Comments on: “Pricing Your Craftwork,” James Dillehay http://www.errantdreams.com/reviews/2008/09/09/pricing-your-craftwork-james-dillehay/ 1,000+ book & kitchenware reviews, and more. We may be insane, but we're on your side! Thu, 06 Jun 2013 12:30:45 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: James Dillehay http://www.errantdreams.com/reviews/2008/09/09/pricing-your-craftwork-james-dillehay/comment-page-1/#comment-48104 James Dillehay Sun, 08 Feb 2009 16:51:27 +0000 http://www.errantdreams.com/reviews/?p=789#comment-48104 I just wanted to write and thank you for the review of my book on how to price your crafts. Your comments about online pricing will not go ignored. I am working on a revised edition of this book to include online pricing strategies -- the first edition came out just before the internet became a major influence. In the new edition, I will be showing how to research the online marketplace you are selling your crafts in and why that's so important. Thanks again for writing about the book! I just wanted to write and thank you for the review of my book on how to price your crafts. Your comments about online pricing will not go ignored. I am working on a revised edition of this book to include online pricing strategies — the first edition came out just before the internet became a major influence. In the new edition, I will be showing how to research the online marketplace you are selling your crafts in and why that’s so important. Thanks again for writing about the book!

]]> By: cabinet cards http://www.errantdreams.com/reviews/2008/09/09/pricing-your-craftwork-james-dillehay/comment-page-1/#comment-44875 cabinet cards Mon, 22 Dec 2008 20:01:27 +0000 http://www.errantdreams.com/reviews/?p=789#comment-44875 Good info Heather, thanks. I'll check out the Maryland Renaissance Festival and pass along the info. The local events in our area are all smaller craft shows. A couple of them even have a raffle giveaway where they make each vendor "donate" a piece for exposure. That's fine for a $5 item, but for a $100+ piece, it's not worth it, especially when there's only 100 people or so there. Some of the other vendors suggested higher end shows also like in the NY area. When gas prices went crazy, a lot of them stopped traveling, but it's looking now like they could be back at it next season. Good info Heather, thanks. I’ll check out the Maryland Renaissance Festival and pass along the info. The local events in our area are all smaller craft shows. A couple of them even have a raffle giveaway where they make each vendor “donate” a piece for exposure. That’s fine for a $5 item, but for a $100+ piece, it’s not worth it, especially when there’s only 100 people or so there. Some of the other vendors suggested higher end shows also like in the NY area. When gas prices went crazy, a lot of them stopped traveling, but it’s looking now like they could be back at it next season.

]]> By: heather http://www.errantdreams.com/reviews/2008/09/09/pricing-your-craftwork-james-dillehay/comment-page-1/#comment-44794 heather Sun, 21 Dec 2008 10:47:16 +0000 http://www.errantdreams.com/reviews/?p=789#comment-44794 Dillehay does make the point in this book that if you make high-end crafts, there are some crafts shows it's probably not worth going to, because there are "country crafts" shows where people are accustomed to small, inexpensive items. If you instead went to, for example, the annual Maryland Renaissance Festival, you'd see plenty of high-end stuff with appropriately high prices. There's a guy there who sells gorgeous tables made of slabs of redwood. (We hope to someday be able to afford a dining room table of his.) Few people bat an eye because the high level of workmanship and high prices are expected there. I recommend you check out this book...it makes some great suggestions as to how to find the right audience for your work. Places like etsy could definitely give you another audience. You still have to find a way to market to the right people, but there's actually quite a lot of high-end stuff on the site, so IMO people won't be as shocked to find that there. Dillehay does make the point in this book that if you make high-end crafts, there are some crafts shows it’s probably not worth going to, because there are “country crafts” shows where people are accustomed to small, inexpensive items. If you instead went to, for example, the annual Maryland Renaissance Festival, you’d see plenty of high-end stuff with appropriately high prices. There’s a guy there who sells gorgeous tables made of slabs of redwood. (We hope to someday be able to afford a dining room table of his.) Few people bat an eye because the high level of workmanship and high prices are expected there. I recommend you check out this book…it makes some great suggestions as to how to find the right audience for your work.

