How would one start getting any incomming revenues? right now I give away my pens as gifts.
Start by stop giving them away. You need to be telling everyone you are selling them. show them to coworkers, friends, relatives, neighbors etc but when they ask you need to let them know you are selling them.
Exactly. One of the quickest ways to guarantee a hard time selling pens is giving them away willy-nilly.
The ONLY time I give away a pen is if it is to a worthy cause that others are likely to give to. Or if the person has done something extraordinary that, in my eyes and the eyes of others, has earned a reward. For example, I donated a pen/pencil set to my company to give away at an employee recognition dinner, and it went to the longest tenured employee. Who happened to be a pen collector that, in turn, ordered another pen from me at full price (which, I had no idea would happen lol).
Now, other suggestions.
1) Time and patience. Everyone's market is different. I don't "market" my pens much. I'm on a seminary campus, I've been here for 4 years, and people KNOW where to go for a nice pen. I have enough business to keep me going while I work a full time job, take 1/2 time grad classes, teach at church, grade for a professor, etc....... I just don't have time, nor need, to market much. Word of mouth does it for me for now.
2) Stick to quality, proven pens to sell. My personal policy-- I sell NOTHING that has 24K or 18K (or any gold) plating. I ONLY carry items that are pretty tough--- Ti-gold, black ti, rhodium, platinum, chrome, gunmetal, etc.
----This also applies to pen kits. Nowadays, kits seem to be pretty dang good, but 4-5 years ago we had a handful of kits that were, (for lack of a better way to put it) complete bullchit. Transmissions, especially, had this tendency to be either very hard to twist, or they were scratchy, or they failed completely. I only sell pens I have tested (the first one I make) for a month or so. Once the first pen passes the test, it gets put in my "pen pile" of daily use pens, and I start making/selling the others.
3) Limit your pen choices at first. Stick to some of the nicer 7mm kits, cigars, etc, and maybe a couple nice fountain/rollerball kits like the Jr Gent or Baron. Have, maybe, 6-10 types of kits at the most. Otherwise you spend a LOT of time and money learning new kits, and less time learning the art/science of making pens efficiently and enjoyably. After you really get the hang of those kits, move on to more advanced kit items, like custom wood center band kits, etc.... (Russ Fairfield's videos... rest in peace good friend.... if we still have them available, are wonderful at this).
4) Decide on your favorite, DURABLE wood finish, and get VERY good at it. I spray my pens with a commercial, catalyzed conversion varnish that you can't get at most paint stores (some, though). But most of us end up using stuff like lacquer, CA finish, enduro, or similar products. Friction polish is easy/cheap but worthless over the long haul.
5) Buy a Wet/Dry grinder NOW (like the Grizzly version of the Tormek). This single device helped me truly LAUNCH my skills since it greatly helped me have truly sharp tools. $200-300 is definitely worth it.
