The Basics of Pricing Online Lab

[Former_Member]

Sellers!

We’re in the throes of the month of May and I wanted to reach out to you about the topic du jour this month, pricing. From mastering the pricing formula to practicing pricing strategies, this topic is one that takes time and energy to master. I’m here today to tell you about a lab we’re having later this week and want to encourage you all to come out and get your questions answered.

What: The Basics of Pricing with Danielle and Michelle
When: Thursday, May 10 - 3:00 p.m. ET
Where: Etsy’s Online Labs, www.etsy.me/onlinelabs
How: To RSVP to attend an Online Lab click on the blue “RSVP now” button next to the lab you’d like to attend. We’ll send you a confirmation email and then remind you right before the lab starts.

Leave your pricing questions in this thread and we’ll answer a few during the Online Lab LIVE!

Nickey

[Former_Member]

woohoo. oh Knickey.. this makes me smile

I am still wondering if having a sample / sale section that diminishes perceived value of the items.

[Former_Member]

Hi! cant wait for this lab, ive always had trouble with pricing!

My question is... what is the best way to price items? especially if you have forgotten how much your supplies cost you? :/

[WoolWench]

Pricing is so difficult! Where is the balance to be found between 'actual' cost including everything (overheads, actual hours spent etc) and what people will actually pay?

Is it better to start out at the lower end of the pricing range (for the product) and increase prices when sales are solid, or to start out at the top end, reducing prices if items are not selling? Or is it better to start out in the middle of the average price range?

I sell handspun yarn, and I see some people selling it at what I know must be at cost, no profit, yet they make lovely yarn and really could be selling it for more, its impossible to compete with that!

[Former_Member]

Pricing is such an issue with me because its really hard to set a price on a piece of jewelry that you`ve created and put time into and what a buyer might pay for it. Etsy is so very saturated with excellent jewelry sellers that it is always challenging trying to get those sales.

[etherealflowers]

hi! i hope i can get to follow the labs live!
my question is:
which is the right % discount to apply on wholesales? it must be ALWAYS 50% also for small productions? (like mine..)
thanks in advance!

[Former_Member]

I asked this question on the other thread about this topic...

The pricing formulas everyone is telling you to use is

cost + labor x 2 = wholesale, then wholesale x 2 = retail.

Cost includes overhead expenses as well as materials used.

What happens if using this formula, you find your prices are well above those from other sellers with competitive items?

How do you price your items so that there is a profit, yet they are competitive with other similar items?

[LucyTootCreations]

yay awesome..i have such a huge problem with this...

soo my question is ...I sell crocheted newborn photography props...(my fifth month in..)...normally I do a search and get a general idea of what to price my items. I'm on the low end of pricing..but I feel I have a really nice quality product in my work as well as yarn. I'm afraid to price them so high that it turns buyers away..but to low and not only do i really not make much profit but worry buyers dont think quality is good enough...I've seen a few pricing formulas for etsy items..and just from using one of them I could easily charge 54 bucks for a newborn hat...which seems like an awful lot for such a small hat...I want to be taken seriously as a seller..that gives out great quality product..without looking like an idiot overpricing...which would equal in no sales...

sorry for the long question

[LucyTootCreations]

hehe veronica asked the same question as me...(in a shorter better way)..glad i'm not the only one :O)

[Untwistedsister]

excellent question veronica. What is the hourly wage we should be figuring for handmade? Should it include the time to photograph and list? Package and ship?

[Former_Member]

Heather, you could charge at least twice as much (if not more) for your newborn hats (they are lovely, btw).

I realize that my prices are somewhat high compared to other Etsy sellers, but it really hasn't hurt my sales. I still make a decent profit from wholesale with these prices which is really important to remember when setting your retail prices.

As an Etsy buyer, I am willing to pay the higher price for a quality item--no question. You may actually see your sales increase, believe it or not--it really is all about perceived value. If you value yourself and your work, others will too!

Best wishes and thanks for this thread!

[magiccircleclothing]

I had the same question as Veronica with this addendum:

Most people I know thought I was pricing my items too low, but now that I've priced them taking the cost of my own labor into consideration, sales have really slowed down! I want my brand to be in the contemporary price range, but I also want my items to sell. Is it really a pricing problem, or could something else about my shop be driving sales down?

[Former_Member]

I've spent many years building a market and pricing structure for my vintage products which are very specialized and not easily restocked if at all.
Over the last ~12months I've been experiencing increasing competition.
The problem is that competitors use my proven selling prices as a guidline then knock a substantial percentage off to determine their selling price. This has caused my sales volume to drop, selling prices over the market to fall, and damaged perceived value.
They also emulate my picture style and background, use my listings as research tools, and even plagarise my descriptions verbatim.
I already offer exceptional service with lots of extra freebies, and have pristine feedback.
The thought of dropping prices makes me cringe as I've spent years building a market and dtermining prices that balance profit and through-put. It's easy to drop prices but so excrutiatingly difficult to bring them back up.

How do we encourage more online sellers to analyze the market, create artful listing, and compete on merit rather than engaging in a race to the bottom, and how do I compete with the "interlopers" without further encouraging the prices to drop?

Thank you,

Scott

[IttyBittyKidBoutique]

Looking forward to this discussion!

[Former_Member]

looking forward to it!

[Former_Member]

sigh...let's face it, most of us would be classified as "sweat shops" only it's our own sweat!
Vintage sellers need this formula too. I'm signing up.

[FinnellFineArt]

My question is:

I getting ready to start offering Giclee prints on gallery wrap canvas. The prints are pretty expensive, but I want to keep the price affordable. How should I figure my selling price?

Consider that I frequently have already sold, or can still sell, the original painting, so my costs and time in creating the art probably don't figure into the price. I do have to spend some time getting a good quality photograph and prepping the file (color correct, size, etc), but since I can conceivable sell multiple prints from the same file, I'm not sure how to figure that in either.

My fixed costs are the cost of the print and the shipping to my studio.

I'm hoping you can help me with this.

[Former_Member]

I would like to begin listing items in my etsy store, but I have not yet figured out how to do it. As far as pricing for vintage items it seems the price can really vary with all prices actually being a fair price. I really need to get higher prices for my items to make my business more than an expensive hobby. Many items that pass through my hands are quite unique and I never see anything like it again. Do y

[Former_Member]

P.S. Do you have any suggestions?
Thank you!

[Former_Member]

I'm wondering how much (or little) I should consider the pricing choices of people selling similar products to mine on Etsy?

[Former_Member]

I've been told that I need to use the pricing equation to formulate my wholesale price and then double it for retail. But what happens if that makes your product more expensive than most people in your category?

How do you go about pricing to make a profit off of potential wholesale orders?

[LinorStoreDesigns]

How do you include packaging costs and mileage to Post Office in your pricing. That is, once the pricing is established.

[Former_Member]

The packaging and mail handling costs are bugging me as well.
Excellent questions. I would like to offer to wrap the items I sell, and send them directly to a customer's recipient, if they so wish.

I would have to re list the items in order to attach any sort of fee to the packaging. Not sure this is possible on Etsy, since I use commercial packaging materials.

Have to fold the costs into the products, making them even more expensive.

Can't wait to watch the info on Thursday.

[seemomster]

I'll have to catch it in reruns...I'll be at my day job. (BOOOO)

[TerahClassyCreations]

In pricing I'm already accounting for time & supplies and I find the prices to be substantial. Should I recoup the time spent in listing, photography, and marketing, i.e., blogging, etc. as well? Or would that put me out of the market?