Y'all Ever feel guilty?

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dweir

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Jan 3, 2008
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Just another dumb question from a noob. I have been selling slims at my office for about 12-15 bux each. Do yall ever feel guilty about selling a pen for twice what you have in it. I can turn a slim in about 10 minutes (not including an hour for the 5 min epoxy to set in the blank). I can have a "crappy" pen (to my standards) and somebody will buy it for 20 dollars. Sometimes I feel Guilty, knowing the time that I have put into it and it can be a cheapo woodcraft slimline. PPL buy my slims for 20-25 bux and I have very little time in it..Sometimes I just feel guilty... Do Y'all ever have that feeling?

Thanks,
DAve
 
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Dalecamino

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When I think about the $$$ I've spent to start doing this stuff , I don't feel too bad . Good luck with your guilt problem !
 

karlkuehn

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Uhhh, in a word? NO!

Your time is worth a lot, even if you are fast at them. I've never even gotten close to 10 minutes on a pen. I think the best I've ever done is maybe a half hour start to finish.

Just make sure you provide good customer support if a cheap plating gives out on you. [:p]
 

alamocdc

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Nope, but like Karl, I haven't finished one that quickly. 30 min is about my fastest counting finish... but I'm a perfectionist. Oh, and I get at least twice that for my slims.
 

dweir

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Jan 3, 2008
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Deltona, FL, USA.
Thanks, It takes me about an hour turning/finish/etc. for a slimline. Maybe I should raise my rates to about 20-25 for a basic slim. My others, euros, polaris (I really dislike them),american flattops. I guess I will give up the guilt trip. Why not, I get 60+ an hour for computer repair work....

Thanks,
Dave
 

rdunn12

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Just send me all your pen supplies and I will make and sell them for that so you won't have to feel guilty.:DJust trying to help.And the answer is NO I don't.
 

jhs494

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Ohio, USA.
Do you ever think about the equipment that you have? Who paid for it?
How about that glue? Turning tools? ect.
The time it took you to learn to turn?
Turning pens is an art, don't feel guilty for getting paid to do your craft.
If you really sit down and take everything into account I am sure you will realize that you aren't making quite what you may think.
Please don't ever underestimate your worth.
If people could not afford your pens they simply would buy a bic.
They pay you because you are worth it....
Now stop feeling guilty and go turn some pens and make us all proud.:)
 

Scott-n-KY

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Dec 21, 2007
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Brandenburg, KY, USA.
Dave, I know the feeling. I am new at this as well. I have some in a gift shop (1st time) pricing them was the hardest. The more I looked at each one, the more I picked them apart....and kept lowering my prices. I think Joe's response is a GREAT way to look at it. Thanks Joe

.
 

edman2

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Dave,
I was working on a fund raising effort for 2.5 million a few years ago. In a meeting of the steering committee I made a statement about being intimidated about asking a person for three to five times what I really thought they could give (the advise of the pro that was consulting with us). A former president of a college who was sitting next to me made the statement to me, "Freddie, you don't have to protect the pocketbooks of Baptists. They will do that for themselves."
I think that great truth fits on pen sales. You don't have to worry about protecting the pocketbooks of customers!
I did feel guilty the first time I went deer hunting and sat in the stand for hours doing nothing when I had all that work waiting on me back at the office. Glad to say I've gotten over that also!!:D
 
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I look at it this way, if the customer is happy and they are willing to pay that price then you have every right not to feel guilty because they think they paid a good price for somthing that was made by you. Almost all of my customers buy from me because they know that I make them, except for the hardware. And they are willing to spend the money because of that. I don't feel guilty at all because they are very satisfied. Not once has someone asked me to lower a price after they know I make them.
 

