Christmas '09 order

[Jon-wx5nco]

I need to give a little background on my turning. I took my first wood turning class, a slimline pen making class @ Woodcraft, on Tuesday November 24, 2009. I made my pen out of cocobolo and finished it with Hut's Crystal Coat and Renaissance Wax. The next week I made a pen each night. I made one out of cherry, mahogany, walnut, beach, and oak. The beach was finished with CA, the others were finished in Crystal Coat and Renaissance Wax. My wife asked if she could take them to her school (an elementary school in Tulsa). Maybe she could sell them to the other teachers. So, I said "OK". I'm thinking to myself that I could sell 5-10 pens or so. I told her that I'd only charge $5.00 since I am still learning and, although I can see them no one else can, there are slight mistakes in them. The next thing I know, I have an order for THIRTY SIX (36) pens that have to be delivered in four (4) days! So, after I got off work, I went straight home and started cutting, glueing, trimming, turning, and finishing the pens. After some sleepless nights this is what I ended up with. Please forgive the bad photography, but at 12:30 am that was the best I could do.

The first pen on the bottom left is the pen I turned in the class @ Woodcraft. The next pen over is a Sierra made of Cherry for me. The next Sierra is a pen made for Renee's Principal. All the slimlines are made of either Cherry, Oak, Mahogany, Walnut, or Maple. Almost all of the teachers wanted the "bubble butt" slimline.

Any comments and critiques are welcome.

 

[rjwolfe3]

Looks sweet!

 

[jleiwig]

Now you have learned a hard lesson in pricing. Great job though!

 

[traderdon55]

You did a lot of nice work for very little money. Don't undersell yourself,you may be just starting but your pens look too nice to sell them so cheap.

 

[Jon-wx5nco]

Justin, that is true. I still have no earthly idea what to charge for a slimline, or a sierra for that matter. But, for $5.00 I made some money on each pen. All in all, it was a great learning experience.

 

[David M]

as far as pricing a slimlime , i sell the less expensive kit ( Gold Plating ) that i have 2 bucks in , with a blank that i have cut or one that is less than 3 bucks, for around 20 / 25 . if its a large sale like yours i wouldn't have done it less than 15 .

 

[jkeithrussell]

Critique: don't like the bulges, but I'm not the customer
Comment: good job getting a bunch of pens done in a short time
Price: I wouldn't sell any pen for less than $20

 

[nava1uni]

Your pens look nice, but I have to agree that your price is too low. On the other hand it has given you a start and practice and it is a great gift to the teachers, who in my opinion are not appreciated enough by most people.

 

[jleiwig]

All in all, it was a great learning experience.

And that my friend is all that matters!

I actually had the opposite experience where one of the first pens I sold, I set my price for an Elegant Sierra at $25 for a friend thinking it was too high.

After purchasing the kit for $8.99, the blank for $6.99 (x2) cause I blew up the first one, if I included my time and consumables, wear and tear on my machine etc...I didn't make a penny on the sale. I've since moved up to $45 for the basic Sierra to cover things in additon to my time which I value much more than the cost of components. Since I don't depend on sales from the pens for a living or hobbby, I do not care if they don't move that fast at that price, but I will not lower my price or give a discount.

I will donate a pen for a good cause before I will discount the price.

Just food for thought!

 

[PapaTim]

the "bubble butt" slimline.

Love that name.
Nicely done. Now that you have so much practise under your belt, you really should consider raising your prices as the others have noted.

 

[gvanweerd]

Whoa. we should start calling you BuzyBee. Well Done.

 

[altaciii]

ARAGHHHHH... $5.... for a handcrafted work of art? Don't sell yourself short. Slims should go for mid 20s then up from there. Great job on the sale though. Seems like a lot of work for very little in return.

 

[bitshird]

Can I purchase a dozen or so of your slimlines at that price, I see a 15 dollar mark up. Geez I'm getting to be a greedy Bast@rd.

 

[tim self]

As you now know, charge more. Although it was a learning experience for you, you now have a base line. Example, A preacher friend called me noon Thursday asking for a cedar slim for his secretary. $25, he said fine. took it to him on Friday and sold 4 more cause I had them. Just AmEx, never leave home without them.

 

[jeffnreno]

Well done on getting them all made on time.
I would think that your $5 pens will bring in more sales.
People will see your pens and want one. Great Job!!!

