What do you charge for kitless pens?

[ruadh80]

I just got started in pen turning, and I don't really have any interest in turning it into a "business". I posted pictures of my first 2 pens on FB and have gotten a bunch of people asking if they can order one. I have told everyone that I'm not ready to sell them because I'm still perfecting things. I mostly want to make them for myself and to give as gifts. However at some point I am going to run out of room to keep them and run out of people to gift them to and I will probably still want to make them, so I'm sure I will sell some. I haven't had a lot of luck finding good information on pricing. When I search online I get a bunch of Etsy sellers mostly selling kit pens. The prices vary a LOT and there are a lot of pens on there that aren't worth the materials they are made of. I would normally tell other people to figure out how much you want to get paid per hour and figure out how much you need to charge to make that. However this is a hobby and at my current rate, it takes me so long to actually finish one I could never charge what my time is worth. I'm sure I will get faster, but I doubt I will ever be so fast that I could reimburse myself for my time. I'd rather just charge what the "market" price is and enjoy my hobby.

The first couple I made I probably have $75-80 of material in them.

So what do you guys charge for kitless fountain pens? What about ones with more premium materials like sterling silver accents and clips?

 

[jttheclockman]

I just got started in pen turning, and I don't really have any interest in turning it into a "business". I posted pictures of my first 2 pens on FB and have gotten a bunch of people asking if they can order one. I have told everyone that I'm not ready to sell them because I'm still perfecting things. I mostly want to make them for myself and to give as gifts. However at some point I am going to run out of room to keep them and run out of people to gift them to and I will probably still want to make them, so I'm sure I will sell some. I haven't had a lot of luck finding good information on pricing. When I search online I get a bunch of Etsy sellers mostly selling kit pens. The prices vary a LOT and there are a lot of pens on there that aren't worth the materials they are made of. I would normally tell other people to figure out how much you want to get paid per hour and figure out how much you need to charge to make that. However this is a hobby and at my current rate, it takes me so long to actually finish one I could never charge what my time is worth. I'm sure I will get faster, but I doubt I will ever be so fast that I could reimburse myself for my time. I'd rather just charge what the "market" price is and enjoy my hobby.

The first couple I made I probably have $75-80 of material in them.

So what do you guys charge for kitless fountain pens? What about ones with more premium materials like sterling silver accents and clips?

We are not FB. Post them here. Maybe people can give ballpark numbers from their experience. I will say the more elaborate the more expensive. Just because it does not use component parts does not mean more money. They are a ton of kits that can compete. But we all start somewhere. Good luck with the business end.

 

[Leonardo]

I'm also not very fast. I charge $250 with an included nib or $240 without nib. This is for a resin 3 piece pen. For accent bands and finials I charge $75 more (plus material cost if applicable). Still not the best hourly rate but I try not to think about that. I do however make figured pens that take longer to sand and polish. For a cigar shape pen I would probably only charge $175-200 as I could probably go straight to polishing from final pass with a skew.

I also use mostly my own materials, so would adjust prices accordingly if using something more expensive. My first pens I charged less but this price has been a good balance for making commissions feasible without taking more orders than I can fulfill in a reasonable time frame. My current wait time is 2-3 months and I am up front about it. Everyone I have worked with has been A OK with that. For inventory pens that sit for a while I might drop the price to move it. I would rather have someone enjoy using a pen that have it sitting on my shelf.

Not too long ago I sold my first $500 pen which had a gem stone finial, sterling silver, and one of my more expensive materials. My opinion is to price what you are worth. Good luck!

 

[Woodchipper]

Market price will vary. There are pen makers in Japan that sell theirs for four figures. Good luck.

 

[ruadh80]

I'm also not very fast. I charge $250 with an included nib or $240 without nib. This is for a resin 3 piece pen. For accent bands and finials I charge $75 more (plus material cost if applicable). Still not the best hourly rate but I try not to think about that. I do however make figured pens that take longer to sand and polish. For a cigar shape pen I would probably only charge $175-200 as I could probably go straight to polishing from final pass with a skew.

I also use mostly my own materials, so would adjust prices accordingly if using something more expensive. My first pens I charged less but this price has been a good balance for making commissions feasible without taking more orders than I can fulfill in a reasonable time frame. My current wait time is 2-3 months and I am up front about it. Everyone I have worked with has been A OK with that. For inventory pens that sit for a while I might drop the price to move it. I would rather have someone enjoy using a pen that have it sitting on my shelf.

Not too long ago I sold my first $500 pen which had a gem stone finial, sterling silver, and one of my more expensive materials. My opinion is to price what you are worth. Good luck!

Thanks! This is exactly what I am looking for. I can go look at your stuff and see what $250 gets you and how it compares to what I am making.

 

[KMCloonan]

Assuming you are talking about fountain pens... You can also search Etsy for "Bespoke Fountain Pen" and will find many shops that sell their pens. There is a wide range of prices. It's helpful to see other makers' pens and what they list them for.

 

[duncsuss]

I suggest you look at the websites of makers who do not sell through Etsy (that is a death spiral to the lowest price). Check out Newton Pens (Shawn Newton), Scriptorium Pens (Renee Meeks), Atelier Lusso (Eric Sands), Intellectus Pens (Joe Sumaqual), Exotic Wood Pens (Gabe Castro) and Hinze Pens (Jim Hinze). They are very well respected pen makers and you'll be able to see the quality of their products and the prices they command for their pens.