Texatdurango

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Originally posted by dweir

Just another dumb question from a noob. I have been selling slims at my office for about 12-15 bux each. Do yall ever feel guilty about selling a pen for twice what you have in it. I can turn a slim in about 10 minutes (not including an hour for the 5 min epoxy to set in the blank). I can have a "crappy" pen (to my standards) and somebody will buy it for 20 dollars. Sometimes I feel Guilty, knowing the time that I have put into it and it can be a cheapo woodcraft slimline. PPL buy my slims for 20-25 bux and I have very little time in it..Sometimes I just feel guilty... Do Y'all ever have that feeling?
Thanks,
DAve
No, because I don't sell "Crappy" pens! Why not buy nicer kits then when you sell them, you won't feel so bad?

What is a noob?
 

DCBluesman

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The simple answer is NO I do not feel guilty at the price people pay for my pens. I also don't feel guilty when the Red Cross or Heart Association or other charity auctions one off for $300 - $1000. Of course, I don't mind paying for a nice steak dinner at Ruth's Cris Steak House, but that's just me.
 

jwoodwright

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Jun 4, 2004
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Anchorage, Alaska, USA.
Dave,
The object is not to see how many "crappy" pens can be spread around, it's to see how many Quality Pens can be sold.

I worked Retail over 15 years. Customers are the lifeblood. Many competitors are forced to share the "pie". So, name recognition and value and service must be exlemplary.

Buying a handmade pen is novel when you enter a new market. Then the cheap plating fails, or the finish rubs off and people complain. One angry person will tell ten, those ten will tell more. Faster than a spreading wildfire, your "business" won't be welcome.

People will talk, even blog, then anyone selling pens can be seen in the same light. Guilty by association.

Therefore, you have a responsibility to only do your best work and to continue to improve.

Had a Lady ask me for a reject pen... I told her I trash the rejects... If they're not good enough to sell, I don't need people to see a "reject" in use and think that was the quality of my pens...

The other points are good as well:
Tools, lathe, glue, sand paper, finish, kits, blanks, utilities, somewhere to turn, vacuum, broom, dust pan, rags, paper towels all need to be counted in when you arrive at a cost...

I'm off my soap box...[:I]
 

IPD_Mrs

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Zionsville, Indiana
Originally posted by DCBluesman

Of course, I don't mind paying for a nice steak dinner at Ruth's Cris Steak House, but that's just me.

Lou we enjoy the food at Cris and Shula's but I hate to pay their prices for ale cart side when the portions are so big you can't possibly eat it all. Then again after seeing your before photo I could understand how you could handle it.[:p]

Here is another way of looking at the price issue. Being in the antique industry we are asked all the time by clients how much their heirloom piece of furniture is worth. Most of the time it is people trying to see what they can get out of it. Our general answer is simple. It is worth what the seller is willing to take to part with it and what the buyer is willing to pay.

We would think nothing of selling a pen that we had $50 invested in for $400. Every time we sell a pen for 4-5 times what we have inversted in the material for the pen, it scratches away at the cost we have invested in equipment, parishables and learning. Most of the time we have a problem letting go of the pen as we would love to keep and use most all of them.

Mike & Linda
 

Texatdurango

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Originally posted by DCBluesman

The simple answer is NO I do not feel guilty at the price people pay for my pens. I also don't feel guilty when the Red Cross or Heart Association or other charity auctions one off for $300 - $1000. Of course, I don't mind paying for a nice steak dinner at Ruth's Cris Steak House, but that's just me.
Must be nice.... I feel good when I take my sweetie out for dinner and splurge on an Arbys "5 for $5" deal!:D
 

mrcook4570

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Mason, WV, USA.
Let's see. My doctor doesn't feel guilty about charging me $150 for 5 minutes of his time. My pharmacist doesn't feel guilty about charging me more for Nexium than the same weight of gold would cost.

I have over $60k invested in shop, tools, equipment, inventory, etc. Do I feel guilty about trying to pay for that and possibly earn enough for dinner? Hell no - that's capitalism.
 

