Please don't sell yourself short

[#1]

I just spent an hour typing up a few new listings in draft mode. I did a little research on Etsy to make sure I was pricing my items in line with other similar items (I don't want them too low or too high). After doing my research I realized if I want to make money on my work, I have no choice but to set my prices higher than other sellers.

My gripe: why on earth would someone price an item at 50 cents? I won't say what the item is because I don't want to call anyone out. Seriously, it's a handmade item selling for 50 cents! This is not a clearance item because the seller has other similar items for the same price. Matter of fact, all the shop's items are underpriced and they have a ton of sales.

I did a little calculating on http://web.archive.org/web/20110703062758/http://www.rolbe.com/etsy.htm and figured out what my price needs to be for me to get paid for my time. The person selling their item for 50 cents is making nothing on their item after fees. IIt probably doesn't even cover supply costs. Why bother?

I apologize if this thread isn't in the spirit of Etsy, but it's so frustrating when I try to be competitive with my prices and I see other sellers giving their items away.

Vent over. Moving on.

[MythOfTheWild]

Selling something for 50 cents - did you check the shipping costs? Some people price their items VERY low to show up first in searches set from "low to high" for those on a budget, but the true price is in the shipping. I've seen people sell earrings for £1 and have £23 local shipping. It's surprisingly common - if you were to do a blank search on etsy and organise it from the lowest to highest, the majority of items would have insane shipping.

However, some people really do sell themselves short. Some people make, as a prime example, polymer cupcakes and sell them for £5, even when they were in fashion and were selling elsewhere for £15 - £20. It's mad.

On the other hand, of course, it's common logic to want to price lower than competitors to try to guarantee a sale. High prices might put people off, especially if other people make similar items. But there are people who would prefer to pay more for better quality. You just have to set your price and stick with it. Raising your prices might cost a few cheaper customers, but might gain a few more expensive ones.

[PiecesOfMePaperCraft]

Kim, I mentioned earlier in the thread that the shipping fee was reasonable. I quoted it as $1.00 but I made a mistake. When I went back to check the listing (which took awhile because I forgot what search term I'd used when I originally found it - lol) I saw that it's actually $1.80. If the seller is using Paypal or Etsy for shipping, it costs $1.64 to ship the item, only .16 less than their quoted fee. If they go to the P.O., it costs $1.95 and they'd be losing money on shipping. Then again, who's to say they don't just throw it in a regular business size envelope and slap a couple of first class stamps on it. (I've received items that were mailed like that). I looked at the shop again last night. They have less than one page of listings but lots of sales (so I wonder if they're moving on from Etsy, as someone else mentioned). Everything is priced $1.00 or less. To that I say "oh well" and I'll keep doing what I'm doing, setting prices that work for me and hope the buyer can see a difference.

Thanks for the input everyone!

[Former_Member]

I've looked around at this as well and used to think of it as a problem. At this point I've just started caring about my own prices, I need to earn the money, especially this year, and therefore I can't set lower prices.

My biggest problem is that the US-dollar is really low compared to the Swedish Crona and most items therefore look a lot more expensive than what they are in my currency. In order for me to earn anything at all I have to set these prices, and even as it is they are really too low for covering anything, but it'll have to do for now, I'd rather get my sales started.

I decided to try and keep my shipping as low as possible, but even at that I can't set my shipping any lower than what I have without losing lots of money. It is so tricky to try and have a business and earn money, there's so much more than only supplying costs and shipping that most people seem to forget to calculate.

[TerraRhapsody]

I have to agree with you. It does annoy me when I see people listing things for a stupidly small amount of money. As a seller, it annoys me to see that people have no pride or estimation of worth in their work, and as a buyer, it puts me off as I see it as something cheap and tacky, and probably isn't the best quality.
I always try to give myself and the buyer a good deal, and I'm not ashamed to do that- even when some people with their head in the clouds do tend to chastise, like I'm making millions of pounds of something!
There is also something in the water that is making a lot of people think that profit is evil. ¬_¬ I mean.. what?!

[Former_Member]

Judy from PiecesOfMePaperCraft says Edited on Jan 3, 2013
Kim, I mentioned earlier in the thread that the shipping fee was reasonable. I quoted it as $1.00 but I made a mistake. When I went back to check the listing (which took awhile because I forgot what search term I'd used when I originally found it - lol) I saw that it's actually $1.80. If the seller is using Paypal or Etsy for shipping, it costs $1.64 to ship the item, only .16 less than their quoted fee. If they go to the P.O., it costs $1.95 and they'd be losing money on shipping. Then again, who's to say they don't just throw it in a regular business size envelope and slap a couple of first class stamps on it. (I've received items that were mailed like that). I looked at the shop again last night. They have less than one page of listings but lots of sales (so I wonder if they're moving on from Etsy, as someone else mentioned). Everything is priced $1.00 or less. To that I say "oh well" and I'll keep doing what I'm doing, setting prices that work for me and hope the buyer can see a difference.

Thanks for the input everyone!
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ah the sale and run. there are shops on etsy that are "legit" that is to say they handmake items, and sell it for bottom dollar. they try to make it up in the quantity of items sold. which can be very high. yes you make widgets that most people charge $15 for. these shops charge $7 or even $5 sometimes even with free shipping. you might make $9 per item, not counting your time, and they will make $1-2 per item also not counting time. yes they had 100 sales within a week of opening but over time they get more and more neg feedback. they just could not keep up with demand and had long wait times and poor service. because as it turns out you DO have to count for time after all.

the buyer gets a $5 widget, thinking they are getting a $15 handmade widget, when in fact they are getting a $5 handmade widget that looks and feels like a $4 walmart widget.

sure those shops make money but does working those kinds of hours for such little money appeal to me? nope. not even a little.

[Former_Member]

Cindy Kuo from TreeCraftDiary says

"I did see a lot of shops with low priced items and they got tons of sales.
This make me wonder how actually to price ourselves. As if a shop with higher priced items will be having a hard time to get a sale rather than a shop with low priced items."

I'd rather sell 5 items are $100 each, than 25 of the exact same item with the same labor and materials at $20 each. Sure, I'd have great sales figures, but my profit would be zilch.

My items are at the top range, price-wise, on Etsy and I've not had problems getting sales. (I've definitely had slower times, though, so it's not been a walk in the park). I just raised my prices on my bow ties by another 10% and have had three sales in the last 2 days.

The trick is not to compete against all the other sellers here on Etsy - make sure you're offering something they're not. In addition, one needs to have great SEO so that people find you easily through search engines such as Google, as well as working on promoting outside Etsy.

[PiecesOfMePaperCraft]

KoutureCrochet from KoutureCrochet says

the buyer gets a $5 widget, thinking they are getting a $15 handmade widget, when in fact they are getting a $5 handmade widget that looks and feels like a $4 walmart widget.

_________________________

Excellent analogy. Thank you for saying what I've been thinking. :)

I'm still waiting for someone to buy my widgets. I haven't had a sale since mid-December but that's what happens when you reopen with 90% Christmas items. Just keep swimming...

[JeannieGrayKnits]

I struggle with pricing. I hand knit, no machines involved at all. Hand knitting can be slow. For example, a pair of socks knit with a fine enough wool to be able to wear with normal shoes would probably take 12 to 15 hours of knitting time. Even at $5 an hour, that would be $60 plus the cost of the wool. Who in their right mind would pay $60 for a pair of socks? Or maybe I just haven't found my true target market yet. :)

[Former_Member]

I agree with Angie. Judy, your shop is well put together and your pictures truly show the quality of your work.