Reading the comments so far, I didn't find anyone asking the most important question (in my view) and that is, reverse the OP question meaning and ask, what are the sale prices of the pens he wants to make with the kits he wants to buy a lot cheaper...???
I have to ask this because I wonder, what kit, sale price are we talking about here...???
I find many of the very cheap kits, couldn't be any better with the price one normally pays for, anything under $5.00 for a kit, can not possibly have quality materials, platings, cartrigdes, mechanisms, etc...!
Yes, I do make a few pens and I normally use middle of the range kits as I find them to offer the best value for the money and I don't want to waste my time and my blanks in $1.00 kits that will me make look bad, soon after the sale/order/gift/sample/donation, etc...!
All is "relative" in my view, if you want to sell $15.00 pens you certainly need to use those $2 kits, you aren't going to sell a $200 pen with one of those $2 kits in it, the person that is willing to spend $200 in a pen, know a little about pens or at least can recognise some quality in the pen, and that is normally a combination of 4 things, the kit, blank used, craftsmanship and finish.
Sure, you can put an exception blank on a $2 kit and sell that pen for $50 which in my view is a much better way to spend your time making pens, the difference between a very average pen blank and a quality one, can be less than $5 however, you spend the very same time making it and you efforts all all of a certain increased from $10 to $40 and that isn't something to ignore...!
The same principle goes for the use of a $2 kit and a $30, you put an very average pen blank on a $30 kit and you wont sell it for much more than if you had used a $2 kit however, you put a quality blank on a $30.00 kit and all of a certain your working efforts increases 400%, the only difference is that, on the previously example you had 400% increase also but based on a much smaller amount so, you can be spending the exact same time making a pen, regardless if is a $15 or a $200 pen however, you efforts increase from $10 to $150 +...!
Like I said, everything is relative, only you can make the decision of which way you want to go but remember this, the high prices marked on some kits are a direct result of the prices those pens are sold for, those selling those kits price them accordingly to the value that YOU have put on the pen sale.
Consider the prices the manufacturers are getting for their products, they are not as hight, percentage wise as the prices you and I have to pay for them so, its a simple demand and supply technique/principle that some vendors/stores take on far too advantageously...!
Stop buying those very expensive kits, what do you thing would happen...??? only one thing could happen, they had to come down in price and much more in tune with a fair profit system than what we see in our days so, we may have some responsibility in seen how some pen kits prices are sold in our days.
The vast majority of those making quality kitless pens today, are so due to all the facts I presented above, they got sick of it and went the other way, they created they own sale value based solely to their expertise at quality pen making...!
These are obviously, my thoughts...!:wink::biggrin:
Cheers
George