GBusardo

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Beachwood, NJ, USA.
In a word, no, I don't feel guilty either. Sometimes I feel guilty that I cannot make more money on my pens while I buy all the supplies and pay for the electricity. If you sell a slim for 12 bucks, you cannot possibly make any money. Another thought, Whats crappy to you might be great to a customer. If the pen was really crappy, why would they pay for it? I would bet everyone belonging to this forum has pens they would not give away that a customer could not see what is wrong with it. We are our own worst critics. I am pretty sure your so called crappy pens aren't so bad. If you are feeling guilty, maybe it's really because your customers got such a deal. ;)
 

PenWorks

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60 bucks for a tank of gas.....300 an hour for my attorny.....100 an hour for my CPA....
feel guilty, hell no. I just charged 75.00 an hour to do some hand lettering for a client's mailing and I thought I gave him a deal :)
 

RonInSpringTX

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Nov 12, 2007
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Spring, TX.
hi Dave & rest of you hooligans!!!(me included) 10 mins to turn a pen?? You must have razor blades for tools, or something. Quickest here is probably an hour, & that was for a Polaris, or cigar pen, or even a bottle stopper. If you ARE able to turn them that quickly, more power to you, put more time into the sanding & especially the finishing!!! Then charge $25-30...no guilt ever!!! I made a "comfort" pen for my brother for Christmas with a bass clip. Well, I didn't wanna use the rubber cushion grip that PSI gives you, I wanted to take the wood all the way to the tip. Well, hurrying & scurrying to finish the gifts that I was turning, I had a brain-fart. I used the bushings that came in the kit, but the bushing for the tip was for the size the wood should be where the comfort grip starts!!! NOT the actual tip hardware. (about 1-1/2" up the barrel) I didn't notice the mistake until after I put a nice poly finish on it. Went to put it together...then I said *&%@$!#@$)$(#$*%&^$% ...no need to translate. Was too late to re-do. Gave it to my brother, pointed out the "proud" wood on the tip (probably 1/32 diff) He didn't give a damn, he had a new pen with a bass clip!!! One person's crappy is a customers "okay, I don't see a problem"
I'm too much a perfectionist to have sold that pen. I've since sized the neccesary bushing required for the "comfort pen".
I'm sorry, I talk too much on here guys....I just want to explain everything!! lol [8D]
 

R2

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Dave, self deprecation is one thing, asking for help or advice is another.Your questions are in no way "dumb". Like the rest of us you start from a position of little knowledge and you seek help. That, in my book, does not equate with dumbness.
 

RonInSpringTX

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good reply R2.... wish I could find my other long reply of advice after my last one!!! I went to go find pic's to attach &
**poof** they were gone, along with the valiant info (in my mind!) to Dave about his pens and selling process!!! hmmm should I try again, NOT!!!!
 
Joined
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Tellico Plains, Tennessee, USA.
Dave,
I normally get $20 for my slimlines... at one of my last shows in December a lady came into the booth, picked up two slims, a $65 bowl and a couple of other items, and as she was paying told me that in her opinion, "Artists never get what they are worth"... I felt guilty because I think my prices were too low.
 

dweir

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Jan 3, 2008
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Deltona, FL, USA.
Okay, I was exaggerating about 10 minutes for a slim. It really takes me about an hour, especially the finish part of it. What I meant by Crappy pens, were ones that may have had a little wood defect, or I made and oops band, or there was a scuff on the nib. I am having good luck with the sierras and flat-top americans. The flat tops seem to be a little top heavy though. I am going to try a Jr. Gent in a week or so. I have started to be patient and order good pens from Berea and CSUSA. The chrome sierras I bought at HUT. The women at my office really like a slim with a little flair at the nib end. Makes a good selling point that the pen is very comfortable to write with. I feel good now about selling a nice slim for 20 or so for "gold" actually TiGold. Hate the cheap 24K and 10K. That seems to wear off pretty quick.

Thanks Again.
Dave
 
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