On Sun, 21 Dec 2014 12:43:14 -0800 (PST)
" wrote:


The easiest way to figure out "what to charge" IF YOU WANT TO MAKE
MONEY is to determine the value of your product on the market. Got
to some craft shows and woodworking shows if you have them in
your areas and talk to vendors.

That should be your start point to determine if there is a market for
your product and give you some guidelines as to pricing. Remember
all the things you should put in there like the cost of getting
material in your hands, not just the purchase price. Remember
consumables such as sandpaper, finishes, paint, odd hardware, and
costs such as electricity, cost to get your good to market (not just
the price of the table) and all the other things you need. Don't
forget some kind of rudimentary business card, cost of lunch at the
venue, and any additional costs of adding your additional bookkeeping
and tax prep to your annual income.

I had a smokin' business around 2000 making wooden pens. I had a
great line on the hardware and had a ton of ebony, teac, cocobolo,
zircote, bocote, etc. that I got from an exotic wood distributor here
in town. He brought a lot of that stuff in, and the wood he wold me
was basically sawed from much large pieces that were broken and split
in his load. I only made the classic Scheafer and Pellican models
from the turn of the last century.

I made some good money for about 4 years doing that, then they were
everywhere and the price collapsed. Even the Boy Scouts were turning
them as fund raisers The point being, pricing is market driven.

A good friend of mine had the same thing happen to him when he was
making desk humidors.

Most of the reason my market collapsed is as noted above, I no longer
had anything close to an exclusive product. Worse, almost all the
guys I met at the county fairs, wood working shows, exhibitions, etc.
told me (after being stunned at their low pricing) they didn't care
if they made money or not, they were just having fun. It was a hobby
their wives tolerated. That whole mentality swallowed up all my
turned Christmas ornaments, lamp pulls, oil lamps, desk pen sets, etc.

Still, I would encourage you to do it. If you find the right product,
you can make some money and have some fun.


Thanks for sharing, one thing seems clear and that's I should not
try too hard to sell at craft shows. So I will look for the right
venues and there's always etsy.

We're told that there are ~7 billion of us here so there's always
going to be someone else doing the same thing. So I won't be making
what's already out there or make them in some novel way.