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Prices

If anyone has time, I'd love some feedback on my prices. Do they seem reasonable?

www.ruetabega.etsy.com

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Amberlee on October 12, 2008 at 9:33pm: Knowing how much work goes into the projects you have listed I can see why they are priced the way they are. Are you not selling at that price or are you worried? With 6-8 hrs of work on the felted ornamental doll I would understand why you have it listed as $25, but the size of the doll might make people wonder why so much. It is all quite beautiful!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by laura b on October 13, 2008 at 7:17am: i think your prices are actually quite reasonable. anyone who really is interested in felted art objects understands the time and effort that goes into it. like flo said, you want to have good prices for yourself but you don't want to just give your stuff away either.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by ps pirro on October 13, 2008 at 9:40am: Hi Rue, I just visited your shop. The needle felted work is so appealing and I think the handbag in particular is a steal at $35. So yes, I think your prices are reasonable. I'm wondering, tho, if some of the images could be a little sharper? I struggle with taking good digital pics of my work (for my blog right now, as my etsy shop is empty) so I know how hard it can be (I really suck at it, actually) to get good, sharp close-ups. When I see what some shop owners can do to make their stuff look awesome I know I have a long way to go in the picture-taking department. As I recall etsy offers a lot of tips on taking photos of your art and how to light it and merchandise it well. Rather than tweak your prices I think you might just need to tweak your images so they look as luscious as the work itself is.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Rue Kream on October 13, 2008 at 4:21pm: Amberlee - I just haven't sold much, so I was wondering if it was my pricing. Really, I'm at rock bottom as far as what I feel I can reasonably make for the time I put in, so I'm relieved to hear the prices don't seem too out there.

Laura - Remember that time you made me feel better? High five! (apologies to everyone who was not with us when Laura and Rowan high-fived their way through Asheville, NC)

ps pirro - I definitely agree I would like to improve my photographs. A lot of times they look pretty good full size on my computer but they lose clarity when I re-size them for etsy. I don't know enough about it to solve that problem yet, but I'm reading lots and as soon as Dagny gets home from her vacation I'll see if she can help me out.

Thanks everyone!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Flo Gascon on October 14, 2008 at 10:52am: Rue, I think your prices are VERY reasonable. You're creating works of art! Have you checked out other Etsy shops who sell similar items? That's a good way to see what your competition is doing and how it working for them.

A note of caution, though: Don't be tempted to lower your prices below what your "rock bottom" price even if others are. You're just undercutting yourself. There's a market and a price for everyone. If you want to charge more than others, bump up the perceived value. If you want to charge the same, get as much attention or more and get name recognition.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by ~Glenda on October 19, 2008 at 11:08pm: Rue, I just checked out your shop and was especially drawn to the felted bowls. I found your prices reasonable and comparable to other similar items on Etsy.

Just for grins, I searched "needle felted handbags" on Etsy, to look at similar items. A couple that immediately caught my eye were in shanineal's storefront. I don't think her bags were any prettier than yours is, but what drew me to her photos were: (1) the natural lighting, (2) how she utilized her window to stage the items, and (3) the props next to the bags / inside the felted bowls for proportion purposes. Re: my item #3 -- my brain doesn't take length by width and give me a picture of what that equates to -- it helps me tremendously when someone includes props, because otherwise I'd have to go find a ruler to figure out what size this-by-that is going to be . . . and I'm more inclined to click around Etsy some more than to go find a ruler ;-).

Does your camera have a macro function? In anticipation of opening my own Etsy store early next year, I bought a point-n-shoot with a macro feature. It's a Nikon Coolpix L18 and can be had for approx. $120-$130, which I thought was a fantastic price for a PNS with macro. Since you can include five shots of each item you list on Etsy, it might be handy, especially for your jewelry, to include a couple macro shots.

So, yes, I do think your prices are reasonable . . . and I think your work is LOVELY =).; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Rue Kream on October 20, 2008 at 6:58pm: Thanks again, everyone. I appreciate the time you all took.

I do like the pictures in shanineals's shop. I particularly like the idea of putting some things in my bowls to give a sense of scale. I spent some time last week trying different photo ideas and I hope to get some better pictures up in the next week or two.

And I had good news today - I sold a bowl :o).

Does anybody else want a critique of their shop?; ▶ Reply to This