The "Why so cheap" thread got me to thinking about the competition for pen makers. If you plan on turning pens and selling them to make a living...don't quit your day job just yet. There is a ton of competition out there and it is not an easy field to break into.
The first thing you have to get straight is what segment of the market are you going to try to get into...and there are a lot of segments. Your turning skills and imagination and eye for detail might help you decide but don't think that because you are "good" sales will be easy. There are a lot of guys right here in the IAP that are REAL good.
The "low to moderate" market is super crowded, full of people who have no intention of making a living selling pens. Mostly they are hobbiests who turn for fun and don't really try to make money, but they do sell some pens. I fall into that catagory myself, I have pens listed in my store but rarely sell one. Mostly I sell by word of mouth to a few locals and now and then my daughter (a school principal) buys a few to use as gifts for her employees. Never-the-less, some of my sales would be considered as coming in the open market. Forget eBay listing and final value fees will kill you, if you list enough of your work to get noticed you won't sell enough to pay the fees.
The mid-range and high-end markets have less competitors but also less
buyers. Let no one ever tell you that there is a big market for $50+pens. There is a solid market but some very good competitors...at the high end you also have folks like Mont Blanc and Pelikan around for a long time and with very good reputations. It probably takes some good marketing to convinve someone that your $250 pen is a better buy than theirs.
Don't hesitate to go into turning and selling pens, but go into it with your eyes open. It takes more than a real nice pen, to put money in your pocket.
The first thing you have to get straight is what segment of the market are you going to try to get into...and there are a lot of segments. Your turning skills and imagination and eye for detail might help you decide but don't think that because you are "good" sales will be easy. There are a lot of guys right here in the IAP that are REAL good.
The "low to moderate" market is super crowded, full of people who have no intention of making a living selling pens. Mostly they are hobbiests who turn for fun and don't really try to make money, but they do sell some pens. I fall into that catagory myself, I have pens listed in my store but rarely sell one. Mostly I sell by word of mouth to a few locals and now and then my daughter (a school principal) buys a few to use as gifts for her employees. Never-the-less, some of my sales would be considered as coming in the open market. Forget eBay listing and final value fees will kill you, if you list enough of your work to get noticed you won't sell enough to pay the fees.
The mid-range and high-end markets have less competitors but also less
buyers. Let no one ever tell you that there is a big market for $50+pens. There is a solid market but some very good competitors...at the high end you also have folks like Mont Blanc and Pelikan around for a long time and with very good reputations. It probably takes some good marketing to convinve someone that your $250 pen is a better buy than theirs.
Don't hesitate to go into turning and selling pens, but go into it with your eyes open. It takes more than a real nice pen, to put money in your pocket.