do you charge family?

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paintspill

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i got an email today from a cousin who saw the pictures i posted on facebook and asked how much i charge for my fountain pens. just wondering what some of you do in this situation. my pens are starting to sell good so i hate to give them away (i have lots of cousins) do you set a family discount, or just cover time and materials. just curious. thanks
 
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You can always give one to your cousin along with some business cards and ask him (her) to hand out the cards when people comment on the pen. If you think other relatives will ask for one, you may want do do as Mason suggested and price it to cover the cost of materials.
 
Depends

How close....my kids, grand kids, brothers, sisters, neices and nephews are freebies....some of my grand-neices and nephews are free too. Cousins - Nah....regular price.
 
I usually will give a discount to close family and friends but most are completely willing to pay full price because they know what goes into making them. They usually will get extra refills too. Also because I give the discount I ask that they let others know where they come from. Just a bit of free advertising.:wink:
 
When I started, I gave a lot of pens to family.. I have 6 brothers and sisters and my wife has 5. A lot of neices and nephews got free pens at that time. Most have turned into some more sales. They pay for those they are giving to someone else. Usually a little less than others.
 
What we do doesn't really matter. You do what you want or can do. The good thing about making pens is that each of us can give or sell to whomever we want. I gave a pen to someone I met on an airplane last week who had just graduated from college. they were returning from a diving trip along with my wife and me. I enjoyed the look of surprise on the face of the receipent and the "I can't beleive you gave me this pen" comment as much as seeing a paypal payment for a pen that sold from my website. Have fun. BTW, your cousin asked what you would charge so the expectation is to pay for a pen.
I don't mean to sound harsh and really don't mean the comment that way. Many of us make pens and give them away. Others of us make pens only to sell and even others do both. Have fun and enjoy whatever you decide to do.
Do a good turn daily!
Don
 
its_virgil said:
What we do doesn't really matter. You do what you want or can do. The good thing about making pens is that each of us can give or sell to whomever we want. I gave a pen to someone I met on an airplane last week who had just graduated from college. they were returning from a diving trip along with my wife and me. I enjoyed the look of surprise on the face of the receipent and the "I can't beleive you gave me this pen" comment as much as seeing a paypal payment for a pen that sold from my website. Have fun. BTW, your cousin asked what you would charge so the expectation is to pay for a pen.
I don't mean to sound harsh and really don't mean the comment that way. Many of us make pens and give them away. Others of us make pens only to sell and even others do both. Have fun and enjoy whatever you decide to do.
Do a good turn daily!
Don
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Marc,

Don brings up an excellent point here. I don't make slimlines or use "basic" blanks so I have some $$ invested. On the other hand, I love to give. My formula is this: I will give to close family members & friends - in my own time - but usually for birthday, graduation, Christmas, etc.

If a friend or relative wants to buy, I'd sell for a discount. If they ask for one (free) I might give them one at a later date, if & when I get around to it.

When I give, I give on my terms.
 
I will gladly give a pen to a close friend or family member if they want one for themselves. If they want it to give as a gift for someone else, I'll give them a 25% discount from my "regular" prices. More distant relations and extended family friends also get a 25% discount. For casual friends or business associates, I'll give a 15% discount. People I don't know very well pay full price. This is not really hard and fast, but I feel comfortable with it so far.
 
My sister in law saw and liked one of my pens so I gave it to her. Then she wanted one to give as a gift to a friend. Then she told her friends I'm make them for cost.
Guess who isn't getting any more pens.
 
I give away most of my pens but as other have said I do it on my terms. However LOML seems to think she has that privilege as well and she gives away far more than I do :mad: I enjoy suprizing strangers that comment on them by giving them one. I do alot of international travel and have given several to stewards of the plane that provide excellent service. I have never sold to family but do sell to people who ask for a second pen :rolleyes:
 
I give pens to family, close friends, those I know are in military service and cross inlay pens to a couple of ministers and a priest. I always figured I was just earning karma points but one of the military service gifts led to ~ $500 in sales so gifts can pay off in more than good karma. I do have one friend who has pushed my charity to the limit so you do have to cut them off at some point if they take advantage.
 
