?

[QuirkyUniverse]

It looks to me like your prices are too low. After materials and fees are you making a profit at all? Even if you are it can't be much and there is no way you're paying yourself an hourly wage.

[michemozaix]

OMG! Your work is ADORABLE! Just looked around your shop and can't believe how LOW your prices are! Just the time involved to hand stitch around those eyes and the 'feathers' on the chest is worth the cost of the owl! When people see ridiculously low prices, they usually figure that the quality is not going to be decent and the seller is just a 'crafter' not a meticulous business person. I'd at least triple your prices. (I recently doubled my prices and actually saw an increase in sales!)

I also agree with Rivka that by improving your pictures (something I'm STILL working on) you will come across as more professional and people can see the great detail you put into your work. Look around at shops selling similar items that are successful and do what they do... look at their tags and props for ideas for your own shop. Selling on Etsy is hard work but with such cute products as yours, I'm sure you'll be successful!

[Former_Member]

I've done LOTS of sewing in my short life, and I KNOW those sweet owls must take you a while to create! I'd definitely up your prices... don't be afraid to charge what they're worth! (And I'm a pot calling the kettle black, I'm not up to full price on my original artwork, either, but I'm raising it in stages!)

I'm also gonna say work on photography... the white background is fantastic, does your camera have a macro or super-macro setting? I would suggest finding a nice sheet of large white paper to set as a background, that would look much flatter and more clean.

Your stuff is amazing! Have fun showing it off! :-)

[Former_Member]

Hike 'em up! Your prices, I mean, oh geez. Anywho, I sew and I know what goes into projects like that and your prices seem too low. I bit the bullet and am raising all my prices as of July 1st BUT, in order to validate it, I'm spiffing up my shop appearance too. New pics, working on descriptions and I've decided to do upscale packaging as well.

Make sure you charge for your materials, time AND profit. It's always a good idea to add in a little extra "surcharge" for overhead too- thread, sewing machine repairs, lots packages, business cards, etc. We're talking $.25 or something like that for smaller items. I also add "handing" costs to my shipping prices. Handling includes (for me anyway), shipping materials, time and travel. Packaging is part of my overhead because it's not a necessity. Therefore, it's built into the item price.

You've received some great advice already so you should be good to go! Your pin cushions and ornaments are super cute and I would definitely pay more for them! And that's coming from someone scrimping and saving every penny :)

[Former_Member]

I agree with the above posters, I think you want to double your prices as an absolute minimum, and I think you could easily charge triple.

You'll feel so much better about your work when you charge what it costs you to make them (including time at a decent hourly rate) and build a decent profit into the equation. You might be shocked when you do your sums how little you pay yourself!

[Babiease]

Yes, I agree with the above. Your prices are too low. Consider how long it takes you to make an item and the materials, etc. you are looking to atleast double the cost. The joy etsy is that you can increase prices and also drop prices (sale!) to bring in more customers!

[LinorStoreDesigns]

Search on Etsy for similar items and see what they're charging. I think the prices are low.

[Former_Member]

There's a saying out there about.... if you don't value your product, no one else will either.

On Etsy it's not about pricing............it's about unique handmade/vintage items you can't find elsewhere and you want something different. Definitely check out the competition/pictures/titles/descriptions and layouts of other shops.

Join circles/use twitter and facebook/and pinterest for self promoting and do some of it everyday. Renew/copy then delete old listings everyday or every couple days. It brings your items up to the top for searching and it's a known fact that the closer to the top of a 'search range of items' you'll sell more.

Good luck.
Judy

[Former_Member]

I didn't clarify that very well........sorry.

Yes...raise your prices or buyers will not think the value is worth them buying it.

Good luck.

[Former_Member]

My way of caliculating the price is very simple.

$8/hour labor + Material Cost + etsy fee (listing and commission of 3.5%)
This way, you first need to come up with an approximate price in order to get commision of 3.5%.

You just need to try a few times until you get the exact right price. I figured when the price is right, you can make more sales!! I don't know why but this is really true. The product itself has its energy and if you underestimate it, the product doesn't want to be sold. Yes, I agree with everyone that you should increase the price. Your work is handmade, not mass produced by machine.

Here is one of the etsy blog talks about pricing. There are more posts about pricing if you browse through etsy's blog.
http://www.etsy.com/blog/en/2010/etsy-success-reevaluating-your-prices/

Good luck to you! Your items are beautiful.

[OwlandWillows]

Thanks everyone for your help! I know i need to do a LOT of work on my pictures .... that is the next big project. I am going to increase my prices a little at a time. I have been thinking I needed to ask more for a long time. I just figured I would sell more if I sold cheaper but my items are really good quality.

thanks!
Chris

[Former_Member]

Remember, underpricing your items dont just hurt you but also hurt other Etsians.

[OwlandWillows]

I have raised all of my prices about 30% and I plan on raising again but I am going to do it gradually .... while upgrading my photos etc.

[Former_Member]

I've been having the same debate. It is much easier to tell someone to raise their prices, than to actually do it yourself. But I definitely think you should up your prices, especially on your darling owls!