I can buy a bunch of

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Band Saw Box

Band Saw Box

Passed Away Dec 8, 2021
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I've sold 2 slimline and a cigar pen in the last week for $20.00 each I would have asked $30.00 for the cigar but the person I sold it to is an old friend. One person saw the pens I had and asked how much they were, I told her and she said that was far to much for a pen and told be "I can buy a bunch of bic's for that price and you and keep your pen." I told your what you want is just a pen what I was selling were fine writing instrument.
 
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Good for you Dan. You will always have people like that, and let them go buy a couple boxes of Bic's. Don't sell yourself short you have a lot of time and materials in each pen. You have to think about the artist side of things too. Your work has that artistic side of things that you are also selling a pen is not just time and materials.

Mike
 
I would rather keep the pen than sell it to her anyway.

I've not yet had the value of my work questioned but there are lots of people who just don't want to spend money for a pen.

Lots of people say that they are afraid of losing it.
 
Dan Masshardt said:
Lots of people say that they are afraid of losing it.
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I suggest to those people that they treat the pen in the same manner as they would a $100 bill , even if it is a $50 slim , i.e. don`t leave it lying around . I further suggest that they would learn from the experience , and would only do it once , so if they buy two , they will still have a unique hand crafted pen that they will be proud to use .
 
1080Wayne said:
Dan Masshardt said:
Lots of people say that they are afraid of losing it.
Click to expand...


I suggest to those people that they treat the pen in the same manner as they would a $100 bill , even if it is a $50 slim , i.e. don`t leave it lying around . I further suggest that they would learn from the experience , and would only do it once , so if they buy two , they will still have a unique hand crafted pen that they will be proud to use .
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Im in the Army and pens would walk off all the time, even from my pocket. One day I bought a $20 pen, because I just loved the way it wrote. I still have that pen and that was 10 years ago. I realized the reason i was able to keep it (even trough Iraq and Afghanistan) was because i was mindful of it since a pay more then a few bucks for it. I know $20 isn't a lot but it was to me at the time. I tell people this story when I get the "Im just going to loss it statement".
 
I'm going to take a different line here. Calling a slim line and a cigar a fine writing instrument might be considered a stretch. If you put an upgrade refill in it, it will be a little better, but in reality, you just turned two barrels over some cheap components that you bought. Don't get me wrong, I've made a living for a long time making things for people that appreciate a hand made item. And many things that I could not afford, nor be willing to spend that amount of money on. But fine writing instrument......? You didn't say what material you turned, so I apologize if it some exotic burl or wild casting, but at that price point I don't think so.
 
low_48 said:
I'm going to take a different line here. Calling a slim line and a cigar a fine writing instrument might be considered a stretch. If you put an upgrade refill in it, it will be a little better, but in reality, you just turned two barrels over some cheap components that you bought. Don't get me wrong, I've made a living for a long time making things for people that appreciate a hand made item. And many things that I could not afford, nor be willing to spend that amount of money on. But fine writing instrument......? You didn't say what material you turned, so I apologize if it some exotic burl or wild casting, but at that price point I don't think so.
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Not to put too fine of a point on it, saying that a slimline isn't a fine writing instrument can be considered a disparaging remark, especially to a fine craftsman... done right, from almost any wood, a slimline can be a very nice pen and $20 isn't necessarily a bad price point considering the costs of the kits and blanks... making pens as a hobby, not a profit line, doesn't make the price low if the make has gained a measure of enjoyment from the process.
 
TellicoTurning said:
low_48 said:
I'm going to take a different line here. Calling a slim line and a cigar a fine writing instrument might be considered a stretch. If you put an upgrade refill in it, it will be a little better, but in reality, you just turned two barrels over some cheap components that you bought. Don't get me wrong, I've made a living for a long time making things for people that appreciate a hand made item. And many things that I could not afford, nor be willing to spend that amount of money on. But fine writing instrument......? You didn't say what material you turned, so I apologize if it some exotic burl or wild casting, but at that price point I don't think so.
Click to expand...

Not to put too fine of a point on it, saying that a slimline isn't a fine writing instrument can be considered a disparaging remark, especially to a fine craftsman... done right, from almost any wood, a slimline can be a very nice pen and $20 isn't necessarily a bad price point considering the costs of the kits and blanks... making pens as a hobby, not a profit line, doesn't make the price low if the make has gained a measure of enjoyment from the process.
Click to expand...

A very good refill makes a ``fine writing``instrument . A fine ``writing instrument`` uses a very good refill , very wear resistant plating , has near perfect match of barrel to component diameters , a blemish free wear resistant finish whether high or low gloss , and can be made from any material or combination thereof shown on this forum and probably a bunch that haven`t , cheap or very expensive , and is most particularly exemplified by my cow pie pens .
 
I knew I would get some responses to my comments, and it has me thinking. Maybe we should call our work fine writing instruments instead of pens. Might just give that edge we think we deserve? Jeff, How about .......IAFWI International Association of Fine Writing Instruments....... Kinda has a nice ring to it!
 
When I tell someone the price for a pen(15-40$) I get thats too much or my husband can make those or they just put it back down and walk away.I also tell them that they are hand made one of a kind but to some it is that,just a pen.
 
Do any of us need to sell pens so badly that we should expend great effort to try to convince someone that they need one

The truth is that I have very in expensive pens that write very nicely for the average person. If that's all somebody wants, I wouldn't want them to pay for one of my pens.

I believe that the pens we sell are a 'want' and not a 'need' period. People need to have a pen. Some people want to have a great pen. (Or several ;-) I feel like I'd be fooling myself to believe otherwise

Are we really that desperate to sell that we think we should be convincing every person?

If somebody appreciates the pen and really likes it but has reservations, that's where sales strategy should kick in

The person Dan is talking about, Let her go. It's only going to hurt your soul to try to convince someone like that.
 
I carry my own pens daily and have found that they don't get stolen, you are more careful where you put them and others are more cautious to return them. If you know the person well, let them 'test drive' it for a day, it can change their mind.
 
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