Like dntrost mentioned-I give alot of pens away. I'll have 3-4 on me at work in the hospital. A nurse will be looking for her pen and I will hand her one of mine. A few of them have ordered pens as gift after seeing and actually useing them. It is kind of like test driving a car before you buy it. They get to feel the weight and see how it writes. I usually make slimlines and click from scrap corian and PR so the cost to me is low.
 
Yep if they ask for something special. usually payment is in the form of a Micro Brew 6-pack. I will say only when the turning is threw, is the Bells Oberon for... me......
Something like that.
 
It's up to you. Just be careful that if you give someone a pen (or at a discount, without letting them know it's a discount), they'll do advertising for you, and then you might get caught in a corner when folks start coming to you wanting a $10 pen like your cousin's...
 
wow, thanks. i wasn't expecting such a great amount of response. a lot of good advice. i have also given away some pens but that was in the early slim line days. i do discount to friends and family but i am always sure to make sure they know what the pen is worth.

i think if he is truly interested i will offer a discount as well as a link to my web site so he is aware of there true value. and i like the idea of including some business cards. he is 1000 miles away so i won't be able to hit that market.

now if i can only find time to make a couple for by 2 boys, those ones will be free. they have been bugging me like crazy but i've been telling them i have to make them to sell. my 9 year old is trying to buy a fountain pen off me.

thanks again everybody for taking the time to comment. i love this place.
 
I do gift the occasional pen to a family member, but a gift, like Christmas, is not the same as selecting a pen from my inventory. If you are buying a pen from my inventory for any reason, you pay the full price because I do not mix family with business.
 
Personally, I have a very small family circle, so it is not a problem.

The "easy solution" that occurs to me in your scenario: Do you and this person exchange Christmas gifts?

If so, save the pen and give it to him at Christmas. If not, they are not "close" relatives. Certainly, if you can afford to be generous, do so. If it "hurts" to give away the cost of a pen, charge SOMETHING for it-at least recover the cost of the components.

FWIW
 
I generally give pens to family. My reward or pay comes from seeing them happy and enjoying my labors. BUT, if they get them as gifts for others I charge for material.

Ben
 
My formula is as follows:

Wife --- Definitely free.
Children -- Cost of materials, and they have to turn their own blanks.
Grandkids -- Don't ya lov'em -- another freebie -- none yet old enough to turn their own blanks.
Brothers/Sisters -- cut them a small discount (won't let them near my tools).
Aunts/Uncles -- Depends on whether I'm in their will. If so, first one is free, additional pens at cost. If not in their will it's at full cost.
Cousins -- Full cost for first pen, double the cost for additional pens.
Girlfriend -- Free, but must make a duplicate so the wife doesn't notice it missing from the inventory.

:biggrin::biggrin: I know you were serious, but couldn't help having a little fun with this one. :wink:
 
My mother recently saw a pen I made and said that she would like one but in a different color. I will make it in my own time and that is fine. If I send a bill with the pen my siblings would show up and tear me into raisin sized pieces. Close family no more distant family maybe.
 
Dudley Young said:
I give them to anyone, good PR. Havn't seen a kit & blank that cost enough to break my bank. This is a hobby, I love to give them and sell them.
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You took the words right out of my mouth. If I'm carrying a pen and someone goes nits over it, they usually leave with a new pen. Family- whenever I can get one done, they can have it. It just makes me feel good. . ( probably another reason why I'm broke! Lol)
 
free pen

Dudley Young said:
I give them to anyone, good PR. Havn't seen a kit & blank that cost enough to break my bank. This is a hobby, I love to give them and sell them.
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I find that I give almost all of them away, Turn for the troops, turn for Pen for Hope, I can not afford the expensive kits so everone gets a slimline or a euro......... this is a hobby and I love to see the face of someone that has received a pen..........
 
