Pricing Advice!

[Former_Member]

Hello all! I've been on etsy a week and I have been trying to do some research. Every article always mentions pricing, and the danger of setting handmade items at a too low price.

Do you think my shop items are priced too low? Would it make you think they are poorly made? (btw if it looks poorly made, I will not take offense in constructive criticism)

Thanks!!

[Zehland]

I'm not sure about the supplies, but your handmade items are way low. They are priced as if they were made in a factory and you could push out thousands of them a day. Otherwise, how could you make a profit on them?

If you are hand making anything, you have to consider your time not only in making the items, but finding the materials. You have to consider the time it takes for packing and shipping items that sell. How about the time it takes to do photos and list the items?

In addition to the cost of the materials, you have to consider Etsy and PayPal fees and packaging costs.

Also, your creative inspiration is worth something. If they are unique, original ideas, you have a right to be paid for that too. If people see prices that are very low, they automatically think there is something wrong with it, it is cheaply made and will fall apart.

If they really are cheaply made, then why not go for a product that is well made that you can charge much more for? It takes the same amount of work to list something that is $25 or $50 as it takes to list something that is $2.50. And probably the same amount of work to make it too. :)

[Former_Member]

I agree that your handmade items are priced really low. And you may want to rethink your shipping. You won't be able to ship that ring for $1.00 and have it arrive safely. Consider increasing the price on your items so that you make a profit and aren't losing money. There is nothing wrong with making a living! :) Good luck to you!

[Former_Member]

Thank you both! I REALLY appreciate the feedback from some more experienced folks!

And yes, I have no idea how to deal with shipping, I have been exploring office depot and whatnot and trying to figure it out. How do you generally package your items?

[Zehland]

I sell paintings and prints so I use pieces of mat board or foam core board to back them, then put them in a clear waterproof sleeve. Then I wrap them in colorful tissue paper and seal that with a branded sticker. I had the stickers made with the shop logo. This last step is simply to provide an experience for the buyer. The more high quality the experience, the more money someone will be wiling to pay. You want to delight people!

Then I mail in either rigid mailers or bubble mailers and draw chickie feet running across the mailer. Again - the experience. And you can see that packaging does cost something.

In my other shop, I also sell boxed note card sets. Again, I use the colorful tissue to wrap the boxed cards and a sticker that is branded for that shop. I package this in a box filled with crumpled paper or packing peanuts that I've saved from my own online purchases.

You can search online for boxes, bubble wrap, tape, etc. to get the best deal on packaging materials.

[Former_Member]

Wow that sounds fantastic actually. Thanks, I will keep the personalization & experience bit in mind!