On 20 Jul 2005 03:24:22 -0700, wrote:

Leo,

Bottle stoppers are one of the easiest and fastest turnings that really
impresses people. It took me years before I turned one only because
I'd think "there isn't enough work in them to justify calling it
woodturning"! Boy, was I wrong (again).

My new stainless steel bottle stoppers are available right now. I've
been selling them for a few weeks and getting a lot of positive
feedback from the turners. Go to my website ( www.torne-lignum.com )
for the details, I'm a little hesitant to post them here without
permission to do an "AD".

You know, Ruth- I'm of the opinion that you're undercharging as it is.
Look at what you've got there- Stainless steel, with the three O-rings
assembled. I don't know if you're making them yourself or gettting
them from a machine shop, but either way they're a custom(ish) product
made from a high quality metal that is not particularly easy to work
with, and has an additional assembly step involved.

It's really easy to short yourself when you're setting the prices, but
if you're worried about the cost of packing materials, you should be
charging more for the product. I don't need a bottle stopper insert
at the moment, but I would expect to pay at least $10 for one of
those. Compare it to some other products- you're offering a great
deal on a good product, and you shouldn't be afraid to charge what it
is actually worth- there is really no great need to offer wholesale
prices to somone who is only buying one or two! Once you've got the
price where it should be, shipping materials should be far less of a
concern.

Just my $.02, as someone who has undervalued his work in the past...