price help

[candtmetalworks]

i made this 19" x 35" Texas slam flag. i have a lot of interest but putting a good number on it is the real question. i sold one for $175.00 and my customer without batting an eye said that's it? the wood is rough cut cedar.

[Capstone]

There's no pic, so it's really hard to tell. And for the 90% of members not from Texas, we aren't going to know what a "slam flag" is maybe.

[candtmetalworks]

i thought i uploaded a picture. i will try to do that again. thanks

[Capstone]

Well TBH, I think $175 is the top end of what I could likely get for a piece with that level of complexity. I'm working with a private school and they are balking at $125 for a similar sized piece that has a lot more design time involved and customization.

I'd be happy to get $175 selling a few of those, but it's really about market and perceived scarcity. I see a lot of displays from flea markets etc by artists with multiples of the same larger pieces with subtle differences. I'm not a fan of that approach. I'd prefer to put only one out of those large pieces to entice potential client to believe it's one of a kind.

[little blue choo]

I'm with capstone. I don't like putting out multiples of the same image. I'll carry more of something I think I'm going to sell but not put it out until the first one sales. That makes the perceived value higher. And around her I would be lucky to get $150 for that piece but I'm not in Texas and have no idea of the meaning of it.

Rick

[cambo]

"whatever the market will bare" is what I was told when I first started, which didnt help me at all because I had no idea what the market would bare. It comes down to experience and your target market. If you are getting every customer that comes your way then your prices are probably a little cheap and if your not getting very many customers then your prices are probably to high. We started selling a lot of fire pits, so we then introduce 3 different price points for the fire pit. Low, medium, and high end, we sell a lot of the low end pits, half as many mid level, and a few high end, that way we are covering a broader market. When it comes to marketing have have to test, test, test, some jobs you will make a real good profit on and others are considered a "learning experience". AS far as what your piece is worth that depends on your target market because one person will look at it and say "I will pay $200 for it no problem" and the next person say "$100 is too much" those are 2 different markets. Many people don't understand what it takes to do what we do.
Our time is the most valuable thing that we have so you have to decide what your time is worth and then know how long it will take to do the job and that will be a good start. Hope this helps.