Pricing on kitless pens?

[stuckinohio]

I searched, but didn't find too much about pricing on kitless pens. Going to be making a kitless for a customer and I haven't sold one yet.

It seems like if I use the blank cost x 3 plus hardware I would be shorting myself. These things take a lot of work and expensive tooling!

What is the general consensus?

Lewis

 

[Ed McDonnell]

In my opinion, your price should be at least as high as a commercially available pen of comparable quality. Beyond that, it would be difficult to say more without seeing the pen or knowing more about it.

If you visit a pen store or look through a magazine like Pen World you will see very nice pens offered for less than $100 and amazing works of art for many thousands of dollars (or higher).

After looking for a while you should start to see what accounts for the difference in pricing. You can then make a somewhat informed decision about where your pen might fit in.

At the end of the day, your pen is only worth what someone will pay you for it. If you already have a buyer identified and you are committed to making a pen for them, then getting a budget from them to guide your creativity might help you.

Ed

 

[mredburn]

Find websites from other turners that offer custom made pens and see what they charge. There are the ones that command a premium and those that give them away but you should be able to get a sense of what your work should be worth to start with. You will need to find pen makers that make a pen similar to what your going to turn out in terms of size and customization.
You could use time as a factor but how proficient are you at making a kitless pen? If your struggling you would have to much time in it, if your extra proficent you might not charge enough.
Etsy may have some examples of what you want but in the end its what price makes you happy to make the pen. Dont forget you may have to warranty that pen in the future and might want to add a margin for that.

 

[Rob Bailey]

My rule of thumb is 4 times the cost of supplies. Of course I offer a "friends and family" discount to certain people.


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[stuckinohio]

I figured searching for other sellers might be the way to do it, but it can be difficult to find kitless pens, with different terminology and all! Often I find rollerball and fountain, but not clicker and twist.

Thank you everyone.

Lewis

 

[mredburn]

Most kitless pens are Fountain and Roller ball, thats the major market and where the money and clients are. Twist and click are open territory since there are not a lot of kitless ones made.(compared to RB/Fps)

 

[thewishman]

Lewis, I'd use a starting point around $75 for a click with a decent clip. Once you have a little more practice, they should be rather quick to make. Price it so it makes you happy to see it go, while making it reasonable for a customer to buy. (Easier said than done.)

I've found that MY customers do not value kitless pens as highly as kit pens. They think the shiny metal parts make the pen look better. Even closed end pens were impossible for me to sell.

 

[stuckinohio]

$75 is what I was tossing around too. Seems like a good price point. Not too high and not too low.

 

[Brooks803]

For me single bodied BP's start at $125.

 

[zaqdesigns]

In my case, each FB materials cost me around $40-50 per pen. Will have to start no less than $150 per pen


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[stuckinohio]

Good info. Thank you!

 

[Texasshipagent]

A really well done fountain pen can fetch upwards $300 a pop


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[Smithcraftersig]

I don't have much experience in kitless pens yet, however I'm working on developing my own style. With the amount of time and tools and material and knowledge required to make one, I'm looking at starting somewhere around $100. I mostly make rings, not pens, but I do a lot of what the others are saying. Search competitors sites. Find their pricing. I don't know that many kitless pen makers yet, but everything I'm seeing that is of good quality goes for between $100-$300. All of these are fountain pens. The difference in material is usually what marks up the price as I'm seeing, and then followed by the difficulty of design that goes into the pen, and also the experience behind the maker.

In the ring world, it irritates me sometimes to see a ring that can be made in a few hours from $50 of material sell for $400-$1,000 but then again no one is forcing anyone to pay that fee, people are doing it of their own accord. I did a lot of comparing prices when I recently started getting into damascuss and found that most damascus hand made rings sell for $350+. In a way I feel like I'm low balling myself for selling them at the $200 area, but I I feel happy to let it go for that price, and I also feel like I'm giving the customer a good and reasonable deal.

So that whatbit comes down to. What would it take for, let's just say me, to have you make a kitless pen? What would you be willing to let it go for? Is $75 enough to make you feel good? Or is $150 more your speed?
Also since you have a customer already lined up, ask them what their budget is, and try to keep it a good margin under their budget if you can, while still delivering a quality piece. The tad bit that they didn't spend of their max budget will make them happy because they still have money left over, and if you deliver something of great quality with that bit of savings thrown in on top they will be ecstatic!
Example: $75 budget, put $65 into it. $100 budget, put $85 into it. $200 budget, put $170 into it. I find that usually keeps the customer happy, and keeps them coming back for more because they know they are going to save a bit off of their percieved value of your work, and also get something amazing.

 

[PatrickR]

I cant speak directly about pricing pens but have 30+ years pricing custom signage. you're definitely right about coming in under budget. I often see on here a rule of thumb used for pricing that seems short sighted. You'll have to decide how much you want to make per hour, how long it takes to make the item, + materials + overhead. It's the only way to be sure. Unless your doing it mainly for enjoyment and just want to get something in return.