Illustration by Lauren Minco
The price is right
Issue #35
Etsy administrators Vanessa Bertozzi and Beth Ferreira school us on the fine art of pricing
By Venus Zine Staff
Published: March 1st, 2008 | 3:05pm
Figuring out how to price your items can feel like the most challenging part of selling. Pricing is more art than science: there is no magic pricing formula.
BE DIRECT
First things first: Calculate your direct and indirect costs. Direct costs include materials used to make the item, packaging, and PayPal, Etsy, or other fees. Be sure to include things such as the yarn that you dug out of the closet where it'd been stashed for years or those buttons your next-door neighbor gave you.
Indirect costs include machinery; for instance, a large loom or payment for access to a darkroom or a metal shop. Also include costs such as advertising, design fees when you needed help on your graphics, Internet bills, rent, and utilities.
TIME IS PRECIOUS
Figure out how much time it takes you to create an item and bring it to market. Don't forget the design time as well as the time it took to physically produce it. Include time that might otherwise be considered down time, like working on the item while at your table at a craft fair or knitting on the bus on the way to work.
Now you can consider how much you want to make as a wage you'll pay yourself. You need to make a profit to quit your day job! You deserve to be paid for your efforts, time, and creative talents.
Danielle Maveal, an Etsy Labs admin, learned quite a bit about pricing in art school and from working full time with her business preciouspups.etsy.com. "Here's one way a professor of mine taught us pricing," she says. "Figure out how many pieces you make a day. Figure out what salary you need to be paid or would like to be paid. Figure out how many pieces you can make in a year and then divide your desired salary by this and see what you come out with. Most people will find they are selling themselves way short."
—
Beth Ferreira is writing a pricing series for Etsy's online zine, The Storque, at http://www.etsy.com/storque/search/tags/pricing/"
etsy.com/storque/search/tags/pricing
.
Comments
Please login to be able to comment on this article.
more