It's been asked before....it'll be asked again....

[sachbvn]

So.... I've been turning pens for a little bit now - definitely improving..... I'm able to add profiles to the slim-lines - on purpose, not just "oopses" that turned out well. I've made a couple Euro style - they are ok, a bit of a PITA, but ok. I'll try other kinds too - but, honestly - I just don't like "fat pens" I like skinny pens to write with - and I usually do not care for the black plasitc (or metal, whatever it is) that is towards the nib.... like a inch worth before you get to the good stuff - be it wood or acrylic.......I digress.

Anyways - so... obviously I'm acquiring quite a collection of pens... some have been made in mind of being gifts - others are just.... completed. Now - I can find flaws in some of them.... the nib is just a hare proud, or a repaired chip from a burl pen, very small, but I can tell. Basically - these are not the "flawless" caliber pens that many take to craft shows....but I'm working towards that.

This has already turned into way longer that it needed to be lol!

Basically - I'm not really sure how much to sell the pens for.... A) because I am very critical of my work, and probably consider it worth less than it is.... and B) because I am unsure of what regular people would actually pay for them.

Let's look at about the least expensive pen I can make (assuming I'm buying the wood too)

2.00 for a slim kit and .95 for a blank - less than three bucks... of course you can figure: finishing supplies, sand paper, etc.... but lets just look at the main cost.

What now? Do I sell the pen for 10 bucks? 6 bucks? 12, 15?? What?? I'm mainly looking to support myself with more supplies/wood etc.... Not really looking to have a second income. What about a pen that cost 2.00 plus a 5.00 blank??

I really have no idea.... I don't wanna sell myself short here, but I also don't want to be considered..... too high on price.


Thanks!
Zac

[triplefreak]

Don't know if this will help, but what I've seen at the local craft shows will give you a good idea of what you can sell them for.
I've never seen a pen for under $20, but I live in an expensive area.
(Right outside DC).
You might want to check out a craft show to get an idea of what to charge in your area.

[Ruffnek]

I'll wager that crafting even a slimline pen to completion takes you an hour...or very nearly so.

$20 per hour is not an exhorbitant price for your time and that doesn't include the kit, finish, blank, electricity, etc.

If a pen is flawed enough to discount the price then it is too flawed to sell, IMHO. Gift those and keep the good ones for sale. You want to build a reputation for selling quality work so don't display anything that you would not purchase yourself.

If you are like me and many others, selling your work is a good way to supplement your hobby plus get some value for the work you do. But, even though it is not a primary means of income, you should not sell too cheaply because that just undermines the prices for those who do depend on sales for income.

[monty]

And don't forget, if you sell at an A&C show, there's the booth fee, gas and mileage to and from the show, meals etc. Also don't forget there's the cost of the "imperfect" or blown up pen blanks that you can't recoup the cost of by selling.
That's what get's me when I see someone selling a slim for $10. They say they don't want to make any money off the pen, they say they only want to recoup the cost in the pen so they can make more. At that rate, the pen ends up costing you money so why not just give them all away to begin with.

[TDHofstetter]

I doubt this'll help, but...

For a while, when Dartmouth Hospital gave up on fixing my headache, they sent me to an acupuncturist. I didn't have health insurance at the time, and the sessions were priced at $65 each. I offered, and the acupuncturist happily accepted, one of my pens per session. That went on for (if I recall) eight sessions.

Those were my "poor" pens, with the cheap kits & my early finishes that I didn't like as well as I could.

Now... on the other hand, I've been to a couple of craft shows where a guy had a mini lathe set up & was banging out pens in 10 minutes or so, right in front of the crowd. He didn't do much sanding or any finishing, his pens showed no imagination, and he charged $12 each for 'em. I'm sure he used the cheapest kits on the market.

I've seen REALLY NICE pens - good kits, good plating, exceptional wood, flawless finish - going for $500 & up.

So... since you're not doing this as an income thing, make the pens as you feel right about making 'em, then pick a price point that feels right to you for the quality of the kit, the wood, the turning, the sanding, and the finish... and then stick to that price point. Somebody WILL WANT to exchange greenbacks for your work. Don't discount squat - price each pen individually - unless you're just crankin' out stock pens that all look the same as "craft" pens, from one species of uninteresting wood.

[Doug B]

I started out selling slims for $20.00 a piece. That was using wood I collected myself so it was not a bad profit if you don't count the labor.

Then I realized that I would rather make and sell one very nice pen for $50.00 than 2 pens that I did not really enjoy making. I wanted to use more and more interesting materials and also realized that you can't use a $2.00 pen kit on a $50.00 pen...well, most of the time anyway

So, I am now using higher quality pen kits and materials and the profit margin is higher.

I think I sold over 200 $20.00 pens before I got tired of doing that. During that same time I gave away or traded about 200 pens too. LOL.

I don't regret the price I have gotten for any pen I've sold and that is important to me. That is also why I give a 100% money back guarantee for every pen I sell. If a pen has problems, I sure don't want it out there in the public with my name associated with it.

I did sell several less than acceptable pens very cheaply one time. I did not even want to give those pens away - most had a finish that did not turn out well. I asked that she just not tell anyone where she got them from ;D

There is one guy that sometimes sells his pens locally here and he has already caused me some problems at the Farmers and Crafts market that I have only been a vendor at twice. One fellow asked where the less expensive pens were? He thought I was the other guy and said that I usually had some cheaper pens.

The bottom line is that a pen is worth what someone is willing to pay for it. If your customers are happy with your work, they will spread the word and be repeat customers. Reputation is very important if you are going to sell locally.

Anyway, that's what works for me. YMMV.

Well, it looks like I got carried away with my answer You will figure it out for yourself what will work for you soon enough. Just let your conscience be your guide and you will do fine.

[sawduster]

Another thing to consider, especially around this time of year, is that most folks are buying pens as gifts to someone else. A pen selling for $10 will seem "cheap" to someone else but the same pen selling for $20 seems like a good price for a quality product. They feel much better about themselves giving a $20 gift than they would giving a $10 one. Heck, even if it is for themselves, lots of folks would pass on the "cheapo" $10 pen in favor of the very nice bargain priced $20 pen.

Got a friend who got into knocking down slimlines in production mode. For finishing he used only that shella wax stick stuff from Penn State. What little gloss he got on the pens wore off in short order. But he sold those at $20 each and couldn't hardly make them fast enough to keep up with sales.

[sachbvn]

Hey guys, I really appreciate all of your comments and advice!! Cody, I did think of what you said....if a pen is flawed enough to "discount" it, than do I really want to sell it anyways??

I would write more but I'm actually typing this from my phone.

I will keep making more pens, and think about prices as I go... I'll probably come up with some type of formula of material costs + x = price.

Have a good evening guys, I'll catch up on the board tomorrow night.

Zac