How should I price this?

[KatGurumi]

http://www.etsy.com/listing/109078356/crochet-tardis-pillow-doctor-who-blue

It took me over 10 hours to finish, but I am a bit of a slow poke. My mom (who I admit, is not an etsian and doesn't really "get" it) said 55 dollars is a bit steep for a pillow. Should I lower my price?

[LoopsAndLines]

Really good question. Pricing hand knit items is tough. I take into consideration time it took to knit, cost of materials, and I research pricing of similar items.

Secondly, I am influenced by how much I want to make another one. For example, I love knitting Christmas stockings so I am willing to let them go at a certain price. I like knitting plush animals, but sewing together is a bit tedious, I price them accordingly.

Your pillow, the pics show quality knitting tension, hence quality work. You are including stuffing. I don't want to tell you what to price it at, but research similar items and check out the plush animals. Your pillow is similar, with fewer seams, but a knit in design on the front. All things to consider.

Good luck.

[WolfandFirefly]

I am not good at pricing things like this, but was just trying to bump this up so hopefully someone who is will answer. :) Someone already did, and it won't let me delete mine. lol

[KatGurumi]

Thanks. There aren't a lot of comparable pillows out there, but the ones that are have designs on both sides. So obviously it wouldn't be as time consuming as that, so I priced it a bit under what those are going for.

[Former_Member]

I'd suggest that you work based on the cost of your materials, cost of your time, and the profit that you want for the item.

And in the case of using a trademark to sell something, I'd also include a portion of what it cost you to get permission to use the trademark to sell your goods.

Trademarks such as Dr Who are expensive to get permission to use so you do need to recoup part of that cost with every sale.

[LoopsAndLines]

Crochetgal, Good advice on the trademark.

[MollysMuses]

Is this your own pattern? I think you should charge a lot more
The pillow is not everyone's taste, but a special niche market
brighten up the photos and you could raise the price for sure:)

[TheSalvagedEdge]

I agree with Molly. It's really cool and people pay way more than $55 for a pillow. It's a specialty pillow so that's something to consider as well.

[KatGurumi]

Yeah, I need to retake the photos. I was so excited to get it listed that I just posted the crappy pictures.

It is my own pattern. Would $75 be more appropriate?

[Former_Member]

Katie Brown from anamorphicecho says

Yeah, I need to retake the photos. I was so excited to get it listed that I just posted the crappy pictures.

It is my own pattern. Would $75 be more appropriate?

I'd also suggest that you increase the prices on your Mario pieces as well.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It may be your own pattern but as I mentioned earlier since you have obtained permission to trade on the Doctor Who name, you can afford to charge more.

It costs quite a bit of money to get that kind of permission so why not get some of that money back in the price?

You are marketing to a very niche market where there are a huge number of knockoffs so I'd increase your price to at least $75 or $100.

[Former_Member]

My daughter loves Dr Who and would really like something like that.
A thought to consider for the future is making it into a pillow cover with a zipper or buttons. That way the pillow could be washed seperately & the cover could be spot cleaned or something similar. Preserving the quality of the item longer.

[KatGurumi]

I thought about doing something like that, Natasha, but I didn't use an actual pillow underneath - it's not an exact pillow dimension - I just used fiberfill stuffing.

Phew! I finally fixed the main pic, I think it looks a lot better but a bit small, those oblong dimensions are killing me! Anyone have any tips on how to photo an oblong item without it being so zoomed out?

[Former_Member]

I was worried about over- pricing as well, but everyone kept telling me, “if they want it , they will buy it” I still have a hard time with pricing. Custom orders especially, I want to please and they tend to take much longer. But I think your pillow design is original - and it is NOT ‘just a pillow’. It is a pillow that YOU made.

[HiTeaShop]

price is always difficult, BUTTTTT..... if you believe your items have more values than others, price it high! find your target customers!

best of luck

[KatGurumi]

Thanks, guys. I guess I'm just stuck between all my real life friends, and everyone on etsy - my real life friends don't really "get" selling handmade things. I suppose I shouldn't let them get me down, though!