Places like etsy could definitely give you another audience. You still have to find a way to market to the right people, but there’s actually quite a lot of high-end stuff on the site, so IMO people won’t be as shocked to find that there.

]]> By: cabinet cards http://www.errantdreams.com/reviews/2008/09/09/pricing-your-craftwork-james-dillehay/comment-page-1/#comment-44786 cabinet cards Sun, 21 Dec 2008 08:12:43 +0000 http://www.errantdreams.com/reviews/?p=789#comment-44786 A close relative of mine creates a specific form of woodworking that's absolutely beautiful. It's very labor intensive. Scroll-saw cutting, machine sanding, handsanding, backing, gluing together, and 3 coat varnishing each individual piece. And one item can be made up of over 100 pieces of various woods (usually 4 to 10 different types of woods per item). Needless to say, they take hours upon hours to make, and the woods are often exotic and expensive. Sadly, she goes to craft shows with these items and bargain hunters, used to seeing $3 Chinese-made Walmart birdhouses, pick them up violently or allow their kids to rub their sticky hands all over them. They then see prices in the hundreds and get sticker shock. I feel so bad for her when people make very obvious and rude gestures about the prices. Many people have no idea what is involved in making them and don't appreciate true craftmanship. Funny thing is, almost all of her pieces have sold. So I guess my advice is, if anyone makes something really beautiful and really unique, do NOT compromise on price. I'm thinking of building her a website just for her work so that she can tap into a much larger market. I'm not sure about shipping costs or if people would purchase larger ticket craft items online, but it's worth a shot. If her work gets known, she might not even have to go to craft shows anymore. I notice you use etsy, something I'm not at all familiar with. I'll definitely look into that. I hope I haven't bored everyone with this long comment. Take care and good luck with your shop as well, I'm about to browse through it right now! A close relative of mine creates a specific form of woodworking that’s absolutely beautiful. It’s very labor intensive. Scroll-saw cutting, machine sanding, handsanding, backing, gluing together, and 3 coat varnishing each individual piece. And one item can be made up of over 100 pieces of various woods (usually 4 to 10 different types of woods per item). Needless to say, they take hours upon hours to make, and the woods are often exotic and expensive.

Sadly, she goes to craft shows with these items and bargain hunters, used to seeing $3 Chinese-made Walmart birdhouses, pick them up violently or allow their kids to rub their sticky hands all over them. They then see prices in the hundreds and get sticker shock. I feel so bad for her when people make very obvious and rude gestures about the prices. Many people have no idea what is involved in making them and don’t appreciate true craftmanship.

Funny thing is, almost all of her pieces have sold. So I guess my advice is, if anyone makes something really beautiful and really unique, do NOT compromise on price. I’m thinking of building her a website just for her work so that she can tap into a much larger market. I’m not sure about shipping costs or if people would purchase larger ticket craft items online, but it’s worth a shot. If her work gets known, she might not even have to go to craft shows anymore. I notice you use etsy, something I’m not at all familiar with. I’ll definitely look into that. I hope I haven’t bored everyone with this long comment. Take care and good luck with your shop as well, I’m about to browse through it right now!

]]> By: Errant Thoughts » Blog Archive » The Large Hadron Rap http://www.errantdreams.com/reviews/2008/09/09/pricing-your-craftwork-james-dillehay/comment-page-1/#comment-32489 Errant Thoughts » Blog Archive » The Large Hadron Rap Wed, 10 Sep 2008 16:58:57 +0000 http://www.errantdreams.com/reviews/?p=789#comment-32489 [...] done laughing uncontrollably), here’s yesterday’s book review: James Dillehay’s Pricing Your Craftwork. I should have another review up tomorrow. In the meantime, we now have a total of 30 items up at [...] [...] done laughing uncontrollably), here’s yesterday’s book review: James Dillehay’s Pricing Your Craftwork. I should have another review up tomorrow. In the meantime, we now have a total of 30 items up at [...]

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