paintspill said:
wow, thanks. i wasn't expecting such a great amount of response. a lot of good advice. i have also given away some pens but that was in the early slim line days. i do discount to friends and family but i am always sure to make sure they know what the pen is worth.

i think if he is truly interested i will offer a discount as well as a link to my web site so he is aware of there true value. and i like the idea of including some business cards. he is 1000 miles away so i won't be able to hit that market.

now if i can only find time to make a couple for by 2 boys, those ones will be free. they have been bugging me like crazy but i've been telling them i have to make them to sell. my 9 year old is trying to buy a fountain pen off me.

thanks again everybody for taking the time to comment. i love this place.
Click to expand...

This is how my kids receive their pens: They get a pen kit on their birthday, I let them pick a blank (with a few exceptions of course), and then we make the pen together.

Really small children can help press the pen together if they can do nothing else.

Now they have more than a pen - it's a prized posession.:smile:
 
I try to never work for family its messy they expect twice the amount of work for the money and someone is always feeling used.I make gifts for my family and of course will help them out but not work for thme.I worked for my Father for a few years learning finish carpentry and it was great to learn from him but I think it changed our relationship.My two cents is you ask a price for a service and they pay it or call someone else from the phonebook and get the same thing for a similar price,but don't get the comfort of trusting/knowing the person doing the work.Victor
 
I don't charge them if I give it to them. If they want something specific, they have always asked "how much would it be if I had you make me XYZ?" So I've never had to ask, but all my relatives that wanted something beyond what I gave them (or in some of the nephew's cases, letting them pick what they wanted from stuff I had on hand) I had them cover materials and gave them my time and skill... That said, I also made it clear to them how much I would have sold the pen for, just so they had an idea of what it would cost when one of their friends wanted one...

Wife and kids are always free. Wife has sold more of my pens than I have, and more than enough to pay for "her personal stash" which is quickly approaching my personal stash... My 13 year old's friends have started buying too, so he's paying for his inventory...
 
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Bobalu said:
My formula is as follows:

Wife --- Definitely free.
Children -- Cost of materials, and they have to turn their own blanks.
Grandkids -- Don't ya lov'em -- another freebie -- none yet old enough to turn their own blanks.
Brothers/Sisters -- cut them a small discount (won't let them near my tools).
Aunts/Uncles -- Depends on whether I'm in their will. If so, first one is free, additional pens at cost. If not in their will it's at full cost.
Cousins -- Full cost for first pen, double the cost for additional pens.
Girlfriend -- Free, but must make a duplicate so the wife doesn't notice it missing from the inventory.

:biggrin::biggrin: I know you were serious, but couldn't help having a little fun with this one. :wink:
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Personally I think you "nailed it", Bob! :biggrin:

This thread reminded me of a local commercial that used to run on tv here. The Guy always finished with... "You come by and see us. We'll treat you like family ..... Maybe BETTER"!!! :tongue::biggrin::smile:
 
I make it a habit to charge family double :biggrin: It seems to always keep them in their place :wink: Really I'm pretty much like most on here... As long as my costs are covered anything above that I get is welcome but not expected.
 
Since my Family is small or in Canada not a lot of problem. My brother buys his own kits but uses my lathes to turn his. Since I have 3 that does not impact my work much. Of course he pays in other ways. For instance I have a Robust lathe coming in a few weeks. He knows he is on the hook to help get it in the shop. Most of my wife's family is out of state, someone comes in to visit they leave with a pen, as well as a price list. I have sold a lot of pens this way.
 
If its someone you like gift it, but make sure then know the true sale price as to not have then wanting more free or tries to sell them way to cheap.
Personeally I dont like most in my family so they dont get them unless someone else gives or sells it to them. From me I would double normal sale price. But most people are not like me and tend to like their family.
My wife, son and mom get them free.
 
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