 

[Mac]

(But, for $5.00 I made some money on each pen)
I got some desert dunes I need to sell over here in southwest Arkansas ,you interested, and still have a few jackaloupe eggs left if you need any. they come in a 36 count chicken egg carton and look like chicken eggs they are only $5.00 an egg. Shipping is no problem, I just boil them first, added charges will apply for boiling.

 

[timcbs]

Small world looked you up on QRZ, so do you listen to the radio when you are turning?

Tim Hill
KI6LSB

 

[ldubia]

I charge $30 for my slimline pens but give a 20% discount to teachers because I are one. ;o)
I don't have any problem getting the price I ask for it. I could even go down to $20 and be comfortable but my time is worth more than a few cents. Jus my 6 cents worth...inflation.

 

[Len Shreck]

Is this your first sale? If it is then was it worth it to you not only for the experience of making so many pens but also for getting the product out there where people can see it and use it and didnt spend a lot of money to "try" your products. If anything I would make sure these people know that that was a one time introductory price and from now on the price will be ?.?? each. Word of mouth is the best advertisement there is and from the size of the order it sounds like people really like the look and feel of your pens. I have not sold any pens yet but I would do the same thing just to get my pens out there into circulation, I hope that makes sense and conveys (sp) what I am trying to say and that I didnt make a jerk of myself. Even if no one else understands what I am trying to say I know and that's what is really important..lol :biggrin: Oh by the way I think they are some very nice work and it may only be a photo but I cant see any defects.
Len

 

[toolcrazy]

Nice batch of pens. I'm not a fan of the "bubble butt" design. But that is just me.

 

[Rangertrek]

Made money on $5 sale?

Great on getting that first sale. If you take some time and analyze all that you do to make a pen you will probably realize you lost about $10 on each pen. A good slimline should sell for $20+ depending on area of the country, etc.

If you plan to sell your work, you need to price it to cover your costs, labor, and some profit. There are various formulas listed in the forum for pricing pens. Some use a multiple of materials and the use a 2x or 3x factor.

If you look at you equipment and expendable supplies that is part of your costs. Then you have the materials for each pen (kit, blank, box, etc.).
Next is your labor. I have seen recommendations for 'craft' labor at no less than $10 an hour. Add your time, equipment, and materials and you will probably be in the $15-18 range at a minimum.

I made a spreadsheet with cost information for each pen I make which includes labor based on the style (1 barrel or 2), the material costs including any taxes, shipping, etc. and my overhead expenses. I quickly realized I was pricing my work to cheap. I only do this as a hobby so my main goal is to cover my expenses to fuel this addiction and make some money on each pen. As I have progressed with better quality work, my prices have also gone up.

My average total time to make a pen is about 1 hour. This includes everything related from ordering supplies, turning, finishing, marketing, accounting, keeping up with the tax peoples, etc. If you start doing shows, the expenses go up. If you have a web site, there is a lot of time to maintain the site, etc.

Hope some of this helps. As said above, if you want to do some more $5 pens, I see a re-sale potential.:biggrin::biggrin:

 

[markgum]

great job on meeting a large order. Keep up the turning and you will be an expert in no time.

 

[Ligget]

Great order, lovely group of pens, but most of all is the experience that you have got!

 

[mick]

Connie here, not Mike

You might want to make sure those receiving the pens DON"T know that they only cost $5... as if they want to order some, they'll expect you to continue working for pennies (our electricity & tools aren't free for some reason!! haha)

A nice way of putting it, to whomever purchased them (if it were all to one person) would be "In the future, these will be $20, 25, 30 (or whatever price)--this is my foray into the business, so you are getting the first of a new venture--so these are a loss-leader, if you will---I want to get my product into people's hands so they'll want more!" Stores do loss-leaders all the time... and while it isn't something I'd want to do (I dont think Mike would work for 25 cents an hour! haha) -- we DO go the extra mile for many customers & it pays off. Sometimes we lose a little-- but it pays off in repeat business & good will.

Its exciting to have such a big sale right off the bat!! Congrats!

 

[johncrane]

Yep! what Mark said!

 

[Jon-wx5nco]

Small world looked you up on QRZ, so do you listen to the radio when you are turning?

Tim Hill
KI6LSB

Sure do. I have a HT in the garage and scan the 2 meter repeaters. I hope to be able to put a HF rig in the garage soon.

 

[Jon-wx5nco]

Is this your first sale?
Len

Len,
Yes, this was my first sale. I already have a lady wanting me to make a bunch of pens up for a craft booth.

 

[Len Shreck]

Way to go.... Congrats on the craft sales I hope you do well with it and continue to get orders in.
Len